# First attempt at home-cooked



## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

So I am no longer working (this was planned, mostly because grooming full time was starting to take its toll on my joints) and noticed that Hanna was getting low on her Blue Buffalo. I had been reading about commercial dog food and home cooking. The more I looked at it, the less comfortable i was with commercial dog food and the more I thought, hey, I could do that.

I've gone through different phases with Hanna's eating, as she's a picky eater, from adding warm water, to bits of our dinner, to different wet food and finally the starvation method. Throughout the last couple of months she has gotten some tartar buildup AND lost weight. So finally I told the husband no more treats. I totally cut out all treats and only offered the dry kibble. Shockingly it only took a couple of days for her to reliably eat breakfast and dinner, though she still picks out some of the kibble and makes a mess on the floor. Oh and I also tried the fresh refrigerated food, I think it was called Fresh Pets. Well she loved it but at the end of the roll she got horrible diarrhea, so I'm not sure if it was linked to that but I did give it to her within the 7 days. 

So here's what I made. This was very much "winging it" and just using what I had on hand. I am still planning on feeding the BB, probably in the a.m. and then the home cooked at night, if she digests it well. Measurements are approximate.

1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 egg
1/2 cup mashed peas and carrots
1 mozzarella stick (only source of calcium I had that I could give her)
Drizzle of olive oil
Chicken cube
Parsley

If I actually planned it better I could have used slightly better ingredients and find out the right ratios of protein, carbs, calcium, phosphorus and fat, but considering, I think I got the basics. I would have to run it by her vet and also use supplements to make sure vitamins and minerals are covered. I gave her enough so that i thought she would leave a few scraps but she licked the bowk clean. I'll see how it comes out the other end.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I really wouldn't recommend doing this on your own. Much more complicated than that/. I would recommend spending a few bucks and consulting with Sabine.


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## jemmax (Jan 3, 2012)

I started Max on a home cooked diet because of some liver enzyme issues that he had that were extremely elevated. Sabine helped enormously and I now make his weekly meal which he can't wait to eat. He now gets so excited when I make his food it is such a difference to before where he would go days without wanting to touch his dry kibble.

If I had not used Sabine there is no way I would have known what was most suitable for him at this stage with his alk phosphate levels being so through the roof - we are still higher than normal but since being on the home cooked diet the levels have gone down 400 pts which is amazing.

His diet right now consists of halibut, mash potato, sweet potato, zucchini, green beans, plain yoghurt and coconut oil....all mixed together and his face lights up when he knows it is meal prep time  

Sabine also said that once his liver levels stabilize then we can work on some other weekly meal options so he has some variety....

Definitely think it is worth the time in our case and am happy with the fact that he now looks forward to eating and it isn't so difficult to convince him to eat.


jemma


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

davetgabby said:


> I really wouldn't recommend doing this on your own. Much more complicated than that/. I would recommend spending a few bucks and consulting with Sabine.


Knew you'd say that Dave - but don't you worry, I'm not doing a complete switch, just one experimental meal. If I wanted to go completely or even partly home cooking, I would consult a professional. But I did spent a bit of time looking at recipes and trying to achieve a somewhat balanced meal on the fly. Better than feeding only raw meat IMO.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

atsilvers27 said:


> Knew you'd say that Dave - but don't you worry, I'm not doing a complete switch, just one experimental meal. If I wanted to go completely or even partly home cooking, I would consult a professional. But I did spent a bit of time looking at recipes and trying to achieve a somewhat balanced meal on the fly. Better than feeding only raw meat IMO.


10/4 Maybe you'll get hooked. lol


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Jemma , you're a good example of doing it right, especially if your dog has issues. Right on.


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## Cubby (Apr 4, 2010)

davetgabby said:


> I really wouldn't recommend doing this on your own. Much more complicated than that/. I would recommend spending a few bucks and consulting with Sabine.


Hi Dave

Just wondering if you received the PM I sent you? Apparently no one is getting them so I must be doing something wrong :/

In any case, I was wondering if you could give me Sabine's contact info? Ive been reading some great things about her. I am thinking about cooking a bit for the pups but would like to learn how to do it properly. I think a professional consult would help tremendously.

Thanks
LeeAnn


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Cubby said:


> Hi Dave
> 
> Just wondering if you received the PM I sent you? Apparently no one is getting them so I must be doing something wrong :/
> 
> ...


No Lee Ann didn' t get your pm. Sure, here is her email [email protected] give her an email she was answering me just three minutes ago so you may still catch her , she works in Los Angeles so might stiil be there.


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## Cubby (Apr 4, 2010)

davetgabby said:


> No Lee Ann didn' t get your pm. Sure, here is her email [email protected] give her an email she was answering me just three minutes ago so you may still catch her , she works in Los Angeles so might stiil be there.


Thank you so much I appreciate it.

I have no idea why my PMs are not being received. Have you ever had that problem?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Jemma , I mentioned your nice comments about Sabine to her when I was chatting with her , and she thanked you. She also mentioned about what she wrote on her facebook yesterday . Here's what she posted there ...

This is what I posted on my Facebook page yesterday:


This is why I love my job so much! Sent this morning by a client whose dog was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis in December and has been on a custom diet since mid January:
"Just got off the phone with the vet. Are you sitting down? The vet was SHOCKED at the improvement.
Vet was only hoping for a 25-50% reduction in UP/C. But it went from 7.7 to 1.3. Can you believe it? BUN went from 25 to 8. Creatinine from 1.4 to 1.2" 

yep the vets in California send people to Sabine all the time. Most of them know squat about nutrition. And the ones that acknowledge it are the ones that use her.


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## yatesja (Feb 12, 2013)

I am very very interested in the fresh food diet for my new hav I will consult my vet, Sabine, and read up on this. It is a known fact that fresh vitamins minerals protiens etc are better absorbed than dried or canned, i think you just have to have professional guidance to get the right balance, and use supplements. Definitely something worth learning about!


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