Whoa; been a while

Well, Christmas is over, the turkey is gone :( I love turkey and I think that this was the best ever; best gravy, best stuffing, best everything. The dogs had their fare share as well; they had meat and organs and more meat. They sure loved it Christmas day; warm. I have been giving the dogs a great variety of foods; more than even usual. They have had fish; beef, eggs, sardines (I know fish but different), freeze dried raw food, lots of veggies and lots of snacks.

It is difficult to find a good turkey at this time of year here; most have Ham or roast for Christmas dinner so I bought mine at Thanksgiving fresh and froze it. I did see a few at the grocers and will wait to see if they go on sale. If they do it is a great way to cook up a whack of food for the hounds in a very easy way. Throw the bird in the oven and voila.

After Thanksgiving I stocked up on gizzards and giblets; Luke loves these. When all else fails he will eat gizzards. They are awful looking things and tend to smell pretty strong but whatever the difference is in the smell they go over big.

Have a wonderful New Year; see you in January.

Don't sweat it

Switching from the ease of dog food to preparing your dogs food can be intimidating but it doesn't have to be. One of the most important factors in good nutrition both with our own and our dogs is variety. By feeding a variety of foods you have a better chance at complete nutrition. Sure there is a lot of things to learn about it; and if you really want to do it at an optimum level then get researching.

I think the best thing to think about is how you eat yourself. There are few of us that eat a completely balanced meal everyday. Sure we know what we should eat but do we all the time? Nope. In fact many people live on very poor quality food and so do many dogs who get the poor quality dog food. But when you've seen what good nutrition can do first hand there is really no going back.

I have been able to cut down Luke's seizures to almost non existent. And little Jessie grew all her hair back that she had lost over the years. My guys are 9, 12 and 13 and are amazingly healthy. I started out feeding real food with very little knowledge of what their diet should consist of ideally. But even the small change from dog to real made a huge impact. So take that step; decide today to feed your dog "real food." No it is not people food; it's just food. And don't forget in the wild there is no place to buy dog food.

Fresh Mozzarella

I made a great pasta dish the other day with tiny fresh mozzarella balls in it. I normally like the marinated type but couldn't find any so they were just plain. Using these little balls as a source of protein is quick and simple. I had a handful left after making my dish so offered them up to the dogs. Without a marinade they are pretty tasteless; so I wondered if the dogs would like them or not. They are very soft in texture as well.

I offered one to Tilley first; she smelled it and turned her head, she wasn't eating it. "Okay I'll give it to Jessie; she'll eat it." She turned it down; I was stunned. I took the biggest sniff of the little balls I could to see if there was something they were finding wrong with these. I couldn't smell a thing of course. I ripped one apart and offered it to both Tilley and Jessie in even smaller pieces. Jessie ate hers and Tilley took it; tossed it around for a while and finally ate it. Luke wanted nothing to do with these mushy little white balls.

It is always interesting to offer new food to the dogs and watch the results and I am always shocked when Jessie rejects something. I'm assuming this initial rejection was due to lack of smell. Soft white squishy balls with no smell or taste? Mmmmmmmm.

Once the dogs had given the mozzarella a fair taste test they wanted more and seemed to enjoy them. Even Luke; after much coaxing decided to try it. There really isn't anything to dislike except that they are sort of soft; if you have texture issues. Cheese isn't something I use as a regular protein source for the dogs but for a treat; it is wonderful. Below is the info on fresh mozzarella.

Fresh Mozzarella

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving; I have alot to be thankful for. First; my family, my dogs and a great home. I'm also thankful that I get to write my blog and very thankful that I have two out of three dogs that eat whatever I put in front of them. This morning I made a quickie; goodie but quickie. They had raw eggs and sardines; mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Doesn't that sound delish? Well my Jack Russell thought so and scarfed it down; Tilley thought it was okay, edible. Luke? Are you kidding? I didn't even try.

He had leftover turkey dinner and barely got through that. If you have a dog or dogs that eat whatever you put in front of them then you definitely have to be thankful for that. Because after having a fussy pants; I'm good with one in a lifetime.

I am wishing that everyone have a wonderful Holiday Season; see ya soon.

Pre/Pro biotics ????

Like I said several posts ago I wanted to know what the difference between prebiotics and probiotics is. Iams boasts to have healthy prebiotics in it. So what is the difference? Here is a link. The difference between prebiotics and probiotics. It is a thorough article explaining each fully. The difference is much more vast than I had anticipated; interesting.

This is another good source about pre and probiotics. Nutra Legacy

I won't go on and on; these are enough to get you started on the subject if you are interested. Grab a cup of java and dig in.

:)

Balancing it all out

This morning my guys had a late breakfast; it was a lazy day so we spent a long while in bed before heading out for our walk. If it is going to be a later meal day I make sure that everyone gets a snack early. This morning it was peanut butter cookies from Trader Joe's. Then before we head out I shared some cheese and some turkey with them all and then leashed everyone up.

After their walk I always wait about an hour before feeding them. Or at least until everyone is nicely cooled down; this is for the same reason that I do not feed my dogs a meal before walking. And that reason is bloat and gastric torsion; both of which my poodles are prone to. Although I do consider the risk much lower when they are eating "real" food versus "kibble" food. Knowing that my breed is more likely to have a torsion I take great care to avoid the causes.

Drinking large amounts of water after exercise can cause big problems; especially if you feed kibble. Kibble swells when soaked down; thus causing the problem. Dogs who eat kibble drink more water naturally so feeding several small meals a day helps to keep the amount down in the stomach. Another great reason to feed "real" food. So once we got back from our walk and everyone was chill they had ground beef, egg shell, sweet potato, cranberries and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm fish oil.

Now some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

chewing

Well; I tried the whole giant chunks of meat once again. This time the meat was frozen; not rock solid but definitely hard. I wanted the dogs to work for their meal which then works on their teeth; the poodles did great. They grabbed their giant pieces of raw beef and headed for a place in the yard to lay and chew. The one I was worried about was my Jack Russell; she is the dog that convinced me NOT to do the whole bones thing. She does not chew food; ever, but I thought with the size of piece I was handing out she would have no choice.

I cut her a huge whack of meat; an amount for a really good meal. The piece was probably 4-5" long, 3 wide and 2 thick. This would be more than she normally eats but I wanted some chewing going on. Well; there was no chewing and at the last moment before the piece commenced in choking her I grabbed it out of her. I cannot believe this little dog; so once I had ownership and she was left frantically searching for her meat I cut it and gave her tiny pieces again.

It was an experiment; one that I was monitoring very carefully and had full control of. She had been so completely involved with swallowing that she didn't even notice me grabbing the end and hauling it out. I gotta say this little critter does not lack gusto; especially when it involves eating.

Steak and eggs and speaking of deals

Good morning all; The dogs had a glorious breakfast yesterday morning. Luke of course took a while to get into it but once he did he enjoyed it. I had raw beef but needed a bit more protein so I scrambled up some eggs and through the beef in at the end to warm it. I added squash and apple, bonemeal, and their individual supplements. Hmmmmm steak and eggs for breakfast, not bad.

I just wanted to give those who feed "real" food a heads up. Last year my daughter made a visit to the grocers the day after the American Thanksgiving; being that we are in SoCal. We scored on turkey's; each was only $5.00 and we stocked up. Had a freezer full for the pups; just like with the turkey it is always a great idea to get in there after the storm so to speak.

Also watch your local flyers; there are always specials on and if you don't have one a small freezer might be a good gift to yourself this holiday season. Mine is always stocked; it's a small sized chest freezer. In fact I'm going to need to go through it and get rid of any empty boxes etc in there for the coming season.

