Raw Diet

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and the holiday music already blasting, we are all prepping and meal planning and looking for ways to treat ourselves.

With Thanksgiving comes the Turkey and all the "good" stuff that a turkey brings with it. O.K. Quick story time..
    "Last December I had a Holiday party and invited all of my friends over for a big dinner. I made the turkey, we had sweet potato cassarole, green bean cassarole, and the list went on and on. I cooked the beautifully 22 pound bird and he was so juicy and yummy. I made sure to avoid the common rookie mistakes like cooking a frozen turkey or Flambaying it. BUT.... I did forget to remove the "gizzards" ( The neck and heart and Liver) Now in my defense, I looked and searched and called my mom and we came up with the idea that maybe they forgot my bag of goodies. Mike was upset since he and his mom always eat the heart and liver on Thanksgiving morning. They fry it up and split the goods. YUCK... anywho as we were carving Tom I found a little present... The missing gizzards hanging out in the belly of my FULLY COOKED and BEAUTIFUL bird. So of course I told Mike not to tell and chucked the small parchment paper bag of cooked insides and chalked it up to extra flavor for my Bird... OOOPs...

Anywho This year I have a new found love for the gross gizzards of my Turkey! They make a delectable treat for Ace Face. Dogs can eat raw meats and its much better for them than most of the dog food brands on the market. The only stipulation with feeding your dogs raw is that you feed them "fresh and locally farmed grass fed meats". Whats the point of giving your pooch a steak or a bowl of ground beef, that is from a cow that had a high corn and grain diet. I mean you are what you eat even if you have four legs and a tail.

How to feed your Dog Thanksgiving Day Goodies!

-The Neck- If your pooch is little like mine and will pretty much eat anything in site (i.e. the floor, molding, underwear) then you want to make sure that you supervise and hold the Neck so that he doesn't just swallow it whole. Yes they can eat the raw bones, Bones are good for dogs teeth and they can digest them just fine. Just make sure that everything passes smoothly.

-Liver and Heart- No need to cook, just dice it up and add it in with your dogs food. Just make sure to check the dogs stool to make sure that they are still firm and not too watery.

*Hint checking your dogs stool can help determine how they are digesting and if they are feeling good or not.

Do you feed your dog any raw foods?

XO,
Ash

Training Update

Passed out Puppies!

So training continues in our house and we have been incident free... Thank God. I am more aware of Ace's moods and his patience and I think he has gotten a little calmer. We are working on his hard mouth, (when taking treats) staying when people come in the door, and he is learning to go to his bed when he wants his own space.

They Really Love each other...

Ripley and Ace get along great but sometimes they just get a little too intense. 

Both puppies are learning to trust us more and more and they are learning when to give each other space and when it's ok to play. Training two dogs at one time is tough but its also kinda funny to... 

There are times when I will be trying to get Ace to put his head down and Ripley will come by and lay down and put his head down. What a star student. 

I am working on teaching Ace to bark. I was told if I teach him to bark I control when he barks from now on. Any tips or tricks on how to teach a dog to bark on command?

XO, 

Ash

Aggressive Puppy

Hey everyone! Ace is getting soooooo Big!

He's 38 pounds and he has developed a love of swimming. Yep that's right this little guy loves to jump and play in the water.

He is still eating SUPER fast even though he uses a special bowl, We are still working on getting him to be less aggressive with his food and especially around Ripley.

He is still putting his hair up on occasion and getting into little fights with Ripley. We have learned to squash it before it turns into anything big and so far that is working out very well..

Any tips on how to train dog to dog aggression out?

Know any good dog trainers in Boston Ma?

XO,
Ash and Ace Face

Ace loves his uncle Scotty

Puppy Love and Hate

So Ace and Ripley are officially room mates!

Yeah so we have developed some issues right off the bat. My pup Ace is a protective pup when it comes to Mom and Dad and his food. We have had three instances that have involved food and one that involved me and Mike. Ace gets mad and snaps at Ripley. So we try and feed them in seperate rooms, or at the same time and then pick up the bowls once feeding time is over.

We are also trying to teach Ace that it's ok to let other dogs and people come and see his Mom and Dad. He means well and is such a good boy, but I am glad that we are having this problem now and we live with Ripley so we can fix this problem.

They are super cute together they play all the time and cuddle with each other. Ace is super fast and has more traction on our hardwood floors, so they play tag all the time and Ripley has trouble catching up and just trails our fast pup while whining. It's super cute and funny too!

