Homemade Dog Foods

What are some common carcinogenic ingrediants to look out for in dog food? I know that many brands such as Pedigree and Alpo have BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin which our vet said to avoid at all costs. Does anybody know of any other harmful carcinogenic ingrediants in dog food/treats to avoid?

It’s really kind of infuriating when you start researching exactly what goes into dog food. You realize that dogs would live substantially longer if they didn’t get pumped with so much crap. I have an aunt who Alaskan malamute live to be 18 years old on a raw meat and veggie diet with minimal kibble and a cousin who has a 12 year old pure healthy Great Dane on a raw diet.

FYI, we have our dog (boxer/dane mix) on Diamond (sometimes Kirkland) dry dog food mixed with homemade vegetable, brown rice, and chicken/beef mix which he has been thriving on for 9 years. We’ve also recently started making homemade apple (seedless) and bannana treats ever since we found out many of the treats we’ve been feeding him have BHA/BHT and Ethoxyquin in them.
Sorry for all the typos, trying to type this on a Zune HD. lol.
Jayse, well mainly because I’m a college student and a hybrid kibble and homemade diet is what I can afford right now, at least until I graduate next year

My dog has idiopathic epilepsy and my vet is completely useless. When my dog first got it, he had tons of blood test and they couldn’t find the cause. Eventually they said it was idiopathic. Over the years I’ve done what the vet said just watch out. I looked up some information at first and asked if his food could be a factor, my vet said no. He only gets seizures every 3 months or so, and my vet said if he gets worse they’ll put him on medication, but that can cause liver disease.
Last year I decided I was sick of my vet so I tried a couple of things. Know I have him on a homemade diet from canine epilepsy guardian angels site, and am using home remedies. I can’t say if it’s working because I just started and he only gets seizures every 3 months or so.
I want to find a vet who is open to different solutions. My vets a *ss who doesn’t even have a good rapport with my dog. My dogs not well trained because I’ve spoiled him (mainly because I was afraid of disciplining him at first because of the seizures). But even so, most people he’s OK with, but he hates going to that vet office and so do I.
Do you have any resources in finding a good homeopathic vet?

i have a one month old german shepard pup (female) ROXY
uptil now im feeding her only milk and dont know exactly wat more to give her ! pealse do tell me wat is good ofr their health and wat natural homemade diet should i be giving her , i dont dont want to go for artificial dog food and kibble stuff!!!!!!!
actually i had to accept the puppy from a freind who had to give her away as the mother was nt feeling so well , she gave away most of the puppies so u can call it an emergency act otherwise i was too not prepared for a puppy though i love them alot! so please i know that a pup should be with its mother but in my situation dont pass any judgement just give me a good advice which would help both me n the lill pup

I feed my dog a special homemade diet of either beef or chicken, and sometimes fish or lamb, vegetables and brown rice, but I’d like to add some calcium to her diet naturally. I know that yogurt is a good source, as well as ground up bones (but I usually just plain don’t have the time/energy to do that). Cheese is also good for calcium, but kind of high in fat. What are some other ways to add calcium to a dog’s diet? She’s a pretty picky eater, and literally will not eat food with a supplement in it. I have to force feed it to her by turning it into a paste, and I hate having to do that everyday.
We have different vets, and they all suck. The reason we have multiple ones is because we used to live in different cities. Anywho… they give stupid advice, literally. Like, "just feed cooked chicken, and that’s good enough." Riiiight.. She does eat bones sometimes, but like I said, she’s extremely picky and won’t even eat her tasty daily food. Sometimes she eats lamb shank bones, cooked, but rarely.

and, since I have read very disturbing things about commercial dog foods, I’m going to feed him a homemade diet. I’m new to this (the homemade diet thing, that is, not having dogs) so I WILL double-check your suggestions with a vet, as soon as I get him, but I just want something to go on for now.

What is the best homemade diet his his breed, and his age?

My friend’s dog has severe allergies to basically any commerical food except this only-online one that costs like .15 a pound. The vet said that a homemade diet would be vet with a multivitamin but the ones he had were quite expensive. What would be a better option?

