When I welcomed my first dog, Syd, into my arms, I knew very little about nutrition for dogs. I'd always thought foods for pets were all the same - just different prices.
Not so....as I discovered!
I used to feed my pets a store brand of pet food, that now makes me cringe to think about. I didn't know any better, and no matter how much people chattered at me to buy something else that would be more nutritious, I shrugged it off as elitism and hard sells.
Now, my mother, who wasn't overly fond of my dogs (Syd, and Cubby, the two Schipperkes - but she did have a liking to Skally), went to Port Townsend with friends and saw a movie that made her think for me.
The movie featured Juliette Levy, a holistic vet, who challenged processed foods and found natural remedies for animals, from dogs and cats to horses, by finding effective methods used by the peoples around Europe for centuries. And - she wrote a book - The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat. Well, Mum bought the book for my birthday and I ravenously read it. I was fascinated!
For too long I had looked up at the Heavens and asked, "What can I do to mellow out these Schipps?" This seemed to be my answer! Also, it just made sense that I feed them what they would eat naturally.
I began mixing oats, buttermilk, molasses, honey, meats, carrots, broccoli, and other vegetables (my Molinex sure had a great workout!). I would feed this to the dogs, and they would eat it up! I loved it. They did seem to mellow - at first - then they had even more energy! And the poop was easy - it just seemed to seep into the ground, or disintegrate. Nice!
This meant a lot of work, though. One batch would last a few days, then it was time to make more. Being the Epitome of Human Nature, I began to look for ways to avoid doing all the work. I found people I knew at the park who were opening a store - and, yes, they were familiar with Levy's work, but they didn't think she had it right - they had more books and other methods.
So, I began to buy my veggies and grain free food for the pups. Even canned. There were so many choices! And having one large dog and two small ones didn't mean spending tons of cash. Whew!
Aside from the food aspect of the book, I found her treatments of sickness to be quite helpful and effective.
Skally and Syd both had split pads, one summer. Her book said to put on a Nasturtium or Geranium leaf, and to leave it on for a while. So I did. It worked. After that, it was a no brainer, and we didn't have split pads any more...
For colds, I used Eucalyptus oil on a q-tip, and put it barely in the nostril. It really did help a great deal. Rosemary began to creep in, as well.
Mom bought me another book on Herbs and Cures by Levy. I began trying to catalog them - but that was, perhaps, 12 years ago? I didn't have a great computer system then, and my efforts went Kaput!
Now, I discovered that grain-free is the only way. And on my budget, I can afford Nature's Domain at Costco, which, with Fish Oil, and Spunky (and some pieces of red meat for Skally - more on that later) has kept my poochies healthy and happy.
Skally receives red meat in her diet to keep her weight on. I had to take it away from the others as it seemed to promote aggression (Rusty began shoving his way into her food, and there was a kerfuffle, with blood, and now she cedes her bowl to him - unless I'm there...I'm always there, now). Skally, at 15.5+ has been putting her weight back on, and is just as active as she was over a year ago! Thanks to her diet, Spunky II, exercise, and a little aspirin.
Simon has lost weight. He's in terrific shape, and he came to me on Thyroid medication which I used until it ran out. Now, he's lost some weight, gets regular vigorous exercise, and is very content moving around the park barking with the ball in his mouth.
Rusty continues to improve. He doesn't pull as much as he used to (because Simon does that now). He's moving more fluidly and rapidly. He's such a great guy! He is always in a great mood, and when he's not I worry....
Samson is doing quite well, too. He just zips everywhere, and has his stuffed Timmy Mouse and Ricky Racoon (who looks like he's been rotted roadkill) to play with. He beats Simon up and keeps him in line.
I'm so happy we exercise so much (even I'm on a good diet now, having lost 15 pounds in the past few weeks, and going to the gym). It's something we enjoy together. Rusty was my inspiration for losing the weight - that and wearing out my over-sized wardrobe, while gazing at the unworn-because-I'm-too-large wardrobe...
I hope you found this interesting. Sorry there weren't more photos, but i'm not a ravenous snapper... :)
Let me know your thoughts on this.
TTFN
T.
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