Does anyone here cook for their dog?

Question

We just got our first dog and the previous owner gave us a large bag of dry dogfood. They recommended that we keep away from canned food because it makes the poop mushy.

So I went to the library to learn about dog food and I got many books, including a cookbook for dogs. Some books advise to stay away from "all breed", "all purpose" dog food and other books that say any type of dry dog food will do.

I'm really confused now and wonder is there anyone out there that actually cooks for their dog? Once you start doing that, will the dog refuse regular dog food?

Note of interest: One book stated that cooking should only require an hour a week for the food prep. The main point I read that has me considering this is that a properly fed dog will not need so many vet appts. (healthier) and therefore end up saving you lots of money on vet bills.

For my breed of dog, it's mainly brown rice & chicken.

Answer 1

Well, you are lucky to have gotten so many responses to your question. Some of them are just plain wrong and some of them are great. HOpefully I'll be able to provide you the info you need to make an educated decision.

First, I want to talk about commercial dog food. Dry food is a great thing for dogs because for you it is cheaper, convinient, and comes with the adequate levels of nutrition based on the requirements of dogs. The biggest problem is that most people do not know how to determine what a good quality food is. GENERALLY, if you can get if from a vet or from the grocery store, it is garbage. Popular brands like Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Purina, Pedigree, Royal Canin, etc all have fillers, by-products and chemical preservatives that DO make pets sick.

Now, more recently smaller companies have been emerging, creating pet foods that are made with whole, fresh, human grade foods. They are typically a bit more expensive but that is because your pet is actually eating 'food" versus just left over renderings that are not fit for human consumption. Foods like Innova, Wellness, Canidae, Fromm, Solid Gold, Eagle Pack Holistic, Evolve, are foods that are made with these human grade ingredients. Dogs fed these foods live longer, less trips to the vet, you feed less, healthier coats, more enegry, and the "poo" less.

Now, raw food diets and home cooking are becoming extremely wide spread and they are basically people taking it upon themselves to make their own dog food based on the ingredients of the above foods I mentioned. My big concern about raw diets is the fact that there have been cases of dogs dying of salmonella poisoning because the owner fed raw chicken and used unsafe preparation techniques. If done properly raw food can be really healthy but can be extremely dangers if not handled correctly.

The other problem with raw/home cooked diets is that they do typically cost more and obviously take more time to prepare then a kibble based diet. Some people can afford this and that is great but for the average person, cooking for their pets would be an overwhelming task.

The last thing to think about when feeding raw/cooked diets, is that it isn't as easy as the postings make it sound. No one mentioned the fact that even if you are feeding human food, dogs still need to receive 34% protein, 10% fat, vitamins, minerals, quality carbs, etc. Feeding a dog chicken and rice is not adequate. They might be healthy now but they are being deprived of essential vitamins and minerals found in vegetables or supplements. You need to research adequate levels of these ingredients to ensure that your dog is not deprived.

OKAY, now most people are unaware of the fact that INNOVA has reently begun producing a food called EVO which is the only dry food on the market that is based on a raw food diet. It is a high protein, low carb food that mimicks a raw diet except for the fact that it is cooked at low temperatures to kill off possible harmful bacteria. This food is excellent. Innova is by far the healthiest pet food on the market and the company is acknowledging that raw diets are important but want to offer a safer, more convinient method to home cooking.

Anyways, I've rambled on so here are the things to think about:
-stay AWAY from vet/grocery store foods and "popular" brands.
-decide whether you are prepared to go the home cooked method.
-And finally, if you stick with dry food, do some research on the meaing of food ingredients and find one of the foods I mentioned.

Your dog is lucky that you care so much about its health. Good luck choosing!

Answer 2

I've done it when my Golden had dental surgery and couldn't have dry food. I bought a couple of whole chickens and baked them without any seasoning, then de-boned them..and cooked up a whole bunch of brown rice. I'd just warm it up a little in the microwave with a little water before feeding time.

If you're going to "cook" for your dog, you need to add in some slightly cooked carrots to this, and you have a healthy meal.

I don't do it because I never have in the past. I'd love to get myself to the point that I can. I don't know that commercial dog food is actually all that great for them.

Note: Avoid onions, garlic, chocolate, and turkey. The first three can be toxic and the last one seems to be a little too fatty for my dogs....makes poop scooping a challenge.

Answer 3

No. It's just a rumor started years ago. There are some cultures in Asia that do eat other animals. For example, in the Phillipines, there are dishes that are made from dog. But in the States, you'd be hard pressed to find a place that actually makes those dishes. And even in their cultures, they're most often delicacies. It's good to note that most cultures' diets evolved based on what food was availalbe. For example, in the States, there's a lot of beef and other meat in our diets. In Japan, where they don't have much land, it's a lot of fish and rice. So, don't be too quick to judge a culture for what it eats. When push comes to shove, you eat what's available.

Answer 4

Yep...I've always cooked for my dogs! Canned dog food is pretty disgusting (I know I wouldn't want to eat it!) ..it isn't that difficult to boil a chicken - and heck a minute more and you've got the rice! Much healthier for them and less expensive than the processed garbage! I have 2 dogs who will never refuse a meal, but they kinda give you that look like' Where the hell's my chicken and rice?" when you give them "regular dog food" ! A regular size chicken mixed with about 3 cups of rice will last pretty much most of the week (you also add some quality dry in as well-at feeding time)...I'm not a fanatic about cooking for em, but I believe their worth it and they seem to like it ALOT more! Good Luck!

