# Recipe for dog cake? (grain free? Rice acceptable)



## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I have no idea how to bake a dog cake but it's almost Nia's birthday and I would like to bake one.

I don't want to add wheat flour or corn flour or oats in the cake. Rice or rice flour is acceptable.

I basically want to bake a small meat and liver cake/loaf what would be the best ingredients to use? Ground beef? Turkey? lamb? beef liver? 

How would I get it to stick into some kind of mouldable shape? 

Do I also need to add some calcium (ground eggshells) to make sure she doesn't have a soft poop after eating the cake? That cake will replace her meal for her birthday.


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

Just make a meatloaf!  I have used chicken, turkey and beef before. My basic recipe is:

1lb ground meat of choice
1 egg
1/2 Cup Oatmeal (or bread crumbs, but oatmeal is better imo) 

Just mix it all together and put it in the pan shape of your choice (non-stick), then I bake at 375 for 20 minutes or so.

Egg shells are easiest to grind/powder if you crack the egg out and let the shell dry out for a while. I have never added egg shells when I make them for my dogs, but my dogs tend to have steel stomachs. I only powder egg shells for my compost bin actually...


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

A meatloaf is basically along the lines of what I'm imagining.

Can I substitute outmeal out for rice flour or even actual rice(I can grind it up a bit)?

Nia has an iron stomach too, she can eat basically anything but I'm worried that it's just really unbalanced for her to have all meat and no calcium at all even for a day. Not really a legitimate concern? I know most dogs will have softer poops on raw if they don't get any calcium in a meal and I was just wondering if it's the same for cooked meat.


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

I don't see why not.. I guess I would cook the rice.. put it into my handy chopper, chop it up, and then let it dry again.. You want it to soak up some of the oil in the meat when it cooks, but I don't see it doing that very well as a full piece of rice. I dunno. 

Maybe you could add some cottage cheese/yogurt or something on top to help with the calcium? It would be like frosting!


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## Miranda16 (Jan 17, 2010)

www.thedailytail.com/pictures/recipe-how-to-bake-a-dog-cake/




(not very helpful ... but i found it fitting)


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

If you're concerned about her having soft poos, do you think adding pumpkin or sweet potato might help? I've had good results giving Basil plain canned pumpkin every time he's had soft poo problems. You could frost the meatloaf with canned pumpkin. I believe it's the fiber that gives them firm poops, not calcium, am I right?

Personally I'm not crazy about adding rice to my dog's diet. Every time I've given Basil rice it came out looking exactly the same as it did going in. If you must add carbs, why not add some chopped/pureed up veggies like peas and carrots? Or maybe potatoes?


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Nargle said:


> If you're concerned about her having soft poos, do you think adding pumpkin or sweet potato might help? I've had good results giving Basil plain canned pumpkin every time he's had soft poo problems. You could frost the meatloaf with canned pumpkin. I believe it's the fiber that gives them firm poops, not calcium, am I right?
> 
> Personally I'm not crazy about adding rice to my dog's diet. Every time I've given Basil rice it came out looking exactly the same as it did going in. If you must add carbs, why not add some chopped/pureed up veggies like peas and carrots? Or maybe potatoes?


I'm only adding rice because I don't know if the cake will stick or not without it. I think if I bake it without any rice or grains, it will come out hard like a brick but I'm really not sure as I've never made meat loaf before.

I'm not all that concerned about soft poops actually since Nia can eat everything. 

I'm not sure about calcium hardening teh poop but I do know Calcium and phosphorus ratios have to be balanced in a dog's diet. When feeding raw, it somehow works out to adding bone (calcium) or eggshells (calcium), keeps the dog's poop firm.

I can't add pumpkin because Nia won't eat it at all. If I miss it into her food, she won't even eat her food anymore. 

She can digest rice though. I've never seen rice come out as it went in, ever. She digests almost everything including wood and bamboo, it's crazy actually. I have no idea how it's possible either. But I she ate half a chopstick and pooped normally after. No bits of bamboo ever came out...


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

My doggy meatloaves have no problem coming out looking nice even though I always omit the onions and grains. I just use ground meat (usually turkey), egg, and spices. Just stick it in whatever container you wish, bake it, and slice it. It usually has about the same consistency as a burger, just larger scale. Last year for Basil's birthday I gave him a slice of meatloaf frosted with peanut butter (though Nia doesn't like peanut butter, right?).


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Nia doesn't mind peanut butter most of the time. She doesn't like a ton of it but a spoonful once in a while she likes. I think Summer is the one that won't eat peanut butter.

I'll try it without the grains then. I plan to grind up some liver and put it in there as well for flavor. What spices do you use for a dog cake? 

I just want to make a very small one anyways, maybe the size of my palm so I guess I can try a few things and make a few of them. We'll see. I still have about a month till Nia's birthday.


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

Nargle said:


> Personally I'm not crazy about adding rice to my dog's diet. Every time I've given Basil rice it came out looking exactly the same as it did going in. If you must add carbs, why not add some chopped/pureed up veggies like peas and carrots? Or maybe potatoes?


Huh.. I've never seen rice come back out of a dog either.. only corn.

......I would be slightly more concerned about tapeworms.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Binkalette said:


> Huh.. I've never seen rice come back out of a dog either.. only corn.
> 
> ......I would be slightly more concerned about tapeworms.


Lol, I'm pretty sure it wasn't tapeworms. We had run out of kibble before we could get to the store, so we decided to give Basil some boiled rice and a can of tuna and pick up another bag of kibble the next day. The next day I picked up a turd mostly made up of whole kernels of rice. After that, though, when he was back on his kibble, he never had a poo that looked like that again.

Michiyo-Fir, I like using garlic powder and Grill-Mates brand "Montreal Chicken" seasoning. Though I bet both Basil and Nia wouldn't mind plain either, lol. The reason I season it is because usually I'll make a whole loaf and my boyfriend and I will eat the rest of it after we give Basil a slice.


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