KW Homestead

Pasture Raised Poultry & Edible Landscaping Plants Since 2013

Tag: dog food

Feed Your Pets High Quality Meat!

Did you know that pets love our meat, too? Perhaps you’re feeding a raw diet… Necks, carcasses, hearts, and livers are great for dogs and cats! Or maybe you’re supplementing your pet’s everyday food… Duck eggs, meaty bits, and even duck fat are nutritious and delicious additions to their diet! Megan’s dog, Banjo, sure thinks so (see the below image for proof, haha!).

Whatever tickles your fancy, we’ve got you and your cats and dogs covered! Nutrient dense organ meats are great as supplements and raw carcasses and gelatinous broth provide an awesome treat! Don’t forget about dishing out your leftover fat or even a scrambled or raw duck egg from time to time!

Pets Need Nutrient Density Too

Especially if you feed your pet a fully or partially raw diet, it’s important to to to feed them all of the organs and all of the parts of an animal that they would eat had they tracked and killed that animal in the wild. Organ meats (like hearts and livers) are the most nutrient-dense part of the animal, so they’re a must for pets who eat raw!

Why Organ Meats?

Organ meats are densely packed with just about every nutrient, including high doses of many of the B vitamins: B1, B2, B6, folic acid, and B12. They are also filled with important minerals like phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium, and iodine, and they provide the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. It’s also important to know that animals raised outside on grass, like our birds, contain even higher levels of these essential nutrients than their grain-fed, “cage free” counterparts! That’s huge!

Where to Start?

So, you’ve decided to feed your pet some of our meat, but where do you start? We have a lot of options available, so you can select cuts that fit easiest into your routine! Some of our customers feed raw or cooked necks (if cooked, folks often shred the meat off the bone). We feed a variety of goodies to our dogs, Bolt and Coona. Sometimes they’ll enjoy a raw duck egg, other times a dollop of duck fat, or leftover tendons and cartilage from a chicken soup. Their current favorite snack is broth jello, made from the bones and carcasses of our Red Ranger chickens.

New Dog Food for Bolt

After a period of itchy skin and irrirability for Bolt, we decided that it just had to be someting more than the weather. A few months ago he went through the same sort of “spell” and then seemed to get better… His hair grew back on his back and he seemed less annoyed.

And then out of nowhere, really, he got itchy again and seemed less happy about everything.

There is a chance that he has allergies due to the season, but we really think he needs a new diet, one that is better suited for him! We’ve talked before about homemade dog food for Bolt, but since posting our dog food recipe, we found a dry food that seemed to have healthy, natural ingredients. So, since it was much easier to give him the dry food, we started giving him that (with some supplements and meat sometimes).

During his most recent itchy/annoyed period we realized that something had to be done! So we decided to start from the ground up… With his food!

We checked out Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats again to see if there were any easy diets we could find that would help us determine if he was allergic to any ingredients in regular dog food. We found one that is perfect for us, and really easy to make. We’ve tweaked it a bit ourselves to make sure that he’s getting extra protein and fat (since dogs don’t need any carbs anyway). Dr. Pitcairn calls it the Dog Allergy Diet 1, and for the past few days we’ve been giving him only that. We haven’t noticed if he’s gotten less itchy yet, but he is certainly less irritable!

Bolt the dog

Bolt, Captain of the Clean Plate Cub!

Also, we realized that he really needed a food change when he wouldn’t eat his kibble! He would sit and wait for us to tell him to go to his bowl, but then he wouldn’t go over and eat once we told him to. After a few minutes he would check out the food but then only eat a few bites and go lay down. He wasn’t acting sick in any other ways, so we figured he was fasting since he know the food wasn’t right for him anymore.

This new recipe has him racing to the food bowl when we tell him to go, and eating every single grain of rice! This is great news to us!

Here is our take on Dr. Pitcairn’s Dog Allergy Diet 1:

  • Breakfast:
    • 1 cup of cooked brown rice
    • 1 cup of cooked or raw venison (depending on what we have on hand)
    • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • Dinner:
    • 1 cup of cooked brown rice
    • 1 cup of venison
    • 1 tablespoon of melted coconut oil
    • a pinch of holy basil (an herb that promotes calm)
    • 1/8 teaspoon of Vitamin C powder

We’ll also be adding two more things to his dinner plate: a complete multi-vitamin for adult dogs and some bone meal (food grade and safe for dogs), but we’re waiting on these to come in the mail. We give him bones sometimes and we plan to make more bone broth, but just in case, we’re getting bone meal as  a backup if we’re short on bones or broth for a while.

