The day I adopted my dog Roxy, I wanted to make sure we started off on the right foot. I wanted to make sure I was giving her the perfect nutrition and everything else to ensure she would remain healthy and happy. I went to the the local supermarket and selected what I THOUGHT was a really great food. The commercials said it was the perfect nutrition, showed lots of fresh meat and healthy veggies and showed a happy healthy dog running in a field chasing a ball. This is it! This is the food for my Roxy!
I stocked up and the giant bag of kibble and bought numerous tins of the wet food as well. I finally found the best food ever! At least thats what I was lead to believe. Honestly, what commercial says...this is toxic and really bad for you? This is what I learned the hard way. I looked at the bag. Nice white bag with colorful images of veggies and meats. Then came the first of many food recalls. I investigated further. I read the ingredients. What my poor dog was eating would not even truly be considered food at all! I got rid of all of that food that day. I decided the only way to know exactly what I was feeding my dog was safe...was to make it myself.
I had been making chicken and rice and veggies for years for Roxy with no issues at all. Then suddenly, Roxy was mysteriously sick all the time. She was allergic to chicken! The food she had eaten for so many years with no problem suddenly became her foe. Now what?! Then we switched to beef. Things were good with that ….for awhile. Beef eventually became a problem. Salmon was next. Roxy even went vegan for awhile. She actually thrived on that diet. It's not for everyone but with so many protein allergies, her having a diet like mine seemed like a logical choice. This was by far the perfect diet for Roxy. It's not an easy one as the proteins have to be right and supplements have to be added. It becomes more like a science project.
Then Zoey came along. My newest adoption. Zoey had been raised on pupperonni, chicken wings and breakfast sausage. Ever read the ingredient on Pupperonni? The very first ingredient is “ Meat by products”. You don't want your dogs to eat this, trust me. While Zoey liked the vegan food....she was a hard core meat monster. Obviously I could not give Zoey meat and make Roxy eat vegan food. So here began the real science of feeding my dogs. Cooked food? Raw food? It's all so confusing. Raw food feeders say THEIR diet is the correct diet. Cooked diet people say THEIR diet is the correct diet. It made me want to tear my hair out of my head. How can I feed my dogs a healthy diet if everyone is so split? Fact is, there really is no such thing as he perfect diet. There is only the perfect diet for “your” dog. It may be vegan, home cooked, raw. In our case.....it was a rotation of all.
I make two different versions of cooked food. One version is a stew they eat daily to ensure the proper amount of vitamins etc. Then I alternate between raw every other night and a patty version that I make and freeze and cook frsh. Both cooked versions are Turkey based. Everything Is organic right down to the brown rice and veggies. The vitamins are all human grade. On alternate nights....they get raw chicken. Yes chicken. Roxy's nemesis!
It's odd but as it turns out, eating a protein raw and cooked have different effects. Raw meaty bones with chicken does not have ANY negative effect on Roxy at all. Even chicken eggs caused her issues. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find duck eggs?
Now I make batches of turkey and brown rice and veggie based stew, and freeze in glass containers. Plastic can cause allergies as well. I make turkey and oatmeal and veggie based patties and freeze those raw as well. On alternate nights.....roxy gets an organic chicken leg. She hated it at first and just looked at it like “ Um mom...you forgot to cook this thing”. It took a few tries. Now she becomes Roxy.....queen of the wilderness when she gets one.
Zoey took a little longer. She would lay on the bed and study Roxy as she ate her raw leg. Once Roxy cracked the bone..Zoey was in a frenzy. The marrow was like a drug to Zoey. To see my sweet little girls turn into savages was amusing. I would actually sit there fascinated watching them. Being vegan..it was gross as hell but they seemed so....happy.
I started Zoey with chicken wings from the health food store. I'd separate the four bones in the wing with kitchen shears. If this is not love..I don't know what is. I'd cut as much meat off of the wing...then cut the bones in half. I had to watch her like a hawk as the bones were small. Zoey is tiny so this was what I had to do. The first time she crunched down on a bone..she scared herself and jumped and ran.
When she mastered this. I made the pieces bigger. Sure she wants to drag the pieces all over the house and bury them in the couch. What fun would staying on the giant towel be for her? I have just learned to live with it.
Zoey can eat an entire wing now. They see the towels come out and they do their happy dance. I also found that they love it seasoned with a bit of garlic and basil. This seems to be the “perfect” diet for “MY” dogs. They are happy....healthy and have no health issues. The only drawback is I only have half a freezer as there is always so much dog food in there. It's worth it though. For us, the perfect food came in the form of raw AND cooked. Maybe in the end....it's all about balance.
What I DID learn was, perfect nutrition does NOT come from ANY bag. There is no perfect food for our dogs or even us that comes pre-packed and processed. Just as we are not meant to live on pre-packaged highly processed foods, our dogs are not either. Imagine eating cereal from a box every meal , every day of your entire life? Even with all the stuff they add back to it to make it appear more healthy, it's not. Proper nutrition comes from a variety of fresh healthy foods. Sadly, Dog food ( and a lot of people food as well ) is all about convenience. If you really look …..it's not even actually “food” at all anymore. Even if you do choose to go the route of kibble , I believe in adding to it. Fresh meats, veggies etc. No table scraps of fat, spicy , fried,salty foods. Certainly NO cooked bones of ANY kind..EVER! I will be posting some recipes for cooked foods soon.
