The Fine K-9 Natural Food Program: By Jon Frey

Introduction
I created this program to provide balance, diversity, taste and texture to maintain a healthy, longer living dog. I have worked with folks with several dogs, folks who have very limited time in their busy day, and with folks whose dogs have allergies. The programs were developed after working with these diverse lifestyles to enable them to provide and handle the program within their particular lifestyles. I happen to cook every day, so I cook BerBer’s meal at the same time I cook ours, but that isn’t necessary. Meals can be prepared for an entire week at one time, and refrigerated or frozen just like TV Dinners. You will find however, that if you cook every night, the dog will become part of the preparation process, wanting to see and smell each ingredient as you prepare the meal.

Considerations Starting The Program

Feeding Trials:
“Efficiency” is the ratio of the actual to the ideal. The amount of work put into a machine relative to the amount of work put out. You may conduct a very simple feeding trial to determine the efficiency of the food you are feeding your dog. Are you feeding your dog stuff with supplements or food with nutrients? The more ME, the smaller the stool will be because the food was utilized by the system. Feed your dog his regular food, then be sure and bag his next bm. Vacate his system by not feeding for twenty-four hours. The next feeding will be boiled chicken breast, rice, carrots and celery in the same total mass as his regular food. Bag his next bm. Place the two bags side by side. Is the first specimen larger than the second? If it is, you should consider changing foods. If you are currently feeding a tier three food, you may also conduct this trial comparing it to a tier one food.

Your cooking habits.
If you cook every night, then it is really pretty easy to cook for the dog at the same time. Cook the same primary protein for the dog that you are having, however if you are frying yours, you may want to braise, roast or grill the dogs. Before starting this program, we ate too much fried foods and too much red meat. For six years now, we rarely eat fried foods and eat about 25% of the red meat we ate prior to this program, so we eat healthier too. If you cook infrequently then you can choose the “Multiples” program in the “Program” section and refrigerate or freeze the portions.

Number of dogs.
Provided you have more than two dogs, cooking in multiples will be the most efficient from an economic and time standpoint. You may also notice the dogs trying to get other dogs food even if they had not done so before. One dog may eat faster than the others and attempt to steal theirs. Unless you like to watch dog fights separate feeding locations may be a consideration.

Known food allergies
In natural form, specific foods that you thought your dog was allergic to, may no longer cause a problem. Even with one of my worse case client dogs, he was eating several foods that he had tested positive to within a few weeks after starting the program. Alternative foods containing the same basic nutrients can be utilized to avoid continuing allergy problems with a specific food.
Weight and currently under or overweight

Age of the dog(s)
Age of a dog obviously has a great impact on his nutrient requirements. An older, more sedentary dog does not require the energy that a younger, more active dog requires, and it will simply turn to fat cells, which is not good at all for a senior dog. Here breed and size have an impact. A massive breed like my BerBer at six years is approaching fifty in dog years, while the seventy-five pound Labrador, Rocco at six is only about thirty-five years old in dog years and even as Rocco gets a bit older, he will be more active than the massive breed dog will be.

Daily exercise levels
Unchallenged, dogs become bored and lazy just like people. Left only to their own devices in a back yard, they will not get enough daily exercise on their own. Part of that commitment you made when you decided to be a dog owner was one of activity with the dog. It is important to the dog to have structured daily exercise.

Current feeding amounts
You will be feeding about the same overall mass when feeding a natural diet that you fed with manufactured food. Manufactured foods contain about 400 kcals per cup, about the same as natural food.

Frequency of feeding
Feeding frequency is important for regularity, expectations and convenience. I suggest twice per day as the proper frequency.

Expected benefits from a natural food program
Proper nutrition.
Better energy levels.
Longer life expectancy
Healthier coat and skin.
Healthier teeth.
Smaller stool.
Less frequency of diarrhea.
Will look forward to meals.
Breath and coat odor will improve.

Cost Factors
You can expect to pay about $1.25 per pound for one of the top three manufactured foods I listed. Buying on sale and in quantity, you may actually find that it costs less to feed a dog a natural cooked diet. Chicken is frequently on sale and rice can be purchased in very large bag sizes. Obviously, the larger the dogs and the more mouths there are to feed, the higher the cost. My 159 pound BerBer costs about the same as it cost to feed my teenage son when he lived at the house, however most folks won’t have that extreme example. If you consider never again having to clean out that vegetable bin of the old carrots and celery, that becomes an added benefit.

Eating Issues
Some dogs won’t eat vegetables when they first start a natural food program. If you will follow this simple procedure, I guarantee they will eat them. What we need to do is incorporate the vegetables into the rest of the food to bind them with the mass. To do this, chop them finely after braising them until just soft. Mix them with the rice and bread and sprinkle some Safflower oil over and mix together to bind the ingredients together. If you have a particularly stubborn dog, actually process them almost to a liquid. Simply make it impossible for the dog to separate them from the other foods and they will develop a taste for them eventually. Provide for texture diversity in the food between soft and crunchy by lightly toasting the bread. You will have firmness in the protein, mass with the rice, soft with the vegetables and crunchy with the bread.

