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With Halloween just around the corner, and the supermarket full of pumpkins, here are some ideas to make the most of your pumpkins.
I found these neat dog themed stencils online last year. Although it looked easy, it was really tough cutting, and took a lot longer than I thought. Use the stencils, but instead of cutting, use a Sharpie marker to draw on your pumpkin. That way after Halloween, you can recycle and reuse your whole pumpkin.
In addition to being a super-food loaded with potassium, pumpkin is a wonderful natural remedy for your dog’s constipation or diarrhea. Just put a dollop of cooked pumpkin onto their regular food - or put it into a Kong toy as a treat – when there’s an occasional bout, or every day to keep them regular. Make sure it’s “just” pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is loaded with sugar. However, if diarrhea or constipation lasts for more than a day or two, it may be serious and need a trip to your vet.
To process your fresh pumpkin:
cut the top off as though you’re making a jack-o-lantern
scoop out the seeds and “guts”
place it on a cookie sheet, pop it into the oven, and roast it; or pop it in your microwave on a vegetable setting, until it comes out soft so you can easily scoop out the flesh
to freeze it, put the cooked pumpkin into zip lock bags, or for single servings, in greased ice cube trays
You can even roast the seeds and eat them yourself or feed them to Fido.
rinse the seeds and pick out the pulp and strings
spread them out on a baking sheet (greased or lined with a silicone sheet) – if you’re eating them, you may want to add spices or salt. For Fido, that’s not necessary.
bake at 325’ F for about 25 minutes, stirring half way through
Nelson is fully powered by raw. He really loves bison, beef and chicken – all served up pink and bloody. Many “dog people” are really familiar with the raw diet, but for some pet people, this is a totally new concept.
Deciding what to feed your pet is a lot like deciding what to feed yourself - you can live on cheeseburgers and fries, pre-packaged frozen foods, vitamin enriched home-made granola, something in-between or combinations. For all of these options, you are making choices between nutrition, convenience and cost. And - you feel different depending on the diet you choose – so does your dog!
Why people choose raw
Packaged pet food came out in the mid 1900’s to get rid of food processing plant by-products. Since then, pet food manufacturers have done a great job telling you you can’t feed your dog “people food”. Other than a few food items that are toxic to dogs, there’s no difference between healthy people food and healthy dog food, other than some commercial dogs foods are made with sub-standard ingredients and additives of questionable health value put together in non-human grade processing plants.
You may have heard about a BARF diet. That phrase, coined by veterinarian Dr. Ian Billinghurst, stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, or Bones And Raw Food. With a raw diet, your dog eats natural, human-grade foods with zero additives, preservatives, and unhealthy fillers. With raw, dogs are typically very enthusiastic about meal-time. You should notice improved overall health and vitality, better stools (less of them, and they’re not stinky), a shiny coat, and healthy white teeth. After switching to raw, many dogs with chronic skin rashes, hot spots and ear infections, see noticeable improvements.
However, not all veterinarians agree that the raw diet is healthy or safe. Some love it, some hate it – so depending on your vet, you’ll get different recommendations. Some people worry about getting sick from handling raw food – the key there is to handle your dog’s food in the same way that you handle raw meat you prepare for yourself.
Choices include ingredients, grain or grain-free, and fresh or processed
Ingredients
A typical raw food diet includes muscle meat or fish (chicken, beef, turkey, bison, etc. - the same stuff you eat), organ meat (liver, kidney, heart, gizzards, and such), bones, eggs, and fruit and vegetables (or green tripe). Their diet may also include supplements such as plain yogurt and/or digestive enzymes, and various oils like fish or canola. The key to a raw diet is that to retain all of its health benefits, meat and bones are not cooked or processed. Vegetables are only slightly cooked.
Grain-free diet
Purist BARFers don’t feed grains – anything made with corn, wheat, rice, etc. Many believe that our cute little biological wolves can’t process grains, believing they're the cause of so many of our dogs' serious modern-day health issues.
Fresh or processed
Regardless of if you choose raw and/or grain-free, you can also either buy pre-mixed foods or make your own. For convenience sake, you can purchase pre-formed raw patties or bulk meat blocks already mixed with fruits and vegetables. Conversely, you can assemble your own ingredients. By buying inexpensive human-grade chicken necks and backs and beef liver from your grocery store, asking for dog bones at your local butcher shop, and serving left-over and over-ripe fruits and vegetables, you can create a raw buffet your dog will love. Remember that your dog is an omnivore, not a carnivore, so it’s important to feed more than meat - fruits and veggies too.
