Pet chef's recipes cater to canines

Dog food headed to local Whole Foods Markets' shelves

vic valbuena bareng/viewPet food chef Lynda Kramer prepares customized gourmet dog food at her K-9 Pet Chef Inc. facility in southeast Las Vegas, July 31. Kramer prepares the food once a week. Advertisement

Ever taken the time to check out the ingredients in that 50-pound bag of dog food before you throw it over your shoulder?

According to a Las Vegas pet food chef, if pet owners knew what was inside the colorful bags of food that line store aisles, they probably wouldn't drop it into a doggie dish.

Lynda Kramer started to read pet food labels more than 30 years ago when she ran a kennel with 25 or so Irish setters. She was in search of a prevention method for an illness commonly known as bloat, which often targets Irish setters and can be fatal.

"I thought, it's got to be something in their diet," said Kramer, 61, a personal chef by trade. "I looked at the labels and said, 'I can't feed them this.' If there are words in there you don't understand, you probably don't want to feed it to your dog."

Kramer picked up a pet food recipe book by a Houston-based veterinarian called "The Collins Guide to Dog Nutrition" and began to shift her focus in the kitchen toward chow for her Irish setters.

She passed along the recipe to people who bought dogs from her kennel, and, gradually, pet owners too busy to spend much time in the kitchen came back to Kramer for more food.

Thirty years later, Kramer has launched four commercial kitchens nationwide -- in Alaska, New Jersey, Oklahoma and, a year ago, in southeast Las Vegas -- titled K-9 Pet Chef Inc.

She and four other chefs prepare the food in a commercial kitchen in southeast Las Vegas and deliver it to a few nearby pet shops. The dog food will be on the shelves at local Whole Foods Markets by the end of the month.

"It's been well tried and tested," said Kramer, who studied animal husbandry at Rice University in Houston and raised 15 champion dogs on her customized diets.

According to Kramer, the wrong diet can cause many degenerative diseases, as well as cancer, obesity, skin problems, digestion troubles, odor and ear and eye infections. She said she believes dogs can easily become bloated because they gulp dry food. And she's found that canned moist food sold in stores carries preservatives.

Kramer said her homemade moist food promotes better digestion without the preservatives.

She encourages pet owners to even avoid pet food stamped with an "all-natural" label because the food is overcooked.

"You lose the nutritional value that way," she said. "We cook ours just enough to cook it and still maintain the nutrition."

The standard dishes listed on K-9 Pet Chef's Web site look more like a menu from a gourmet restaurant than a meal for a hound, with recipes like Turkey Supreme (vegetable broth, dark turkey meat, brown rice, oats, spinach, carrots, broccoli and garlic), Savory Lamb Stew (stewed lamb, chicken broth, barley, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli and garlic) and even birthday cakes and cookies.

Lisa Mauro, a veterinarian at the Haven Animal Hospital, 7775 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 160, said she has concerns that dogs who eat only homemade food may not get enough vitamins and minerals, and she reminds pet owners that not all recipes are good for every dog.

"I do believe that for certain illnesses, animals should eat home-cooked food," said Mauro, who says she typically recommends premium dog food brands. "Obviously, there are always concerns about preservatives in dog food. We don't always know what's going into them."

Kramer said she and her four pet chefs, who act as doggy dietitians, as well, work with veterinarians to understand a dog's individual needs.

There is a "hitch," however, to her pet food, Kramer said.

Dogs who merely eat moist food will have weak teeth because dried food is good for dogs' dental health. So, Kramer suggests that owners give their dogs an all-natural biscuit once a day to keep their teeth clean.

"Jezebel's teeth are pearly white," Kramer said of her vizsla.

And just like a meal out costs more than buying ingredients off grocery store shelves, K-9 Pet Chef Inc. food is pricier than bagged and canned dog food. A two-quart container of K-9 Pet Chef Inc. food is $9.95, which, for small dogs, lasts three to four days. And because a 70-pound dog could eat as much as one container of K-9 Pet Chef Inc. a day, Kramer suggests owners of large dogs serve their pooches a homemade meal a couple times a week and supplement with premium store-bought food.

Bob Neklewicz, a K-9 Pet Chef Inc. customer for five months, said his two 30-pound pups are worth every penny.

"Personally, I just feel better because they're getting good food," he said. "They just gobble everything up. I think she's on to something."