Deals

The best way to score great deals on meat for your dogs is to frequent the grocers. On the weekend I headed over to Albertson's to get some meat for dinner; for the dogs. Once there I scored on beef roasts @ 1.77/lb; nice. I probably bought 9 and as usual I get a couple of looks going through the cash. I bought 9 packages of beef and 2 packages of chicken thighs at .99/lb; even nicer.

So get out there and shop; clip coupons and watch the flyers for deals.

Okay onto pumpkin; this is the best time of year to stock up on pumpkins. You can get them very cheap, cook them up and freeze. Today I cooked up a small one and I am freezing it into portion sizes. I place waxed paper on a plate and put spoonfuls of pumpkin spread out. Place it into the freezer and then once it's done, put them in a freezer bag or container. Way to pinch a penny. :)

Sole food

I'm cooking up sole for the dogs this morning. After doing some research about the fish it is a low fat high protein source. Although because it is a bottom feeder I feel that it should only be given every so often. I've never eaten it myself and from the sounds of it; if I caught one I would not be eating it. They produce copius quantities of slime over their body which makes them hard to grab and completely gross I would imagine.

I bought wild caught dover sole; taking it out of the package it was a little fishy smelling to me. That said I have a fishy smell radar so I might be exaggerating a tiny bit. The pieces were very thin and in fact I should run down and get them out of the oven now. Back in a second.

Okay; I took the sole out of the oven and put it on the counter to cool.

Nutritional values for Dover sole

For a change it is good to add different protein sources to your dogs diet. This was inexpensive at 4.99/lb although much more than beef or chicken that I get. I have cooked up some sweet potatoe, will add spinach and cranberries and their appropriate supplements.

Bone meal

Adding bonemeal as a calcium source to your dogs homemade meals is important. If they are not eating raw bones with their meal then they need a calcium source. I buy all natural human grade bonemeal which consists of 1620 mg calcium, 540 mg Phosphorus and 18 mg Magnesium in each tsp.

Egg shells are a great source of calcium as well and is there anything cheaper than an egg shell? I typically toss mine down the garbage disposal which helps get rid of crud but I am going to dry and ground them now. They must be ground down very fine for your dog to digest them properly. And we've all seen foxes, coyotes and wolves munching down on eggs on a documentary or two right? I also only buy organic free range eggs so I know the shell is good.

This article is a wealth of info for anyone interested in taking the leap to real food.

The amazing pumpkin

If you've ever had a dog with diarrhea and couldn't seem to get it turned around; then you need to know about pumpkin. I don't know how many people I've shared this with but once you try it; you'll be hooked. Pumpkin is a very good binder when you need binding for your pooch. But; if you need loosening it works well for that too. With it's water absorption qualities it can quickly firm up loose stool and help to loosen up a dog that is having problems with constipation.

Pumpkin nutritional facts

more pumpkin info

Who knew? good for kidney stones and parasites

From everything that I have researched; dogs can eat seeds as well as the meat of a pumpkin. I know that when we carve our pumpkins the dogs are in there looking for tidbits to grab. If you are feeding raw, grate the pumpkin very well and use a small amount. For the pumpkin in a can (not pie filling) use a couple of teaspoons for an med-large dog. Pumpkin can cure diarrhea within hours; how great is that?

Good and bad

While researching fish oil lately I came across this and wanted to share it. I just bought a bottle of Canola oil and will throw it out today. It seems to be in the controversial stage at the moment but I like to always be of the safe side and go with tossing the bottle. I use mostly olive oil and haven't even had a bottle of canola oil in my home for a very longtime. Figures I just bought it when I read this article. So; I was reading about fish oil and trying to find some good info to share with you, here is one such article.

http://www.omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.com/fish-oil-for-dogs.html

Fish oil is great for us and for dogs. Luckily most dogs do not mind the taste as we humans search for the fishless fish pills for our own consumption. We can open up a can of salmon or sardines and give this to our dogs. I am going to get some good Omega 3s for my guys and perhaps that will help with little Jessie's itching.

Have a great day.

Mmmmm sardines again

Okay; I've almost got is now, the art of opening the sardine can without getting sardine juice on my hands. I really should just put a pair of gloves on but I always seem to remember that fact just after feeling the drip. If you can bare with me here; I am so careful it's ridiculous actually. I hold the weird rectangle can in my right hand and brace my left to pull the tab. I do it without any jerking; nice and smooth but presto somehow a drip of this foul smelling fish juice gets on me everytime.

So anyway; sardines are really great for your dog if you can stomach them. Fish; fishy fish is not one of my favorite things to cook. I'm just now learning to like salmon; which is what we will eat tonight, dogs too. Up until now I've only eaten lobster, scallops, shrimp and halibut but I recently dropped beef from my own diet so I'm picking up salmon. Salmon and Sardines are virtually equals as far as Omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D. Both fish are a good source of calcium but the bones must be consumed.

Typically when salmon is served fresh the bones are removed; they are also too hard for us to digest. But if you eat canned salmon and keep the bones in; then they are a great source of calcium like sardines (eewww). But for our dogs; either works and they don't typically turn their noses up at sardines. I do though.

Bones and a scarfer

Bones are a hot topic these days. Your conventional vets who learned their canine nutritional facts from the dog food company are going to be none too happy about feeding bones. There are those for and those against as in most subjects. I am on the fence about bones; I don't think wolves in the wild eat as many bones as people are assuming that they do. Heck check out the carcass after a wolf feast and there you will see a bone carcass. Yes I agree that they eat small bones; say rabbit or other vermin but big rib or leg bones, I doubt it.

I read an article where the writer stated that chewing on bones is not a natural behavior of dogs. Now that I totally don't believe; my guys love chewing bones and again; watch a wolf documentary to see them chewing on the bones after a meal. Feeding bones can be tricky; my girl Jessie (Jack Russell) has never been a chewer, very dangerous to feed bones to. So I have bought a huge bag of cartilage which I cut into very small pieces to feed her. I also let them chew on very large pieces of cartilage. Cartilage can be chewed and digested fairly easy although you have to watch the scarfers. Both of my poodles chew; which is a good thing.

I have human grade bone meal to add to their meals which is very important if they are not having enough bone or cartilage in their meal.

Flax seed oil

I've got my dogs on flax seed oil; having researched it a great deal I want to see if I can see a difference. Most sites give a month time span before you can actually see a difference which is the average for most natural supplements. Flax are great little seeds; and they happen to be very "in" right now. Here is a great site about the flax seed.

As with many supplements; liquid form best serves the canine species. Having a much faster digestive system the oil of the flax seed has time to work it's magic.

This is one little seed that you too should eat.

Nutritional value

Why RAW?

As you all know; or at least I think you know that there is a huge trend to "real" and "raw" feeding our dogs. When you consider feeding your dog you must look at where our dogs came from; wolves. Pekingese, Rat terriers, Dobermans, Poodles, Yorkies and Irish Wolfhounds all evolved from the wolf. Although it is hard to even contemplate the idea sometimes; you must think of your dog as just that, a dog. And being a dog they do not have the same nutritional needs as we do.

Dogs have a much shorter digestive system than we do so the easier it is to digest the better. Raw food meat offers ease of digestion as well and enzymes that are killed from the cooking process. Many people find it very difficult to transition to raw; we are use to cooking meat and raw sometimes freaks us out. But rest assured it is good for your dog and although it might take a few tries; they'll thank you for it.

The diet I am loosely following now for my dogs is 75% meat and 25% veggies. I am not strict about feeding the perfect portions but I am strict about feeding a variety of foods. I think the best way to ensure that all nutritional requirements are being met is to feed variety. This morning the dogs had raw beef, cooked asparagus with the water that it was cooked in, blueberries, goat yogurt and flaxseed oil.