I stocked up and the giant bag of kibble and bought numerous tins of the wet food as well. I finally found the best food ever! At least thats what I was lead to believe. Honestly, what commercial says...this is toxic and really bad for you? This is what I learned the hard way. I looked at the bag. Nice white bag with colorful images of veggies and meats. Then came the first of many food recalls. I investigated further. I read the ingredients. What my poor dog was eating would not even truly be considered food at all! I got rid of all of that food that day. I decided the only way to know exactly what I was feeding my dog was safe...was to make it myself.
I had been making chicken and rice and veggies for years for Roxy with no issues at all. Then suddenly, Roxy was mysteriously sick all the time. She was allergic to chicken! The food she had eaten for so many years with no problem suddenly became her foe. Now what?! Then we switched to beef. Things were good with that ….for awhile. Beef eventually became a problem. Salmon was next. Roxy even went vegan for awhile. She actually thrived on that diet. It's not for everyone but with so many protein allergies, her having a diet like mine seemed like a logical choice. This was by far the perfect diet for Roxy. It's not an easy one as the proteins have to be right and supplements have to be added. It becomes more like a science project.
Then Zoey came along. My newest adoption. Zoey had been raised on pupperonni, chicken wings and breakfast sausage. Ever read the ingredient on Pupperonni? The very first ingredient is “ Meat by products”. You don't want your dogs to eat this, trust me. While Zoey liked the vegan food....she was a hard core meat monster. Obviously I could not give Zoey meat and make Roxy eat vegan food. So here began the real science of feeding my dogs. Cooked food? Raw food? It's all so confusing. Raw food feeders say THEIR diet is the correct diet. Cooked diet people say THEIR diet is the correct diet. It made me want to tear my hair out of my head. How can I feed my dogs a healthy diet if everyone is so split? Fact is, there really is no such thing as he perfect diet. There is only the perfect diet for “your” dog. It may be vegan, home cooked, raw. In our case.....it was a rotation of all.
I make two different versions of cooked food. One version is a stew they eat daily to ensure the proper amount of vitamins etc. Then I alternate between raw every other night and a patty version that I make and freeze and cook frsh. Both cooked versions are Turkey based. Everything Is organic right down to the brown rice and veggies. The vitamins are all human grade. On alternate nights....they get raw chicken. Yes chicken. Roxy's nemesis!
It's odd but as it turns out, eating a protein raw and cooked have different effects. Raw meaty bones with chicken does not have ANY negative effect on Roxy at all. Even chicken eggs caused her issues. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find duck eggs?
Now I make batches of turkey and brown rice and veggie based stew, and freeze in glass containers. Plastic can cause allergies as well. I make turkey and oatmeal and veggie based patties and freeze those raw as well. On alternate nights.....roxy gets an organic chicken leg. She hated it at first and just looked at it like “ Um mom...you forgot to cook this thing”. It took a few tries. Now she becomes Roxy.....queen of the wilderness when she gets one.
Zoey took a little longer. She would lay on the bed and study Roxy as she ate her raw leg. Once Roxy cracked the bone..Zoey was in a frenzy. The marrow was like a drug to Zoey. To see my sweet little girls turn into savages was amusing. I would actually sit there fascinated watching them. Being vegan..it was gross as hell but they seemed so....happy.
I started Zoey with chicken wings from the health food store. I'd separate the four bones in the wing with kitchen shears. If this is not love..I don't know what is. I'd cut as much meat off of the wing...then cut the bones in half. I had to watch her like a hawk as the bones were small. Zoey is tiny so this was what I had to do. The first time she crunched down on a bone..she scared herself and jumped and ran.
When she mastered this. I made the pieces bigger. Sure she wants to drag the pieces all over the house and bury them in the couch. What fun would staying on the giant towel be for her? I have just learned to live with it.
Zoey can eat an entire wing now. They see the towels come out and they do their happy dance. I also found that they love it seasoned with a bit of garlic and basil. This seems to be the “perfect” diet for “MY” dogs. They are happy....healthy and have no health issues. The only drawback is I only have half a freezer as there is always so much dog food in there. It's worth it though. For us, the perfect food came in the form of raw AND cooked. Maybe in the end....it's all about balance.
What I DID learn was, perfect nutrition does NOT come from ANY bag. There is no perfect food for our dogs or even us that comes pre-packed and processed. Just as we are not meant to live on pre-packaged highly processed foods, our dogs are not either. Imagine eating cereal from a box every meal , every day of your entire life? Even with all the stuff they add back to it to make it appear more healthy, it's not. Proper nutrition comes from a variety of fresh healthy foods. Sadly, Dog food ( and a lot of people food as well ) is all about convenience. If you really look …..it's not even actually “food” at all anymore. Even if you do choose to go the route of kibble , I believe in adding to it. Fresh meats, veggies etc. No table scraps of fat, spicy , fried,salty foods. Certainly NO cooked bones of ANY kind..EVER! I will be posting some recipes for cooked foods soon.