home cooking recipes ....for my Welsh Corgi

Question
Hello,  I would like to learn about home cooked meals for my dog. Where would I begin?

I have a over weight sweet welsh corgi boy Toby he was feed by R/D special diet from the vet, currently I started to cook for him, with the ground turkey,potatoes,broccolini,Cauliflower, baby carrots, green beans, spinach and mix it with oatmeal and keep it in regf for a week.  Lucky he has no medical problem.



Thank you !

Lydia

Answer
Hello Lydia,
I'm glad you decided to cook for your dog--you have already made a nice beginning. I would like you to contact this woman, my mentor if you will, as she is a master with diets, home cooking and supplementing these home-cooked diets. You cannot just cook for a dog, you must find the right balance using supplements that provide vitamins, probiotics and dig enzymes. It is not as hard as it sounds, believe me. I never thought I would home cook and supplement but that is just what I am doing now and have been doing for years now..with this lady's help. You will love her, SHE DOES NOT CHARGE BECAUSE SHE LOVES ANIMALS AND LOVES TO HELP OWNERS,  and you will learn a ton. I will leave her email at the end of this and be sure sure to tell her that Sue Behlmar recommended that you write to her. If you want to further I.D. me mention Dixie Cup, Buddy and Henry, my three little loves.

Now, having said the above, I will start you here. You didn't say WHY he was on R/D..renal problems? Kidneys? I surely hope not but one thing is for sure--an overweight dog is very, very unhealthy and you are wise to pay attention tot his. Did your vet agree that you should take him off the R/D?

You have made a nice start with the homecooking but you are doing waaaaaaay too much. You do not need to have all of those foods in the mix. Two or three will do and you can vary the veggies and meat each week if you like.  I do not like the oatmeal you are using and may I ask why you are putting grains into his food? That is not necessary and some dogs do not tolerate grains well at all. That is coming to be known as a fact these days. I have to ask you why you are adding that??????

I don't want to overwhelm you here but are you using ORGANIC products? For instance, the turkey you are using...where did you get this ground turkey? Never, never, never, never use deli meat with a dog..it's very dangerous. A lot of people do not know this. They buy the meat and grind it themselves and think that's healthy but deli meat and dogs are enemies..very  unhealthy. If the turkey is not organic then you are feeding your dog all of the hormones, antibiotics and steroids that the FARM TURKEYS are eating in their food. Anytime you use meat from a farm raised animal you take a risk.  Please rethink where you buy your meat. I  use organic chicken with my dogs--or here in VT, where I am visiting, FREE RANGE MEATS which they have here but don't have in NY. I never use deli or just regular supermarket meats. I go to Whole Fioods to buy my things...almost everything is organic. Same with the veggies...if you are not buying organically then your pooch is eating all of the pesticides that were used on those veggies--no matter how much you wash those veggies. I just wanted to alert you to all of this.

Now, having said the above, use ONE meat AND TWO VEGGIES ONLY in HIS MEAL. You can vary these each week or each month but don't throw the kitchen sink into his meals thinking this is healthier...it's not. It's too many ingredients for your dog to digest...waaaay too many even though your thinking is on the right track.

You need to supplement his meals also and these you cannot put in all at once and then put in the fridge. They lose their effectiveness if simply put into food and kept in the refrigeratoor. YOu need to add a probiotic, digestive enzyme and vitamin AT THE TIME you feed. How many times a day do you feed? I hope it's two and if your dog is overweight, then three might be better...3 smailler meals.

Is your pooch getting enough exercise? If he is getting any snacks at all, cut them out completely and don't let anyone in your house give him treats when you are not there.

Ok, I've gotten you started. I'm glad your thinking is away from commercial dog food but you do need more guidance. Home cooking is quite simple but I want you to write to Donia (her name IS Donia not Sonia) for the final word. She will guide you caringly and yes, she will also recommend supplements for you to purchase so do not be surprised. We all need to do this if we are going to homecook.

I hope this helped. Here is my direct email address and my link and here his Donia's address. I will tell her to look for mail from you in case you do write. Let me hear from you.
Susan

Susan Behlmar aka DazzlinDaawg@aol.com
www.simplexityhealth.com/susanbehlmar

AND HERE IS DONIA'S EMAIL:
DoniaSea@aol.com