Thinking of switching to homecooked meals instead of commercial

[Sandy in CT]

I feed Fromm Gold and don't switch anything. It's 25% protein - I had looked at Origen at one point but it's super high protein. Sounds like your pupper is having an allergic reaction to something in the diet but finding that out requires some detective work.

The weight gain is basic stuff... too many calories in. I never feed what is recommended on the bag. According to the Fromm Gold black bag, my 20 lb sheltie should be getting a bit over 3/4 cup of food per day. The actual range on their bag is 1 cup to 1 3/4 cup of food to 15 - 30 lbs of dog but then reduce that by up to 25% for a spayed or neutered dog. Brodie is fed 1/2 cup per day split into 2 meals. If he is super, super active and gets a tad thin, I increase 1 meal to 1/3 of a cup. No way he could eat all that food and be slim and trim like he is!

 

[HikerDog]

I feed Fromm Gold and don't switch anything. It's 25% protein - I had looked at Origen at one point but it's super high protein. Sounds like your pupper is having an allergic reaction to something in the diet but finding that out requires some detective work.

The weight gain is basic stuff... too many calories in. I never feed what is recommended on the bag. According to the Fromm Gold black bag, my 20 lb sheltie should be getting a bit over 3/4 cup of food per day. The actual range on their bag is 1 cup to 1 3/4 cup of food to 15 - 30 lbs of dog but then reduce that by up to 25% for a spayed or neutered dog. Brodie is fed 1/2 cup per day split into 2 meals. If he is super, super active and gets a tad thin, I increase 1 meal to 1/3 of a cup. No way he could eat all that food and be slim and trim like he is!

Yeah, Toby is a bit bigger - coming in at about 25lbs (his dad was 30!) and we were giving him 1 cup. He just gained it all so quickly ~ almost 4lbs!!

Once his itchiness calms down, we are at least going to switch him to Stella and Chewy, we think. My sister uses it and loves it and I think it comes in at 24% protein.

I’d still love to give him some home cooked meals though maybe on the weekends. I’ve been looking at some cookbooks but it’s so hard to determine if they’re actually well balanced or not.

 

[Ann]

Just so you know, you can absolutely do home-cooked part time. For one of mine, I give kibble in the morning and home cooked in the evening. Everyone else gets an occasional "treat" of it too. As for making sure it's balanced, a good recipe will give you the various amounts. I always rotate proteins between beef/chicken/pork/turkey, switching each batch. I rotate veggies too, and I use barley, quinoa and brown rice for grains, also rotated. Your standard supplements are fine, and Natures Farmacy makes the one you need to add for home cooked food, K-Cal. It's a bit daunting at first, but once you get it going, it's very easy to keep up with!

 

[HikerDog]

Just so you know, you can absolutely do home-cooked part time. For one of mine, I give kibble in the morning and home cooked in the evening. Everyone else gets an occasional "treat" of it too. As for making sure it's balanced, a good recipe will give you the various amounts. I always rotate proteins between beef/chicken/pork/turkey, switching each batch. I rotate veggies too, and I use barley, quinoa and brown rice for grains, also rotated. Your standard supplements are fine, and Natures Farmacy makes the one you need to add for home cooked food, K-Cal. It's a bit daunting at first, but once you get it going, it's very easy to keep up with!

It’s something I’ve already wanted to do for him for sure. And Orijen is such a pricey food that it really wouldn’t add anything to my budget.

I was looking at the other supplements from Nature’s Farmacy. We already use the Dogzymes one for him and it’s helped him so much. I am totally confident in their products. The best part is that there’s a great game meat store near me that sells any and all super high quality protein imaginable. Including their scraps like rabbit, or even elk. They also sell the organ meats at an amazing price so I know I can get him some really great quality stuff. Like you said, it’s just a matter of the correct balance of things. It’s a little intimidating at first, I must admit.

 

[Calliesmom]

Sorry for reviving a months old post, but I’m thinking of doing the same and it seemed silly to start a new thread on it. Have you tried making your own food yet? If so, how is it going along?

I was feeding my 2y/o guy Orijen until my vet suggested to switch him to something with grains. We went with Fromm, which has oatmeal in it. But he’s gained so much weight despite us feeding him slightly less than the recommendations. He’s also developed redness in his ears (which our vet noted but said they were clear of any infections) And he has begun to itch his face against the carpet.

I’m going back to Orijen but did some more digging around this forum and saw that something that high in protein isn’t necessarily great if he’s not incredibly active. I mean, he’s an energetic boy but a far cry from a farm dog.

we've had years old posts resurrected so few months is nothing
at least most of the people who posted here are still here.....

 

[Caro]

I'm another who use BalanceIT, gosh I wish I knew about it years ago! For a healthy dog you can enter the ingredients you want to use and it will provide you with a completely balanced meal. It was developed by Veterinary Nutritionists from UC Davis so it has research behind it.

Old Tully is on a special diet (she has IBD and chronic pancreatitis, and is allergic to almost all proteins) so I used a Nutritionist, but she also recommended using the BalanceIT as a supplement, together with some essential amino acids.