Cooking For Your Dog

I decided to add this section on the website because, like for myself I like to know what my dogs are truly eating. When I go grocery shopping I always check the labels and I buy raw ingredients or worst case the very least processed food. Pet food in general is highly processed, contains a lot of fillers and the meat origin doesn’t have to be provided.

If you read Animal By-Product meal that includes: Rendered tissues or animals, not including added hair, hooves, horns, hide trimmings, manure, stomachs, and rumen contents except as unavoidable in processing. Not that great in my opinion…
I am not saying you shouldn’t buy kibbles for your dog and I know quite a few dogs who thrived with kibbles all their lives. I am, also, not pretending that my dogs will necessarily live longer with my food vs processed one but at least they do better. Leo and Chester kept getting itchy paws with kibbles (we had to buy some during the pandemic as it was hard to find leg quarters or whole chicken) and their coats weren’t as soft as they are compared to prepped meals.
Plus I think as a dog owner we always try to provide the best we can afford for them.

So I started to read extensively on what are the dogs daily requirements and because I now cook for them they get bloodwork once a year to make sure they are not lacking anything. All the products I use are human grade.

As I said, I read extensively and I discovered that a dog Calcium:Phosphorus (Ca:P) intake ratio should be 1.1:1 up to 2:1 but NEVER below 1:1. Article from National Institute of Health (NIH) (.gov)
By grinding the bones and the marrow all together with the meat they get that good Ca:P ratio. This is why the recipes where whole chicken or quarters legs are involved you MUST have a very good blender because you will grind the bones.

We never had any issue with the Vitamix 5200 (though we’ve been through 2 Ninja blender within 6 months…) also because I will soon have to meal prep 28 meals per week we upgraded Vitamix 5201 XL.

Each recipe will take you (with a little bit of practice) about 1 hour from gathering the ingredients to closing the last container. (it doesn’t include the cooking time as you can do something else meanwhile)
These ingredients and recipes are the best bang for your buck, taking in consideration the quality of it (even with a purchase of a new blender). Additionally you will know exactly what your dog is eating. 

 

Nutritional information

To know what are your dog daily requirements check this link. Dog calories calculator

In each of the following I add either Turmeric, Ginger, Brewer’s Yeast and Salmon oil as a supplement based on their individual weight. Not all of them at once, though they always have the Salmon oil (about 80 calories as they get about 1 TBSP). Don’t forget to take this in consideration.

Also, we usually have 3 days ration in a fridge and the rest in the freezer. Every day when we open a new one we thaw one from the freezer.

Disclaimer: I am not a dog nutritionist but I feed them these recipes and once a year each dog gets bloodwork to make sure they don’t lack any nutrients and everything is fine. I did that for the first 3 years I started cooking for them because sometimes, by thinking we’re providing something good we can actually create some harm.

Chicken, Cabbage and Sweet Potatoes

One of the recipe I use the most. This will bring a lot of good minerals and vitamins to your dog.

Recipe here

Basic Canine Three-Part Combo Recipe

I use this recipe when I am in a pinch and I don't have time to cook the whole chicken. It's well balanced and backed by a DVM

Recipe Here

Chicken Leg Quarters With Broccoli And Carrots

This recipe is a little bit more budget friendly as it requires solely chicken leg quarters. My dogs were fed that one for a long time.

Recipe Here

Anti Flea Treats

Quick and easy recipe which will provide really cheap and healthy cookies to your pooch. Plus they help to repel fleas.

Recipe Here