Gracie is now 13 years old!

For nine years she's eaten REAL, HOMEMADE FOOD, NOT commercial dog food. This blog shows how easy it is to be a DOGGIE CHEF and how healthy a home-fed dog can be.

April 5, 2011

Introducing Doggie Chef Deb Steckly & Kane

I'd like to introduce everyone to Doggie Chef Deb Steckly and her beautiful, home-fed dog Kane. I "met" Deb and Kane on my blog two weeks ago. I was so happy to see another healthy, happy home-fed dog! Kane is a rescued Shetland Sheep Dog. He weighs around 45 pounds. Deb says she's been cooking for Kane for 10 years. He eats two meals a day. Deb says Kane loves, "so many vegetables, all meats, fish, potatoes and rice and cheese." Deb and Kane are from Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada.

Deb owns Just Cats, a professional in-home cat sitting service. Just Cats specializes in caregiving for cats in the comfort and security of their own home environment. What a GREAT idea! Find out more about Deb and Just Cats on her blog at:


CALLING ALL DOGGIE CHEFS: Are you a Doggie Chef? Do you cook homemade meals for your dog? I'd love to feature you and your dog (or just your dog, if you're camera-shy) on this blog! If you'd like to show others how happy and healthy a home-fed dog can be, please email me a photo (jpg format) of you and your dog. If you prefer, you can send a photo of your dog only.
My email address is: doggiechef101@gmail.com
Tell me your dog's name, your name (a first name only is fine), how long you've been making homemade meals for your dog, your dog's age, and the city/region and country you're from. I hope to hear from you!

5 comments:

  1. Kane & I thank you for introducing us to all your dog loving friends. I think it is time I do a post on Kane again and I will talk about his feeding regime. Just last night I tried once again to feed him a few peas with his meal and he tucked them in his cheek and spit them into his water bowl. No fooling this guy. Thanks again. Hugs, Deb=^..^=x5

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  2. Hi Deb! I feed Gracie cooked, baby green peas with many of her meals. I mash them really well and mix them in with her other food. Yet she often eats some of my leftover peas, without my mashing them. Mashing them helps her digest them. I guess Kane knows what he likes and doesn't like!

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  3. Thanks for the tip. I only started feeding them to him recently and have been waiting to see if he will accept them. I'll mash them in next time. He is smart but sometimes I actually think I may be a wee bit smarter;-)

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  4. Thanks for this post! I will check out Deb's blog, sounds like something I would love! I have always secretly wished that I could have a pet-sitting business myself but I'm too scared to jump off the cliff financially, but I would love to read about it!
    I'm currently boarding a dog that is eating RAW chicken backs mixed with vegetables that are dehydrated and then mixed with water to re-hydrate. And I gotta admit, he looks great.
    I'm think about trying either your meals or MAYBE this raw diet for Blue. He's prone to staph infections and maybe this would help his skin situation....and also of course I want him to live forever.
    So, I'll take photos and hope someday to be on your blog with grand results!

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  5. Hi oldblackcatboo! Yes, you’ll enjoy Deb’s blog. I hope you do someday start your pet-sitting business!
    I definitely encourage you to try homemade meals for Blue. I’d like to feature you as a Doggie Chef on my blog!
    If Blue is having skin issues you might want to consider the kind and amount of fats he eats. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual online:

    http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/182902.htm

    dogs have a dietary requirement for linoleic acid. It’s an unsaturated Omega-6 fatty acid found, in appreciable amounts, in corn oil. It’s also in sunflower oil. I cook many of Gracie’s meats and her eggs in corn oil, and add ¼ teaspoon of corn oil to some of her meals each week. And I add ¼ teaspoon sunflower oil to one meal each week.
    Dogs also need a-linolenic acid, an Omega-3 fatty acid found in flax oil and some other plant oils. It’s similar to the Omega-3 fatty acid found in fatty fish like sardines and salmon. I used to try to give Gracie extra Omega-3 fatty acids by adding flax seed oil and ground flax seed to her food but I stopped doing that a long time ago. I believe the Omega-3 fatty acids she gets from fish are better utilized in her body than the Omega-3s she gets from flax.
    I feed Gracie fish several times each week (often canned sardines, sometimes canned salmon, and occasionally fresh, cooked fish too).
    Years ago I used to give Gracie a fish oil supplement, but I stopped because I wanted her to get her vitamins and nutrients from foods, rather than supplements. Supplements can be very helpful, if needed, but Gracie doesn’t seem to need them right now.
    Her skin and coat are in very good shape, I think because of the fish and corn oil she eats every week.
    Good luck with Blue!

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