Hi everyone.

This is my first post, and I don't actually have my Boston yet. My new two-year-old is coming home in a few weeks.

After doing enough reading about dog food to scare myself silly, I've decided to cook for my dog instead of using commercial food. Her current owner feeds her a mix of kibble and fresh 'people food'.

Does anyone have tips for planning a balanced diet? Should I use supplements?

I know human nutrition inside and out so it's frustrating to not know a darn thing about a dog's requirements. BUT I'm a little ahead of the game in that I know which foods supply which nutrients...

Any advice?


PS: I'd prefer to cook the food as opposed to feed it raw. I'm afraid of the salmonella or other food-bourne illness that can come along with serving raw food.

if you cook the food you'll kill all of the nutrients tyhat your dog needs. in the wild the dog never eats cooked food. raw vegetables cant be digested by your dog. search the forum for the topic on raw diet. jeanebostons has many tips and links to how to feed your dog natrually.

I ordered Dr. Pitcarins and Wendy Volhard's books last night. I hope they can teach me a thing or two about doggie-nutrition.

Esther is "right on"! If you cook for your dog, you will need to supplement daily since just like processed pet food, all the nutrition will have been destroyed by the heat.

Here are some articles on nutriton and pros and cons of cooking vs. raw feeding your dog.

http://www.thewholedog.org/id9.html#nutrition

My grandmother has had her dogs for about 15 years minimum and the diet is liver and rice,twice a day.

Yikes! This does not sound like a very healthy diet if that is all she feeds on a daily basis. Is the liver raw or cooked? Does she supplement with anything?