Cooking For Wesson

Good Morning Super Sunday,

We know the we haven't had as many blogs up lately as we could have - but that is going to change. Today we have an awesome article from one of our "Special Needs - Foster Mamas". Montana Ridgeway is currently fostering Wesson - She decided to go a different route in this foster case. But I will let her tell the story.

I’m always looking for a new challenge.  Sometimes it comes in the form of taking on a new class, or a reaching out to make a new friend, or having the patience to deal with an old one.  This one… she came in the form of patchy, stiff furred, almost two year old hound mix named Wesson.  Our newest foster resident is your normal perfectly happy-go-lucky dog, minus one thing; she has demodectic mange.  Mange is a skin condition that results in the loss of hair (amongst other things) from a very tiny mite in the animal’s skin.  Demodectic mange is non-contagious and is passed from mother to puppy at birth.  Most dogs’ immune systems are strong enough to fight off this nasty bug, but some aren't able to.  That was the case with Miss Wesson.  She has been dealing with this, at the shelter, for almost two years.  I couldn't resist when I saw her balding face.  All I wanted was for her to be the happy, healthy, fully furry dog I knew she could be.  This meant two things:  one, she was coming home with us, and two, we were going to do everything possible to get her healthy and mange free as soon as possible.

Now aside from her being slightly less hairy than others, she’s your typical dog, loves people, loves walks, loves balls, and snuggling for naps.  Her needs, however, are just a little bit more extensive.  Aside from daily medication, and weekly baths, neither of which are complicated, she also needs a special diet to help increase recovery.  Diet and stress are two major contributing factors in recovery.  In order to help her condition improve faster, she needed to be on a grain-free diet.  I had two options, buy grain-free kibble, or cook her meals at home.  After much debate and research, I decided to home cook her meals instead of buying grain-free kibble.  Can’t be that hard right?

Yes… and no.  My first experience home cooking Wesson’s meals was an adventure to say the least.  My kitchen was spotless before and now… let’s just say the dogs are having a heyday and got two dinners tonight.  The cooking wasn't hard, I just didn't enjoy the clean up (but that’s what puppies tongues are for right?).  I had fun, so I still count it a success.  We will see if it’s truly successful after a couple of weeks.  Here’s to hoping Wesson responds well. 

Before I began cooking, I had to decide what to include in her diet.  Part of the benefit of home cooking your pet’s meals is that you choose all of the ingredients that go in!  No second-guessing what part of the chicken or lamb or cow is in your four-legged friends’ food as you would  with kibble!  For our main protein source, we chose chicken, lean, easy to come by, relatively cheap, and a good source of protein (I discovered chicken and turkey are two of the greatest sources of protein from my dear friend Google).  Next for veggies and fruits.  I, being a proud doggy mama, decided that I would vary her diet from day to day.  After all, what’s the point in cooking their food if you can’t have a little bit of fun with it?  I decided the main veggie would be sweet potatoes, supplemented by various other fruits and veggies.  So, with these choices made, I sent out Dear Husband on a grocery run (“Honey, why do we need ten sweet potatoes?).  He returned home a little over half an hour later, sweet potatoes and chicken in tow. 

Now for the fun!  I wanted to make as much of her food in bulk as possible.  That way I was only cooking a ton of food for the dog once a week.  Oven on, pan prepared, chicken in, homemade doggy food is a go!  While I waited for the chicken to cook, I decided to start on the sweet potatoes.  Being lazy, and only having one oven, I decided to microwave cook the sweet potatoes.  I put a napkin down in the microwave, scrubbed the potatoes, forked them over and over to help ensure they cook all the way through, stuck them in the microwave for six minutes.  Played with the puppies until the microwave went off, then flipped the potatoes over for other six minutes and more puppy play time!  Wait a minute or two before trying to grab the potatoes.  I learned this the hard way.  The potato met the floor, much to my dismay.  However, no harm done (it is dog food after all), picked it up (with a potholder this time), rinsed it off, let it cool, and then set out to cut it.  At first, I started dicing the potato into bite-sized chunks.  I quickly realized my chunks were not retaining shape, and it became mashed sweet potatoes.  After I cut up those two, I repeated the process all over again.  By the time I’d cleaned, cooked, and cut four sweet potatoes, the chicken was done.  Pulled it out, let it cool, and then proceeded to cut it into bite sized pieces.  Could have left it whole, but I was afraid someone would scarf down her food without chewing it, and it fit much better in the Tupperware cut up into bite sized pieces.  Cleaned the pan, and repeated the chicken process twice more. 

One scary movie, a nap, and lots of puppy playtime later, the bulk of Wesson’s meals were done for the week.  My once spotless kitchen was now covered in orange sweet potato, and little bits of chicken.  My microwave tray had paper towel stuck on so well that I had to soak it overnight, I had more dishes from the past couple hours than I did for the entire day, and my counters… what counters? 

I learned a lot in my first time making homemade doggy food.  First, cook the food simultaneously.  You do NOT have to cut and put away all of the sweet potato before putting more in the microwave.  Same goes for the chicken.  This will help minimize the time you spend in the kitchen, which is especially important when you have children, school, work, or a million other things to worry about.  Second, plates are your friend.  No one wants sweet potato napkin mess super glued to the bottom of the microwave.  It’s no fun to clean.  Third, cook in bulk!  No one wants to spend hours a day cooking for the precious pooch in his/her life.  Fourth, variety!  Cook what you can in bulk, but be prepared to add other things to the dog’s diet.  While sweet potatoes and chicken served as a base for Wesson’s food, she also gets eggs, cottage cheese, canned pumpkin, various fruits  and veggies, and often times leftover veggies from our meals.  To ensure that Miss Wesson gets everything we needs nutritionally, we add a vitamin and mineral supplement, as well as fish oil to help her regain that shiny healthy coat every dog should have. 

So, the ultimate question remains.  Would I home cook all of her meals again?  Or would I give in and buy grain-free kibble?  I would do it all over in a heartbeat.  Though it took a couple of hours, a lot of patience, and destroyed my kitchen (probably more my fault than the making of the food itself), I will definitely continue to cook Miss Wesson’s food.  I learned a lot from the first time, and hopefully will continue to improve my skills in doggy dish preparation.  I’m willing to give up a couple of hours to know what she’s eating and where it came from, especially if it means that her condition will improve more rapidly.  She’s a great girl who hasn't been given her chance to shine.  Hopefully, with this new diet and patience, she will become the beautiful, full-coated, mange free dog I know she can be. 

Let us know if you have tried cooking for your furry friend and your experiences.

Mahalo,
Sarah Smith