I Switched From Store-Bought Dog Food to Homemade — Please Help!

Earlier this year, my sweet Dolly girl was diagnosed with her sixth, seventh, and eighth cancerous tumors. She had just turned 13. Because of her age, we’re taking a palliative approach to this latest course of treatment, one that includes low-dose chemotherapy and other medications, plus lots of love.

Dolly at her oncologist’s office, ready to head out before someone else pokes her with a needle or squeezes her bumps. (Photo by Pamela Mitchell)

I’m also now feeding Dolly homemade food from a recipe I found in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. The ingredients are meant to reduce the amount of histamines she ingests and help slow the growth of two of her tumors, which are mast cell. You can read more about histamines, mast cell tumors, and diet in this article by the guide’s co-author, Dr. Demian Dressler, and in this article by animal health consultant Susan Harper.

Dolly loves her new food! As does Spot, who gets it as well because I want them both to benefit from the healthful ingredients: chicken breast and liver, veggies, brown rice, calcium powder, and fish oil (krill for Dolly and salmon for Spot).

Spot thought bubble: Put down the camera and fill our bowls, pretty please. (Photo by Pamela Mitchell)

So, why am I telling you all of this? Because I’m not exactly skilled when it comes to cooking. Sure, I can follow a recipe as well as the next person — OK, fine, I had to remake the rice last night — but I don’t have the kitchen smarts or experience to do so efficiently or economically. I need your help.

Do you make your dog’s food? Have you found ways to save time and money on meals? Do you have a favorite recipe? When I asked for this advice recently on Dogster’s Facebook page, a few readers commented with helpful suggestions, but I want to take this thread a step further.

Let’s create together a resource for all of us who make our dog’s food, from beginners like me to more experienced cooks who might just learn a new trick or two. Please share tips and recipes — and photos of your happily feasting pups! — in the comments! Also ask questions if you have them.

Read more on what to feed your dog:

• What to Feed Your Dog During All Life Stages
• 5 Things to Consider Before Switching to Homemade Dog Food
• How to Choose a Healthy Dog Food

About the author: Longtime journalist Pamela Mitchell loves dogs, so much so that she made them her day job in 2014 by joining Dogster.com as Senior Editor. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her sweet and stinky Boston Terriers, Dolly and Spot. Read more of her writing on Dogster.

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