If you want to improve the quality of your dog’s diet and you’re a bit squeamish about the whole raw thing, pop these natural ingredients into a slow cooker (except the bones – never serve cooked bones) and voila – holistic canine stew – freeze it in individual packages and Fido is set for the week.
This yummy doggie supper includes a raw beef patty, an egg including shell, and fruit and vegetable mush of bananas, mixed berries, brussel sprouts and broccoli, with two salmon oil capsules.
Tips to go raw:
The easiest way to start is buy quick-and-easy pre-packaged raw in either patties or bulk. Three very knowledgeable and very reputable local pet food retailers that sell pre-packaged raw pet foods are: Fido and Felix Foods, Metro Pet Market and Pawsitively Purrfect.
Provide a variety of meat sources. Buy chicken necks and backs, and serve them to your dog whole. Check what’s on sale at your supermarket, then buy it in bulk. Know of any friends who hunt? – offer to take their left-over parts.
Serve in-season fruits and vegetables. For example, in the spring provide steamed spinach with over-ripe bananas, and in the fall, zucchini with ripe tomatoes. Make it easy by saving your family’s left-over fruits and veges for Fido.
Serve organ meat such as beef liver or heart at least once per week. (My own dogs hate pork liver. They won't eat it.)
Ask your favourite butcher to cut up a beef knuckle bone into separate servings. Replace a couple of meals each week with bone (it’s not in addition to supper, it’s in place of supper).
Serve Fido your family’s left-overs, just make sure to exclude toxic foods like onions and grapes.
Toss a whole raw egg in every couple of days.
Add a dollop of plain, unsweetened yogurt and splash of canola oil to each meal.
The goal for your dog’s diet is to provide energy and increase their health and vitality. Do what works for your dog, and don’t stick to one approach if it’s obviously not working. If your dog shows any signs of not being well, talk with your vet – some issues can be diet related.
PS Hey Booberdog, hopefully this post helps Nelson not be jealous `,:3
Dog food manufacturers and retailers are very good at making you think you have to buy packaged food and treats for your dog. However, another inexpensive alternative is to make your own – they're healthy, and additive and preservative free.
Instructions:
Slice beef heart into very thin slices
Lay strips across an oven racks
Place a cookie sheet on the oven rack below to catch the drippings – you can line the cookie sheet with tin foil to make clean-up easier
Roast at 170’ until the meat is dried – typically three to five hours
Cooking Alternatives:
You can also do this on the BBQ – turn all burners to high, burn off any old drippings, clean your grill, turn one burner to low and the rest off, then lay strips across.
If you’ve got a dehydrator, just place the strips into the dehydrator until done.
As always, when handling these or any store-bought dog treats, wash your hands after handling.
In my opinion, this is an exceptional how-to book for dog people.
The author Victoria Stilwell is a dog-trainer who stars in the TV series It’s me or the dog. She uses positive techniques to train and build relationships with dogs, and helps dogs think on their own without having to physically manipulate, yell or scold, or otherwise be a brute to them. I love that she has a kind, calm approach that clearly demonstrates that you don’t need to “dominate” to train. As a bonus, the format is easy-to-read and is visually interesting, making this book accessible for even non-readers.
Highlights of the book are that it:
provides a very good overview about how dogs communicate
explains calm assertive, rather than aggressive manipulative approaches
gives very specific step-by-step instructions to train people in basic obedience skills such as sit, stay, come and impulse control
gives instructions that motivate dogs to think and want to do things because of the pleasurable consequences, rather than forcing them
offers solutions to unwanted behaviours like barking, leash pulling, biting, marking (peeing), and separation anxiety
without being preachy, explains basic animal welfare issues like avoiding pet store puppy-mill puppies, spay/neutering, choke chains/collars, shock collars and sheltering
Where this book is light is in its coverage of food and nutrition. I agree with Ms Stilwell’s overall recommendation to improve the nutritional quality of your dog’s diet. However, given that different dogs have different nutritional requirements based on their age, breed, activity level and health issues, and given that scientists, including veterinarians and small animal nutritionists can’t agree, I don’t trust her specific recommendations. (For example, my veterinarian recommends raw and Ms Stilwell says no to raw ... I trust my vet's recommendation.)
In summary, read this book, use her training techniques, ignore her specific advice about food, and talk with your veterinarian about how to improve the quality of your dog’s diet.
