Thursday, March 7, 2013

Cooking for My Dog: A Special Treat for Shiner

I read about so many other bloggers who cook meals for their beloved canine companions and feline friends. Last week, I wrote an article about how controversial pet food can be for some. Some people are quite judgmental no matter what you feed your dog. After reading so many wonderful and insightful comments from that post I decided to cook some food for Shiner.

When I cook chicken for my family I trim off the pieces I don't want. Usually just fatty pieces or other pieces that don't look appetizing. There really isn't anything wrong with them so I decided to boil them up for Shiner. No need for the scraps to go to waste. I also was cooking fresh carrots that night and added the carrot tops to the pot with the chicken. Plus, there was some leftover rice in the fridge.

Shiner's special meal!

It didn't take long for them to cook at all and nothing went to waste. I added half of the boiled food to some of Shiner's kibble for dinner and she loved it! I knew she would of course. I hadn't seen her that excited to eat in quite some time.

Hurry up and give me those noms, Mom!

Mmmm - yummy!

I'm sure I will be doing this again in the future. Even if I have no meat to add to her kibble, I usually have vegetables at least a few times a week that I cook with.

I also got another idea from an article I read on Keep the Tail Wagging about feeding sardines to your dogs. This had never crossed my mind before but when I saw the sardines on the shelf during my trip to the grocery store last week I grabbed a tin. They are a very inexpensive treat. Shiner also enjoyed eating her sardines which I mixed in with her usual kibble. I think she could benefit from some omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in fish. Perhaps they will help with her skin and coat.

Sardines for Shiner.

I think Shiner loves the idea of getting fresh cooked food and sardines in addition to her normal kibble. She says she gives it 4 paws up anyways, so I guess that means she approves.

40 comments:

  1. WooHoo, go Shiner!! Now that looked like a seriously delicious meal! Chicken and rice is soooo delicious, next time maybe some cheese will be in order?! ;-) Hm, I had no clue about sardines, but I love to smell the fishy tin food that my brother kitties eat! Must ask Domeek to put on the shopping list! :-)

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  2. Now look at that happy face! Rumblemum used to cook for me when I was a little kitten, but I didn't really like it as much as my canned food.

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  3. Dexter & Jersey L.O.V.E. it when I add sardines or tuna to the kibble in the morning!

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  4. Well that looks well yummy. Lucky Shiner. Have a terrific Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  5. Drooling, Humom does give me the nasty looking bits of chichun :) I loves it xx00xx

    Mollie and Alfie

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  6. If sardines would help with year round out-of-control shedding, I'd put Cupcake on a steady diet of those little guys!! I've tried olive oil and fish oil in her food, but ugh. I need to buy stock in Swiffer Dusters.

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    1. The fish I used is packed in olive oil and it's got fish oil too - straight from the fish! yummy!

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  7. Blech about the sardines...don't care how much Dakota might like them...they would gross ME out to serve them lol. I frequently give Dakota leftovers of our food (example last night I made extra super low fat burgers that he will have tonight with carrots)...as long as I make something that has no seasoning (which is rare), then I will share with Dakota. Shiner's meal looked delicious!

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    1. Yea I usually season my food too. I thought I was gonna be grossed out about the sardines because they had the spine bone in them which I wasn't expecting. I had to take it out and they are so little I swear there were still tiny pieces left. I HATE fish. Any seafood actually. The smell is surprisingly way less stinky than tuna.

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  8. I'll bet Shiner hopes you keep this up! Yummy.

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  9. This is so cool. I'm glad you gave it a try. Like you said, with all the controversy, we each have to find what works best for our own dogs. I started cooking for our 5 Labradors a few months ago and what a difference it has made. Shedding is down 90%! They had canned mackerel (smooshed up in a bowl, bones included) for breakfast this very morning - like sardines, a good addition to their diet. Here's the bog post I wrote about changing their diet. http://5olddogs.blogspot.com/2012/12/timestamp-402-am.html

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    1. Hey Dee - I think I did read about it before. I'm glad to know that the little bones don't seem to be a problem lol. I don't think I've ever opened a can of sardines before and was surprised by the bone in the middle. Even though I took it out, I could still see some tiny little pieces in the middle.

