Many people are accustomed to feeding their dogs a dry dog food kibble. Changing to a completely different way of feeding your dog can give you some immediate concerns. As alway there are critics of homemade dog foods. I have personally found that the vast majority of critics have never fed a homemade diet. It is merely preference and opinion not based on any personal experience.
A couple top concerns about feeding a raw dog food are:
You can click the previous links to better inform yourself on the topics. Many of the critics use scare tactics, myths and downright lies. Don’t be fooled.
Hi, we have Bernese Mountain Dog who is 7 months named Floyd- we are so in love with this dog. We have had many other large dogs- but this Floyd he has melted our heart.
Lately he stopped eating for no reason.
Went to vet- $360.00 later, blood tests, anti nausia meds etc.
Well thank goodness he is healthy and it is just gastro something.
We have realized that our Floydy is just a picky eater.
I am going to try your simple recipe first and being a chef- I think I’ll move forward with the more complex recipes.
I am just wondering what the differences or advantages of using cooked dog food over raw before I start and can you mix them up with your dog?
Thanks…. amazing web site a nd really like the video.
Carole and Floyd
Carole,
In my opinion it is always best to feed raw meat vs cooked meat. That said, many people would rather die than feed their dog raw meat. So then cook the meat. A homemade dog food recipe will still be far better than a commercial kibble.
1 month later.
Floyd is eating wonderfully! I am so happy I switched to a raw diet for him.
Can you re elaborate on amounts for dog.
He is 85 pounds.
I have been giving him for dinner
1 cup raw meat for dinner mixed with 1/2 cup veggie/hard boiled egg mixture
breakfast is: 1 cup oatmeal with a drizzle of honey and yogurt.
Snacks: cold raw bones about 2 a day
Carole,
My best guess is he would eat about 2 to 3 cups per day. If he starts to gain weight cut back. If he starts to lose weight and this is not desired increase the daily portion. I think I would eliminate the honey because the added sugar could lead to a yeast infection.
we just got some baby chicks i put their poop in our garden and my lab has been nibleing at it is it o.k.? can’t seem to find anyone who knows
Carol,
He will be fine.
I have a beautiful white lab that I have started feeding raw food to due to many problems with skin allergies. He is only a year old and since I’m new at this I want to make sure that I don’t do anything to hurt him. Can you guide me on the right path of raw feeding? Is chicken OK to feed a dog with allergies because I heard that chicken could make things worse?
Lili Lopez
Lili,
Try feeding the easy raw dog food recipe it has everything your dog needs. I will be posting a chicken version in the future.
Hi there!
I have been feeding my dogs your raw dog food recipe w/ the Lick-o-Chops and the supplements for a few weeks now. They love it more when it the meat is fresh, but it seems that they are growing less interested in it as we go along and I suspect because the meat is cold, but I don’t want to heat it since I add the lick-o-chops before freezing. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
May
May,
Personally I’ve found dogs like food more as it “turns” or ages and gets smelly. This is why they can’t resist garbage. You could be noticing them being satisfied or “nutritionally full” for the first time in their lives. I would not sweat it.
I have 3 dogs and a cat, I am thinking about going to an all natural diet for them. I have a problem and this is why i am thinking about going to an all natural diet for them, My lab does not gain any weight if he eats anything other than puppy food and my chihuahua refuses to eat anything but puppy food and has started to drop weight also. I want to know if this diet will help them maintain a healthy weight. I have taken my lab to the vet and the vet says he is healthy but it still concerns me cause you can see his ribs i mean not detailed but you can see the outline i really want him to look healthy i don’t want people to think i neglect my animals. If you have any advice i would greatly appreciate it and if you could send me a list of recipes to get started with that would be great.
Theresa
Theresa,
Try feeding your dogs the easy cooked dog food recipe or the chicken and rice dog food recipe both are highly nutritious and your dogs will love them.
I’m thinking of switching my dog to the raw diet but I have a question on what you do when you make big batches of it. Is it ok to freeze or does that kill off anything good in the meat/egg/rice mixture. I understand you can add the supplements right before feeding but the raw ingredients is what I’m not sure of.
Marc,
I make large batches and mix the supplements in then freeze with good results.
I have a 8 years old Chihuahua i rescue him 1 year ago but he have been eating Alpo ( i don´t like it ). He has really bad breath, is poop is really dark and very hard , gas problems . He is very pick on food i usually feed him Alpo food and cooked ground beef and mix together . I am thinking to change for homemade food but i don´t know when i cook your recipes how much is the portions of the supplements who advise to put in . Can you help me out about this thanks i appreciated.
Hella,
Since you have a Chihuahua he is small so just order the Dinovite for small dogs and feed a scoop per day. The Supromega or Lickochops serving size is 1 teaspoon per cup of food per day.
Hi, I was wondering about adding beans to this? Meat is expensive and I thought that could cut some cost.
TRy using chicken, I pay 68 cents per pound.
Hi
i have four dogs, a black 7 year old lab, a 8 year old yorkie, and a two mixed breed small dogs approx 2 years old each. my yorkie has a skin issue and we have to get shots for her every two weeks. i would like to change her diet to your home made recipes, your yeast starvation one, would it be okay for the other three dogs also?
Aly,
Yes it is fine to feed all your dogs the yeast starvation dog food recipe.
Hi Ed.
I am so happy to have found your website. I have a 2-1/2 yr old German Shepherd named Ziva. She has been on a raw food diet since we got her at 8 wks old. I fed her a total raw food diet until she was about 9 mths old. I found in my research that I wasn’t giving her the right balance of nutrients. So because I thought it would be too costly I backed off and have since been feeding her raw and Blue Buffalo kibble. I chose BB because of the “cold-pressed” nutrition bits. I have recently been doing some research…again. I am thinking that I have fallen for a lie by the dog food industry. Not sure but I don’t like the consistency of her stools and how it changes so much. But after reading some of the posts on your site, I realize it may be due to the raw & dry food mixture. Can you give me your thoughts on that?
I have decided to go back to the total raw food diet….thanks to your recipes. I am very excited about it. Do you think I need to do the 24hr fast with Ziva? We give her a raw chicken leg with 1-1/2 cups of BB every morning for breakfast and 1/3 lb of ground turkey or beef with 2 cups of BB for dinner. Thx.
Dawn,
I have found mixing kibble and raw dog food tends to lead to digestive upset. Since you are already feeding raw the fast may not be necessary but I would do it anyway. Dogs are fasters and gorgers by design so it is good for your dog’s health to fast occasionally anyway. It is good to hear you are switching back to feeding raw!
Hi – What about dogs eating chicken bones? I always heard itʻs bad for them (splintering) but Iʻve always given mine cooked ones, especially from soups where the bones are softened (the bigger bones, i donʻt give them the little brittle ones).
Dogs are designed to eat raw bones, that’s why they have pointed molars that crush bone. You can grind them up for small dogs or cook them super well until they fall apart.