Started trying to have my dogs eat healthier and less expensive.

As with any online information, do your own research. I'm not a vet. I've looked into this for MY dogs. Introduce new foods to your dogs in moderation, and don't overdo it. They still need a well balanced commercial diet.

I still feed them good quality dry dog food, which is about $1.50-$2 per pound. I pick only 4 or 5 star dog foods, as found on https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

However, in the interest of improving their diet, I've begun supplementing with more natural or home-made foods. I've sampled and played with a variety of recipes.

Note, the first step is to be aware of TOXIC foods for dogs. TOXIC or dangerous for dogs includes onions, grapes, garlic, skins from potatoes, avacado, caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, coconut, macadamia nuts, salts and spices, and yeast dough. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-p ... -your-pets

I also no longer give them bones or nylon chews or milkbone type treats.


Now with that in mind, here are some excellent sources of vitamins and recipes.
* Carrots, apples, and pears (no pits or seeds). I cut these up and give them as treats instead of bones and nylon chew toys. I give whole carrots (minus the top, cut off and discarded) and they love them. About 1 per day.

Mix up about equal amounts of cooked white or brown rice - no spices or butter - with washed and dried black and/or pinto beans (not canned, but instead raw beans). Soak the beans overnight and wash them. Cook up the rice and beans. Mix in cooked brocolli, peas (protein), apples, cut carrots, corn, and/or potatoes (no skins) and/or sweat potatoes. These ingredients are very inexpensive.

Next, I'll look for any lean cuts of meat on sale. My butchers and stores locally almost always have a section of meats marked down anywhere from 30-70% off. Liver, chicken, steaks, lamb, fish, tuna fish, canned makerel, salmon, cocktail shrimp, etc. Cook this and mix it in to whatever portion you think is appropriate. I go for about 1 to 5 for the rest of the mixture.

I cook up about 40 pounds of all of this. Then I bag it in about twenty 2-pound quart ziplock bags and put it in the freezer, and pull out one or two at a time to thaw and use.

The rough estimate for protein in this last batch was about 300 grams of protein, or about 9 grams per pound. Combined mostly from meats (the last batch was several pounds of turkey scraps from a cooked turkey, and a whole can of mackerel), pinto beans, and peas. Plus a large amount of vitamins from the veggies. I think I'm going to try to double the amount of protein in future batches.

Some tips: I've done this now 3 or 4 times with different recipes. I've tried pressure cooker, small pots, and large cauldrons. Here are some tips:

* Larger cauldrons are harder to keep stirring and from burning on the bottom. The rice especially burns at the bottom.
* Cook the rice separate. I use a small rice cooker which makes perfect and simple rice every time. I cook two full batches of the rice in the rice cooker.
* Separate the other ingredients into equal portions and have them in smaller pots on the stove (or a pressure cooker). Keep the pots stirring. Add the rice last to soak up all the water and flavor to make it more solid.
* Let it sit to cool and become more solid for 1/2 hour or so, just watch and gauge it.
* Quart ziplocks will hold about 2 pounds each, ready for the freezer.

THEY LOVE IT.

ALSO, unsweetened raw oatmeal is a great source of protein (6 grams per cup), carbs, and fiber for humans and dogs. I've begun giving them a few scoops of cooked oatmeal. Put the oatmeal in their bowl and pour in the boiling water. Mix it up and let it cool. You can add chopped fruits (apple, pear, carrots). I've started mixing the warm oatmeal with the cold rice/beans/meat above, mix it all up for a warm meal. I put in a little dry dog food with it to ensure a well balanced diet.

My dogs have really really shown they absolutely love this very healthy meal.
They are so eager to eat they go nuts. And they seem so very healthy. My 11 year old and 5 year old dogs literally run around and dance when it's time to eat.

Anyone try similar recipes?

Not sure about those but my dog ALWAYS sickened by sweet potatoes and most all dog foods have sweet potato today. Like a fad, or oversupply or some shit.

I agree on making your own. Not sure about the beans. Just saying.

We had 2 dogs (from the same litter) that had special dietary needs and my wife used to make dog food for them with pretty much the same recipe you described. one thing she used to do when cooking the rice was adding broth to the rice when cooking. The boys would go nuts and dance at feeding time for it and we could change from beef to chicken just to change it up for them.

YES!

