Have you thought about
Cooking?
That's right. I said cooking. For my boxers. Why not? If you read the previous page on kibbles, then you know that most kibbles on the market are garbage. Boxers have a short life span for a medium to large dog anyway. Many dying between ages 6 to 10.
Why? Well....boxers are prone to a number of physical ailments. Boxer Cardiomyopathy takes many. This is a genetic problem that reputable breeders are trying to stamp out by having their breeding stock screened for heart problems prior to using them in their breeding program.
Secondly, the big C word. Cancer is prevalent in boxers. In fact I heard one vet describe them as walking cancer factories. Not exactly the thing you want to hear in regards to your chosen breed, let alone your beloved companion. I have been lucky to date in that none of my personal boxers have had cancer. Knock on wood.
Those are the two largest problems that the breed has, though some have had trouble with seizures, and other problems common to braciocephelic dogs.
My feeling is that since I have a dog that could be prone to cancer, why on earth would I feed her something that could cause cancer? If you remember, most commercial foods use ingredients that would not pass inspection for human consumption. They use the 4D meats. I don't want to be feeding my pup a food that has meat from a diseased or dying animal in it. Some of the preservatives that are used in many commercial foods have also been shown to cause cancer. Its not worth it to me to take that risk.
So. Back to home cooking. Yes it takes more time and effort than opening up a bag of food and pouring it in the dish. But it isn't that difficult. I got started home cooking by listening others on the Boxer Mailing list , which is a community of boxer lovers who exchange stories and experiences, as well as giving advice on our favorite subject. One of the members of that list has a wonderful website with recipes. I encourage you to visit and try his recipes. The address is boxerlife.com/ .Just put your cursor on the "cooking for dogs" button at the top of his page and have fun exploring.There is a lot of really good stuff there.
I started with Dale's recipes and then started reading more about home cooking. I found a very good book in "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats". It can be found on amazon.com at a reasonable price. There are many recipes, and all the recipes meet the federal standards for nutrition for dogs and cats. If you are nervous about making sure that your dogs are getting the right nutrition, this is a good place to start
What do I feed my pups? When I was following Dale's recipes, I was feeding them a scrumptious chicken stew. I still feed them a chicken stew, but I have tweaked it for my own use. Here is the recipe that I use:
3 whole chickens (pressure cooked for 2 hours if thawed, 3 hours if frozen, at 15 lbs pressure)
16-24 cups water
10 pounds potatos
1 large butternut squash
3 large yams
1 large frozen package of broccoli
1 large frozen package of cauliflower
1 large frozen package of green beans
1 large frozen package of zuccini or crookneck squash
1 large frozen package of spinich or collard greens
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
several teaspoons of oregano
handful of fresh rosemary
After the chickens are cooked, let the steam escape quickly from the pressure cooker. When it is safe to do so, remove the lid and mash the chicken with a potato masher, then add the potatos, yams,butternut squash,garlic, and spices. Put the lid back on and cook for an additional 15 minutes once it reaches 15 lbs pressure. Let the steam escape quickly again, and when it is safe, remove the lid. Mash the potatos, yams and squash with the chicken. Add the frozen veggies, and stir into the stew. Ladle into containers for the fridge or freezer. One batch of stew will last my dogs 4 or 5 days. This recipe can be tweaked with different veggies, and even some fruit. You can use different meats, but I wouldnt use a boneless meat all the time, because the chicken provides calcium in the bones. I also use Dale's methods of vitamin supplements, to ensure that they are getting enough nutrition.
I have tasted this stew myself, and find it wonderful. I wouldn't mind eating it myself. For those who might be concerned about the chicken bones, once they have been pressure cooked, the bones are soft, similar in consistency to the bones in canned salmon, and are completely safe to feed.
My dogs also get raw meat and bones in addition to their meals and at least once a week they get fish. I would feed completely raw if I could aford it, but feeding three adult dogs raw in this area was costing me $600 a month, and simply isnt feasible for me. In some areas of the country it is quite afordable.
