Homecooked Dog Food

[genghis]

I'd welcome some good recipes. Chicken bits and pasta sounds a possible??

[sophie]

My lot love

Chicken livers with either cooked rice or pasta
Chicken hearts (their favourite) with either rice or pasta
Plus any left over vegetables you might from yourselves from the day before (not fond of peas though - don't know why)
I make two days at a time. bring chicken to the boil and let simmer for about 15 mins, strain and then cook the rice or pasta as would for yourself. When its cold, mix it up and serve Smells gorgeous, particularly if I've added a chicken cube to the initial water. Of course if you want to buy more expensive meat or mince, then that's up to you.

You can also buy what is left over when the chicken producers cut off the breast of chicken. Boil up as above and then when cooked pick all the meat from the bone. Lemar sell all of the above very cheaply.

[SourBrandy]

I buy half a kilo of chicken hearts and chicken livers or what they call giblets. Boil them up with pasta and my two little dogs love it. Dead cheap. Freeze one half and use the other. Lasts about a week to 9 days. They won't eat tinned dog food which with the exchange rate was becoming increasingly expensive and at least I know what they're eating.

[Denise13]

i found lemar frozen dog food not of a good quality, more often than not it smelt off when defrosted and had the appearance of being defrosted and re-frozen so never buy there now but the chicken shops ahmet aydin (kirinle, if i've spelt it right) sell breast, or neck or thigh and is always fresh they also sell feet and heads but i don't buy those! just ask for the dog food as it's normally in a deep freezer at the back of the shop. any of the shops will sell and if you buy just the breast bone they can work out cheaper as they are lighter and sometimes have quite a bit of chicken on. also from your local butcher just ask for any bones and sometimes they give some small meaty pieces that you can either give as it is or if you prefer to cook it up to mix with pasta or rice. you can also buy 20kg bags of dried dog food in lemar for around 70tl or less and can maybe mix a little in with their dinner to give a bit of variation and texture and by using just a little at a time can go a long way. hope that helps

[Ragged Robin]

When I first came here and adopted a stray I was advised by old timers to make pasta the staple of dogs meals as it contains quite a lot of protein. I also give me dogs chicken livers and hearts cooked with pasta. From time to time I boil a whole chicken. Reserve the stock from the first boiling for soup and the best of the meat for humans! The skin and the stock and pickings from a second boiling provides with pasta two meals for three small dogs. Do be careful to pick out all chicken bones as they can stick in dogs throats. I add any left over rice to the meals for two of them, but dont deliberately cook it for them as one seems to have an some sort of alergy an its upsets his tummy.

About once a week or ten days I buy tinned mackerel in olive oil quite cheap from Supermarkets for them for a change. An occasional spoonful or olive or any vegetable oil helps keep their coats glossy.

I also give them left over veg and use any water left from cooking veg in cooking their meal. The younger two love raw carrots to chew like a bone, but not too many or they get the runs also apple cores and apple slices - presumably also helps to clean their teeth.

I give them tinned or dried food just often enough so they are used to it and dont get too picky about their food, in case I am ill and cant cook, or someone else is kind enough to feed them but hasnt time to cook.

[Philoz]

Just get a cat-it's much easier,and you don't have to follow them round with plastic bags in your pocket,assuming you are a responsible owner,which not everyone is judging by the number of turds at the bottom of my drive.

[genghis]

Thank you for your responses (apart from one boring post which was off topic anyway!!) - the first brew is on the go - looks good enough to eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Much cheaper than Pedigree!!!!

[sophie]

Genghis, believe me if you have added a little vegetable to the water you cooked the meat it, if the rice is allowed to absorb the fluid after removing the cooked hearts (or whatever) then to all intents and purpose you have cooked a basic risotto. The first few times I found it a bit of a nuisance, but now as I said before if you 2 days in advance, it saves time. Like RR I do occasionally mix up some mackerel with the pasta or rise, Actually my lot prefer Rice to Pasta, provided I rinse it thoroughly to remove all the starch. And as RR says, do give them tinned occasionally, to stop them becoming too fussy!!

[Ragged Robin]

I probably shouldnt rise to the bait, but I am so sick and tired of constant carping at dog owners who spend time and money they may ill afford to home, neuter, register strays and protect them against transmittable diseases to the benefit of the whole human community.

Particularly when it comes from those who take credit from throwing a few scraps at stray cats in residential areas, without taking any other responsibility for them,, with the result the cats (who dont normally defecate when they are fed) foul neighbours gardens, dig up plants, spread fleas and ticks, and yowl nightly when in season, and congregate on sheds and walls to tease resident dogs. You can keep dogs off (or in) your property with fences. There is no defence against marauding cats.