Free Feeding
In one of my surveys of my 7000 members at MSN Pets and Animals, I asked frequency of feeding. To my astonishment forty-one percent replied that they free feed. The rest pretty much fed two times a day, however I think even most of them just added to the bowl. Free feeding or adding in is a really bad habit, because of the rapidity of the food to grow bacteria in the open air. The dog also then has nothing to look forward to and you have no way to control or monitor how much the dog actually consumes. Feeding a dog twice a day regulates the dog. Since dogs digest their food faster than humans and the waste has a much shorter distance to travel, the dog needs to dispose of the waste fairly soon after a meal…small dogs quicker than large dogs. Feeding in the morning and the evening is more easily associated with peoples schedules and provides for a good habit routine. As you will see in my “Rules,” I have a one-hour rule that the dog learns after only a few feedings. Anything left in the bowl after one hour is disposed of and the bowl goes in the dishwasher.

Dog Poop
The feces of your dog will change radically when you start feeding a natural diet. Since there is very little waste in the food, the dog will assimilate and utilize most of the food. You will find the stool will be reduced to at least one-half what it was when he was on manufactured food. You may also become alarmed at first at the color. Early on, I noticed what appeared to be blood in BerBers stool one morning. I rushed him and a sample to my DVM. She called later that day allowing as how they had analyzed a nice red bell pepper! I had forgotten that he had red bell pepper in his meal the night before. The stool will be the same color as the foods you feed him, and since we aren’t feeding just brown food, it will be much darker and have the same coloration as the food had going in. See, I just saved you more money right here by being able to buy smaller poop baggies.

Starting A Natural Diet
The conventional theory about changing over from manufactured food to a natural cooked diet is to gradually mix the two to give the dogs system time to adapt to the new food. I don’t agree with that theory. Most of the client dogs I’ve worked with make the change completely and do very well with it. Keep in mind that according to AAFCO you are feeding a complete and balanced diet when feeding the manufactured diet relative to the nutrient requirements. By mixing the two, you will almost surely be overfeeding some nutrients which may not be best for the dog. On a natural food diet the stool will always be more moist than when the dog was eating a manufactured diet simple because the food contains substantially more moisture. Provided the dog has diarrhea immediately after starting the diet, roast the chicken in high heat to dry it and refrigerate the rice for a few hours to dry it. You will find that solves the problem with the transition. Most people think that the dogs system isn’t used to the rich food when actually it just isn’t used to the moisture content. Feed the most digestible foods to start the program, based on the maintenance base-line recipe, and then when the dog has acclimated to the food, start adding variety if you wish.


Rules
Someone once said that it takes twenty-one days to form a habit, but to change a habit is not easy to accomplish. I established some rules, or habits if you will, so there would be consistency in the program. I made a ‘habit’ of following these rules to the letter until they simply became a function that I didn’t even have to think about.

The One Hour Rule: Obviously food is not going to grow bacteria in a few hours, but reality is that our tendency is to forget we left it out. Some dogs also have a tendency to graze which is a lousy for regularity and allows them to leave food that they may not like, thus not get the required nutrients. Also, bowls don’t get washed, and can grow bacteria. For these reasons I developed the one hour rule; anything left uneaten in the bowl for an hour is pitched and the bowl goes in the dishwasher. The dog quickly gets this concept and if he does leave something in the bowl, you will see him jaunt back in there and get it after only a few instances of picking the bowl up. This also forces you into the habit of putting the bowl in the dishwasher.

Stainless Bowls: Plastic bowls are porous and absorbant. The surface can also be scraped and become part of the dogs food…not the nutrients we wish to feed. I strongly recommend feeding in stainless steel bowls. They are easily cleaned and last a lifetime. For taller dogs, I also like raised bowls and they are available at most pet stores.

Feed Inside: Feeding outside not only puts the food in the elements, it attracts insects and rodents. The bowl is also then out of site out of mind, so the tendency is for the human to forget to pick it up after feeding. Feed inside.

Don’t Backfeed: I coined the word “backfeeding” to describe the habit of taking that piece of mostly fat and gristle left on your plate and handing it back to the dog. I can think of no-one who backfeeds carrots or celery. The dog has had his meal and the appropriate amount of proteins and enough saturated fat. Don’t give him more.

Water: Essential. Dump the water bowls at least twice each day (with each meal), wash them in very hot water and put ice water in them. As frequent as four times a day in the summer, especially if the dog is outside in the heat. By the way, since we have chlorine in our water, the dog is getting sufficient amounts of chlorine in the water to take care of the chlorine requirement.

