Now I am going to put a disclaimer right here. I am not a canine nutritionist. I don't claim this is the best diet for all dogs. This is one I have made up for our dogs and it works well. They love it and they are healthy.
I started this several years ago when I found out through trial and error that my German shepherd, Jax was having an allergic reaction to the commercial dog food I was feeding him. He had huge lick sores on both front legs, yeast infections in his ears all the time, he was miserable and he smelled really bad! One vet told me he was a German shepherd and this was what they did. I did some research of my own and found out about the allergies. From there I found a commercial food that was rice and venison. He did great on that, but it was pricey and I had to get it in Amarillo. Then we moved to Kansas and there was no one close who carried that dog food. So, more research. We went to raw chicken and since then I have come up with the rice concoction I am going to tell you about.
I start with a large bowl of cooked rice. This is probably about 5-6 cups of dry rice that has been cooked. I don't add any salt to it. If I have chicken broth I will use that for the liquid to cook it in. After it is cooked I dump it into my big bowl.
Now I start adding everything else. Since I was out of chicken broth I added some chicken bullion, about two tablespoons or so. Then two cups of whole wheat flour, a dozen or so eggs, about a half cup of honey.
I usually try to add some veggies of some kind. I didn't have any leftovers, so I added a quart jar of yellow and zucchini squash that I had canned last year.
Blueberries, green beans, pumpkin, squash, carrots are all good things to add. Don't use onions or garlic. They are not good for dogs.
All of this gets stirred up real good.
Now I divide it up into two cake pans that I have sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray. I forgot to add some coconut oil to the mixture so I just dolloped some on top. It will cook in. The coconut oil is really good for their skin. German shepherds are prone to dry skin and this helps. I've noticed since I started adding the coconut oil they are not scratching nearly as bad as they were.
Now bake it at 370 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until it is set and no liquid is evident.
After this is done, I let it cool and then it is ready for them to eat.
Each of the big dogs get one chicken leg quarter and a good helping of the rice mixture. The Corgi, Bates gets a chicken leg or thigh and some of the rice.
One question I get asked a lot is how much this cost and is it comparable to buying dog food. The price is about the same and maybe even cheaper. I buy the ten pound bags of leg quarters. Those go on sale a few times a year for $3.99 to $4.99 for a ten pound bag. I buy the rice in the big bags at Sam's. My eggs come from my chickens and the veggies are usually leftovers.
People are also concerned about feeding raw chicken for a variety of reasons. The first concern is the bones. A dog is designed to eat raw meat and bones. Their teeth are made for eating raw meat and bones and their digestive tract is also designed to digest the raw meat and bones. Think about wolves, foxes and coyotes. This is what they eat. Two times in the last six years I have had a dog get a piece of bone stuck in their teeth, but that is the only problem we have had. We have had pups as young as seven weeks old eat the raw chicken and bones.
Here are some advantages to the raw chicken. Eating the bones keeps their teeth clean. Also, being on the raw chicken and not eating commercial dog food your dog won't stink. Their feces also does not stink AND it will dry to a powder within a couple of days. No scooping poop!
I hope this helps. I know our dogs do really well on this diet. They have shiny, clean coats. Their teeth are clean. They are full of energy. I haven't had one of our dogs to a vet in about three years. If you have any questions, just ask!
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