The Raw Diet

Most everyone knows I feed raw to my Greyhounds. Actually, I feed half kibble and half raw. For kibble, it's Innova Evo which is the next best thing to feeding raw, in my humble opinion. It's grain-free and is high protein and high fat. This is their morning meal. For their evening meal, I usually feed raw chicken backs which typically have some organ meat still attached so they are getting those nutrients as well. I mix up the chicken backs with turkey necks (once a week), beef heart, mackeral, beef liver, ground beef, ground chicken, ground rabbit, chicken livers, stew meat, etc. It's all raw - not cooked.

One day I'm going to get my courage up to get some chicken feet. I know, it's disgusting, but they are suppose to be great for their teeth and they usually love 'em! Oh, and they also get fruit regularly and frozen veggie glop which has a mixture of veggies, cottage cheese, and raw eggs!! When I'm baking and have egg shells left over, they get those, too!! Yep, it's okay to feed all these things and typically your dog will flourish. They love all of it and if kibble weren't around, this is what they would eat! And they have the whitest teeth and freshest breath!!

So, yesterday it was time to stock back up on chicken backs. I get these at a place in Marietta called Tip Top Foods. They charge $14 or so for 40 pounds. I purchased two 40 pound cases and the total was $32. And for the first time, I purchased a 40 pound case of turkey necks for $21. All of this will last 2-3 months for four Greyhounds, again, just feeding the evening meal. How long all that will last depends on how much of the other I slide in on a weekly basis! And that depends on what I can get and at what price!

Once I got home from Tip Top, I carried the cases (one by one) into the kitchen and began the tedious task of separating and bagging up the chicken backs and then the turkey necks. Then I tossed everything into the small deep freezer in the garage. Done!

It's not fun, that's for sure, but I know that what I'm doing benefits the girls so much. Their health is my most primary concern so whatever it takes to keep them healthy AND happy, well, that is what I do!

Remember, it's all about the dogs, isn't it?!

Another Raw Food Incident

Well, I'm learning folks is all I can say. This is still so new or so it seems!

Yesterday it was raining "cats and dogs" so I decided to try the canned mackeral out on the girls so they could eat inside from their food bowls. I'd had the three cans in the cupboard since Day 1 of the raw diet and was itching to let them try it. So, I said, "why not?" I had heard from Addie that her boys just loved theirs so I imagined my girls would as well - hey, what did I have to loose? They haven't refused anything, thus far (well, except for the raw egg/Sugar incident) and I've fed them some really gross stuff (turkey butts come to mind). Canned mackeral fits right in with that description so I decided to go for it. I opened the first can and almost gagged. UGH!! I can't believe how disgusting it smelled and looked and probably tasted but you know how dogs are, the nastier it is, the better it is!

I poured the first can in Sugar's bowl and sat it back down for her to eat it. She went right to it like a martin to a gourd, as my mother might say. She ate the mackeral first and then licked up the juices. Lucy was next. She also went right to it, eating the mackeral and then the juices. Remi, on the other hand, licked up the juices first and then ate the mackeral. Go figure.

They all enjoyed the stuff much to my dismay. That means I'll probably have to give it to them again at some point in the future. UGH, again!!

After dinner was over I washed their food bowls and cleaned the floor (trying to get rid of that stinky fish smell). It was then time to get ready for pet therapy. Yes, we had pet therapy last night at the nursing home. I gave all the girls peppermint candies and each received a Greenie, even Sugar, who came with me.

On the way to the nursing home, she emitted the most awfullest gas that has ever come out of her body and she can be quite gassy at times (the only one out of three who often gets this way, so I can't complain). We drove the entire trip to the nursing home with the back window half-way down so I could breathe and not pass out while driving. She, on the other hand, seemed quite content to lay in the back enjoying her Greenie. Of course she had no idea she was about to kill me.

