Making the Switch to Home Cooking

[Tunnia]

I'm taking the plunge and making the switch to home cooking this weekend. Hopefully Indy will love it. I'm a little nervous being new at this so I wanted to post what I'm planning to do so that if I have it wrong someone here can let me know where the errors are. Here is what I'm planning to make:

10lb chicken leg quarters
1lb beef or chicken liver
1lb chicken gizzards
1lb heart
2 sweet potatoes
1 bag frozen spinach
1 bag frozen green beans
fresh parsley
a few carrots
a couple of apples

I have a large pressure cooker I am going to cook it in and then I will freeze in daily servings.

I also plan to add raw eggs with shells a couple of times a week and also one tablespoon of plain yogurt with each feeding (we feed twice a day) and I'm hoping to get ahold of a raw bone or two.


So, does this sound right or do I need to make changes? I want my Indy to be the happiest, healthiest dog she can be!

 

[tianthai]

I am also quite new to this. I change his meat everyday. If today he has lamb, tomorrow will be beef. I rotate between lamb, beef, chicken and fish. He always has brown rice, parsley, carrot, celery and a bit of garlic. He gets broccoli and bean as snack. I cook him once a week and freeze daily portion for him. Once a week he gets baked lamb bone to clean his teeth. I have read it somewhere that 80% of home cooked meal should be meat.
Since I switched to home cooked meal. My dog looks much better, in term of health (no more allergy). His poo is much firmer and he poos much less than before (with kibbles).
Good luck!

 

[bayleighmom]

I'm taking the plunge and making the switch to home cooking this weekend. Hopefully Indy will love it. I'm a little nervous being new at this so I wanted to post what I'm planning to do so that if I have it wrong someone here can let me know where the errors are. Here is what I'm planning to make:

10lb chicken leg quarters
1lb beef or chicken liver
1lb chicken gizzards
1lb heart
2 sweet potatoes
1 bag frozen spinach
1 bag frozen green beans
fresh parsley
a few carrots
a couple of apples

I have a large pressure cooker I am going to cook it in and then I will freeze in daily servings.

I also plan to add raw eggs with shells a couple of times a week and also one tablespoon of plain yogurt with each feeding (we feed twice a day) and I'm hoping to get ahold of a raw bone or two.


So, does this sound right or do I need to make changes? I want my Indy to be the happiest, healthiest dog she can be!

This sounds close to what I make! I change the veggies depending on what's available and add rice or pasta after it has been pressure cooked. I take one day a month to cook. My pressure cooker is big enough for 20 pounds of leg quarters and veggies. I make to batches and freeze.

Once a month, I make fish stew. 2 cans jack mackerel, a 16 ounce box of cooked macaroni, a can of spinach and a can of carrots. They love it! However, fish breath is terrible!

 

[Tunnia]

Thank you for responding and for the encouragement. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing since I am new at it and getting a little information from others, as well as a vet tech, that what I cooked might not be good for my Indy and could actually be dangerous. I certainly do not want to do anything that could harm her

On the upside, she is loving it! She has had very little interest in her kibble lately so the change to "real" food has her little nub wagging nonstop. We just finished day two of her new food and so far there have been no gastric issues and she is as full of energy as ever. She is even itching less than usual tonight and the gas is much improved!

 

[simmons]

What you listed was pretty much exact what I used!!! However, I now feed 50% Solid Gold Kibble and 50% homecook. Which includes: 10lbs chicken, 2lbs, hearts & gizzards, 1lb liver and some broccilli. This lasts me a week with two grown boxers. They also get 1 or 2 eggs a week, cottage cheese or yogurt.

I did feel overwhelmed at first, but I had alot of help from bayleighmom!! I have never used a pressure cooker until I started homecooking. My two wait for thier meals and automatically sit. They lick thier bowls clean in just a few minutes time. In 3 years, they have NEVER done that with just kibble, even when I mixed in some good stuff.

Good Luck!!!

 

[simmons]

Oh...I forgot I also throw in some turkey, pork or beef to mix it up a little.