So, I thought my first post would be about people food, but here we are.
We’d like to welcome our new puppy Juno to the family. 
She’s an awful writing partner [mainly because she eats my notebooks] and she doesn’t sleep through the night, but we love her all the same. Since she arrived, we’ve turned our kitchen into a full fledged dog food factory.
Zach and I had been making our own dog food for several weeks, when we finally stopped to do the math and map the nutritional content of both homemade and dry dog food. This is obviously not the order you should follow in this process. So, if you’re contemplating making your own dog food, I’d like to share our findings with you.
Dry Dog Food vs. Homemade Dog Food
Dry Dog Food
Dry dog food has its perks: it’s good for your dog’s teeth and it’s convenient as all get out. But, you have to be careful when selecting a dry dog food. There are several ingredients you want to avoid all together. Corn and wheat top the list, but there are several additives, binders, and fillers to avoid. You can find a comprehensive list at The Dog Food Project. One of the most interesting things I found, was that most carbohydrate sources for dogs are byproducts of processed human foods and they contain little to no nutritional value.
However, there are several dry dog food brands on the market that adhere pretty close to healthy nutritional guidelines. I haven’t found a single one that passes completely, but if you find it, let me know. My dog Tia has been eating the Blue brand dog food for years and when I looked to see if it checked out, it passed.
Homemade Dog Food
The dogs obviously love it, as seen in the picture below (I had about ten seconds to get that shot). But is it better for them, cheaper for you and worth the time and effort?
When you control your dog’s diet and make homemade dog food, you need to be very careful about giving them the nutrients and variety they need. No matter what your personal beliefs are about the state our food system, you should not feed your dog a vegetarian diet. This rhetoric was something that I found all over the internet: “Your a Vegetarian and your Dog Can Too!” After a hefty amount of research, I have come to the conclusion that this is just not the case. Check out those chompers, folks. Those babies were made for meat.
On the other hand, the BARF diet, which consists mainly of raw food and bones, is supposed to be EXCELLENT for your dog. Seriously, excellent. It’s something I’ve been wanting to try for awhile, but since I was trying to do this to cut costs, there was no way I could foot the bill for two dogs eating meat everyday. That shiz is expensive.
So I searched around and basically boiled my recipe down from what dry dog food is supposed to be made out of. I found out a short time later that it was missing a few key components, so I’ll add them to this recipe:
- 1-1/2 pounds cooked minced chicken meat
- 1 cups frozen vegetable blend (no garlic or onions), minced
- 1 can of beans
- 4 cups cooked brown rice
- 4 tablespoons of fish oil
We usually cook the rice and then add everything else in. We have yet to include the fish oil, but it sounds like it’s the best way to include a lot of omega 3′s in their diets. If you add it to kibble you can stretch out the food, but this recipe fed one 25 lb dog for a little over a week.
It takes about 20-40 minutes to make, and as you can see Tia loves the stuff. I based this recipe off of one I found a long time ago that was veterinary approved. But always check with your vet before you make any decisions regarding your dog’s diet.
Cost
This is the tricky part and we’re still trying to work out the numbers. For Tia, this mix (minus fish oil) cost approximately $6-$7 per week. Her dry dog food ran about $30 per month. It’s kind of a wash when it comes to price per ounce since they need more of your homemade dog food than the concentrated dry dog food.
Verdict
Well, wouldn’t you know it, I don’t have one yet. Trying to mark the balance between thrifty and healthy for your pet is not a simple endeavor. There are so many factors involved, that this one may take some time to iron out.
I’d like to hear your thoughts, experiences and recipes and hopefully we can solve the great dog food question once and for all.
-wwffg
I adopted a dog that was raised on the raw meat/bones diet… poor thing was sick as hell and very malnourished. The lady was following the diet to a “T” and all of her dogs looked horrid. After a month of a good nourishing kibble and “people food” she could have (cooked chicken, beans, rice) she was as healthy as a horse and her shit wasn’t sticking to her fur, nor did she have explosive shits. (She’s a Pomeranian)
In my opinion that raw food diet is bogus.
Anyway… that was off the point – I don’t see anything wrong with continuing the dry food. It’s probably the cheapest & most cost effective solution. As long as it includes the ingredients that a dog needs, then you’re good.
It’s great that you have a firsthand story about the raw food diet. I’ve heard both sides of the story from people, and I think it depends on your breed. My other dog is a small fluffy furball and I wouldn’t want her to have the same reaction that your Pomeranian did. Thank you for the help!
Great story, love your Boxer!
Thanks again, Joyce! I didn’t realize you were from Mountain Air Organics. I get my puppy shampoo from you guys. My shih-tzu/ beagle has sensitive skin and the organic oatmeal shampoo works great!
Frugal Foxie here. A wash is pretty good. You didn’t say; are you buying rice in bulk? What veggies? Suggestion: sweet potato. Dogs love ‘em. They store pretty well so start watching for them on sale. Now for meat… First, you need storage: freezer probably best. Next: source. Luckily you live in redneck country, so this should be easy. Find hunters. Ask if you can have the deer leftovers which will mostly be organ meat and don’t overlook tongue and brains. Not sure what other type of game in AK… Boar? Gator? Democrats? If you’re a bird watcher and can get the rib gage
The Frugal fox here. Are you buying rice in bulk? Most dogs love sweet potatos, ‘specially my beagle, Toby. But then I suspect he’s a southern boy. Here’s my plan for cheap meat this year: I’m hitting up the local hunters for the deer parts they don’t use. Since you are in redneck country, there should be no shortage of men and rifles. And perhaps a better variety of game… Boar? Gators? Democrats? If you are a bird watcher, try to score a rib cage, hang it in a tree and your feathered friends will thank you. Time to teach you to BE a country girl. =^ ]
Are dog biscuits next? I have a recipe for a hard bisquit.
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