Car Rides!

Gracie loves a car ride --- except when we end up at the vet's office!

I've taken Gracie on short car rides ever since I adopted her. Through the years she's accompanied us on a few long car trips without any problems. She'd much rather spend a lot of time in the car with us than be left home without us.

Years ago I tried using a dog seat belt on Gracie but it seemed uncomfortable for her.  Now I take my chances and let Gracie sit/lie on the car's back seat. I cover the seat with an old quilt or blanket. For longer car rides I wedge pillows on the floor between the back and front seats, to create a floor of pillows as high as the back seat (or sometimes a little higher). My hope is the pillows will prevent injuries if I stop short and she's thrown forward.

I don't take Gracie on car rides in the summertime unless it's absolutely necessary. If I must, I always use the air conditioning and never leave her alone in the car. We had a few cooler days this past week so I let Gracie accompany me on an evening ride through a few drive-throughs (bank, library, post office). Even on a cooler summer evening I wouldn't leave Gracie in the car to go into a store. With the windows open the temperature inside the car could still get too warm for a dog.

I know many people leave their car windows wide open so their dogs can hang their heads out in the wind as they drive. It looks cute and the dogs permitted to do this seem like they're in seventh heaven, but I never thought it was a good idea for my dog. I keep all the car windows closed if we're on the highway. When we're off the highway I open the two back windows a bit so Gracie can take in the new smells around her as we drive. I never open the windows wide enough for her to stick her entire head out.

A car ride --- even a short one --- provides a change of scenery and plenty of intellectual stimulation for a dog. There's not much a dog wants more than to spend time with his people (or his person). Riding around with you is usually a lot better for your dog than than staying at home alone, wondering where you are and when you're coming back.

Above Photo: Gracie patiently waiting for me to stop taking pictures so we can begin our car ride. "Let's go already, please!"

Ground Beef & Veggie Mix Breakfast 8-10-10

Ground beef cooked in extra-virgin olive oil (with dried rosemary, basil and a dash of salt)

Green peas and grated, peeled carrot (cooked with the ground beef)

Homemade wheat bread

Yogurt

Conquer Your Fears And Be A Doggie Chef!

This post is for all wanna-be Doggie Chefs who are afraid to start feeding their dogs themselves.

You can do it!

You don’t have to be a veterinarian, or an animal nutritionist. You don’t have to have a college degree. You don’t even have to be a good cook.

This week I started reading a newly published book called, “Feed Your Pet Right,” by Marion Nestle and Malden C. Nesheim. Both are human nutrition experts and Nesheim is also an animal nutrition expert.

For the most part I’m focusing on the section of the book called, “Alternatives to Commercial Pet Feeding.” Specifically the chapter called, “The Home Cooked.”

In this chapter the authors say they view cooking for pets no more difficult than cooking for yourself or your family. Here’s something else they say that really caught my attention:

“Isn’t it just amazing that most Americans --- and for that matter, most people in the world --- manage to survive and do pretty well without eating AAFCO-approved, complete-and-balanced diets every day?”

It’s so true! Think about it: What did you eat the past few days?

How many people’s diets strictly adhere to any type of dietary recommendations for optimum nutrition? Yet so many of us survive and thrive.

Christie Keith, whose column, “Your Whole Pet,” can be read on SFGate.com., home of the San Francisco Chronicle, has some words that might encourage fearful, wanna-be Doggie Chefs. In the May/June 2007 issue of “The Bark” magazine Keith is quoted saying:

“There is a lot of wiggle room in formulating a diet for your dog. Canines are, overall, rather forgiving nutritionally.”

Keith interviewed Nestle and Nesheim about their book and wrote a column about it called, “Talking About Pet Food at Chez Panisse.” Nestle and Nesheim told Keith how pet food nutrition experts often insist it’s too difficult for pet owners to feed home-prepared diets.

Nesheim, who used to teach animal nutrition to veterinary students at Cornell University states, “There's a quote we give in the book from the AVMA [American Veterinary Medical Association]. They go on and on about how you shouldn't cook for your pet, because after all, the commercial pet food foods are made by Ph.D. nutritionists. As Ph.D. nutritionists, we got a big kick out of that. You don't need a Ph.D. to cook for yourself, and if you can cook for your family, you can cook for your pet."

None of this means you shouldn’t worry at all about feeding your dog homemade dog food. Yet, have courage to trust yourself. Chances are if you’re opened minded enough to be wary of commercial dog food, you have enough common sense to learn and figure out how to best feed your dog.

Years ago I was so afraid to start feeding Gracie homemade dog food. Gracie turns 11 this year. She looks great, is full of energy and I’ve never regretted becoming her Doggie Chef.

Playing "Fetch The Basketball"

The recent heat wave hasn't slowed Gracie down much, to my surprise. She's been eager to go outside and play. I've carefully limited her outdoor play time on very hot days, trying to get it done in the early morning or late evening hours when temperatures are cooler.

Here is a video clip of Gracie during play time last week:

Ground Beef Dinner 7-20-10

Seasoned (parsley, rosemary, dash of salt) ground beef cooked in corn oil

White rice

Whole wheat bread

Gouda cheese

Small piece of cooked broccoli

Gracie's Snacks

In addition to Gracie's homemade meals and doggie biscuits (click here for a Doggie Biscuit recipe), we often share our snacks with her.

Whenever we have a snack Gracie, will usually have one too. Some of her favorites are:

Crusty Italian or French bread

Pancakes

Ice cream (vanilla or butternut pecan; no chocolate or coffee)

Popcorn

Cereal and milk

Medjool dates (no more than one whole one)

Any canned fish

Peanut butter (especially if it's stuffed into a rubber Kong Toy -- click here for a photo))

And if we're eating potato chips, walnuts or pecans, raw apple or blueberries, Gracie will eat some too. However, these foods don't excite her as much as the snacks listed above.

Peaceful Coexistence

When a friend asked me to babysit her pet parakeet I worried about Gracie's reaction to the house guest. Especially since this parakeet needs to fly around every day and Gracie often chases birds in the backyard.

I planned to carefully introduce my dog to the parakeet (while it was IN it's cage!) so she could become familiar with the bird's scent. Then I figured I'd have to pull her away from the cage and separate her and the bird the whole time the bird stayed with us.

Well, I was wrong. And my dog has, once again, shown me how wonderfully loyal dogs can be. When I showed Gracie the parakeet I actually told her we'd be taking care of the bird for a little while and she had to be very careful with this bird while it stayed with us. I realize my dog doesn't speak English but I believe she understood the feelings my voice conveyed. She seemed to realize this bird would be "one of us" for a while and we had to protect and care for it, not chase or eat it!

Even when the parakeet flew around the house Gracie pretty much ignored it. Only when the parakeet scuttled around on the floor did Gracie seem to notice it. I was glad to see the parakeet wasn't afraid of Gracie but I didn't think it was a good idea (for the parakeet's sake) to let it think dogs were perfectly okay to chum around with. When the parakeet was out of its cage I made an effort to keep it away from Gracie but one time it landed on my dog's back (while she was eating!!!) and one time on her head (while she laying down, resting). Both times Gracie quickly shrugged it off --- yet she did it slowly and gently; as if to say, "Get this bird off me please."

Gracie was a wonderful host to our visitor. Even so, I remained extremely vigilant while the parakeet stayed with us. No matter how obedient and well behaved my dog is, I try to respect what I call, "her culture (meaning: her instinctive behaviors)."

Too many dog owners expect their pets to have unreasonable control of their instincts. They expect their dogs to behave like humans and they end up getting mad when their dogs behave like dogs.