I was feeling like I was being scolded the other day by the vet because I’ve switched my dog to home cooking in the past few months. I’ve been more or less told that I need to switch him back to dog food because he may not be getting all the nutrients that he needs. He’s a 9 year old shih tzu. No health issues and no weight problems.
I’ve been feeding him boiled chicken, boiled rice or potatoes, and some boiled veg (varied). Once a week I’ll give him oily fish wish some rice or potatoes and veg. He’s getting 50%+ meat/fish in each dish. He also loves porridge. I give him that in the morning sometimes with boiled egg mixed in. Sometimes he also gets fruit snacks… apple, pear or pineapple.
He’s never liked beef or lamb at all. Anything that says ‘animal derivatives’ he starts bleeding. He also doesn’t like tap water (he’d rather drink from a puddle), so I have a water filter.
I made an educated decision to do this after examining all of the dog food ingredients. Some of the ones she was recommending (well known brands) that I use for a small, adult shih tzu are the ones that I would choose to avoid … over-priced and the ingredients a bit suspect. They aren’t providing the same amount of meat protein either.
I chose to switch him because then I would know exactly what he was being fed, and was hoping that it would keep him healthier for longer. Does anyone see any problem with what I’m doing? I wouldn’t like to do him any harm him in any way. The idea was to get him to eat healthier in his senior years.