Amounts
Since we are feeding food rather than supplements, we deal in measurements of food that in turn will provide the required nutrients. Fortunately, the natural food ingredients contain sufficient nutrients in reasonable amounts. If twenty carrots were required to deliver sufficient beta-carotenes to our ten pound dog, it would be fairly unrealistic to feed natural food to him. As we have seen in the extended chart on the base line recipe of chicken, rice and vegetables, the amounts required to achieve the daily requirements fall closely in line to what a dog in each weight category could be expected to consume. The 50%-25%-25% ratio formula simply stated is the amount each group of food is required to achieve the nutrient objective. For those who wish to be more specific, use the amount per-pound calculation in the first chart. Since more carbohydrates are required to achieve the requirements, we get the added benefit that they are foods that produce mass. Taking manufactured food to the extreme, they could actually put five capsules in a bag and the dog would get the same nutrients as the four cups of mass he gets from the conventional feeding, but then so could we. With our natural food diet, the food provides the essential nutrients, but the mass, taste, texture and smell provide entertainment and security. In the next table, I have demonstrated basic feeding amounts for weight classes so that you don’t need a calculator and your old math book just to make dinner for the dog. Since I know absolutely no-one here that measures anything in kilograms, I have converted to the measurements we are all familiar with, pounds, cups, etc.
To understand how different protein sources affect calorie intake, I separated the sources so that they can be compared. As one might expect, the source of calorie increases come from fat content in the source, beef and pork having the highest fat content compared to chicken, fish and lamb. Keep in mind that this is the main meal, so the calories will increase by the morning meal for the daily total.

A Caution:
As dogs become older, they generally become more sedentary, therefore they use less energy daily. As a result, they require less energy input each day. Massive breeds are especially prone to obesity as they reach senior status and that can be a killer for them because of the load on the heart and weight on the hips. So when using the conversion tables for amounts by weight of the dog, consider where your dog is in respect to age and activity. Reduce the calories by feeding lower fat proteins and increase beta-carotenes (vegetables) to maintain control of his weight. When you start feeding a natural diet, have a weigh day every two weeks to see if he is gaining weight rapidly; if he is, start reducing calories by about 10% and keep measuring.

Approximate Feeding Amounts By Weight: Main Meal

Feeding Amounts By Weight

Ingredient 10 lb 20 lb 50 lb 75 lb 100 lb 125 lb

Protein 1/4 cup 1/2 cup 3/4 cup 1 cup 1 1/4 cup 1 1/2 cup
Carb. 1/2 cup 1 cup 1 1/2 cup 2 cup 2 1/2 cup 3 cup
Beta C. 1/4 cup 1/2 cup 3/4 cup 1 cup 1 1/4 cup 1 1/2 cup
Total Cups 1 cup 2 cups 3 cups 4 cups 5 cups 6 cups
Calories
Beef 628 1011 1315 1620 1925 2229
Chicken 528 810 1015 1220 1424 1629
Pork 608 971 1256 1541 1825 2110
Fish 512 779 968 1157 1346 1535
Lamb 545 845 1067 1289 1511 1733



Chapter Seven
Batch Cooking

Cooking Multiples or Batch Cooking
While it is always better to cook fresh daily, many folks simply don’t have the time to cook every day, but still wish to feed their dog real food nutrition. We lose some diversity in ingredients, but we can still deliver a very acceptable meal to the dog. We want to use ingredients that will freeze and store well and still retain their nutrients, taste and texture. Moisture content is reduced in a cold, dry environment so the product will not contain as much moisture as the typical 85% moisture content in fresh cooked meals.
• Decide on ingredients that will store well and buy in bulk on sale when possible.
• Expand the amount to produce seven days meals.
• Pick a day to cook that you have time without sacrificing other activities so that it is not a chore.
• Have zip-lock bags available for storing each meal and maintain a good airtight seal to keep them fresh.
• Braise (boil) the ingredients rather than frying or roasting.
• Cool all ingredients well before refrigerating.
• Do not add the Safflower and lettuce to the food until you serve it.
• Layer the ingredients in the bag rather than mixing them.
• Freeze four meals and refrigerate three meals.
• For variety, cook two different proteins, for instance chicken and pork, but maintain the other ingredients (rice, since cooked pasta does not store well).

The Morning Meal
You can feed the same meal in the morning as the evening meal, however this is an opportunity to feed something different and provide some nutrients that aren’t in the evening meal. The morning meal will provide 15% to 20% of the total day’s nutrition. With no cooking and very little effort, you can provide an adequate morning meal for the dog. English muffin, banana, boiled egg, yogurt, cottage cheese are really easy and great ingredients for the morning meal.

Cooking A Week For Rocco
As you remember, our prototype dog is Rocco, a seventy-five pound fully grown Labrador. We wish to cook one week’s main meals for Rocco and we got lucky at the store, finding both family size packaged chicken breasts and pork butt roast on sale. We first determine our ingredient combinations, then amounts of each and lay out the assembly line.

