Carnivores' Delight
Muddy started on a raw diet early in 2005 and flourished on it. From a dog who used to get diarrhea every few weeks, he became a dog who never again had an upset tummy for the remaining four and a half years of his life. Willie and Tarka went straight onto raw food as soon as they joined us and have both become strong, healthy dogs, having started out as parasite-ridden, undernourished strays.
Until recently, we've done this the convenient (though expensive way), feeding pre-packaged frozen raw dog food that provides a balanced meal. Our favorite food in this category is Rawthentic Pet. Rawthentic is made in Colorado, and we discovered it while on vacation in New Mexico earlier this year. It's very high quality food, and minimally processed so that it looks like what it is — raw beef and salmon with a few other good ingredients mixed in. In fact, we liked it so much that we arranged for a shipment via freezer truck from Colorado, and Ask Muddy is now the only seller of this food in Chicago - probably in the Midwest, in fact!
Delicious as this food is, nothing quite matches the primal doggie experience of gnawing on a raw bone, and Willie and Tarka now eat raw bones at every meal, along with a smaller amount of Rawthentic. We buy whatever we can find at the grocery store at a reasonable price: chicken drumsticks, thighs, quarters, livers, necks; beef ribs and liver; pork neck bones and ribs; frozen catfish. They recently had turkey drumsticks for dinner, though I monitored them carefully as I was told that turkey drumsticks, unlike most other raw bones, can splinter. They survived to tell the tale, and here's the video to prove it.
Willie and Tarka love eating like this so much that we have decided to move toward the Raw Meaty Bone diet recommended by many canine nutrition experts (Willie and Tarka count themselves in this number, of course, though that wasn't what I meant!). And that means we need to add more variety to their diet. So today I was dispatched (that's what it felt like) on a hunting expedition to Chicago's meat packing district. Thanks to some prior online research, I easily found the Peoria Packing Butcher Shop at 1300 West Lake Street, and I also brought a fleece jacket which is essential if you're going to spend more than about two minutes in the store.
The shop is really a giant walk-in refrigerator with a large variety of meat products (and some fish) displayed on open counters. As you walk in, grab a shopping cart, put on a pair of disposable gloves, and pick out the meat you want. Here are some of the goodies I came home with.
Left - pigs' trotters. Right - pigs' snouts
On the left, 1 lb of beef liver for under $2
On the right, Willie hopes for a handout during the cutting up and bagging process
Until recently, we've done this the convenient (though expensive way), feeding pre-packaged frozen raw dog food that provides a balanced meal. Our favorite food in this category is Rawthentic Pet. Rawthentic is made in Colorado, and we discovered it while on vacation in New Mexico earlier this year. It's very high quality food, and minimally processed so that it looks like what it is — raw beef and salmon with a few other good ingredients mixed in. In fact, we liked it so much that we arranged for a shipment via freezer truck from Colorado, and Ask Muddy is now the only seller of this food in Chicago - probably in the Midwest, in fact!
Delicious as this food is, nothing quite matches the primal doggie experience of gnawing on a raw bone, and Willie and Tarka now eat raw bones at every meal, along with a smaller amount of Rawthentic. We buy whatever we can find at the grocery store at a reasonable price: chicken drumsticks, thighs, quarters, livers, necks; beef ribs and liver; pork neck bones and ribs; frozen catfish. They recently had turkey drumsticks for dinner, though I monitored them carefully as I was told that turkey drumsticks, unlike most other raw bones, can splinter. They survived to tell the tale, and here's the video to prove it.
Willie and Tarka love eating like this so much that we have decided to move toward the Raw Meaty Bone diet recommended by many canine nutrition experts (Willie and Tarka count themselves in this number, of course, though that wasn't what I meant!). And that means we need to add more variety to their diet. So today I was dispatched (that's what it felt like) on a hunting expedition to Chicago's meat packing district. Thanks to some prior online research, I easily found the Peoria Packing Butcher Shop at 1300 West Lake Street, and I also brought a fleece jacket which is essential if you're going to spend more than about two minutes in the store.
The shop is really a giant walk-in refrigerator with a large variety of meat products (and some fish) displayed on open counters. As you walk in, grab a shopping cart, put on a pair of disposable gloves, and pick out the meat you want. Here are some of the goodies I came home with.
On the left, whole oxtails: I cut these into about three pieces for freezing. Each piece will be a whole meal.
On the right, whole beef tongue, sliced and ready for freezing
On the right, whole beef tongue, sliced and ready for freezing
Left - pigs' trotters. Right - pigs' snouts
On the left, turkey wings (bigger than they look!)
On the right, small chickens. These will be served in halves or quarters
On the right, small chickens. These will be served in halves or quarters
Below left, pork belly with ribs (will be cut into portions before bagging and freezing)
On the right, beef neck bones. These seem more for "recreational chewing" as they are mostly bone and not much meat.
On the right, beef neck bones. These seem more for "recreational chewing" as they are mostly bone and not much meat.
On the left, 1 lb of beef liver for under $2
On the right, Willie hopes for a handout during the cutting up and bagging process
And both dogs enjoyed their turkey wings for dinner tonight!
Next on the agenda: find suppliers of different meats. We're thinking rabbit, goat, venison, lamb, bison. We've also asked a fishmonger to save us salmon heads, and we'll be on the lookout for other oily fish like mackerel that W&T can eat whole and frozen. While other RMBs can be served thawed (though I usually give them frozen, or just slightly thawed), it's a good idea to serve fish frozen to make the meal last longer.
Next on the agenda: find suppliers of different meats. We're thinking rabbit, goat, venison, lamb, bison. We've also asked a fishmonger to save us salmon heads, and we'll be on the lookout for other oily fish like mackerel that W&T can eat whole and frozen. While other RMBs can be served thawed (though I usually give them frozen, or just slightly thawed), it's a good idea to serve fish frozen to make the meal last longer.
Posted by Ask Muddy Blog at 8/23/2010 6:43 PM 
Categories: Diet and Nutrition
Tags: dog food raw meaty bones best dog food raw meat raw dog food
Categories: Diet and Nutrition
Tags: dog food raw meaty bones best dog food raw meat raw dog food
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