[Soph M]

So, I’ve recently started feeding my 16 lb dog a cooked homemade diet. I really want to read Dr. Becker’s book about different recipes and supplements, but the book is out of stock EVERYWHERE! Do any of you know where I could find this book?

Also, what supplements should I add to my dogs homemade food? Is it enough to just add cooked eggshells for calcium? Do any of you have a recipe for a homemade dog food supplement?

I’m really new to this homemade dog food thing! I really appreciate all of your help! 😀

[Jo R]

Hi Soph M

I don’t know where you can find Dr. Becker’s book, but may I recommend another great book that I really like. Dr Donald Strombeck, professor emeritus from Univ of Calif, at Davis Vet School book, Home Prepared Dog and Cat diets. This book is out of print, but Dr Strombeck has put it on line for free, just search for the title to find it. You may also find hard copies on line. Great information on dog diet requirements and step by step diets for healthy dogs and cats and for ones with health problems.

It is very in depth so take your time and really read it before starting, it should really help you understand what it takes to prepare balanced meals for your furkid.

Hope this helps

[Susan]

Hi Soph,
Dr Karen Becker is always with “Rodney Habib” on his f/b page & post healthy foods like berries, broccoli, almonds, tin sardines etc https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib ….
I borrowed Dr Karen Beckers book from my local library, they bought it & I borrowed, your local library may already have her book, Amazon sells it….
also there’s a few groups on f/b about food nutrition & will help balance the diet, as long as the diet is balanced over the week you’ll be right & yes egg shells are a good source of calcium, 1 grounded egg shells is about 1 teaspoon, its about 1 teaspoon per day for a dog…..
Are you on face book? put these groups in the search bar & join, “K9 Nutrition”-Lew Olson group & “K9 Kitchen”-Monica Segal group….. you’ll get heaps of help starting your home cooked diet…. they also have books out, Lew Olson’s book was easy to follow cause she has raw & cooked meals & meals for dogs with health problems…

[pugmomsandy]

dogaware.com has a homemade diet section with supplement suggestions. Also, on youtube, search for “Homemade Dog Food Recipe Rodney Habib” for a 3 minute video. You can also get supplements from balanceit.com.

[Soph M]

Thank you so much for the idea to check a local library, Susan! I will do that and see if they could get it in for me.

Jo R, that book sounds really interesting by Dr. Donald Strombeck… I will see if I can find it online!

Also, I will check out the video by Rodney Habib, pugmomsandy.

[Soph M]

I went to a local petstore yesterday that specializes in natural pet nutrition, they told that the below plan would work good. What do you think?

MAIN MEALS: Homemade food (rotating veggies and meat for variety), also including some egg.
PROBIOTIC: Daisy’s Mega 8 Probiotic Flora (this is all natural)
TREATS: Give 1-2 raw bones per week to clean teeth and as a calcium source.

The lady at the petstore said that she will get all the vitamins she needs from veggies. She was sure that the raw bones would provide enough calcium.

[aimee]

Hi Soph M.

While I’m sure the woman at the pet store meant well the advice you received was inappropriate and will over time surely lead to problems.

Strombeck’s recipes were based on the nutritional information known at the time but today are considered unbalanced. Additionally, multi vitamins differ significantly in nutrient profile and because human supplements have increased the Vit D levels in them in response to human findings the levels are too high to supplement a canine diet.

If you haven’t yet looked at balanceit dot com please do so. There is an interactive tool in which you can choose what ingredients you want to feed and them it balances the diet and tells you how much of the balance it supplement to use. Balance it is run by a boarded veterinary nutritionist.

[anonymous]

@ Soph M
Please listen to a vet that has examined your dog. A lot of misinformation on the internet.
For science based veterinary medicine go here: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/
Use the search engine at this site to look up topics.
Do you have any specific health concerns regarding your dog?
Bones are the worst thing you can give a small dog (under 20 pounds) this is based on my personal experience. Also, use the search engine here to look up various topics.

Ps: Has your dog had a checkup and labs recently? I strongly recommend annual exams, lab work as indicated, professional dental cleanings as needed
Also, most supplements are scams.

[Soph M]

Hi Anon101,

She was recently checked out by her vet and everything is good with her health.

If you think that supplements are scams what do you recommend to make sure that she gets all the vitamins and minerals that she needs when being fed a homemade diet?

She won’t eat kibble, and I like making her food at home, but I need o make sure that she gets everything she needs.

[Soph M]

Hi Aimee,

Have you heard of the Hilary’s Blend supplement and cookbook? If so, what do you think about it? Is it comparable with the balance it supplements and recipes?

[anonymous]

Evidence Update–Homemade Diet Recipes for Your Pet are Unreliable

I’m sure if your dog was hungry enough she would eat whatever was available.
I like to use a quality kibble as a base with a splash of water and a bite of cooked protein mixed in, such as scrambled egg, chopped chicken breast, ground turkey, chopped up lean beef…..
A raw carrot (1/2) as a snack here and there.
Offer meals twice a day, leave food down for 10 minutes, pick up and put in the fridg, offer at the next mealtime. Have fresh water available at all times.
If they don’t eat times 72 hours, call the vet.
An occasional fast is a good thing 🙂
Ps: Why would I add supplements/vitamins? Check with your vet, but I don’t think they are necessary.
Otherwise, you could consult a veterinary nutritionist, for a diet formulation specific to your pet.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by anonymous.

[Cathy B]

Hi Soph,
A number of yrs back, a poster on Dr. Beckers site was kind enuff to send me her book. It’s in excellent shape..and if you have a post office box NOT home Address, I will be happy to send and gift you my book.

