# DIY Lite: adding grains/legumes/vegetables to prepared raw dog food



## laurelsmom (Nov 15, 2018)

Laurel was difficult to feed as a young pup, but finally settled in with Stella & Chewy's prepared raw and does well on it. When Chocolate came into our lives, I was looking forward to switching her over from kibble too and watching her thrive.

Since they are both puppies and Chocolate is twice Laurel's size, the financial end of that was a bit more than I expected. I've switched from freeze dried to frozen and the DCM scare was enough to get past the squeamishness and supplement with frozen chicken necks, wings, and livers from the grocery store instead of kibble. Unfortunately, that hasn't helped the finances any.

Both girls enjoy little tastes of my food, which is vegan and low budget. Since kibble lists cornmeal as the main ingredient if it is cheap kibble and legumes such as peas,garbanzo beans, or lentils if it is higher end grain-free kibble, it's not rocket science to just feed them more grains and legumes in addition to the dog food that is 95% meat, bone, and organs. I know that I can up the 5% vegetables and fruit in the dog food to 10% of their diets, but what about grains and legumes?

Are there any good websites or books on DIY feeding that could help me with this? I would like to cut back on all this meat for ethical as well as financial reasons but not at the expense of my puppies' health. 

Kibble is not a good option because we live in a car or a rented house with a small yard and Chocolate's poops just get too nasty to deal with. I don't want to be "that" dog owner who leaves bits of smelly, loose stools in public areas because it's impossible to clean it all up with poop bags. 

I don't think she has worms or any other health issue because she has normal stools when I can afford to feed her 100% raw. Laurel's tummy isn't as sensitive, but her health is generally more delicate and she uses puppy pads in the house so my cleanliness standards are higher.

tia


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