Veterinarian Dr. Amy Parker Recommends Home Cooking

Thank you, Dr. Amy, for contributing this great advice and recipe! ~ Sarah Whitman, Founder, DogFoodCoach.com.

Dr. Amy Parker, DVM with Paco and Diego.

Veterinarian Dr. Amy Parker Recommends Home Cooking For Small Breed Dogs

by Amy Parker, DVM

Home cooking for your small breed adult dog promotes wellness and is easy and inexpensive!

Diet is one for the most important considerations for any human or animal. It directly determines health and life expectancy. Most of us realize that using healthy whole ingredients (responsibly grown vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats and grains) to prepare our meals promotes optimal health for our families, yet we have been convinced by the pet food industry that feeding highly-processed food is the best nutrition for our loved pets.

We scratch our heads and wonder why so many pets are getting cancers, renal failure, liver disease, and a multitude of skin and coat problems. Don’t you think your own body would be less healthy and more susceptible to disease if YOU ate a similar processed food for every meal of your entire life? Gee Whiz, no wonder so many pets have health problems!

As a veterinarian, I am all too aware that we professionals provide almost no nutritional education to our clients because the pet food industry has “taken this off of our hands,” convincing even us that their commercial
foods are the best, and that medical problems will likely occur by feeding owner-prepared diets. This is simply NOT true!

Not only are we not aware of the quality of ingredients in these pet foods (rendered meats for example), but these foods often contain additives (emulsifiers, antimicrobials, flavors, colors, sorbitol, even ethylene glycol, “antifreeze” to retard spoilage), preservatives and even contaminants. In fact, contamination with salmonella, staphylococcus, chlostridial and fungal organisms is common, and grain storage mites frequently invade these packaged foods, even at your own home. Ewww!

I personally have been home cooking for my two mix breed small dogs for three years now, and have witnessed their overall health improve, their energy increase, and their skin and coats become shinier and silkier.

Overall, the three biggest things YOU can control for your pet’s health and to reduce veterinary costs:

1. Dental Care (Daily teeth brushing is a MUST for small breed dogs!)
2. Exercise (Daily walks/runs outside your own yard)
3. Diet (I believe home cooking is best!)

Check out my basic home cooking recipe below.

Doctor Amy’s Chicken Dog Chow

Ingredients
1 Whole medium fryer chicken (with bones and giblets)
4 cups cooked vegetables
4 cups cooked brown rice
1½ cups low fat cottage cheese
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 can of sardines (every 3-6 months for vitamin B12)
Daily pet multivitamin* (Pet Tabs, Vi-Sorbits, etc.)
Daily Pet EFA Supplement* (Der m Caps, 3V Caps, etc.)

*Give EFA Supplement and pet multivitamin daily as to manufacturer’s recommendations

Directions
Cover chicken with water and cook in a crockpot until bones are soft (2 hours on high, then 8-10 hours on low in my
crockpot). Cool, skim fat, and remove only the bones that are too hard to blend (break off the soft ends first). Blend chicken and remaining bones with a hand blender (available at any “box store” for $30-$50). Add vegetables, rice, canola oil, cottage cheese and blend all ingredients to mix well. Freeze in BPA-free containers. Thaw in refrigerator prior to feeding (heating food is optional).

Feeding Guidelines
• 5lb. Dog – 1/8 to 1/4 cup twice daily
• 10lb. Dog – 1/4 to 1/3 cup twice daily
• 20lb. Dog – 1/4 to 2/3 cup twice daily

*Note: Pets on this diet should get 10-20 minutes sunshine daily to aid in production of vitamin D3.

BONE APPETIT!