puppy meatloaf

I've been trying something new with Buckley, who doesn't seem to have any sensitivities to food yet.

Raw is the ultimate diet for many educated dog owners/feeders... and it should be. It is the original canine diet.

However, for one reason or another, sometimes the owner or the dog just can't do it all the time.

For me, the puppy and his teething was a hindrance for beginning raw (sans grinder). Well, I got my grinder and I find there is quite a bit to be desired with ground bones. For me (and me alone) I don't feel safe feeding them in their raw, ground form. I have been giving Buckley raw chicken bones, whole, and he's done well with them.

I use the grinder now to make meat loaf. Our first batch was a hit!

raw, not yet cooked. 

Ingredients:
Ground sirloin, approx 90% lean + few oz of beef liver (also ground)
Salmon
Whole Eggs, 2, (with ground egg shell)
Carrots
Spinach
Peas
Ground Apples (without skin or seeds)
Kelp, powder
Parsley, fresh
Alfalfa, powder
Garlic, fresh minced

To measure - I used a ratio of about 60 meat/protein : 40 vegetation. That's it.


baked 1 hour, chilled, and served as a kibble topper.

*  *   *  *  *  *   *   *   *   *  *  *   *
Analyzing the recipe on nutritiondata.com, per ounce:
Fat - 2g
Protein - 4.4g
Carbs - 1g (dietary fiber - 0.3g)
B12 - 0.6mcg
Calcium - 28.1mg
Phosphorus - 55mg
Omega 3 - 183mg
Omega 6 - 85.4mg
Water - 20.3g

the most disgusting thing I've fed. yet.

was from a can.



Tripett New Zealand Green Vension Tripe. I have seriously never thought I would vomit from feeding something until I opened this can. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous!  And I've fed some pretty gag-worthy things before... organs, brain, tongue, feet, etc. But nothing - and I mean NOTHING - smelled this putrid.

But wouldn't you know... the dogs LOVED it. Ate every little morsel they could find.

The Tripett Beef Green Tripe wasn't as bad, still the 'tripe-y' smell, but not nearly as horrible as the venison. And the dogs also enjoyed it. I enjoyed the limited ingredient list (as compared to something like Solid Gold's version)

From Best Bully Sticks.com:

Tripett Pure Green Venison Tripe is from venison raised and fed on the grasslands of New Zealand. Like the lamb tripe, venison tripe is easy for puppies to digest and is a great alternative for your pooches who are allergic to beef. Green Tripe (Green simply means the tripe is pure and unbleached) contains the partially digested grasses in an animal's stomach and is rich in digestive enzymes, gastric juices, taurine, amino acids and essential fatty acids which are important to all aspects of your pets' health. Tripett is intended to be mixed with dry or raw food. It is not a replacement for your pooches current dog food.
Ingredients: New Zealand Venison Tripe, Water, Garlic, Vegetable Gum  

Ingredients: Beef Tripe, Water, Garlic, Vegetable Gum

RECALL - Merrick Beef Filet Dog Treats

The FDA issued a warning about Merrick Beef Filet Squares. If you still have the resealable package, check for a "Best By 11/19/11" date — those batches may be contaminated with Salmonella. To be on the safe side, if you're not sure when you bought the treats, discard!


Luckily no illnesses have been reported yet — the bacteria was caught in a routine inspection in December — but be careful when handling the treats (to discard them), remove anything else they could have contaminated, and thoroughly clean any containers, too.

leftovers

Tsuki is very 'particular'. Where she sits, how she sleeps, where she potties, how she walks across a room and especially what and when she eats.

It was a particular challenge to get her used to 'timed' raw feedings after being free fed kibble most of her life (my fault, exclusively).

But she does well, most of the time.

I have been trying to transition the dogs to large meals, fed once a day. Tsuki is not fond of this.

We start with something similar to this portion for each dog, where Kitsune (24lbs) gets the larger, compared to Tsuki's (18lbs) portion:


Then each gets as much time as it takes to eat it. Generally for Kitsu, this is about 5-10 minutes. Sometimes Tsuki is the same, and sometimes she just (literally) d-r-a-g-s it out...


