Homemade dog food

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a bichon poodle and am feeding her a homemade diet. Is there anything special that I should or shouldn't put for the type of dog she is? Right now I put in chicken, liver, beef, rice, barley, oatmeal, green beans, broccoli, carrots, spinach,and celery (all the vegetables are chopped finely). I also give her a multi vitamin and a little bit of ground egg shell.
Also I was thinking of switching her to a raw diet(like just raw meat) people say their dogs are so healthy and do so well on it, but I am worried about parasites and injected hormones and antibiotics. Would those things affect my dog and is a raw diet the healthiest thing?
Thank you!

ANSWER: Hello Rachel,

Fist of all, I'm wondering about a few key elements of your home made diet. While a multi can help cover *some* of the nexcessary nutrients, most often these diets are still unbalanced and need additions, such as kelp for iodine as well as  extra zinc and calcium. It's hard to know exactly what your diet needs without analyzing it, but I would start by running the recipe through  nutritiondata.com and check the levels of each nutrient. Since home made diets have become so popular, I've analyzed  into the thousands now, and can attest that almost ALL are unbalanced, unless put together by a professional. Please be careful and make sure all nutrients are accounted for in amount and in ratio, or down the road, some problems are guaranteed to arise.

A diet that consists of raw meat alone is probably one of the worst things you can do, nutritionally speaking. While raw diets can be a healthy choice, they do not work for all dogs and they still must be put together carefully, just like a home prepared cooked diet needs to be balanced properly. If you plan to try a raw diet, please please do your homeowrk first! I would recommend you consider joining my discussion group, we have a wealth of information on file and many experienced home feeders. (and it's free). The URL is http://group.yahoo.com/group/ThePossibleCanine-Nutrition - we can recommend books, supplements and help you develop a balanced diet, whether raw or cooked.

Hope this helps a little, please let me know if I can help more.

All the best, Catherine



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again, thanks for the advice, I also totally forgot to mention that I do half and half, half homemade, and half Eagle Pack Holistic (Lamb and rice). How would you rate Eagle Pack? Also how would you rate Orijen, CORE, Merrick, and Timberwolf Organics? What do you think is the best dog food?
Thanks again!

Answer
Hi again,
Eagle Pack has several lines, some of which I do NOT like - but the Holistic Select is pretty good. All the foods you mention have pros and cons; Orijen is too high protein for some dogs, and I much prefer Championpetfood's sister product Acana. Merrick's and TWO are both excellent products, but again it's a question of matching the product to the indvidual. I use Acana Grasslands and Fromm FourStar with my own dogs, when I use kibble, but they are all individuals just like we are, and it can take some trial and error to find what works. If you have good coat, good stool, good enegry and glowing vet check ups, I'd stick with what youre doing for the time being.

Hope this helps a little,
Catherine