[nagdu] Home Made Dog Food

[Elizabeth Rene]

Hi all,

I sent the following message to the Blind Cooks list yesterday, but realize 
that maybe it was best sent to you fellow guide dog lovers.

I'd love to hear about your experiences of cooking for your dogs.

"Just thought I'd fess up to having made eight quarts of doggie stew
yesterday.

I'm running low on Canidae kibble, and can't afford the 40+ pound bag and
the taxi fare to schlep anything heavier than 15lbs home until next week, so
I'm experimenting with home cooking for Alvin.

Like most guide dog owners, I've made my share of post-tummy-upset bland
diet mix, combining white rice, cottage cheese, a little egg, and maybe some
canned tomato.  But this is the first time I've cooked up a batch of vittles
for a healthy dog.

This is what I did, with food already in the house.

I put a little olive oil in an eight-quart stock-pot, sprinkling it with
seasoning salt and garlic powder. In this I browned about 4 1/2 pounds of
lean ground beef and ground turkey, mixed.  Finding this too bland for my
taste upon sampling, I added a packet of very mild taco seasoning.  Then I
added a standard can of diced tomatoes,a large package of sliced frozen
carrots, and a smaller package of frozen, French-cut green beans.  Using the
tomato can, I added four cans of water and two cans of thoroughly rinsed
white rice.  Stirring, I brought all of this to a boil, covered it, then let
it simmer on very low heat for about 20 minutes.  Then I went to taste some,
figuring that if Alvin had to eat it, I'd better like it too.

When I turned off the heat and lifted the lid, I found all the water
absorbed, and all the ingredients incorporated.  Nothing was stuck to the
pot.  My kitchen had a nice aroma throughout.  The finished product was more
bland than I'd want human food to be, and a little more starchy than I'd
hoped, owing to the white rice, but not at all unpleasant.  If I do this
again, I'll use brown rice and vary my veggies.  Because it's not soupy, I
plan to pack this mixture into serving-size food storage bags and stack them
in the fridge and freezer.

Alvin and I went to a concert last night, following an afternoon of work
downtown, so I brought kibble along for dinner and didn't serve my creation 
until breakfast this morning.  Stews
are best served the second day, anyway, aren't they?

Alvin seemed to think so.  Heated just a little to take off the
refrigerator's chill and sprinkled with a quarter-cup of Canidae kibble for
crunch, I set Alvin's morning ration before him and got rave reviews.  A's
tail wagged merrily as he ate, and he licked up every last trace before
surrendering his bowl to be washed and filled with water for a refreshing
drink.

It's great to be appreciated!

My inspiration for this effort came from the Three Dog Bakery cookbook and
from The Good Food Cookbook for Dogs.

Do any of you cook for your canines?"

Elizabeth