Homemade Dog Foods

I know this is very long. I included a description of my current “diet” and lifestyle as well as my goal (July 25th 2009). Please take the time to at least skim for parts that would be helpful in answering. Thanks!

Currently: I’m turning 22 next month. I’m 5′4″ and this morning I weighed in at 134.8 lbs. That’s the most I’ve weighed in years. My current daily food intake is usually:

BREAKFAST– no breakfast at all OR an everything bagel (high in fiber & protein); Cereal always leaves me hungry an hour later.

LUNCH: I’ll either grab a taco from Taco Bell (bad… I know), or eat a Smart Ones frozen meal (Weight Watchers brand….), or a sandwich AND hard pretzles, apple sauce, maybe a cookie or granola bar.

DINNER: I make dinner for my husband and I every night. I try to be relatively healthy about it… nothing is fried, no Crisco, we use olive oil if needed, no margarine or butter, etc. We’ll usually do grilled chicken breasts or grilled pork chops, and a vegetable such as corn on the cob, steamed broccoli, salad, or asparagus. Usually a carb like cornbread, french bread, etc. Sometimes we make whole wheat pasta & jarred sauce… sometimes homemade pizza, sometimes soup.

Snacks & Sweets: I have a MAJOR sweet tooth…. especially during “that” time of the month… I eat at least one granola bar a day (usually Fiber One brand), sometimes we make cookies or eat ice cream for dessert.

**My husband usually works until 7:30pm, so we usually start eating dinner around 7:30 or 8:00pm. I think it would be rude for me to eat alone and just leave him with whatever is left over. Dinner is when we talk about our days and relax for the evening. It’s important to us. But I know it’s bad to eat late.

EXERCISE & REST: I usually get about 8 hours of sleep a night (11:30pm until about 8:00am). For the past 3 days, I’ve been taking my dog (chocolate lab/whippet mix) on brisk walks of 2 or 3 miles at a time. Either in the morning before it gets hot or after dinner when it starts to cool down. That’s the only exercise I’ve been getting… and that’s only been for 3 days now.

My Goal: I would like to get down to 125 lbs and drop a size or two by my birthday at the end of July. My husband and I will be going to Myrtle Beach and I’d like to feel comfortable in my bathing suit. My shorts from last year are a little snug (partially from weight gain– +3 lbs since then, and partially from shrinkage). I don’t want to buy new clothes until I am my goal weight.

My diet officially started today. I am trying to get pregnant, so I’m not going to use any diet pills or drugs to lose weight. Any suggestions for meals, exercise or lifestyle changes?? Thanks!
Any answers that are NOT advertisements to stupid websites would be most appreciated. Thanks.

My two year old male Basset Hound, Toby, has somewhat rough feeling fur. It is mainly because his mother does, and she is from pure working lines. They are bred for thicker, tougher coats and skins to prevent injuries while on the job. But, his father came from champion show lines and had a soft, loose skin. Toby sort of got a mixture of both. He has very tough skin, that is very loose, but it is softer now that we feed Purina (I know; blah blah blah, all the fillers, bad ingredients, etc. but my dogs do best on this food and actually refuse to eat anything like Innova; my grandfather feeds his Basset Innova and I stayed with him for two weeks with my dog and he would NOT go near it!).

But I was wondering.. What are some healthy, homemade snacks that I could make to improve his skin and coat? I want it to be soft, shiny, and healthy looking. I heard that cooked eggs were healthy for them, but I don’t want them eating raw eggs because of salmonella(sp?).

dogs skin is dry.. i have no money on me so i cant buy food, oils, etc.. all i have is vegetable oil… can i use any kind of food that has omega 3 oils or somthin that i can give em???? please answer! homemade crap or somthin

My puppy is 6 month old. I am reading a book about The Three Dogs Bakery. It’s a place that makes homemade, natural dog treats. They made a point of saying in the book, how that half the things in dog food/treats you don’t even know what it is. I am thinking about making some homemade dog treats. I find this recipie on the internet. Is it healthy?

DAISY’S PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup quick oats – uncooked
1 cups hot water
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 eggs- lightly beaten
3 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter- smooth
2 to 3 tablespoons of your favorite nutritional supplement

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine peanut butter, hot water, oil, and eggs in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Set aside. Combine flour, cornmeal, and oats in a separate bowl. Mix well. Pour the bowl of the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix well with hand mixer until dough forms.Knead dough on a floured board until no longer sticky. Add flour as needed.
Oh yea, I’m not going to use the supplment.

my parents are about to buy me a golden retriever and collie puppy quite soon,and do not know which brand of dog food to feed it.here where i live,in bangladesh,asia,there aren’t much to choose from.i can’t even buy stuff over the internet-i just can’t bring myself to believe that they will actually deliver the original stuff.we only get to buy pedigree and dogmaster here.maybe i should feed it homemade stuff?it would be much easier to do it if they were adults,but they are just 4month old puppies!would homemade stuff agree with them?

I’m getting fed up of feeding my dog “reputable” brands of food only to find out they may/probably aren’t good for him. He just fell in love with Merrick brand dog food and now I discovered they own a rendering plant and that worries me. My dog has tried Nutro Ultra and now refuses to eat it. So now I’m wondering, is it bad to make him my own homemade doggy food with potato chunks, veggies and chicken? Technically it’s people food but he loves veggies like broccoli and peas. Would it be bad if I went this route?
I will not feed my dog Purina. Purina is one of the offenders that contain “meat and bone meal” which has been known to be linked to “rendering plants”. Rendering Plants pick up road kill, dead live stock, and etc. They are shredded, and boiled. They sell it to pet food companies as “animal fat”, the rest of the animals’ remains are crushed up, dried and sold to dog and cat food companies as meat and bone meal. Also corn and wheat are hell to digest on your dogs stomach. No Purina.
Thanks for all the speedy answers. If I do have to resort to homemade dog food, I’ll be sure to do ample research first and use only good ingredients (no chicken fat or anything like that). Plus I’ll check out the links provided.
By the way, as far as breed goes, he’s a 1 year old mini Australian Shepherd.
Pic:
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg253/LittlePumpkinThief/75722499_105357.jpg

so my dogs don’t have any food… i know, we have to buy some but they just ran out of it this morning. i have been feeding them rice chex but i dont want to feed them too much just to make sure they dont get sick. does anyone know if that is healthy for them? oh and if you know any quick way to make homemade dog food can you please give me the recipe? thanks!

My dog is a healthy happy 3-1/2 yr old 60lb husky mix. He is very active, but there is one problem. He doesn’t like dog food. i’ve dealt with this for all his life, trying just about every dog food, I’ve discussed with several vets, tried their approach, but it just doesn’t work, causing my dog to starve himself until hes really hungry and has no choice but to eat it. I’m looking for a healthy (affordable to make) balanced dog food recipe, to supplement at least one feeding a day. Nothing weird please like fishoil etc, as I believe he has a bit of a sensitive tummy. A vet suggested doing homemade, so I know most disapprove, but that is where I’m at right now. Thanks for your help!