How lovely that your menu improved the health and life for your friends' old dog!

The only pet I've had as an adult is sourdough starter. When they're young, you have to feed them twice per day, clean their beds, etc. But the fanciest thing I ever fed one was pastry flour when I'd run out of regular white flour for the white starter. Oh, but I do mill my own whole wheat flour to feed the ww starter. I guess that's sort of on topic, but I do the same for ww flour to bake with.

I do have friends who cook for their pets, but not with much creativity.

My first cat was a beat up stray who chose me.... she was estimated to be 2-3 years old at the time, and I had her for 17.5 years. She was the best and smartest cat ever and she loved chicken livers that I'd saute in a little butter, margarine, or bacon fat. :)

When I had a dog going through chemo I cooked for him but prepping and storing fresh food for an 80# dog is a lot and I stopped after several months.

At the vet clinic where I work some clients are given recipes to prep special diets. Recipes often include a supplement product to ensure that all necessary nutrients are covered.

I have a senior dog (profile pic) who has had some problems with pancreatitis in the past and now has early signs of DM. He gets plain white rice, plain baked chicken (I bake on sheet pans in the oven and then chop it up and freeze it into 3 or 4 day supplies) and roasted sweet potatoes. This is supplemented with a low fat prescription kibble and an all-natural joint supplement (lots of ground bones and seed. I have to be careful with too much fat so I don't swap beef into the mix (very often, a few bites of leftover steak) but he does get turkey. When chopping carrots or celery, stray pieces end up near him.

My sister had an oversized german shepherd many years that they cooked for. I don't know the exact recipe but it took one day a month to prepare his food. I know it involved cooking chicken, rice, vegetables and a number of things for minerals and vitamins suggested by their vet went into the food too.

Once cooled, they froze it in serving sized containers. Every month, for years. They had been buying its food at Costco and the cooking began with the second recall of contaminated pet food that involved some sold there.

We were out of the country when the big re-call happened...10-12(?) years ago? Killed many pets. Our kibble at the time was on that list.

Two big shipping container hit both coasts. Meamine labeled as protein powder. Caused organ failure.

We feed good quality kibble, mix two brands, for breakfast.

I make a porridge like a congee. Lots of different veg...kale stems, carrots, an apple, an egg or two, whatever i have, etc. Run it all through the cuisinart with a pound ish of an ofal. I make it when prepping our weekly grain or a pot of beans. Every 10-12 days. The past couple years i've been adding a slice of FreshPet to each portion. For variety.

For a while i was cooking dog food for our dogs with a ”recipe” from the Labrador list in which I participated.

1 16 oz. can pumpkin puree(not pumpkin pie filling)

3 cups cooked brown rice

3 pounds meat of your choice, cut up and cooked

1 to 1 1/2 pounds of fresh or frozen veggies, cooked to soften

Then packaged into individual portions and frozen if necessary. I was concerned about missing some essential vitamins, so I did as @sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA) did, and I added some cut up fresh pet to each portion.

I made a recipe of chicken and rice one time for a pup who had snagged an aspirin and got very ill, then later for a chihuahua that was 17 YO and loosing all his teeth! Both times the vet said it was very difficult to provide adequite nutrition making your own food!

@blubird

”I added some cut up fresh pet to each portion.”

I am afraid to ask for details :-)

Just kidding, I know what you’re saying.

There is something that cats need. Taurine. It’s in commercial cat food, not in human food.

I've cooked for my last three dogs. One lived to be 16, one lived to be 15, neither were sick or in pain. I did add cottage cheese and/or yogurt to their food for the calcium content. Elery did the same with his old chichuahua and now we cook for Amanda's golden retriever who has been having some skin problems. The vet was surprised at her improvement since we started feeding her what we eat, and told us to keep doing that.

Our dogs got various amounts of organic vegetables, brown rice, grass fed beef and free range chicken, fresh farm eggs, calcium portions.

We do not currently have a dog, so I cook for Amanda's dog, Miley.

Annie

I cook for our 63 pound dog and it has stopped all the digestion problems she was having. Our Vet recommended, and I use, the website balanceit.com and its supplement.

John, there are sources of taurine, unfortunately they are maybe not as common as what people might think to put in their pet's meal, as many are pricey. Mollusks, squid, octopus, kep are all high in taurine, as is dark meat poultry. White fish is good too (interesting that these are all things that cats seem to like). The supplement I use includes freeze dried oysters & fish and additional taurine plus I use some kibble for balance. Beef is moderate and white meat chicken is low. But most dogs don't have the same problems with taurine as cats, of course.

I don't cook for the dog, but DH and I often give her table scraps mixed in with her dog food and odds and ends like cooked salmon skin, boiled anchovies used to make fish broth, stuff like that.

I bake chicken to give our boy with his kibble

The best thing are his treats. A magnet for any dog I've tried them with - instant training LOL. I blend a couple of slices of beef liver with 2 eggs, a tub of yogurt and enough whole flour to make a fairly thick paste. I spread this fairly thinly and bake it until it's quite dry. I cut it up and freeze it. It defrosts fast so I can just grab a few pieces and put them in my pocket. He has a few every evening and he really loves them. I dread to think what's in industrial dog treats! I don't think about the kibble too much. He needs really small kibble and there isn't much choice but It's supposed to be good quality......

I make "Dog Soup" and freeze it for our Border Collie. We top his kibble with it. It might be a chicken carcass or some beef scraps in the pressure cooker, skim most of the fat and throw in vegies/rice/leftovers or whatever. I've thrown in old canned or frozen vegies and usually some carrots or sweet potatoes and a handful of dehydrated kale or chard. Our vet has commented on how healthy he looks.

I started cooking up chicken thighs and mixing with mackerel or sardines added for my old, very skinny cat. He gained weight and his coat got soft, and I believe it gave him a few more months. Cats always have dry food available so I don't worry about the taurine.

My cat (20 y/o) has gained some weight since I started feeding her extra stuff!