Legal Stuff Copyright All materials in this book are copyright protected and may not be used commercially, reprinted, distributed, republished or resold in any way unless with prior written consent from the author. Non-commercial usage is acceptable if the author is referenced by author name, book name and this website: www.healthy-k9.com. Disclaimer The author of this book is not a trained dog health professional. It is the reader s responsibility to consult with a licensed, practicing Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine (DVM) (or equivalent in your country) before making any changes to your method of feeding, grooming or any other matter of dog care for any dogs for which you have any responsibility or contribute, in any way, to their care. 2
Introduction... 4 Basic Formula... 5 How Much Too Feed... 6 Equipment... 8 Ingredients... 10 Optional Ingredients... 14 Cooking Method... 15 Cooking the Meat... 15 Cooking the Rice... 16 With Rice Cooker... 16 Without Rice Cooker... 16 Preparing the Vegetables... 17 Pre-Cooking the Vegetables... 18 Cubing The Meat... 19 Mixing the Ingredients... 20 Final Cooking Phase (Optional)... 21 Storage... 22 Packaging For Freezing... 22 TIPS... 23 3
Introduction One of the biggest obstacles to home preparing dog food is finding the time and/or the motivation to cook an extra meal every night. Believe me, I know exactly how it feels. My dog NEVER eats commercial dog food because I take the concept of practicing what you preach very much to heart. But as much as I take it to heart and as much as I love my fluffy little buddy, I still don t like to cook an extra meal for my dog every night of the year because its just not practical. So what do I do? After much experimentation, I developed a generic recipe which allows me to prepare about 4 weeks of food in a single session for my 15lb/7kg dog (if your dog is heavier, don t worry because as you ll see the recipe is completely adaptable). Depending on your needs and the size of your pot and empty space in your freezer, you could quite easily cook more or less because the recipe is purposefully very adaptable. Nowadays, I cook for my dog about once a month, except on the odd occasion when I cook a recipe from Dog Food SECRETS just as a special treat for the night. So, let s not waste any more time and get cooking! Andy 4
Basic Formula Bulk Generic Dog Food Recipe This formula is all you need to know because any meal made from nutritious ingredients to this formula will be fantastic for your dog. 1. 40% Protein (animal protein) 2. 25% Starch carbohydrate (wholegrain brown rice, oats, quinoa, potato, etc [not white rice, white bread, white flour]) 3. 25% Fibrous carbohydrate (vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, spinach, zucchini, lettuce, peppers (capsicum) [never onions]) 4. 10% Fat (fat on the meat you use plus the natural oils in the carbs is probably enough but a great oil supplement for dogs is linseed (a.k.a. flaxseed) oil, which is very rich in omega-3) 5
How Much To Feed Bulk Generic Dog Food Recipe This recipe is all about being simple and generic so I m going to give feeding advice along the same theme rather than complicate it with specific calorie advice which leaves you with the need to get out a calculator to determine what is appropriate for your dog. As you are an owner of Dog Food SECRETS I m going to presume you have some experience with feeding your dog with care and you now have a good feel for how much she/he should be eating at each meal time. Just keep these simple tips in mind: A dog weighing 50lbs doesn t require double the portions of a dog weighing 25lbs, it isn t a linear increase like that.. a 50lb dog will eat less than double what a 25lb dog eats. I make this point because my dog is 15lbs and you may be tempted to give your dog 3 times as much food because its 45lbs. (See chart below) Feed your dog in about the same portions you have been feeding him/her so far If your dog has been eating a lower quality food, than consider giving smaller portions because this food is very high in nutrition which will decrease your dog s calorie requirement Keep an eye on your dog s size.. feed the same amount every night and if you notice his/her body shape go above or below a healthy size than adjust the serving size accordingly It s the daily volume you need to be mindful of, so if your dog had more food during the day than usual, give a smaller end of day meal to compensate 6
This chart shows the normal calorie requirements of dogs ranging from 5-110lbs Target Weight Normal Requirements 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) 250 calories 11 lb (5 kg) 450 calories 22 lb (10 kg) 750 calories 33 lb (15 kg) 1000 calories 44 lb (20 kg) 1250 calories 55 lb (25 kg) 1500 calories 66 lb (30 kg) 1700 calories 77 lb (35 kg) 1880 calories 88 lb (40 kg) 2100 calories 99 lb (45 kg) 2300 calories 110 lb (50 kg) 2500 calories 7
Equipment Equipment is typical and quite straight forward Large soup pot with a lid Cutting board Sharp knife for cutting vegetables and meat Baking dish for the meat Rice cooker (cook rice on stove top if no rice cooker) Wooden mixing spoon Cup measurer Dessert spoon 8
Plastic containers with lids for placing in freezer Bulk Generic Dog Food Recipe 9
Ingredients These ingredients feed my 15lb (7kg) dog for 4 weeks. 1. 4.5lbs (2kg) meat o Suitable meats include: 1. Cheap roasting beef 2. Cheap roasting lamb 3. Cheap roasting pork 4. Beef mince 5. Lamb mince 6. Pork mince 7. Butcher pet mince (this is the cheapest option but be warned it stinks. If your butcher prepares it himself, then 10
its probably all natural and highly nutritious (always ask) but it will mostly be composed of offal, which has a horrendous odor). 2. 2.8lbs (1.25kg) of mixed vegetables (I use leftover veggies) 11
