Yesterday I spent some time in the kitchen preparing Momo's food. I recently began to home cook for her and while the idea of home cooking still scares me a bit (I'll get to that in a little bit), it's always a rewarding process.
For a long time Momo was actually on raw food. We gave her Answers Detailed Beef and supplemented with Answers Raw Goat Milk and Answers Fermented Fish Stock. Noah was actually on their kidney diet protocol and he did exceptionally well on it. Momo didn't have any ailments for us to adjust her food, but as we began to read more about Answers we thought it was a great diet to have Momo on as well. And for a while she did great on it. She didn't have any problems on it including digesting the food. And we became huge fans of Answers Pet Food (we still are!).
Then last June, Momo went in for surgery to remove a lump found behind her thigh. This was the second time she had gone under anesthesia last year (the first in March for a dental and several teeth extraction). In hindsight I am beginning to realize that this is when a lot of health related problems began to arise for her.
First, post surgery Momo developed a bad cough. We had it checked out but I was never really given a reason why she developed a cough or why she was coughing at all. She still coughs to this day - mostly when she exerts herself (like right before she starts to bark or sometimes when she gets up from a nap or she'll get up just to cough). Then she began to get really itchy (and unfortunately again she is still itchy to this day - her paws and also her body). And she began to not be able to digest raw food. She developed bad diarrhea and no matter how many times and how slow of a transition we made she just always ended up developing diarrhea. And finally she began to get ear infections.
This was all new for us as Momo didn't have any of these issues before. I am thinking now that perhaps the process of going under for surgeries might have changed something in her body and might have messed something up in her gut (we have used probiotics throughout the time when she had diarrhea on raw food but they never helped - we did use gut soothe in the past but I did not use it while she was going through her digestive issue). But Momo also had a host of ailments while she was in Korea and had gone through multiple surgeries there as well. I guess we will never really know why the sudden flare ups.
In any case, we ended up switching Momo over to Just Food for Dogs and she loved all their recipes - venison, beef and turkey were her favorites. Her stool became firm again but still was very itchy. I relied on their food for several months before delving into cooking meals for her. Just Food for Dogs actually offers a do it yourself kit for people who want to make their own food for their dogs based on the recipes they offer. The kit includes the recipe, a shopping list, instructions and also their vet formulated nutrient blend. I didn't actually purchase the kit myself yet but may do so in to in the future to just have it on hand.
So this is where the scary part comes in for me. While I have relied on cookbooks for dogs in the past and continuously read things online, I am always scared that I am not providing enough nutrients when I home cook or that I am not getting the meat/vegetable/grain ratio right or that it's too oily or fattening or I might be under or over feeding because I don't know how much calories there is to the meal I just cooked. I think I developed this panic when I used to home cook for Piri and I ended up giving him too much calcium. He needed to go in for regular blood work because of his kidney disease and that's when we caught his spiked calcium levels (and it was weird because I was actually the exact recommended dose for calcium supplement).
But we're trying again. And while I don't have everything right, I hope to get there.
I feel like I have to state this before going further, but I am not a vet or a nutritionist. This is just a personal journal of how I am home cooking for my dog. Anyone who is interested in doing so should consult with your vet and other specialists who are trained to give you advice and are better positioned to answer any questions you may have.
So, we decided to do a 16 oz of meat, 20 oz of vegetables and 4 oz of grains for Momo's food. We currently use olive oil to cook (we don't use coconut oil because it's fattening and we instead use a little bit of it to brush her teeth at night). For this particular recipe we used hamburger patties and also salmon for her main source of protein, carrots, Korean sweet yam and cabbage for her vegetables and brown rice for her grains. I also added five pieces of chicken giblets (I cooked this in a separate pan and washed off the excess fat and then cut up to mix with the rest of the ingredients) and every week I'll add in some eggs and also a little bit of fresh water, boneless sardines to her food for some extra nutrients.
Momo eats 3 oz twice a day and also around 1 oz right before bed (sometimes she throws up in the morning when her stomach is empty) and so this amount of food would last her around 5 days. I also switch up her meat and vegetables every time I cook.
In every home cooking for your dog article I've read, it is always suggested that a calcium supplement be added. I actually don't do this because of what I had gone through with Piri (over supplementing) and so instead I rely on the following supplements to help her with joints, overall immune and more:
- Dr. Harvey's Golden Years Herbal Supplement (they offer these herbal supplements for all stages of your dog's life)
- Dr. Harvey's Coq10
- Dr. Mercola Pet Astaxanthin
- Adored Beast Love Bugs Pre & Probiotics
- Adored Beast Jump for Joynts
- Super Snouts Green Lipped Mussel Powder
We are also trying something new over the weekend. It's called Green Juju and we were thinking to include it on rotation as her vegetable source for her meals. The only store that carried it is a bit far from where we live and so we'll head on out over the weekend to pick it up.
Momo has been loving her food. She gobbles it up and licks her bowl clean, which makes me incredibly happy. Her stool has been perfect and she hasn't been showing any concerning signs. So far so good!
Happy eating dog friends!
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