Ok, in an attempt to make it simpler I've been trying out some of the sample packs of premix fruit and vege mix. He does not like Sojos so I have been using some sample packs of Honest Kitchen. He doesn't like that flavor either but I mix it into things.

After reading the post on edible bone options and what was said about throwing in a different vege everyday, I wondered if pre mix was the best choice or not.so the last couple days I threw in some cooked veges and he ate them without hiding them.

Thoughts on best ways to do it?

I don't know if there is a "best way." It'll just be whatever way fits the equation of what your dog will eat + cost + convenience. Everyone's pocketbook and time for dog food prep is different.

What I do: keep a large ziplock bag in the freezer, into which I put any scraps of veg from my kitchen--leftovers from the humans' meals, trimmings from making a salad--anything goes in this bag that isn't onions or grapes. Now it's dog food salad.

If I'm at the grocery store and see something in the produce aisle that's super-cheap, I'll pick up a few for dog meals--sweet potatoes, greens, apples--anything, really. Again, this produce is a very small part of a mostly meat diet. 10% or less by weight.

This freezer bag also includes a small amount of any leftover or scrap cooked meat from my meals too. (But no cooked bones, of course.) I just have a policy that almost no food calories go into the trash, regardless of their source. If I don't eat it, a dog gets it. If it's not appropriate for a dog (stale bread) a chicken eats it. Chickens will eat anything that doesn't eat them first.

I'm not quite as organized as Tracy but follow the same theory. They get whatever we're having.

With a pack of dogs being such a large part of our life for so many years and their meals being as natural (well, more) as ours, it's just a family of mouths to feed.

I never seem to be able cook enough broccoli though and the blueberries rarely hit a pie. Two things the dogs really like. I like my sweet potatoes French fried and roasted with garlic and onions so I usually just boil one on the side for them, stuff like that.

The core of the cabbage can be boiled and diced into small pieces. We have a designated dog pot that gets used for stuff like that. So yeah, also as Tracy stated, probably doesn't matter how you do it.

To us, feeding dogs is feeding the family. We buy and cook our vegetables (and most meat) with them in mind. They don't get anything we wouldn't deem human grade, well except for the tripe and organs. Don't know how to judge that stuff, but it better look good.

And of course if it's a tripe night, we get ALL the broccoli.

I do what Tracy and CJ do.

Sometimes (not very often) I blend up the vegs with a little yogurt to make a glop. Sometimes I give some thinner-made THK as "gravy" over the top of the MM. Sometimes I buy some on-sale bags of French-cut green bags. (These are often very cheap, and remember that frozen green beans have the cell walls nicely broken down by virtue of the long-way cut and the blanching; they are also beloved by many dogs, I have discovered over the years. )

I throw lots of stuff into my freezer bag for the dogs, as Tracy mentioned. (Again, freezing and thawing goes a long way toward "processing" many vegetables, including zucchini, even with skin, and leaves of Romaine and other greens.) NOTE AGAIN (it bears repeating): no onions or grapes.

I freeze farmers' market berries or buy frozen wild blueberries at Trader Joe's and add a few of these regularly .... they are superfood, low in sugar and loaded with anthocyanin antioxidants and phytonutrients.

My dogs seem to be crazy about cooked broccoli. (If it caused gas in them, I would not give it; this is a good thing to watch out for with all the cruciferous vegs.)


And I agree that produce is really a small part of the dog's diet, but it's a very good way to get vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants into the supper bowl.

I like using the Sojo's grain free mix, but it's expensive. Usually what I do instead is bag up the leftover stuff from my juicer and throw a couple spoonfuls of that into his dish. I make sure it's just good stuff like carrot, spinach, etc. that goes in and not the things like lemons, etc.

The juicer does a great job of breaking down all of those veggies so it's easy for him to digest. He seems to really love it too.

How's it going, Julie?

Just now got to read this. I had checked on this thread for awhile and thought no one had reied. Lol :-/

Awesome. I've been struggling with veges and I like this. Freeze whatever is left. I usually eat all vege leftovers but this works. He seems to like real fruit and veges over the pre made green tasting mix. Me too.