International Working Dogs Cyberzine
How much does it cost
Mom figured out how much it costs to feed us this good stuff. She used to give us Nutro Natural Choice dog kibble. That cost her about $3.50 a day (Canadian)
The raw food that you see here costs her about $2.25 a day (Canadian). And thats to feed both Killian (the piggy one) and me (the more polite one who chews her food). So mom is happy that not only are we healthy and love our food, but she saves money too.
Cleaner teeth
When I had to go to the vet to get my vaccinations and checkup, Dr. John asked mom if she was brushing my teeth cause they were soooo white and shiny. She told him no that I was eating chicken backs and other bones and thats why my teeth look so nice.
In May 1999, when we went to the vet to get our Heartworm blood test (ugh), mom had the vet do a "full blood work-up". All I know is she took a lot more blood from us :(. Mom was happy when she got the results that everything inside us was perfect!!! That meant we were getting the right food and the right amounts.(I could have told her that and saved her a lot of money)
Travelling
Mom takes our food in containers when we travel. She makes big bowls of meat and veggies and adds things like eggs and flax seed and kelp. She grinds up some of our vitamins in the mix and takes the others to add later. She freezes these and then when we go, she packs them in the cooler in ice. She leaves them out at night to thaw for breakfast. She also takes some bags of chicken necks frozen too for the first few days of trips. She buys things like chicken wings or beef rib bones for the later days. She also packs some frozen containers of veggie much and if she has to buy us meat, we get ground turkey and she mixes it as we need it.
We have been on lots of trips so far and have always been able to keep eating our raw food. We also spent 10 days last year at a kennel while mom and dad and the human sisters were in Wales. Mom took our food along and the kennel people fed us every day. Mom says its not that hard to do now she is used to it.
What we eat
Do you wanna know what we eat? OK here goes. This is a typical day in our lives of eating (and what else is there in life?):
Or you can look at my sample diet calendar
Breakfast:
3/4 cups raw ground beef or ground turkey or chunks of beef mixed with about 1/2 cup of raw mushed veggies
1 tsp kelp powder
1 tsp alfalfa leaf
1 raw egg (once or twice a week)
1 500 mg Vitamin C capsule
1 400 IU Vitamin E capsule
1 Vitamin B-50 tablet
1 tsp cod liver oil 3x a week
or 1 capsule salmon oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of minced garlic
1 tsp ground flax seed
2 Glucosomine caplets (for Tasha's arthritis)
1 Shark Cartilige capsule (Tasha only for arthritis)
Dinner:
2-3 raw chicken backs each with all the fat and skin removed
or
6-7 raw chicken necks or
1-2 raw turkey backs (these are harder and take longer to chew)
Snacks:
raw marrow bones every once in a while to gnaw on
raw chunks of apples
raw carrots
raw banana
raw celery
ice cubes made from mushed fruit (yum)
Moc's liver treats for training and tracking
About once a week, mom gives us raw kidney or chopped liver with breakfast
VEGGIE RECIPE:
throw veggies into the food processor or blender:
carrots, spinach(not too much),squash, turnip, collards,brocolli,green beans,cooked sweet potato,and any other veggies
add one or two whole eggs with shells (wash first)
some minced garlic
some apple cider vinegar
Mix it all up until it is a mushy mess
Store in fridge or freezer in containers
FRUIT CUBES
mix fruits in food processor
peaches, apples, oranges,pears, etc
freeze in ice cube trays
serve as snacks (outside is less messy mom says)
Where to read More about Raw Diets
Mom says if you visit these websites you can learn more about how to feed your dog like this:
Nutrition/Raw Diet Sites
International Working Dogs Cyberzine
Riverien Farm Working German Shepherds
Whats Really in Commercial Pet Food
Diet is the Cornerstone of Good Health
Dr Tom Lonsdale's Raw Meaty Bones
Pet Foods' Insidious Consequences
BOOKS
Give Your Dog a Bone by Ian Billinghurst
Grow Your Pup with Bones by Dr. Ian Billinghurst
The Ultimate Diet: Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy R.Schultze, A.H.I.
Pottenger's Cats - contains info on a ten-year study of raw vs. cooked diets in cats
Feeding dogs the natural way
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