I think I might just be in the market for a meat grinder in the very near future. Every so often I like to make a whole bunch of dog food at the sametime. I love it when I'm not in the mood and I have so smartly pre-made a pile of food which is waiting in the freezer for feeding time. Typically I make the dogs meals fresh everyday; they eat such a variety of food that there is always something to give them. I feed a combination of raw and cooked real food; every once in a while they have S&C freeze dried or Orijen kibble. I like to keep them accustom to eating kibble for those "in case" times when I might need to be away and didn't have time to pre-make all of their food.
So the other day I bought 3 chickens, two packages of beef liver and a couple of london broils. The dogs have already eaten the raw london broil; the chicken and liver was cooked up today, combined into a nice combination of meats and veggies, labeled and tossed into the deep freeze. But chopping; chopping, I grow tired of chopping quickly. It is probably why I prefer to make food at each meal; much less chopping at one time. But although I hate it now I will be happy when I'm not feeling like chopping at all and just have to go pull a bag out of the freezer.
I have seen the results of feeding real food tenfold. First; Jessie had bald ears and several hairless spots at different areas of her body. We had assumed it was the prednisone she'd been on after nearly dying but after only a couple of months of real food; presto, gone. Not only did the bald spots grow in; her hair became twice and thick. Luke has epilepsy; I'm not sure if it was a genetic thing or if something triggered it's start but since eating real food he rarely has a seizure. Much less than when he was eating dogfood alone.
There is nothing like real food to get the best nutrition for your body. Real food means food that has not been processed; or minimally processed. I feed my guys alot of raw but they eat cooked food as well; the variety makes it very easy to feed them. And when they eat such a variety of foods; an upset stomach is very rare. My girls eat like champs; anything that is put in front of them they'll eat, wonderful. Luke on the other hand is so fussy that I find myself wanting to bang my head against the wall. It's not easy to make a wonderful meal; offer it up and be turned down. He has always been fussy; food just isn't his thing. But we have discovered that he loves to eat on walks; just snack pieces here and there so S&C comes in very handy for this.
Feeding real food is much easier than most people think; it's not rocket science. Heck we feed ourselves and do just fine. The difference is that a dogs meal should revolve around a variety of animal proteins. My favorite canine nutrition book (Raw and natural food for dogs by Lew Olson) is a must have for anyone considering taking the plunge.