Does this sound reasonable?

Hi.
I just started feeding my dogs home cooked meals. Could you tell me if this sounds like a balanced, complete meal? They won´t eat kibble any more. I will probably give them the same menu for a week, and change it weekly so they eat different types of food. This would be the menu for the first week. Please tell me if you think the amount of total food is correct, if something is missing, etc. All opinions will be greatly appreciated.

The menu for a 35 kg Bouvier des Flandres daily meal, with a medium level of activity, would be:

400 gms chicken, 50% breast, 50% thigh, no skin
150 gms white rice
200 gms barely steamed broccoli
100 gms raw carrot
150 gms raw green peas
5 gms wheat bran
3 grams plain yoghurt
A bit of salt
2 gms olive oil
5 grams flax seed
5 grams barley seed
6 gms bone meal

That gives a total of 1400 calories, of which 19% are grains, 45% is meat and 34% are vegetables. What do you think?

Thank you so much.
Mariana

Hi Mariana!

Here are the nutrient requirements for adult dogs, as per NRC:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=requirements

You can use this site to combine food ingredients into recipes to find out if you are providing all required nutrients in sufficient amounts:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/

Just make sure you pick the correct ingredients to add to your pantry. Use an excel spreadsheet and put the amounts of nutrients your dog needs per day (or per week, if you want to make it easier for yourself) in the first column and the total of your combined nutritiondata.com reipe in the second column to compare. Then tweak ingredients as needed.

Also, if you feed raw vegiees, you need to puree them (and any veggies that aren't steamed or cooked to mush) so your dog will be able to digest them, since dogs can't break down plant cell walls.

I hope this helps!

Ahhhhh!

Thanks a lot Mordy....I now have clear that my diet was in no way balanced. I have been trying to balance it, but I can´t. Some nutrients are really high, while others are really low. I am really frustrated. I will try to find a basic recipe, and adapt it to my dogs. I have been playing with ingredients since yesterday night, and can´t come up with something close to what my dogs need!!!

Thanks a lot for your help

so angry!!!

I am so frustrated.
I do think I am giving to much veggies, and not enough fat.
I have a lot of problems with vitamins and minerals, and proteins have some values that don´t match the daily needs. I am thinking about aborting my mission, and continue with kibble. I just can´t find a recipe with the correct values!!! I am so angry

I've heard great things about this book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875962432/104-1852398-5071966?v=glance&n=283155

"Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats"

A classic natural pet-care book from two celebrated veterinary specialists in chemical-free nutrition, treatment, and natural healing for pets, Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats offers valuable natural and holistic advice on a host of pet topics, including, but not limited to, diet, exercise, environment, coping with a pet's death, and how to care for a sick animal. In addition to their thorough discussion of the above, Richard Pitcairn, D.V.M., and his wife, Susan Hubble Pitcairn, M.S., offer a comprehensive "quick reference" section on animal illnesses, organized alphabetically and including a brief description of each illness, preventative measures that may be taken, and holistic and natural treatment options for both dogs and cats--treatments that should always be discussed with one's vet before being used. Occasional line drawings, informative graphs, and the Pitcairn's intelligent prose make this guide a must-have for pet owners interested in a natural lifestyle for their pets.

Mariana, that sounds like a great diet- for a person!

Aww she's trying thats more then most Dont give up you'll get there. I think its great that you are willing to attempt to cook your dogs HCM's.