General Question Opinions please!

Zoey1974

Bully's Bikes and Books!
Jun 25, 2012
404
26
Lake Milton, Ohio
Bulldog(s) Names
Zoey
This is only my second post here. I am so grateful for all the information here!! I have spent countless hours researching food for my Zoey. Her allergies were horrific. She scratched her face until it was bloody and chewed/licked her paws incessantly. She was on Science Diet when I got her. I slowly did the switch to 4 Health lamb and rice. I will be completely honest in saying that cost is a factor on food choice. She got even worse on this. I looked into Fromm and thought I would pass out at the price tag. I do know that you can't skimp on EB health so I wracked my brain for alternatives. I researched the raw diet and well I just could not bring myself to do it. In desperation, I hit my kitchen! I am now cooking her food and she loves it! She is getting meat (no chicken), an assortment of approved EB veggies, and pumpkin. Her face cleared up in just a few short days and she has yet to lick her paws today!! Her poos are normal. I was worried to death about dental health on the soft diet so her treats are now carrots. Loves them under close supervision. What do all you wonderfully knowledgeable EB lovers think? I am putting her on a MV as well so she isn't missing anything. I am at the point of even dreaming about all of this!! sheesh...I really am an OCD bully mom! Thanks for any insight!!
 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
14,802
1,155
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Jake
I say :bravo: to you..unfortunately I'm not very knowlegable about cooking for dogs....but I know we have members here who do. I'm sure they'll pipe in!

@Sherry....@savemejeebus......[MENTION=4225]Twice[/MENTION]
 
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cali~jenn

..........
Mar 28, 2010
0
419
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Cutty, Miila and Mugsy the pug :)
Sound like you r doing a great job! I also don't know about home cooking but you sound like you have figured out a lot. Kudos to you! Fromm is expensive, i agree but if you r thinking of maybe using it as a filler with your home cooking it would sure last much longer. Just a thought. Welcome by the way. ;)

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 

RiiSi

Well-known member
Community Veteran
Sep 30, 2011
5,014
535
Sysmä
Country
Finland
Bulldog(s) Names
Taisto, Kylli, Salli, Angel-Usko and Angel-Voitto
Results speak for them selves, don't they??? Google dogaware, there's tons of good information about feeding home cooked dog food. Welcome!
 

mcraven2

Bonnaroo bound in my bulldog batmobile
Community Veteran
Jan 16, 2012
1,503
80
Boston MA
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Giovanni, Princess, and Diva (Frenchie)
Sounds like you're doing a great job! I agree about maybe adding half Fromm. We're not allowed to post links to other sites but google mr.chewy, it's a great website that sells treats and food for dogs. It's much cheaper then the price amazon sells it for!
 

bullmama

Owner/Administrator
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jan 28, 2010
24,756
1,251
Tucson, Arizona
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
The Home of the Desert Sky Pack
Yes I just started cooking in the past few months as well. I still give kibble too but Tidus did 'ring around the eye', the orangy color stuff I could not get rid of it. He had it for over a year. Never any other 'allergy' symptoms, and I tried EVERYTHING. He does not itch, has had 1 hot spot, no paw licking.... so the rings were more of a disturbance to me and not him. However, he did seem to have some colitis on occassion as well.

He still has a bit of rings but not the orange rust color, he is even shedding about 50% of what he was. No more squirty poo on occasion either. I only give him kibble if I have not made his pot of food. :) I did notice one thing, he improved a lot more when I reduced the amount of pasta/rice he was getting. Now I put 1/4 cup of dry rice or pasta in 2lbs of hamburger, instead of like 1 cup I was giving before.

Everyone gets it a few times a week as well, and if I keep seeing such wonderful results we may just go that route altogether eventually! Right now we are in 'beta' stages!

My MIL and niece are here visiting and I was making a pot of food. She came in and said, "Mmmmmmmm that looks delicious! What are we having?" I told her it was for the dogs, and she laughed. Then she looked at me and knew I was not kidding and was like "You are joking right?!"

Oh, and don't tell Chip I told you, but he always comes and eats about 10 big bites of it.... :secret:

Now I had seriously thought about doing raw for him, but with 6 bullies and 4 kids, homeschool, EBN, ect. I just did not think it was for me at this moment in time. So this was the 'next best thing', and I have room in my refrigerator, my freezer.... not so much!