o Includes 2 tins diced tomates o I usually use leftover vegetables in the fridge. I also keep my limp lettuce, broccoli stalks, discarded cabbage leaves etc. until its time to cook a dog food batch. o I time the cooking of my dog s food with the day I go grocery shopping.. when I bring home the fresh vegetables for my family, I ll go through my fridge and remove all the wilted & unwanted vegetables I ve been saving to make room for the new veggies. I have them all on the kitchen counter, plus I ve just come home with another 4-5lbs of meat so its easy to cook my dog s food right there and then. o Never use onions, they are dangerous to dogs 12
3. 2.8lbs (1.25 kg) of starch carbohydrates (cooked weight) o I usually use wholegrain brown rice o I don t measure to precisely achieve a cooked weight of 2.8lbs, instead I guesstimate o I cook 2 cups of brown rice with 8 cups of water which yields about 2.5-3lbs of starchy carbohydrate o My ratio of rice to water is 1:4 for 2 reasons i. Dogs don t like to eat undercooked brown rice.. they will be more likely to eat a softer texture ii. Hard brown rice will stick in your dog s teeth and increase the risk of tooth scale (heavy tartar build-up) 13
Optional Ingredients 1. 3.4 fl. oz. (100mls) linseed (aka flaxseed) oil: The basic homemade dog food formula contains 10% fat but I believe there is enough natural fats in the meat and carbs. However, its quite ok to add linseed oil if your dog is not receiving any omega-3 supplementation. Linseed also has many immunity boosting properties & is overall a great supplement for dogs. 2. Heaped dessert spoon crushed garlic: garlic boosts immunity from colds during colder months and repels biting insects in the warmer months. Yes, garlic is a close relative of onion, which you should never give a dog, but garlic is beneficial in small amounts 14
Cooking Method Bulk Generic Dog Food Recipe Cooking the Meat 1. Preheat the oven to 375F (180C) 2. Place the meat into a baking dish 3. Insert into the oven 4. Cook for approx 1-hour 15
Cooking the Rice With Rice Cooker 1. Place 2 cups of wholegrain brown rice in the rice cooker 2. Place 8 cups of water in the rice cooker 3. Switch on and leave until done Without Rice Cooker 1. Add 2 cups of wholegrain brown rice to a pot 2. Add 8 cups of water (or 6 cups if pot lid does not let steam escape) 3. Bring to the boil without a lid 4. Turn down to a low simmer put lid on pot (don t stir) 5. Check back in about 20mins, leave for a few more minutes if not done 16
Preparing the Vegetables 1. Dice the vegetables into small pieces with edges of about.4 inches (1cm) a. Smaller if you have a toy dog b. Big pieces of vegetable get spat out c. Smaller pieces also have greater surface area compared to volume and therefore absorb flavor better 17
Pre-Cooking the Vegetables 1. Place the vegetables, including the 2 tins of diced tomatoes in the large pot 2. Add the crushed garlic (optional) 3. Fill 1 empty tomato tin with water and add to pot 4. Place lid on pot 5. Place pot on stove on low-medium heat for 15 minutes to soften the vegetables 18
Cubing The Meat 1. When the meat is done, remove from oven & leave to rest for 20 minutes 2. When meat has cooled, place on cutting board 3. Save the juices still in baking dish 4. Cut meat into cubes a. Carve the meat into slices b. Stack the slices on their side & cut the slices into strips c. Lay all the strips on top of each other and cut into cubes 19
Mixing the Ingredients 1. Remove the pot of softened vegetables from the stove 2. Add the cooked wholegrain brown rice 3. Add the cubed meat 4. Add the meat juices from baking dish and some of the fat 5. Optional a. Add the linseed/flaxseed oil 6. Mix well 20
Final Cooking Phase (Optional) 1. If you are in a hurry this final cooking is not necessary, I do it for this reason: o To marinate the rice and vegetables in the meat juices/flavors because the more the rice and meat taste like the meat, the more likely your dog will eat them 2. If mixture does not look wet, add ½ to 1 tomato tin of water 3. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes 21
Packaging For Freezing Storage 1. During final cooking phase, place your plastic containers and lids on the bench 2. Don t use containers that will take more than 4 days to eat the contents unless you plan to return them to the freezer after each meal, otherwise, the food will go bad before your dog finishes it 3. Remove the pot from stove and allow to cool 4. Fill the containers evenly 5. Don t fill to the top because the contents will expand when frozen 6. Place in the freezer 22
TIPS 1. Don t freeze one of the containers, place it in the fridge for the next few nights 2. When you serve, mix the food with a crushed ricecake or leftover vegetables to add healthy volume.. the food will go further and your dog will be full 3. When I pull a container from the freezer, I immediately cut it into 4 while still frozen (my dog gets 4 meals from 1 container), use ¼ and return the other ¾ to the freezer. I find by doing this the food is fresher at each meal time. 4. You have to change the recipe from time-to-time or your dog will get sick of it. I find changing the protein works best to keep my dog interested 5. This is a soft food which won t clean your dog s teeth, so you ll need to also have a strategy for dental care. The easiest I have found are: a. Dental-chew type snacks these snacks are hard and abrasive which safely cleans the teeth as your dog chews them. Generally they are not the ultimate in nutritious eating, however, good dental health is vitally important which out-weighs their cons. b. Finger toothbrush with doggy toothpaste (don t use human toothpaste). This works best for medium sized dogs and larger, the mouths of smaller dogs are too small to get in between lip teeth with a finger brush 23