We finally arrived at the nursing home where I practically burst out of the SUV - ahh, fresh air, fresh air. It was delightful! It was sprinkling a bit, but I didn't care. The air was awesome. I unloaded Sugar and took her to the grassy area to potty. She pee'd but no potty. I thought she might need to go after all that but she didn't.

So, we went inside. I warned Kim (and Lindsey), who met us there, to beware of what might come out of Sugar's behind. It was lethal, I tell you. Fortunately, during the entire visit, she never did have any gas. However, she was still quite lethal . . . it was her breath. She had fish breath! Mackeral breath to be exact! I tried to fix it with the peppermint candies and then the Greenie but neither worked. It was awful. You could smell her a mile away. The patients were quite nice though, never mentioning it until we were visiting with two ladies who we see every month. They petted Lindsey and then Sugar. Lindsey tried to give them kisses at which time I warned them not to ask for any from "fish breath" Sugar. They both laughed and one lady said, "Oh my, I thought that was me!" Funny . . . I assured her it was Mackeral Sugar and it wasn't her. We all laughed, and yes, at Sugar's expense. Again, she was oblivious!

Thank God our visit was rather short and we were soon on our way home. Another bit of gas in the car but then no more throughout the night. This morning, I couldn't really smell fish on anyone.

(Another) lesson learned - never, never feed mackeral the night of pet therapy.

A Future Vegetarian?

Last night I fed the girls their usual chicken thighs. They woofed them down as they have every night since starting this RAW diet. I also had three small chicken legs in the microwave defrosting. Before I could even get those ready, I stepped outside to find Lucy had found her own munchie while awaiting her chicken leg.

Seems I hadn't dug up all the sweet potatoes in the garden and the little villain found one and dug up her own side item to add to her dinner. She didn't even offer to share with Remi or Sugar (figures).

As you can see from the video (be sure to turn up your volume), she is certainly enjoying her "find". I can't blame her as I love sweet potatoes myself . . . but raw? You don't suppose it will hurt her tummy, do you (pray it doesn't come back up)? Do you suppose she is trying to tell me something though? Perhaps she isn't getting enough food on this RAW diet? Or perhaps she'd prefer to be a vegetarian? Or perhaps she just wanted some sweet potatoes to go with her turkey tail I gave her Thanksgiving night?

I honestly think she is taking this RAW diet a bit too far!! Who knew she'd be such a convert?

BARF

Which means, Bones and Raw Food (or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) is what I've begun feeding the girls of late. I still feed Innova Evo for breakfast but for dinner they are on a BARF diet. I may completely switch or may continue as I'm doing, just because it is so much faster to feed them Evo in the morning, especially on work days.

In any event, they are loving life!! They've had a variety of things which I'll list here.

• Chicken backs
• Chicken necks
• Chicken legs
• Chicken thighs
• Turkey necks
• Turkey tails (which they absolutely love)
• Beef heart
• Ground rabbit
• Ground beef
• Stewmeat

I have some mackeral I may try in the next week, just to see how they like that. I've heard most dogs just love it. It's suppose to be really good for them as it has Omega-3 fatty acids and even some Omega-6 fatty acids, although they are still getting daily fish oil pills.

We also have some beef fat to feed them on occasion - it's suppose to make their coats shiny. I gotta be careful with that, though, as I don't want to put any pounds on Remi or Lucy. Sugar, yes, but not the other two.

Once a week they also get a frozen veggie "popsicle" that contains pureed spinach, carrots, yellow squash, broccoli, raw eggs (shell and all), cottage cheese, raw hamburger, and peaches. I'm sure I've forgotten something in that list as I put all kinds of things in their veggie mix. They love it though!

So far, everyone is doing well. As I've reported before, Remi and Lucy are slimming a bit and Sugar is gaining a bit. By the way, we have an appointment Saturday for another blood test for her to see where her liver values are. She looks good and is PINK!! So, I am hopeful the test will show her values are going down, perhaps even at the normal level at this point. We'll see. I'll update the blog with the results, as soon as I know them.

