Homemade dog food and nutirtion

[PeterPanAndWendy]

Pan has an allergy and the vet assumes its probably a food allergy. He recommends that we change his food to only having one protein and one carbohydrate for one month to see how he reacts and adding a new protein or carb in one month increments to see how he reacts. He also recommended staying away from grains and corn.

I plan on doing homemade meals for him from here on out but I was reading that this may lead to him not getting proper nutrition.

I was planning on making ground turkey and potatoes. But should I add in a green (maybe some green beans, carrots, or broccoli) and add in a couple of fresh duck eggs (shells and all for the calcium).

I know that bullies have the worst allergies, but the vet said the skin test would cost about $600 and may or may not tell us what is going on with him, so changing his food first may just let us figure it out without all the expense. Worth a shot right?

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bullmama]

[MENTION=4225]Twice[/MENTION] posted a great food for another member just today, I cannot link it (on my iPod) but thread is called "problem doesn't stop", if you cannot find it maybe someone can copy and paste it here or I will tomorrow. Welcome!


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

[BruceP]

Good Morning and to EBN. First of all; $600 for allergy test?... I'd shop around, it should not be that much.
The food companies, better ones anyway, utilize nutrition experts to formulate their food so that you can be assured of getting everything your bully needs to thrive. Companies such as Fromm, Earthborn, Nature's Variety, and others are small companies and are truly in it for the health of the dogs, not strictly for profit of the stockholders of the big conglomerate that owns them. For this reason you don't need to make your own. Now, having said this, not all bullies are the same and sometimes it takes several food trials before you find the right one for your bully. The key is to transition from one food to another slowly and give it a good long trial before you give it the thumbs up or thumbs down.
Doing a slow transition is so their tummy doesn't get upset from the difference in ingredients in the old and new foods. It basically is feeding 1/4 new food mixed with 3/4 old for for about a week, then mix 1/2 and 1/2 old and new for another week. Then 3/4 new food and 1/4 old food for another week before feeding 100% new food. Along the way, if your bullie starts to get loose poo you may want to back up a little on the mixture for a while longer before preceding.
Also, I had a discussion with a rep from Earthborn a few weeks ago and he said that whenever he transitions from one food to another he adds a couple tablespoons of canned pumpkin to the mix. Said he never has a soft poo issue doing it that way. Hope this helps.

 

[Twice]

Pan has an allergy and the vet assumes its probably a food allergy. He recommends that we change his food to only having one protein and one carbohydrate for one month to see how he reacts and adding a new protein or carb in one month increments to see how he reacts. He also recommended staying away from grains and corn.

I plan on doing homemade meals for him from here on out but I was reading that this may lead to him not getting proper nutrition.

I was planning on making ground turkey and potatoes. But should I add in a green (maybe some green beans, carrots, or broccoli) and add in a couple of fresh duck eggs (shells and all for the calcium).

I know that bullies have the worst allergies, but the vet said the skin test would cost about $600 and may or may not tell us what is going on with him, so changing his food first may just let us figure it out without all the expense. Worth a shot right?

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

My Abby was born with congenital kidney failure and I have been cooking for her for months. When she was first diagnosed at 3 months old she weighed less than 8 pounds. She is now a healthy, happy 27 pounds. This is my sweetie head when I first got her here.



and this is her last month chasing blueberries..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX2SuWJ272o&feature=relmfu
(she looks great doesn't she? :D... you'd never know she was sick)

As long as you follow some very simple guidelines, proper nutrition isn't ever a problem.

You don't say how old he is so here are the protein/fat requirements for all ages (protein/fat%)

Puppy: 28 /17
Adult: 18/9-15
Lactating/Senior: 28/17

Ground Turkey and Potatoes is a good start but try to limit the amount of white potato in his diet. Too much white potato can and will cause yeast buildup which can lead to ear infections and all kinds of other nasty stuff that you don't want to deal with. Use sweet potato or yams instead when you can.

