Update - from Raw to Homemade Diet

As you know, I made the switch to raw last month. At first River loved it, but she has always been the most fussy eater! One day she said 'aside from the tripe, I don't like raw food!' Everyone else still loves it! However, I was finding it hit and miss with different brands. One day I bought Urban Carnivore Duck and Ted literally hid in the back of his crate refusing to eat it. Legacy had more rave reviews. But I found it a chore to keep the frozen patties until it was time to eat, and they didn't really thaw in the fridge. Nuking them was dicey because of the bone in them. So, I decided I would arm myself with information and make my own raw food! After feeding raw, I really do not want to go back to kibble. I was feeding Orijen which is good quality. But when it was soaking for River, I no longer liked the smell. I felt like we could do better.

I bought three books: Dr. Pitcairn's book, which everyone knows about; Dr. Earl Mindell's Nutrition and Health for Dogs, and my favourite - Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats - the Ultimate Diet, by Kymythy R. Schultze. I found it at Tail Blazers - it is a little paperback and it is published by HayHouse, my favourite publishing house - they publish Dr. Wayne Dyer, my guru for all life matters.

I am on a big de-toxification - raw food and juice diet right now, and I feel great. So we are all eating differently and hopefully, will be more healthy for it. I am just plain tired of the junk, sugar, salt and toxins in everything we eat!

Thank heavens I have the little church kitchenette downstairs. It is fabulous for feeding the dogs! My fridge and stove from Thunder Bay are down there, along with a little microwave, a double sink and cupboards. I am very lucky. I use the downstairs fridge for all of my dog stuff. After making my shopping list, it is full!

Just some of the things in there are: Meat - ground beef, ground turkey, liver (beef and chicken), chicken necks and backs, chicken wings, and stewing beef. You are supposed to combine or alternate meat to prevent allergies to one kind. I am going to try to give more variety and find a butcher to get organ meat as well. I gave my dogs their first chicken wings this week. I know others do it but I was nervous...they loved them! Even River chewed hers happily. I have given them chicken necks now, but am still working up my courage to give chicken backs. I guess if my friend with Pekingese can give these to her little dogs, my big dogs should be able to handle it. It is me having the problem getting my head wrapped around it all!

Veggies - sweet potatoes, parsley, alfalfa sprouts, shredded carrot; eggs; brown rice which I cooked in a big stock pot and bagged; plain, natural yogurt, oils - canola and Udo's Omega oil blend; a tube of pressed garlic, and CADEN'S NOSE! Every time I open the fridge, there he is!

In my cupboard - bone meal, a shaker of kelp, some cans of tripe (mostly for River the Princess); canned mackerel and tuna; and a senior's supplement for River's food. The big container is K9 Fuel's Young at Heart which River loves. I need to get more, it is nearly empty. The rest of my vitamins are upstairs because I take them too. I have a mortar and pestel for grinding them for the dog's dinner's, and a little wee knife for piercing gel caps to squeeze out the oil onto their food.

Above - I labelled four little containers for their vitamins. These come up after every evening meal and I refill them for the next evening meal (none in the morning). One other item I have handy is an anti-bacterial spray and paper towels for it - because I am fastidiously cleaning counters, the microwave, handles, the fridge and so on. The dogs may have a good resistance to salmonella, but I don't!!

SO HOW DO THEY LIKE HOMEMADE FOOD?

Caden says, stop messing with the camera and put the bowls down! He is such a good eater.

I am giving River half raw and half cooked, and using warm water to make a "tripe broth" for her. So far,since Sunday, she seems impressed. I have told her that rice is called "Princess flakes" which helps.

Ted - look at his shiny, shiny coat! He is such a good eater, and happy there has been no duck. I wonder if it is because once, I took him to someone's house to herd ducks... and having never been asked to do that before, he just roared in and grabbed one, thinking wow, dinner! The duck was fine and I quickly got Ted working the ducks, but with a stunned look on his face. Maybe he thinks duck is still off-limits!

And dear Jet...I don't know. Since she had that tooth removed, her expressions are even MORE SOUR.

She gives me 'the look' that says she is not sure, but it could be poisonous. But then, she eats, having made her point that perhaps I am an idiot, but I do feed them well, and that is a good thing.