LIHU‘E — It all began eight-and-a-half years ago on a trip to Columbus, Ohio, with a simple question: “What do you feed your dog?” The question was posed to the owner of a gorgeous border collie with a shiny, silky
LIHU‘E — It all began eight-and-a-half years ago on a trip to Columbus, Ohio, with a simple question: “What do you feed your dog?”
The question was posed to the owner of a gorgeous border collie with a shiny, silky coat and bright eyes. Being the owner (and I do use the term lightly) of a young dog of the same breed, I was curious what she did to keep this dog looking so healthy and vibrant. I took the dog to be maybe a year or 2 old. He was 10.
When she rattled off a diet consisting of a litany of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and raw meats, I was left dumbstruck. “So you cook for your dog?” I responded with a slight note of sarcasm in my voice.
But it did get me to thinking about the dry and unexciting bagged food I was feeding my beloved pet, and before I knew it, I found myself perusing the stacks of a large used bookstore looking for a book on how to cook for my pet.
I bought one on the spot and have never looked back. Now my dog is 10 and she looks great and is very active and happy. She certainly doesn’t act her age, but then again, she may get that from me.
It’s not as radical an idea as it might seem at first. After all I’m an avid consumer of fresh, wholesome food for decades. Sometimes militant, I’ve been known to clear friends’ cupboards of any foods that list hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup as ingredients.
If fresh foods are good for me why wouldn’t they be good for my dog? It didn’t seem like that much of a leap. Doubts and questions floated through my mind, such as: If I do prepare food for my dog, will there be vital nutrients missing that she may need? Is there anything really wrong with the dry food I’ve been feeding her for the last two years? Why wouldn’t my vet tell me if they weren’t good for my dog? If I do cook, am I going to be even more of a slave to my dog than I already am?
Fast forward eight years, and I now work in the clinic of Dr. Ihor Basko, a holistic veterinarian, and my questions and concerns have been answered.
Basko is an avid crusader for home cooking for pets. A veterinarian for more than 30 years and a researcher of human and animal nutrition for almost 40 years, he claims he’s never seen a case of a dog with cancer that’s been fed a home-cooked diet.
“What you pay in time and money preparing food now will save you many trips to the vet hospital with ear infections, skin problems, bad odors, bad teeth, cancer, allergies and early aging later,” he said.
“Preparing food and discovering what works for you (what you eat you become) is transformational. Discovering what works for your pet will keep them living longer, healthier, without pain and suffering.”
As for the conventional bags of dry dog food that I had previously been using, there is continuing exposure into the handling and processing that goes into our dog food, often leading to pet-food recalls.
This applies even to the top-name brands and so-called gourmet foods. According to the FDA (federal Food and Drug Administration), in 2010 there were more than 25 recalls of such brands as Nutro, Nutro Max, Iams, Eukanuba, Alpo, Old Roy, Doctor’s Foster and Smith and Wysong.
Sure, cooking for your dog sounds daunting. I have repeatedly gotten the same response when speaking to clients about diet, with them saying, “but I barely have time to cook for myself, I’ll never be able to do that.”
It doesn’t have to be that hard or time-consuming.
For dogs, Basko suggests a basic recipe of 1/3 whole grains (sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal or barley) 1/3 protein (ground pork, hamburger, chicken or turkey) and 1/3 vegetables (kale, chard, carrots, pumpkin, cucumber, green beans or garlic).
To make things easy, I cook a big pot of food once every two weeks and freeze it in gallon ziplock freezer bags. I keep about five days worth in Tupperware in the fridge, and when it’s getting low I pull another bag out of the freezer. My dog loves the food and I enjoy putting my love into what she eats.
For more information regarding healthy cooking for your dog, there will be an introductory talk and book-signing for Basko’s new book “Fresh Food and Ancient Wisdom” at Small Town Coffee Shop in Kapa‘a at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5. Visit drbasko.com for more information.
