Recipe 2: Sloppy Rover

Sloppy Rover ? Are we cooking dogs now ? No. I called this second recipe Sloppy Rover because it is very similar to the Sloppy Joe's that I have come to love - it's just the dog rendition of it, therefore Sloppy Rover. To start with, let me explain to you, that this recipe is basically taken from "Frisst night - gibt's nicht"by Ingeborg Pils (I love her book) just with a small change, so let me tell you how to make this !

Home-made Sloppy Rover with kibble that soaked up the added water

So what do you need:

• Butter or olive oil
• Optional: 4 onion (this is optional as there are some people that believe onion are bad for dogs)
• Tomatos or Tomato Paste
• 500g ground beef
• 8-10 carrots
• 1 Liter Low Sodium (or home made) Vegetable broth
• 300g corn
• Deep pan or better a wok
• Bags or tupperware for leftovers
• Pen to label

The process is not as fast as the first dish, but it's easy

• Peel onion and carrots
• Cut onion into cubes
• Melt butter/heat olive oil in a pan 
• Add onion and fry until they turn a bit see through
• Add beef
• Cut carrots into cubes
• If you are using tomatos, cut those into small cubes too
• Add carrots once beef is thoroughly cooked
• Add in tomato paste or cubed tomatos
• Add in the vegetable broth
• Let it cook for 20 minutes (or possibly more), until most of the water is gone
• Add in corn (without the water if you are using canned corn)
• Bring to a boil and take off the stove
• Let it cool 
• Feed/Bag and store it

Serving it:

• It can be served by itself
• With rice or pasta
• With dry or wet kibble

As Odette is gaining more weight and is starting to need more food, I have packaged these in bags of about 125g each. My favorite way of serving it to her is to add one bag to 1 cup of kibble, pour hot water on it, so that kibble water reaches the same height as kibble, let the water cool down and mix it all together. The kibble soaks up the water, and with it the taste of the home-made food, coaxing her into eating more kibble, which is important as it has all the puppy nutrition she needs. 

The entire cost of this dish was about $7 and I was able to get about 17 servings out of it (packaging them in bigger quantities than before). I have been feeding her bagged food nearly every night because she loves it so much, and as mentioned, it's cheaper than any decent quality wet food you can buy. 

The time this dish took out of my day was about a total of 1 1/2 hours. The main time consuming part was the labelling and packaging of all the bags. I had to let my dish boil for about 40 minutes because I did not have access to my stove, so it took longer on this heating plate than it would on the stove. 

As for labelling, it is important to write on the bag: ingredients, how to prepare it, the weight and date. If I ever want to give food away I want to remember what is in it in case a dog is allergic to certain things, by putting the weight I also know how many bags the dog should eat (or how much kibble is needed to make up for it). Secondly, Sam has asked me endless times how to prepare dog-food, but no more, now that it is written on the bag. And thirdly, do not keep this food in your fridge for longer than about a week and in your freezer for no longer than 3-6 months. 

Cheap, fast, healthy and your dog will love it.

P.S.: Since there are a lot of people, who are against feeding onions to dogs, I want to stress that firstly, the onion in this recipe is cooked and not raw, secondly vets opinions on feeding onions to dog differ greatly around the world. If you are not sure whether you should feed your dog onion or not, ask your vet, some say yes, others no. 

Please refrain from commenting things such as "do not give your dogs onion, they can kill them" etc. - I am well aware of both sides of the story and have made my own educated decision that I want to add onions to my recipes and feed them to my dog.

Recipe 1: Beef, Pea and Carrot Stew

Second post in the category of "Recipes"

Ever since we got Odette I have been cooking things for her, or giving her raw items. I am quite ashamed to say that we used to give her Hill's Science Diet (as that was what was given to us when we were fostering her), but now that she is ours, those days are definitely over !

This post marks the first recipe for home-made dog food I am posting on here. This one is a sort-of stew that I prepared and froze. The reason I am cooking Odette's food is because good quality, wet/canned dog food can be quite expensive. Theoretically your dog doesn't even need it, you can feed your dog kibble only, but I always feel bad, so I try to give Odette something more every second day for dinner. So instead of buying expensive canned food, I cook for her. It saves me money and I love to cook - also by cooking I actually know what is in her food and I can control what she gets. Most importantly, don't just buy cheaper dog food for the convenience, learn about what nutritious items your dog needs and keep them in mind. See my past post on these issues.

This recipe is very similar to one in the book "Frisst night - gibt's nicht"by Ingeborg Pils, which I received from my aunt for my birthday. The recipes in this book, and the ones I will be posting here, are all human-grade food. Basically you can eat them yourselves (after adding a bit of salt) and I would. I make a point of trying every recipe before I feed it to my dog, just to know what it is like.

