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A Chicken Casserole for Doggies? Ideas/Thoughts?

hazelpseudoblue

Active member
Hi Everyone! I'm looking for advice about a food idea I had for Lucy, and I could really use some input from some of you nice, experienced people!

Lucy has been living with my Dad for months, and he did all he could, but I found out that he'd been giving her Iams dry food :)() instead of the good stuff I'd picked out for her. He dropped off a bag of it when he dropped her off, and I quickly noticed a few things:
1.) She wouldn't touch the Iams if it was by itself.
2.) She was literally licking the bowl clean once she'd eaten it all, even after the allotted time for her tummy to tell her it was full.
3.) She was hungry ALL the time, veraciously so- she'd beg for anything (which she never did when she ate the 'good stuff')
4.) Her 'leavings' had undigested grains in them.
5.) She had gas, a lot.
6.) She also has a runny nose (poor thing).

**Note: She does not have worms, I've checked, the vet has checked, and I see (and pick up) her stuff on a regular basis.**

I started adding chicken breast to her food- what I do is I'd bake it with a bit of olive oil wrapped in foil so it stayed moist, then shred it and store it with the juices, mixing a few spoonfuls into her food at meal time.

Now, Lucy loves chicken. It was the only thing I could mix with her food as a baby to get her to eat. However, since I started the chicken I've noticed that it's not really cutting it- she needs more ruffage, and more something to make her feel full.

I'd like to make her a 'casserole'- something that infuses the ruffage with that yummy chicken flavor, and provides a sort of 'gravy' that makes it mix well with dry food. However, I can't seem to find a recipe that lets you 'improvise' to fit your dog (I know every dog has specific tastes). I have been looking all over but to no avail, there's so many conflicting articles and so much conflicting information out there!

Here's what I was thinking I would use in the 'casserole':
Chicken (no bones)
Green beans
Potatoes (no skins, of course)
Maybe carrots?

That's all I've got right now. One casserole I've found suggested rice, celery and pumpkin puree. Lucy doesn't like pumpkin, and I'm not sure about the other two (I mean as far as their benefits/ability to take in the flavor). Cheese (not a lot) was also suggested in a different recipe. Chicken broth was brought up.

So, ladies, gents, and fellow doggie fans, any ideas? Any casserole recipes to share?

Note that this would not be her only food; I am using it to supplement her dry food, which will change to better stuff shortly.
Also, yes, I am aware of the ingredients/foods that are a no fly zone for dogs- but appreciate for your concerns!
**This needs to be an oven made recipe, as I do not own a crockpot!!**

I hope to hear from some of you, I'm very excited to try this out.
 
Poor Lucy... she's probably got an allergy to something(s) in that kibble. Her gas probably comes from the undigested parts of the kibble.

Your proposed recipe sounds good to me. May I come over for dinner? :smile:
I'm not sure about celery, because of the strings on the outer part, but if chopped up small, it should be okay.
Plain lowfat yogurt might help it all "glom" together (in lieu of the Cream of Chicken base we humans use in our recipes) and provide good probiotics. (Our Sophie loves the Greek type yogurts) Yogurt is also a good source of calcium.
Also a raw egg mixed in, or even a cooked egg, are great ingredients.

The difficult thing about home recipes is knowing whether the diet is balanced and provides all the necessary nutrients. Even then, the "experts" and many dog owners seem to not all agree.
 
Thanks, Waldor! Yea, I might make a 'human' version of this with rice and cream of chicken- would be a great dinner for the thunder stormy weather we're having!

How would you bake it all together so it stayed 'wet' and yummy? Or should I just look up human recipes to get a ratio?

And in your opinion, should I just leave out the rice?
 
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