Tonight they will have sardines or salmon with a different assortment of veggies. Not too many people have charts or graphs for feeding themselves or their family so why do it for your dog. I will often add different things like sweet potatoe, oatmeal or cottage cheese for a change. My dogs are amazingly healthy and I feel great about what they are eating.

Cartilage

Well the dogs had their cartilage on Friday; went well. They are strange looking things and this was a first for me. I let them thaw on the counter; which resulted in many visitors to the kitchen with noses in the air. The most important thing to me was that Jessie no swallow any big pieces so I cut off any loose cartilage, cut away much of the fat and all that was left was long solid cartilage, tendons and sinew mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. As always Jessie got hers, then Tilley and last but not least Luke. I gave them a good 2 hours to chew.

During that 2 hours I make routine close proximity visits to deliver treats; this ensures that no one gets guarded with their stuff. And when it comes time to collect no one minds. So they chewed and chewed and chewed. I sat in the yard, puttered around the garden and in the kitchen. Finally I had things to do so it was gathering up time. Jessie is the toughest but she turned it over okay. When I went to get Tilley's it was gone; she'd eaten the whole thing. From what I've read that is perfectly find but I wasn't so sure. My main concern was that she had chewed it up enough.

So it is now Sunday and she is eating and pooping just fine; still waiting to see if any problems arise. If she chewed it before swallowing, which is what I think she would have done; she is not a big gulp swallower, great. I do have to say that Friday and Saturday Jessie and Tilley had a burst of energy. Lastnight when we got home from dinner out everyone was commenting on Jessie's flying around the house. No one would guess in a million years that she is over 13. We'll see after the next cartilage chew if the same thing happens.

Free feeding

Free feeding - don't. Plain and simple; just don't do it and here's why. First and foremost can you imagine having a big old pile of food on your counter all day, all night there for your every whim. It may be cool for a day or two but you would grow sick of looking at it and if you are like any normal human you would have eaten way too much of it. Now just looking at it makes you feel sick; so if this is your only food source you will probably pick at it, but the gusto is long gone. Dogs who are free fed are usually poor eaters.

Now, not all dogs grow sick of eating and those who still enjoy eating and have a bowl of food that is always full risk the chance of becoming obese. Fat dogs are fat through no fault of their own; nope it is the humans who create fat dogs. Just picture your dog while you are at work all day. They are probably bored; what do you do when you are bored? I often eat; yes it is a bad habit but dogs will do the same, again increasing their risk of gaining extra pounds.

Leaving food out all day and night is not healthy; food goes bad. And the better the quality the faster it goes bad. If your dog is not cleaning their bowl everyday and receiving new fresh food then how do you know that the kibbles on the bottom haven't been there for a really longtime? Eeeewwwww.

When a dog is constantly nibbling it is very difficult to know when they are going to need to relieve themselves. For puppies this makes housetraining extremely difficult and making sure that your dog goes before you go off to work in the morning can be very difficult.

Free feeding has no benefit except that I guess it is really a lazy way to feed a dog. Just keep filling the bowl that is sitting on the floor, day in and day out.

What's for breakfast?

Well this morning it was time to cook up the organ blend; it's not all organ meat. If it was I'd only give it to the dogs either mixed with something else or maybe once or twice a week. This blend has cheeks, trachea and tongue as well so it is a good mixture. I can't cook it when there is anyone else home because it has quite a strong smell to it and I don't deal with the complaints well. So this morning I cooked it rare and added green beans, apple, ground flax seed and individual supplements.

The girls ate like the champion eaters that they are but Luke stared at it for the longest time. He is falling into a pattern of waiting until the girls eat and then eating. Fine with me; I know it makes him feel like he somehow is one up on them this way. (Like he needs a fatter head than he already has.) So once everyone ate; dishes go into the dishwasher and we are ready to start the day.

Organs and cartilage

Sounds wonderful doesn't it? Mmmmmmmm; well today will be the first time I try out the cartilage thing. It is a natural source of glucosomine and is suppose to be very good for dogs. I have only ever given my dogs bones and so this is new. At a quick glance yesterday they look like bones but are white; I'll take them out of the freezer this morning and offer them up this afternoon. I'm thinking this will be like a trip to the dentist at least but will fill you in on how it turns out.

With the cartilage I also got a huge amount of organ blend again. The dogs really love it and it is good for them. It contains liver, kidney, spleen, cheeks and tongue yummy. I'll cook it up this morning stew style and freeze it in portion sizes. I love having made food in the freezer for those times when I don't feel like "cooking tonight."

Have a great weekend all.

Apples

You know the old saying "an apple a day?" Well an apple a day is good for you and apples are good for dogs but did you know that the seeds are poisonous? I have known this for years but it was recently brought to my attention that others do not know this. Apple seeds contain cyanogenic acids which is a compound of cyanide. Dogs are especially susceptable to the effects being that they are much smaller than us. So when you do give your dog apple make sure that there are no seeds included.

Apples contain potassium and are an excellent source of dietary fibre. I will typically cut up 3/4 of an apple to split between the three dogs in their food. Both Jessie and Tilley enjoy apples but if there is anything else that is better in their books they'll save the apple for later.

So do give your dogs some apple but make sure the seeds hit the garbage can. And if you can; buy Organic apples.

Friday morning

Mmmmmm; the pups had a good breakfast this morning and even Luke ate like a champ. Lastnight I made a trip to the local grocers and was unable to find beef at a good price so it was chicken thighs. After going to the gym this morning I tossed it in the oven for a quick cook. While I blogged I pondered on what to add to the chicken today. I like to mix it up alot; it is simply the best way to cover all your nutritional basis.

So they got frozen peppers, green, red and yellow. I added ground flax seed which I warmed before adding. Then some chopped dried craberries and probiotics and voila breakfast. Tilley has a joint supplement added which must taste bad because if I don't mix it well she baulks a tad at her meal.

I will make a trip to the grocers again today and try to get some organ meat for the dogs. They all love it and it is a great source of vitamins for them, of course in moderation. Everything in moderation.

A new face

Yep, we have a new face on the cooking blog as well. It's been a while since I've changed anything on the blogs so I felt it was do time. As well as a change to the look I'm hoping to get more writing done on here. With my other blog a daily; I often forget about this one. But I will do my best to get on here and write.

This morning I was out; out of meat and I didn't want to give the dogs, dog food. So I got out some nice frozen ground sirloin patties; cooked them rare, added yogurt, apple, bonemeal, probiotics and presto breakfast was served. Surprisingly Luke ate everything; and with gusto at that. Not sure what is on the menu for tonight for the hounds but we are having Lentils, perhaps the dogs will have lentils as well. I'll let you know.

;)

Tid bits

Tid bits are about all I can get into Luke somedays. Although every morning and evening I try my best to offer him up yummy meals he often simply refuses to eat. Well; that is all I can do as far as meals go. What I have been doing now is letting him snack; even on the days that he does eat really well like this morning; he has had several snacks.

If you follow the regime that wolves follow as far as eating goes it is a hit and miss. There are days you eat and days you don't and if he simply doesn't feel like eating then I'm not going to sweat it; I know he won't starve. The bottom line for Luke is that he really doesn't give a hoot about food. Even though the otherday he gave Jessie a very good impersonation of a grizzle bear as she approached his bowl.

If it is a choice between food or affection? He'll take the affection almost everytime. And I'm okay with feeding all over the place; I think it is a more natural way to feed a dog vs. feeding at the same hour everyday and in the same spot. My guys have their own spots in the kitchen where they eat; but more than position they follow the delivery hierarchy. I never have any confusion as to who's food is being put down on the floor. And when I hand feed I use names; this is very important. This reduces the chance of grab eating which can be detrimental to ones fingers.

They also eat outside often; and then I put the bowls wherever the shade is. I love the S&C for this reason as well. It makes for wonderful snack food. I feed the freezedried raw and seeing Luke chomp back a couple of sawdust patties makes me feel better when he has not been eating well.

