Commercially manufactured, highly processed dog kibble, cookies and treats can be full of poor nutrition, toxins and carcinogens. The manufacturer may promote their product as wholesome and (all) natural but the terms ‘wholesome’, ‘all-natural’ are not regulated - manufacturers can use the terms as liberally as they like. Many of these treats also contain sugar and other ingredients that are contradictory to a good diet.
The following recipe and its companion, my homemade dog food recipe is appropriate for:
- Puppies;
- Teenage Dogs;
- Adult Dogs, and;
- Senior Dogs.
While an adult dog may be able to sustain such deficiencies for longer periods of time - dogs that are more vulnerable - such as puppies, will show the effects of deficiencies more quickly, the same can be said for many senior dogs.
As well, the pet food industry has created a niche for 'weight control' dog foods for adult and senior dogs. Another invention made necessary by the inadequacies of pet food industry products. A dog that is on a species appropriate diet is much less likely to become overweight than a dog that is fed a nutrient poor and grain-based diet. Grain gets converted by the body into sugar very quickly - this spikes insulin levels and has a collective effect of creating constant hunger in the dog. In addition a dog that is fed a diet that is primarily comprised of fillers and poor source carbohydrates must consume a much larger quantity of that 'food' in order to obtain actual nutritive value. The combination of these two facts creates obesity in dogs, just as it does in humans. If a dog is fed a truly good diet - that same diet can retain its value unchanged throughout the life-span of the dog - from puppy, hood to adult to senior.
If you need your dog to loose weight - the best approach is to feed your dog a truly good diet, cut back on carbohydrates, increase protein and good source fat (i.e. coconut oil a good source omega-6 fatty acid, a high quality omega-3 fatty acid such as Norwegian cod liver oil, Wild Alaskan salmon oil or Norwegian krill oil), introduce appropriate cooked, frozen-thawed and fresh veggies and fruit prepared properly to maximize absorption of nutrients, and turmeric.
For puppies up to 8 months of age exclude the garlic from the recipe. Once puppy is 8 months of age add the garlic to the recipe.
- 3 cups meat or fish
- if you feed your dog raw food, use raw meat
- if you feed your dog dry or wet processed food, or cooked food - cook the meat on lowest possible temperature until just cooked, then remove from heat.
- 3 to 4 tbs of coconut oil, olive oil or sesame oil;
- 3 to 4 tbs of organic apple cider vinegar;
- 2 cups grated/shredded cheese - cheddar, mozzarella, provolone or Swiss;
- 1 fresh lemon (rind, pulp, juice, seeds removed), finely minced - lemons have many beneficial properties;
- 1/8 cup organic basil - fresh or dry minced
- 1 tbs organic anise seed (whole or ground);
- 1 tbs organic caraway seed (whole or ground);
- 1 tbs organic fennel seed (whole or ground);
- 4 garlic cloves, finally minced (yes, it is safe for dogs when fed in reasonable amounts daily and offers many health benefits.). If you are making this recipe for cats, don't use garlic.
- 1/8 cup dry or fresh dill (chopped);
- 1/8 cup ground flax seed, or chia, or saba chia seed, or hemp hearts.
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
- You can form into little round pebbles, balls or flat cookie shapes using a spoon and your palms.
- Place in a container.
- Store in refrigerator for up to one week - you can also freeze it.
- If you are not going to be freezing the treat you can simply place in container and spoon out at treat-time.
- You can also use this as a food topper at meal-time.
- You can cut the recipe in half, thirds, or quarters depending on how many dogs you have and how often you want to feed them the treat.
- 6 eggs - free-range, or organic provide the best nutrition!
- 1 tsp to 1 tbs coconut oil (depends on the size of the fry pan you are using);
- 1/2 cup grated/shredded cheese - cheddar, mozzarella, provolone or Swiss;
- If going raw with this treat just whisk all ingredients together and serve.
