HOMECOOKING AND KEEPING KOSHER?

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

As you may know, I homecook for my pack and all the fosters that come through my doors. I encourage the people who apply to adopt my fosters to think about also homecooking or at least adding fresh ingredients to their dogs diet as I believe it is healthier for the dog, in the long run.

One of my recent applicants mentioned, "We keep a Kosher home and homecooking would become prohibitive, in terms of buying kosher meat, chicken, etc. for a pet." I am not Jewish and was wondering how this might be handled? Do any of our Jewish members have an idea how I might answer this?

I thought kosher meant blessed and cleanly prepared. Why would this be prohibitive to feed to a dog? Can a dog not eat blessed and clean meat? How does this answer the handling of the crap that is put into commercial dogfood?

I admit I am totally ignorant here. Educate me, please.

This is not meant to offend but to understand. -Lynne

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am not at all well versed in these things but the animal has to be slaughtered in a certain way and overseen by a religious inspector. Kosher meat is much more expensive that ordinary "clean" meat. I thought pets were exempt and just found this "It is permissible to feed non-kosher food to pets, as long as you do not consume it yourself. This falls under the general rule that it is permissible to use products of non-kosher animals as long as you don't eat them; for example, it is permissible to use a toothpaste that contains non-kosher ingredients as long as the toothpaste is not fit for human consumption, and it is permissible to wear gloves made from pig suede. However, it is not permissible to derive any benefit from a mixture of meat and dairy; therefore, any food you feed your pet cannot contain both meat and dairy." Judaism 101

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Lynne,
This may be an issue in regards to cost or access to kosher meats depending on where the individual lives. Kosher meats tend to be considerably more expensive than those found in the grocery store. Also, depending on where you live, there may be limited access to kosher meats and require shipments as needed. They may use commercial dog food even though it contains unkosher ingredients by serving it in a designated area in a special dish and keeping it completely separate from where their dishes and food are kept. It all depends on how strictly they keep kosher as it can vary. If the meats are prohibitive, you may be able to persuade them to at least add other fresh ingredients or possibly even certain types of fish that are kosher and probably more affordable and more easily accessed and can be prepared as a dairy or meat item. I hope this helps a little...if you have any other specific questions just let me know and I can try and help.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Lynn,
What a wonderful question this is and not at all offensive.I just looked up a website called kosherpets. com.
It explains about some of the requirements for kosher pets. Even about keeping separate cooking utensils and dishes, etc for them.
Being Jewish , though we do not keep kosher, I found this very interesting as I never thought about pets keeping kosher before.
Definitely prohibited are shell fish, pork products of any kind, and the mixing of meat and dairy. Even dishes used for meat are kept separate from those used for dairy.
I am sure other Jewish members would be able to give a more detailed explanation than I can give. Thank you for bringing up this very interesting subject.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Thanks, Sally. It just never dawned on me that this would be an issue and I was at a loss as to how to address it. (And I am not usually at a loss for words. LOL) I don't want to exclude someone because of this but I believe I have to do what's best for the dog. Dakota has been homecooked for, how can I justify sending her to an only kibble family?

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

So, maybe I am still dense but from what you both are saying is, if they are feeding dogs and use certain dishes and the family is not consuming it, there should not be a problem with buying un-kosher meats, fish, etc., just for the dog. That shouldn't have anything to do with cost. (In my pea-brain opinion).

Is it possible that they are very orthodox and would not allow it in the house at all?

Again, then how would they justify allowing the "crap" food in the house. I would think that would be 1000% more unclean, compared to human grade un-kosher meats.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

I think that this would be a problem. To the best of my knowlege a kosher home would not have non-kosher meats in it at all. I am now very curious and will try to find an answer to this. I also believe that kosher pet food is probably sold at kosher markets and I would think it would be of higher quality than the "crap food".
I also just read the other posts and thank you all for the info. Today I am also getting a new education!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Wouldn't kosher dogfood also be expensive? And what brands are these, maybe we should check into them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The method of slaughter is the big deal; it has more to do with suffering and blood than with cleanliness.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kosher meats are prohibitively expensive, as has already been mentioned. But in addition, all dairy products must be kept separate from all meat products; so kosher homes keep two complete sets of "every day" dishes, silverware, utensils, everything. And at Passover, you must have another two sets of everything because "Kosher for Passover" is different than just plain "Kosher." It is also true that during Passover, the household must be absolutely free of any kind of food that is not kosher. There is a ritual cleansing that takes weeks. Even the soap used to wash the dishes has to be kosher soap. It is very restrictive. This kind of adherence applies to the Orthodox branch of Judaism. The majority of Jewish people follow the Conservative or Reform movements, which are much less restrictive.
I am not at all observant, but I know some Orthodox people, and most of them do not have pets of any kind.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

So, since they mentioned this in their application. How do I approach this question as far as Dakota is concerned? Any ideas?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If there's kosher dog food, I suppose they would be okay with that. I don't necessarily think it would be healthy, though. There's nothing that would prevent the use of corn, wheat, ethoxyquin, etc. I think we have to look at kosher dog foods to know.
Anyone who can get some info on kosher dog foods, please help us out here. I am swamped today and I know you are too Lynne. I shouldn't even be typing this now!
To get an idea of how kosher meats compare in price to non-kosher meats, take a look at the price of kosher hotdogs in the grocery store, compared to non-kosher. And that's just hotdogs! Kosher salami is $15/lb. in my area.

[Pat & "Tucker"]

I would ask her what she plans to feed Dakota. You only suggested home cooking to her which she said would be too expensive. What is her question that you need to answer.... I lost you.