I'm trying very hard not to sweat the small things; in this big old world there are lots of biggies to sweat about.

Good day

Yesterday was a good eating day and a day that is a good example of feeding different things. I have long heard from the average vet "don't feed anything but dog food." Well if that is how you feed your dog then you are in for a surprise when they happen to eat something other than their dogfood. You are going to have a dog with diarrhea and perhaps vomiting.

Yesterday morning my guys had dog food (Orijen) and cooked ground turkey with the dripping. They all ate like champions; even Luke..............yes I said Luke. Then in the evening they had raw beef trim mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I cut it into bite size pieces and out we go; I sit on the lounge outside and they sit infront of me, all very mannerly. I use a fork to feed them; I dish the pieces out from right to left Jessie, Tilley and Luke.

They are all very well behaved for this feeding and seem to enjoy the break from routine. I too enjoy the break; sitting in the backyard watching the sunset feeding the dogs is pretty nice.

Fish

My poodles have not been big fish fans over the years although with Tilley now in her senior years she is tending to eat anything. She even eats Sardines with Jessie; and they are about as fishy as you can get. Luke does not like fish but if I make really yummy halibut it sometimes will fly. And there has been the rare ocassion that I've made Salmon on the bar-b and he has eaten it.

Lastnight we had Halibut for dinner; about the most delicious recipe I've ever had. So I took a big portion of halibut out of the freezer for the dogs as well. I usually save the big thick pieces for them because they can get dry trying to cook them all the way through. They had organic baby greens, cranberries, a few almond slivers and some beef on the side, it was a big hit.

I think I'll cook up a bunch of salmon and sweet potato today, at least the girls will eat it.

On the edge

Whoa; sometimes I find myself teetering on the edge of a major gross out. I take hold and talk myself down using reason and dedication. I want to feed my dogs to the best of my ability; if at times that means giving them things that can cause my stomach to turn and my brain to consider a gag reflex then so be it. No I would not like a big bowl of organs and parts to eat but the dogs love it and it is very good for them. I can see how much they love it because Luke eats it. (No picture today; I'm sure you can imagine what ground liver, kidney, cheeks and tongue look like in a bowl.)

Along with this lovely mixture of protein was chopped and shredded carrots, chopped organic red pepper, roasted garlic quinoa and sardines which is another delightful and lovely thing I do for my dogs. Let's face it people; dogs eat lots of things that we would never consider eating. Even my perfect princess Tilley finds rabbit droppings a treat; and she really loves coyote poop. She doesn't eat alot of other disgusting things but these two are her favorites. My eating machine Jessie has picked up the worst of things, dried worms are on the top of her list. She also loves rotting fish she finds on the beach.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?"

Feeding the hounds

Well we seem to be on a roll; of course I don't even want to say that because the minute I do, it'll all come to a screeching halt. The girls have been of course loving their food; they are such good eaters. And the longer I go with fussy pants the more I appreciate the girls. Having a dog that is as fussy as Luke sucks; that's the truth. It can become very trying as I go through meal after meal trying to find food that the boy likes and that is good for him. Luke's favorite things to eat are double quarter pounders from the McDs, whipped cream, butter (probably my fault on this one) and shortbread.

So with these foods as his favorites it is tough to find meat and veggies that he likes. He does like his Stella and Chewies but even that has been turned down on several occasions now. I bought a big box of organ meat for the dogs (what I don't do) and nearly gagged cooking it up for them. I made it into a stew and Luke does like that. It has cheeks, tongue, liver and kidney etc in it.........mmmmmmmmm sounds good doesn't it?

He does love his raw beef but he cannot live on that alone; and my poor forearms are taking a beating cutting up so much meat. But I will continue; I feel great feeding the variety of great foods to them and I know they are very healthy because of it. But that does not mean I'm not going to complain about Mr. Fussy pants.

While ur away

I was a way for a week on vacation; this trip was the easiest so far in regards to food preparations. I have been giving the dogs a wide variety of foods; including raw, cooked, freeze dried raw and dog food. I have added dog food every so often so that when I go away the caregiver can use it without upsetting the dogs. Like I've said before the dog food I do use is Orijen; it is the only one I use right now.

My kids were taking care of the dogs and I wanted to make the feeding aspect really easy. So I had prepared several types of homemade food, chicken, beef, salmon and organ meats. I had several bags of Stella and Chewys for feeding throughout the day if Luke wasn't in the eating mood; it is a convenience I have grown to love. I also left a bag of Orijen. I left treats; organic peanut butter cookies and Liver biscottie (Luke's favorite). All feeding directions were written out and I had a wonderful worry free trip.

If you have always been told to only give your dog one type of dog food, no treats, no people food, nothing else other than their food then toss this info. Toss it out the window or into the garbage where it belongs. There are foods that dogs should not eat and the more simple the better. But feeding a variety helps you and your dogs. If your dog is accustom to eating different things then they will not become upset by newly added foods; it also makes your life more simple giving you more options to feed your pooch.

Particular tastes

Every dog has it's own tastes; like us there are somethings that they just don't like. As I've spoken about often Luke loves beef, he's not a big fan of too much else. He likes chicken but he is a meat man for sure; the girls will eat just about anything. So what did they have this morning for breakfast?

Jessie and Tilley's menu

Sardine
arugula
carrot
raw egg
probiotics
chopped cranberries
Cranberry d mannose (Tilley)

Luke's menu

Raw beef
arugula
carrot
probiotics

After he was finished picking through this he got two patties of
Stella and Chewy's freezedried raw

Luke is not a big fan of eating out of a bowl; he eats much better if his food is "prey like." What I don't do.

Stew

Made a stew that was a first for me yesterday, Organ meat stew. Sounds yummy doesn't it? Not. But I have to say the dogs really enjoyed it. It consists of liver, kidney, cheeks, tongue etc. The smell was not something I was accustom to, never cooked up that much organ meat before. The other ingredients in the stew, other than the meat was blueberries, green beans (a big favorite), apple and quinoa.

There is alot of talk about feeding too much liver causing liver toxicity and although liver is high in vit a you would have to feed alot of it over a long period of time to cause this. I do not think your dogs diet should consist of just liver obviously but organ meat is a very good source of nutrients for our dogs and they should eat it. A small amount in their food daily or a couple of organ meals each week is a great idea. Nutritional facts on organ meat.

It is important not to feed too much organ meat, that's why I like this blend of meat as it has more than just organ meat in it. Also it will be frozen in small amounts today and added to other foods and dog food when needed. It is a big hit and even Mr. Luke ate it which he has not been doing lately. His eating has gotten worse and worse and I at the point of stirring up the stew yesterday I told he that he better eat it or I'm not feeding him anymore, just kidding of course.

More on variety

I thought I would discuss variety again as I'm sure that many of you are asking yourself "what kind of variety?" So this morning was a good example of variety and trials of feeding a pack of dogs. As I have said before; Jessie will eat anything, Tilley almost anything and Luke nearly nothing. I was a bit short of fresh raw turkey so Luke got most of it. Tilley and Jessie had a tiny bit of turkey, sardines and cottage cheese.

The veggies were zucchini and green pepper plus I added probiotics and then each dogs individual supplements. Pictured above is just the protein source. Dogs can have a problem with lactose so when you do feed it don't go overboard. I threw 3 sardines into Tilley's food and one into Jessie's. Luke will not touch sardines, no way no how; there is no sneaking with Luke. I buy the sardines at trader joe's and get the ones in water or olive oil.

Mmmmmm, doesn't it just look scrumptious? Sardines have to be one of the most disgusting things I feed the dogs.