I hope you are not one of those throwing stones at other people's houses when you live in a glass house yourself, Philoz.

[Hippocampus]

Please remember, home cookers, that it is not easy to create a nutritionally perfect diet at home, the reputable dog food manufacturers have spent millions on this to produce their complete foods. When I have had to cook home meals for my dogs, largely similar to those of the previous posts, I have also included a daily doggy vitamin tablet.

Please also remember that older dogs need far less protein than younger ones. Too much can put a strain on elderly kidneys. So a smaller quantity of high quality protein for oldies.

ps well said, Ragged Robin. We have no problem with other peoples dogs, but plenty with their cats, noise from fighting and mating at night, mess in the flower beds and pots etc.

[Philoz]

I knew when I posted my comment I would Invoke the wrath of the 'Doggy Fanatics',and fully expected a fair bit of vitriol,actually I expected a bit more than I got.

The thing is,whilst I appreciate everyone's right to post about their beloved 4 legged pooches,the post should really have gone in the 'Pets' bit of the forum,and not the general section.

Also it's not very TRNC related, but I accept I am being (slightly)pedantic on that count.

There was a thread a while back about getting all the doggy stuff-as in 'lost and found' and other doggy related matters, off the main page,and into it's own particular area of the forum.

Soner endorsed this (due to popular opinion)and created extra sections in the forum ,so that people that weren't obsessed with everything 'Doggy' didn't have to wade through Doggy stuff on the main page.

Recently however, the main page has begun to resemble a Dog lovers forum,in terms of lost and found(which is actually the biggest heading)and other dog related stuff being posted on the main page.

Don't get me wrong,I am a dog lover,and an animal lover generally.

But I nearly want to chuck up when I see the reverence and drivel some folk warble on about when it comes to dogs.

A while back someone posted in desperation that their young child was ill,and needed medical care urgently-I think I was the first and maybe only poster to point them in the right direction.

A couple of posts above that plea for help I recall was a dog related post,that had a lot of replies running into double figures as I recall.

In other words, dogs are more important than children?

Like I say,I like dogs,but please post in the pet section.

Cats are better though.

[genghis]

I normally don't get involved in these Cyprus44 type exchanges but as it was my simple request for information that has prompted vitriol/controversy I will:
793 posts in almost two years to the day - averaging at just over one a day. How can any one person be so blessed with such wisdom?? We are all truly blessed that he is in our midst!!
Get a life!!!!!!!

[Ragged Robin]

Philoz:

A lot depends on the heading of a post: I read a lot of posts I dont want to because the heading was misleading, sometimes deliberately to disguise the fact that that they are really advertisements, or simply because the poster cant be bothered to describe it properly: I am tired of posts by people with more money than sense seeking expensive gadgets, or moaning about the lack of facilities in country which cant be expected to provide them. But I dont normally comment on them just for the sake of winding people up.

At least this heading of this post made the subject matter clear and if you werent interested you didnt hve to read it! Let alone make a snide comment!

The stray animal problem (unlike how easy it is to save money by smuggling at item across the border) is one that is endemic to the country we live in and one that needs serious discussion on the main page. The cost of caring for strays is becoming a majorproblem for those who genuinely care for them (instead of just throwing them a few scraps) , and the thread, apart from your contribution, was unusual in that everyone , far from dribbling on sentimentally, was making constructive suggestions to overcome one aspect of the problem and justified the main page.

I like cats too, and would actually like to adopt one, but I am already spending more than I can afford on strays dogs: however I am rather tired of crowds of cats messing my garden and making a lot of noise, at a time when my dogs have been shut indoors just to stop them being a nuisance to other people. Perhaps it would be more useful if you explained how you look after your cats, what measures you take to neuter them and protect them from parasites and diseases, and generally cause as little disruption to others as is possible with an pet animal.

As for the post about the sick child, I dont recall seeing it , but if I had and didnt reply it would have been either because I did not know the answer or because someone else (maybe even your?!) had given sufficient information, and didnt want to confuse a serious issue by making fatuous comments, no doubt others who did not reply used the same discretion.

[Philoz]

I will reply to both of your posts tomorrow-but I wouldn't have read your original post had it been in the 'pets' section.

[genghis]

Good evening Moderators,
May I suggest you delete this post. I have been assisted with all the information that I sought and the forum has performed its function admirably.
There is nothing more to be gained.
.

[Marions]

As this post has achieved its aim by the original poster, I am now locking this. There may be others who wish to read what has gone before but the thread seems to have also lost its way.

I must confess by the way, that I don't have the time to cook for my animals and they have tinned food or some of what we eat, and of course here are those who would say it is wrong, but in my own defence that is what my parents did, and all the animals inour care were healthy and loved.

Of course if anyone has any more recipes, then please start another thread.