But wait, you say. I thought you said that vegetables and grains were bad for dogs? Actually no. I didn't say they were bad for dogs. I said that they don't process them efficiently. Dogs cant break down the cell walls of vegetables and grains. That's why we cook them. Or, if you prefer,you can feed them raw, but they should be pureed. If, however, you have a dog that continues to be itchy, chewing on his feet and legs, after you have switched to home cooking, then the culprit very well may be the grains.
Many dogs are allergic to all kinds of grain. At that point you should switch to a grain free recipe. Dale has a wonderful one on his website, and the one I listed above is grain free as well. And remember that all grains need to be removed from the diet, so those cookies and biscuits that you give him will have to go too in favor of grain free treats.
What kind of treats don't have grain? Baked liver is a good one. Fresh fruit. My dogs love bananas and oranges. Carrot sticks are good to chew on, though they will probably not get much nutritional value out of them. I have also used small dried fish that I found in an Asian market. My only worry there would be how much mercury the fish contain.
Here is another recipe that has been formulated by a veterinarian. He has said that this recipe is complete and balanced when fed with the supplements that are listed below the recipe. The entire webpage can be viewed here: http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/AltMed/Alt_Med_Neuro.htm
Basic diet: (based upon 1 serving size for 30-50 pounds body weight) from R.M. Clemmons, DVM, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurology & Neurosurgery
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
2. 2 oz Boneless Pork Center Loin Chop (boiled, baked or fried in olive oil)
4 oz Tofu (soybean curd)
8 oz Long Grain Brown Rice (3 oz cooked in 6 oz water)
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ cup Molasses
2 Whole Carrots (boiled and then cut up)
1 cup Spinach (cooked)
4 Tbs Green Bell Pepper (chopped and steamed)
4 Broccoli Spears (boiled and then cut up)
This diet (1 serving for 30-50 pounds body weight) provides approximately 1160-1460 calories per serving. You can substitute poultry meats, beef and lamb for the pork chop. This will alter the composition slightly, mainly by adding additional fat. The weight of meat is based upon boneless weight. Most of the items can be prepared in a microwave. Based upon your dogs body weight, you will need to make more or less. For example, if your dog weighs 80 pounds, multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 (can be as high as 2.5 times, though), keeping their relative proportions. This is a starting point. You can also make this portion of the diet in advance, divide it into appropriate quantities and freeze it for later use. Just before feeding time, remove the diet from the freezer and thaw in hot (or boiling) water or microwave to defrost. To complete the diet, add (amount per serving) before serving:
1 tsp Dry Ground Ginger
2 Raw Garlic Cloves (crushed)
½ tsp Dry Mustard
1 tsp Bone Meal
Using the above diet, approximately 1 serving equals 1 can of commercial dog food. The exact requirements for your dog can be approximated by substituting the diet on that basis. You should weigh your dog each week, if losing weight, increase the amount of the diet given. If gaining weight, cut back on the amount given. Eventually, the correct amount will be clear. The reason why the amount has such a broad range in that ideas about the daily caloric requirements vary. Since many dogs have sensitive stomachs, it may be wise to phase in the new diet by mixing it with their existing food until they have adapted. Start by mixing the diet with their existing food in equal amounts. After 1 week, increase the diet to 75% of their food. After another week, switch completely over to the diet. This diet is balanced and high in most of the vitamins and minerals which your dog will need. Any shortcomings will be corrected with the supplements given below as part of the treatment. (Supplements preceded this recipe. )
Note: The general purpose of the diet is to provide excellent quality of ingredients with protein coming from Soybean curd (tofu). Tofu contains many valuable flavonoids and other ingredients which promote health. If you decide to use a commercial food, you may want to use a Soybean Concentrate which contains these ingredients, but lacks the extra protein. Alternatively, you can add tofu to the diet (5-6 oz/day) and add honey or molasses to it (¼ cup) to make it taste better. Reduce the commercial diet by 25-33% and monitor your dogs weight, reducing or increasing the commercial diet accordingly. The addition of raw garlic is to provide garlic's anti-inflammatory action and (since it is raw) to provide an antibiotic action. Raw garlic is antibacterial and anti-fungal. This action is lost when garlic is cooked or dried. Dry ginger is also a good anti-inflammatory. Together with garlic, dry ginger can replace the need for aspirin-like (NSAID) drugs. Fresh ginger or pickled ginger are also good anti-emetic compounds, calming the stomach. Mustard provides ingredients which support improve digestion and bowel function. So, raw garlic, dry ginger (occasionally using fresh or pickled ginger) and dry mustard should be added to the food, even if it is commercial. These will not unbalance the commercial food, providing important drug properties without the side-effects of "non-natural" drugs. Using the vegetables, the diet also provides many nutrient and vitamins which are not found in commercial dog food. If commercial dog food is given, giving extra Soy Concentrate, Soy Lecithin and Beta-Carotene to the diet will improve the commercial food. They are not needed, if you feed the above diet. The diet provides a balanced, moderate protein and fat diet which is high in many essential nutrients.