Answer 5

Oh yes. I cook for my dog and I also give mine raw meat . I do not have the health problems and have 2 go to the vet every time I turn around. Do the research on this diet as it is called the barf diet, in order 2 get the nutrition right. I will feed mine a dry dogfood only if i am not here and my kids have 2 feed the dogs.( I thought that i would be specific on that as i do not want anyone thinking i am contradicting myself)

Here is a website for u 2 go to that will tell u more about the barf diet.
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.html
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/barf.html
http://home.att.net/~hattrick-dals/Diet.html
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm
http://whitedove1.com/Pom/BARF/diet.html
http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Pets/Pet_Food_Preparation/BARF_Diet/
I hope that these websites help u and give u the info u need on feeding your dog an all natural diet.

If u feed ur dog the dry dogfood make sure that meat is the first ingrediants on the label. Dog foods like the grocery store dog foods are full of nothing but fillers and that is corn and grain products. Science diet and Iams is a dogfood that your vet will promote, but this is also a very bad dog food.You need a good quality dog food and in order 2 get that u will have 2 pay alot more for it. u get what u pay for.

Someone stated on here that dog food doesn't kill ur dog, well that is not true. My dad had a 7 year old sheltie he fed diamond maintenance and this food was recalled due 2 contaminates in the food well it killed several pets and my dads sheltie was one of them. Go to diamonddogfood.com and u will find this out.
Purina has had recalls for contaminated foods. Olroy has had recalls because of contaminates also.
http://www.paws2heaven.com/What%20is%20in%20pet%20food.htm
The website above will tell u what is in pet foods u will be surprised.
It will tell u the bad pet foods but will also tell u how 2 pick out a good one for ur dog.
Dog food is not tested if it was then they would not have killed peoples pets by the contaminates in certain ones.

If this food i am feeding is not really healthy then i ask this, why do i have a 19 year old sheltie in human years that has never been to the vet except for shots and checkups and being dewormed. I also have a 15 year old chow/husky that has done nothing but eat this diet since i got her 10 years ago from the animal shelter. I had a min pin that died of just old age of 18 years old, vet said natural causes of death (age) I cannot say this is not a healthy diet, i do feed my dogs fresh veggies also. For an extremely good dog food you have 2 spend alot on a bag of dogfood. with this diet, for me it is cheaper than that. I can feed my dogs on less than 50.00 a week and i have 10 dogs, so this diet is very contriversial and everyone has their own opinions of this, but this diet works for me and my vet says he does not agree with the barf diet, but it works for mine and 2 keep doing what i am doing.

Answer 6

Buy a premium dry dog food like INNOVA. They have one (EVO) that is the closest thing you can get to a raw food diet. The dogs really like the EVO kibble.

Also, it's okay to occasionally give egg, veggies (carrots, frozen peas, etc.) as treats. When I cook chicken or hamburger I have been known to put a little aside before adding seasoning to the rest and stir some up for my pupster. But don't make it a habit.

Answer 7

Listen to Bad Girl 141 and Pippop. Check out their links. I think you'll be surprised about what you'll learn. As for the person that said dogs are omnivores and not wolves...if you do a proper raw diet you will see that you need to supplement with some veggies.

Raw diets are sweeping the nation as people realize how much better they are for their pets.

Another benefit of a raw diet is the teeth. You'll never (or rarely) have to brush your dogs teeth or get them cleaned. They are cleaned naturally with the bones, just like in the wild.

Answer 8

Once you start spoiling your dog with cooked food, they won't want any other kind of food. I would go against that as it as a dog, not a person. Not just any dog food is OK, btw. Some is better than others.

Answer 9

To be honest, no, I don't cook for my dog. I wish I had time for it, but I don't. My great grandmother used to give her dog ice water (only) and cooked him a steak every Friday! Her dog was her baby. My opinion is if you have the time to cook for your dog, then it's probably better for them. And yes, they probably would get spoiled and not prefer eating regular dog food. I have a friend, who's mother uses a combination of dry food and people food. Her vet gave her a special diet for her dog and he loved it!

Answer 10

I worked for Hill's Science Diet.

With all due respect to your other learned answerers...cooking for your dog is not a good idea. Their digestive system is different from ours and requires a different combination of nutrients. Feeding your dog people food will actually increase the amount of veterinary care he/she needs. People food creates, heart issues, brittle bones, and digestive problems. Several people foods will kill your dog -- chocolate, garlic, and many others.

The fact is that dog food must undergo more rigerous testing than people food - FDA regulations. The research budget for dog food companies is the largest single expenditure they have.

Also, changing food on dogs gives them digestive problems so if you cook the dog different things you are shocking the system -- and shortening their life -- everytime you feed him/her something different. Think of it this way -- would you eat dogfood...it is not made for your physical needs...just like people food is not made for their physical needs.

It will also take less time to feed your dog dry dogfood than to cook.

Good Luck.