Homemade dog food

So, anyone who has known me long enough or read my Facebook statuses over the years knows that my dog, Lucky, has a sensitive stomach and is a very picky eater. Since I got him in 2004, I have switched foods pretty much on an annual basis. That was always frustrating, but it worked and life went on. This year, however, I spent A LOT of money on what I was told was high-end, "better" ingredient commercial food. He either hated it, wouldn't eat it, he got sick, or it zapped his energy level. I'll resist the urge to list some of the more expensive foods I tried so as to not sway anyone purchasing dog food; I do actually think it has more to do with him than with the food itself. However, I would keep your dog away from anything with turkey in it, but that's a whole other story!

He got sick right before Memorial Day, and I had some time off work, so I took him in. All the tests came back fine, and the vet put him on a prescription antacid and prescription food. I had been thinking of making my own food for awhile now, so I asked the vet if he could refer me to any good resources for figuring out how to do this. (Trying to find and trust information on the web when it comes to a living creature's health frightens the hell out of me.) Ironically, the vet didn't know anything. He advised me to call the local humane society, and he personally advised me against the raw diet. That was cool...the thought of handling raw meat and feeding it to the dog sounds gross to me anyway.

So, I emailed my good ole college buddy, Sue, to see if she knew anything or could help me. (She is my go-to person for all things canine.) She passed me over to her friend Ginny, who has been doing this for her dog(s) for years. Ginny and I exchanged a few emails, and it was very helpful. Turns out, what I was finding online coincided with what she was telling me. However, a lot of what she was telling me was that it's a trial and error process. And so I tried.

I ordered a book that I had seen referenced many times during my online search: "Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food" by Ann N. Martin. Now, this book appears to be loaded with info that I haven't even taken the time to read. It also looks like it would scare and gross you out immensely to know what is in commercial dog food (not all, of course). I just stuck to the chapter on homemade dog food ingredients, how to manage all the nutritional aspects of your choices, and the few recipes in the book.

And off I went.

I made a week's worth of food the first weekend. Let me tell you...I was in the kitchen for about 6 hours that Sunday. I did dishes probably 3 or 4 times. Granted...I'm not good in the kitchen (period), and I really had no idea what I was doing. My kitchen is small, I have no dishwasher, and I really only have one of any size pan. So, there was a lot of doing dishes in the middle of food prep just because I needed to use a pan again. (I did also make a batch of dog biscuits this day.) The meals are packaged in 1-cup plastic containers that I freeze.

The first weekend, his containers consisted of boiled burger, brown rice, parsley, carrots, and either sweet potato or applesauce. I threw 14 of those containers in the freezer, making sure there were 4 in the refrigerator (thawing) at all times.

Here are some pics from that long day in the kitchen and Lucky's first homemade meal:

While feeding him that first week, I realized it should be so simple to just dump out the container in the bowl and be done, but I was also adding his chewy joint care supplement to each feeding. So, when I started making up the containers for the second week, I decided to mush those supplements up into the containers. So now all of that is together, and I don't really have to think about it.

The 2nd week's menu consisted of boiled burger (we seem to enjoy that for a meaty protein, so I am sticking with it), oatmeal, parsley, either carrots or green beans, and either applesauce or pumpkin. Before I put the pumpkin in all the containers, I had him taste some. I swear that dog would have eaten all of it straight out of the can. Good to know!

I just finished the full 2nd week, and the only thing I did different was I bought some sunflower oil to mix in for each feeding. The book I referenced earlier says that certain kinds of oils can be good for their coat and digestive system. Since I use a spoon to pour out and mix up the contents of the containers in his bowl each time, I just pour about a teaspoon of the oil in. I can't really tell that it has a smell (so maybe no real taste), and he doesn't seem to be phased by it. So, we continue on with that plan.

I just finished making another week's worth, and they all contain some menu combination from Week 1 or 2.

That first week, I also made three different kinds of treats: a crunchy kind, a softer kind, and a chewy kind. All of those recipes came from "MacPherson's K-9 Cookbook" by Mary MacPherson. I shared a smattering of those with my fellow dog owners, and those seemed to go over well with the audience. I have those either in the fridge or the freezer where I'm told they should last at least 3 weeks. So far so good!

I checked out a few more books from the library that I haven't really had a chance to go through yet. Once I do, and if I find any good info, I'll post those titles for all.