Until she completely ignores the fact that it was, in fact, mealtime.

So, we do package up her leftovers:

And she gets them during her next meal.

The transition to once a day larger feedings has been a challenge because of Tsuki's finickiness. She doesn't eat the whole of her portion, then about 10-12 hours later, she does a yellow foamy urka-gurka vomit on an empty stomach, thus necessecitating a 2-meal-a-day system again.

I really don't mind much that she requires two smaller meals... I take the time and do the extra portioning. She just has to be difficult! :)

Purebites

Yes, that is a cat treat bag. No, I do not have a cat :)

I often buy Purebites Dehydrated Beef Liver treats for the dogs when on sale. I love these treats because
1. The dogs cannot resist them, and Kitsu learned to "touch" for them.
2. They are single ingredient treats.
3. They market them for dogs AND cats. I think too often cats get the shaft on healthy treats, and these help bridge that gap.

I think the in-law's cat will enjoy his Christmas present!

More Caution | Ground Beef

"Ground beef is not a completely safe product" says Food safety expert Dr. Jeffrey Bender, mildly. This in response to the story of a 22 year old woman who is paralyzed and brain damaged after an e. coli infection due to eating tainted hamburger.

After the E. coli outbreak that sickened Smith, the USDA did spot checks at 224 plants, only to discover that nearly a quarter of them had "serious safety problems" -- they weren't even following the safety plans the plants themselves devised. The USDA allows this, as well as allowing grinders to decide whether they want to test for harmful bacteria before or after grinding beef; beef suppliers prefer having the meat tested after it's ground and combined with other companies' beef, since it keeps their exposure to recalls low.

Not only is this the old story of enormous slaughterhouses where overworked, underpaid employees are the only defense against cross-contamination of the meat by feces, and the ingredients are so cheap that quality cannot possibly be expected; but there are new little shockers throughout the story. Ammonia masks the presence of E. coli, so is often used to treat cow trimmings from the outside of the animal, those more likely to be contaminated. Bread crumbs and spices are added to patties -- even though the ingredients list only "beef." "Using metal detectors, [Cargill] workers snagged stray nails and metal hooks that could damage the grinders, then warned suppliers to make sure it did not happen again," Michael Moss, the Times reporter, writes. (Oh good! They are protecting their grinders! Consumers will be so happy.)

Costco, The New York Times says, is a bright spot in bacterial testing; the retailer, which grinds its own meat, tests all its suppliers' offerings upon delivery. Because of this practice, feedlot giant Tyson won't supply them with beef parts. The USDA, ever the nagging grandma, never the dictatorial dad, finally released a "draft guideline" in August 2008 in which the word "should" appears far more often than words such as "must." Helpfully, it says, "Optimally, every production lot should be sampled and tested before leaving the supplier and again before use at the receiver."

The USDA has responded by reminding consumers to use "safe handling" procedures when cooking hamburger, and yes, not following these rules could have contributed to Smith's paralysis; but even scientists find it difficult to avoid contamination with such a virulent strain of E. coli as the one from 2007. Cooking hamburgers to 160 degrees and washing counters with bleach wouldn't save, for instance, a few cells that dripped onto the side of the sink or the corner of an apron. And those few cells are enough to make you sick.

At least three different slaughterhouses and a separate beef processor supplied the meat that went into Smith's family's hamburgers, and despite many investigations neither the USDA nor Cargill has ever determined which supplier was responsible for the contamination. In my opinion and that of a vast number of consumers who've read this article, it's obvious that sickness is not the result of bad home cooks who can't handle their meat; it's the necessary and evil result of a factory meat system that is ill-regulated and designed in a way that breeds disease. Source

It's complicated to explain why this is. Looking at a photo of a feedlot, where cows are kept in extremely close quarters for the few months' fattening before slaughter, fed antibiotics and stomping in one another's excrement until they're eventually, messily, killed, skinned and chopped up for delivery to one of hundreds of independent grinders may explain a bit of it. More important is the realization that washing your hands and using a meat thermometer won't fix this: only a wholesale redesign of our meat industry will.

