Adventures in Raw Feeding Part 1

A long time ago (read that as 4+ years or more) I adventured into raw feeding.  I didn't have great references and the reading I did do was very ambiguous about raw feeding.  So as I tried it out and did it with my dogs I wasn't happy with the rotation of food.  We did have a 80% muscle, 10% organ, 10-15% bone, and 5% vegetable ration, but I always felt like there was a missing piece, that perhaps they weren't getting balance like they should.

To be quite honest the way I went about it was painful!  I bought 3+ months worth of raw food, thawed it, packaged it all for a couple days meals, and then refroze it all.  It was tedious, difficult, and quite frankly really gross.  Just picture 40 pounds of turkey hearts thawing in a bathtub....that's a lot of blood and waste if you dont' do it right.  And trust me, your neighbors will ask questions if you start hacking up raw meaty bones in the back yard with a clever.

This routine lasted 6 months before I threw my hands up, said never again, and went back to feeding kibble.  I had hated the raw prep process, how difficult traveling was, and the lack of information.  I feed Petcurean Go and have been for the last few years.  I love this food, the high quality ingredients, and how healthy my dogs are...for the most part.  However, I hate the condition of their teeth.  Freya occasionally has eyes that aren't as clear as I would like.  Both the girls seem to get sore quicker and take longer to recover from exercise than they did on raw.  I know some of this is age.  You don't reach 8 years of age as a dog with hip dysplasia or 6 years with back problems without some pain, but, I want to help them be as comfortable and happy as possible.  

So I started diving into raw feeding research again.  I knew if I wanted to do it, I had some pretty high expectations:

• I wouldn't be chopping chickens up or feeding whole raw meaty bones (Freya is missing a couple back molars and gulps bones like candy.)
• It needs to be affordable (I pay roughly $70-80 for dog food every couple weeks, this is a drop in the bucket compared to my personal junk food habits so I don't worry about it too much. And if you've ever looked into commercial raw...holy expensive batman!) 
• I wanted a balanced diet that was complete.  For peace of mind and my dogs health!

Thus entered these books!

I started with Dr. Becker's Real Food for Health Dogs & Cats first, because I knew it had recipes in it that I could follow and hopefully keep my dogs balanced.  In reading it seemed fairly straight forward, but as I finished I knew it would take some brainmatter to fit it all together. Between choosing Omega 3 sources, rotating protein sources, making mineral mix, and choosing Sardines/Salmon....well let's just say I had to mentally process and reread a bit.  So I'm in the process of making notes, shopping around, and seeing what it would take to follow the recipes.  What I've learned thus far:

• Super 1 has hands down the best selection of whole animal organs including: chicken liver, chicken hearts, beef heart, beef tongue, beef liver, and occasionally turkey organs.  Tizer meats worked with me on getting beef organs in the past, so it's great to know they may be another good source too.
• Costco has the best selection and best price of ground turkey (because I can't seem to find individual boneless turkey meat anywhere...)
• Supplements/Mineral Mix ingredients are best found at Real Food Store or Natural Grocers.  They carry a higher quality and the brands I feel like I can trust.
• Grinders are a huge expense. Decide if you can live with bone meal supplements as you save up for a grinder capable of handling chicken/turkey bones....or bite the bullet and buy a mack daddy of grinders with a bone warranty (I'll post on this issue later.)
• Read your meat labels, know your sources, and shop carefully.  Not all Salmon, Sardines, or eggs were created equally.  What they are fed, how they are fed, and how they were harvested matters.

And that's what I've got so far.  This has been a great adventure!  I'm going to ease into raw slowly...for several reasons, but mostly the price tag...and possibly my husband's sanity.  If you have some affordable, local, meat sources I'd love to hear about them so please give me a shout out!

Bree :)

Socialization - What, When, Where, and How

Socialization comes up often with grown dogs and puppies. I've hear everything from "my dog needs socialization" to "my dog had lots of socialization" and it's a really common talking point.  Let's lay out what socialization is, when socialization occurs, where socialization occurs, and how socialization happens.

What: According to the dictionary socialization is "a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position." Based on this definition, socialization is your puppy learning their personal identity and learning behavioral norms.  Which brings up when a dog or puppy learns this, because surely dogs can be socialized too, right?!

