Que Se Raw, Se Raw

Posted by: Janet on: May 30th, 2006  »  2 comments

Well, we’ve been on the road for 11 days now doing our big stint on QVC, and I have to admit that I’m a little homesick. Even worse, I’m dog-sick. I desperately miss my beloved Jack Russell terrier, Lacey Lou. Actually, her full name (which would appear on her doggie driver license if she were ever so inclined to navigate a vehicle) is Lacey Lou-Who, Who Was No More Than Two. I gave her this name because I adopted her when she was two years old from a breeder in Winchester, Ontario. She’s quite svelte, weighing in at only nine pounds while sopping wet, and she’s white with adorable tan-coloured polka dots on her left ear. What I love most, and miss most about Lacey Lou is how she sleeps on my neck every night. Sometimes we wake up nose to nose, her bristly little whiskers tickling my face.

My Polish pooch has a special talent that I’m sure will soon land her a regular gig with Cirque du Soleil. When she’s outside doing her business, instead of squatting to squirt like most female dogs would, Lacey Lou gracefully and skillfully hoists her back legs up towards the sky, her weight firmly balanced on her two front paws. She does a full handstand! Even the Russian judge would give her a perfect 10 score! It’s really quite something to behold. When I take her to dog-walking parks, she creates quite a commotion–people pointing, shrieking, laughing–especially when she accidentally dribbles pee down her belly as she’s doing her Nadia Commaneci routine.

Lacey does have one flaw, however. She’s the world’s fussiest eater. From the moment I adopted her, she refused, and I mean refused, to eat dog food. Kibble, canned food, biscuits, cheap stuff, super-expensive stuff, healthy stuff–Lacey turns her wet nose up at the mere thought of eating any of “that slop,” as she refers to it. I’ve tried everything, but to no avail. I guess it figures that my dog would steer clear of processed, refined foods, seeing that her owner is a Natural Nutritionist who preaches about eating whole, natural, fresh foods as much as possible.

What Lacey will eat is steak, salmon, and rotisserie chicken legs (she spits out the breast meat). I know, I know. It’s ridiculous that my dog eats better than a lot of people in the world do. I feel kinda guilty about it, but I don’t want the poor girl to starve to death. And she would. She knows how to manipulate me, gazing up at me with those big, brown eyes, tugging on my heart strings with her hunger strike in protest of being served Alpo.

Thankfully, about four years ago, I discovered the “natural raw food diet.” It’s based on the theory that dogs, being decendants of wolves, are meant to be carnivores, and that they thrive on this kind of diet as opposed to eating man-made, grain-based, processed food. Anyway, it sounded good to me, so I tried a product called Urban Carnivore. It comes in stacks of frozen patties: beef, chicken, lamb and duck. And basically, it consists of the whole animal carcass–muscle meat, bones, marrow, organ meat, fat, etc. In producing their product, they only choose healthy, disease-free animals, bypassing feedlots and factory-farmed animals. It’s very high-quality stuff. The most important thing is that Lacey gobbles it up. She loves it! And since I’ve been feeding her with this diet, she’s really thriving and she’s very healthy.

The problem is, I can only find Urban Carnivore in Montreal or Guelph. Since I live in Ottawa, that’s quite a commute to find food for my mutt. I try to stock up when I can. So here’s my question: Does anyone out there know of another good, readily available raw food that my picky pooch might eat? Or, does anyone know of a super-tasty, good quality regular dog food (dry or wet) that even the finickiest of dogs might devour?

Lacey Lou thanks you in advance for your help! Arrrff!

(You can find out more about Urban Carnivore at www.urbancarnivore.com)

Comments (2)

  1. Reply

    Ella | May 30, 2006 at 11:25 am →

    Good for you Janet. Not too many people realize the junk that goes into dog food. I feed my 3 dogs an oatmeal (specially made, and not expensive) with leftovers. For treats, they get carrots and celery, and my springer will actually come when I call her by screaming (because she’s usually taking off after a bird or something) “Angel want a carrot”!. Here’s a sample of the menu, and to find out more about the oatmeal, you can visit this website, Quarterridge.com) which is actually very informative on a bunch of things (herbs, lights, etc for animals and people) Wendy is happy to answer any questions and advise in feeding. They are Guelph area, but the reason I am telling you is that a wee bit of this oatmeal goes a very long way. I get a half bag for around $20.00 and it feeds my three dogs for a couple of months! A little JR would be fed a lot longer, I’m thinking!
    Breakfast (You can feed the same thing everyday)
    Approx 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
    Cover 1/2 with water (1/4 cup water)
    Nuke for 2-3 minutes.
    Add 1 raw egg
    Add 1 tsp unpasturized Honey (only feed once daily at breakfast)
    Mix and let cool. Consistency should be a bit watery for breakfast.

    Supper (Change it up according to left-overs, etc)
    Approx 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
    Cover 1/2 with water (1/4 cup)
    If using frozen veggies, add now.
    Nuke for 2-3 minutes.
    Add Meat, dairy (yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, etc,) veggies (if not frozed, cooked or raw), etc.
    Mix and let cool. Consitency should be like porridge (more solid than breakie).

    Basically, Canada’s food guide eating…good for man or beast!!

  2. Reply

    Dennis Hagel | December 19, 2006 at 1:46 pm →

    Hi Janet
    Came across your blog while doing a search. I would appreciate it if you could drop me an email. Hope you are still able to find our food. If not I will make sure that you can get access to our products. I look forward to hearing from you.

    Dennis and Brenda Hagel
    The Urban Carnviore

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