AWESOME!

Oh, and I do add bullion or broth to the mix. I do a beef and chicken mix broth.

If you want to add something with really good oil content, flax seed has great Omega 3 content that is beneficial in multiple ways. They have ground flax seed in bulk in Winco, but if you want to do it best, buy the whole seed (again, at Winco in bulk) and grind it fresh. Best used fresh and not cooked, to preserve the Omega in the oil. Dogs generally like the flavor too, but YMMV....
As for protein, you can try checking discount grocery stores like Saar's Market for deals on bulk frozen meat. Sometimes they have great deals on the organ meats too.

I'll make food for my chihuahua once a month or so, I'd do it more often but dont have the freezer space. I'll usually cook up a chicken breast, sweet potato and some rice, I'll add some chicken bouillon. Sometimes I'll do broccoli and kale too.if I smoke fish and dont eat it all I'll mix it with potatoes and carrots. Shi'thead loves it, she will inhale the bowl, when shes done she jogs off and she skips with her back legs. Shes weird and does that when shes happy.

Cooked meat is terrible for dogs. Their digestion is nothing like a human's with a much lower stomach pH. When was the last time you witnessed a canine cooking for themselves in the wild? Think about it. Been studying this for 20 years with excellent results for my dogs.

The only note about broth and bouillon is to be very mindful about the salt content. You add a little here and a little there and you can quickly get beyond the small amount of salt a dog's body is actually built to handle. Human diets are usually oversalted so it's something we might not consider.

That's good info sir... Can you provide some data to the actual biological data that can help those of us who have a goofy need to understand the whys and hows?

We have a diabetic Malamute and used to cook him a similar food in a giant 7 gallon pot. It took a long time to do, and we finally gave up and now just keep brown rice in the rice cooker for him and I make 4-5 pounds of ground turkey at a time. We put a bit of turkey, a scoop of rice & a little diet (low sugar, high protein) dry dog food on a plate and pour some chicken broth over it. He's a delicate flower.

The old recipe was something along these lines:

2 Gallons of water (+-)
1 bag (4 pounds) chana dal rinsed (or yellow split peas)
2 bags (1 pound each) lentils rinsed
2 bags (1 pound each) black-eyed peas rinsed
2 bags (1 pound each) green split peas rinsed
1 pound pearl barley rinsed
5-6 pounds boneless chicken breasts cut into ½-inch cubes
2-3 pounds ground turkey
1 can (29 ounces) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 bags (16 ounces each) frozen broccoli cuts
2 bags (16 ounces each) frozen crinkle cut carrots
2 bags (16 ounces each) frozen green beans
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach

Boil water, then add dry goods and cook while cutting meat - stirring very frequently or it will burn. Add meats, and veggies last. It will start to get thick and hard to stir, so keep adding water as necessary. The beans won't be 'done' but they always cooked as it cooled. We put it in containers and froze it. I always ensured the final batch was at 165 degrees. I am paranoid about poultry 'goo.'

Be forewarned - this recipe will result in....shall we say...undigested beans. You will most certainly know what poops came from your dog

Certainly sir. The local feed store has an excellent pet nutritionist on site. He is very well known around B'ham. I've been going there for 20 years and have been following his advice very closely. My dogs have been incredibly healthy ever since I started working with him. My last dog, a precious pitty named Bobaphet, lived healthily to the age of 17 years old. Not common for those dogs.
Dogs have been eating raw meat for thousands of years, and suddenly they require cooked meat? Ever seen a wolf or a dingo cook up a steak? No, because that is ridiculous. They eat dead bloody animals, as well as whatever else they can find. Grass anyone? The enzymes from the raw meat are introduced into the system of the dag just as they were in nature back when they hunted for themselves. Heat kills those enzymes.
Gastric acid in both humans and dogs is made of extremely acidic Hydrochloric acid. However, there is a difference in the strength of the stomach acid in humans and dogs. While human stomachs are usually around a 1.5 to 3 pH level, dog stomachs range from a 1 to 2 pH level. Remember that a pH of 1 is exponentially lower than a pH of 2. They can easily digest things that would make us extremely sick. Cat shit anyone?
They absolutely will have cleaner ears, better rash free skin, shinier coat, more solid #2s, more regular #2s, better energy and vitality, and not to mention, an extended life.