Cooking for Your Dog

Pup Loaf, AKA Arthur Loaf, AKA [Your Dog’s Name Here] Loaf

By Josh Ivey Abitz
Animal Saints Rescue Society Chef

This is a recipe I have used for over 10 years. Our vet continues to be amazed at the excellent blood work and weights he gets from our pack of Shih Tzus. Dog obesity is a thing and kibble is a cause. Cooking for your dog will help maintain a healthy weight. We feed about 3/4oz. per 1 pound of dog’s ideal weight. A ten pound dog would eat 7.5 ounces of food per day. We feed twice a day plus a small bedtime snack. So each meal is about 3.25 oz. Weigh it once and eyeball it for the rest of your life. Some days our dogs need more or less. Like us!

Formula

• 60% lean chicken
• 40% sweet potato
• 5% kale or collard greens
• Optional additions: apple, beets, carrots, other garden vegetables depending on supply.

Let’s make one week’s food for a 10 pound dog (about 3.5 pounds of food)

Ingredients:

• – Makes one week’s food for a 10 pound dog (about 3.5 pounds)
• – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
• – 1 pound sweet potatoes, whole
• – ½ pound kale or ½ bunch
• – Powder probiotic and vitamin supplement of your choice. We use Wholistic Pet Organics Canine Complete.

Instructions

Easy Crock Pot Method

This is the easiest and cleanest way to cook for your dog. Throw the ingredients into the crock pot before bed, and you’ll have a week’s worth of food ready in the morning.

• Lay the chicken breast flat on the bottom of the pot.

• Chop the kale into 1-inch pieces and sprinkle it over the chicken.

• Cut each sweet potato in half, and then slice each half into thirds. Cut with the flat part of the potato facing down so it won’t slide around as you cut.

• Add 2-3 cups of water.

• Cook on low overnight, or high during the day.

• When cooked, chicken should be a minimum of 165 degrees F and potatoes should be soft.

• Use a heavy duty spoon or spatula to mix it all together like a stew.

• If your dog has good teeth and enjoys chewing chunks, you can serve it this way. Some dogs have trouble with potato skins, so pull out the big ones or cut them up as needed.

• For a texture like canned food, blend it with an immersion blender or spoon the mix into a food processor or blender and lightly blend. Less blending works better. Too much blending, and you’ll end up with soup. A little practice and you’ll find the perfect consistency for your dog.

• Keep half of the mix in the fridge and freeze the other half.

• Feed about 3.5 ounces per meal warm or room temperature, never piping hot or frozen. Cold food can create congestion in some dogs.

Meat Grinder Method

It took me about 6 years to admit I needed a meat grinder. I started with a small one and graduated to a larger one as needed. If in doubt, go big. I use the LEM Big Bite #12 grinder to make 135 pounds of food in about 7 hours. A smaller batch of 70 pounds takes me about 3 hours. Cooking for yourself and your dogs will make you all healthier. Reward yourself with the right tools!

-Cut all ingredients to a size that will fit through your grinder. Meat should be partially frozen for efficient grinding.

-Grind all ingredients to the finest grind your machine is capable of creating.

-Organize your grind to your liking and according to your machine’s capabilities. If you need two passes–one coarse and one fine–grind the potatoes and kale together first. Then coarsely grind the chicken. Once everything is coarsely ground, do a fine grind with everything mixed together.

-Save on mixing time by grinding the ingredients together in the correct proportions and catch the mix in a freezer bag as it exits the grinder.

-Store in freezer bags in a loaf shape or any shape that works for your cooker. For example, a flat shape would cook well on a deep cookie sheet. A bread loaf shape would cook well in a crock pot.

-Cook daily at meal time or slow cook overnight in a crock pot. A pressure cooker will work well, too.

-The loaf should reach 165 degrees minimum at the center for at least 10 minutes. Long and slow cooking will make the potato and kale easier to digest and create yummy juices.

-Serve warm or room temperature – never hot, raw, or frozen – and don’t forget to sprinkle your supplement in at meal time!

Cooking in bulk is a great way to see how much food you can stuff into your oven. Really put your oven to the test! You may have to do some experimenting to adjust cooking times and positions. Be creative and make your own workflow that fits your daily life.

You can gauge your food’s effectiveness by examining stools for firmness and by getting annual blood tests. In fact blood tests are the best way to catch health issues before they become visible. When you control your dog’s food, you can modify ingredients easily if they ever get sick or develop a special need like allergies or sensitive stomach.

P.S. Pup loaf is fantastic with tortilla chips when it’s roasted in the oven. Try to get the crispy top part before your dog does!