Homemade GSD Food Recipe - Huge hit

66399 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by bmass01, Apr 27, 2008

Baby Byron

Discussion Starter · Feb 19, 2008

Greetings,

I'm finally back on after a long time. Which means I'm finally moving on since my last GSD passed. He went down with spongylosis associated with moderate hip dysplasia and we had to make "that" dreadful call. For the very first time in my life I had to make that decision. It was my favorite ever, my best GSD, absolutely perfect. Full black long coat gorgeous gentle giant. Anyway, my new puppy will come home on the first week of march and I have to say... I'm so ready! Can't hardly wait. Part of my preparations (well it's been 1 yr 1/2 without Sidney, 3 yrs without Byron) include going back to homemade food for my GSDs. Being good friends with the man that actually created dog kibble, the late Dr.James Corbin, gave me extra stimulus on top of all the recalls and garbage we've learned recently. My 12 yr old Tommie Girl is elated with her new food (plus there is no kibble on the market that goes down easy with her). I'm an Animal Scientist and work at the College of Vet Med here at the University of Illinois and great enthusiast in nutrition and metabolism. When Byron was diagnosed with EPI we did a ton of research and came across a whole lot of respectable literature on GSD nutrition requirements and needs. So without further ado (sorry, I do talk don't I?

, here it goes:
All measurements are for a 6.5 Quart Crock Pot:
4 cups of rice
1 cup of brown rice
1 cup of barley
2 lbs of frozen vegetables (I use a mix with potatoes, carrots, celery)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
10 oz chicken livers (or 5 livers)
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
10 cups of water or stock (I use organic chicken stock, no msg. The container has 4 cups and so I add 6 cups of water)
Cook on low for 6 hrs.
A 50 lb dog should be eating 1200-1500 cal/ day depending on the degree of activity. Sidney was a long coat and therefore big (yeah, recessive genes do that: long hair, big frame). He was absolutely fit and yet 135 lbs. He was on the 2500 cal window.
1200/1500 cal/day regimen - 1 1/2 - 2 cups of the cooked food
If I use 1 1/2 cups of the cook food I add low fat cottage cheese, or a cooked egg, or alaskan salmon.
We also give Brewer's Yeast and Multi-vitamins (in Tommie Girl's case we use the senior formula).
She loooooves it and I know the new puppy will love it too.
I hope y'all enjoy!
Ana

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Sean Rescue Mom

· #2 · Mar 5, 2008

Sorry for the loss of your best friend but congrats on your new puppy. Don't forget to post pics. DH and my sister are Illini alums. I actually consulted with the head of derm. at the U of IL College of Vet. Med. awhile ago when Sean was diagnosed with an autoimmune illness that effected his skin. Thanks for the recipe and welcome back to the board.

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matt1970lemans

· #3 · Apr 23, 2008

how long does that last?do you freeze the left overs?I only have one German shepherd and he's a small frame east german dog at only 76 lbs at a year and a half.So by your thoughts I would give him a cup in the morning and a cup at night.That correct?Doesn't seem like any of the ingredients are expensive but switching from dog food to dog food is.

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bmass01

· #4 · Apr 24, 2008

Too funny! I sent Baby Bryon almost the exact same PM on Tuesday! My thoughts were exactly the same. The only thing on that list that is expensive IMO is the oil, of course I have not bought rice in awhile so..... I would have to go out and get a larger crock pot, but walmart priced about 40.00 for a 7qt. It would be worth it if this lasts a week and i can make it for $10.00 or under it would be less expensive and I would not have to drive 80 miles to get quality food!

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matt1970lemans

· #5 · Apr 27, 2008

I'm going shopping today,I'll price it out at our local market and see what it adds up to.

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bmass01

· #6 · Apr 27, 2008

I actually went and bought the ingredients and made this on Friday! Makes about 5 days worth of food. Dallas does love it, but I think I will and do recommend cooking the rice first as Dallas in now pooping rice! I also read a different thread that says to cook rice twice so it will be like mush! I do agree! Cost of ingredients in bulk for most of it was about $ 10.00 Kohl's also had a 7qt crock pot on sale for 18.99.

Now, further questions would be the longevity of this diet. Is this a short term diet or could it be served long term without any heath issues?

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BowWowMeow

· #7 · Apr 27, 2008

I have some problems with the ingredients in this diet. I think there is too much grain in it for one thing. I would substitute pureed sweet potatoes for some of the grain but I _think_ the ratio is 1/2 pound of meat to 1 cup of grain (from Pitcairn which I don't have right in front of me right now) so this recipe is WAY off.

I am the double rice cooker. I actually cook it with twice as much water for twice as long so that it's easier to digest. I do this with any grains that I cook for the dogs.

Fresh vegees are far superior to frozen veggies. They need to be pureed and lightly cooked in order to properly digest. I especially like to add a leafy green veggie like kale, mustard greens, etc. because they have lots of good vitamins.

Also--big problem--where's the calcium? I use baked and crushed up eggshells from free range eggs. Other people use bonemeal.

You can feed a homemade diet longterm but you need to make sure it's balanced. I also introduce variety in my grain and protein sources.

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matt1970lemans

· #8 · Apr 27, 2008

so if it costs about 10 to even 15 bucks with the extra calcium in it,I'm spending 30 bucks every 2 weeks on food anyhow.That isn't to bad.what do you do warm it up when you feed it to them?do you store it in the fridge?

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bmass01

· #9 · Apr 27, 2008

Calcium would come from egg w/shell as well as cottage cheese. Actually the cost was 10 for bulk items, could probably get 3 batches. I know it is an awful lot of grain. This is just a first time for me. I have been reading a lot over the weekend. I am going to have to go get a book. I really like the simplicity of the recipe and the fact it can be cooked in the crock pot. I would love more just like it. Different ingredients. Dallas seems to tolorate most things fairly well and he would much prefer this, rice and all, over comercial dog food any day of the week!

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BowWowMeow

· #10 · Apr 27, 2008

Egg shells have a lot more calcium than cottage cheese. I buy premium quality for my dogs (organic grains and veggies and free range eggs/meat) so it comes out more for me but it's worth it!

When I fed this exclusively I made big batches and froze everything I wouldn't use in 4 days. I use raw meat though so if you're using cooked meat it will last a few more days in the fridge.

The Pitcairn book is a good one but if you want to cook exclusively for your dogs I would buy Monica Segal's books.

http://www.doggiediets.com/catalog/writings.php

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bmass01

· #11 · Apr 27, 2008

Not to say Dallas is not worth it by any means, cost certainly does come into play. When quality dog food costs me 40 - 45 per month plus gas (80 miles rt) To go over that to the extreme would not be reasonable. I did go and p/u a couple of books that one included and will do some studying.

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