 I love my pups! Do you have any tips or Tricks for training your dog not to be protective?

New Home

Ace face has gotten a tad confused, We recently moved out of our Apartment and his first real home. He was funny while I packed boxes and taped them up, he would grab the ends and rip the tape off. He likes his new home but its funny because once we moved all the furniture and such and went to the apartment to clean he sniffed the whole darn place. He must have been on the scent for all our stuff.

New Updates on the Pupperoni :)

- He LOVES his new crate... He even hops down off the bed and goes in there and sleeps all night with the door open.

What a good Boy!!!

- He has a new bed and is starting to love that as well... Our new House is all hard wood floors and the little stich of carpet we have he was sleeping on so we bought him a K9 Balistics Tuff Bed and he loves it :)

We got black, so he matches it! 

- He has a new backyard to run around in and play in which he loves :)

- He is loosing teeth like a lil Monster... I have found 6 teeth so far, not sure what we are gonna do with them. I wanted to make an ornament Mike says thats weird and creepy.

- He passed Puppy Class! Yay!

He is getting so big and so smart I love him so much he is such a good boy!!! Everyday he just amazes me how much  a lil person he is, he has such a personality. He has forever stolen my heart!

Puppy Class

Tonight Ace has his second to last puppy class. He is so darn smart and I just love him... we have been doing puppy pushups which is asking him to sit, lay down, sit lay down all really quick and one after another. He is very good at puppy push ups. He is also very good at staying, he can stay for duration and with distractions which is all very good. He is getting much better at leave it, its hard for him to hear mommy when my yummy steak is staring him in the face on the table at eye level, so lets just say due to my laziness of eating at the dinning room table Ace has gotten a few good licks or bites of steak here and there. Ooops. Nonetheless he is doing great and should pass the class with flying colors.

Being at class he sometimes gets NON Paleo treats, which is ok in moderation. One of the perks of where we go to puppy class is that its held in the store so we get 20% off his Orijen Puppy food which is awesome... He loves his puppy food although we have discovered that my baby boy DOES NOT CHEW his kibble. He pretty much scoops it into his mouth and swallows. When he eats you hear No crunching or chewing... what a silly boy.

He has calmed down much more as well. When he hears me pouring his food he stands at attention but he is paitient and waits for me to put down his bowls and release him before he even looks at his bowl. That's such an improvement over tackling me for the bowl and whining and barking in excitement.

He is such a good puppy, always makes  me laugh, we play hide n seek all the time its his favorite game. I can't wait to take him hiking and for him to have his own yard. We move in Ten days and I am Sure he is going to love running around in his new yard!!! So excited!

Pooped Puppy!

Ace had a VERY long weekend  and he was certainly a Pooped Pup last night. We started out with a very long ride to Jersey and that ‘lil pooch didn’t whine one bit even though we were in traffic. Friday night he did his usual kiss Rudy’s face while he barks at him and pull every single toy out of the basket and play with each and everyone until he passes out.

Saturday morning he was up bright and early at 6:30am. I tried to have him sleep in till at least 7am but he wasn’t having it. So we went potty and he played till about 8:30am while I snoozed on and off on the couch.
We left the house at 10:30 all of us headed to watch Lindsay, Catherine, and Ashlee in the Warrior Dash and try and avoid a wet and Muddy hug. But after a parking mishap and horrible planning on the Race Peoples part we ended up Dropping them off and killing an hour in time. We went down to Morristown, found a great little spot and parked. Mike and I and the pooch walked through Morristown which is a little city with shops and bars and restaurants with LOTS of people. It was GREAT practice for Ace to walk around  and walk in a popular area with a lot of distraction. He did pretty well, and only approached people that approached him first, That was AWESOME. Mike got me a coffee which was VERY much needed and we just walked and relaxed. It was HOTT HOTT HOTT but still a very nice day. After 45 minutes of that we walked back to the car got Ace some water and then headed back to the race. We found a secluded spot to park at a nearby catholic school. After playing with Ace in the parking lot I found a cut though the woods so we went on a mini hike for some warrior friends.

We got Lindz and headed off to our Nana and Gramps house. After a quick meet n greet with Aunt Karen and her Friend Cynthia, along with meeting our cousin Katelyn, and a quick kiss from Nana, Gramps and Aunt Niecy I brought Ace inside while we ate a quick lunch and for him to cool off in the AC. Mike and I had some lunch meat, some coleslaw.