Variety

I have to say that the more variety I give my dogs the easier and easier it gets to feed them. This whole "dogs should only eat dog food" thing is for the birds. I actually think birds eat a wide variety of food as well. But speaking about dogs; my guys eat raw, cooked and dog food on occasion when I simply am short on time. Like I was lastnight, I got in late 9:30 and the dogs needed to eat. I had chicken in the fridge but I would have had to cut up veggies so I turned to their dog food.

I don't feed dog food often but because I do every once in a while it is something I can fall back on when I need to without anyone getting an upset stomach. I only feed Orijen and it has just been rated the top dog food manufacturer in Canada.

The dogs ate; I was tired and so were they. We watched a bit of television and it was up to bed with full stomachs. And in fact they are still in bed this morning at 8:30 and not a creature is stirring.

Mmmmm bonemeal muffins

I got it; it was not easy but I found edible bonemeal. So.......that means I'm going to whip up a batch of bonemeal muffins, yummy. As you know I am trying to create a muffin that is a great snack for the dogs and one that perhaps Luke might eat. So far he has not even given one muffin a chance so maybe bone will make it more enticing. I got this bonemeal at Whole foods in Irvine.

There will be all organic ingredients in the muffins, lots of protein, fruit and veggies. I make the muffins in the tiny muffin papers so they make a three bite size muffin for small dogs, two bites for the poodles and one small bite for the giant breeds. I love having a batch in the fridge knowing that the dogs are getting such great food as a snack throughout the day.

I did find this online and may purchase it next time. The product I got is for human consumption although the girls face who helped me said that most people would not eat it.

http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=26&code=514

I'll let you know how the bonemeal turns out.

2nd batch

I have made a second batch of muffins and they were a hit at our poodle walk yesterday. I am trying to make several different types of really healthy muffins for canines. I like to be able to pop a tiny treat to my dogs if I think they are hungry (jessie is always hungry) and not feel bad about it. Yesterdays were filled with healthy organic, human grade ingredients. Pinto beans, applesauce, oatmeal, whole wheat flour, eggs etc.

So far the only dog who will not eat them is Luke; not surprisingly. Even with the cream cheese on top he was not a fan. He did give the cream cheese the smallest of licks but that was it.

Onto the drawing board again.

mmmmmm

Well, I've just finished my first batch of k9 cupcakes and the girls think they are delightful; Luke not so much. I already reserved the whole idea of Luke being a taste tester; he doesn't taste anything. Meat yes but I'm not wanting to put meat in these things so if Luke eats one it will be a miracle. Perhaps once I put the frosting of cream cheese ontop he will.

The only thing I forgot to put into these is some fat; I meant to grab the olive oil but forgot, I'm making dinner at the sametime so oh well. These I guess are the non fat version. Only problem with them is that they tend to stick to the little papers then but they are really tastey.

This batch has sweet potato, garbanzo beans, flax seed, apple sauce and other yummy ingredients and even though they just have 1/4 cup of molasses in them, they taste great. I think I'm onto something.

A change of scenery

Really quick because I have to head out this morning for a shoot. This morning I switched it up for the gang. I made a mixture of raw ground turkey, alfalfa sprouts, freeze dried blueberries, organic dried cranberries and whole oatmeal. The consistancy was a meatball in the making. So instead of tossing it in the bowls and having to clean them yet again I went outside and handfed the pooches. They loved it and it was a change of scenery, good for all involved.

Luke; being the talented boy he is can get a meatball in his mouth, toss it around and expel the blueberries, not a fan. But then Jessie scarfs them back so no waste.

Gotta run

Stella and Chewys to the rescue

Well I had a stupid morning today. One of those mornings when everything seems to go wrong; you know the kind. I was in full swing, making the dogs their breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, typical mega multi-tasking when I heard a crash behind me. I closed my eyes and then opened them to see glass from one end of the kitchen to the other; yep needed this. A glass bowl that was drying on the rack fell into the sink which is the enamel type and smashed so hard that it flew everywhere.

It landed in the dogs food, all the food I had prepared for the next meals, all the dishes, across the floor, into my veggies and dip I was snacking on................everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I quickly scooted the dogs outside, put the babygate up at the kitchen so my kids wouldn't just come walking in the kitchen and stood there thinking what I should feed the dogs now. I had to throw all the food out that had been on the counter, you cannot take chances with glass.

Then I remember I had several Stella and Chewy patties left, thank goodness. I mixed it up and the dogs were happy campers eating outside in different bowls. Once they were done I went back into the kitchen to proceed with the tedious clean up. Be warned if you drop a pyrex bowl, yikes what a mess.

Two firsts

We had two firsts tonight. The first first was that Luke tried and very much enjoyed Tofu. I'll have to look into that for sure; will let you know. The second first was the Luke gave Jessie an open mouth growl for approaching her bowl; hmmmmmm. Definitely a sign that he is enjoying the food; he had an excellently nutritional meal. Raw ground turkey, organic basmatti and salad, a big salad.

Lastnight instead of cutting up a pile of veggies I gave the dogs our leftover salad, it was filled with good stuff so tonight I did the samething. We had spinach salad with tofu so aside from the tofu the dogs had spinach, edamame, green pepper, tomatoes, carrots, bok choy, arugula, organic persian cucumbers, zuchinni and apple. Pretty good eh?

To make the salad a little less intimidating I chopped it very small and I mixed it with the rice which was warm; this brought the salad down in size making the food not seem quite as enormous. This is the mixture that caused the growl; which then put me into action scooting the little one out of the kitchen. She was not happy about being banished but when you are trying to move in on someone's meal that is being enjoyed there is a good chance of having your head taken off. Best to move away.

Good food

Lastnight I got a shock when I asked my son if he'd like to grab a bite and where. He said Native Foods, which is a restaurant I go to with my girls often as they are both vegetarians. But my son is normally the Taco Bell type so I was impressed, he is starting to consider nutrition vs eating. Over dinner we had a really great discussion on eating good food and fueling your body. Not only is it important for us but our dogs as well.

So when I got home I got to preparing the dogs dinner; it was a good one. Organic sweet potato, organic apple, liver and a free range organic egg. Plus all their supplements; just looking at the bowl told me it was good. And the biggest surprise was that Luke ate everything, rare when I offer up a raw egg, he is not a fan.

When you prepare food for your dog you must think about absorption; it happens in three stages as the food goes from mouth, to well the other end. If their body cannot digest the food or if the food has little nutrients it ends up at the other end having been useless in fueling the body.

Processing food removes nutrients so if you are feeding your dog or yourself foods that have been partially or totally processed then you need to eat alot more to keep your body happy and healthy.

Fact; My dogs poop on average once a day. On dog food dogs poop 2-3 times a day and more and with much more content.

My dogs rarely drink water. On kibble they were drinking constantly.

Luke's seizures are almost down to none since feeding real food.

Jessie's bald spots on her chest, tail and ears have all grown in completely since the change.

Think about what goes into your dog before you put it in their bowl. And if it is dog food, remember all dog food is not made the same.

Stella and Chewys

Stella and Chewys - I am giving this product 4 paws. I recently purchased several bags of their freeze dried raw food; it is amazing. I am always skeptical when I try something new; I want a product to impress me and this one does. Not only is it completely convenient but very versatile. I do have to admit the lamb patties smell a little funky but the duck not so much.

The reason I like the freeze dried product so much is that I can bring a couple of patties of raw food with me on my treks with the dogs. For Luke this is great; he tends to do well as a grazer, sort of eating all day. And I think with this product I might just put some weight on the boy.

For dinner my little Jack Russell has one patty mixed with some other homemade stuff; which you do not have to do. And the poos get one to flavor their already homemade food. When I feed it in their meal I rehydrate the patties and the dogs love them. I have had no upset stomachs; I take my time introducing a new product mixing it with their own food. But this has enabled me to offer them something that is healthy, raw, premade and really easy for me.