Hello 2012!

Woah! It's been a long time since I've posted to the blog. I was really excited to have this last year when I started, and then I just abandoned it. Not really sure why. I see Google changed the look and feel of this since I was last here, so we'll see if I can remember how to do this. Originally I didn't want there to be any way for people to comment on my posts. No offense...I sometimes like to speak from my heart and don't really want a response of any kind. I'm hopeful that that functionality carries through with the Google upgrade.

That said...

I'm back, and there is a lot going on! I started making my own dog food, so I want to be sure to blog about that. Other people might find it informative. Since a friend of a friend helped me get started, maybe I can help someone else who is in the same boat as I was. Also, the basement is almost done. I put up the finishing trim today but undercut one of my pieces. So, I have to buy another piece, paint it, cut it, blah blah blah. I'm excited for that to be finished (for obvious reasons). That has been a 4-year work in progress. I'm excited to go back through ALL my pictures of the basement over the years and post pictures that will create a timeline.

Now...let's see when I'll have time to write that first post of 2012.

Fence project #2

So, the 2nd fence project is complete. It didn't really take very long, but I did encounter problems (big shocker).

Here is the fence I had "propped up" since I moved in in 2008.


And here is what the new fence looks like.



The panels that I bought were advertised at 60x72 (or, 5' tall by 6' wide). Stupid me did not actually measure the pieces once I got them home. I'll take the blame for this, but seriously...You wouldn't think that when you bought 72"-wide panels that they'd actually be 67 INCHES! Yep, realized this after the posts had already been sunk and concreted. So, Home Improvement Heather had to punt.

There were really only two sections that were affected: the two pieces that go from the front to the back. The other section had the gate (which I DID measure) and a piece that I was going to have to cut short anyway. So...I decided that the middle post was where I needed to concentrate my "fix."


I went to Menards and bought two more posts (at $35 a piece). I cut them so they were a little taller, and sorta mounted them to the concreted post. I have a bungee around all three right now because there is some vinyl glue holding the panels along with some screws. Considering I installed this all in a day-long drizzle, I've opted to leave the bungee for awhile during some nicer weather.

The post sitting alone between the sidewalk and the garage didn't cure very well in yesterday's weather. The gate was a fairly tight fit between the posts, so I took the opportunity to use some spare pieces and extra concrete to try to get that post as close to the garage as possible. So, there are some boards and such currently pushing that post while the concrete cures. Haven't used the gate at all since installation, and I figure I'll leave it through tomorrow night. Hopefully after a nice day today and tomorrow, that concrete will be solid, and that post will be exactly where I want it. That is why in some of the pics, you can see the grill in the way of the gate. Just trying to keep the dog from jumping on it.

Finally, the best part of this whole project. Since I had to short-cut the one piece, I had figured I'd have just enough leftover to put in a small spot that had been lattice. Sure enough, it was the perfect size!



Once I paint the picket fence white, it will look very fluid.

Fence project 1

So, project #1 of 2011 is now complete. Yesterday I completed installation of the picket fence. It took almost 5 hours just to get the cross pieces up, so I had given up all hope of finishing the project in a day. However, once I started nailing the pickets, it went really fast. I was done just in time for the neighbor's happy hour on the deck at 4pm.

My neighbors who "share" the fence with me are...lazy homeowners. I informed them I was going to do this project about a month ago, and I saw one of them Thursday night and Friday morning during the process. They seemed to have no opinion about it at all. Nevertheless, I have this weird feeling that they are going to complain about it. Not really sure why I think that, especially since they don't seem to care about their house or yard at all. Whatevs...

Project #2 for 2011 is to put up vinyl fencing on the other side of the yard. That has been selected and ordered; I'm just waiting for it to arrive. Fencing the yard is all about the dog (obviously), but I really think both fence projects will add significant curb appeal to the property. And since my house was just reassessed at a significant decrease in value, I can use all the help I can get for that day I decide to sell.

Music

Depending on how many years you have known me, you may or may not know about how important music has been to me throughout my life. I began playing piano in the 1st grade, and I stopped when I was about 18 years old. I also played clarinet in the band from about 7th grade through the middle of high school.

The last time I played any instrument in front of people was graduation. The last time I played piano, period, was probably with my friend Sue my freshman year of college. Since then, I've never really missed it.