Would you consider paying someone to make your pet’s food? I was thinking of the concept of starting a business that would make custom diets for cats and dogs. The business would be marketed at pet owners who would like to have the benefits of a homemade diet but do not have the nutritional knowledge, or the TIME to make it themselves. The customer could have a consultation in which they could discuss their individual pet, what ingredients they specifically want included/excluded, their schedules etc.

Would you ever consider using a service like this? Why or why not? Would you use it if they delivered your pet’s meals weekly to your home? Specifically, where do you think a business like this would succeed or fail?

Thanks for any input.
In my little concept, I would try to make it as affordable as possible. I would donate 10% of the profits to rural dog/cat rescues, and give my more affluent customers the option to sponser a special needs rescue at a local shelter. By sponser, I mean that they would pay more for their pets meals, and I would provide free food/supplements for a special needs animal in a local rescue. I don’t know if I would offer pet treats/cakes just because I want to specialize in an all natural, very healthy diet. But then again, I might be able to make meat cakes? lol I would offer pet specialty items like orthopedic beds and pet supplements. I might even offer classes to teach people to cook for their pet? Just ideas for now.

I’m concerned with finding a location to start the business that is "pet progressive" and will respond to the idea. I know a "hippy town" that would be really receptive to the idea, but I doubt many members of the community would have the money for the service.

My GSD,Lulu,is 8 years old and the picture of health.She eats Merrick,Eagle Pack Holistic and several other premium foods. For the last several days,she has been urinating more frequently and has had two accidents in the house during the night.I took a urine sample to the vet today and her specific gravity was very low.The vet suspects kidney failure and Lulu is going in for bloodwork next week.She is otherwise acting fine – eating, active, good weight,etc. I have had dogs with renal failure before,and most of them were in their teens when diagnosed and did not last long. I did have a mixed breed called Lilac who was diagnosed at age 9 and lived to be 13,which is what I am hoping for Lulu.I really do not think I can bear to lose her right now. Lilac,( the mixed breeed) ate Hill’s KD and Cycle Senior ( this was back in the late ’80’s) and did well on them. I have been looking online for alternative treatments and diets and wonder if those of you who have had experience with canine renal failure can recommend any herbal/dietary treatments to help my dog should she have renal failure.Is there a dog food or homemade diet that you have had good results with? I am open to trying anything,because Lulu is so very special to me,she is just such a great dog and is so loyal and sweet;she is my shadow. Any advice will be appreciated and if you would star the question so that others who have had or do have dogs with renal failure can see it,I would appreciate it.Thanks in advance.

My 8 month old boston terrier mix has an extremely sensitive stomach and I dont know what to do anymore!
We have tried 4 different types of food and none seem to help him.
First was Orijen which was the worst because of how high in protein it was, he had blood in his stool and wouldnt eat it eventually. And yes we have had multiple stool samples done and all came back negative.
Then we tried Wellness which we kept him on for about 3 months….but he always had loose stool and sometimes extremely liquidy!
We were told to change his main protein in his diet so we switch to performance choice lamb and rice. He was on this for about a month or more and he was even worse then when we was on wellness…it was always super loose and watery. I did some research and found California Natural which is supposed to be for sensitive stomachs and allergies. It seemed to get even worse….he was going RIGHT after he ate like it just went right through him and it was all liquidy and green sometimes. I always do the transition very slow especially because of his stomach but that doesnt seem to make a difference.
The only thing that seems to be good for him is when I make him rice and chicken to settle his stomachs when it gets really bad…but I know that it doesnt have enough vitamins and nutrients in it to feed him all the time.
I feel really bad changing his food so much and Im sure that doesnt help his stomach either but its getting out of hand and I just dont know what to do anymore. We have even had the vet give us pills to make his stool solid and those barely help!
I have gotten to the point where I think a home made diet will be the only thing that will be good for him but I dont have the time to make something super complicated for him everyday.
If anyone has any ideas what to do, or a simple homemade diet that still gives him everything he needs please help me!
He’s lively and has tons of energy so hes not sick or anything but I dont want him to have a upset stomach anymore
Thank you

Hi,
I’m thinking about switching my dogs to a raw diet. I’d like to start them on something that is frozen until I learn how to make a well balanced homemade diet.

Has anybody ever used Nature’s Variety frozen? How did you like it?

I’m really only looking for qualified answers pertaining to frozen raw brands that you can purchase and which brands you find are best.

Thank you!