Love it.

Really gotta wake up

Like many humans; some dogs do not like to eat as soon as they get up in the morning. I know all of my dogs; except Jessie of course have eatten better given the chance to fully wake up. I like to give them a snack so to speak as soon as they wake up in the morning but after that the time varies when they eat. If we are planning a big run then we run first and then eat after they have cooled off. If we are exercising later in the day then they typically eat around 8-8:30.

It is good for them not to go by the clock or you may have to deal with the "feed me, feed me," issues. My guys know that they eat when they eat; it's as simple as that. Often the schedule is around what their day will entail, more so than what my day will consist of I work around them.

This morning I planned on hitting the gym early but with horrendous allergies I didn't make it. That means the whole day has been pushed up. Our walk will be later and I might hit the gym later too, if my allergies cease a bit. Or perhaps it will be bath day for the poodles; they both need a trim so maybe it will be grooming day instead of the norm.

They've eaten early so that part is done, but because they ate early we now have to wait to exercise. You never want to risk bloat and stomach torsion.

How about no?

Well Luke decided not to eat his dinner tonight. He ate his breakfast with the usual barrage of dancing and singing; it is no easy feat to get food into the boy. But tonight he wasn't having it; I could tell right away. He had to be coaxed into the kitchen and then stood at the back door staring away from his food bowl, great.

So what do you do if your dog simply won't eat? Cover the food and put it away for tomorrow morning, don't sweat it. I remember when my kids were little and occasionally they'd have an off day when they didn't want to eat; being the studious Mom that I was I told them they had to eat, wrong move. Moments after the last bite they returned their meal to me to clean up. I learned long ago not to force feed.

So tomorrow morning I'll be off to the grocers to find some liver.

Brussel sprouts

First let me say that I was not a fan of Brussel sprouts. I was made to eat the gaggish green balls as a child and I grew to hate the meer mention of their name. I also became quite talented and cutting them in halves and quarters and swallowing them down so as not to taste them. My daughters being vegetarians have been after me for years to try them again for the first time. Well lastnight was the night, my daughter cooked up a whole bag, and I agreed to at least taste them.

Yes to my surprise they were very good and they are amazingly good for you. So they will not only be on our plates more often; they dogs will be eating them. They had several chopped very small in their dinner lastnight and none were left, that's a good sign. They weren't nearly as horrible as I had remembered, nor were they as strong in flavor. They have sort of a strange taste to them, which I thought the dogs might object to but nope, they ate them all down.

They are very nutrious; check out the very old vegetable.........The Brussel sprout

The muffin man (or woman)

I am a baker; I use to bake for a weekly farmers market back home in Canada and was known as the "cookie lady." So it makes sense that my two passions come together right? As I lay in bed drinking my coffee I am contemplating making muffins for the dogs. Knowing the general ingredients that need to go into muffins to infact make them muffins; I also have to consider what they need in them to be dog friendly muffins. I made delicious people muffins a couple of weeks ago using fresh squeezed orange juice from our orange tree out back. Orange and chocolate chip, yum.

But for the dogs they need to be filled with protein; the idea of a muffin for the dogs was to be able to give them something quick if need be. Like when I'm off to the gym early in the moring or just for a midday snack. So I want protein, must have at least one egg, some sort of flour which will be whole wheat, maybe some applesauce in there as well. I think I'm going to go with beans for the protein and maybe cheese.

Well, I'll be experimenting for the next while with my muffins and will let you know what the taste testers decide.

Feeding chat

I just love feeding my Jack Russell,Jessie. She will literally eat anything, and I have only found two things she's not keen on. One is orange and the other mushrooms which makes perfect sense. As adult dogs they know not to eat the mushrooms that pop up in the back yard sometimes. How they know is a puzzle but they just do. They know what grass to eat and not to eat and can pick through a pile of green plants to find the one they are looking for.

Yesterday morning as I was trying to get Luke to give his breakfast a chance I thought how nice it would be if he was an eater. He truly is a joy to feed my girls; they'll eat anything. And as I was doing the "mmmmmmmm, look Luke yummy" routine I was growing weery again. Every single time it is the samething, unless of course it is raw beef, his favorite.

Lastnight they had dogfood mixed with other things like oatmeal, yellow pepper, some tomatoes and a meatball for Luke. Jessie cannot eat this dogfood, doesn't agree with her for some reason. But she'll eat anything like I said so I don't mind and being that she is all of 15 lbs she just needs a fraction of what the poodles eat. So her protein was egg lastnight and she ate like a champ.

Luke on the other hand said he wasn't even trying his food. I showed him that I had put a meatball in there; and the topper was of course butter. Fine...............................he'd give it a try, and amazingly he ate it; all of it. I like to give them Orijen (which was recommended by a good friend) every so often just so that sometime if I need to have them eat it they will be ready. To have three dogs that eat like champs? Asking too much I think.

Halibut and toast

The dogs had halibut lastnight; I knew ahead of time that Luke probably was not going to eat his dinner so he got it doctored up. He is very talented at picking through his food, eating what he likes and discarding the rest. Just yesterday morning he was showing off his talent to the fullest. My husband was feeding the dogs some morning toast, which is 12 whole grain organic bread from Trader Joe's with lots of butter. The girls of course will eat whatever, Luke on the other hand must have a tiny piece to start or it simply doesn't work out. Then as he got his piece he proceeded to eat the buttery part and shot the crust which had no butter on it out at the end.

Now that is what I call talent. When I feed the dogs in bowls; Jessie will toss what is 2nd or 3rd on the yummy meter out of the bowl onto the floor. Once she has eaten the prime selection she will then go back and eat whatever was tossed onto the floor. The girls really enjoyed the halibut, Luke not so much. So he got some barbequed chicken from the night before and yes butter. He wouldn't even look at his food until I told him there was butter in it.

Boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tri tip

Yep, tri tip for the hounds. When I moved here to California I had no idea what tri-tip was. I looked it up and found out how to cook it; we don't have tri-tip in Canada, or at least where I'm from. I've often been talking to people back home and asked them if they'd ever heard of it. No one has.

But since I've been here I've sure made my fair share of it and it had become a family and friend favorite. Now that we are not eating much beef it is a dog favorite. I got a great deal on it this week at Albertson's so the dogs have been enjoying. Friday morning I was in a huge hurry to so I cut up a half of a tri-tip and fork fed the dogs. Is this okay?????Just beef?????? Oh it's more than okay, believe me the dogs are really happy about it.

The important thing when feeding your dogs real food is the protein source. So if there is anything that they can eat on it's own, it is protein. Right now I need to feed the dogs and they are getting more tri-tip. But along with that will be sweet potatoes, snap peas, apple and probiotics..........................yum.

It's been a while

Wow, what a busy time. Lastnight as I finished up my dinner I gasped; ah I'm out of food. The big thing with cooking for your dog is that you MUST have a protein source to work with. If every once in a while you don't have protein, it's not a big deal but you want to make sure that your dog is getting a good source. And that can be eggs, meat, beans etc.

For the last week I've had premade food for my guys and I was pretty sure I was on my last bag in the morning. If I were just feeding the girls I wouldn't panic but with Luke, a yummy protein is a must. The girls will eat cottage cheese, eggss or whatever, not Luke. So off I go to the garage and into my deep freeze hoping that I missed a bag; and yes I did, one last bag. I'm so happy when I have food made ahead, it's a nice break.

So that means I have breakfast planned and I will need to stop at the grocers and get some meet today. They haven't had raw for about a week so dinner will be raw beef. Hopefully I'll be able to score a deal on some meat and tomorrow I'll cook up a storm again. I also plan on cooking lentils for them, but I need to plan that out. We eat lentils at least once a week but it is filled with onion and things they lots of herbs and spices.

