[nagdu] Home Made Dog Food

[Tracy Carcione]

I'd leave out all the seasonings, especially the salt.
I read somewhere that dogs can't eat members of the onion family, and that
includes garlic, but on the other hand I've seen dog treats featuring
garlic, so I'm confused on that one.

There are a number of books about homemade dogfood on Bookshare, and some
at NLS, which you seem to know about.

I tried feeding Echo a raw diet for a while, but she could not adapt to
it.  But I have friends who feed raw and have been very successful with
it.
I thought about the cooked dogfood alternatives, but the truth is that,
after a hard day's work, I can't always bring myself to cook for the
humans, and I sometimes wish we had a simple bowl of kibble for ourselves.
It could also be a bit of a hassle while travelling. (Although, in my wild
college days, I sometimes failed to pack extra dogfood and fed Glade a
plain hamburger, which she thought was EXCELLENT!)
Tracy

> 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
>
>
>
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