Homemade Pet Food

marlee,
I have the same concern about the high cost of pet food. We feed our dogs a very expensive brand that doesn't contain any of the grains that commonly cause allergies such as corn and wheat.
In order to stretch their food I add in large amounts of the nutritious things we eat, such as eggs and cooked vegies that we have in abundance from our chickens and garden.
Of course. there will be people who object and say that we shouldn't deviate from the 'scientifically formulated foods" that have been sprayed with the appropriate vitamins for a healthy dog. BAH!
There are web sites that tell you how to prepare balanced food if you are worried about them not getting what they need.
As for cats, whenever I try to get them to eat anything but the dry food they're used to, they throw it up or just refuse to eat it.

 

Dean,
At first thought it would seem like a good diet to give dogs only meat, because in the wild dogs eat animals they have hunted.
Actually, if you observe dogs in the wild you will see that when they kill their prey, they tear into the gut and first consume the nutrient rich organs and the intestines. Keep in mind that the intestines contain the partially digested grasses, seeds and leaves that the prey recently ate. the rest of the carcass is usually left for scavangers to finish off.
Considering this, we can see that vegetables and nutrient dense proteins play an important part in their diet.
I don't know if your friend feeds their dogs the meat raw or cooked. I would be careful giving cheap meats to them uncooked because of the risk of parasites and other things. grass fed organic meat would be great, but who could afford that?
There are instructions online about feeding your pets a raw diet. It would be a great diet except for the cost and prep time.
There is one other thing I do to supplement my dogs diet. I hesitated to share this because I feared the response I might get. Whenever I have chicken or turkey bones left over I simmer them with vegis for three days. By then many of the minerals from the bones and cartillage have leached out into the broth that I use for a very nutritious soup. The leftover bones have softened up so that you can crush them with your fingers. I feed them to my dog along with the meat scraps and vegis from the pot. they also get the organs raw from the chickens when I butcher them.
Marlee, this only saves me money because I have a garden and chickens. Your situation may be different. Do the best you can. Hopefully others will share ways they save money. I'd love to find more ways to save.

 

All meat dog diet

Hi! I am one of those folks who feeds their dog an all meat diet. The research that I did seemed to indicate that the wild dogs seemed to roll in the food in their prey's stomach more that actually eat it - not that I have ever witnessed the event! Anyway, my dog is healthy and very happy about his diet. He eats all raw and only small bones (no beef joint, etc.). I buy whole chickens when they are on sale (usually $.67/lb) and freeze them. He gets the bonus of the organs with the whole bird. He also eats pork ribs for dinner (often a better meal than I feed my husband ) or any other meat with bones that I can find on sale (they are supposed to have a large amount of their food be bone). He eats the entire chicken piece or rib, bone and all. We never give him cooked bones (although I am sure turkey bones simmered for a long time like rainbowgardens did would probably melt in their mouths and I would not hesitate to give him those). Bonus - the raw bones keep his teeth clean.

 

We have two small dogs. I brown a pound of meat and mix it with four cans of vegetables. I also add a little salt. I do not skim the fat. When I serve the food I mix in a raw egg and a very small amount of cod liver oil.

We cook for them twice a week.

My dogs fur is very shiny, and they do not have tear streaks running down their face like so many dogs on grain diets. They are trim and well muscled and appear to be healthy in every respect.

I don't know if we are saving money, but our dogs are eating real food.

 

I'll probably catch some flack for this...

My dogs get dog food and whatever they hunt. I have two Cairn terriers who are excellent vermin killers. I encourage them to hunt (they are bred for it) and they eat what they kill. They are healthy, happy and my vet says as long as they are dewormed regularly, they should stay that way. They get their shots so I don't worry about rabies or distemper.

Cats are nice, but my dogs are better ratters!

 

Two words.
Corn mush,my cats love it and it makes them hunt.
I haven't seen a rat or mouse in ages.

 

Leftovers..

Hi, I'm new here. I guess I think dogs/cats ought to do pretty good on leftovers. My Gramma's who lived through the depression used to be totally shocked that my folks bought dog food. "What? Money to feed Dogs?"

Anyhow, anything that isn't eaten can be made into a stew and fed to a dog or cat--assuming your own plate has a reasonably good diet--that ought to suffice.

My in-laws dog died a few years ago they think from that tainted dog food--from China possibly. It was pricey stuff too. Who says that stuff is healthier?

Of course--if I have a coupon and there's a sale and the dog food is actually free--I'll use some of that too.

 

Google BARF. Bones And Raw Food. Many people put their dogs on a BARF diet and swear by it.

You might get more info by going to a breed specific forum, like boxerworld.com .

 

you can save money on dog food by getting a smaller dog jk

I think my rats (chihuahuas) eat healthier than I do most of the time

we boil up chicken leg quarters until the bones are soft enough to crush between your fingers, debone them & then freeze them for later consumption (by them & in soup)

the black lab eats dry food primarily, but he hunts gophers & rabbits as well as digging up warrens

they all of course are the most spoiled of animals & get to have table scraps & lick the plates clean

the cat turns her nose up & everything except meow mix, canned tuna... & mice (no, I DON'T buy mice to feed her )

 

We also have two small dogs. How much do you feed them in a day? What type of veggies do you use?

 

To me, it sounds like a good idea to add vegetables to the dog food which is sprayed with vitamins needs for a healthy dog like rainbowgardens mentioned.