Home cooking, raw, or kibble?

[bentleys_momma]

I know some other people have touched on this but I am debaiting trying home cooking or the raw diet.
I am new to this and have never ventured outside of kibble other than for a snack.

does anyone homecook? Someone had told me a recipe and it just seemed like a lot of work everyday. advantages disadvantages?

raw diet?

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

I think most who homecook, cook a lot at once and freeze in portions, so it wouldn't be everyday.

Of the 3 I prefer raw.

[SamiNFurbabies]

I homecook. I think that raw is better for them, but I need to read more up on that. However, I would never feed kibble. You never know what they put in that.
I go to school full time and I have a lot of studying to do---but I have time for homecooking. I cook on fridays, sunday nights, and tuesdays big "batches" for my kiddos. However if the week is particularly busy, I'll cook and freeze for the week. If you have any questions...let me know.

My puppies had beef stew this morning and they look content!

[marcerella02]

I home cook and just do it about once every month or two - however since Layla's pancrease issues i've realized that home cooking is more complicated than i originally thought. However, that's not to say it can't be done- i do it as well as many other on here and however compicated it might be at first is BEYOND worth knwoing exactaly what she is eating.

[Suzy]

I homecook too. It is a bit more expensive than kibble, but it only takes me about 2 hours every 3-4 weeks (and I have two dogs). I really like knowing exactly what they're eating. However, I have a little one on the way, so I am considering feeding the dogs one meal of kibble per day, if I could just find one that meets my standards

[bentleys_momma]

thank you all for your responses. i will deff look more into it

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by marcerella02

I home cook and just do it about once every month or two - however since Layla's pancrease issues i've realized that home cooking is more complicated than i originally thought. However, that's not to say it can't be done- i do it as well as many other on here and however compicated it might be at first is BEYOND worth knwoing exactaly what she is eating.

Lol, I never thought you would think it is difficult.


I homecook. No raw or kibble here but if I had a big dog or more small ones, I'd have to reconsider.

The drawbacks of homecooking are the expense (I find it to be at least 3-4 times more expensive than kibble), paying for a nutritionist to formulate the recipe and spending a few hours a month cooking it. I also feed 3 times a day and sometimes have to carry a cooler for Ellie... The benefits far outweigh the hassle though.

[DENISE517]

I Have a question. when you homecook, what do you make

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by DENISE517

I Have a question. when you homecook, what do you make

A protein, a carb, mixed vegetables mixed with oil and supplements.

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

A protein, a carb, mixed vegetables mixed with oil and supplements.

Yep, that...plus sometimes my two get dairy like cottage cheese, yogurt, or cheese.

For example, Emma and Milli are eating oatmeal with scrambled eggs, topped with some cottage cheese, and a little applesauce mixed in. For dinner we'll be out of the oatmeal, so they are having whole grain couscous, white beans with ground turkey and green peas. It sounds really complicated but it's not-I mix up a few batches at a time and freeze in roughly 2 cup portions that they eat together in about 2 days.

I feed most of their meats raw-the only thing I cook is chicken and fish.

[Yorkieluv]

I homecook as well I take one day a month or every month and a half to cook for my two furbabies, and I freeze in 2-3 day portions. All you have to do is take out food from the freezer every couple of days, so it's really not that much work. The work is all in one day
Right now, Emma is eating chicken, oats, carrots, green beans..with supplements, of course.
She eats three meals per day but you can do two if you want. Miko has a different menu and because of his liver issues, he eats 5-6 meals per day.

[AVERYxo]

RAW for us.
we actually feed a combo. of RAW medallions, Nature's Variety instinct canned, ziwi peak canned, ziwi peak cuisine(air dried raw), & will sometimes feed the honest kitchen, as well(but not that often)

we still leave kibble out for them to eat if they get hungry..(we feed NV kibble, innova/evo, etc.) but their main diet is what i mentioned above!)
Avie is kinda picky.. and both girls love their food! this has worked great for us! and they don't get bored with their food! but each yorkie is different! ) i really really love the ziwi peak food! and the air dried raw is SO easy to take with you, if needed!

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

For those who home cook, what kind of supplements do you add?

[Yorkieluv]

Calcium is the most important. When homecooking for dogs, calcium HAS to be supplemented. I use eggshells for calcium instead of bone meal.

Dr. Pitcairn has a healthy powder mix that he recommends, but makes some dogs itchy.

There are dog vitamins that you can use or you can use your own mix of people vitamins.

I choose not to supplement A directly in pill form because of the risk of overdose/toxicity.
Instead I make sure to add carrots or sweet potatoes to the recipe for vitamin A.

If your dog is healthy, you can get a recipe for $25 from a website that Crystal (Ellie May) is familiar with. This may be an option for those of you who want to start homecooking but don't know where to start. This will make sure your recipe is balanced.

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

Calcium is the most important. When homecooking for dogs, calcium HAS to be supplemented. I use eggshells for calcium instead of bone meal.

Dr. Pitcairn has a healthy powder mix that he recommends, but makes some dogs itchy.

There are dog vitamins that you can use or you can use your own mix of people vitamins.

I choose not to supplement A directly in pill form because of the risk of overdose/toxicity.
Instead I make sure to add carrots or sweet potatoes to the recipe for vitamin A.

If your dog is healthy, you can get a recipe for $25 from a website that Crystal (Ellie May) is familiar with. This may be an option for those of you who want to start homecooking but don't know where to start. This will make sure your recipe is balanced.

Thank You

What is the website?