When: Research has shown that puppies have different development phases.  The canine socialization stage occurs from 3-8 weeks of age and the human socialization phase occurs from 8-12 weeks of age.  In addition to these phases, puppies also have a critical sensitive stage which occurs from 10-16 weeks where puppies learn to be resilient, bounce back, and how to handle new things that come into their life.  Essentially, puppies create a giant dictionary and get to refer back to it as adults.

So as an adult, can a dog be socialized?  No, these phases of socialization don't happen later.  You have one shot.  After these development windows close, your dog is at the social skill level they are at. They have the skills that they have.  Moving forward, your options for adult dogs are behavior modification or conditioned emotional response towards different social situations.  Both methods can take several months or even years of work and won't necessarily solve the problem.

Where: Choosing appropriate areas to socialize your puppy is very important.  New places, surfaces, people, kids, toys, objects, and socially appropriate dogs are essential to a well rounded puppy.  Places that are great for puppies:

• Sportsman Warehouse
• Lowes
• Home Depot
• Bob Wards
• Reeder's Alley
• Walking Mall
• The Capitol

How: How you socialize your puppy is just as important socializing your puppy.  Don't put your puppy in scary situations or with socially inappropriate dogs.  Socially inappropriate dogs play too rough with puppies or over correct them. Sometimes the outcome can be injury or worse.  So choose adult friends carefully for your puppy.

Research shows that puppies choose puppies that are the same size and play style.  So seek out appropriate play groups for your puppy, which are split by age/size.  Allow your puppy to approach new dogs and people, rather than having them press into your puppy's space.  If your puppy seems concerned or frightened, allow them to have some space.  After they've adjusted and seem comfortable, let them approach the new object, person, or dog.  Trust their actions, never force them into anything, and always start each outing with a fresh mind.

Socialization should be thoughtful and kind.  Be patient, take your time every day, and be amazed at how far your puppy can come by 16 weeks of age.  Make sure to get your puppy out every day and remember that an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure for socialization.

Expectations Get in the Way of Success

Lisa Schmit is one of my favorite agility handlers and teachers.  She once told me, and I still hold this quote near and dear to my heart, "expectations get in the way of success."  Just let that sentence sink in.  How true for all of us at one time of another.  We have these dreams and expectations for our dogs, ourselves, and as a team.  Most of the time our expectations really don't jive with the training we've done, the dog we have, nor do they set us up for really feeling like we've accomplished something.

So take a deep breath and let your expectations go.  Don't compare yourself or your dog to others.  It's a game you'll never win, and always come out of feeling worse.  Compare yourself and your dog to the team you were a couple months ago, or even a year ago.  Are you making progress?  Have you moved forward together?  What have you successfully accomplished? What successful moments have you had? 

Keep a journal if you have to.  Write down the little stuff that really is big in the grand scheme of things such as: I moved to the other side of the street to give my dog more space; they didn't bark, SUCCESS!  My dog sat on their own at the start line, SUCCESS!  My dog looked to me rather than staring down the child 100 yards away, SUCCESS!  My dog chose to work with me rather than sniff the ground, SUCCESS!  We had a conflict free walk, SUCCESS!

Ribbons, titles, and other shiny accomplishments are fine.  HOWEVER, your real success are the tiny changes you see in yourself and your dog every day.   Once you start to focus on the small things, the little ounces of stuff that make your dog successful....that's when the magic starts to happen.  Little successes lead to a big picture that really is what we want to see.  A big part of our jobs as handlers is capturing a successful moments and celebrating them. 

The moment you let perfection go and enjoying the successful moments you will FEEL the difference.  A weight comes off your shoulders, you feel a little lighter, and you find more joy in working with your dog.  Enjoy your dog for themselves, be kind to yourself, and be proud that you are striving to have the successes that you do everyday.  That is what it is all about, enjoying this crazy life we live with our dogs and cherishing the moments of joy when they come about. 

Now go play with your dog's and enjoy them for who they are.  Embrace success and let the expectations go!