Trader Joe's has precooked lentils which is really wonderful as they take quite a while. They are just lentils and you do whatever you like to them. Lentils are really good for you and a great source of fibre and protein. Try some, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. My favorite is when I make them with applesauce and throw in diced apple at the end. YUM The dogs might like that as well, minus the apple and spices.

Fattening up the hounds

Luke is on a roll, an eating role. So while he is in the mood to eat I will feed, and feed what he likes. So the other day when I scored all the ground beef I also got 2 containers of liver, mmmmmmmmm. I cooked both packages in tinfoil in the oven while everyone else was off at work or school, so no complaining to listen to. After cooking and cooling the liver, I chopped and froze it. This let's me add just a few morsels of liver to Luke's meal and gives it that extra bit of jeune se qua.

This morning Luke came into the kitchen, that's a good sign. When his interest is peaked at the preparation stage then there is a good chance he's in the mood to eat. Tonight I had to call him into the kitchen but that is because he was exhausted from his run and crashed in a very comfy spot.

So when I can I give him what he wants; it's not always possible to cater to his every whim but I try. :)

Big score

Good morning everyone, I scored bigtime at the grocery store yesterday. After getting weird looks from the cashier as I went through with lbs. of hamburger I got home to some very happy dogs. Luke loves when he can smell raw beef. I do not typically give raw hamburger, but it really depends on how fresh it is and where I got it, yesterday it needed to be cooked. It was dated for yesterday which is fine if you are going to cook it right up, which is what I did.

Two giant pots of hamburger and two pans of chicken thighs. Today I have to get some rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and veggies to mix up their meals for several days. It is some work but believe me over the weekend I'll be really happy that I did it. When I do premake food it is usually a base, sometimes more complete than other times. If I feel that they could use something else then I just toss it in.

This morning I had three hungry faces glued to me as I ate my toast in bed. I don't usually eat toast in the morning; Jessie and I are trying to shed a few extra pounds. But this morning it was toast and believe me that is one thing that will get Mr. Luke out of bed, toast with butter, yum.

Dog food and fallout

Okay, the big difference in feeding "dog food" and real food that I can see aside from the huge difference in nutritional value is the amount of water intake and the piles in my backyard. Yikes, what a huge difference. I have been occasionally feeding dog food so that in a pinch if I need to leave for a couple of days my dogs can eat dog food. I feed Orijen when I do feed dog food which is maybe once every three weeks.

My dogs typically water intake is very low, they rarely drink even after exercise. This is do to the large amount of normal moisture found in real food. When they eat dog food there is a small % of moisture in it causing the dogs to drink alot more. This is very obvious.

As far as the amount coming out of the dogs, I cannot even after all this time believe the difference. Once you get use to your dogs doing one small poop a day, two big whoppers is tough to deal with. Especially when you are talking about multiple dogs. So even though I will keep feeding dog food on the rare occasion so that if I ever have to leave they will be able to eat it and not get upset. It is obvious that "real" is so much better.

It's easy

This is just a demonstration to put cooking for and feeding your dog into perspective. The above plate is what we had for dinner lastnight. The bowl is what the dogs had, very similar but different. If I have not already made a big batch of food for the dogs then I'm thinking about their meal when I'm making ours. It is much easier to just make more than to make something for them that is completely different.

So lastnight we had orange chicken, they had chicken. We had sweet potatoes with butter, salt and pepper, they had sweet potatoes. We had asparagus in brown butter, they had asparagus. After we eat they eat while I clean the kitchen. It is imperative that I am in the room with them while they eat or Jessie will attempt to take everyone's food. Also, who likes to eat alone?

By thinking ahead you can really cut down on the work of cooking for your dogs, just think "big family."

Camouflage

Hiding the goods, sometimes that's what ya gotta do. As a Mom I did this often with my children, hide the veggies. If they don't see it; then they don't know they're eating it and that means they won't complain. Well just like with my kids I don't want to see the complaining and complaining about food comes in many forms. The first is "I'm not even trying it." This one bugs me the most; how do you know you don't like it if you won't even try it?

Ah, so I hide stuff, I hide it under and in amongst the good stuff. For Luke smell is everything, the second I walk in the door with raw meat he is all over me. So yesterday while I was out and about I decided to get him a double quarter pounder, yes that is what you see above (hmmm, wonder who took that bite?). He loves them and they are very fattening so he get's them once in a while. With the quality of food that my dogs eat I am not at all concerned with feeding a good ole burger every so often, especially to Luke.

The girls get a piece, the size of piece so that they know it's there but the calories are saved for Luke. I remove the top bun but he gets the bottom one that is soaked in grease. If he get's it as a lunch snack then they just eat it like it is. But lastnight I mixed it in their dinner. Oh they know what it is and even Luke is standing in the kitchen waiting. They also had apricots, banana, oatmeal, chicken and probiotics.

Luke got 3/4 of the double and even at that I need to do my magician routine. We have the burger, cut it up, put in the bowl with the other items and then stir until it looks like it is only burger. Or at least so that it's what he thinks he's eating. And believe me, Luke can pick up a mouthful of food, eat what he wants and spit out the one item he does not want. He is really amazing to watch, but it get's old really fast.

Feast fit for a dog

Before you read on, the image up top has a bottle of wine in it. The wine the dogs do not get but if you like white wine (I am not a big fan) you will love this La Crema Chardonnay, it is amazing.

Lastnight I made a scrumpshsis dinner for us; and while I was cooking our dinner I was planning the dogs dinner on the side. I am a huge believer of waste not want not so nothing goes to waste in this house. The kids all know not to throw out any leftovers if it is k9 edible. The dogs could not care in the least if they eat something that the humans could not consume because their eyes are bigger than their stomach.

So lastnight we had a chicken dish with mushrooms, capers, parmigana regiano, garlic and asparagus. Beside that concoction was a serving of the wonderfully healthy sweet potatoe. Just check out these stats The dogs also had the tender bottom end of the asparagus which I poached in spring water till tender. I then turned the stove off and allowed the water which was now filled with nutrients to soak into the asparagus.

The dogs meal consisted of sweet potatoe, asparagus, chicken, organic brown basmatti rice, capers (which are a funny little thing) and add a little umph to a meal. Although high in sodium each dog only gets a couple per bowl contents. They also had dired cranberries and of course Luke had a dollup of butter to top it all off.

The girls enjoyed their frozen yogurt mid afternoon which Luke passed on.

Planning ahead

I usually cook everyday for my dogs. Sometimes I will cook meat in the morning for the whole day, other times I cook at ever meal. And sometimes I just chop because I'm not cooking. And then there are other times when I buy a whole whack of meat and cook it all. So what do you do with it?

I've found that it is much easier to cook the meat and mix it with everything else before freezing. Above is an image of what I do with the prepared food. Yesterday I cooked several roasts and chicken thighs which I got on a good deal. It is too much for a week so I prepared several meals and freeze it in icecream scoop size balls.

The mixture this morning was a bit wet but it'll be yummy. I put all the broth from the roast into the food. First I scooped off the fat from the top so that I could use the broth. There was a mixture of beef, chicken, dried cranberries, apricots, wheat grass, oatmeal and basmati rice today. If I want to add anything else I'll do it before I feed them. So I make the ice cream scoop balls and place them onto naturally waxed paper and put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen I put them into a freezer bag or container and keep them in the deep freeze.

This is especially good for when I'm feeling very lazy.

Raw day

Yesterday was a raw day; just raw beef for breakfast and raw beef, whole wheat pasta, green pepper and craberries for dinner. Luke loves these days but I cannot always have raw on hand. If you are going to feed raw it must be fresh; so on the way home from the gym I stopped into the grocer to stock up. It always causes a stir in the store as I go through the cash. Piles and piles of fresh beef and chicken and a small pack of yogurt (for me).

