I'm making my own dog food, again

Years ago there was a recall of the food my pups were on (Iams) and I started preparing food for them. Usually it was ground turkey, rice or potatoes with cranberries, spinach and sage or thyme and maybe carrots. I stopped and went with one of the best dry kibbles I could find and afford.

My neighbor's dog recently died of pancreatic cancer. He used to feed it prepackaged treats all day. So many that when they put the food bowl down the dog was not interested. I asked one time why they had a bowl of uneaten food in the kitchen thinking the dog may be sick. Also saw mouse droppings near the bowl so I knew this wasn't just a one day event. He said the dog love "Pupperoni" but not kibble so much. It was a tough conversation for me because I knew he really loved this dog but he was killing it with horrible over-priced garbage. For humans much pancreatic cancer is linked to high consumption of hot dogs, bacon, pepperoni and lunch meats. Dog treats are worse because they need enough nitrites to preserve the food for months without refrigeration.

I couldn't talk him out of the treats and eventually his wife bought the dog what she thought was better food, (and who wouldn't -- great ad campaign) Beneful. One of the worst rated dog foods on the market with almost no meat products, all filler and preservatives. They were devastated when the vet told them the dog had advanced stage pancreatic cancer. And I felt guilty that I hadn't been able to convince them that many, perhaps most, of the products sold as treats are very harmful to the longterm health of their beloved pet and family member. I had bought them a package of precooked chicken to try and show them that there were options they could treat with that were no more expensive than Pupperoni and had none of the crap.

Flash forward to last week. I helped a friend who has mobility impairments and lost a dog to cancer back in June, get a new puppy (and will help with training and walking as needed. Couldn't talk him into an adult rescue, whole other story...). The breeder is holistic. Against spay and neutering, Against over vaccinating and had research to back up her positions. The puppy is on a raw diet -- raw chicken and veg in the AM, raw beef tripe and veg in the PM, supplements. We can't afford that stuff longterm. Some of it is $7-10 a pound so I was researching alternatives and how to transition the pup.

All of which took me back to my food journey with my dogs. My female has a fair number of allergies. She is on grain free kibble but it has pea protein in it which is mildly allergic to. She has allergies to duck, rice, peas, etc so it has been tough to find a commercial food that doesn't have at least one thing from her no-no list. The absurdity of it all really hit me yesterday -- $7 a pound ? I got chicken thighs at $1.25 per pound and ten pounds of potatoes for $4, organic carrots. I made big batch and am doing every other meal with that. I will see how it goes and whether her allergies improve.

Anyone else making their own food?