What are the Pros & cons on feeding your dog only cooked meat?

Question

You see I only cook for my dogs, like Liver is there favorite and Chicken is there next and i sometimes cook beef cheeks and beef toung for them and every so often i make a whole pot roast. These things they love very much, but now my youngest just had puppys and she is a puppy her self. Anyhow the vet told me today that i could not feed her that type of food anymore, only puppychow from now on. And i said what will she eat meanwhile, cause she does not like caned dog food. She said she'll eat it when she gets hungry. My gosh shes breast feeding all these lil pups isent this a bad time to ween her off of anything with all these 7 pups waiting to be feed. What a bad choice of things to do for her right now especially, what do you think? All input is greatly appreciated. Thanks chow**

Answer 1

There are no pros to feeding only cooked meat. Firstly, dogs do need more than just meat in their diet. Secondly, if you want to look at a more "natural" approach to feeding, dogs should eat raw meat and bones, NOT cooked. Cooking changes the nutritional content of meat and destroys enzymes, which makes it less useful to dogs. Meat by itself is not a balanced diet.

That said, I too would be leery of making a diet change with a nursing *****. Dogs will not starve themselves and normally I would agree with your vet that the best way to make the switch is to simply not give her any options other than the dog food, but nursing takes a lot out of a dog and I personally would not recommend the "this is the only thing you're going to get so you'll eat it or go hungry" method with a nursing *****. You could try feeding her a high quality puppy food (I'm not sure if you mean puppy food or the purina brand when you mention puppychow...purina puppy chow is crap and not something I would recommend you switch to) with meat drippings poured on top. Or, you could do some research into how to make a properly balanced homecooked diet. There are several books out there on how to make home cooked meals for your dog as well as several internet groups. The third option is to research a raw food diet...and while this is a great diet option for those who are willing to do the research and the work to get it right, it might be just as bad for your ***** as switching her to kibble. Since your dog is used to cooked food it would probably be best to stay with cooked foods, at least for now, if you decide to go with a home-prepared diet.

Answer 2

I feed raw meat in the morning and kibble at night so my dogs get the nutrients from the kibble and I don't have to hunt them down. dogs by nature in the wild and their wild cousins are carnivores... not herbivores or grain eaters. So I recommend raw... but you need to make sure you give the dog the right additional products that offer the needed nutrients. Either feed part kibble or go to the raw feed sites to learn what to add to the diet. Home cooked dog food simply satisfies the emotional needs of the dog owner. The dog doesn't need it's food cooked. A good way to get meat is at the grocery when it goes on 1/2 price sale the day before the expiration date on the meat and freeze it immediately. Always freeze the meat before feeding it to the dog. This will kill anything bad that's in the meat. I also go to the butcher who kills the cattle for the small farmers and get whole hearts, tongues, livers, kidneys, oxtail.... that the person having the animal butchered doesn't want. I get a whole heart or tongue for a dollar or less, and they are generally from 3 to 7 pounds each. I got an 18# liver for a dollar or two dollars last time.

Answer 3

Just feeding meat is not enough for her nutritionally. To be able to develop and feed her puppies she will need a more balanced diet. During this time (after her having pups and feeding) she will need more energy and the proper nutrition for not only herself but her pups. Meat is just not enough, it doesn't have all the necessary nutrients for their development.

The reason vets will always advise you to feed these super premium brands is to ensure your puppy gets a well balanced diet.

Answer 4

Well if you feed a dog meat they will learn to like it and wont eat their mix.You must wean her off because otherwise she may never go back to mix.
It makes their breath smell, gives them bad tummys, and makes their poo too soft.
Mix is designed to be the right amount of everythin so stick to it.My jack russell was just like that would touch anythin but meat, but now he knows that he won't get anyhtin else if he doesn't eat it. And he gets a treat on a sunday, my mum makes him a sunday dinner.

Answer 5

I agree-when carnivores in the wild eat the entrails of their prey they eat the plant matter that the animal ate and it is part of a healthy diet for them. Even cats need more than just meat.
Animals are not like humans-they will not starve themselves out of stubbornness-when she gets hungry she will eat, as much for her pups as for herself.

Answer 6

my dog had 7 puppys 11years ago and she was only given cooked meat,forget what people say about a hungry dog will eat dog food,it better to have a happy dog,