What We Need:
Rice cooker or large pot
Wooden spoon
Large pot to cook protein
Butcher knife or food processor
Approximately 2&1/2 pounds chicken
Approximately 2&1/2 pounds pork
14 medium carrots
14 stalks celery
7 cups rice
7 tablespoons crushed garlic
14 slices French bread
Water
7 large zip-lock freezer bags or plastic snap-on lid containers

Preparation and Cooking
Ten minutes preparation…1&1/2 hours cooking time:
Cover the chicken and pork with water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, skim fat off the top and cover. The chicken breast will be cooked in about twenty minutes, and the pork in about one hour and one-half, so remove the chicken and allow to cool when cooked. When cooked, remove the pork and allow to cool. Cut both into bite sized pieces and set aside.
Ten minutes preparation…40 minutes cooking. While the chicken and pork is cooking, wash the carrots (skin on) and celery and chop or process into smaller dice. Add one-half the carrots and celery to the rice cooker, cover and turn on high for one cycle (you may wish to cook in two batches). Add 3&1/2 cups of rice and 3&1/2 tablespoons crushed garlic (no salt) and 7 cups water to the cooker, cover and turn on high. When the cycle has completed, fluff up with a wooden spoon, cover and leave on warm for at least half an hour. Remove to a bowl, set aside and repeat with the other half.
Five minutes preparation: While the rice is cooking slice the French bread into 1” slices and either toast lightly or cut into cubes and toast in the oven ten minutes at 400 degrees.

Assembly
Line up the ingredients rice and vegetables first, then meat, then the bread cubes. Place two cups of rice in each bag or container, then the meat source and finally the bread cubes. Compact them as necessary to fit. Press the bags to remove as much air as possible and zip or lid. Place four bags in the freezer and three in the refrigerator. Provided you are feeding the same meal morning and evening combine four morning meals in one bag to refrigerate and three to freeze. Add a boiled egg, some banana and or yogurt to the morning meal.

Serving:
I’ve found that most dogs prefer their food warm (not hot) over cold, but you can determine how your dog prefers it, by experimenting. Provided the meal is frozen, the microwave is a good defroster if you forgot to get it out of the freezer earlier. Another way to warm or defrost is to put the bag in a pan of simmering water.
Bowl the bag of ingredients, then sprinkle with Safflower oil and some torn Boston or bib lettuce, toss well and serve.

Cooking for You and the Dog
Since I cook daily, I simply view BerBer as another family member to cook for. His primary protein will be the same as what we are eating, however there may be adjustments in the other ingredients. If we are having baked or fried potatoes, he instead gets rice and vegetables as his sides. A rice cooker is almost essential since so much of the dogs menu is made up of rice and vegetables. You don’t have to concern yourself with time or stirring using the rice cooker; it is timed for you. Cook the chopped vegetables without oil for one cycle, then add the rice, garlic and water and cook through another cycle, allowing it to turn automatically to warm to hold and dry the moisture some. So all you’ve had to do is chop some celery and carrots and measure out some rice and water…how easy is that?


Single Main Meal

Ingredient Considerations
Fresh ingredients.To get the most nutrients from ingredients use fresh ingredients rather than frozen or canned. Canned foods are high in sodium and preservatives.

Protein Sources
We know our base line maintenance recipe is chicken, due to the low saturated fat. low calories, high nutrient values and digestibility. If we wish to provide some variety, we can create several balanced meals from other proteins also. Fish, lamb, pork and beef can also be bought in bulk and on sale. Freshwater fish such as perch, catfish and trout and cod, halibut, and whitefish are all excellent fish to consider. When cooking fish, filet the fish, making absolutely positive that all bones are removed. Pork loin and pork butt are good cuts of pork to use. Lamb can be pricey, however leg of lamb and lamb steaks can be found on sale. Chuck arm roasts are great to cook, because the vegetables can be braised with the roast and the arm roast bone is great for the dog too. Flank steak can be economical. Stay away from the higher fat prime cuts like steaks and standing rib.

Carbohydrate Sources
Rice is simply great to use because it provides so many nutrients, is economical, easy to cook, provides good mass to the dish and stores well. The decision then, is which rice to cook. Brown and wild rice are considerations, however both require much longer cooking times than white rice. Potatoes are not a particularly great carbohydrate, except for sweet potatoes, but if cooking fresh, pasta is a good carbohydrate for a variation. A good practice is to cook a large sweet potato and keep it in the refrigerator to simply cut a piece off and cube for a morning or evening inclusion. Bread provides mass and some nutrients and texture. Bread also absorbs oil and vegetable juices.

Beta-Carotenes: Vegetables
The namesake of the book “Mirepoix” is actually a play on words, since a dog mirepoix and a true mirepoix are slightly different. A “mirepoix” is a French term for the combination of onions, celery and carrots usually finely chopped and sautéed in butter for the base of a soup or sauce. The dog mirepoix simply eliminates the onions and butter. I serve carrots in every main meal, simply because they are the best source of carotene available. Celery is my green favorite, however green beans, peas, asparagus, green and red bell peppers, broccoli and about every other green or red vegetable is a candidate. Remember, beta-carotenes fight free radicals, cancer causing toxins and the most efficient carotene is the carrot.

Wild Cards
Our wild card players oil and lettuce and fresh garlic add some very important nutrients. Oils, like Safflower and Flaxseed are high in linoleic vitamin E and butter lettuce or bib lettuce provide phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Flaxseed oil is probably the best overall, however many dogs have a difficult time with flaxseed, causing gas and diarrhea. Safflower provides the linoleic we are looking for and is a very digestible oil. The best oils are also very unstable in storage becoming rancid quickly and also break down in high heat, so add oil to the food after bowling the food.