Home-made dog biscuits: Grain-free peanut butter chip drop cookies
If you want to start a heated debate among dog people, two controversial topics you can bring up are food and vaccinations. Even among vets, breeders and others who work day-to-day with dogs, there is no consensus. This posting is about food – I’ll do another one about vaccinations later.
The most common types of doggie diets are store-bought processed, raw, grain-free and combination diets. Some believe that only foods created using the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards are considered safe and nutritionally balanced. Others believe that dogs should be fed raw meat and bones with fresh fruits and vegetables. Yet others prefer grain-free diets. Some do a blend.
My views aren’t extreme. I believe that like people, no one diet works for every dog. Your dog’s lifestyle, genetics and overall health make their food requirements unique. An elite-athlete sled dog has different nutritional and caloric needs than a toothless, couch potato, geriatric miniature poodle. Likewise, dogs with food allergies or medical conditions need special diets. I also don’t believe that serving processed food is always best. My problem with processed foods is that you’re often paying for a low-quality ingredients, a high water volume and environmentally unfriendly packaging.
My personal preference is a raw diet supplemented with fresh foods. I put some caveats on that though. It’s essential to know what items are toxic to dogs. Everything should be fed in moderation. You wouldn’t live on one food item, nor should your dog. It's important to balance food types over time, rather than at each meal. And, watch to not include toxic ingredients.
Some people will argue that feeding people food makes dogs mooch or get fat. I disagree. Dogs mooch because of where you feed them, not what you feed them. If you feed your dog in the kitchen or at the dinner table, they’ll mooch. If you feed them in their spaces, they won’t. They mooch if they’re rewarded by doing it. And, unless there is a medical condition, they get fat when feed too much. It's that simple.
If you want to serve people food to your dog, it’s pretty easy to find lists of toxic foods for dogs, but what isn’t readily available is a list of generally healthy and safe foods. Here’s a starting point list of foods that I comfortably will and won’t feed to my own dogs:
Generally healthy and safe foods
Lean meat, fish and poultry, peanuts and unsweetened peanut butter, raw bones, offal (heart, liver, kidney, tongue, tripe), eggs, beans and lentils, apples, bananas, blueberries, saskatoon berries, cranberries, cherries, pineapple, dried fruits including dates, carrots, cabbage, spinach, green or yellow string beans, broccoli, ripe tomatoes, potatoes, yams, zucchini, beets, alfalfa sprouts, parsley, cod liver oil, salmon oil, canola oil, olive oil, flax or hemp seed, glucosomine, acidophilus, digestive enzymes, nutritional yeast, bone meal or egg shells, yogurt, kefir and cottage cheese.
Unhealthy and/or toxic foods
Ham, bacon or excessive poultry skin, macadamia nuts, walnuts, cooked bones, grapes, raisins and some currants including juices and trail mixes, rhubarb fruit and leaves, fruit seeds from apples, pears, plums, peaches and apricots, onions, garlic, avocado, green tomatoes and potatoes, potato peels, lumps of fat off meat, butter, corn, popped corn, yeast dough that’s rising, hops, xylitol, milk, nutmeg, caffeinated coffee and tea, salt, chocolate, cocoa powder and chocolate icings, alcoholic beverages, moldy foods and sugar.
I’m not a veterinarian or a small animal nutritionist so please consider this as one source of information. The pet food industry has done a very good job telling people that they’re incapable of feeding dogs. I don’t believe them. Read about the topic, talk with your vet and others in the pet care business, then make choices that are best for your dog. If you feed your dog something that doesn't increase their vitality or agree with them, check with your vet.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Recipe for home-made dog biscuits: Grain-free peanut butter chip drop cookies
2 cups black beans
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs – include shells
½ cup dried fruit (16 apricots - NEVER use raisins)
Blend 1.5 cups of beans with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor.
Once fully blended, fold in ½ cup of black beans so they look like chocolate chips (NEVER use chocolate)
Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheets
Bake at 350’ for 15 minutes
If you want to eat these yourself as protein bars, omit the egg shells.
I prepare black beans in bulk by soaking, boiling, bagging and freezing them in advance.
K-Lane Kennels PO Box 172, Kronau, SK (Canada) S0G 2T0 klanekennels@gmail.com www.HappyPetBoarding.ca 306.781.2774 | Operating since 1992 - Regina's best dog boarding experience.
Monday, October 25, 2010 at 3:02PM 
To process your fresh pumpkin: 
