CANINE COOKING with Deb Dempsey!

All photos by Heather Green

Deb, co-owner of Mouthful's Pet Boutique in Denver and a pet nutrition expert, says it's easy to cook for your dog and proves it by sharing mouthwatering recipes for wholesome, nutritious meals that add a little variety to Fido's dinner!

Your dog doesn't want to eat the same, boring kibble every day, so what better way to enjoy a Saturday afternoon than hanging out with your girlfriends, opening a bottle of wine with cheese and crackers, and then spending a few hours cooking, drinking, and gossiping!

The following recipes are designed to add real food and moisture to high-quality, dry dog food. For years we've been told by the big dog food companies and many in the veterinary community that we should never feed table scraps to our dogs.

But have you ever wondered why?

Perhaps they are worried that we're eating too many processed foods and we shouldn't share them with our dogs. True enough. But shouldn't our dogs be able to eat a wide variety of real, unprocessed foods? Absolutely! Just keep in mind that you'll need to cut back on the amount of dry kibble you feed when you add these "toppers" at feeding time.

*Note: I prefer to use humanely-raised, pastured meats and organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible.

All recipes were approved by Dr. Angela Krause, an integrative veterinarian with Belleview Animal Clinic in Englewood, CO (www.belleviewanimalclinic.com).