What’s Cooking…For Gus!

So happy to see your blog.  Great information.  I was wondering what you currently feed your dog.  You’ve always been so helpful when it comes to feeding our pets and know so much about pet nutrition.  Looking forward to any feedback.  Thanks.          –Jenifer Dehrs–

In A Pinch…Cooked Ground Chicken, Squash, Zucchini, Peppers, Green Beans, Carrots & Cheese (+ Added Enzymes, Herbs & Supplements With a Side of Raw Goats Milk!)

Hey Jenifer…  Thanks for the compliments and for your question.  It’s ironic that you have asked this question, as I was just talking with a friend about it recently.  I have always been a big fan of ROTATION (NOT to be confused with mixing several foods together) when it comes to a dog’s diet.

• Rotation will provide lots of different nutrients because different meat proteins, vegetables and whole grains all have different nutrient profiles.
• Some dogs get bored with the same food all of the time, so providing a variety will keep them interested in their meals.  I don’t agree with the argument that rotation will cause a dog to become finicky…those dogs are typically finicky to begin with!
• There is a belief that dogs can develop allergies to certain ingredients (i.e. chicken, beef, etc.) if that is all that they are given over many years.
• In the event a food is recalled, discontinued or the manufacturer cannot keep up with demand and you are unable to get it, you need to have other choices of foods that your dog will accept and that won’t cause too much gastrointestinal upset.

All that said, there are certainly exceptions for rotational feeding.  For instance, I would never recommend rotation feeding for dogs with serious health issues that require specific diets or dogs that have gastrointestinal issues (IBS, IBD, Colitis, etc.).

My sweet Gus turned 12 in July of this year (still can’t believe that or even want to acknowledge it honestly!) and he is in perfect weight and gets lots of daily exercise.  I’ve been rotating Raw diet, natural dry kibble, canned and fresh cooked meat and vegetables for most of Gus’ life.  However, earlier this year I decided to remove dry kibble from his diet as I know it’s the least digestible and most processed of what I’ve been feeding him.  Basically, I wanted to modify Gus’ diet based on his age to ensure he is getting the best nutrition possible, especially since his metabolism has certainly slowed down a bit.  Not too mention, I like the idea of having total control over what I am feeding Gus and I am personally selecting each ingredient (except for any premixes) and I know where everything is sourced.  Can you say “Control Freak!”

Back in May Gus decided that he just didn’t love Raw diet anymore…that really bummed me out as that is the most nutritious and least processed food choice!  I tried several brands and several meat proteins to make sure it wasn’t something in one formulation that he didn’t like… It just didn’t matter…no more Raw.  Urgh!

NOTE:  I checked with ANSWERS Pet Food Company to see if I could cook their Detailed Raw Patties (medium done) as they are a balanced diet and I trust their sources.  Normally I wouldn’t suggest cooking Raw patties as you are defeating the purpose of feeding Raw (live enzymes and amino acids) and cooking can make the ground bones in the patties brittle and possibly splinter.  But, I know that Answers triple grinds their bones, so I figured it would be okay to cook the patties half way and Gus actually loved them partially cooked.  I got the go ahead from Answers Pet Food Company that it would be okay to partially cook their patties.  FYI…the beef patties seem to hold their form better than the chicken or pork patties.

Honest Kitchen PREFERENCE Premix + Ground Turkey + Pumpkin + Eggs

Okay…Now what to do…Hmmmmmm!  That’s when I started home cooking for Gus.  I have always said that Raw diet and home cooked diet is much better than kibble as it is fresher and much less processed, but I never had the time to cook in addition to running a busy retail store.  Fast forward to June and I have become Kelly Crocker (no pun intended!) for the pets….But, I’m still working on cooking for Jim and me!

Currently, I have been using the Honest Kitchen PREFERENCE premix as the ingredients are human grade and I just have to add the meat protein and water to get a balanced diet…No worrying about nutritional deficiencies.   Preference is a grain free foundation diet that includes:  Dehydrated sweet potatoes, organic alfalfa, cabbage, organic coconut, apples, spinach, pumpkin, bananas, celery, organic kelp, honey, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.  Check out this link for more information:  http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/preference/.   You are supposed to mix the Preference premix, cooked meat and water and let it stand for about five minutes then serve.

However, I’ve finally figured out that Gus has an aversion to sloppy, mushy, soft type meals like Raw diet or Honest Kitchen…only after months of trial and error and lots of wasted food and money…we’ve all been there… Right?!  Hence, I started tweaking the recipe and now use a little less water than is recommended; I add some pumpkin and cooked organic vegetables (from our CSA crop share); I have been rotating between beef (most expensive), chicken, turkey, fish, and eggs for the meat/protein source; and I put the mixture in casserole dishes.   I then drizzle some raw eggs over the top of the “meatloaf” and cook it for about one hour at 350 degrees.  It tastes really good and cooking it gives it a more firm texture that Gus absolutely LOVES!  I can still sneak in any supplements and herbs without any dirty looks from the spoiled Coonhound!

Gus’ Cooked Meatloaf…Good Enough To Eat…Really!

For convenience sake, I have been making a larger batch of “Gus’ Meatloaf” that will provide enough food for roughly one week.  It takes me, at most, 1.5 hours to mix all the ingredients, bake the meatloaf and cut and package the daily portions.  And, “Oh it’s so good!”  Additionally, I can still add all of Gus’ daily supplements and herbs into his food right before he gets it.  And, Raw Goats Milk, which is supppppper nutritious, is still on the daily menu as well.

One word of caution if you do decide to home cook for your pets without a premix or specific daily supplement… When using meat which can be high in phosphorus, you have to make sure to have adequate calcium included too.  If you have an imbalance of either, phosphorus or calcium, it can lead to serious health issues.  That also goes for other important vitamins and minerals like magnesium, iron and zinc or amino acids like taurine.  There are many reputable resources with canine diet recipes available.  I prefer to use recipes from one of my favorite “go to” books, Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats.

My next food project will be with home cooked treats/cookies.  Gus loves the Turkey and sweet potato cookies that his Aunt Margaret bakes…and so do I!!  I’ll be sure to blog about them soon.