This article has been a long time coming; I’ve actually been writing it for over a year. To read it in pictures, check out the many, MANY photos of cooking this stew on flickr.
In May of 2009, I attended a workshop held by the Therapeutic Paws of Canada. I was there as a vendor to promote the Ottawa Dog Blog as well as my new photography business. What I didn’t realize was that I would hear a man speak that would forever change my life, and change the lives of my dogs.
Dr. Eddie Beltran is a holistic vet in Ottawa and is one of the pioneers of his field. He began to speak about the over-vaccination of our dogs (more on this later) and the harm that it causes them. He spoke about nutrition and about keeping our dogs healthy, rather than only treating them when they aren’t well. My eyes were opened that day and I remember so clearly speaking with Jill, the Pawstry Chef, who was also there as a vendor about Dr. Beltran and everything he had spoken about. The very next day I switched vets, to Dr. Beltran, and was so lucky to have my dogs accepted as his patients.
Thomas and I immediately liked him. He just has a way with dogs, and people. He knows how to read dogs and figure out things without any sort of scans, x-rays or medical drama. He took a look at both Paddington and Corduroy and was quick to tell us that they were both overweight. If anyone has seen our dogs, your reaction would probably have been the same as ours: wait? what? hold the phone? they are overweight?!?!?
When we fed our dogs kibble, we left it standing out in the bowls all the time so they could eat whenever they were hungry. Dr. Beltran explained that although we didn’t realize it, Paddington and Corduroy were competition eating, so that if one ate, the other one did as well, even if they weren’t hungry. Therefore, they were both overweight. Paddington was slightly overweight and Corduroy was quite overweight.
Taken aback by this information, Dr. Beltran went on to explain something that was so simple. He’s studied for years to find out what has the most impact on a dog to lead a healthy life and the answer is: good food and water. So simple it’s astounding!
Kibble, no matter how good quality it is, is still processed. And while feeding your dog good quality kibble is better than feeding them bad kibble, no kibble is still best of all. Dr. Beltran encouraged us to leave our kibble days behind and embark on a journey into the world of home cooked dog diet.
He explained that when you present the food to your dog every day, they begin to anticipate it and salivate which is really good for their digestive systems and does all sorts of good things for them.
We hmmmed and hawed and gave him many excuses about being too busy but he insisted we try it. He gave us a simple recipe (which we have since modified – below) and challenged us to try it “just once”. We went home, bought the ingredients and haven’t looked back since. Paddington and Corduroy’s reactions alone were enough to convince us. They more than loved it! We decided to stick to the home cooked stew in the morning and just feed kibble at night. We moved completely away from kibble a few weeks later and I will touch on that in the next installment of this article.
And after that long winded explanation about our journey into home cooked dog diets, here is what you’ve all been waiting for. This specific recipe has been tailored to fit our dogs needs from the original one by Dr. Beltran. It contains less protein than a more active or larger dog would need. There is no argument that the absolute best thing you can feed your dog is a raw diet, but we didn’t want to do that, so home cooked is the next best option.
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Liz Bradley is a dog lover who lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her husband,