Making Raw well nigh Irresistable!

I decided it was time to get serious and try to get Cailean back to raw eating.

As Barb H warned me at about 1 year she and alot of other deerhounds  turn their noses up at raw chicken backs etc. Their palates having been educated by those tasty morsels their hues (Human in “Roil speak”) somehow let fall into their willing maws.

I have tried with marginal success to keep up the raw regimen and was successful only with small slices of meat; or on occasion when other dogs are around the occasional chicken back; (a little sense of competition and its amazing what they will eat.)

It really wasn’t sitting well with me, feeling that the best food for her was available but she wasn’t willing to eat it. IF. IF I had been willing to force the issue and feed nothing else but raw we would have overcome this hurdle a long time ago. I know there are many others who have found that steeling themselves to such rigid unyielding measures impossible. So, here we are 5 months away from her 3rd birthday & I finally nailed it. Hot Damn!

Here’s how I did it. Make the usual batch of soup, just leave out the chicken. In other words make a tasty veg soup using aromatic vegetables; carrots, celery, sweet pepper, squash, peas, beans whatever is convenient(no onions of course). Once veggies are cooked as desired toss in raw chicken carcass, turkey necks, pieces of lamb whatever for just a minute or so until it is not pink on the outside but rare on the inside.Toss in a handful of freshly minced parsley (great source of bioflavinoids and chlorophyll. Add a couple of squirts of salmon oil when serving up.

I am sure Cailean is enjoying her food more, has less gas and isn’t hungry still when finished.

BON WOOFETIT!

Diet, Treats and Preparedness

I was reading the Summer 09 Deerhound Newsletter Article by Elise Cartmell & Rob Horsfield  The article gives lists of the types of food to include & not for a deerhound on a Raw Diet. I have mentioned in earlier discussions on this blog that raw is probably the best diet. Rob and Elise gave links in the UK to purveyors of raw food along with a super site agilitynet.com that has recipes for amongst other things Liver cake. Sounds fab! I will try that one definitely substituting gluten-free flour.  If you don’t have access to the Deerhound Newsletter go to Rob’s site www. Scottish-Deerhound.com (a great discussion list for Scottish Deerhound and other Sighthound owners where you will find lots of discussion on the subject.

I also feel that flexibility is important. In the case of a natural disaster-flood, hurricane, fire, ice-storm, tornado whatever- electricity is always dicey. God knows there have been lots of them. Having food on hand that is portable and easy is essential.Whether or not your dogs are on a raw diet having an emergency supply of fresh good quality kibble on hand is a good idea. I would suggest esp. if kibble use is only occasional to buy grain free & a protein percentage of about 24%, it is a little difficult to find grain free that doesn’t have an extremely high protein percentage, I personally use a kibble that is wheat,corn, soy free but does have brown rice. Use as a training treat or cookie treat to prevent it from going stale or bad. If your dogs are not on a raw diet try introducing elements of the raw diet – There is no hard and fast rule that if a dog is eating kibble they can’t eat anything else. See the Deerhound Primer section on this blog for other meal suggestions.

Meatloaf Bon Woofetit!

Last night my kids complained loudly when I started to make meatloaf for Cailean. They are more used to the soup concoctions I make for her.  What about meatloaf for us? The vegetable soup simmering on the stove smelled heavenly funny that it didn’t quite appeal to them in the same way as meatloaf would.  I didn’t have the Calcium I wanted to add, so I skipped it with the exception of the five eggshells I added. I am all for using what you have available & experimenting. Poor guinea pig Cailean. She can’t tell me “it’s not great Mom.” This version was a winner! Even after having her dinner she kept going into the kitchen sticking her nose near the cooling loaves. When cool enough I gave her a sample she wolfed that down & walked over to the stove stopped and looked at me. More please??? I don’t think so fat dog! Our fat bottomed girl is very bootilicous with nicely muscled thighs who could stand to lose a pound or two. She’s 92 lbs of muscle but her ribs are not as prominent as would be ideal.

Beefy Meatloaf Cailean Approved

Ingredients

1 large beef heart

3 lbs lean ground beef

5 eggs and shells

½ cup brown rice

1 large sweet potato

1 small bunch kale

1 tblsp tamari sauce

Cook rice in 4 cups water for 30 min. add cubed sweet potato simmer 10 min. add finely chopped Kale. (chop Kale in food processor) simmer 3-4 min. To cuisinart add roughly chopped beef heart- pulse until finely chopped, add eggs mix well. Mix all ingredients together spread into loaf pans bake at 350 degrees until set.   Freeze in double or single sized portions.

That's a lotta Beef!