If you were a "child of the 80s," you might remember Sunday radio top 40 shows with Casey Kasem and Rick Dees. You might remember anxiously awaiting what would be #1 that week. You might remember putting your blank cassette tape in your boombox and recording those songs so you could listen to them on your walkman on the bus or at recess. Well, thank God for technology! In the land of downloading entire CDs as mp3s through iTunes or DVRing your favorite shows so you can have a life, I sort of lost sight of how easy it is to find new music.

One really great thing I love about my job is that I can listen to my iPod all day long. It can be any kind of music or audio books. No one ever has to know what you're listening to. So, over the past year - with the help of my friend Ashley and satellite radio - I've really tried to stay up-to-date with the latest music (of my liking). I had really forgotten how a song or an album can make me smile or put me at ease or make me forget about all the really crappy things happening in my life at any given moment.

So, I've decided I'll use this blog as a place to also share what I'm listening to these days...or should I say, the songs I keep repeating when they come up on shuffle.

• My Darkest Days "Pornstar Dancing" (with Ludacris) is my favorite right now. In fact, I'm being one of "those" people and listening to it as I walk from the parking lot in to work every morning.
• Anything by Five Finger Death Punch, but especially "Hard to See" and "Far from Home".
• Red. Until We Have Faces is a really great album, and I just bought tickets to see them in May.
• Last, who can continue to work when RunDMC's "It's Tricky" shuffles around!
  

2011 projects

Well, the calendar might say Spring has arrived, but my 19-degree walk at 5am this morning tells me otherwise. Regardless, I have started to think of my home improvement projects for 2011. My federal tax refund got "delayed" through no fault of mine or my accountant, so I've had some extra time to think about what I want to do.

I went out yesterday with my notebook in hand and measured and priced and assessed. While I will not be able to do exactly what I want for all my projects (time, money, some are not DIYish projects), I do believe I have found acceptable alternatives. First up is replacing the emergency lattice fence out back with an actual wood picket fence. The neighbor's yard that borders mine has one, and although I cannot find the same picket style anywhere in this town, I think it will look much better than what I have now. Hopefully it will be stronger for the dog, but I fear it will allow more bunnicides to occur. From what I've been reading, I should wait a few weeks/months to paint it so it has a chance to weather. (Not sure what constant canine urine does to it!)

From there, I am hoping to replace the leaning chainlink kennel pieces with beautiful white vinyl fencing. This appears to be quite costly, and I can't really find any I like. Here's the dilemma: If I go with a privacy fence with no slats, Lucky won't be able to see people/dogs walking by and might bark less. However, he's an outside dog during the day most of the year. He's always been able to see outside his yard. It seems cruel to take that away from him. Decisions, decisions. I am going to send my specs to a local company to get a price quote on materials/labor. Based on what the computer spit out at me at Menards yesterday, I'm wondering if it isn't worth it to just pay someone to install it. We shall see...

From there is the basement. My really nice, very cold basement. Gosh I wish that was usable year-round. First I need to strip all the crappy paint off the block. Then I need to fill all gaps. Then I need to seal it against water. And those are just the steps I had planned to do last year! From there, insulation. I've been online for weeks now trying to find alternatives to framing and sheetrocking. I'm not sure why I'm against that option, but I am. I'm still working out the details on this project, but I will have insulation in that space before next winter. I'm hoping that one of my friends who just added a room addition to her house can help me with the heat source for my new basement. Appears that this will also be a difficult decision to make due to the amount of options available to me.

Finally, and I'm sure there will be $0 left over after the above, I'd like to bring a company in and insulate the walls of the house. Based on how cold I am 6 months out of the year and how much my bills are, I'm fairly confident I got nothing in those walls. I don't even know what this little adventure would cost me, but the local company that blows it in from the outside is the same company who replaced my windows. Good people. So, I'll be working on getting an estimate for that. It might be worth dipping into my savings to do that before next winter. Who knows what kind of money I could save next winter if I opted for this project yet this year.

So there it is. My 2011 all planned out. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted with updates of my successes and failure along the way.

This day in history

Four years ago this weekend, Dan and I were in Vegas.
Two years ago today, Dan got married...obviously not to me!
It's funny the way life works, huh?

I celebrated Dan's wedding day with good food, good friends, and good drinks. Last night I was able to do that again. So, happy anniversary, Dan. Seems to me that we both have the lives we wanted. Perhaps you should thank me for walking out on you!