Questions regarding my dog’s meal

[boboc]

I feed my 80lb dog (once a day)

• 1 ⅛ cup Orijen Regional Reds [ grains]
• 1 ⅛ cup Acana Red Meat [ grains]
• ¼ cup Dr Harvey Beef & Veggie Freeze Dried
  Food for Dogs with Ancient Grains
• ⅓ cup Simple Food Project Freeze Dried Raw Food [w/ ancient grains]
• ¼ cup Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Beef & Salmon Whole Foods [w/ ancient grains]
• ¼ cup frozen mixed veggies
• 1½ to 2 cups hot water to reconstitute the dehydrated food into a thick patè/sauce, then stir in the Orijen and Acana at the end.

I sometimes add 1 1/2 cups of beef bone broth with pumpkin in place of water to make a thick gravy with the kibbles stirred in

I used to get canned wet food [1/4 to 1/3 can/day] (whole prey, first 8 ingredients all high protein beef, organ meat, ancient grains, peas/carrots, or “animal meal”) but $45 for 6 cans??!!

I decided to get 4 slices kidney, plus 5 cups of diced [inexpensive sirloin or equivalent meat] and gently cook, for one month of topper - in place of canned food. (1 slice kidney {per week} & 1/4 - 1/3 cups chopped cooked beef per day per week)

My Questions:

1. Does his menu look appropriate for an 80lb Service Dog?
   
2. Does my idea of kidney and beef look like it’s an appropriate substitute for the canned food?
3. Do my serving suggestion seem appropriate?
4. Would boiled ground beef be better? (I could keep the water and use in his meals too)
5. If I use ground beef, how many pounds per week /month should I get?

And finally, is there something I could do / change to make his food more nutritious?

My previous dogs died from and kidney failure, I cannot go through that torment again, let alone him suffering that torture!

Thanks!!

 

[alabarre09]

@boboc I would personally worry that with so many different brands of kibble + the toppers that you run the risk of the diet becoming unbalanced. Kibble is formulated to be a complete meal by itself. This is more of a concern when you are taking away canned food that is formulated as a complete meal and replacing it with just meat and kidney.