Spices and Herbs
We obviously don’t want to go feeding our dog a bunch of cayenne pepper, but since we do use spices and herbs in cooking for flavor they are worth mentioning. Does a basil leaf or rosemary have calories? Yes, they have about two calories per tablespoon. While the dog is not going to eat a tablespoon of herbs or spices distributed in the food, basil, rosemary, tarragon and thyme contain primarily calcium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin A IU and vitamin c, all of which we are getting plenty of in the food already. Since the FDA does not regulate herbs and spices as a drug, their actual benefit hasn’t been determined, and we see hundreds of herb cures for about every known disease to man and dog. Avoid using ground spices or salts in the dogs food in any concentrations.

Leftovers
When buying a pork or beef roast, I always buy at least 25% more roast than I know will be consumed in one meal. Once each week I will combine ‘leftovers,’ to make a dish. Instead of emptying all those frozen bags of leftover bits out of the freezer once a month, I have a couple of bags of frozen leftovers that I use each week. They are a real timesaver when doing fried rice or enchiladas and other combination dishes because they save one major cooking step.

Leave It Out
When cooking a combination of yours and the dogs meal, there are some foods you may consume but are not terrific for the dog. Soy sauce is very high sodium and causes gas and poor breath odor in many dogs. Salt, vinegars, and bottled salad dressings. High spices and hot peppers. As discussed before, onions cause anemia in dogs.
When cooking eggs, you may fry your, but consider boiling the dogs. Leave cream and cheese sauces out of the dogs meal.



Variety
Consider that dogs have about twenty times the sense of smell of what we human types posses. A great part of the palatability of food is derived from its aroma or smell. That being said, it would stand to reason that a dog will know the difference between chicken and steak. Place a food in front of a dogs nose and observe that the first action is to smell the food first, then make a decision whether to attempt to extract it from your hand and eat it or walk away. I believe that aroma, taste and texture are important to a dog, if given the opportunity to have a variety of those elements. If we don’t believe that, then the dog would be perfectly satisfied to have chicken and rice every night of his life. My client dogs like to smell each ingredient as it is taken out for preparation of the meal. The preparation of the meal becomes an important part of the day for them and thus they look forward to the process as well as the eating part. As a proof of this, feed the base-line recipe for four days straight. Then change the recipe to shrimp and pasta and vegetables…watch how excited the dog gets and how fast he engulfs the meal. So even if we have only a few variables, it makes for a good and welcome change for the dog. For a long time, my BerBer would not trust me and would go to the table and check the smell of our meals before eating his own to make sure he was getting the same thing we were eating.

Feeding Frequency
Most research indicates that two meals a day is the optimum feeding frequency, however it really is as much convenience to us to feed a morning meal and an evening meal since most have day jobs and can’t get home at noon. Feed the evening meal early enough that the dog can digest the food and go outside before he goes to bed for the night, unless you like 2 AM walks in the neighborhood.


MSN Pets & Animals Survey: 65% say they would travel 1,000 miles for special treatment for their pet
Chapter Eight
Real Dogs Eat Real Food

My Prototype Champions
Since we are cooking for real dogs, here are our weight class champions, how they started and how they like the program. I selected these guys from the dogs that have been in the program and they are all quite different in terms of issues coming into the program. They represent a good cross section of geography, breeds and mixes and their caretakers represent both daily and batch cooking. They are the reason I’ve provided an interactive site in conjunction with this book…so that if there are special circumstances or issues you need help with you can get some tech support.

Twenty-Pound Category
Dale, Jack Russell Terrier
Primary Caretaker: Laura Gadesi, St. Louis MO.
Age one year
Weight: 18.6 pounds
Allergies: Grass, Mold
Health Issues: None known
Owner cooks daily
Dale’s favorite food: Chicken, Broccoli





Fifty-Pound Category:
Jake D, a Golden X Lab mix
Primary Caretaker: Francoise Duclot, Houston TX
Issues at start: Overweight, Poor Coat
Allergies: None
Health issues: None
Cook: Batch: For three dogs every other day
(Photo Here…Jake D)

Seventy-Five Pound Category:
Zak, an American Staffordshire (Bull) Terrier
Primary Caretaker: Donna McMasters, Carson City NV
Issues at start: Allergies (too numerous to list)
Health issues: None other than allergies
Cook: Daily
(Photo Here…Zak)

One-Hundred Pound Category:
Jake F, Mix
Age: Approximately two years old
Primary Caretaker: Heather Fisher, St. John Canada
Allergies: None known
Issues at start of program: Vegetables
Cook: Daily
(Photo Here…Jake F)

Over One-Hundred-Twenty-Five Pound Category:
BerBer, suspected to be a Pyr Mastiff
Primary Caretaker: Jon Frey
Age: 1&1/2 at start of program…now seven years old
Weight 155 pounds
Allergies: None
Health issues: None
Issues at start: Diarrhea, vomiting, poor eating habits, poor coat, and breath odor
Cook: Daily
(Photo Here…Berbs)