I haven’t posted here in a long time..but I posted as Honeybeesmom.
Here is my email
cathyrobert@bellsouth.net

[aimee]

Hi Soph M,

I’d heard of Hilary’s Blend but never really took a look at it until now. I have multiple concerns which would lead me to pass. The major concern I have is this: “Its exact composition is a trade secret.” Without knowing what is in the supplement no one can check her formulations. Secondly, the recipe example uses vague ingredients that will have very variable nutrient profiles. ( canned applesauce, tomato sauce). Additionally, she states all the recipe meet AAFCO yet includes a chapter on renal patients. (A correctly formulated diet for renal patients in need of diet modification would never meet AAFCO.) Finally, she calls herself a pet nutritionist which rubs me the wrong way. The term is meaningless, I can call myself a pet nutritionist too. Though she doesn’t hold any advanced degrees in nutrition, she is formulating for dogs/cats with disease conditions.

Hilary’s blend falls far short of the parameters I look for when I compare to balanceit. I have no hesitation to use balanceit but lots of red flags in regards to Hilary’s blend.
Hope that helps!

[Soph M]

Thank you for giving me your opinion about the Hillary’s Blend products. I really appreciate all of your help, Aimee.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Soph M-

I just wanted to give you my review of http://www.balanceit.com. I have formulated four or five recipes on this site and I try to feed a homemade meal every couple of weeks to my dogs. I have a couple using ground turkey and a couple with ground beef. You can choose to add a carb, fruit and/or veggies also. Or, just meat. In addition, you can choose the percentage of protein, fat, carbs and calories you want the meals to be. You just have to play with the variables a little bit. Then it spits out a recipe stating which and how much supplement you need to add to it to make it balanced. Viola!!! My dogs love when they get their homemade meal and I don’t worry that not being balanced.

Good luck!

[InkedMarie]

Cathy B: I remember you! Hope you stick around!

[Soph M]

Hi crazy4cats,

Thank you for telling me about your good experience with balanceit. I will check it out online!

[Cathy B]

Hi Marie! Thank you! I’m always popping in here learning something new all the time. I know a few ppl have left. I miss a few of them. My little Honeybee just turned 14 Y/O
last month and is doing really well. Good seeing you. :0)

Hi Soph, I’m also sending Dr Harveys book..just in case you’re interested in dehydrated foods.
Just bought his new food Paradiam..the doggies loved it! Very green and had a strong cinnamon/spice smell.
Not something I would feed daily..but once every few days

[Soph M]

Hi Cathy, thanks so much for sending me Dr. Harvey’s book too! I’m going to have a LOT of reading to do!

[anonymous]

Regarding supplements: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-supplements-herbs-dangerous-2017-5
On the back of virtually any bottle of supplements are two words that strike fear into the heart of Pieter Cohen.
The words are printed inside a small square on the back of the bottle beneath bold lettering which claims to list the supplement’s ingredients: “Proprietary blend.”
Under the protective umbrella of these two words, a supplement maker does not have to list all of the details of what’s in its product, according to Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
This “allows companies to put in ingredients without telling us the amounts,” says Cohen, who spoke on a recent panel put on by The Forum, an event series organized by the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. “And those tend to be the higher-risk product.”
The risks can be serious. Several supplements have been linked with an increase in certain cancers; others have been tied to an elevated risk of kidney stones. Although this research has been widely published, supplements continue to send roughly 20,000 people to the emergency room every year.

Cohen likes to compare the safety framework for supplements with that for food. “In food,” says Cohen, “they have to meet what’s known as the “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, standard. That’s not the standard for ingredients introduced to supplements. The standard is not anywhere near that level of scrutiny.”
There are some laws regulating dietary supplements, however. In 1994, Congress established the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) to address the labeling and safety of supplements, and several more recent regulations mandate that manufacturers observe what are known as “good manufacturing practices,” or GMPs, including ingredient testing.
Under the DSHEA, ingredients listed under the “proprietary blend” category don’t have to include information about individual amounts of ingredients in that category. Instead, they only have to list the total amount and list the ingredients within the “blend” in order by their weight.
This can be a huge problem when it comes to dosages, as certain amounts of the listed ingredients could have dangerous side effects or negative interactions with prescription drugs.
“From a regulatory perspective they’re all presumed to be safe but the reality is many people….are harmed by supplements,” says Cohen

[Gary W]

All homemade diets must be supplemented with calcium. The amount found in multivitamin and mineral supplements is not enough. Give 800 to 1,000 mg calcium per pound of food (excluding non-starchy vegetables). You can use any form of plain calcium, including eggshells ground to powder in a clean coffee grinder (1/2 teaspoon eggshell powder provides about 1,000 mg calcium). Animal Essentials’ Seaweed Calcium provides additional minerals, as well. And here is a good list of calcium-rich foods your dog may like.

Oils: Most homemade diets require added oils for fat, calories, and to supply particular nutrients. It’s important to use the right types of oils, as each supplies different nutrients.

Fish Oil: Provides EPA and DHA, omega-3 fatty acids that help to regulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. Give an amount that provides about 300 mg EPA and DHA combined per 20 to 30 pounds of body weight on days you don’t feed fish. Note that liquid fish oil supplements often tell you to give much more than this, which can result in too many calories from fat.

Cod Liver Oil: Provides vitamins A and D as well as EPA and DHA. If you don’t feed much fish, give cod liver oil in an amount that provides about 400 IUs vitamin D daily for a 100-pound dog (proportionately less for smaller dogs). Can be combined with other fish oil to increase the amount of EPA and DHA if desired.

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