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Curious to know how many cook for their dogs versus those who buy dog food. I notice that a lot of friends, and relatives often resort to dog food which ends up ultimately shortening your pets life. Is the stigma of making your pets food something of a financial issues? Were you bamboozled by corporations into thinking giving your pet: "human food" is dangerous?
Finances
Cost of a can of inferior dog food about 0.73 (USD) from Walmart (Alpo)
Cost of a premium can of dog food $1.72 (Evo Turkey and Chicken)
Using the current pricing at Walmart and searching for Evo yields:
Alpo = .88 a pound
Evo = 2.08 a pound.
However a pound of say chicken gizzards will run about .89 a pound. Liver? I get it for about 1.09 a pound...
I have noticed that feeding my dogs healthy cooked food comes out cheaper and is healthier in the long run. For example, here is a common mean I will make for them (I have 2 toy dogs)
1 Cup Rice (about .14 cents)
1 half bag of vegetables (about .50)
1 pound of ground turkey (1.99 static price)
I will boil it all, mash it up for them. Total time 25 minutes unattended boiling at the stove. 5 minute cooling, 5 minute prep.
About $2.64 for 4 servings. Combined weight is 2lbs... 1.32 a pound. Slightly more than Alpo, yet cheaper than the premiums. For those who have read the threads about recalls, and pets dying from foods like Beneful, and Purina, I suggest you search the term: 4D Dog Food or click here: https://www.google.com/search?q=4d+d...utf-8&oe=utf-8
My dogs are always happy, have a lot of bounce, and are set (scientifically proven) to outlast their non-human-food-fed counterparts. So my question really is... If you love your pets like your family... Why do you feed them such garbage? Would you want to eat the same thing day in and day out?
I make my dogs meals and also give them scraps from our dinners/snacks as well as raw veggies and fruits as poo-pee treats. I do add two cans of wet food to their homemade stew because the wet isn't as bad as the kibble, and they're not eating too much of it per day.
I even stopped giving my poodle rawhide because a piece got stuck in his teeth and he went bonkers. It worried me that a piece might get stuck halfway down his throat, so we give carrots and bran flanks to provide texture for their teeth.
My dog stew recipe is 3 cups brown rice, 3 chicken breasts, three carrots, two tablespoons vegetable oil, 3 Tums tabs, salt, and two canned dog foods. It lasts two medium sized dogs one week, and one medium sized dog two weeks.
I sometimes replace the rice with sweet potato, oats, or barley, and replace the chicken with ground turkey or beef and replace the carrots with spinach or broccoli.
I did watch a documentary once on how they make dog kibble. It wasn't pretty. The entire operation looked like one health hazard after another.
Daylux: Awesome... I stay far away from any kind of raw hide. It is not easily digestible for a dog and expands in their stomach. Think of a sponge soaking up everything it touches. As for vegetables, I give my dog baby carrots as a treat. I have been doing so since they were puppies where I would freeze baby carrots, and give it to them for teething. They also eat celery, broccoli and cauliflower and love it. As far as scraps from the table... Sometimes I will give them scraps, but I tend to stay away from anything that has seasonings (salt, pepper, etc). For vitamins, I have supplemental powder I mix in, and for calcium I crush egg shells. Was just curious to know if there were others on the forum that cooked for their dogs
I home cook, because then I know exactly everything that is going into my dogs' food.
I don't think there is any monetary savings. Home cooked used to cost the same as feeding super premium, but as much as the cost of meat has gone up, the home cooked probbay costs more now than feeding commercial food.
My dogs are now eating pork more often than beef, not that they are complaining. There are 8 fat rainbow trout in the freezer to cook for the dogs, but the dogs don't get fish very often any more. They used to get fish on a regular basis, but the fish choices are now either product of China or over $20 a pound. I love my dogs, but I am not feeding them line caught halibut at $28 a pound.
My dogs are now eating pork more often than beef, not that they are complaining. There are 8 fat rainbow trout in the freezer to cook for the dogs, but the dogs don't get fish very often any more. They used to get fish on a regular basis, but the fish choices are now either product of China or over $20 a pound. I love my dogs, but I am not feeding them line caught halibut at $28 a pound.
You could pick up fishing as a hobby Once in a while I will just burst open a fish oil pill in their food for Omega3's
My dogs eat what we eat al long as its Not toxic to them! They DONT get leftovers! Katie is 10 yrs old very healthy with shiny coat & eyes! Lady 4 her coat sparkles! Looks like snow when the sun hits it!
I started doing this when we had 3 dogs weighing over 200 pounds collectively. I make food and mix with a good kibble. The homemade recipes that I use are very similar to the ones described already in this thread: Rice, chicken livers or canned mackerel (cheap at the dollar store) or any other meats we have left over, then either a can of green beans (french style are already cut down) or frozen veggies. I throw table scrapes in as we go along.
The problem is these recipes lack calcium. Occasionally I'll add egg and throw the shells in the oven to make them brittle, then break them into the food. But that's a hassle and kibble has the calcium they need. That is why I strongly recommend you do not only feed them homemade foods, say what you want about the dog food guys but they do put in what your dog needs and dogs need calcium.
In addition since I have a very large German Shepherd I grind up gloucousomine (spell) tablets made for humans, cheap at Walmart, and add it to the food to help her joints.
We do not cook for ours. For us its the space to store the extra food, and the time. I'm sure it would be about the same cost.
We feed the premium kibble and canned and they do just fine...not that it matters to the hound(who is 2) anyway, if he thinks he can eat it(both food and not food) he will. His good diet goes straight out the window when he eats a bag of jellybeans or 15 tampons. He also likes to eat food he finds on the ground, rocks(though he hasn't done that in months thankfully) and chew on walls.
He only gets kibble for a meal and canned on a spoon after, because he has to have one of those slow feeder bowls and the canned food goops it up.
I used to cook for just the beagle mix(5 years old), back when I first got her, but it was as expensive as the premium food and she blaks at any sort of texture; kibble and patte style canned for her or she looks at me like I'm nuts.
They do get things like eggs, left over fish and cheese but its more from a treat perspective and not a meal.
....The problem is these recipes lack calcium..........
Bone meal pills.
Almost all dogs can digest processed dairy products, so you can feed cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, and evaporated milk.
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Once in a while I will just burst open a fish oil pill in their food for Omega3's
