Should more people prepare homemade food?

[CEvert]

Just wondering why don’t more people prepare homemade food for their dogs?
You know what you are putting into the meal.
Everything is fresh.
If you do not like giving raw food you can always cook it.
My pup loves it and licks the dish clean.
If you shop around, the cost is not much more expensive than commercial food.
Every now and then I get some good quality meat for a meat loaf but I end up eating half of it myself.....LOL.

[Tillypo]

I don't freeze any of my raw food i buy 3 kilos a couple of times a week. This may sound disgusting but because a dogs stomach is alot stronger than ours they can eat what we would class as off meat. So if it smells a bit they will still eat it.

[YoureBeingADick]

good to know tillypo. i'll check out those links on the thread linked upthread.

[moosemama]

Thanks fanoftheinvisibleman, I shall be despatching dh to have a look in our local Morrisons tomorrow.

Basildon, as someone in the doghouse said before, raw/homecooked vs commercial is the breast vs bottle topic of the dog world. It's purely personal choice and no-one should feel pressured either way. I do both (Pip is on kibble, Lurcherboy is mostly raw fed, but having more and more kibble due to storage issues) and have switched from one to the other with all my dogs over the years, depending on whether it's been convenient and/or affordable. When mine are raw fed, I do my best to balance everything, but I'm veggie too and there's no way I'm bringing tripe into my house, I only have to see the stuff, let alone smell it, to start heaving.

[basildonbond]

I know moose - I wouldn't dream of telling another dog owner that they had to feed their dog kibble - I'd assume that if they were raw feeding that was the best choice for their circumstances - like floral I don't think feeding kibble makes me a lazy owner

[Imsosorryalan]

Hmm, medal anyone? My dog is perfectly happy with his fish4 dogs, thank you. After cooking for a family after a busy day at work, cooking for my dog isn't an option. Unless I feed him at 9pm. He also is sick on raw, hates bones and anyway, with 2 dds running around, I don't fancy following the dog round with a mop.
he's a dog, happy to get whatever he gets.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

Well I raw feed the dog and bottle fed ds so I'm not a member of the food police . I don't think kibble feeding is a lazy alternative.

I started out feeding kibble and would probably never have tried raw if he hadn't been a reluctant underweight eater with constant squits.

I can see how the thread title could be construed as a little holier than thou but I wouldn't like anyone to think that I think that just because I raw feed.

[Floralnomad]

It wasn't anything you said fan that inspired me to post .

[Tillypo]

I think the point of some of the posts on here is the excuse that they don't have time to feed raw is just that an excuse. I was asked my opinion and gave it if people don't like it then thats a bit of tough luck on their part. Anyway now I have finished polishing my halo I am off to bed.

[HereComesHoneyBooBooDragon]

I thought white poo meant too much bone in their diet?

[Floralnomad]

Actually the only person who said they don't do it because of a lack of time is lonecat and as she is a busy vet I think she is more than qualified to say whether or not she has the time to feed her dog a properly balanced raw diet .

[topbannana]

I have done both and can see the pros and cons of each. Currently we are on Barking Heads and likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future as GingerDog really struggles to keep the weight on over a season when raw fed. I have raw fed and while I enjoyed the experience (as did my dogs!) I felt constantly worried that I was feeding too much of this or not enough of that. I also find kibble so much more convenient when we go away or if DM looks after them for a couple of days.
Frankly it's not laziness (that is just the sort of high horse attitude guaranteed to get peoples backs up) it's just whether you feel it is right for you.

[Tillypo]

When they poo it isn't white, it turns white as it dries and turns to a chalky type substance. There is too much bone in diet if they poo it out white if that makes sense.

[HereComesHoneyBooBooDragon]

I get cross when I get evangelicalised at in my local park by one particular lady. She assumes she is the only raw feeder ever and goes on about how cheap it is. It's not how she friffing does it!

Orders it all delivered in trays etc online.

If I do raw, it's usually animal grade mince or chicken frames, from the buthcher. Costs me a pound a day more if you factor in veg and sardines.

If I shop around, PREMIUM kibble like Barking Heads or Burns which Hully thrives on, costs .37p per day.


As long as a dog is thriving and content I don't trouble myself with what people feed them when they get home.

[HereComesHoneyBooBooDragon]

Cheers Tilly. I thought you meant they were actually pooing white.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Thank you Flora. I understand and see raw as a good option. But for my lifestyle it just wouldn't work.
What upset me is the comment that I don't do because I sit watching crap TV. We all have to do the feeding that we feel is the best fit for our lives.

[CEvert]

@Tillypo you have 3 dogs so I guess you probably use just under 1.5kg of meat a day. If you spend lets say £2.50, that works out £1.66 per kg of meat..... I would struggle to find meat that cheap anywhere, nothing at a supermarket anyway unless it's frozen or on the reduced shelf.

[Tillypo]

CEvert .... Asda do cheap fresh chicken in the fridges in a white plastic package with a green label on that works out at the most £2.50 a tray that feeds all 3 for a day. My local butcher also does my chicken at around the same price as I buy so much off him he saves me all the bones too. He didn't charge that at first until he realised it was going to be a regular order. He even rings me now on a Saturday afternoon if he has got anything left that really needs using and sells that to me cheap. It was a case of building up a bit of trust with him so he realised that he wouldn't be buying in extra meat and end up throwing it away because I wasn't going to turn up.

[HopeForTheBest]

This is probably the right place to ask can I give mine raw ribs? I've only just started giving them bones, which they really like, but was unsure about ribs. Any thoughts?

[moosemama]

Ribs are fine HopeForTheBest. Lurcherboy gets a whole slab of lamb ribs, smaller dogs are fine with one or two.

[HereComesHoneyBooBooDragon]

My local butcher does chicken wings for 50 pence per carrier bag full

Or

Tesco Value frozen chicken is good. Open back, remove to pieces. Give to dog

[HereComesHoneyBooBooDragon]

Frames. Not wings.

[CEvert]

My pup is still quite young so I am feeding both homemade and dry food.
Feeding him about 8% of meat per day plus some veg.
Will gradually decrease % of meat in his diet and replace it with more fruit/veg.
I add some Omega oil and crush some vitamin tablets in his meal.

[HopeForTheBest]

Thank you moosemama! The girls will be v. pleased :)