Buffalo meat is a healthy, low fat meat (lower in fat than beef), and if you don't want to use it in your food, you might find it helpful in the diet of a sensitive canine. I have worked out a recipe for my Chihuahua mix after several expensive trips to the vet and after trying less successfully with a chicken-rice-cottage cheese mixture. My dog lost interest in the bland chicken-rice-cottage cheese mixture, and the buffalo seems to offer enough zing to make him happy. It's easy to prepare, taking only about 10 minutes, and for a little dog like mine, one batch lasts for 3-4 days. It is important to pay attention to the information I am about to give as I give the recipe.
Ingredients
- Buffalo meat, ground, use 1 package - sold in 1 pound packages in many grocery stores. If they don't carry it, or are out, buy the leanest ground beef as a substitute. It is important to not buy meats that have spicy seasonings added. Some things we eat can make dogs sick or even kill them. You don't want to cook it with onions and garlic, and split it between human recipes and dog recipes.
- Ground chicken, use 1 package - sold in 1.25 lb packages where I buy mine. The same concerns about additives to mean should be heeded.
- Rice, about ½ to ¾ cup of cooked converted rice such as Uncle Ben's - Cook it a little bit to the soft side, a little more water. I put mine in a covered Pyrex dish in the microwave for 2.5 minutes, and then after it has cooled a few seconds, I cook it for another 2.5 minutes. That helps to keep it from boiling over. If you use non-instant rice, you will need to have it cooked so it's fairly soft but not mushy. Also, don't be tempted to use take out rice from a restaurant. Remember, you don't know what might have been used to cook it; your dog doesn't need a salt additive or oil from fried rice. You also don't want bits of the other dishes you ate to go along with the rice to the dog.
- Cottage Cheese -Obviously, you can put a bit of this in, too, after you're through cooking it all if your dog is tolerant of it. Just buy the non- or low-fat types and be careful to not buy or use types containing chives, pineapple or other fruits.
Preparation
Again, this is very easy but read will the comments given here.
- Cook the meats well in a frying pan on the stove without adding cooking oil or seasonings and mixing them to try to make a uniform distribution of the meat. Break up the meat as finely as possible during and after the cooking process, as a small dog in particular can burn itself trying to “wolf down” this tasty gourmet meal. Drain the fat and water as the meat cooks.
- Add the rice you cooked in the microwave and mix it well, and let it cook just a little, maybe a minute to combine the flavors.
- Cool the meat fairly well before you put it in a clean dog dish for your dog. Always give your dog clean fresh water with each meal.
- When the remainder of the food, has cooled, put it into an appropriate storage container for the refrigerator. When you serve the dog its next meal, take out some of the food and break it up finely if needed, and you can reheat it for about 25 seconds in the microwave, just enough to let the juices come out for the dog. You don't want to dry out the meat.
If you're cooking for a bigger dog, you will obviously cook more often or adjust the recipe by doubling or tripling it; likewise, with more than one dog.
Try it out - your dog just might like it!
