Wish he could talk

For 11 years my dog Jake has eaten anything put in his food bowl, never begged for more, and basically never made food an issue. But he’s suddenly lost interest in his usual dried food.

This morning after he refused to eat, I offered him some of the Woofy food from Polyface Farm, a mixture of beef and vegetables that looks disgusting, but apparently tastes good to dogs. He ate it and then promptly threw up. Of greater concern, there were flecks of blood in what came up. He has been eating a lot of grass lately.

I’m terribly concerned about what’s going on in Jake’s stomach. So much so that I looked up homemade dog food and found the recipe below.

For now, I’m cooking up some chicken feet into a good stock that I’ll use to make some bland rice for his dinner.



I know dogs go off their food for many reasons. But for one who has always been an eater, it is a great cause for concern. I can only imagine the worst and hope for the best.

Basic Dog Food Recipe

Ingredients
4 cups uncooked rice
9 cups water
1/4 cup oats
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling add:

1/2 cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped fine
3 ounces liver, chopped fine
8 ounces ground beef (or chicken or lamb)
3 tablespoons corn oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), chopped fine

Stir, turn heat to low, and cook for about 20 minutes until all water is absorbed. Then spread out in flat Tupperware containers, cool and cut into half cup squares. When feeding, add cottage cheese or yogurt, and 1 tsp. supplement mix per 30 lbs of dog weight:

Supplement Mix

1 cup brewer's yeast
1 cup wheat germ
1/8 cup powdered kelp