# Is my puppy getting enough nutrition from home cooked meals?



## sun11ny14 (Sep 20, 2009)

*I made a decision to cook for my puppy after reading some horrible stuff about pet food. Especially after the huge 2007 pet food recall a lot of people as myself are cooking for their pets, but are we giving our pets enough nutrition, fat, and vitamins that are needed for a canine diet? When I visited my vet last week I ran this question by him also and he suggested this supplement called canine plus. I was told it would balance out the nutrition and vitamin needs for my 16 week old Havanese. I never fully trust what any Vets tell me and wanted to get some of you'll opinion and advice on this.What is the best vitamin for my 16 week old Havanese puppy if she's on a home cooked diet? *


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## Phoebs (May 28, 2009)

For humans and for dogs, there is no substitute in a bottle for real whole foods. A bottle of beta carotene pills will never have the complete spectrum of caratinoids that you'll find in tomatoes or carrots. To give your dog a really balanced home cooked diet would take a lot of planning and care. I think there are several threads of owners who feed raw food regimes- you have to pay attention to what they get, and how often. However, there are some very good commercial foods available. I have my dog on Orijen, which is highly rated and appears to be very biologically appropriate.
Just my two bits. Your Vet probably did not take much in the way of nutrition training in veterinary school. Lots of physicians also recommend dietary supplements for people, but time after time, they are debunked as a way to spend money for enriched urine. There are significant risks for contaminants due to side reactions as well, so they are not necessarily "benign" just because they are labeled a "supplement", and supplements are not well regulated- you may never get the same actual composition from one bottle to the next.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

I don't know anything about the vitamin that was recommended, but if you are home cooking or raw feeding home made there is an excellent book that I can't recommend enough. It's Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. Here's a link to amazon:

Amazon.com: Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (9781579549732): Richard H. Pitcairn D.V.M., Susan Hubble Pitcairn: Books

This book was recommended to me by a holistic pet store owner who makes their own dog food following Dr. Pitcairn's recipes.


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

I don't know about supplements or vitamins. But wanted to comment that I too like Dr. Pitcairn's book. I think it's a great source for holistic approach. I used his recipes for a few weeks but unfortunately, Benji had runs on this diet. As soon as I stopped it, his stool went back to normal. I now give them Natural Balance Duck and Potato kibble mixed with boiled chicken, cooked chopped potato and carrots. I feed Salmon oil once a week. They also get 2 tablespoons of natural, organic yogurt every day.

I just remembered my breeder recommeded Missing Link supplement for her puppies. Benji stopped eating any food mixed with Missing Link after he was over a year. Lizzie too stopped at some point and I stopped using it.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

There is a canine nutritionist named Sabine Contreras who will do a consult and create recipes for you that will meat all their nutritional needs. I consulted her to balance a commercial diet. And have seen tremendous results, but another friend of mine has used her for her 3 ossie's to create home prepared recipe's for them.

betterdogcare.com is her website.
to e-mail her..... [email protected]


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

There is some great advice on here and maybe if you wanted post what you are cooking and feeding and someone can point out if you are forgetting stuff. I think if you are going to do it all yourself, you do have to do a lot of homework and not just rely on one opinion or a vet. I also am always cautious about just using supplements. I think if you are missing something in the diet, then you should re-evaluate what you are feeding.

Amanda (a recent crazy raw convert!)


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Missy said:


> There is a canine nutritionist named Sabine Contreras who will do a consult and create recipes for you that will meat all their nutritional needs. I consulted her to balance a commercial diet. And have seen tremendous results, but another friend of mine has used her for her 3 ossie's to create home prepared recipe's for them.
> 
> betterdogcare.com is her website.
> to e-mail her..... [email protected]


I will second what Missy says. This is stuff for an expert , I highly recommend Sabine.


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I agree with Amanda and Phoebe. Homecooked meals for dog takes alot of work. I also feed my pups orijen puppy food and they are eating just fine. I also do not believe in supplements, as she said there is no replacement for real food. If you insist on home cooking then you have to do your homework.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

When home cooking or feeding your dog raw, it's balanced nutrition over time that counts. Consulting a nutritionist is a great idea, I know a lot of people have used Sabine and are happy with her. I am not sure if I wouldn't prefer an in person consultation.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I agree with Julia- while there are a lot of internet resources and some people on the forum have used them (I think most of them actually stick with what they were feeding). I think someone seeing your dog and getting their hands on your dog is priceless-especially with our breed that ranges in weight. And if you are in NY, I bet there are some great in person resources!


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## sun11ny14 (Sep 20, 2009)

*Right now I am trying to give her a variety of food to keep up with her nutrition needs. I give her brown rice and beef with mixed vegetables (carrots, peas and potato). I put a spoon of pure olive oil in her food everyday. She gets apple as snack and i bake and crush egg shells and put it in her food as I read in a pet food book it has a lot of calcium. I also give her eggs every Sunday. But however I am still not sure if I am giving her all the nutrition she needs. Recently I came across this product called vitachews. Its a product made by 1800petmeds & has a lot of positive feedback from people that are using it. Spoke to a pharmacist from petmeds and they said this supplement will balance the home cooked meals and full fill her nutrition needs. Here is the link to the vitachew ingredients page. I am fairly new to this breed even though I tired my best to educate myself, just wanted to know what you guys think about this product before I ordered it, thanks so much.*


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

Personally I would prefer Nupro over the vitachews, http://www.petwellbeing.com/Nupro-dietary-supplement-small-breed-p49.cfm#

Crushed eggshells are a great source of calcium but it's really hard to come across enough...unless you make cakes for a living...hence why bonemeal is a bit easier. You could also mix in some low fat cottage cheese.

If you are that concerned I would take a look on Amazon for books on dog recipes. It might help.
http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Dog-Food-Make-Easy/dp/1929242093/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256341683&sr=1-21

Recipes
http://www.holistic-hounds.com/Recipes.html


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

You could also get the base vegetable mix from The Honest Kitchen and just mix in your desired meat. You could then rotate different meats. That should give your Hav all the nutrients it needs.


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

My puppies are now 18 and 17 weeks old and are due for their rabies shot tomorrow. I have also given my puppies chicken breast, rice and mashed potatoes along with orijen puppy food. I am not too crazy about giving them canned food when I can boil the ingredients and mix it myself.


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## Jammies (Apr 4, 2009)

*I am going to schedule a consult with Sabine because of Jammies' health problems. If there is ANYTHING that she can do to prolong the life that Jammies has and make it longer and , I am all for it. I would never extend the life of Jammies for selfish reasons. I want her to remain confortable at all times. I will keep you all posted on what she advises me, which I would think would be different for everyone, depending on your dog's specific condition, including health problems.*


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