where the magic happens

aka the kitchen (prep room)

Generally I allow my dogs to intermingle with me as I prepare their meals, it is encouraging to me to see the non-competitive comradeship my dogs have when I am the center of their world, because the food always comes from my hands. It is also smart on their behalf, as I appear "clumsy" and often drop smidgens of liver or kidney onto the floor that they cheerfully gobble up (something that doesn't often happen when their meal is before them in its entirety).

My husband, on the other hand, finds their 'mingling' a dangerous distraction and keeps them separated from him by a gate. I understand why, he is nervous to be using a cleaver to begin with and the chicken was still a tad frozen to be cutting into quarters.
This, however, led to a very cute photo opportunity... 'waiting'




heavens, i love her sweet little face.

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! :)

raw towel

easy clean up when feeding raw - use a designated 'raw towel'



and train your dog to stay on it ;)

First Time Raw

I filmed Maisy's very first time eating a whole raw meal (medallions don't count!).

My best and most trusted advice is to give the dog a Raw Meaty Bone that is bigger than its head. It requires them to work at it (and not gulp) and will be a very fulfilling meal experience for them.

This held true for Maisy. She went from gulping kibble and swallowing medallions whole to carefully chewing and crunching her entire half chicken. Good girl!

Our Haul

Anytime I see a sale at the butcher, meat distributor or take a trip to the Rt. 107 slaughterhouse is cause for celebration my house! Time to stock up!

This past week our local meat distributor (who specializes in local, grass fed fare) had a beautiful sale on halved fryers, beef chuck and veal patties. Chicken livers hearts and gizzards, beef kidneys, and pigs feet are usually pretty cheap so I also stocked up on those.
Nature's Variety was kind enough to send a few coupons when I requested, so we got to pick up some lamb medallions as well.

What does all this look like?

(complete with labeled zip lock baggies!)


Fryers, halved, then hacked with cleaver to weigh, bag and freeze portions better



And my over full freezer



Life is good.

The Research.

Yes, it is necessary.
Yes, it seems daunting.
Yes, most dog food companies want to make you believe that you cannot figure it out on your own.
Yes, even some vets do that, too.
No, it is not impossible to learn how to feed your dog, just as you learned to feed yourself (hopefully healthfully!).


It took over 9 months of pure research while my dogs survived on kibble before I was brave enough to take the plunge into feeding raw. It took another 2 months of management and logic to realize that prey model raw wasn't going to work long term because of limited availability of protein sources and cuts of meat. However, feeding raw was much, much easier than I thought it would be (she said armed with a folder full of articles...)
I started to incorporate pre-made raw, dehydrated raw, and other feeding principles to create a balanced diet that was grain free and readily available.


It's been said that the most important mantra a dog owner can have is "KNOW THY DOG", and I do. I believe I am doing what is best for my own two dogs and their total wellbeing.


I will be creating link-lists on the side bars of this blog of all the web sites, forums, books, groups, companies, etc., that have helped form the ongoing research for the optimal canine diet for my dogs.