Homemade food

[MinniesMom29]

Hi, I'm new to the site but need some help. I've been having problems with my Frenchie since I've got her at 11 weeks. I recently had an allergy test done and she is allergic to every protein but beef and pork. She is also allergic to potatoes along with many other foods. I can't find a dog good that has the limited ingredients that she needs. My vet recommended Hills zd dog food but I'm worried that it doesn't have enough nutrition for her. I was going to try a homemade food. Any suggestions???

 

[Jakeyjake]

You can try one of the base or pre-mixes and add your own cooked pork or beef. The Honest Kitchen base mix Preference has no white potatos. Sojos and Grandma Lucy's also make pre-mixes that you could add your own protein to which are grain free. You could alternate between the beef and pork that way. If you want to feed kibble you can try Acana Pork and Buttenut squash. It has no potatos and is a higher quality kibble. Good luck!

 

[Cbrugs]

If you decide to homecook, the only issue would be making sure she gets all of the vitamins and supplements needed to ensure a complete, balanced diet. As mentioned, Acana has the pork and butternut squash kibble. Fromm has a beef kibble as well but it might have potatoes in it. Great Life has a buffalo kibble that has no potatoes. Have you given any thought to feeding raw? Jax has environmental allergies and issues with a lot of proteins but I started feeding him raw in November and he has done very well on it.

 

[MinniesMom29]

I haven't looked into the premixes I will definitely have to do that! I did look into Acana because it seemed a lot of people recommend this food but she is also allergic to pumpkin, which is in the pork and butternut squash
I'm nervous to try raw diet but I'm willing to try whatever will help Minnie. Did you just research and find out what to feed?

 

[Cbrugs]

I haven't looked into the premixes I will definitely have to do that! I did look into Acana because it seemed a lot of people recommend this food but she is also allergic to pumpkin, which is in the pork and butternut squash
I'm nervous to try raw diet but I'm willing to try whatever will help Minnie. Did you just research and find out what to feed?

There are a handful of people on here that feed raw. I was nervous as well but I am so glad I finally tried it. [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] and [MENTION=380]KimB3384[/MENTION] really helped me out when I finally made the decision to switch over. [MENTION=664]eeturk[/MENTION] also feeds raw.

I buy frozen patties that are already complete with the correct meat/bone/organ ratio so that makes it a lot easier for me.

 

[MinniesMom29]

So far I've found Bravo Beef Dinner Freeze dried and Sojos premix that Minnie would be able to eat. Any thoughts on those? I also found a brand called Vital Essentials but they don't seem to have any calcium, just meet and organs.
Another question I have, the food that she is currently on has things in it that she is allergic to. I don't want to continue to feed it to her but at the same time it's not good to switch food all at once....has anybody had this situation before?

 

[Cbrugs]

So far I've found Bravo Beef Dinner Freeze dried and Sojos premix that Minnie would be able to eat. Any thoughts on those? I also found a brand called Vital Essentials but they don't seem to have any calcium, just meet and organs.
Another question I have, the food that she is currently on has things in it that she is allergic to. I don't want to continue to feed it to her but at the same time it's not good to switch food all at once....has anybody had this situation before?

I use the frozen Vital Essentials patties and they are completely balanced with meat, organs, and bones. Jax seems to have a lot of food issues so I like the VE as they don't have any of the added fruits and veggies that other commercial brands might have. I can then control what fruits and veggies he gets and I only give him a little bit here and there.

When you switch kibble, you should definitely do a slow transition. However, when I switched Jax to raw, he did a straight switch with no transition and he handled it just fine.

 

[KimB3384]

So far I've found Bravo Beef Dinner Freeze dried and Sojos premix that Minnie would be able to eat. Any thoughts on those? I also found a brand called Vital Essentials but they don't seem to have any calcium, just meet and organs.
Another question I have, the food that she is currently on has things in it that she is allergic to. I don't want to continue to feed it to her but at the same time it's not good to switch food all at once....has anybody had this situation before?

Not sure where you're getting that VE has no calcium. All of their foods contain whole meat, bone, and organ at the ideal ratios. For a commercial food, it's spectacular. We used it for at least a year before I felt comfortable enough to move on to a non-commercial raw food. I also like the fact that they have freeze-dried options, which have the exact same formula, so no worries when traveling or boarding. I cannot recommend this brand enough. Also, FWIW, there's a line of canned foods called Wild Calling that's also just meat, bone, and organ. It's obviously processed to a certain degree, but there are times when you need a backup and this is a good one.

 

[MinniesMom29]

I use the frozen Vital Essentials patties and they are completely balanced with meat, organs, and bones. Jax seems to have a lot of food issues so I like the VE as they don't have any of the added fruits and veggies that other commercial brands might have. I can then control what fruits and veggies he gets and I only give him a little bit here and there.

When you switch kibble, you should definitely do a slow transition. However, when I switched Jax to raw, he did a straight switch with no transition and he handled it just fine.

I'm going tonight to get the VE. Hope it works! Thanks so much for all of the info. and advice

 

[Alice Kable]

Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient has a variety of proteins and is a quality food. One of my dogs has the lamb and the other gets turkey. The kibble is small sized and works well for us!