- If cooking this treat -
- Add the coconut oil to a fry pan and set on low heat;
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them;
- Add the grated cheese to the whisked eggs;
- Pour the egg and cheese mixture into the heated fry pan and cook on low heat;
- Scramble them as they start to cook;
- When the eggs are fluffy and still a little moist they are ready to serve;
- Allow the scrambled eggs to cool down to warm, before placing the treat in your dog's food bowl.
You can cut the recipe in half, thirds, or quarters depending on how many dogs you have. Provided you use whole eggs (both yolk and egg white) when making this recipe your dog can have this treat daily. If you only use the egg white, give this treat a maximum of 3 times per week. Long-term consumption of egg white without the egg yolk can cause a our dog to have a biotin deficiency. Egg white contains avidin which over time can interfere with the body's absorption of biotin. Egg yolk contains biotin in sufficient amounts to balance and the intake of avidin.
Cheese - Cheddar, Mozzarella, Provolone or Swiss
Coconut Oil
Eggs contain Lutein and zeaxanthin - two caratenoids that support eye health - particularly important for aiding in the prevention of macular degeneration and cataracts. Eggs are high in protein and iron and naturally occurring vitamin D. Eggs are rich in vitamins and minerals (i.e. sulpher) that support the growth and maintenance of healthy fur and nails. With the growth of mass production of eggs Omega 6 levels have risen dramatically resulting in a disruption of the natural ratio of Omega 6 to 3 in eggs. For that reason it is best to purchase Omega-3 enriched eggs.
Garlic
Additional Treat Recipes
- DIY Smoothies & Frozen Treats for Dogs – Nutrient Rich Refreshing Relief During Hot Weather - recipes and health benefits here.
Diet, Nutrition Wellness Services
- Unbiased Diet, Nutrition, Product Advice - information and payment here >>.
- Holistic Diet, Nutrition Wellness Plans - information and payment here >>.
Do you have any suggestions for treats that can be used for training? These sound tasty, but not sure how well it would stick together for training treats on the go. Appreciate any suggestions.
ReplyDeleteSmall pieces of real dried chicken jerky or other REAL dried meat;
DeleteSmall pieces of real cheese;
Small pieces of apple;
Do not use meats that are smoked or pre-prepared with chemical preservatives, sugar etc.
hi, silly question here. for the Recipe #1 - Nutrient Rich 'Pebble' Treat, the lemon should be used whole, just the seeds removed? and, I was just wondering, after mixing all the ingredients, using whole chickpeas, could you dehydrate the mixture (like, in an oven with that function) so you would end up with dry treats?
ReplyDeletethanks very much, I've just found your blog and it's full of amazingly helpfull things for our furry friends and us :)
Yes you can use the lemon whole but just remove the seeds :>)
DeleteYou could dehydrate the mixture and use whole chickpeas - the only issue would be that if your dog tends to bolt his/her food down you may find that he/she just passes the chickpeas whole when he/she eliminates (goes poo :) in which case he/she will not gain much benefit from eating the chickpeas as the nutrients will not have been absorbed.
If you have a dehydrator you can dehydrate fruit, sweet potato, fish, chicken etc. as a treat for your dog. You can find a list of safe fruits and vegetables in this article http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.ca/2012/02/fresh-whole-food-for-your-dogs-health.html
Cheers Karen
Hi!Are the recipes good for puppies as well?We have recently gotten a hound/Aussie 4 month old puppy :) who is hungry all the time!I didn't know if I needed to add vitamins/mineral to the homemade dog food or if it is fine the way that it is written for babies too...Can't wait to see how Memphis likes your dog food and treats!!!Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Diana,
DeleteThe homemade treat and dog food recipes are appropriate for:
Puppies;
Tennage Dogs;
Adult Dogs, and;
Senior Dogs.
The only reason the commercial pet food industry has established a sales niche for puppy food, v.s adult dog food, vs senior dog food is because the adult dog food produced by the pet food industry is often deficient in good source nutrition.
While an adult dog may be able to sustain such deficiencies for longer periods of time - dogs that are more vulnerable - such as puppies, will show the effects of deficiencies more quickly, the same can be said for many senior dogs.