This beef stew recipe ended up yielding about 14 servings for Odette. She gets 1 1/2 cups of kibble a day. When I add in the cooked things, she gets 1 cup kibble 1/2 cup cooked food. 1/2 cup is about 125g, I end up just using 100g for packaging. If you have a bigger dog use bigger measurements, or if you use the same, you will end up with fewer portions.

Let's start with what you need:

• 300g beef (we used stewing beef)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Optional: 1 garlic bulb (some people believe garlic is bad for your dog, talk to your vet)
• 100g Peas
• 100g carrots
• 1 cup water
• Optional: Some shredded cheese (mozzarella)
• Optional: Rice
• Wok or Pan
• Bags or tupperware to store leftovers in
• Pen to label (by using a water-soluble pen, you can even write on your tupperware !)

The process is simple and fast:

• Put oil into pan and heat.
• Add in beef and garlic and fry it for about 2 minutes.
• Add in water.
• Add in carrots (can be shredded).
• Add in peas.
• Boil until most of the water (but not all) is gone.
• Take off stove and let it cool down, package and/or serve with rice and cheese.

Refrain from adding any salt or pepper. Dogs do not crave salt the way we do. 

Serving it:

• Serve either with kibble, rice or pasta.
• Serve on top of kibble or on a separate plate.
• Add stew to kibble, add hot water just so that it is covered, mix, let it cool down, top with some shredded cheese and serve it to your pooch.
• Package it and put it in the fridge/freezer for other times.

As mentioned, I packaged the cooked things into ziplock bags, each containing about 100g of this stew mix. 

The entire cost of this recipe was about $4 and it yield 14 servings, lasting us for about a month, which makes this a lot cheaper than any good-quality, wet/canned dog food you could buy. 

Cooking and packaging probably took me a total of 20 minutes. In the freezer this also takes up very little space as it is just on the side in the door, rolled up. 

Odette loves it and it also gets her to eat her kibble when we mix it in. 

Tip: Make sure to write a date on the packages. You should not keep them in the fridge for longer than a week after cooking, and in the freezer no more than 3-6 months.

Cheap, fast, healthy and your dog will love it.

What to feed your dog?

"Cooking for your dog? Those people must be crazy and have a lot of time on their hands." Is actually something I used to say whenever I heard of people that prepared meals for their dogs. Apparently now I am one of them. But I am one of them for a very good reason !

I want to start the category "Recipes" off with a post on general dog nutrition and where you can find very valuable information.

Food brands:
Ever since working with dogs and people that own dogs, I have figured out more and more how crappy most commercial dog food brands really are. It appears that the rule is: the more you see it on TV, the more you want to stay away from it. Brands such as Eukanuba, Science Diet and Pedigree (especially Pedigree) are basically rated average, below average and crappiest food you can give your dog, you might as well feed him/her dirt, respectively... Forget them all. If your vet recommends them, it is probably because they are getting paid to do so. Seriously, if your vet actually recommends Hill's Science Diet, grab your dog and run. I cannot believe how much this crappy food is being recommended and sold here, considering what is in it. And a word on Pedigree, I am sad how downhill this company has gone. It used to be one of the better brands but in the last 10 years they have become one of the crappiest dog foods out there.

If you are currently wondering about your brand of dog food, here is a very good website where you can check: Dog Food Advisors - they bring out very detailed and unbiased data sheets of ingredients in dog food brands and give them a rating depending on these ingredients. AWESOME !

If you are trying to find a food brand for your dog, think of these things: Lots of meat, few grains (dogs aren't supposed to eat grains after all), NO Corn (dogs cannot digest it and corn has been linked to joint swellings, bloat, allergies - however you will see it a lot as it is a very cheap filler...). And a big tip for meat: if it just says "meat" but doesn't specify which, stay away from it.

Just look at the ingredients and think "would I eat this" - if the answer is no, you should not buy the food (or consider asking someone that isn't as picky with food as you may be). I have tried dog food and dog treats. They just taste bland, but I would never try something from Pedigree as it is not even considered human-grade food... You want to give your dog human-grade food and nothing less. Here are some good tips on pet nutrition.

One thing I want to touch upon is the new fab of a pure raw diet. I am personally not a fan of it because I do not believe that dogs are supposed to be carnivores, they are omnivores and considering how long they have been living with us and eating basically anything we give them I do not believe it to be a good idea to suddenly switch their diet to complete raw again. According to some vets I have talked to there have also been a rise in diseases and ailments that can come up due to a raw diet.

