I started photography as a teenager on SLRs. I loved the way the camera felt in my hands. I loved nothing more than capturing moments, people and places. Photography was an expensive hobby for any teenager in the day when you needed to spend your allowance on film. It also proved to be very expensive learning from mistakes. Over the years, I had slowly given up on photography when life took over; university followed by work.

I got married and moved to a new country. Life started to slow down. I eventually moved from working in an office to consulting which resulted in finding time to pursue new things in life. We started to travel and I began my photography again.

I remember standing in the camera store in Singapore, looking at all my options. While all I wanted to do was to pick up the biggest full frame camera with all the bells and whistles, I took the reality check pill and realised that we travel light, mostly cabin baggage trips and what I needed was something light. I didn't want to get into the mirrorless game, I still loved the SLR too much. So, I picked up the Canon 100D. I still get laughed at by my photography friends. But the best part about my camera is that I've never had a situation where my camera was too heavy to take out for any occasions. While I will graduate to better lenses, I started with a kit lens. And the photos weren't half bad. If anything, the camera has pushed me harder to learn to develop my skills in both photography and editing - I use Lightroom. I love my Canon 100D and I reckon, I'd never give it up even if I get a new camera.

Ultimately, am I glad I found this? Yes I am. Will I suffer through the messiness of the casing and continue using it? Definitely. It does a good job as a deodorant. It's a natural alternative to the other deodorants out there. It works. And for that, I'm glad Aroha is making these amazing sticks of wholesomeness..

Making homemade dog food for senior dogs isn't difficult. In fact, it allows you to change up recipes and provide variety for the fussy senior dogs. Trying to balance weight loss and an ailing senior dog's requirements is very much  possible. I did not want to starve our dog. So, I got creative and figured out how to handle a weight loss meal plan while still ensuring our dog was given a healthy homemade meal.

We woke up one morning and found that our senior German shepherd, Mido, couldn't walk. It scared us to bits and we had no idea what to do. He had been slowly suffering from arthritis and we had been taking him for swimming as a physiotherapy aid. Yet we were not ready to experience what we did.

Thankfully, we found a great vet who helped us get our dog back on track. With laser therapy and physiotherapy, we have managed to get Mido to a point where he could walk slowly again. It also helped that a friend sourced for gym mat flooring for the home. With the gym mats in place, Mido was slipping less and walking was becoming a reality again.

We also had to get him on specific weight loss dog food and we decided we'd make it homemade. The vet advised us that the lighter the dog, the easier he would walk. We were advised to cut his diet to only vegetables and meat. But we still had to ensure that he wasn't losing too much muscle. Mido had to lose 10 kg. Every kg lost would help in mobility and we had to keep him as thin as possible from here on out. I was adamant on not placing him on kibble and insisted that we make him homemade dog food. I started researching homemade dog food for senior dogs and started to set up a meal plan.

The doctor was still keeping him on a multivitamin, vitamin B12, vitamin C, fish oil, vitamin E glucosamine and calcium supplements daily in order to give him the daily requirements he needed. We included a weekly vitamin D supplement as well.

Keeping to doctor's orders, Mido is only being given vegetables and meat. The doctor had suggested that we add buttermilk in his diet daily which will help in digestion and calcium levels. He's taken to the buttermilk and has loved it. Mischka, our younger dog has also developed a love for buttermilk.

The Homemade Dog Food Meal Plans are as follows:

Breakfast

2 cups cut fruit and vegetable platter.

Vegetables and fruits to consider are; carrots, cucumbers, apples, mangoes and pears

Lunch

In a pressure cooker, add:
2 medium sized vegetable like cauliflower, cabbage or bottle gourd
1/2 cup peas or spinach or any combination of green leafy vegetables.
Cook the above ingredients and then blitz with a hand blender.

4 tablespoon of cooked oats

A pinch of organic turmeric

4 chicken pieces including soup - debone the chicken. (Please don't feed your dog cooked chicken bones.)

To note:
If you have a dog that doesn't require to lose much weight or if he seems like he's losing too much weight on this diet, you could add  0.5 cup mung dhal to his lunch and 100g cheese ( I use cottage cheese) to his dinner.

Evening snack

Buttermilk

To make buttermilk:

Add 4 tablespoons of yogurt (preferably thick Greek yogurt) to 1 cup of water

Add ice to the mixture 

Whisk into a smooth liquid like consistency

If you're uncomfortable feeding your dog too much dairy, you can keep it light by adjusting the amount of yogurt you add.

I generally buy yogurt that doesn't have any salt or sugar added to it. I usually try to make my own curd at home for the dogs if time permits.

Dinner

In a pressure cooker, add:
2 medium sized vegetable like cauliflower, cabbage or bottle gourd
1 beetroot or a handful of long beans or small cup of green peas or 1 carrot
Cook the above ingredients and then blitz with a hand blender.
A pinch of organic turmeric powder

4 boneless chicken pieces with soup to the bowl

Add fish oil to the food bowl when feeding

If you have a smaller dog, you can adjust the amount given accordingly. The above measurements are based on a 30-35 kg dog.

The reason why I break up the food into 4 meals instead of the daily 2 meals is that you'll find that your dog will be generally hungrier when he goes on a diet. The 4 meals helps in providing him with food at intervals to help him deal with the hunger.

First month on the diet, Mido lost 3 kg. He had lost weight noticeably even though the scale was only indicating the slight lost. His blood test came back good and he was not having any deficiencies. He was happy and his walking got better

Since being on this homemade dog food diet for senior dogs, Mido has been steadily losing weight. Tests came back good and he started walking more. 

I think its important to realise when our pets require to lose weight and to adjust their diets as early as possible. It would also be beneficial to try and give your pets homemade dog food meals if possible. You could start by giving half kibble and half homemade initially if you're unsure and then slowly moving onto a fully homemade meals. I've been feeding our dogs with homemade meals since the dogs were a few years old. The dogs seem healthier and happier since the switch.

The biggest advice I'd give any pet owner is, to start your pets on lots of fruits and vegetables when they are puppies. His diet requirements in his senior years will require him to eat these and it is always best to condition your dogs when they are younger. You'll have a far easier time changing his requirements when older.


Easy Homemade Dog Food Meals

0.5 cup mung dhal
(omit this if your dog is allergic and supplement with cheese instead)

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