Haste Makes Waste, but Smart Hippies turn waste into safe, nutritious DOG FOOD!

One of the best ways to save money, is not to allow anything to go to waste if at all possible.

Having T.Paws Rescue and ARFranage in residence at our Whisper Creek farmhouse, we have a lot of mouths to feed. Just as we try to maintain a healthy diet for ourselves, we try to do the same for our animals. While purchasing more expensive kibble is not financially easy for us, two things make it possible.

1) Higher quality kibble is more nutritionally dense allowing us to feed less while still getting the tummies full and proper nutrition provided.
2) Adding our leftovers that are nutritionally proper and in amounts that will not cause intestinal upset. This allows us to replace some of their kibble with something we have already purchased and save money on dog food.

While Jamie covers the both in great detail in her book Secrets of a Vet Tech II: A Low Cost Pet Care Guide for Pet Parents, Animal Shelters, Rescues, & Homesteaders,   (coming Spring 2015), I would like to explain how the second one works in our house hold and saves us money while providing excellent nutrition to our pets. 

Prior to getting our groceries, we must clean out the refrigerator to make room for the new stuff. Its amazing what you can forget you have. In the last clean out, we discovered raw carrots and apples that had become too soft for our taste, celery, organic turkey broth, organic baked chicken breast, some leftover rice, acorn squash, egg muffins, and egg shells from our boiled eggs. 

A few notes about these foods before I go on. You have to know what is unhealthy and/or toxic to your pets when you are going through this process.   It is also important to note that regular non-organic chicken breast adds fillers to their meat to "plump up" the chicken. It is generally high in sodium among other things. Its why we chose organic only. Also note that apple pits and seeds can be toxic. Remove them before you add your apples.
 
Below you will find a list from Jamie's book to help guide you in foods to avoid. While we mostly use the food we make for our dogs, I have included the list for cats as well.

Food/Drinks Toxic or Problematic to Dogs:

• Chocolate – bakers chocolate is the most toxic; can cause seizures and death
• Caffeine products like coffee/tea – similar effect as chocolate
• Grapes and Raisins - cause liver damage
• Macadamia Nuts and Walnuts- can cause weakness, paralysis, avoid nuts in general, but it seems that occasional peanut butter is okay
• Onions and Onion Powders – destroy red blood cells causing anemia
• Xylitol- a sweetener in many chewing gums and other products, can cause liver failure
• Pits of Fruits such as peaches, cherries, and apples- contains cyanide; rest of the fruit okay
• Tomato plant and/or green tomatoes – can cause heart issues (member of nightshade family)
• Avocados/guacamole -can cause breathing difficulty and fluid accumulation
• Alcohol – causes liver damage, but is much more toxic in dogs than in humans because they are much smaller
• Fatty meats- meats in very limited amounts are okay, but there is a reason the rates of pancreatitis (which causes vomiting/diarrhea) increase at Thanksgiving when a turkey is on the table. MODERATION IS THE KEY
• Yeast dough- especially bad for dogs prone to bloat as it can expand in the stomach and cause torsion
• Mushrooms – safely assume most of the mushrooms in your yard are poisonous and get rid of them

Food/Drinks Toxic or Problematic for Cats:

• Milk- Most cats are lactose intolerant. It can cause major stomach upset. Cat milk from the pet store is an occasional okay treat. According to Linda P. Case, MS, adjunct assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and author of The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition, and Health. The only time cats are exposed to lactose is while they are nursing, so, much like humans, as they get older they can develop lactose intolerance. The issue can cause acute diarrhea. (http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/cats-and-dairy-get-the-facts)
• Tuna- although put in some cat foods, giving straight canned tuna on a regular basis can lead to yellow fat disease (steatitis). It can also lead to mercury poisoning. Most vets say a little bit occasionally is okay, but a regular diet of tuna is not.
• Liver- again in moderation as too much can lead to Vitamin A toxicity.
• Onions, Chives, Garlic-while garlic and chives simply cause stomach upset, onions can cause anemia
• Grapes and Raisins-can cause kidney failure in cats
• Caffeine and Alcohol – both can be deadly to cats, and there is really no antidote. It takes very little of either to cause death.
• Chocolate, Candy, Gum- Just like with dogs, theobromide in chocolate is life threatening. Xylitol found in candy and gum can be extremely toxic, eventually leading to liver failure if severe enough
• Raw eggs, meat and fish-the dangers in all of these is how it affects Vitamin B, one affecting the absorption of Vitamin B and the other destroying an important component of Vitamin B
• Raw Yeast Dough-once dough is consumed, it swells in the stomach and can cause lots of pain. Another interesting component of this is that the process to digest dough turns it into alcohol which can cause alcohol poisoning.

Now, with that in mind, I sliced the carrots and apples (making sure to leave the core and seeds of the apples out), added the organic chicken and turkey broth, and a little water, brought it to a boil and simmered it for 2 hours. 
 
Once cooked, Jamie added the other ingredients with some day old bread and processed it in the food processor until it was well mixed. 

The result was our own home made "canned" food. It make a LOT of food.  In fact, it made over 7 lbs of food that would have been considered "waste" in many households, and dumped in trash or down the garbage disposal. Smart hippies!!!

Then we stored it in the refrigerator. It will need to be used it within the next 5 days since we are not freezing part of it (although it can be frozen if you have fewer pets). 

The photo below shows you just how much food was made using this process. Jamie stored it in a large recycled red protein powder container. 

Sometimes Jamie does this in smaller portions. For instance, if we have salad leftovers (that have none of the toxic-to-dog ingredients in it), Jamie will throw the leftovers in the Ninja blender, add vegetable or low salt organic chicken broth, and blend for the next day's feeding.

For some of you, this probably brings two questions to mind. 

1) Why can't this be the primary food you feed your dogs
2) How can you avoid tummy upset from "people food". 

As Jamie explained to me, pet food must be nutritiously balanced. While one can make home made dog food with proper instruction, simply feeding leftovers do not qualify as properly balanced food. The point I am making in this blog is how to utilize, rather than waste, food. 

To avoid intestinal upset, a few guidelines must be followed. Be careful of the ingredients used and avoid fatty and spicy foods. Slowly acclimate your pet to eating a kibble diet with this home made addition. Use only a small amount per feeding. In the beginning, it is a helpful to add plain yogurt to the diet. 

Since we feed so many pets, Jamie finds it easiest to mix the food in a large bowl and divide the food according to weight of the pet. The following pictures show you her process in feeding the dogs. A few of our dogs take medication, so that step is additional. 

She used only about 2/3 the amount of kibble

Mixed well with a little hot water

Add the proper amounts to the bowls

Stack in order food is to be given and add medication to bowl as prescribed

 Our goal as Hippies on the Edge is to find the most efficient and ethical way to live that helps reduce our impact on the environment, produce less waste, help others, and live happy, fulfilled lives. Sometimes, its the little details that allow us to do this. Stay tuned for more cost saving tips to come!

And now for some reason, I feel it important to feed the cat.