Back to the diet, I just have to say how thrilled I am at this BARF diet. They seem to really like it, are satisfied, and I hope will thrive even more than they would on kibble (which our kibble, Innova Evo, is the next best thing to feeding raw). I hope I'm giving them enough variety, too. I will try to get some venison or buffalo, both of which I think will be expensive. The butcher in Douglasville can GET anything, he says, and he does have alot of variety there as well as a large customer base who also feeds raw to their dogs. He also has tripe which we'll try and I know I need to throw in some organs. I have some beef liver I'll probably feed them this weekend.

So, I truly think this raw thing is going to work out for the better. I've even gotten past the "grossness" of it and seem to be doing okay myself as I'm still a meat eater. Yea! And the girls are thriving. Sugar even seems to feel especially energetic. I'm so happy they're happy!!

Am I Doing Something Wrong?

As many of you know, I am most assuredly changing the girls over to an all RAW diet consisting of beef, chicken, turkey, mackeral, various organs, vegetables and fruit. I'll probably throw in some venison, duck, or whatever else happens to come up, sometime in the future. We've just begun this new adventure and are really still introducing chicken and vegetables. They've had some beef liver but no other chicken organs or beef organs at this point.

This all came about when Sugar first became ill as she would not eat anything but raw stew meat and raw hamburger. Obviously the other two were so jealous as they were still eating kibble so I played around giving them turkey necks one weekend hoping they would all feel engaged in eating this different type of food. Lo and behold I noticed an immediate change in their tooth color and breath. They were whiter and no doggie breath to speak of!! "Yeppie", I thought, "we're onto something here"!

Then I was at a lure coursing trial and saw the most beautiful, fit Greyhounds with gleaming coats. They also ran as well as they looked. This was the icing on the cake for me - I was a convert. I promised the girls and myself that we would try this new eating regime and see just what results we could obtain. Thus far, everyone is doing well, even me who has the weakest stomach known to mankind. Remi and Lucy are also slimming down a bit. You see, they've been the recipients of anything Sugar wouldn't eat in the past which was largely and unfortunately, not something I could control (long story). So, they are slimming and Sugar is gaining which is exactly how it should be, oh, and I'm managing to continue to prepare their meals and mine as well. I don't doubt though, that I may very well become a vegetarian before this is all said and done but I digress.

The other day they were all outside after downing their weekly turkey necks when I looked across the yard to see Remi had something in her mouth. From where I stood, it looked like a stick. Then she turned another direction at which time the thing looked like a cross. She came a little closer and it was then that I realized it was neither a stick nor a cross but was, hold your jaw . . . a starfish. A dried one, of course, but still a starfish. Obviously I have no idea where it came from. I went to her and immediately yanked it out of her mouth. The look on her face was priceless. It was if she were saying, "but hey Mom, I found that treat all by myself now give it back". I tossed it in the garbage and that was that, well, until this past Sunday night.

They had just finished their chicken backs and I hadn't yet called them to come back inside. I normally muzzle them when they are just outside pottying or doing whatever but if they are eating, that doesn't really work so well. So, they were unmuzzled, yet again which leaves the door wide open for them to get into trouble. I go to call them in when I see Lucy beginning to sit down with something in her mouth. She was obviously getting ready to hunker down and "go to town" on whatever it was she had. I got a little closer only to see she had a dried and dead bullfrog carcass in her mouth. Again, I have no idea where this one came from. I yanked it from her mouth and received the same look from her that Remi had given me over the starfish.

But this behavior begs the question, what am I doing wrong with their diets? Are they missing some vital minerals or vitamins that I'm not providing or is this just a case of "dogs gone wild" in their very own backyard?

What on earth will they come up with next, I ask? I can only speculate but hope that they've now cleaned out all the nuisances that are apparently at their very reach.