How I cook for my dog 1

Eggshells are high in calcium and good for cleaning teeth - perfect for dogs. 

We are a family of five: my husband, two kids and a dog, Coco. I enjoy cooking for the whole family. 

I am sure some reputable dog foods on the market are high quality. One of our neighbours had two dogs, which lived to age eighteen and seventeen, both only dieted on Royal Canin. Coco used to eat the same brand too.

But one day I came across a question on the internet: as nutritious as it can be, would I feed my child the same canned food every single day?

Then our dog lost his interest on kibbles and feeding time became as bad as feeding a fussy toddler. 

Just when we were considering changing Coco's diet, I was encouraged by a blogmate to try fresh food. So I started and it turned out to be easier than I thought. Nothing fancy, just unprocessed fresh foods with no seasoning.

For Coco, we introduced fresh foods very gradually, just like introducing solids to a baby. For the first three weeks we replaced a small portion of his kibbles with fresh foods, one food for three days at a time. We documented any allergic reaction; we monitored his weight, physical check results from the vet and eventually worked out a suitable portion and meat/veggie ratio and a list of foods to avoid. 

Coco is a miniature poodle, who is almost two and weights 19 pounds. His current daily diet contains two meals, each consists of one cup of cooked meat and one cup of raw veggie/fruit. He has been on fresh food diet for over six months and a visit to the vet last month confirmed that he is in good shape.

There are, however, a lot of foods that are inappropriate or even harmful for dogs. I will share my own experience in later posts. Do your research thoroughly before you start. Unfortunately vets do not quite promote fresh foods diets (you know that they promote dog foods), but if you have questions, I am sure a dog loving vet will answer.  

I usually buy the cheapest but lean and fresh cuts of meat such as pork shank or turkey drums. Cooking is usually done once or every other weekend, and I store the cooked meat in freezer. We transfer a box to the fridge the day before feeding to thaw. When it's time for feeding, the meat is warmed up to room temperature and mixed with chopped raw vegetables and fruit.

Here is what I prepared for Coco last weekend:

Ingredients
3 lbs of pork loin ( it was on sale for $2.99/lb, we bought an extra slab for ourselves too)

1 lb. of salmon (a section from the fillet I bought for our dinner)

1 pack of tofu (calcium enriched)

How

1. Dice everything into 1cm cubes.
2. Put the pork into a big pot and add 2 tbs. of water. Because fish and tofu take lesser time to cook, they can be added later. Always cook the meat with the least amount of time to retain the nutrient.
   
3. Bring the pot of meat to a boil then simmer with lid on for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Add salmon and tofu and stir well. Bring it to a boil then simmer with lid on for another 5 minutes. 
   
5. Turn off the heat and let the meat cool to room temperature. Place in Tupperware, label and store in freezer.
   

You can't imagine how fulfilling it is to watch my dog gobbling down my home cook dinners in a flash, and he seems to never get enough!

Ever since I have cooked for Coco, his appetite has came back and we became best friends!

We packed his food for camping too!