Part Five
Recipes

Chapter Nine
Base Line Recipes
Base line recipes were developed to provide easy to make recipes that can be batch prepared and frozen and still retain texture and nutrients. They are also recipes that meet or exceed the B.O.E. daily nutrient requirements. As long as a food can be cooked and frozen it is a candidate for batch cooking. I use common economical ingredients that you are most likely to buy on a regular basis anyway and usually will have on hand. Keep in mind that we are not as concerned with the cut of meat (other than high crude protein) than we are its source, condition and proper internal temperature to eliminate bacteria.
The most common of each group are:
Proteins: Beef, Chicken, Fish, Lamb and Pork
Carbohydrates: Rice, Potatoes, Beans, Pasta
Beta-Carotenes: Carrots, Celery, Red and Green Bell Peppers, Peas, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli, Tomato
Minerals: Boston Lettuce, Leaf Lettuce, Romaine, Spinach
Oils: Safflower, Canola, Flaxseed, Grapeseed
Opptional: Apple, Pear, Banana, Avacado

Conversions:
As a general guide, you can convert a food from ounces to a portion using the following approximate conversions:
One Kilogram = 1.7 Pounds
One Pound = 373.248 Grams
One Ounce = 31 Grams
One Gram = 1,000 Kilograms
100 Grams = (approx) ¼ Pound
One I AU = 100,000 mg
One Medium Carrot = 4 ounces
One Stalk Celery = 3 ounces
One Medium Potato = 12 oz
One Green Bean =
One-half Boned Chicken Breast = 8 ounces
One Medium Bell Pepper = 8 ounces
One Broccoli Flower =
One Medium Tomato =
Two Leaves Lettuce = 1 oz
Two Slices French Bread = 2 oz

Jake F’s Beef Baseline Recipe
(Photo Here…Beef)
Ingredients: By Weight of Dog (pounds)
20 50 75 100
4 6 8 12 oz beef chuck arm roast
¼ ½ 1 1¼ cup white rice
¼ ½ 2 3 oz sweet potato
¼ ½ 2 3 oz green beans
½ 1 2 3 slices French bread
chopped tomato
crushed garlic
Safflower oil
Rosemary
Optional Supplements: Glucosamime Chondroiton chewable, Beta Carotene tablet
Glucosamine: Under 10lb, ¼ tablet; 10-24 lb, ½; 25-49lb, 1; 50-100 lb, 1&1/2

Comments: Ground chuck or very low-fat ground beef can be used as an alternative to chuck roast.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cover the roast with water and bring to a rapid boil, then reduce and simmer or roast in 350 degree oven for two hours.
Wash vegetables and stem the green beans and cut to desired lengths. Bake the sweet potato in a 375 degree oven for thirty minutes. Cool and slice off the appropriate serving amount, then cut into desired bite sized pieces. Refrigerate the rest of the potato for use in another meal (unless batch cooking). Blanch the green beans in water until cooked but still firm. Remove, drain and set aside.
Cook the rice in the usual way, allowing to dry on low heat. Cut the French bread into croutons and place in the bowl. Add the beef, rice and vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and chopped tomato, then with Safflower oil, toss well and serve with side of iced water.
Batch Preparation (multiples)
Multiply ingredient amounts by the number of meals. Do not add oil, lettuce or tomato until serving. Layer each bag (container) with rice and vegetables, then beef, then bread and refrigerate or freeze.


Nutrient Analysis : Base Beef

20 lb Dog; 709 Cal: 50 lb Dog; 836 Cal: 75 lb Dog; 1362 Cal: 100 lb dog; 1788 Cal
(36% from Fat, 22% from Protein, 41% from Carb); 39 g Protein; 28 g Tot Fat; 11 g Sat Fat; 12 g Mono Fat; 1 g Poly Fat; 72 g Carb; 5 g Fiber; 3 g Ash; 393 mg Phos; 105 mg Calcium; 7 mg Iron; 174 mg Sodium; 663 mg Potassium; 71 mg Magnesium ; 9 mg Zinc; 1 mg Copper; 1 mg Manganese; 48 ug Selenium; 10176 IU Vit A; 1 mg ATE Vit E; 1 mg Thiamin; 1 mg Riboflavin; 8 mg Niacin; 1 mg Pantothenic Acid; 1 mg Vit B6; 143 ug Folate; 3 ug Vit B12; 25 mg Vit C; 112 mg Cholesterol; Nutrient Points=88


Dales Chicken Baseline Recipe
(Photo Here…Chicken)
Ingredients: By Weight of Dog (pounds)
20 50 75 100
4 6 8 10 oz Chicken Breast
1 1½ 2 3 cup rice (uncooked)
2 3 4 5 oz carrots
¼ ½ 2 3 stalks celery
½ 1 2 3 slices French bread
chopped tomato
crushed garlic
Safflower oil
Rosemary
Optional Supplements: Glucosamime Chondroiton chewable, Beta Carotene tablet
Glucosamine: Under 10lb, ¼ tablet; 10-24 lb, ½; 25-49lb, 1; 50-100 lb, 1&1/2


