More questions re: homecooking

[jmackie]

Hi again,

My 9 1/2 yr old boy got runny poop-itis (sorry for my baby/dog talk) yesterday. They were both given a ground beef/sweet potato/potato/green bean mixture starting on Monday and both were fine - so they were both fine for 2 days on this formula until Wednesday - could it take that long for it to kick into his system? I also gave him a Advantage flea/heartworm treatment on Tuesday, so I am not sure what the problem is - the food or the treatment. Just not sure how long it takes to determine whether a food mixture is not going to work for a dog.

Second - my dogs seem hungry all the time is this normal? - my 9.5 yr old male is close to 100 lbs ( I know he is massive!!) and my 3 yr old female is 50 lbs - so he is getting 4 cups a day and she is getting 2 cups a day - that is based on 2% of their body weight and 1 lb = 2 cups of food but then I was reading Pitcairn's book today and his recommendations are much more than that.....so am I feeding them enough? They both have a tendency towards bulking up, so I went on the low end.

Third - one of the main reasons I have switched to home cooking is because our female seems to have allergies - the last year she went into the vet countless times for ear infections, her paws are all red and she gnaws on them - we have not had allergies tests done - the vet suggested it was likely a food allergy and to switch her to a grain free/alternative protein based kibble. We went through a huge assortment of different ones much to my older boys dismay (it didn't play out too well with his system) so I just thought we'd switch off the kibble totally and do the homecooking - and after all that long explanation.......how long before I should notice changes in my female IF it is food allergies?

Sorry, this has been so long. And unfortunatelty, I am sure until I get the hang of all this, you'll probably be hearing many more times from me. Thanks for any help.

 

[kayboxer]

First, the amount to feed. You will have to feed more homecooked because it is not dehydrated like kibble is. It has moisture in it, and although it may look like more it isn't. You just have to experiment with the amount. If they appear hungry all the time, increase the amount. If they start to gain weight, decrease the amount.

About the allergies, if all you are putting in in is beef, potatoes and green beans I don't know what the allergy could be too except one of those ingredients. Personally, I would give it a week or two and see if it clears up. A lot of times their bodies have to adjust to a new diet. You could also add some spinach, apples, blueberries, carrots, and offal meat (gizzards, hearts, livers) to the mixture too. I also add canned salmon to mine (I can't find canned mackeral here). But first, just leave it how it is and give them time to adjust to it. Then start adding a few other ingredients at a time. You might want to add something for calcium also. You can buy powder to add to the meal, or give them whole eggs (including shell) with it. You don't have to cook it either. They need calcium for their teeth and bones, just like humans. When I cook my chicken I leave the bones in it because after it cooks (pressure cooker for two hours) bones bones mash right up and you have calcium. I would definately add calcium now though. It is really important.

 

[jmackie]

I hope I've done this right - not sure whether this just adds onto my original post. I have been doing some reading about the calcium - The Complete Holistic Dog Book suggests that bone meal can be hard on the kidneys, so I wanted to avoid that one because my 9 1/2 yr old male has some undetermined medical problems right now. So I have been unsure of what to use - I believe that human grade calcium carbonate can also be added to their food. But I am still unsure of the amounts I'll need to use. I was thinking that it has only been a week of home cooking so it will be ok for the time being??? Something else I have been wondering about.....alot of books I have been reading have been talking about variety of foods - how often should I be switching their foods up?? Or should I just be making a basic recipe all the time and then maybe one day a week feed them a can of mackeral?

ARGH!!! I am finding it difficult to pull all of this together and hope to be MUCH more organized.