Question
Athena & Joey
Whilst I have no objection to my dogs eating vegetables, I do feel that they need to be nearly cooked. I don't mean boiling the life and goodness out of the vegi but possibly steaming them till nearly cooked with just a little firmness left in them. These vegis are normally chopped to about 1/4" pieces. Mixed with their other food for the meal. what do you think of this method.
Contents of complete meal are: Pressure cooked chicken, minced in large hole grinder, (bones Soft), rice, vegies, Gravy made from the juices of the cooked chicken. A cup of natural wholesome dog food.
I have a 5 year old Rotti and a 10 month old puppy Rott.
AnswerHi Victor,
You are very right that vegetables need to be cooked, or at the very least, well "pulped" to help break down the fiber, before the dog can make efficient use of their nutrient content.
Those who prefer raw often use a food processor to finely grind up the vegetable matter; I simply follow a method much like yours. I wash and peel my evegtables, then boil or steam just till done. The cooking water can be added to a home made meal if the dog likes the taste of it.
Your basic recipe - chicken, rice and veggies - sounds like a good start to a home made diet, but it will be low or even missing many nutrients such as iron, copper and zinc, Vitamins A and D, and iodine, that you need specific foods to provide. I'm a little less worried because the commercial food will help to meet those needs, but there will still be gaps. Adding liver, beef (heart is affordable and very good for them) eggs (another great choice) some fish (canned sardines or salmon, for example, but not tuna) extra calcium,(powdered citrate or carbonate, or you can use home made powdered eggshell, which provides about 1800 mg per level teaspoon) sweet potato (potassium, beta-carotene) and some kelp will help. I recommend using the NRC guidelines to ascertain what the dog's needs are, and then the usda database or www.nutritiondata.com to see how well your recipe meets those needs.
Growing dogs need 2-3 times the levels of some nutrients - more, in the case of calcium - so although your pup is close to adulthood, I'd use a premium commercial food (canidae, Innova, Wellness, Merrick's) as the mainstay of the diet for him/her, you can do some more research on home made diet and keep working with your adult dog. The kibble is a bit of insurance, but I'd look at adding the above mentioned foods as well. If you do put the pup back on commercial fulltime, don't add supplements like calcium and kelp, these are intended for use in a home prepared diet only.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have other questions.
Catherine
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