It's so simple. I wish I had known earlier. If I had, I would have been doing this all along. Water is the most important "nutrient". Dogs need a grain free, protein-rich diet that contains about the same proportion of water as a freshly killed mouse or rabbit does. Since most dogs don't drink enough water, a diet of dry food causes mild dehydration that can do irrepareable damage to their urinary system over a lifetime. A good quality canned food from a reputable natural pet food store would have done the trick. Homemade food is inexpensive and super simple, but time-consuming. Think of it as therapy for your dog. There's nothing like the smell of meat simmering, along with the sound of tasty tidbits dropping, to perk up a tired appetite. Boil meat, add low glycemic veggies, and supplement as your vet recommends. The following recipe makes enough to feed Riley for a two week period.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
(Aim for a proportion of 75% meat to 25% veggie)
-save your washed
egg shells (up yo 14) in a freezer bag in the freezer before your big cooking day (Make a bunch of hard boiled eggs for an egg salad or, if you don't eat eggs, you can feed an occasional poached egg to your dog).
-wash (inside and out) and boil a
large, whole organic chicken for about an hour (bring to a full boil, then cover and simmer until the hip joints loosen).
-simmer the
giblets, plus a
pint of chicken livers, and a
pound of ground meat (not pork) in a separate covered pot for 30 minutes
-add about
7 new potatoes for the last half hour of cooking or simmer with the variety meats
-add
turmeric, celery and parsley for the last 15 minutes
-make a large pot of
green tea and let it cool
-remove cooked meat and vegetables from broth to a cold metal or glass bowl and place in fridge to cool
-combine broths and keep warm on low (covered).
-wash, trim and chunk
brocoli, cauliflower, and green beens; then return to fridge.
-remove cooled chicken carcass from fridge and pick off all meat and cartilage, into two separate containers. Then return both to the fridge.
-Break any bones you can and place all the bones in a metal collander or steamer basket in the broth. Boil them again for up to an hour.
-Use this time to take a break, or tidy up your kitchen; laying out enough
clean glass freezer containers to make up your daily servings. DON'T DRINK THE TEA. IT'S FOR THE DOG. MAKE YOUR OWN!
-remove the bones from the broth. There should be lots of marrow in the broth by now and any meat or cartilage that was still clinging to the bones should come off easily. Discard the bones where your dog won't find them.
-dip veggies (broc., caul. and gr. beans) briefly in the hot broth to blanch and then set aside and turn the heat off on the broth.
-Add a few ice cubes to the broth to cool it a little (otherwise it will explode in the blender. Oh, didn't I mention there was still blending coming up?)
-Use a blender to puree, in small batches, the tea, broth, egg shells, potatoes, cartilage, blanched veggies, and a couple of the chicken livers.
-Place the chicken and variety meats from from the fridge in the freezer containers to fill the containers at least 3/4 full (it may look full but there will still be plenty of nooks and crannies for the veggie smoothie to fit in).
-Sprinkle any powdered supplements over the meat according to daily amount (Riley takes kelp, fish oil, curcumin, spirulina, a probiotic, and a vitamin-mineral blend)
-pour the veggie smoothie over all. I usually have extra which I freeze and save for next time.
-place lids on top of containers and freeze until needed. Maybe keep 2 out for today and tomorrow. Doesn't the little mister look kind of hungry?
-Thaw containers in fridge for about 24 hours.
-Sometimes I put a piece of unsalted sardine on top for a little extra fish oil.
Riley loves it!
~Riley's mum