 

[MinniesMom29]

Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient has a variety of proteins and is a quality food. One of my dogs has the lamb and the other gets turkey. The kibble is small sized and works well for us!

I checked it out, there are many things that Minnie is allergic to in this food, but thank you for the suggestion

 

[MinniesMom29]

Not sure where you're getting that VE has no calcium. All of their foods contain whole meat, bone, and organ at the ideal ratios. For a commercial food, it's spectacular. We used it for at least a year before I felt comfortable enough to move on to a non-commercial raw food. I also like the fact that they have freeze-dried options, which have the exact same formula, so no worries when traveling or boarding. I cannot recommend this brand enough. Also, FWIW, there's a line of canned foods called Wild Calling that's also just meat, bone, and organ. It's obviously processed to a certain degree, but there are times when you need a backup and this is a good one.

I missed the ground bone in the ingredients for the VE food. I couldn't find the frozen patties local but the lady said that she can order them in. Is there a reason that you use the frozen vs. the freeze dried? Another thing I was curious about is that you don't add any water. I've read online that some people do still soak the freeze dried food in water for about 5 mins. So far Minnie seems to be doing well with this food. She can't eat it fast enough!
I looked at the Wild Calling dog food also and there are 2 canned foods that she can eat as well. I will have to try them out once Minnie has been on the raw diet for a little while longer.
Thank you for all of the suggestions!!

 

[KimB3384]

I feed the frozen because I like the moisture it provides. We use the freeze-dried stuff when we travel but I notice she'll drink a TON of water with it. I tried soaking it before but the way it's processed it doesn't seem to absorb any of it. And it's really funny because now that she gets the frozen stuff on a regular basis, Beezy sort of eyeballs me sideways when I give her the freeze-dried stuff. She eats it but she's all like, 'Really, mom?' On the frozen stuff she barely drinks water at all.

I know this is going to sound insane but if you try the Wild Calling, look for the alligator. It sounds like Beezy and Minnie are similar in that there are very few proteins they can tolerate well, but Beezy does really well on the alligator and loves it. It smells like fishy chicken. Plus, how cool does that sound? 'Yeah, my dog eats alligator." No one is going to mess with you after that.

 

[hannah]

I feed the frozen because I like the moisture it provides. We use the freeze-dried stuff when we travel but I notice she'll drink a TON of water with it. I tried soaking it before but the way it's processed it doesn't seem to absorb any of it. And it's really funny because now that she gets the frozen stuff on a regular basis, Beezy sort of eyeballs me sideways when I give her the freeze-dried stuff. She eats it but she's all like, 'Really, mom?' On the frozen stuff she barely drinks water at all.

I know this is going to sound insane but if you try the Wild Calling, look for the alligator. It sounds like Beezy and Minnie are similar in that there are very few proteins they can tolerate well, but Beezy does really well on the alligator and loves it. It smells like fishy chicken. Plus, how cool does that sound? 'Yeah, my dog eats alligator." No one is going to mess with you after that.

Haha! Awesome

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[MinniesMom29]

I feed the frozen because I like the moisture it provides. We use the freeze-dried stuff when we travel but I notice she'll drink a TON of water with it. I tried soaking it before but the way it's processed it doesn't seem to absorb any of it. And it's really funny because now that she gets the frozen stuff on a regular basis, Beezy sort of eyeballs me sideways when I give her the freeze-dried stuff. She eats it but she's all like, 'Really, mom?' On the frozen stuff she barely drinks water at all.

I know this is going to sound insane but if you try the Wild Calling, look for the alligator. It sounds like Beezy and Minnie are similar in that there are very few proteins they can tolerate well, but Beezy does really well on the alligator and loves it. It smells like fishy chicken. Plus, how cool does that sound? 'Yeah, my dog eats alligator." No one is going to mess with you after that.

I found a local place that said they will order the frozen so I'm going to have them do that!
HAHA I will have to try that Alligator, just so I can say my dog eats it.
Our pups even look alike...

 

[KimB3384]

I should warn you ... you are well on your way to creating a total diva. A cute one, but a diva nonetheless. The look she's giving you in that photo? Yeah, that's what you're gonna get when you try to give her something other than her frozen food. Keep us posted on how Minnie likes it. #brindlesarethebest

 

[MinniesMom29]

She already runs the show!! I am lucky enough to be able to take her to work with me everyday so she's SO spoiled. I try not to but it's so hard.
This is her as we speak....lol what a ruff life!
I will def. keep you posted with the food. So far she loves the freeze dried stuff so I can only imagine how much she's going to like the frozen.

 

[KimB3384]

LOL. Here's Beezy at work with me. I don't take her all the time, but a couple of times a month when she's not in daycare. She sometimes even attends video conference meetings with our Columbus office.

 

[MinniesMom29]

That's so awesome!! She's beautiful !

 

[KimB3384]

Thanks. She's the apple of my eye. She and Minnie do look so much like each other. What part of PA are you from? I'm from Oil City - halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh.