I've made a start on making my own dog food, after much research. I'm going to do meals based on 50% meat, offal or fish, 25% green veg and 25% starchy veg, I'll make about a week's worth at a time and build up a stock in the freezer.
The sardine oatcake biscuits I made today are a great success - Betty loves them, the mix makes loads and they're cheap to make. I'm also going to experiment with other types of biscuit....I've seen one with grated carrot and another with liver (sounds yuck but it won't be me eating them ).
I've also made dried liver training treats.....liver sliced thinly and baked in a low oven until dried out, and then snipped into small pieces. Cheap and completely natural, unlike a lot of commercial training treats which are made from goodness knows what and have loads of additives. And Betty loves these homemade liver treats.
I'm happy knowing Betty is having good quality homemade food made from completely natural ingredients, and it doesn't cost the earth to do.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
Well done!
my two had chicken, carrots, potatoes and rice for dinner tonight and licked the bowls clean. Tomorrow is scrambled egg breakfast. Monday, Wednesday and Friday they have scrambled egg breakfast and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday a homemade dinner. The rest of the time they have kibble. They always by far prefer the homemade stuff.
could you share the biscuit recipe please?
Trying to enjoy life as it is
Sardine oatcakes:-
2 tins sardines in sunflower oil
60g flour (I used wholegrain spelt but any would do I guess)
300g oats
1 egg and a small amount of water
Method:-
Mash the sardines and their oil in a large bowl. Add the flour and oats followed by the beaten egg and a couple of splashes of water. Mix it well, then knead briefly until it all comes together - you may need to add another splash of water (mine was a bit too dry). Roll out quite thinly on a floured board, then use a small cookie cutter to cut out as many as you can, re-rolling the trimmings as necessary - I got more than 80. Bake on lined trays in a medium hot oven for about 25 mins or so, until they are starting to brown. Leave to cool on a wire tray. Store some in an airtight tin, freeze the rest.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
Trying to enjoy life as it is
Hope the dogs like them!
This is a great website Aly https://www.bdws.co.uk/category/dog-food-recipes/
He's a Scottish dog trainer who has developed loads of dog food recipes in conjunction with a canine dietitian, that's where I got the sardine oatcake recipe from (although I put an egg in mine, he didn't). I'm going to try his ginger biscuits today, they're supposed to be good for preventing nausea and travel sickness. Betty is great in the car, she just goes to sleep in her cage and we don't usually get a peep out of her, but we're going on a long journey in a few days and don't know how she'll cope with that. We'll be stopping for breaks, of course. We'll give her a few of the biscuits 30 mins before the journey, and take some with us.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
Well we think they smell too, Val! I made the ginger ones too, she's not quite so keen on them but will eat them, she definitely prefers the sardine ones.
And another discovery just now.....I gave her the kibble for lunch, with a beaten egg mixed in with it - she wolfed it down and licked the bowl clean, then came back a few minutes later to lick the bowl again! So sometimes I'll give her a scrambled egg (she's getting that for breakfast tomorrow with a bit of salmon mixed in), and sometimes a raw beaten one.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
Trying to enjoy life as it is
I've really enjoyed experimenting with different foods for the dog food, and luckily Betty likes it all and doesn't seem to suffer from an upset stomach.
Yesterday I made chicken with sweet potato, broccoli and peas, this morning I've done tuna with brown rice, carrots and peas. I make about a week's worth each time, portion it up and freeze it.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
I found a big pack of beef off cuts in the supermarket. It is labeled for dogs and cheap. I have cooked it up with carrots, potatoes and rice and filled four big parfait jars. The dogs go mad whilst it is cooking! I think it smells awful! This will do the next week!
The cats have pasta, tuna and peas! Might try the dogs with fish but Bruno needs large dinners!
It is great our dogs are not fussy! Mine always eat the homemade stuff quickly where the kibble hangs around ( unless I put an egg in it)
Trying to enjoy life as it is
Trying to enjoy life as it is
Most Users Ever Online: 767
Currently Online:
30 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
brightspark: 10532
danast: 10232
Aly: 9516
Sooliz: 8084
Hattie: 6920
Ambersparkle: 6699
JoannaS: 4800
Terrier: 4518
eileen54: 4424
Hannah: 4231
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 10
Members: 16171
Moderators: 2
Admins: 2
Forum Stats:
Groups: 6
Forums: 25
Topics: 2295
Posts: 123081
Newest Members:
Doublesden, naoum, brunorogers, Weismart, renesmith97, KarenFields21Moderators: Toffeeapple: 16337, AdminTA: 10
Administrators: fn: 333, Danny: 5516
Copyright © 2006-2012 Cottage Smallholder Our Privacy Policy Advertise on Cottage Smallholder