Raw feeders and home-cooked meat eaters alike - take caution. Its not our fault, but we are the ones who pay.

Verve with Sardines and Chicken Feet

I am a huge advocate of a dog's (and cats!) diet consisting of zero to very minimal grains. Mainly, dog's just don't seem to have what it takes (like a herbivore) to successfully mash and fully digest grains, especially in a non-cooked form. You will see evidence of this in their stool. Overly large, voluminous stool indicates a low digestion rate, and whole grains or vegetation visible in stool indicates the same thing.

Also, dogs tend to have sensitivities and outright allergies to certain grains and grasses. My Tsuki has a very profound reaction to any food containing corn. Many dogs cannot tolerate wheat (gluten) or soy. Some have issues with oats or barley, etc.

For good measure, we decided to try The Honest Kitchen's VERVE.
Ingredients:
Organic rye, organic barley, hormone-free beef, organic flaxseed, organic oats, carrots, alfalfa, potatoes, eggs, red and green bell peppers, spinach, apples, cranberries, chicory, parsley, peppermint and rosemary.
Nutrient Analysis (as served, without additives):
Protein - 10.835%
Fat - 4%
Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio - 1.6 : 1
Moisture - 75%

To this, for my dog's meal, we added 3 canned (in water, no salt) sardines each, and 2 chicken feet (raw) each.

They ate it with enthusiasm! However, as suspected with the grain intake, it was evident not a lot of digestion took place with the grains (large, detailed stool!). However, my Tsuki who has several grain sensitivities, did NOT have any reaction to this meal.

"Treats"

In addition to their regular twice-daily meals, we use treats for both training, snacks and simple rewards (you know... just for being good!)

At most, treats should only cover about a tenth of your dog's total diet.

We've tried many treats, and over time have narrowed it down to only the most healthful, tasty, readily available treats that have never had any adverse reactions (tummy upset/allergies). While it is best to treat dogs with something as close to a single ingredient as possible, this is a list of things we have found to be healthful and helpful:

• Waggers Champion Chips - 100% USDA Inspected Beef Lung
• Baked Sweet Potato Chips (made at home)
• Boiled, shredded chicken (made at home)
• Turkey Hot Dogs (for recall training, grocery store bought)
• Apple (flesh only), blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe
• Carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas
  
• Grizzley NuTreats Premium Salmon Treats - Smoked Wild Salmon
• Ziwi Peak Treats - Fish, Venison, Lamb
  
• Wellness Pure Rewards - Venison, Salmon [click link for full ingredients]
  
• Wellness WellBites - Lamb, Salmon [click link for full ingredients]
• The Honest Kitchen Pecks - Buffalo, Blueberry [click link for full ingredients]
• The Honest Kitchen Nuzzles - Duck, Cherry [click link for full ingredients]
• Cloud Star Farmstand - Apples, Carrots, Sweet Potato
• Cloud Star Provenance Whitefish & Potato
  
• Now! No Grain Dog Treat - Turkey, with duck [click link for full ingredients]

Embark with Beef/mackerel

(as this is the first recipe post, any constructive criticism about the content/layout/info is greatly appreciated!)

My female shiba has food restrictions which include processed chicken and beef, corn, wheat and soy. My male is a foodie just like me who has zero restrictions and loves every minute of it!

When I prepare a meal that both will be eating that includes chicken or beef, it is always fresh and usually in raw form, unless the beef is ground.


The follow recipe is prepared for two dogs, one is 18.5lbs and the other 24lbs.


EMBARK WITH BEEFACKEREL
Ingredients:
Two cups of Embark by The Honest Kitchen, rehydrated
About one pound (give or take) of beef sirloin, cut into cubes
One half can of Jack Mackeral
Two tablespoons of cottage cheese


Mix.
And serve.

We do end up with leftovers that get fed at the next meal.

Ingredient analysis per nutritiondata.com (adjust to portions used):
Hormone-free USDA turkey, organic flaxseed, potatoes, celery, spinach, carrots, coconut, apples, organic kelp, eggs, sesame seeds, bananas, cranberries and rosemary. Beef sirloin. Jack Mackerel. Cottage Cheese. Water.