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  10. What a wonderful mom you are and it sounds like it wasn't a lot of extra work. We are sure Shiner's tail is wagging in delight. Purrs and hugs from the kitties at www.thecatonmyhead.com, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

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  11. My dogs LOVE it when I throw leftovers together like that for them. Particularly my 15 year old girl, Emmie. It softens the kibble for her, helps her eat that. I've never thought about sardines, must look into that.

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  12. Oh lucky you Shiner, to get that nice cooked food. Probably very healthy for you too. What a nice Mom you have for sure. Take care.

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  13. That looks like a pretty tasty meal. You're a very lucky gal, Shiner.

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  14. That looks yummy...sadly I'm allergic to canned fish... that's sooo mean I love canned tuna...

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  15. Wow, that looks great for the doggies!!

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  16. I love, Love, LOVE sardines!!!! Ma says she thinks I am part cat I love them so much. BOL They are delicious and have those wonderful Omega-3s in them. Happy cooking!

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  17. Yum Yum Yum!!! That looks Delicious! And I hope mom will get me some sardines. She gives some oil from sardines and anchovies now, but I would like to eat the whole fishie :)

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    1. I bet the whole fishies taste better than just the oils. Although, I wouldn't know since I am not a fish person!

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  18. Yeah for Shiner! Titan gets boiled chicken breast and sometime boiled ground beef in his kibble. It's just enough in his kibble to make him think he's getting like a whole chicken and he loves it. We've been doing this for quite some time. It's usually about 1 - 1.5 boneless chicken breast(sliced up) a week in his kibble, just few shreds here and there in the a.m. and p.m. feeding. I never thought about sardines but ewwww don't they smell? bleh.... I'd hate for Titan to come give Momma kisses with fish breath :) Good luck with home cookin!

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    1. Lol - they were definitely not as stinky as tuna fish is. I was expecting something way more stinky smelling.

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  19. shiner...say it iznt sew....knot stoooooooopid burd chcikn !!!

    stik ta sardeenz N ewe will never ree gret it !!!

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    1. Oh yes - you kitties are the fish masters!

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  20. Woohoo! We can see why Shiner ate those fresh-cooked foods with such gusto! :)

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  21. Shiner is one lucky dog. Mom loves to cook and it looks yummy.

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  22. I too add bits of this and that from my meal to Gizmo's bowl...meat or fish, veggies and rice are always welcome and it's no extra effort to give him these healthy treats...And I got him some sardines too :) He loved them!

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    1. Oh we did try your brussel sprouts last night, and I think Shiner loved them the most! I liked them, but I don't think they are my fave veggie.

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  23. I did not know that dogs like fish.. that's a great idea. My cats turn their noses up on fish.. we tried shrimp and salmon to no avail good thing I will eat it. They love their morning wet noms. Which they got every morning without fail.

    Thanks for sharing Shiner's special treats.

    Here are two awards for you.. http://peacelovenwhiskers.com/about/awards/
    it's the top and second from the top.

    Enjoy!

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  24. That did look good. Ma gives sissy spaniel rice and carrots sometimes but sissy just spits the carrots all over the floor. I don't like carrots but word has it when ma chopped that meat up in that little chopper the other day , there was carrots added to it. I didn't see them or smelled them so I ate them.
    Did the fish give Shiner gas?

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    1. That Ma is very sneaky Carma! Shiner has gas on a regular basis, so I didn't notice anymore gas than usual. In fact, her gas may have been a little less than normal that day.

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  25. Woof! Woof! Yes to carrots ... sometimes mom boils them a little bit to make softer. Woof! to RICE too. Make sure to add this post/url on this coming Tasty Tuesday hop. It's good to cook for your dogs. Lots of Godlen Woofs, Sugar

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  26. I hope you have some room at the table cos I'm heading to your house for my dinner:-)

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  27. Lucky you, Shiner! Wrigs gets homemade food and treats and loves to eat all of it. (Of course, he'd probably love to eat kibble, too, if I offered it--he's just a big-time food lover.) We haven't fed "dog food" in our home since the early 1990s. :-)

    Susan and Wrigs

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