Homemade Pug Food
The following information is provided as a courtesy. This is not a recommendation for any other dogs with calcium oxalate bladder stones. It is a description of how we have managed the condition in our own pugs.
Why Make Dog Food?
An X-ray to check out a back problem revealed that one of our first pugs, Tessa, had what veterinarians call a calcium oxalate urolith. In other words, a bladder stone.
Surgical removal was required, as was taking steps to prevent more from forming (they are highly recurrent). The way to prevent them from recurring is by controling what goes into the pug. If you don't provide the minerals that cause them to form, no more stones.
Easier said than done, we found out.
Tessa—a highly food-obsessed pug—was put on a canned prescription diet. The food looked gross and we soon found that she was losing interest in food. She also began experiencing a lot of diarrhea, occasional vomiting, and some coprophagia. She wasn't happy and, frankly, neither were we with all the messes there were to clean up. There had to be a better way.
Literature on prevention of canine bladder stones says to avoid feeding dogs "human food." It's a stupid blanket statement. Humans eat a lot of stuff, some of it good for them, some of it not. There's a big difference between feeding your dog Doritos and feeding her a plain chicken breast. Surely, we could devise a homemade dog food—using whole food—that would be appropriate for Tessa.
After some prodding from my wife, our vet contacted the Minnesota Urolith Center (part of the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine), where Tessa's stone had been sent for analysis, and they provided us a list of foods that were acceptable (pdf) and to be avoided (pdf).
Based on that list, consultation with a veterinary nutritionist, and some experimentation with Tessa, we came up with a diet for her. We can tell you that Tessa never had a recurrence of bladder stones and she lived to a ripe old 15 years. (And people always thought she looked much younger.)
So when, years later, Gretel was diagnosed with bladder stones, we knew just what we were going to do. Today, this is what we feed Gretel and Polly (who has no known issues with bladder stones, but she is NUTS about the food):
Pug Food (Large Batch Recipe)
- ~15-16 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 Costco packages)
- Salt
- 5 C. white rice
- 8 C. frozen green peas
- Bananas (see #12 below)
- Cook the chicken - 60 minutes at 350 degrees
Our technique: Drain the liquid from the chicken packaging. Do not trim any of the fat. Rinse the chicken in one collander, then move it to another to drain, then put it into a casserole dish. For this much chicken, we use three (one 9x13" glass pan and a couple of smaller ones). Sprinkle it very generously with kosher salt, and put it in the oven for an hour.
Note: The salt is added because it acts as a diuretic for the dog. It causes her to drink more water, which causes her to urinate more, which is good for dogs prone to bladder stones. - Drain all juices from the chicken
Our technique: Use a stainless steel skimmer to hold the chicken in the pan as you pour the liquid in the casserole dish down the drain. Use the skimmer or tongs to remove the chicken to several large bowls. We use three 5-quart (4.7L) bowls. - Cut up the chicken
With the size of food processor (see #10 below) we have, this step is necessary. Our technique: use a carving (or regular) fork and a large knife to cut/tear the chicken into smaller chunks. No need to get it into bite-sized pieces. Just small enough so it doesn't get stuck in the food processor. - Drain the chicken again
Our technique: Cover the bowl with the lid of a large pot or a large plate, make sure there's a small opening, and pour out any juices that have collected in the bottom of the bowls. - Cook the rice
Our technique: Rinse the rice several times. Why? My wife decided she preferred to. In a very large pot (somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-8 quarts), add the rice (5 C.) and two cups of cool/cold water for every cup of rice (10 C.). Heat uncovered on high until it boils. Once it boils, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover it, and let it cook until all the water is absorbed. Perfect every time. - Add the rice to the chicken
Stir it together to start forming a fairly consistent mixture. - Steam the green peas
We don't have a steamer basket/pot combination that's large enough to accommodate all 8 cups, so we steam them in two batches. - Add the peas to the chicken and rice mixture
- Let everything cool for a while
We've found that the next step works best if everything is room temperature and/or a bit drier than when it's just finished cooking. - Blend it in a food processor
Our technique: We have a food processor attachment for our old blender that holds just a few cups at a time. We fill the food processor bowl about 3/4 full of the chicken-rice-peas mixture and give it a few-seconds-long pulse. It blends the food into an even mixture of very small pieces. - Store it
Our technique: We put everything in airtight containers. One container goes in the fridge and the rest go in the freezer. Because this food has no preservatives, it will go bad if it is not consumed within days or frozen for later use. - Feed the pugs
Gretel and Polly eat twice a day (6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m SHARP!) For breakfast, they each get 1/4 C. of the homemade food and 1/2 of a banana (sliced). For dinner, they each get 1/2 C. of the homemade food. Polly also gets a scoop of canned pumpkin (100% pure pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie mix) to help keep her anal glands in good working order.
Note: Gretel and Polly are certified couch potatoes. Gretel is a very dense dog. She weighs around 20 lbs. Polly is about 16 lbs.
Additional Notes on Homemade Pug Food and Gretel's Diet
Since switching from a high-quality (read: expensive) commercial dog food to this homemade diet, we've noticed a number of things:
- No indication that Gretel has had a recurrence of bladder stones
Previous indications that she had bladder stones included difficulty urinating, frequent urination, and incontinence. None of these symptoms has returned. - Weight loss
The girls are both maintaining healthy figures. - Improved coat
People RAVE about how soft they are. - Decreased shedding
OK, they still shed a good deal, but it's definitely less than it used to be. - Improved skin on Gretel
In addition to the bladder stone problem, Gretel is allergic to corn (it makes her fur fall out and she looks like vultures have attacked) and had always been on the itchy side. We suspected she either has rather sensitive skin generally or may have other mild food allergies. Whatever the case, the itchies have stopped since switching to this food. - Food insanity in Polly
Polly had always had a healthy interest in meal time. Since switching her to this diet, she has become nuts about food. We think this is not a bad thing.
Treats
In addition to the food above, we occasionally give them high-quality dog treats. We look for treats with packaging that says things like "all organic ingredients," "no corn," "no preservatives," and "no chemicals." We look for lists of ingredients that are all recognizable (e.g., rye flour, eggs, canola oil, peanut butter, molasses). There is, of course, some risk that the treats we buy may have things in them that should be avoided by dogs with a history of bladder stones. But since commercial treats are not a regular part of the girls' diet, it's a risk we're willing to take. (Sliced up bananas and cantaloupe also make really great treats.)
Vitamins
Originally when we put Tessa on this diet, the veterinary nutritionist we consulted recommended that in addition to the food, we feed her a multi-vitamin. We tried a wide variety of vitamins, including children's gummy vitamins. We tried administering them plain, wrapping them in cheese, disguising them in meat, grinding them up and mixing them into her food. No matter what we did, she would not ingest them. She seemed healthy enough and the battle to get vitamins in her was difficult enough that we just gave up on it.
In retrospect, my wife wonders if perhaps that was for the best, because we don't know whether a standard multi-vitamin (canine, human or otherwise) would have the minerals and other things that cause calcium oxalate bladder stones to form.
To help pugs who have been victims of abuse or neglect, or who just need loving new homes, please contact Seattle Pug Rescue or a pug-rescue group in your area. Please, never buy puppies from a pet store.
