Post by Erickat on Mar 16, 2014 9:59:35 GMT -5
Synopsis: Looking for information on home cooking & supplements for small dogs (no particular health issues)
I've been occasionally cooking for Casey - my 6 year old 28 lb cockapoo - and otherwise was giving her either Rachael Ray's or Beneful wet dog food & kibbles & bits dry dog food. My Vet told me I should exclusively cook for her, since it was probably much better than the dog food I mentioned. Anyway - I started to research whether I should add supplements or vitamins - the vet recommended it might be a good idea - but everyone's trying to sell something - not sure if I need it.
Anyway, here are two dishes I know she loves.
1). put a chuck roast in a crockpot w/ beef broth or water on low for about 12 hours until it pretty much comes apart (put some bay leaves & a little salt for flavor - but remove the bay leaves before serving). Note- if it's a fatty cut, remove the fat before shredding - you will see where it wants to come apart - just divide it along the fat lines & remove the fat. You can add the vegetables when the meat is soft but not falling apart - eventually, stir it with a fork to shred.)
Then be sure to add enough water / broth to make it slightly more soup than stew, and add cut up carrots, celery, and pearled barley. You may need to stir with a fork to make sure the meat gets really distributed - it will be stringy, but very soft - kind of like pulled pork looks if there were no sauce on it. Anyway - she loves this - but make sure the carrots & celery are very small - or you could even puree them before cooking. The reason for this is I found she's pretty good at eating the meat & leaving the carrots & celery behind. However... the origin of this was that we both eat it - it wasn't originally for dog food. My original recipe (for me - not her) included garlic & onions & mushrooms - but that's not good for her, so when I thought about cooking for both of us, I eliminated that stuff & a lot of the spices I would usually use.
2). This was an accidental recipe. I had some homemade chicken noodle soup (with carrots & celery) that was still good - but needed to be used. AND I had some chicken & green pepper skewers that likewise were good - but needed to be used.
I put all that in a blender & added enough water to make it pourable - but still on the thick side. Then, I cooked 3 cups of basmati rice & combined it all. She loved it - I think it would taste kind of like chicken ala king over rice. In the future, I'll have to figure out how to make the chicken part without the leftovers. If I decide on a recipe, I'll post it.
Anyway - she seems to love this stuff & while it's not cheap, neither was the Rachael ray or baneful. I figure I can keep the kibbles & bits just to give some hard crunch for her teeth & bring back in any missing nutrients that may be in the dog food that I'm missing with my home cooking.