Doggie style.

It's been a while since I did a dog food post. Today I will satisfy your curiosity for the current canine cuisine in our house.

This is 5 cups of rice (one bag), 2 apples leftover from the pie, 2 cups water, and 4 cups of liquid from the canned veggies and clams.

 

Meanwhile, I mashed up the clams, carrots, peas, and beets.  Dogs cannot digest the cellulose in plant cells so the items must be well cooked and if you don't want them coming out looking like they went in then pulverize them.  This is one of the leading arguments behind species appropriate foods and the plant/grain additives so heavily used in processed foods for pets.  Dogs and cats can't digest them well and therefore cannot utilize the nutrients within.  The high carbs contribute to hyperactivity, weight gain, and the increase in diabetes (notably in cats) as the starches turn to sugar.   Unfortunately fillers such as potato, corn, rice, and grains normally make up 60-70% of these diets.  They are also the binding agents which hold kibble in its shape.  Grain free diets (EVO) use potato starch or tapioca starch to achieve the same effect but they crumble easily and consumers have not responded well to the bottom fourth of an expensive bag of pet food being crumbled bits.

 

Then I added 3 cans of pumpkin.  This gives a nice firm stool and eases any stomach issues from switching diets.

 

Once the rice mixture is complete mix and mash with the other ingredients.

 

Wait for it to cool before freezing.  This batch is pretty concentrated.  My protein source is the ZiwiPeak Lamb blend which I like because it includes not only meat but liver, tripe, heart, and kidneys.  Delicious.  I was feeding the 6 fish Orijen kibble but none of the dogs seemed to settle well on it.  Probably the high protein content which can lead to upset stomach and loose stools.  I imagine this batch should last around 3 weeks.  Each of the canned goods were 99cents and the baby clams were 2 for 5 dollars.  The rice was under 4 bucks.  An inexpensive way to add freshness to any commercial diet.  To avoid unbalancing a commercial diet do not add more than half of your own mix.