Should I feed raw or home cooked ?

If your girl likes the raw product then I would suggest that you continue it. I have fed raw to our dogs for a long time, (probably 40 years). It is easy, so please don't worry about how completely balanced each meal is. Given time and plenty of good variety a raw diet will balance itself.

I have attached something for you to read about home cooking and if you go to the HELP AND DISCUSSION "Dog food and diet" listing, you may find this useful. There are also plenty of other links "Myths" that you may find interesting too.

Myths About Raw: Are cooked diets a better alternative to raw?

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Nothing stopping you mixing both. Sometimes shops have offers on that work out cheaper than alternative in pet shops, so it makes sense not to waste your money. I do that all the time. Something like chicken wings, liver & heart that our dogs absolutely love does work out cheaper to buy fresh from supermarket/butcher rather than getting it frozen from pet food suppliers with the added benefit that I can cook some for our diner as well. Note that some pet food minces do have minced bone already included into mix, so you don't need to supply added bones to your dog anymore than that. Other benefit with feeding raw is that you don't have to worry about giving food from different brands/suppliers/sources. Once your dog is used to raw food, the 'funny tummy' issues that they can get when swapping from one commercial dog food to something else and having to 'slowly introduce them over period of time- rules' do not really exist anymore. You can stock up with range of 'raws', what ever your dog likes to eat.
As for 'home cooked'...even ours are generally fed with raw, they do get occasionally odd bits and bobs/additions that are cooked. Bit of veg that I have cooked too much for our dinner....or few bits of meat sprinkled on top of their dinner to get them interested their otherwise 'boring' daily grub....or tasty nibble (a treat) of something I've managed to bake. OR you might want to bake meaty cake of their own ! Liver cake recipe that was posted on this forum has become our regular 'treat' I make. Not always with liver but if we have a dog food mince that is proving to be 'not their favourite'...rather than waste it, I bake it and it will be soon gobbled away

 

I would suggest that you stop all treats and biscuits!
She will be getting a lot of good quality nutrition from her raw product, don't try to over feed her. Just exactly what are you offering her and how much?
What type of dog is she, can we please see some pictures

 

Our puppy is now five months and thriving on a raw diet: glossy coat, consistent stools, growing well. He is on Natural Instinct raw puppy food < Natural Raw Puppy Food >which scored well for nutrition on < AllAboutDogFood.co.uk > and is affordable for us at £3.06 per kg.

 

I would suggest if she likes home-cooked raw food then you can feed her that. But make sure she is getting all nutrients that are required.

 

Take care with cooking. Cooking can alter the benefits of the raw product.
Please read the attached informational "Myth".

Myths About Raw: Are cooked diets a better alternative to raw?

A cooked meal once in a while will do absolutely no harm and sensible household scraps too. These will add a form of variety.
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There are a couple of nice little books to read, "Honeys Natural Feeding Handbook for Dogs", an easy to read and understand little book, there is also a small book by Tom Lonsdale; "WORK WONDERS Feed your dog raw meaty bones", and page 60 has a small article about "Cooked products claiming to be natural".
I thoroughly recommend the Honey's book for anyone who may have some interest in feeding their dog a raw diet.
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Apologies for piggybacking on another’s thread. We’ve had no problems with raw feeding. The only problem which isn’t insurmountable is the required storage space in the freezer. However we going away for two weeks and there’s no large freezer. Does raw exist in pouches and/or tins?

 

When we go away in our motorhome with 5 dogs eating raw i take our large cool box that plugs into the electricity. ..it keeps our raw fresh for a week

 

I’m grateful for your suggestion, Tinytom, but I’m afraid we won’t have room for a cool box. You’re lucky to have a motor home - something I did consider many years ago but finances had other priorities. Therefore I’ll rephrase my question. If raw doesn’t exist in tins or pouches, what’s the closest to raw available in such convenient packaging? Our 218i has to transport 2 adults, 1 whippet (on holiday for the first time) plus clothes and supplies for two weeks.