Here he is, looking the best he has in two years! But he still has some tear staining to rid of, but his white fur is glowing! And the food cooking on the stove, and a bowl cooling down after cooked.

IMG_5803.jpgIMG_5846.jpgIMG_5848.jpg

Here is Tidus BEFORE the home cooking:
IMG_8911.jpg
 
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OP
Zoey1974

Zoey1974

Bully's Bikes and Books!
Jun 25, 2012
404
26
Lake Milton, Ohio
Bulldog(s) Names
Zoey
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Titus looks wonderful! And of course I had to taste some myself. The kids did too! It was quite good. I omit the grains/pasta completely for now just in case that was a trigger for her. Hubby says it took HIM getting an EB to get me in the kitchen. Sheesh...men :laugh:
 

Sherry

New member
Jan 15, 2011
5,183
477
Denver PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Jack , Dolly, Grizz, Peggy Sue, and Scrimps
Titus looks wonderful! And of course I had to taste some myself. The kids did too! It was quite good. I omit the grains/pasta completely for now just in case that was a trigger for her. Hubby says it took HIM getting an EB to get me in the kitchen. Sheesh...men :laugh:


Why oh why do we listen to those gosh darn fella's? Jeesh. Good job on the home cooking, my recipe is 50% ground cooked beef, 25% cooked cooled oatmeal, 25% fresh veggies and fruit raw. Then I mix it with the kibble about 1/2 and 1/2 they love it and to top it off I add a table spoon of plain yogurt and a table spoon of raw plain pumpkin with liquid glucosemine on top , almost looks like a Sundae to them.

Lisa, very nice indeed. :2thumbs:
 

cowsmom

..........
Apr 27, 2011
6,996
384
Virginia
Country
usa
Bulldog(s) Names
Sarah aka cow
i dont home cook but kudos for you. i sometimes think maybe its the other things in kibble that affect our bullies. like preservatives and oils and such. [MENTION=3991]Saalwi[/MENTION] is doing a blog of home cooking its in the blog section. sophie n schultz home cooking 101 i think its called. and [MENTION=4225]Twice[/MENTION] has lots of home recipes. i think we have a section here of home recipes for english bulldogs you can look at. good luck and good for you :peace2:
 

Twice

My Bully Gave Me Wings
Feb 3, 2012
2,686
311
Woodbridge Township, NJ
Bulldog(s) Names
Abby (my Sweetie Head 10.24.11-11.23.12) and Otis
First off... welcome to EBN!!! Second post of many I hope :2thumbs:

Good for you!! Home cooking has literally saved my girls life. I have a ton of recipes that were given to me by a certified nutritionist, modified by me then approved by 2 nutritionists and Abby's entire team of doctors. I love knowing that they are eating 100% human grade food and I know and understand every single ingredient in the bowl. I also love that I can tailor each meal based on Abby's latest test results. You can't do that by opening a bag or a can! :)

All of my babies eat home cooked meals now and they couldn't be healthier. :cooking: I made a chili the other night that we ALL ate. My son loved it as much as my dogs.
 
OP
Zoey1974

Zoey1974

Bully's Bikes and Books!
Jun 25, 2012
404
26
Lake Milton, Ohio
Bulldog(s) Names
Zoey
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
Thank you Twice. I think I can finally rest easy knowing I am doing the right thing. I think Zoey is sick to death of me fretting and fussing over her. I made up a batch to last 2 weeks the other day. Do you think that is too long to feed the same thing? Should I do something different each day or just switch every few weeks? I am adding some yogurt or cottage cheese each day to mix it up. And she loves bananas and apples for dessert. I am feeding 1 cup 3 times a day, but she acts like she is starving?!? Do you think that is because she loves it so much or is really hungry? She has put on a few pounds since I got her. I can't thank you all enough for your help and support!
 

cowsmom

..........
Apr 27, 2011
6,996
384
Virginia
Country
usa
Bulldog(s) Names
Sarah aka cow
[MENTION=5228]Zoey1974[/MENTION] i was wondering how it was going and if you want to ask twice a question then you can just tag her like this @Twice and it will be underlined and she will be notified and can come here and answer your question. :)
 

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