We’ll see how the diet works out over time, but for now we’re feeling much better about him feeling better!

.:.

training the puppy: stopping food aggression

bolt is a wonderful dog!

but, like all dogs and humans, he has his own unique personality and quirks. we think that he may have been the dominant puppy in his litter and/or was very used to fighting his siblings for food when he was little.

growing up, i helped raise 4 puppies over the years (you know, the way that all kids help out with puppy chores), but none of those 4 dogs ever had any dog food aggression issues.

we didn’t notice that bolt had anything going on with him for the first few days that we had him, probably because we just didn’t happen to touch him while he was eating. we touched the bowl, moved it or picked it up, but never touched him. when we touched his bowl he never responded, since (as we learned later) some dogs are only bothered if they are touched when eating.

the first time we realized he had some dog food aggression issues was about a week after we got him. we fed him in his usual bowl and we were watching him eat. jason noticed that he was eating super fast (not unusual for a puppy) and got a little nervous that he might choke. so, he put his hand on him and tried to pull him back a little bit from the food. as soon as he touched him, bolt started making a gurgling sound in his throat, which jason thought was choking. so, he picked him up and tired to look to him. during this time, after hearing him make the noise without the food in his mouth, i knew he was growling.

just as i was saying “he’s not choking, he’s growling at you,” bolt started freaking out (still in jason’s arms) and growling, showing his teeth, and getting so worked up that he was spitting and struggling. he was amazingly intense and seemed like a possessed demon dog!

jason put him on the ground and had to work a little bit to get him onto his back. he held him down for a little bit until bolt relented (which took a little while).

at the time, we thought that being the alpha in the pack would mean that we would need to show him his place during times like this by asserting our position over him. maybe this would have worked for a different dog after just one time being bluffed down, but it didn’t work for bolt. he did this to us a few more times and we continued to bluff him down. still, we didn’t feel like it was working, and only making him more anxious during eating time. after a few weeks we decided to look into other methods for teaching him that it was okay for us to touch him when he was eating and to let him know that we were, in fact, the top dogs.

i had heard all about cesar millan before, but had never seen any of his videos or read any of his writings. we decided to look into his website and check out his videos online. they helped a great deal!!!!

here is the run down of what we learned about how to deal with dog food aggression in the safest and least stressful way (for both you and your dog).

depending on the severity of their dog food aggression, this is what we think could work:

  • start by feeding your dog and simply walking by him while he is eating. if he acts aggressive as you walk by, be sure to have a scrap of something more delicious his dog food in your hand, and toss it in/near his bowl. this teaches him that human presence near him when eating is not a threat. in fact, it is a benefit… he might just get a treat!
  • each day, or every few days, you can walk closer to him while eating (always with that extra bit of something yummy), and eventually stop and stand near him.
  • in our case, since bolt only cared if we touched him, we started by getting close to him and putting the treat in the bowl (watch body language and don’t push any boundaries!). after a while, we would pet him a little while he ate.

we also decided that we weren’t too concerned about him wanting his own space while eating, but we wanted to be sure that any future kids wouldn’t have trouble if they bumped into him while he was eating. we thought (after watching a cesar millan video) that one of the best ways to remind him that we were in charge was to have him sit and wait before we was allowed to eat. we also decided to train him to sit part of the way through eating and wait again, while we added treats to his bowl. this has been super successful, and he knows that he must sit and wait (even if he is salivating and the bowl is right in front of him) until we say “go!” he’ll even listen to his “stay” command before eating if we are in the next room.

ever since implementing these tactics, we have had no trouble with bolt’s food aggression. we still have to make him “sit” and “let go” of any bone he might be chewing on, because he is sensitive about the bones, but we’ve found that offering him a piece of meat in exchange for the bone works nicely.

ultimately, you have to decide what sort of relationship you want to have with your dog, taking into account his own personality (and yours). bolt is a great listener in all other aspects and we are happy with the way we’ve approached his training, especially since i can now give him a “good dog” pat while he eats without fearing that he’ll growl at me!

.:.

Giving Dogs Bones: The How and Why

With the recent scares, recalls, and revelations of questionable ingredients in commercial dog food, it’s no wonder that many pet owners are looking for a better way to feed their canine companions. Homemade dog food is one, noble option that many, including us, have turned to.

Because dogs have co-evolved with humans for so long they can eat, digest, and derive nutrition from many of the foods that humans eat (check out NOVA’s Dogs Decoded Documentary, here on youtube, for more on the bond between dogs and us). That is, many of the foods humans used to eat. Hunter/gathers didn’t frequent McDonald’s, and your dog shouldn’t either.

