New to Home cooking

[MoandPinky]

Hi, I am new to this site and was hoping to get some help with home cooking. I have a 3 year old female bulldog, Mo who had a litter of 6 angels 3 months ago. I have kept another female - Pinky who seems to be having some stomach troubles.

Mo was my first bulldog and simply fell in love although I have found it a tough learning curve as traditionally i have simply had mongrels from shelters etc. Moey has had a few skin problems and we have switched between store bought food and a little cooking here and there but mostly store bought. I am an Australian living in India so finding the correct foods can often be difficult. She was on Canobits for the first 18 months and then due to skin problems I tried her on- Into the Wild which was grain free and it didnt seem to help but I had to take her off it when she became pregnant as the vet advised that it has been known to get bacteria as it doesnt have so many preservative etc. So while she was pregnant she has been on Hills Science Plan puppy biscuits with suppliments of multivitamin and calcium as advised by the vet. All 6 puppies were healthy and fed from Moey for 3 - 4 weeks and then I added puppy milk formula and then eventually onto Science Plan puppy biscuits mushed up. All the while Moey was still feeding them from time to time with her milk. Even today at 12 weeks Moey is still producing a little milk which Pinky enjoys in the morning.

Pinky was not at all the runt, in fact she was one of the largest. When she was about 5 weeks she started having stomach troubles - vomiting and diarrhea. None of the other pups had the same problem...it only lasted a few days and the vet gave some antispasmodics and stuff to stop the diarrhea, never any antibiotics. This happened 2 - 3 times and it was only ever her. As she has grown she has started to look a lot thinner and quite tall...her shape seems odd for a bulldog...she eats happily but doesn't seem to be having much muscle on her. The last few days she has been vomiting her food sometimes many hours after eating and it looks exactly as it went in...its as if her body is not digesting and adsorbing the food. last night was particulalry bad as she was very restless and vomited several times. I recall Moey also used to do this often when she was younger...she even does it sometimes now. Pinky also always seems to have the hiccups - I am not sure if this has something to do with it.

Pinky also seems to be getting raised lumps under her fur - only a few but this is the same problem Moey has always had...then the fur falls off in this area and it becomes dry. We have tried shampoos, oils all sorts although it seems to come and go as it pleases. So i think I have come to the conclusion that it is likely to have something to do with diet...Pinky appeared to have similar sensitives to her Mother and thats why I kept her - as I was concerned a new owner would not give her the care she needed.

Anyway - that was an essay but what I am really asking is - where do I start with home cooking? what is the basic dietary requirement? Are there any no-no's I should be aware of? I have started my research today and from what I can see a basic protein such as chicken plus vegetables such as sweet potato, carrot and maybe some rice?

Thanking you all very much in advance...

 

[Casper]

to EBN, so glad you found us here, let me tag a few members that may be of help to you…… So wonderful to see you here, and looking foreword to Pictures of your babies…. and following your future threads…….
[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION], [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION], [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION], [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION]

 

[Davidh]

Well I do not raw feed so I am of no help. Someone will be along shortly that can help. Sorry you are having this problem with your baby and hope she gets better soon. But in breeding health problems can be passed down to the pups.

 

[Sherry]

to the site , so glad you found us. when I fed home cooked I use a ratio of 50% meat, 25% veggies and 25% carb. I can imagine finding a good dog food in India might be a task. Have you tried a spoon full of yogurt on 1 meal a day. this may help with the skin issues. as will some salmon oil or coconut oil. I'm concerned with the vomiting . if she isn't getting her nourishment her health can fail immensely. please keep us posted as to how she progresses [MENTION=9212]MoandPinky[/MENTION]

 

[MoandPinky]

Wow - thank you all so much for your kindness and prompt responses. Both Mo and Pinky have Salmon Oil with their food and just last week I have started with a small amount of yoghurt. The little one slept through the night and kept her food down which was simply a little bit of cooked egg and yoghurt. I am also starting to give her a natural product that is used here for new borns and infants who suffer from colic, gas and digestion problems. Its by a company called Himalaya - Bonnisan Syrup - my vet suggested and I think it helped her greatly yesterday as I said she kept all her food and no hiccuping. I cooked up a skinless whole chicken along with sweet potato, carrot, peas, pumpkin, spinach and a small amount of brown rice. I then stripped the chicken too make sure no bones were left - both Moey and Pinky loved it...thanks so much guys..will keep at it and let you know how it goes.

 

[gracoliv]

I have found this basic rule of thumb (for most dogs) recommended from from a holistic vet (Dr Autumn):
1/3 cooked or raw meat (salmon must be cooked)
1/3 cooked or raw green vegetables
1/3 cooked whole grain (optional)
Avoid : Onions, high fats, grapes

Supplement "Dr Pitcairns 'healthy powder", Mix the following :
2 cups nutritional yeast
1 cup lecithin granules
1/4 cup kelp powder
1/4 bone meal powder (food grade)
1 gram vitamin C powder.

small dog (1-2 tsp/day), med dog (2-3 tsp/day), large dog (1-2 tbsp/day)

I have not tried this yet, I too am just starting looking into home cooking.

 

[kazzy220]

I have had amazing results with the same formula that [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION] mentioned

I cook up 50% meat and drain off all the fat .......and then add 25% frozen veggies (usually a cauliflower/broccoli/carrot mix). Whilst that is all cooking through I will cook either 25% brown rice or pasta and once that's done I stir it in to the meat and veggie mix.

Sometimes for the veggies I've added kidney beans, black beans, chopped apple, fresh chopped spinach, frozen blueberries.