You will also want to add some vegetables. String Beans, Peas, Broccoli, Red or Green Peppers, Cabbage... any veggies you have will be great. Be sure to blanch and chop them for easier digestion and try to vary them week to week so you cover all the nutritional bases. You can use the nutrition data website to help get everything balanced. Be sure to add a multivitamin to top it all off.

Adding egg shells isn't necessary and also makes the math very hard when calculating how much of what he needs. You have to maintain a proper calcium/phosphorous ratio. This is important not only for kidney dogs like mine but ALL dogs to ensure that the calcium is actually absorbed into the intestines. I can explain all of this in depth if you need, I don't want to bore you with details that you don't want lol The important thing to remember is that everything has to have a balance and again, nutritiondata will help with that.

Here's an example of c/p balance using eggs. If you put just egg shells you are giving nothing but calcium. But if you feed the whole egg (shell and all) you get the calcium from the shell and the phosphorous from the yolk. Perfect combo. If you feed just the egg white all you get is protein. Did that make sense? You can do eggs a couple of times a week without any problems but on a daily basis, you will need to keep the ratio even. Adding a multivitamin will eliminate any need for math and keep things simple

Trust me, it sounds more complicated than it is. I can help with some recipes if you like.

 

[PeterPanAndWendy]

@Twice I pulled the receipe that @desertskybulldogs mentioned:

"at 10 pounds his diet should be 28% protein, 17% fat. Chicken is low fat so you will need to add either chicken fat or unsalted butter to his rice. Try this recipe:

1/4 pound (1/2 cup) regular fat ground beef, chicken, turkey or pork
2 3/4 cups cooked brown rice
2 large eggs
1/4 cup cooked, diced carrots
2 Tablespoons Safflower Oil or any 3-6-9 oil blend
2 Tablespoons fresh diced parsley
1/2 clove minced Garlic
You can either serve this raw or bake in the over for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. If you're going to serve it raw you can mix all of the other ingredients and add the raw meat right before you feed him. You don't want to mix it all together and serve the raw meat when it's old and exposed to air for too long.

This is enough to feed a 10 pound dog twice a day for 4 days and will meet all of his nutritional needs."

Pan is 2 1/2 and weighs 56 pounds, which the vet says is perfect for his size.
We normally feed him twice a day with his dry food for a total of 3 cups with a heeping spoonful of plain yogurt in the morning.
Would you change the reciepe based on his size and age?

@BruceP we have a great vet, he's pricey, but in our area you truly get what you pay for. He's knowedgable of bullies and is actually a bully owner. I did see on the forum a posting for a doctor in the UK that does a more extensive testing and offers it for like $60. We may end up trying that. But if we need to spend the $600 to take care of his allergies then he is definitely worth every penny.
​

 

[Twice]

Pan is 2 1/2 and weighs 56 pounds, which the vet says is perfect for his size.
We normally feed him twice a day with his dry food for a total of 3 cups with a heeping spoonful of plain yogurt in the morning.
Would you change the reciepe based on his size and age?

​

at 56 pounds, I would double it for him.

 

[PeterPanAndWendy]

How much of it do you reccommend at a feeding? We normally feed twice a day.

 

[Twice]

How much of it do you reccommend at a feeding? We normally feed twice a day.

Sorry, had a baby shower yesterday and couldn't get near a computer.

I would feed about a cup and a half twice a day. A little more if he's still hungry.

 

[rleaf]

Hi All,

I am coordinating a fundraiser cookbook for several Bulldog Rescues. If you have any recipes you would be wiling to share, please send me an email at BullyRecipe at gmail dot com and I will send you some additional information, including a link where you can upload your recipes. We are looking for 3 family favorite recipes from each person that contributes to the cookbook.

We are also looking for dog friendly recipes, such as dog food, dog treats, etc. That is something that was requested in the last cookbook.

Feel free to share the request for recipes with your friends and family.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for your help.

Randy Leaf, Volunteer
So Cal Bulldog Rescue