[JillMcN]

I have a recipe by Andi Brown – I’ve made it once for my 7-yr-old-pug and I’d like to make it again while I continue researching the things I need to add.
It is home-cooked, not raw. I’ll post it after my question. After reading some posts here, I got as nearly-to-powder as possible some egg shells to add to each meal (1/4 tsp.) and some sardines for Omega 3s (although there is wild-caught salmon on the recipe).

When I cook the chicken, I obviously remove the large bones, but there are several small bones that I think would be very soft and thoroughly decimated by my extra-strong hand blender.
Is the answer always “no” – do not feed cooked bones, even finely mushed-up cooked bones to our dogs?

Thanks in advance.

The recipe I used (minus the oats and minus the garlic):
The Whole Pet Diet Chicken Stew
Special note: use organic ingredients whenever possible
• 5 pounds Whole Chicken or Turkey (bones, organs, skin and all)
• 6 – 8 cups spring water
• 1/2 pound of additional beef liver, or chicken liver or turkey liver (your choice)
• 1/2 pound of wild salmon
• 2 cloves chopped fresh garlic
• 1/2 pound green peas
• 1 pound coarsely chopped carrots
• 1/2 pound coarsely chopped sweet potato (yam)
• 1 pound coarsely chopped zucchini
• 1 pound coarsely chopped yellow squash
• 1/2 pound of coarsely chopped green beans
• 1 pound coarsely chopped celery
• 1/4 teaspoon kelp powder
• Dash of dried rosemary
See Chef’s Tip on Freshly Grated Toppings
For Dogs:
Add 12 oz. of Rolled Oats and adjust the water content to a total of 12 cups or enough to just “cover” the ingredients.

Combine all ingredients in a 10-quart stock pot (stainless steel, please). Bring to boil, reduce to low, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

Once finished (your carrots are soft), let cool and de-bone the chicken by hand. With an electric hand mixer (I use one available from Sears for about $19) or a food processor, blend all the ingredients into a nice puree. Using plastic yogurt containers, or Tupperware, make up “meal-sized” portions or what you will need for three days, and freeze what you don’t need immediately.

[theBCnut]

For me to feel OK about leaving any of the bone in, I would have to have a way of guaranteeing that they were actually pulverized instead of just broken into sharp pieces.

[JillMcN]

If only the softest bones were removed and processed separately into mush… maybe. OK.

I’ll still remove all the bones this time and continue to add egg shell powder until I decide on which supplements should be added to the above.

Or could someone weigh in and tell me whether I should just get a pre-mix and add my own meat?
I won’t be feeding raw. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[Jackie B]

Supposedly, cooking bones is what makes them sharp and splintery. That is why raw feeders feed raw bones only. Although when I tried raw bones (even small chicken wing size ones) they made my dog throw them up (in my bed). I do know that Merrick sells a canned food called “Wingaling” that contains pressure cooked chicken bones, soft enough for a dog to eat.

As for premixes, I’ve had great success with Sojo’s. The grain-free mix smells kind of strong (like smelly broccoli) but it is easy to add cooked or raw meat to and my 7 YO rescue dog loves it. I mix up a big batch and use an ice cream scoop to put portions on wax paper on a cookie sheet, freeze, then put the frozen portions in a container to thaw as needed.

[JillMcN]

Thanks so much.
At least if I use a premix I’ll be sure she’s getting all the vitamins she needs.

I appreciate the help!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi JillMcN –

Please be aware that using a pre-mix will not necessarily ensure that your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs. There are a few pre-mixes available that meet AAFCO nutrient profiles when prepared per instructions (The Honest Kitchen’s Preference, U-Stew, Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix), but many have no claim of meeting the AAFCO’s nutrient standards and many of these – like Sojo’s, for example – don’t appear to be conplete and balanced when prepared according to the instructions. These unbalanced pre-mixes would be fine to use intermittently, but to feed long term you would need to know what supplements to add in order to balance the recipe. So if you’re planning on using a pre-mix long term, please make sure it meets the AAFCO’s nutrient standards.

The recipe you posted actually appears to be quite balanced, only a few things that I’d tweak. I’d cut the liver from 8 oz. to 4 oz. and give 4 oz. of another organ (kidney, lungs, spleen, etc.) I’d add another whole food supplement (such as alfalfa or wheatgrass) in addition to the kelp. I’d also highly recommend rotating in red meat for the poultry 50% of the time – this will help balance the fats as poultry is high in polyunsaturated fats (particularly linoleic acid) while red meat is high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats. Red meat is also much higher in iron and many micronutrients than poultry. There are several books available that contain complete and balanced recipes that are AAFCO compliant. “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown is my favorite – the recipes are for raw food but could easily be converted to cooked by substituting muscle meat for any RMB’s and adding 800-1,000 mg. calcium per pound of meat.

[JillMcN]

Then that is the book I’ll buy. I like rotating in red meat for the reasons you gave, too.

I was SO hoping that diet was near balanced.
You are so kind to take the time to go into that much detail – thank you so much.

[LYNDA C]

I have been making bone broth for a couple of years. If you collect any type of bone and freeze it in a plastic baggie, (even a hammock) and slow cook it in a crock pot for a couple of days, or boil them on the stove for 12-24 hours (even longer) with some apple cider vinegar, most of the bones are quite soft. At this point, I pour off the bone broth into quart glass jars, and keep refrigerated until I need the jelled broth. Then I put all the cooked bones and water in my Vita Mix (very strong blender) and within a minute of blending, the mixture is pretty creamy. Very tiny bones are at the bottom of the blender. If they bother you, they can be thrown away, but it is only about 2 tablespoons of tiny chips.

I put 1-2 tablespoons of the creamy blended bone meal over my dogs food, and they love it. You can even use it in homemade soups for yourself, and it makes everything I put it in – taste even better.

[linda m]

The balanced diet at the top, does this mean I don’t need to give my maltese vitamins etc. My dog has IBS and I’m new at making her own food. I knew about the cooking the bones, because I saw a video on it. My chicken is cooking and then I will cook down the bones with cider vinegar. Should I put some boiled eggs in her food for the shells? I read I was supposed to put fruit in her food. My dog was a puppy mill dog I rescued 3 years ago and she just recently got IBS , her vet started her on royal canin dry food. she ate it at first and now wont eat it at all, he also started her on steroids, which scares me. She has allergies, she chews and bites her paws. I have so many sprays . ointments for this. She lived in a cage most of her life and I don’t know if its a habit from being in a cage. I have 2 more maltese and they eat blue buffalo. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Bushman]

A comment on Bones. I save bones, all bones, in the freezer, when I have a good batch I cook them down, I strain off a clear Bone Broth and can it for my wife to use in her soups, then I cook the bones down again in my crockpot I will boil them for several hours a day for a few days. After a few boiling’s you can reach into to the crockpot and pull out the bones and crush them in your hands, they break down and turn into a mushy pulp, the water and the bone “meal” is then re-heated, canned, and stored in the fridge to be added to my dog’s food. When using your hands it is very easy to tell if there are any hard Bones left. And I never find a splinter, I do occasionally find a couple of bones, or the end of a bone that is too “hard” for me to crush in my hands and I just discard it, although I’m pretty confident with what dogs pick up and gnaw on when they get a chance, that even these “hard” bones would pose no threat.

I have not attempted to separate Bones by type, but I’m pretty sure even spiral ham bones have wound up in my Bone bag with chicken and turkey neck’s and Gizzards, and I don’t recall any of them not being able to break down.

[Author]

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