Summertime Space

Ah Summertime! Sun, lakes, trails, biking, hiking, playing, and getting out!  Summer is when even the most introverted of people get out and get more active.  This also means that many dogs are out and about too, some which don't like people, kids, dogs, wheels, or other things.

A common theme I've head this Summer is, "my dog is aggressive towards other dogs."  While there are aggressive dogs, typically the underlying issue is a lack of space and understanding on the handlers part.  Most dogs do well with other dogs, if they have the proper space and their handler understands their dog's body language.  Giving your dog space on walks, seeking the side of the trail as others pass, taking a longer route to avoid the barking dogs in a yard, and keeping your dog on leash at the lake isn't cruel.  It also doesn't make you a bad handler.  It's actually setting them up for success. 

No one loves every person they meet and dogs are no different.  Expecting a dog that instantly snaps at others, growls, or avoids dogs all together to be a social butterfly isn't fair.  So rather than wishing you had a socialite, respect the dog you have and be realistic in your expectations.  Dogs that need space aren't bad dogs and as handlers the best thing we can do is honor our dogs needs when we're out and about. 

The next time you take your dog out, just pause. Assess whether the environment is one they'll be comfortable in.  If you answer yes, plan extra time to take the space you need for success.  This small but important thought process will save you and others a lot of headaches.

The Allure of Dog Treats

We've all been there.  We're marching the isles trying to choose dog treats and find ourselves surrounded by beautiful packages.  Bright colors, fun designs, and happy dogs on the front.  How often do you look past the bag and read the ingredients?  Or do you just trust the front of the bag when it says No By-Products and Grain Free! 

Freya loves Lamb Lung, string cheese, and pot roast!

This past week all I've done is research dog treats, because I want to offer more variety for you all.  Let me tell you, company names can be misleading, packaging claims are far from the truth, and those lovely grilled chicken breasts on the front aren't what's going into the treat.  And before you say, my dog LOVES XYZ TREAT, I'm going to stop you and say one simple thing.  I love caffeinated pop, especially for breakfast (don't judge,) and it isn't even sort of good for me.  Let me tell you a little secret, your dog will love single ingredient or minimally messed with treats even more than your sugar, grain, fat filled treats! 

Believe me, nothing gets my dogs doing backflips more than freeze dried lamb lung, baked chicken breast, or some lean stew meat.  They love single ingredient stuff!  I used to swear by a few brand name treats, and to be fair there are good ones out there.  However, more often than not, the flashy packaging and allure of gluten free, grain free, cage free, antibiotic free, by-product free, or whatever else they claim catches us.  The real telling sign for a treat are the ingredients and where an ingredient is coming from.

So in a treat ingredient list, you have to start at the beginning and work your way down.  For example, if I saw the following ingredient list: Chicken, Ground Rice, Ground Barley, Malted Barley, Vegetable Glycerin, Tapioca, Natural Flavor, Cherries, Sunflower Oil, Salt, Lecithin, Phosphoric Acid, Rosemary, Turmeric, Sorbic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Mixed Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Propionate.

I'd know that the largest amount of this treat is chicken because it's right at the beginning.  However, I'd also know that the ground rice, ground barley, and malted barley combined probably outweigh the chicken.  Why is this a problem?  Barley, especially malted barley can send your dogs system into yeast overdrive.  So while chicken is the first ingredient and there isn't soy, wheat, or corn, you still have a high grain content in this treat. 

The other sneaky ingredients in this treat are things like salt, which no dog ever ever needs.  Another sneaky one is cane molasses, which is the equivalent of sugar, corn syrup, and glucose.  Sugars and the grains that dogs metabolize to sugars (like wheat, corn, and others) are good to avoid because they lead to yeast production and some strange behaviors.  Just drink pop for a week and take vitamins, then see how you feel.

Next, start to get curious about sourcing of your meat products.  Where is the meat coming from, cull lots, Canada, Organic Farms, Australia, Brazil, irradiated piles?  It's good to know what's going into your dogs treats.  The good companies boast about USDA inspected facilities and human grade meats, which is a great place to start!

Next time you find yourself surrounded in that treat isle, start asking questions, flipping bags, and doing some research.  You'll be shocked to see what you find.