Puppy Stew

A couple years ago I started making our own dog food.  The reasons were pretty simple-

• Lots of recalls on commercially prepared dogs foods.  Including treats, canned goods & dry food.
• An aging dog who I felt would benefit from a change in diet.
• A desire to make our dogs as healthy as possible so they would live a long, long time.
• Cost.
• A need to know exactly what I'm feeding our precious furry babies.

So before I started making their food from scratch, I did a little research first.  Oh yeah- me and the Google are tight.  But holy buckets is there a lot of information out there!  So after I spent some quality time with Mr. Google, I checked out a few library books on the subject.

And here's what I found-

• Dogs need a balanced diet.
• Veggies are good for them.
• Ease into homemade food so you don't upset their stomachs.
• It's ok to supplement with good quality dry and canned foods.
• Mix it up.  Even dogs get bored with the same old thing.

Dump it all in a pot & cook on low for
30-60 minutes.  Turkey, rice, peas & carrots.

Crazy, right?  All that research and it comes down to just a few things.  Of course I'm simplifying it here but it was really pretty straight forward.  The books and websites I read listed many, many recipes.  Special diets, low fat diets, skin allergy diets- you name it and it was there.  But for the most part, they all had the same basic ingredients.

• Meat
• Veggies
• Grains/Pasta
• Broth

Yeah- pretty easy stuff.  So today I'm going to share with you how I personally make our dogs food.  I make about one batch of "Puppy Stew" as we call it, each week.  I vary the ingredients weekly so they don't get bored and I supplement the Puppy Stew with a little scoop of organic dry dog food.  Adds more texture and helps me extend the batch of Puppy Stew for a full week.

Start with meat.  I buy any meat that is clearanced at my grocery store.  Every time I shop, I check the clearance bin and by doing this, I never pay more then $2 for a pound of meat.  I buy a lot of pork but also get steaks, ground beef, chicken livers (blech!), turkey burgers- you name it, I'll buy it.  Then simply store it in your freezer until you're ready to use.  Defrost for a day in the fridge then just dump the whole thing in a large stock pot.

To the meat, I add about 1-2 cups of grains or pasta.  Our dogs love barley, rice, lentils, potatoes and pasta.  Just buy whatever's cheap and on sale at your grocery store.  And don't be afraid to use a combination of things- for example, a favorite is 1/2 barley and 1/2 lentils.  They love it!

Now is the time to add in your veggies and fruit.  Just pick a couple so you don't overwhelm them with flavors.  Since I buy organic carrots in bulk- I always throw in a couple carrots.  To this I've added spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, kale, brussel sprouts, green beans, blueberries and more.  To do this on the cheap- I am very methodical about saving our scraps.  For example, when we have cauliflower with dinner, I cut up the stalks and any less desirable pieces and put them in a Ziploc bag and store in the freezer.  Then when it's time to cook the Puppy Stew, I just look in my freezer for what I have available.  I never buy fruits or veggies just for the Puppy Stew so the cost is pretty much zero.

Finally, it's time to add in your spices and flavor.  I cook the Puppy Stew in water, about 4 cups, with just a little bouillon or homemade stock.  Then depending on what's in the pot- I will add in rosemary (they love this with pork!) or maybe a little poultry seasoning.  You won't need much and you should never add salt!  And since garlic is very good for their skin and keeping fleas away, I always put a little sprinkle of garlic in the pot.

Then simply cook on low for about 30 minutes to an hour.  Remove from the heat and cut up your meat and any veggies.  Then store in a large container in your fridge.  For 2 dogs, this should last you about a week.

Chicken, rice, barley & carrots.  SO easy!

I use about 1/2 cup of this Puppy Stew combined with 1/4 cup of dry food for Buddy Boy who is approximately 15 pounds.  Lucky Dog is larger and gets twice this amount.  Sometimes I'll mix in a little organic canned food if I have it- just to mix things up a bit for them.  But really- that's pretty much it.

The benefits that I've personally seen, especially with Lucky Dog who will be 15 years old this April, have been pretty amazing.

• More energy- especially for Lucky Dog.
• No skin issues at all.  No fleas either.
• Weight loss.  Lucky Dog was getting a little round (not overweight but definitely adding a few pounds) and now he's slimmed down.  In fact, we are now trying to fatten him up!  This diet is SO lean and good for them.
• No illness.  No health concerns or sickness at all.
• Very regular digestive systems.
• Shiny, soft skin and fur.
• Happier.  I swear to you that Lucky Dog was getting a little depressed.  After just a month on this diet, our beloved Lucky Dog was coming back to us.
• Assists with joints.  Poor Lucky Dog has a touch of arthritis but with this diet, he doesn't appear to have any pain or issues with mobility.

I only wish that I had started doing this when Lucky Dog was just a baby.  But I suppose when you know better, you do better.

I can't tell you how easy this is to do.  Seriously- just dump it all in a pot and walk away while it cooks on low.  The 30-45 minutes that I spend each week doing this is well worth the cost savings and benefits.  I hope you'll think about making up a batch of Puppy Stew for your precious furry babies!  You won't regret it!

Another note- Please be very careful with any commercially prepared dog food you are buying.  I never buy anything that is not made in the USA but I also never buy anything I don't recognize.  There's a few treats that I do buy for them, one of which is Simply Nourish brand beef livers.  It is Buddy Boy's most favorite thing ever.  Seriously- ever.  Best part- it's literally one ingredient, beef liver.  This is how it should be when you are buying food products for your pets.  Keep it simple. Check those ingredient labels and know what you are buying for your pets!

And last but not least- this Puppy Stew is what our dogs eat for dinner every night.  Once they started loosing weight, I started feeding them breakfast as well.  Breakfast varies but usually it's things like scrambled eggs (Buddy Boy prefers fried eggs!), veggies, oatmeal, shredded chicken, avocado, apples or items leftover from previous meals.  For example, this morning I fed them a little leftover roasted root veggies, some potatoes and a little scoop of good quality dry dog food.  It really is this easy!