Prepared dog food vs. a real meal

Hi Wags! You're right. The dog food scandal was a big wake up call for pet owners around the world. And, we haven't recovered. Most of us don't trust dog food any farther than we can toss the 17 pound bag it came in. It should have been a big wake up call for humans around the world because, I've got news for you, those same factories are making the tofu we eat and much, much more. All the makings of another blog...

...as for this blog, you may have forgotten I actually did try to make Jake his meals for several weeks of his young life. Poor little Jake - such a sick little puppy saddled with allergies from early puppyhood. So, I took him to special vet, in a far, far away suburb and she told me that I had two choices -- to serve Jake canned venison or to make him dinner every night from wholesome ingredients. The thought of opening a can of deer meat making me gag more than a bit, I decided to make him the dinner.

It really wasn't difficult. The vet even gave me a fantastic little plastic cup I still use to measure out Jake's dog food. Now don't try this at home without a vet's approval, but Jake's vet told me to put in 1/3 cup of meat, 1/3 vegetables and 1/3 starch (potato or sweet potato). I did this religiously for about two weeks. Jake continued with his allergies. Still, I would have continued with making him a wholesome dinner and putting in the refrigerator a week's worth of food at a time, but for the traveling I do. I just couldn't see explaining to Jake's dog walker, or even you, Wags, where to find each of the ingredients and to put it all together every time I went away on a trip. Nor could I see taking along the packages to the north woods where Jake and I like to spend time.

Dogs love kibble. It seems almost impossible that any creature would like something made of a form of meat that has been combined with other things and then baked to remove all the moisture and flavor. It is ironic that while I was feeding Jake cooked hamburger, peas and carrots and sweet potatoes for dinner that I was always worried his teeth weren't getting a good enough challenge.

I'd like to hear from readers (when we have more) what their experience is with making their own food for a doggy dinners. Are they comfortable that the dogs are getting their proper nutrition? More important, are their dogs happy with mush in place of crunch?