Food is something I continually struggle with when it comes to Charlie. He is over-weight and low-energy so I have to be careful. 2 or 3 years knocked off my life because of my weight isn't that big a deal, but 2 or 3 years knocked off Charlie's life is a significant time. I want him to live and be comfortable for as long a time as possible.

What you feed you companion is SO important. And you need to do research. If you've never read anything about what is put in dog food you are in for a shock. If you can't give them home-cooked food you should feed them super-premium dog food - which has "human grade" ingredients in it. Appropriate and healthy dog food is the most important and most basic decision we make for our companions. It determines how long they live and what kind of health they will enjoy during their lifetime. A bad animal-grade dog food is almost a guarantee of bad health for the dog and you will pay in vet bills what you saved in dog food.

I won't go into too much detail but some web sites that I have found really helpful are:



Yummy for Dogs.org is a great site for all kinds of dog recipes - including entrees, cookies and everything. It is a non-profit venture that has ideas on how to start your own Yummy For Dogs Community!

Another really good report on dog food is at: the Animal Protection Institute - http://www.api4animals.org/ about what is in your dog's food.

I also have been collecting information through Yahoo Groups and web sites about dog food and it is now about almost 100 pages worth of stuff. If you want me to send you a .pdf file of my research, email me at the address below. 

I am currently feeding Charlie a combination of home cooked food, fit for human consumption kibble, and processed raw food that I get from a local distributor of Urban Carnivore products - her contact info is on my resources page . He is looking great and losing weight! He has an allergy to wheat and milk so I have to be really careful what I feed him because he can get really sick if he gets even a small amount of wheat - and almost all the normal dog kibble has wheat in it! And you'd be suprised but a LOT of dog have allergies to the ingredients that are used as fillers in cheap dog foods - corn and wheat. One of the ways he manifests this allergy is that he becomes much more reactive - meaning he can become aggressive - so if we are out and he is barking at everything I start to think about what he could have been eating (or what he could have gotten into!!!) that had wheat in it and that's usually the answer as to why he is not his normal placid self - so if your dog has behaviour problems look at what you feed him in addition to how you are training (or not training) him! 

Wheat-Free Scotty Biscuits

1 cup oatmeal 
1 cup rye flour 
2 tablespoons sugar 
1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine 
1/2 cup milk 

Combine oatmeal, 3/4 cup of the rye flour, sugar and butter together. Slowly add the milk till a firm but slightly sticky dough forms. Scrape out dough onto a wooden board or counter. Knead in the rest of the rye flour till the dough stiffens a little. Wrap in saran wrap and chill for one hour. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough till 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes ( I like to use scotty dog cutters). Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and let biscuits rest till cool in oven with the door closed. Store in air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.

From the website: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/1011/dog.htm#Veggiedogb 

I used to make these cookies for Charlie before I found out about his allergies - they make really good treats!

Economy Cookies

3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup water
½ cup skim milk powder
1 egg
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup margarine

1. In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour and margarine. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine skim milk powder, garlic powder, egg, corn syrup, and water.
3. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture in small quantities until all is mixed and dough like.
4. Roll out to fit size of Pam covered cookie sheet. Use pizza cutter to cut up into treat size pieces.
5. Cook at 325 degrees F for 50 minutes. Turn heat off and leave cookies in oven for 1 more hour to make cookies nice and crunchy.
6. Give to dogs whenever they need some extra love 

Here's a bunch more links if you want them:

http://www.recipesource.com/misc/pet-food/dog/ 
http://home.att.net/~wdcusick/index.html 
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/3702/Nutrition.html  - this is a particularly good one!
http://www.dogs-and-diets.com/index.html 
http://www.dragonbear.com/rec-sind.html 
http://www.pets.ca/recipes/recipe3.htm  - Stanley Coren's Recipe for home cooked food!
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1763/food.html 
http://vetmedicine.about.com/msubnutri-recipe.htm?once=true& 
http://homecooking.about.com/cs/petrecipes/ 
http://www.doggieconnection.com/ 
http://www.naturaldogfood.com/