B-Complex vitamins - they are water soluable so you cant overdose, the excess is excreted in urine. Use high potency stress formula B complex (B-100s) for large dogs, for medium use high potency B-complex (B-50s), for small dogs use the regular B complex
Vitamin E - 800 IU dogs over 2, 400 IU dogs under two
Vitamin C - 500 mg twice a day for dogs over 2, 250 mg twice a day for dogs under 2
Selenium - no more than 200 ug per day in large dogs and 100 ug per day in small dogs. ***Selenium is toxic at too high levels!! Be very careful in using this supplement. I would not advocate using this supplement, but use natural sources of selenium instead, such as herring, mackeral,cod,chicken liver, etc.
Beta Carotene - between 10,000 and 25,000 IU per day depending on the size of the dog. **This supplement should not be confused with retinol. It is possible to overdose on retinal. Beta Carotene is used by the body to create Vitamine A, but your body will only create the amount needed. Excess Beta Carotene will be stored in the liver for future use. Supplementing the diet with beta-carotene does not produce any significant toxicity despite its use in very high doses in the treatment of numerous photosensitive disorders. At recommended dosages, beta-carotene is believed to be very safe. High intake of carotenoid-containing foods or supplements is not associated with any toxic side effects. But the skin may turn slightly yellow-orange in color when extra large amounts are taken. But will return to normal with decreased dosage. However, long-term use of beta-carotene supplements, especially at doses considerably above the amount necessary to supply adequate vitamin A, might slightly increase the risk of heart disease and certain forms of cancer. Beta-carotene supplementation may also decrease blood levels of lutein, another carotenoid. High doses of Beta Carotene has been shown to increase the chances of lung cancer in smokers.**
Omega 3 fatty acids - 1000 mgs daily (you can use 1 T ground flax seed, or two sardines daily as well.
Gammalinolenic acid - (Evening primrose oil, black currant oil, borage oil) small to medium dogs should receive 500 mgs daily, large dogs 500 mg twice daily
Ginko Leaves - 1 capsule twice a day
Ginsing - (males) (use only American Ginsing) - 1 capsule once or twice daily to male dogs over 6 years of age.
Dong Quai - (females) - 1 capsule once or twice daily for females over 5 years of age.
Green Tea - 1 capsule twice a day ( or you can make your own green tea and give 1 cup twice a day)
Grape Seed Extract - 1 50 mg capsule per day
Siberian Ginsing - 1 capsule twice per day
**Note made by the webmaster, not by Dr. Clemmons.
There is something that is very, very satisfying in feeding your dog a meal that they get so much enjoyment out of. Think of it this way. What if someone came up with a food for people that was cheap and contained 100% of the nutrition that you were supposed to have. It came in little hard chunks, or you could get a moist version of the same thing. This new miraculous food was to be what you had to eat for the rest of your life. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes you could survive on it. But would it be satisfying? Would you get tired of it after a while? Yes? Well if that is true, then why do we insist that a dog is finicky when he starts not wanting to eat the kibble he is given from the day he is born to the day he dies? Did you know that dogs have more taste buds that humans do? And we are condemning them to eat the same boring garbage every day of their existence, and if they turn their nose up at it we call them finicky. Huh. I don't know about you, but I would be finicky too. Dogs need and crave variety in their diets as much as we do.
So give home cooking a try. It's easy. Cook up a batch, and either freeze it in serving size portions, or in batches that you will use in a few days. Once it is cooked, and put away, feeding it is as easy as opening a can or bag of commercial food, and it's far and away better for your dog.