In any case, my tip is just go through that list of dog foods and see which ones are graded better and get that kibble. You can always cook up tings on the side. For example our current dog, Odette, is just about 6 months old and weighs about 6kg. This means that she should be eating give or take 1 1/2 cups a day. She is currently getting kibble, Acana for puppies to be exact. It is very important to give your puppy special kibble as it has all the nutrients your puppy needs to grow - you can also cook it yourself, but finding all nutrients and combining them can be a whole lot of work. Along with the kibble Odette only gets raw meat or the occasional "mommy-cooked-for-me" food; recipes will follow on this blog with the special label "Recipes".

Treats
What treats to give your dog... This might turn into a bit of a rant... Let's consider one of the most often bought and treated things that exists: Rawhide. Rawhide is made from cow or horse hide and sold, basically everywhere.

• First problem: Some rawhide is bleached. Just consider what rawhide looks like, I have seen some very white and some quite yellow if not even brown ones. Would you eat bleached items (well, we do in the case of white flour and such), but seriously ask yourself the question, because I would prefer not to eat bleached food. 
• Second problem: Rawhide is not actually considered a food item ! That is why you may often not find a label with ingredients on it, and they can be quite ugly ! Toxins (such as arsenic and mercury) have been found in rawhide and also salmonella bacteria. Again, would you want to eat something you know contains arsenic ? I definitely would not. 
• Third problem: Dogs cannot actually digest rawhide. This can lead to bloating, diarrhea and blockages that can even lead to death. In a lot of cases the vet has to end up removing it from the dogs stomach. 
• Fourth problem: Dogs can rip off big pieces that can lead to chocking. 
• Fifth problem: Because rawhide gets all soggy and wet after getting chewed on for a while, it is the perfect breeding ground for other bacteria. 

DO I NEED TO SAY MORE ?! I would never eat rawhide, nor am I ever going to buy this again for my dogs. I never knew about all these problems myself, until I did the research on it, and that is (in my opinion) very effed up - that there are no warning labels about this on rawhide items.

Now, what can you give your dog ? Some of the problems mentioned above can also be seen with natural treats (such as pig ears), but very good treats for your dog include raw, meaty bones, even though a lot of people will tell you never to give your dog bones... What do you think they ate in the wild ? As long as the bones are not cooked, you should be fine - if you are not sure, talk to your vet instead of listening to people that pretend as if they know what they are talking about (which includes me...). Other than that my dog loves bull wrinkle which is just dried flesh if you don't like giving your dog bones (it's a bull's penis, in case you were wondering,... smells awful, but the pup loves it). Deer antlers which are very durable and will last you a while. Kongs with peanut butter - peanut butter is completely natural, so it is something you can give your dog without wondering if they'll have any issues with it. Just smear some inside a kong and your dog will be at it, possibly for hours.


I hope this post cleared up some issues about certain dog food and treats and that I was able to help you make a more informed decision on what to get your dog. Please feel free to post any comments, especially if you disagree with something I have said, I would love to read your opinion.

Thinking of getting a dog? Tip 1

Tip 1: Age of your future dog

Depending on what dog you get, you can count on it being with you for the next 6-20 years, all depending on the breed and of course medical and external circumstances. The oldest dog ever, Bella, lived for 29 1/2 years!! I bet no one expected that one... She was a Labrador mix, their average age is 10-12 years, well she just three-folded that, no big deal, right?

Except, it is a big deal. Watson, dog n.8 was given up by his family at the age of 9, because the "kids are off to college and no one is taking care of him any more". He's 9. That's below the average age of a Labrador. Are you telling me you didn't look into how old this type of dog can get, when you first got him? Did you not consider "What will we do when little Jill and John Doe go off to college?" Because you should have.

Of course, anything could happen and you may have to surrender your dog for different reasons. I guess Watson is better off with us and a possibly new home later on, than with a family where no one will walk him all day. However, I believe that it shouldn't get to this point in the first place.

Even if you decide to keep your dog, but it is alone all day (10 or more hours), this is not ideal. This can cause separation anxiety and with it destructive behaviour (not as much of an issue with small dogs). More than that, separation anxiety stresses your dog out. When your dog has separation anxiety, it is actually suffering, it is anxious and in distress - I will make a post about that another time.

Possible Solutions:
If you rely on someone's help to walk the dog (be it your kids or parents), you need to keep in mind that they wont live with you forever. You need to start looking into future solutions, what are you going to do when those people can no longer help out?

There are dog-walkers that can walk your dog (in Toronto those charge up to $25/dog/day) and some even watch them all day long - kind of like an after school play date for dogs.

