Yellow Lab home cooking

Question
I have a yellow lab who is just ove 4 yearsold. He has  been diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy and recently I read that it may be attriuted to the food he's eating. I'd like to start homecooking for him, but I am not sure what he should eat or how much he should eat daily. He is about 8 pounds over weight as well, though the vet didn't say this was a concern, I think that the healthier eating might naturally take care of that. Thanks for being here to ask. I appreciate any help you might be able to offer.
Sincerly,
Patty Wright

Answer
Hello Patty,

Sorry to hear about your lab and his disorder.  First I would ask what kind of food has he been eating?  There are some foods brands on the market that are good and safe for your dog to be on.  Home cooked diets are great but there is much to know.  Getting the right balance of nutrition is key in putting together a diet.  You can find recipes in scores of book and websites, but beware almost non meet the basic AAFCO standards for a complete and balanced maintenance diet.  They are fine for feeding occasionally, but they will not keep a dog healthy when fed every day for months or years.  If you are going to feed your dog a homemade diet every day, you need a recipe that's complete and balanced for the long term.  Three resources for such recipes are, Balance IT (www.balanceit.com)Pet Diets (petdiets.com) and (www.acvn.org)  

When feeding a homemade diet, plan on weighing your dog and assessing their body condition monthly in order to make any necessary changes to the recipes, and on having your dog examined by your vet twice a year to make sure their health and nutritional needs haven't changed.  8 pounds of extra weight is a bit much. For a large breed dog, that is not good for his bones and joints. Always add a supplement to your dog's diet (www.nuvet.com/42299) is the best by far. You need that order code at the end to buy it. This is no ordinary supplement - it is an immune system builder and will help with his idiopathic epilepsy (for which there is no identifiable cause)the NuVet contains potassium which is required for the proper functioning of muscles and regulates the amount of water in the cells. See Ailments at NuVet

You'll spend more time and money making food for your dog than you would buying a high-quality food such as the one I feed my own dogs (www.pipschoice.com) but if you have the resources and motivation to cook, then both you and your dog are likely to enjoy the results.

Best of health to your lab.
Susan Potts,CPG
www.spottsgrooming.com
www.pipschoice.com