We sat on the porch for most of the day chatting and playing with Ace. For dinner we ate some Burgers and BBQ chicken and some salad with Cucumbers and Tomatoes from Gramps garden J YUMMY!!
Ace was pretty much passed out once I fed him. He had a pretty action packed day. After a nap he went home and did some laps or something we call the ACE 500 where he just for No reason at all starts running and barking all by himself. Then he passed out for the night with me J
Sunday he got to play with Blue a(black lab) and he met his first ever cat Rugby, but they didn’t get along too well. They got nose to nose but they didn’t play much. Ace did love playing with his toys though. Silly dog, After playing with Blue we went to see Sid and Enzo (two Goldens). I tried to get him in the lake but he had no intention of swimming.

Needless to say this is what he looked like after being in the car for only 20 minutes.

And he also slept like this a lot on the way home, silly dog. I am sure he will catch up on his sleep today while he is in the crate. He needs to rest since he will see Chance and Rudy again this weekend when we move! Yikes.

Paleo Pup and Peanut Butter Surprise!!!

Tuesday my work closed early for the Fourth of July holiday. So I was home at 12:30 for Ace. We spent the whole afternoon together and he loved it. When Mike got home from work we decided to weight Ace. Do you know that my little baby isn’t so little anymore. He is in that lanky awkward stage for growing, and so he is much taller, but he weighs 30 lbs that’s a lot for my pup…He sure doesn’t look like he weighs 30lbs. Anyways so we were planning on going to see some fireworks and so I knew Ace was going to be in his crate for a while. I took his marrow bone and filled it with Peanut Butter on either end. Not a ton but just a little bit. I thought Ace didn’t care for peanut butter but he just didn’t like it when he was a baby, no he LOVES IT. So I took his bone filled with the good stuff and stuck it in our freezer. I did that for a few reasons. The freezer will harden the peanut butter so it wont be as sticky and messy as it normally would be, it will be a great treat since its cold. And the frozen aspect will make it last longer so he will be occupied for longer in his crate.

Needless to say we put the bone filled with goodness in the crate and he went in and could careless. I worried he wouldn’t last that long in his crate but he was champ. He cleaned the marrow bone of all the Peanut Butter and his crate was clean as could be. He’s such a good boy!!! Now when ever we have to leave him for a few hours, and I feel guilty that he is in his crate when he should be with us, I give him his marrow bone delight. Technically as a Paleo Pup Peanut Butter is not really good for them, but I have given him Peanut Butter and its done ok with him and his digestion. He still goes potty regularly and doesn’t seem to bother his lil Vermont Teddy Bear belly so its ok.

Just like humans, I check to see how certain foods react. Since starting Paleo I have noticed that I feel much better when I eat strict and avoid dairy and grains. I see how foods affect me and either eliminate them or limit them. So I do the same with Ace, if you want a healthy puppy, just see how there poop is and how certain foods make them feel. If you have any questions on how to make your pooch a paleo pup, feel free to ask me!

XO,

Ash

Puppy Treats and Puppy Poop...

So it's inevitable. You get a puppy and your decide how you want him to eat. In our case strict Paleo. But once
you bring him to puppy class or the pet store, Bank, or family members house you feel pressure to allow
grain to enter your puppys belly. Major fail. Ace is a grain free pup just like mom and dad. Not only
is he grain free but we feed him beef and potato treats so nothing with extras or fillers. So no milkbones
no snausages or anything else. At puppy class many people have treats at hand and when they see your pup
or are asked to participate in class demonstrations its inevitable that your pup is going to get a lil
treat here and there thats not exactly... Paleo? But this week has been ruff. Ace got extra treats at
puppy class. Plus a Milk bone at Pet Smart and some random dog cookie at the vet. Now of course your saying what
I normally would say, just say no. But its difficult when the stranger with the not so yummy treat asks
if they can give your already sitting paitently and adorable pup a treat that they already have in hand
and in front of your pup nose. Difficult to say the least.

Most people are prob saying who cares give him the treat. But changes in a dogs diet shows in there.... poop. Ace
eats grain and by product free food and treats so his... poop is usually solid and easy to clean up after.
When he has stranger treats or ones that are not Paleo pup friendly, his poop becomes soft and mushy
and thats not good.

Its like eating a greasy burger or an ice cream the size of your head, its hard to resist but later on you
feel that grossness living in your belly and its unpleasant. Since Ace can't say no we try and say no for
him as much as we can but its hard to resist that puppy dog face!!!!

