A Much Better Video

I finally worked out the problems I was having with Windows Movie Maker!

You can expect to see ever-improving videos of Gracie on this blog in the future.

Below is a video I made using footage I shot two weeks ago. Most of the footage is new to this blog. A little bit was shown shown in the video I posted February 9 ("Gracie Playing in Icy Snow 2-7-11"). I couldn't use all the footage I wanted to then, as Windows Movie Maker kept crashing every time I made an edit. Now that it's working for me, I can appreciate what a great program it is. The audio makes this video of Gracie really fun. Turn up your volume!

I'm sharing this video to show others how healthy and active an almost 12-year-old, home-fed dog can be. Gracie THRIVES on homemade dog food --- and lots of love too, of course.

Blueberries

I started feeding Gracie blueberries as an occassional snack. When I was eating some blueberries recently, one fell off my plate and rolled across the floor. Gracie gobbled it up and made it clear she wanted more.

I never felt inclined to include fruits in Gracie's Doggie Chef meals. I think they contain too much sugar for regular consumption. Yet I know Gracie thinks some fruits taste really good (she loves dates). And many fruits, like blueberries, are considered health-enhancing superfoods. So blueberries are now on Gracie's occassional snack food list (click here to see a post about other snacks Gracie enjoys).

I did some Internet research and didn't find any reputable sources claiming blueberries are bad for dogs. In "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats (see my review of that book here)," blueberries are recommended for occassional snacking. Any produce I give Gracie (or eat myself) is thoroughly washed first. When I share bluberries with Gracie I give her no more than three or four.

Video --- Gracie Playing in Icy Snow 2-7-11

We have so much ice-covered snow on the ground! As you can see in the video below, it hasn't stopped Gracie from wanting to play outside.

When I took this video clip, both of us slipped and skidded on the ice numerous times. Even though dogs are close to the ground, they can stumble and fall too. At one point Gracie scraped and cut her leg (a tiny cut) on the sharp ice, but she didn't want to stop playing. I had to promise her a treat to get her to come inside.

This week I received a letter from Gracie's veterinary office. Apparently the staff reviewed patient records and noticed Gracie's age (12 this year), and the fact that she hasn't been in since early last year. The letter stated how important proper and regular veterinary care is for elderly dogs, as they can develop the same types of problems as elderly humans.

When I watch my lively, rambunctious, almost-12-year-old dog playing hard in cold, snowy weather the term "elderly dog" doesn't seem to fit. I know Gracie is "old" in years. I respect that fact by monitoring her hard play carefully and keeping a close eye on her health and well-being. Yet I'm so thankful that she still seems to be young at heart, and young in body. I'm sure Gracie's homemade dog food is helping her live so well, for so long.

It takes some extra time and effort to be a Doggie Chef but the results are definitely worth it!

Chicken Dinner 2-2-11

Roast chicken

Roast sweet potato

Roast carrot

Whole wheat bread

A little bit of rice-almond pilaf



Gracie LOVES cold weather!

Gracie looked so cute this past week; pulling her semi-deflated basketball through the freshly fallen snow. She was happily intent on her task, making a trail across the yard. I repeatedly called out to her, begging her to look at the camera. Finally she humored me by pausing a second to look up.

Then she quickly got back to business!

After a bit more shouting, and begging, I got her to pause and look up again.

Then it was back to having fun!



Homemade Dog Biscuits

The last few times I made Gracie homemade dog biscuits, I modified the Homemade Doggie Chef Biscuits recipe I normally use (click here for the old recipe).

I decided to add in a little bone meal powder and some old fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick cook).

These homemade dog biscuits may not look pretty, but I didn't have time to roll out the dough and use my dog-biscuit cookie cutter. Instead I used the "icebox cookie" technique and rolled the dough into logs, which I then sliced and flattened with my hands. It saved A LOT of work!

Gracie LOVES these crunchy biscuits and starts jumping all over the place when I take the lid off her biscuit jar.

Next time I'll run the oats through a blender, to turn them into oat flour, before mixing them in.

Homemade Dog Biscuits
(makes about 35 biscuits)


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

4 eggs
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup water (approximate; add more, in small amounts, if needed)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon bone meal powder
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir with a large spoon or fork and then thoroughly mix with your hands. Dough will be stiff and dry. Add more water, if needed, one tablespoon at a time.

Form dough into a large round. Cut into three equal parts. Form one of the three parts into a thick, cylindrical roll, about two inches in diameter. Slice the roll, making the slices about 1/2 inch thick. Flatten each in the palms of your hand. Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining two parts of dough. The unbaked biscuits can be placed close together, but not touching, on the cookie sheets.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Turn each biscuit over and bake for another 20 minutes. For crunchy biscuits, shut off oven and leave biscuits in oven to cool. Store in an airtight container.
"Bone" appetit!

The Healthy Dog Cookbook

"The Healthy Dog Cookbook --- 50 Nutritious & Delicious Recipes Your Dog Will Love"
by Jonna Anne with Mary Straus, Canine Nutritionist, Shawn Messonnier, DVM, Veterinary Consultant

Doggie Chef
Rating:
2  out  of  5  bones

Are canned peaches a healthy ingredient for homemade dog meals? I don't think so. Yet they appear in several of the recipes contained in this book. So do instant potato flakes. Have you ever read the ingredient list on a box of instant potato flakes? Every one I've read contains a combination of chemical preservatives and other items I refuse to eat myself, let alone feed to my dog.

The recipes in this book aren't all bad. Most contain wholesome ingredients that any Doggie Chef could feel comfortable feeding their pet. Yet the canned peaches, potato flakes, and the book's lack of reputable references prevents me from trusting the recipes enough to use them.

The introductory chapters emphasize the importance of calcium in a homemade dog diet. Yet this, and every other nutritional claim made throughout the book, lacks support from a reputable reference. For instance, for the "Turkey Dinner" recipe the recipe's subtitle states, "Adding apple cider vinegar to a great turkey dinner may help with reducing fleas." The recipe that follows calls for 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar in a recipe that yields 9, 1-cup servings. The authors provide no information explaining or proving their claim that apple cider vinegar may help with reducing fleas. The only reference made in relation to this is in a text box that says, "Vet's View: Unpasteurized organic apple cider vinegar provides more nutritional benefits." That's pretty lame evidence and an unsatisfying explanation.

While the name Shawn Messonnier, DVM, Veterinary Consultant, appears in the author list (the book is "by" Joanne Anne, "with" the other two authors mentioned), The Healthy Dog Cookbook contains no narrative by him and no commentary on the book's content.

The other author is Mary Straus, Canine Nutritionist. After doing a little research I realized that Straus holds no degree or license that makes her a "Canine Nutritionist." That's okay with me. It seems I'm about as qualified to call myself a "Canine Nutritionist" as Straus, or any Doggie Chef, is. Straus has been a Doggie Chef for a long time. She's been researching canine nutrition and health and feeding her dogs homemade meals since 1998. Unfortunately, the The Healthy Dog Cookbook contains no direct quotes or commentary from Straus, or any references from her to support any of the book's nutritional claims.

I suspect this book may be a project funded, or at least assisted, by some of the entities listed in the Resources section. For instance, three websites are included as resources and described as, "Companies who make vitamin-mineral mixes designed to balance out homemade diets, including calcium."

Better books for Doggie Chefs are available. I don't recommend this one.