Comments: The dark meat of the chicken is fine, but contains more fat and calories. Turkey can be used as an alternative, however turkey contains more fat and calories. Buying whole chickens or family packs on sale and freezing them is a good way to save money. Any time the butcher bones chicken, the price goes up to cover the labor.
Wash chicken and cover with water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer twenty minutes. Cool, remove bones and cut into bite sized pieces.
Wash vegetables and dice, chop or process to desired size for your dog. Place in rice cooker without oil, and cook one cycle and turn off (they will produce their own moisture).
Add one cup rice and the garlic to the vegetables and two cups water. Turn rice cooker back on and cook through the cycle and auto turn to low. Fluff up with a wooden spoon, cover and cook on low to dry the rice slightly.
Cut the French bread into croutons and place in the bowl. Add the chicken, rice and vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and chopped tomato, then with Safflower oil, toss well and serve with side of iced water.
Batch Preparation (multiples)
Multiply ingredient amounts by the number of meals. Do not add oil, lettuce or tomato until serving. Layer each bag (container) with rice and vegetables, then chicken, then bread and refrigerate or freeze.
Nutrient Analysis : Base Chicken
20 lb Dog; 883 Cal: 50 lb Dog; 972 Cal: 75 lb Dog; 1381 Cal: 100 lb Dog; 1691 Cal
(30% from Fat, 26% from Protein, 44% from Carb); 109 g Protein; 55 g Tot Fat; 6 g Sat Fat; 11 g Mono Fat; 34 g Poly Fat; 184 g Carb; 12 g Fiber; 8 g Ash; 1051 mg Phos; 307 mg Calcium; 12 mg Iron; 751 mg Sodium; 2002 mg Potassium; 207 mg Magnesium ; 6 mg Zinc; 1 mg Copper; 2 mg Manganese; 143 ug Selenium; 7220 IU Vit A; 20 mg ATE Vit E; 2 mg Thiamin; 1 mg Riboflavin; 51 mg Niacin; 5 mg Pantothenic Acid; 2 mg Vit B6; 409 ug Folate; 1 ug Vit B12; 33 mg Vit C; 241 mg Cholesterol; Nutrient Points=95


Jake D’s Fish Baseline Recipe
(Photo Here…Fish)
Ingredients: By Weight of Dog (pounds)
20 50 75 100
4 6 8 10 salmon
1 1½ 2 3 Cups cooked brown rice
2 3 4 5 oz carrots
2 3 4 5 oz green bell pepper
½ 1 2 3 slices French bread
chopped tomato
crushed garlic
Safflower oil
Rosemary
Optional Supplements: Glucosamime Chondroiton chewable, Beta Carotene tablet
Glucosamine: Under 10lb, ¼ tablet; 10-24 lb, ½; 25-49lb, 1; 50-100 lb, 1&1/2


Comments: Use any whitefish as an alternative to salmon, however do not use canned fish. Brown rice requires longer cooking time than white, so white rice can be used as an alternative.
Pat salmon dry with paper towel, check for and meticulously remove all bones in the filet. Poach, broil or grill salmon until opaque in color. If grilling, place flesh side down first. Allow to cool, flake to serve.
Wash vegetables and dice, chop or process to desired size for your dog. Place in rice cooker without oil, and cook one cycle and turn off (they will produce their own moisture). Add the rice water garlic and rosemary and cook through two cycles for brown rice (one cycle for white).
Cut the French bread into croutons and place in the bowl. Add the salmon, lima beans and vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and chopped tomato, then with Safflower oil, toss well and serve with side of iced water.
Batch Preparation (multiples)
Multiply ingredient amounts by the number of meals. Do not add oil, lettuce or tomato until serving. Layer each bag (container) with rice and vegetables, then salmon, then bread and refrigerate or freeze
Nutrient Analysis : Base Fish
rice20 lb Dog; 761 Cal: 50 lb Dog; 775 Cal: 75 lb Dog; 1226 Cal: 100 lb Dog; 1568 Cal
(37% from Fat, 19% from Protein, 44% from Carb); 75 g Protein; 64 g Tot Fat; 9 g Sat Fat; 17 g Mono Fat; 34 g Poly Fat; 171 g Carb; 19 g Fiber; 8 g Ash; 1234 mg Phos; 172 mg Calcium; 6 mg Iron; 331 mg Sodium; 2350 mg Potassium; 384 mg Magnesium ; 6 mg Zinc; 1 mg Copper; 7 mg Manganese; 111 ug Selenium; 7968 IU Vit A; 14 mg ATE Vit E; 2 mg Thiamin; 1 mg Riboflavin; 32 mg Niacin; 7 mg Pantothenic Acid; 3 mg Vit B6; 211 ug Folate; 8 ug Vit B12; 154 mg Vit C; 167 mg Cholesterol; Nutrient Points=88

Jake F’s Lamb Baseline Recipe
(Photo Here…Lamb)
Ingredients: By Weight of Dog (pounds)
20 50 75 100
4 6 8 10 oz lamb shoulder roast or steak
1 1½ 2 3 cup white rice
2 3 4 5 oz sweet peas
2 3 4 5 oz chopped carrots
½ 1 2 3 slices French bread
chopped tomato
crushed garlic
Safflower oil
Rosemary
Optional Supplements: Glucosamime Chondroiton chewable, Beta Carotene tablet
Glucosamine: Under 10lb, ¼ tablet; 10-24 lb, ½; 25-49lb, 1; 50-100 lb, 1&1/2