As well, the pet food industry has created a niche for 'weight control' dog foods for adult and senior dogs. Another invention made necessary by the inadequacies of pet food industry products. A dog that is on a species appropriate diet is much less likely to become overweight than a dog that is fed a nutrient poor and grain-based diet. Grain gets converted by the body into sugar very quickly - this spikes insulin levels and has a collective effect of creating constant hunger in the dog. In addition a dog that is fed a diet that is primarily comprised of fillers and poor source carbohydrates must consume a much larger quantity of that 'food' in order to obtain actual nutritive value. The combination of these two facts creates obesity in dogs, just as it does in humans. If a dog is fed a truly good diet - that same diet can retain its value unchanged throughout the life-span of the dog - from puppy, hood to adult to senior.
If you need your dog to loose weight - the best approach is to feed your dog a truly good diet, cut back on carbohydrates, increase protein and good source fat (i.e. coconut oil a good source omega-6 fatty acid, a high quality omega-3 fatty acid such as Norwegian cod liver oil, Wild Alaskan salmon oil or Norwegian krill oil), introduce appropriate cooked, frozen-thawed and fresh veggies and fruit prepared properly to maximize absorption of nutrients, and turmeric.
For puppies up to 8 months of age exclude the garlic from the recipe. Once puppy is 8 months of age add the garlic to the recipe.
Enjoy your food Memphis! Cheers, Karen
How do you give your dog the ACV? In their water, their food, or...?
ReplyDeleteThanks! very informative article. Or dog was just diagnosed with cancer, and we're really trying to clean up her diet and get her healthy.
Ann Bimberg
Hi Ann,
DeleteAdd the ACV to food at meal time - dosage is in this article http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.ca/2013/02/apple-cider-is-good-for-your-dog-and.html
If she has cancer you need to get her off of commercial dry dog food right away. I recommend that you feed her this grain-free homemade food recipe http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.ca/2012/06/home-made-diy-dog-food-recipes-grain.html it is full of cancer fighting ingredients.
Follow the other dietary advice that I provide in this article (http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.ca/2013/09/gme-in-dogs-support-via-diet-and-other.html) as it is applicable to fighting cancer as well as for the condition mentioned in the article.
If you do the above her body's natural defense system will be very well supported to fight the cancer.
Cheers, Karen
Is the scrambled egg recipe given in addition to their regular meals or does it replace one of the meals? And, do you give the dog a daily dose of coconut oil as well as what is listed in the recipe ingredients for the home cooked food? Just trying to get it all straight in my head before I start my dog on her new diet. I'm afraid I'll neglect to give her something she needs. Thanks for giving out this info. Of all the recipes and advice out there, yours is the one I feel most comfortable with.
ReplyDeleteYes , it would be best to give your dog the daily dose of coconut oil appropriate for his/her weight in addition to what is included in the recipe.
DeleteThe scrambled egg recipe is just an additional treat that you can choose to give to your dog. You can find other treat recipes on my site as well.
Hi again Karen,
ReplyDeleteI just sent you a question asking about the lemons and also about omitting the coconut oil on the Treats. I just realized that it looks like since my dog has colitis, I wouldn't be able to use the legumes/chickpeas either. Is there an alternative to use for this item? Would I just replace it with lean meat as you said to do in the homemade food? Or just not give him this particular treat at all. Thanks again
Maureen
For a dog with colitis recommended course of action is http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.ca/diet-nutrition-wellness-plans/
DeleteHi there! Love you easy to follow info on these articles. My family in general is grain, cow dairy nut egg free due to sever allergies of my daughter I cannot even risk have eggs nuts or cow dairy in the house. Could I substitute for goat cheese instead of cow cheese for my dogs? And is fresh salmon on occasion a nice treat for them as weeat lots ofitaround here
ReplyDeleteGoat cheese - yes, salmon - yes.
DeleteHi Karen, I love your articles....very informative. I have a questions... Can I feed raw sprouted chickpeas, lentils,, mung beans and cabbage seeds to a dog?
ReplyDeleteRaw cabbage sprouts, broccoli sprouts are very good. The legume sprouts should be limited quantities.
Delete