For Su - home cooked diets for dogs

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an animal nutritionalist. These are web sites I have read well to help me make up my mind on what to feed my dog. My thoughts are included on the advice mentioned below.

There are a few web sites around to help you. This one is quite good but American so some things might not apply here. Don’t be overwhelmed. Read, digest, write down ideas, read again to check. See here.

Reference raw meaty bones - The above site says one third to one half - I use 10 to 15%. I have never been happy with Ruby munching on bones per se. As she is a raw fed dog, the base of her bone requirements (10%), comes from finely ground whole poultry carcasses, ranging from turkey, chicken and duck to pheasant. 

She does have 2 chicken necks twice a week (which takes her to about 15%) and whole frozen then thawed sprats (5) twice a week which helps counts towards her fish. I use frozen, then thawed sprats instead of fish oil as that can go off very quickly. The cans of fish they recommend on here would also work. I add in one large can of pilchards in tomato sauce (you can add or leave out the sauce depending on how you feel). This covers her fish requirements.

If you don't mind your dog chomping on chunky raw meaty bones that is fine. If you do, you would need to source bone some other way such as necks etc.

Starchy Vegetables - 10%. I never feed her potatoes but she does have most of the rest mentioned - usually minced raw, except the broccoli and sweet potato which are cooked. You would be looking at lightly cooking all her vegetables.

Organs - 10%. I give her 5% liver and 5% kidney but other more unmentionable items if I can get hold of them. If you are cooking them, do so lightly, minced, on their own as they are highly flavoured, then add in when the rest has finished cooking. Could add these to just half of the meals you make so as to give your dog different flavours each day.

Boneless meat - 50%.  Reference heart. Morrison's (processed) and occasionally Tesco (still whole), are the only two supermarkets I have found that sell these. It is rich but cheap and I use 10% to count towards the 50% which cuts costs.

I buy 10% fat mince generally. Beef, occasionally pork, turkey or chicken. Very rarely lamb due to price and fat content. Again, you would be cooking this, without oil but with the addition of water I presume?

Eggs - Ruby loves egg but it makes her stools soft. She get two egg a week, including the shell which is finely ground up. Being raw fed, she needs the shell to counteract the raw egg white. Cooked egg isn't a problem but the shell ground, is a good calcium addition.

Dairy - Ruby loves cottage cheese and yoghurt but doesn't get it often. Add in after cooking and cooled.

Grains - I haven't been a fan of grains but she does get whole oat flakes (porridge oats) to soak up juices and give her some more nutrition.

An additional mention about raw green tripe. This has a 1:1 perfect ratio for calcium and phosphorus. It stinks. You need a good container to store it in the fridge after thawing. DO NOT COOK IT. Again, I use 10% in her diet mixed in on the day. 

Another additional mention regarding Brewer's Yeast. See here.

Another good website is this one by Rhonda, see here.

Another American one is here, in particular, helping to balance fats, see here.

You may well feel overwhelmed, I know I was. However, I read for days on end, taking snippets from here and there until I felt like I had gained enough knowledge for me to proceed. Having reread this last one just now, I realised I have not been using hempseed - I shall correct this.

I have, unfortunately, just removed most of my links. These were the only ones left. There is some fantastic information out there even with regard to  wild edibles! Hope this is useful to you.  

2% - 3% of dogs weight is fed each day, over 1, 2 or 3 meals depending on how often your dog is fed. Ruby weighs 17kg more or less. She has 350g per day plus a mid day snack of dried tripe, or a vegetable chew etc.