Comments: Trim the fat on the roast or steaks.
In a large pot or Dutch cover the roast with water and bring to a rapid boil, then reduce and simmer or roast in 350 degree oven for two hours. If steaks are used, broil over a rack to render the fat.
Wash vegetables, chop the carrots into bite sized pieces and cook in the rice cooker through one high cycle. Turn off and cool. Add the rice, peas, garlic and water and cook through a high cycle allowing it to go to warm automatically, leaving it on warm for thirty minutes.
Cut the French bread into croutons and place in the bowl. Add the beef, rice and vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and chopped tomato, then with Safflower oil, toss well and serve with side of iced water.
Batch Preparation (multiples)
Multiply ingredient amounts by the number of meals. Do not add oil, lettuce or tomato until serving. Layer each bag (container) with rice and vegetables, then beef, then bread and refrigerate or freeze.


Nutrient Analysis : Base Lamb

20 lb Dog; 761 Cal: 50 lb Dog; 1023 Cal: 75 lb Dog; 1548 Cal: 100 lb Dog; 1973 Cal
(45% from Fat, 22% from Protein, 34% from Carb); 105 g Protein; 96 g Tot Fat; 30 g Sat Fat; 32 g Mono Fat; 26 g Poly Fat; 165 g Carb; 15 g Fiber; 8 g Ash; 964 mg Phos; 256 mg Calcium; 16 mg Iron; 736 mg Sodium; 1679 mg Potassium; 199 mg Magnesium ; 23 mg Zinc; 1 mg Copper; 2 mg Manganese; 142 ug Selenium; 7707 IU Vit A; 13 mg ATE Vit E; 2 mg Thiamin; 1 mg Riboflavin; 28 mg Niacin; 4 mg Pantothenic Acid; 1 mg Vit B6; 434 ug Folate; 8 ug Vit B12; 28 mg Vit C; 332 mg Cholesterol; Nutrient Points= 81

Zak’s Pork Baseline Recipe
(Photo Here…Pork)
Ingredients: By Weight of Dog (pounds)
20 50 75 100
4 6 8 10 oz pork (loin)
1 1½ 2 3 cups brown rice
2 3 4 5 oz carrots
2 3 4 5 oz broccoli flowers
½ 1 2 3 slices French bread
chopped tomato
crushed garlic
Safflower oil
Rosemary
Optional Supplements: Glucosamime Chondroiton chewable, Beta Carotene tablet
Glucosamine: Under 10lb, ¼ tablet; 10-24 lb, ½; 25-49lb, 1; 50-100 lb, 1&1/2


Comments: Pork butt and pork loin are both excellent cuts for this recipe. Ground pork may also be used. If the loin still has the fat cap and bone in, remove both after cooking. Broccoli is fairly high in A IU, so should be used on an occasional basis rather than as a daily source of beta-carotene.
Cover pork loin or butt with water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer one hour skimming fat from the top as it rises. Cool and cut into bite sized pieces.
Wash vegetables and separate broccoli flowers. Dice, chop or process carrots to desired size for your dog. Place in rice cooker without oil, and cook one cycle and turn off (they will produce their own moisture). Remove broccoli, cool and cut into desired size bites for your dog and set aside. Add the rice, garlic, rosemary and water to the carrots and cook through two cycles for brown rice (one cycle for white). Add the broccoli and toss well.
Cut the French bread into croutons and place in the bowl. Add the pork, lentils and vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and chopped tomato, then with Safflower oil, toss well and serve with side of iced water.
Batch Preparation (multiples)
Multiply ingredient amounts by the number of meals. Do not add oil, lettuce or tomato until serving. Layer each bag (container) with rice and vegetables, then pork, then bread and refrigerate or freeze.

Nutrient Analysis : Base Pork

20 lb Dog; 898 Cal: 50 lb Dog; 1119 Cal: 75 lb Dog; 1341 Cal: 100 lb Dog; 1562 Cal
(49% from Fat, 23% from Protein, 28% from Carb); 89 g Protein; 86 g Tot Fat; 20 g Sat Fat; 26 g Mono Fat; 35 g Poly Fat; 109 g Carb; 11 g Fiber; 10 g Ash; 783 mg Phos; 279 mg Calcium; 7 mg Iron; 415 mg Sodium; 2648 mg Potassium; 148 mg Magnesium ; 8 mg Zinc; 1 mg Copper; 2 mg Manganese; 134 ug Selenium; 59364 IU Vit A; 22 mg ATE Vit E; 2 mg Thiamin; 1 mg Riboflavin; 19 mg Niacin; 4 mg Pantothenic Acid; 2 mg Vit B6; 200 ug Folate; 2 ug Vit B12; 198 mg Vit C; 207 mg Cholesterol; Nutrient Points= 76