I have started feeding my dog a mixture of: hamburger,chicken,rice, veggies& cooked potatoe. Is this healthy ?

Answer 1

NO. That is not a balanced diet. There are no minerals in this diet, so the body will pull calcium out of his bones. He will get osteoporosis and heart problems from calcium imbalance. It is difficult to cook a balanced diet for dogs. You need to talk to your vet--there are specific diets you can cook but they must be in balance or your dog will get very sick.

Answer 2

yes and no, it's not okay if that is all your feeding him because it's not a balanced diet, if you want to start feeding your dog all home cooked meals then you need to talk to your vet about it that way you can learn how to feed him properly and what kind of supplements you need to give him as well.

It is okay though if your feeding him this along with dog food. Because a quality dog food will have all the nutrients he needs so he will be getting them that way and then having the home cooked food as well. This is what many people do. Just make sure your preparing his food right (only boil or bake chicken, never fry it and don't use any spices) also if your giving him rice you might want to cut out the potato. Sweet potaos are better for dogs than as well.

Answer 3

I would give the potato a miss if you are already using rice, too much starch (carbohydrates, which are good, but too much will just convert to fat). I would also be adding a raw bone every couple of days, helps clean the teeth and give the calcium needed. Grate or finely dice the veggies, and cook them to almost mush in the mix, cooking does destroy some of the good stuff, but you can add the carrot raw after the food has cooled, and can i also suggest a bit of raw grated apple at the same time, both carrot and apple is good for the skin and fur. For my dogs, i also add some other supplements to their food at feeding time, i squeeze a capsule of Fish oil over their food, omega 3 fatty acids, and i give them a teaspoon of glucosamine powder, as a preventative for arthritis. And i also give them a crushed echinacea complex tablet, its for winter colds in people, it has a combo of echinacea, garlic, vit c and zinc, all of which are good as just an immune system booster. Make sure that the meat is at least half of the entire mixture you make up, eg 1 cup veggies, 1 cup rice and 2 cups meat.

Sounds good tho, and i always prefer feeding home cooked foods for my dogs, even before the poisoning scare, at least you know exactly what they are getting.

Answer 4

Here's a site on raw feeding which is very healthy for dogs:
http://www.rawdogranch.com
IF you want to stay with home cooking, check some recipes with your Vet to make sure the diet is complete and offer supplements. Run this diet by your Vet (for a home cooked one)
1/2 meal is steamed chicken, NO BONES since it is cooked.
1/4 meal is veggie mixture like Carrots and peas, or green beans and yellow squash, or alfalfa sprouts and yams
1/8 meal is steamed cranberries, slightly steamed and mashed, mixed into:
1/8 meal is potato or rice, barley or oatmeal

For meats, serve mostly chicken, and occasionally duck, lamb, hamburger or venison (dogs that are sensitive to commercial foods with beef or chicken often tolerate freshly prepared beef of chicken with no problem at all)

Some supplements to consider: Skin formulation 3V Caps (has Omega 3, Vit A, D and E) or add Norwegian Cod Liver Oil- ask Vet amount to add per weight and per dog type.

Ester C- Immune system boosting supplement for dogs.

Feed occasional raw beef heart, about a half cup for a medium sized dog. This is an excellent source of taurine which has anti-seizure properties. Heart is organ meat which dogs need smaller amounts of.
Run this by your Vet. Most of the stuff in commercial dog foods is reject meat, slaughterhouse special, multi-processed or "rendered" (look that up if you really want to get sick, but since you are home-cooking you probably know about that.
Your dog would benefit from partial raw, like feeding raw meaty bones such as chicken backs, necks and wings. Bones have nutrients in them (when RAW ONLY) that are beneficial to dogs.

Answer 5

No not really, however feeding your dog fresh food is great. However, just like us they need a balanced diet, they need a specific amount of protein, and some veggies such as corn and onion really do more harm then good. So before starting to feed any other type of food other than store bought dog food you have to make sure to research recipes and nutritional information. Also you will also have to keep an intense scheduled teeth brushing because there is a greater chance of cavities. Also consult with Vet.

Answer 6

A homemade diet for your dog CAN be healthy if done properly. You have a good beginning, but you need to research the amounts you are using etc. Also you will need to consider supplements, probably missing link would be a good one to add to the food, and if he or she is a large breed dog, then Glucose-mine tablets as well.

If you are doing this because of the recent pet food recalls, you may not be doing this for the right reasons however. And there is much research that you should be doing and most of all talking to your vet! If you are worried about the recalls a good food to use is ProPac, (not to be confused with Purina Pro Plan). ProPac does not outsource their food, and has not been involved in the recalls. They sell a great food for any dog of any size or age.

I would look at www.propacpetfoods.com . I have used a lot of brands and I highly recommend them.

Answer 7

no, potato can be fatal, and you do not list what vegges you are using - most human vegges can be lethal to dogs. this includes - onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatos, root veges such as turnips, potato, grapes, asparagus, brocoli, beans, raw eggs..... and a million others.

also, he needs more than 3/4 meat at each meal - dogs are classified as carnivores, not omnivores, for a reason.

why dont you feed him a healthy balance of meat and a good dry food like you are supposed to?

people sell vege home made recipes to unsuspecting ignorant people to make money.... not for the world wide good of dogs.

edit - not sure if you mean hamburger mince? if so, its too fatty to be included in an adult dogs diet on a regular basis. fat can cause serious lethal problems - pancreatic, digestion problems and can contribute to things like bloat. either boil the meat and scoop off the fat before giving it to him, or find a leaner mince.
.

Answer 8

Yes, and no... The rice, veggies, and potatoes are a waste. Dogs lack the enzymes to break down the cellular wall of plant matter... So he can't digest it. The hamburger and chicken would do him more good if it weren't cooked, and if you bought chicken with bones.

www.rawmeatybones.com
www.rawfed.com/myths
www.rawlearning.com

This group can give you the best info on starting a raw prey model diet... Feed your dog like the wolf he is...


http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/


Good luck.

Answer 9

Yes its ok to give it to the dogs, your dog will start gaining weight quickly though than he would with regular dog food, but really, i think you should keep feeding it what you are right now but put some regular dog food in there as well and mix it up, the only reason i say put dog food in there is because the dog food has special nutrients and special vitamins that the dogs need for there diets and muscles to grow correctly.

Answer 10

not really plus once you feed them that kind of food they will NEVER want to eat regular dry dog food. so unless you want to cook for your dog for the rest of their life stop cooking and go to the store and get them some DOG food.