I've been putting organic goat yogurt in the dogs food lately as well as a probiotic supplement. Everyone is doing great on it; no problems. So back to the raw; the dogs had it yesterday and they will have a morning meal of it today. The rest will be cooked, prepared and packaged away in the freezer.

If you take the time and prepare several meals ahead it really makes feeding the dogs this way easy. Just like when I make a big stew for us, it ends up being dinner and leftovers the next day. And in my books leftovers just simply means less work for Mom, that's me!

Can you cut corners?

Can you cut corners when feeding your canines? Most definitely. Do you eat a completely balanced meal everyday of your life? I know I don't; I try to feed my family really well but sometimes its Jalepenos or Pizza hut. So if somedays you are running short on time then cutting corners is fine. Of course well balanced each and every meal is much better but when you see what the finickiest of dogs can exist on you realize that a quickie once in a while is okay.

So what is a quickie meal for the dogs? Somedays it's raw meat, oatmeal and apple. Other days it might just be some raw beef; and believe me they do not mind those days. If your dogs like egg; then some hard boiled egg, ham and oatmeal.

Feeding your dogs isn't a science; although you should feed the best quality and do your research but on those days when you're in a pinch, don't panic, stress or guilt out, make them a couple of fried eggs and green beans.

Lentils for dogs

I made a delicious pot of lentils, quinoa and dumplings lastnight. It was all very healthy except for the dumplings; but hey I am of Scottish heritage and LOVE dumplings. So that said the dogs had some lentils as well, they get the veggies, the broth, the quinoa and some of the spices but not the onion or the dumplings (those babies are mine alone.)

They actually enjoyed them and I am eating my lentil leftovers as I type, delicious. My dogs also love other types of beans like; pinto, black and especially chick or garbonzo beans.

This is a great article on Vegan dogs. It is full of great info on what dogs can eat.

You can prepare beans from scratch but I buy either canned or packaged. The lentils we eat most of the time are from Trader Joe's and ready to put into a pot. They are delicious and a great source of protein and fibre for both dogs and us.

The tomato

I love tomatos, there is nothing better than a summer fresh tomato. They are sweet and juicy and delicious. I am constantly searching for a really good tomato. The tomatos on a vine come very close to that Northern summer tomato taste. Another favorite variety of mine is the pearl tomato which I can now get on a regular basis at Trader Joe's and an organic version.

What is in a tomato that is great? Nutritional info

So do dogs enjoy tomatos? My girls do but not surprisingly Luke does not. Although if they are in his food he will eat them. When I offer them whole to the girls they gentle take them from my hand and carry them off where they proceed to carefully burst them. Jessie will sometimes just pop a small pearl tomato and startles as it bursts in her mouth.

I often add this amazing fruit to the dogs morning or evening meals. I always chop the tomato, even the small ones as the skin is often difficult for the dogs to digest. Better still is to give stewed or slightly simmered tomatos.

There has been much research done on the effects of vitamin C and Hip Dysplasia. Tomatos contain vitamin C. If you research hip displaysia and vitamin C you will find a plethora of information on the subject.

Hip Displaysia

Hmmmm, tomato sandwiches for breakfast sounds good. :)

Apricots

Below is an image of organic pearl tomatos, dried apricots and organic wheat grass. I have to admit that I have never enjoyed apricots myself but I am trying to learn to like a wider variety. It is the best way to get all of your daily requirements from eating a large variety of foods. So it is just as important to feed your dog a variety of foods.

So why dried apricots? Dried apricots are easier to store and a quick and easy snack. Fresh fruit is always best but not always easily found and easy to keep on hand always. Here are some apricot facts.

And although I am still not fond of the flavor I always pop a few while chopping them up for the dogs. And notably they are a good source of dietary fibre and potassium.

Not all apricots are equal; from research the California apricot is said to be the best in flavor.

Wheat grass for dogs

We all know that dogs eat grass; often just for nutrient sake. So when I found organic wheat grass at my regular grocer's the other day I was really happy. Not only is it very affordable but it is yet another food that is great for my human and canine family.

Wheat Grass contains high concentrations of chlorophyll, enzymes, anti-oxidant nutrients, vitamins A, B-complex, C and E, minerals and amino acids.

Lastnight with several other yummy ingredients which I will discuss at a later date they had wheat grass. I keep it in the kitchen window and cut just the tops off for everyone. Sprinkled in the dogs food they chowed down like happy cows.

:)

It's diet time

It's January and yes it is diet season. My little JRT has always been difficult to keep the pounds off of but I try. As she get's older it been more difficult (I can relate). But as they say the proof is in the pudding and the pudding was the trip to the vet's on Friday.

Jessie is 2 lbs heavier than she has ever been. I knew she had put on some weight but didn't know how much. You may be saying 2 lbs?????? Are you kidding??????? That's it? Yes, 2 lbs but 2 lbs on a little 15 lb body is quite a bit. Just think of what two lbs of butter looks like.

So even though it is only 2 lbs. it has to come off. So the first thing to be cut back will be carbohydrates. When you are use to feeding 50 lb dogs it can be difficult to put the tiny portion in a bowl and offer it to your dog. It seems like such a small amount but; it is important to remember size.

Being fat is hard on dogs just like us but unlike us it is someone else's fault if they are fat. So, less carbs for Jessie and me for 2009 ;)

Quinoa

Quinoa Gotta run to the gym but I'll be back to discuss this wonderful food.

Okay I'm back, worked out and ran the dogs. So about Quinoa which I just had a big bowl of for lunch. The dogs all love it and it is extremely good for you. Not available everywhere yet but most health food, natural food stores or Trader Joe's for sure has it.

I am replacing rice, oats etc for Quinoa. It is important like the protein source to switch it up. Just like for us the more variety you eat the better chance that you are getting everything that you need, same goes for our dogs.

Quinoa actually cooks faster than rice and doesn't stick, nice. Go have a bowl and share it with your dog.

Luke hates rice

Rice is eaten around the world. It is a good thing to add to your ever changing dog food to help eliminate stomach upset. Unfortunately I have come to discover that Luke really dislikes rice; I mean who doesn't love rice? I love and eat it regularly.

Okay so with changing your proteins and vitamin source I like to have a whole grain staple, so I use Oatmeal as an alternative to rice. Luke likes it and the girls love it. At the end of each meal everyone has oatmeal on their nose.

If I am using whole slow cooking oats then I cook them making them more easily digestible. But for those days I'm in a hurry I use the quick cook oats which are much easier to digest thus don't need cooking.

So if you always use rice, give oatmeal a try.

Stealing dog food

Okay, I'm going to fess up. I stole food from my dogs yesterday; I did, honestly. I was slow cooking 2 pots roasts all day; it smelled amazing. It was simply beef and spring water; nice and plain for the dogs. It was just for the dogs and we were going to have lentils; I swear that's what I had in mind.

I was cutting up the roast, what a wonderful aroma. Well one thing lead to another and I felt that I should taste it; you know just to make sure it was good. Well heck; it was delicious. How could beef and water taste so good. I thought and though, hmmmmmmmmm. There was lots; two full roasts. Decision made.

I shredded about 3 cups and tossed it into a frying pan, added some garlic, onion, ketchup, a tsp. of brown sugar, lemon juice and a pinch of flour to thick'n. It was delicious. I bought a whole wheat loaf of bread and presto, zapped some trader joe's cream corn and presto, dinner.

For the dogs, they had shredded beef, basmati, arugula, blueberries, pumpkin, probiotics and Tilley had her cranberry supplement. It smelled almost as good as mine and Luke loved it.

So there you have it; what's good enough for my dogs is good enough for me. I will do that again, what a time saver.