If you know that you will be gone 10 or more hours because of work, there are different ways to deal with that. Of course a dog walker/sitter, you could take the dog with you, if your job allows that. You could try to come home during breaks, you could get a doggie door so the dog can go outside, or you could keep him outside in a dog house in general. Some people do this, it makes the dog more used to being alone for some time, but others don't like keeping their dog outside all the time. One thing you definitely need to do (the earlier the better) is train being gone and your dog being alone. In a post on separation anxiety I will explain good ways of doing so.

I am not saying that if you are gone 10 hours a day you cannot have a dog. I am saying that a dog has needs too and you need to keep those in mind, you can't walk out the door and not be back for 10 hours or more. Especially if you are getting a puppy or young dog, you need to keep this in mind.

When you decide to get a dog, remember that it will live with you, it will love you for its whole life and surrendering it for the reason that Watson was surrendered, should be considered way beforehand and avoided.

Be fair to your dog.

Wheels, Dog n. 10 - Full Story

Everybody, meet Wheels !
No, she doesn't have a wheel, that's her name !
Wheels is a

• 10 year old
• 6 kg heavy
• Jack Russel Terrier Mix

We picked her up from the Humane Society on April 5th, 2013. I think I have been annoying the THS staff for so long (about getting another foster, no matter what animal) that one of them emailed me about this sad little girl. 

How did we get the dog:

Ever since the guinea pigs were gone a few dogs showed up on the THS website as foster dogs, and with every dog I emailed them asking "can we foster, can we foster, are there any dogs good with other dogs..." Just yesterday I got an email about this little girl. A Jack Russel Terrier that only has 3 legs, mammary cancer and will need a palliative foster home. Duration - unknown. Until her quality of life is so far declined that she will be euthanized. Sad story, ask me how I am doing, emotionally, in a few weeks, the answer will probably be "not good". The reason why Sam and I decided to take her was that even though she is a palliative foster dog, we get the chance to give her a nice few weeks or months before she gets put down, and we wanted to do that for her. She is probably going to be our last foster dog in Toronto, so it is nice to know we are fostering a dog, that, through us, gets to live the last few weeks/months of her life in a good place. 

The daily life: 

Well, so far I cannot tell you too much yet as we just got home with her an hour ago. She appears to be a quiet dog, which is good, because Odette has been barking a bit recently. We did a bit of a meet and greet between Odette and Wheels at the THS. Seems that as long as Odette doesn't annoy her, they are fine together. Now in the apartment they are even better than before. Wheels keeps hopping after Odette to sniff her bum and if Odette gets too close she starts growling, she keeps the puppy in her place and Odette is respectful enough to stay away, so I think we have a pretty good mix here. In a week we are also getting Darcy, Sam's parents dog, so we'll have 2 humans and 3 dogs ! 

However we might have a problem, because it appears that Odette is "jealous" - of course this is just a human term to an animal behaviour  but after walking inside, Odette immediately peed inside (we haven't had any accidents for over a month now). Odette also keeps taking over Wheels' bed as soon as Wheels gets up, which is mean because Wheels wont lie in Odette's bed. That was easily fixed as I just put Odette's bed right next to my table as well, now both are next to me and happy. It can be quite a battle with a puppy that is displaying jealous behaviour  but we'll deal with it - and it's a good learning tool, because who knows, with kids we might see the same... This will probably also inspire a great post of dealing with jealous behaviour in my "thinking of getting a dog" journal posts.

The dog:

Wheels is quite the gentle dog. At the THS she just seemed scared and same in the cab ride home. Once home she just started moving about, "running" through the apartment, watching me play with Odette. She doesn't touch Odette's stuff, nor does she touch her bones (even though I know she likes them). She has her own water bowl and her own food bowl close to her bed. She is a very sweet dog, now that we've had her for a bit. Too bad I don't know more about her history (or maybe that's actually good because I might just get pissed off again).

The end:
We brought Wheels back on April 13th because we started seeing things that we were told to look out for. Breathing issues, wheezing, coughing, more issues walking and a very strong change in demeanour as she started being more aggressive towards Odette but also towards us (she snapped at me when I tried to give her the medication,...). We brought her back, they did some tests, upped her medication and she is now waiting for another foster home, possibly a home with a garden as she loves the outside.
  

And now for some closure:

Oh Wheels, I'm sorry Sam kept making bad jokes about the fact that you only had three legs. Knowing that you might die soon really makes me sad. I hope you had a good life, but I know I gave you at least a good week. I hope you find a good home for the rest of your life, I know you love outside so maybe you can get a nice spot in a garden. It always made my day when you came up to me, ran around the hallway with Odette and the few times I saw you wag your tail. Hope you're okay sweetheart.