Sunday Musings: Healthy Dog Food Recipe
I used to think my mom was nuts. She cooked for her Shih Tzu every night. I wasn’t crazy about that dog, and I’m a dog lover. He was grumpy and would walk around mumbling to himself all the time. He looked like Winston Churchill after a long night of drinking.
Well, now I’m cooking for my dogs. But I don’t cook every night. One of my Chihuahuas has developed an allergy to chicken. Turns out out just about every dog food out there has chicken in it.
I resisted as long as I could, but caved last week when my vet Dr. Randy Aronson had me put a few pieces of my dog’s food in a glass of water. It NEVER dissolved! So then I put it in vinegar (which approximates stomach acid.) Still – not dissolved! What am I feeding them?
No wonder my little guy is putting on weight.
Dr. Randy uses integrative medicine (conventional plus holistic.) He gave me this recipe: Fry a pound of hamburger while cooking a sweet potato. Add two cups of cooked brown rice, one tablespoon of parsley, a cup of peas, and a grated carrot. Mash the sweet potato good and mix it all together.
My little five pound Xena gets only a Tablespoon of this, and Lezard, my overweight and much bigger Chi-Jack Russel, gets three Tablespoons. I figured I was spending 90 cents a day before on dog food, and this much healthier recipe is costing 33 cents a day. Not bad.
Plus, they love it! I’ve never seen my dogs dance for food. Their energy is better, their fur is softer and smoother, their eyes are clear, and they are full!
That recipe above feeds my two little Chihuahuas for exactly one week. So today I found small freezer containers and I’m making individual servings to freeze a week’s worth at a time.
The best part? Now they are happier, and they are much more efficient at getting their filing done in my office.
Beth and the pups
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Beth Terry, CSP
Professional Speaker and Author
Website
©2007 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc.
Report One Month Later: The Diet WORKS!
My little guy is running around happier than I’ve seen him in years. It’s like having a puppy again. He’s losing weight, his eyes are clear, he doesn’t groan when he’s sleeping, and he loves the food!
Thank you Randy and all your people at the clinic for sending these recipes!
It takes me about 45 minutes to make enough food for these two little guys for 10 days. Not bad. And it costs less. I highly recommend it!
cheers,
Beth
Tia – The recipe says it’s for K-9 only. Not sure why. My Chihuahuas go nuts over it. Today Lezard ran up to his dish and gave me those eyes, then carefully licked his bowl clean so I’d know how much he loves this food.
Dr. Randy Aronson (link in the blog above) has several recipes for cats, too. Let’s get his blog up and ask him to have a whole page just for recipes.
He told me that overweight animals can have pumpkin, too. No wonder my Chi’s follow me around the kitchen at Thanksgiving when I’m cooking Pumpkin pie!
Oh thanks for including the portion sizes! I make all the food for our pups and dog but have not been sure how much they should be eating. Sweet potato is also something new to try! (piper loves steel cut oats, burger meat, and green beans).
I wonder if this would work for cats?