One thing that is a great supplement to your dog’s diet are bones. Dogs love to chew on and eat bones. They have been doing it for thousands of years, both in the form of leftovers from humans, and from wild game they took down themselves.

Bones supply calcium, an essential mineral and nutrient for healthy canine growth, development, and well being. Without a healthy dose of bones, you must supply this calcium in other ways, either in the form of supplements or in egg shells. But the most natural way for dogs to obtain calcium is by eating bones.

Chewing on bones also helps to keep a dog’s teeth and gums healthy. If a dog doesn’t have bones to gnaw on, they may turn to other sources, such as your furniture, shoes, or tool handles. A nice bone session also lets a dog focus his energy, and is good mental stimulation. These kind of activities, like a long walk, can do wonders to improve poor behavior and help calm stressed or nervous dogs.

Our number one resource for all things pet health has been Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, and in it Dr. Pitcairn lays out a few guidelines to consider when giving your dog bones. First, avoid chicken bones as they easily splinter and can hurt your pet. Try to focus on bones larger than your dogs head, so that they won’t be able to swallow it whole.

Don’t feed cooked bones, only raw ones. Cooked bones also tend to splinter and could be dangerous. Also, avoid feeding frozen bones because your dog may chip or break a tooth. Let them thaw out a bit first.

Dr. Pitcairn also recommends giving your dog a “bone fast” where he eats nothing but bones and has access to plenty of clean water all day. This simulates the natural conditions of predators, and can help clean out your dog’s system and keep him healthy and strong.

Here are some of the things we have learned while feeding bones to our young dog Bolt:

Always watch them carefully; Bolt can chew through a bone in almost no time, especially the epiphyses, or ends of the bone. These smaller pieces can become choking hazards.

Watch out for food aggression issues when feeding bones, especially with dogs that have shown this behavior before. When Bolt was little, he had some food aggression issues–we solved them–but a nice meaty bone can be sooo delicious that your dog may forget himself a bit, and get defensive over it. I try to make sure that he sits, and drops the bone before I take it, and I like to “trade” a piece of meat or other snack for the bone.

I wouldn’t give a dog a bone when other dogs are around. Again, such a treat could lead to a fight and some hurt feelings. If you have two dogs, separate them and give them each a bone to chew on.

As long as you follow a few simple guidelines, feeding your dogs bones is a great way to improve their nutrition, health, and behavior. Introduce bones slowly to their diet, and always watch keep an eye on them.

If you can’t or don’t want to feed raw bones to your dog, try making bone broth. Basically a super charged stock, where bones are cooked down in water (with a touch of vinegar or lemon juice) for hours until they turn to mush. When you can smush the bones between your fingers, it’s done. Add a scoop to the top of your homemade dog food for an extra jolt of calcium and other micronutrients that are present in the bones. Your dog will love it.

homemade dog food!

when we got bolt as a puppy in july of 2013, jason and i wanted to make sure that we started off in the best way possible with him, health-wise (A great resource for us has been dr. pitcairn’s complete guide to natural health for dogs and cats).

bridey was 7 when i inherited her from a friend, and she had always eaten the same purina dry dog food. i tried to switch her to a new dog food one time, years after i got her, but her bowels did not agree. i also also tried to give her homemade dog food (chicken, rice, and other ingredients) and her body didn’t like that either. since she’s clearly doing fine on that same old purina dry food, i’m loathe to change her routine on her now.

bolt's first day at home, sleeping under the corn

bolt’s first day at home, sleeping under the corn at 10 weeks old

but with bolt, who we got as a puppy, we wanted to be sure he grew up to be a big, strong, farm dog. so, we wanted to do something different and natural.

our latest dog food recipe for him per day is:

  • 4 or 5 cups of diced, raw venison
  • 4 or 5 cups of grated carrots
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • a pinch of green sand mineral supplement
  • a pinch of kelp mineral supplement
  • as much olive oil as desired
  • a dash of salt
  • a dash of cayenne pepper

every few days we add a small pinch of diatomaceous earth or raw pumpkin seeds to help prevent intestinal parasites.

our future plan is to begin adding brown rice to the mix for both dogs and to continue giving both of them a boiled or raw egg to eat every few days.

with the above recipe, bolt always gets a small amount (maybe a half of a cup) of his dry dog food for the crunch factor. eating the dry dog food always slows him down, too, which is nice!

three cheers for strong, healthy puppies and dogs!

IMG_1174

bolt, at 10 months, with a bit of carpet fuzz hanging from his lips!

.:.

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