Good Boy Fido! Paleo Pup Treats!

Treats: So this is very important when raising a Paleo Pup. Treats are great for training and good for rewarding your pup when he is being a good boy or girl. We are paleo which means no grains for this pooch. So when your in the typical pet store this can be difficult most of the chain stores stock there shelves with treats that use grains or flour, so you need to find a good store that sells many other options. For training purposes we buy Zukes, these aren’t completely grain free but they are small and soft and great for training and they only have a little bit of grain. They also come in great flavors like Salmon and Chicken and Lamb. You can check them out below.

For rewarding purposes we like to give Ace these treats that are sweet potato with beef jerky wrapped around it. The potato is chewy and firm and the jerky is yummy so it takes his puppy teeth a few minutes to chew it up which is good as a distraction. I also stuff his KONG bone with these treats and he loves this. We don’t have the original Kong yet, but if your dog is not Paleo and likes peanut butter ( Ace doesn’t like Peanut Butter) then filling a Kong with Peanut Butter is a great distraction or crate toy. Keeps them busy while your gone. You can even freeze the Kong filled with Peanut Butter for a yummy summer treat. I always used to use peanut butter as a way to get my dogs to eat there medicine. Ace takes his heartworm pills like a champ, no PB needed.

Bones: So I like to give Ace a good sized rawhide bone now and then, he loves them and he especially loves to hide it. So once in a while I give him a rawhide bone, technically its not paleo because its not digestible in dogs but for a treat once in a while its ok. I also buy him real bones from the pet store and bully sticks. He LOVES bully sticks. They come in two different varieties scented and unscented. Trust me on this one you want to buy unscented. They can tend to smell after a while. Fun little fact bully sticks can make any pup aggressive since these treats are so yummy so if your giving one to your pup and others are around be sure they are away from each other and that you brought plenty to share.

Below are some links to my favorite dog store and also the Zukes treats! Enjoy!

XO,

Ash

http://www.zukes.com

http://www.petsource.biz

What to Feed Your Paleo Pup

So you just got  a new puppy and whether you have had a dog or not your wondering which puppy food to get and why. I had three dogs throughout my childhood and two of them died of health issues, one is still alive and kicking but has some issues of his own. 

 

My New Baby Ace!

Here is my back story: Sandy my baby girl passed away after we had a large tumor removed from her belly, she made it through surgery ok but had a hard time recovering and we lost a few days later. Butch died of diabetes and regardless of IV and insulin he passed away as well. Butch also had many fatty tumors and we removed a few and shortly after he had an episode of  seizures within 24 hours, 11 to be exact. Butch was a tank nothing could stop him he lived to be about 11. Throughout his life he took down many boxes of valentines candy, Christmas candy, the little chocolate nips with alcohol inside, half a sheet cake, and or course a decadent gourmet chocolate cake with Chambord and raspberry sauce. I know what your thinking dogs aren’t supposed to have chocolate, I know this but Butch was a scavenger and nothing was given to him, lets just say he knew how to sneak a taste or polish off a whole box while no one was looking. Rudy is still alive and well but he has many fatty tumors as well. Some dogs are prone to getting these, but some also say it can be from the kinds of foods they eat. 

 

 

Ace is my newest baby and my first dog as an adult. I care for him with my boyfriend Mike, he is our little baby. We decided to feed him similar to how we eat so I call him my Paleo Pup! We follow a grain free diet and so does he. I figure if we had kids they would adopt the same lifestyle. When choosing Ace’s food I did my research and hoped for the best, some dogs I know can be picky eaters, Not Ace, We weaned him off the Hill Science Diet that they gave him at the shelter and onto Orijen Puppy food. I simply googled Grain Free Food and found this one. It sounded good and was in a good price range. Ace was on full Orijen food in just a few weeks and he loves it.  We stay away from traditional dog treats like Milk Bone and Snasauges and instead we buy treats make with Sweet Potato, Beef and Chicken. Our pet store carries a wide variety of grain free treats and Ace loves them all… He also enjoys a good bully stick or the occasional rawhide.

If your thinking or wondering about what to feed your dog just hop online and do your research. Most dog foods you find in Supermarkets and big name Pet Stores like Petco and Pet Smart carry brands like Pedigree, Purina, Hill Science Diet and they have a lot of by products and grains. So when choosing the best one look at the label and try and decide what sounds good to you. You can also purchase trial size portions of a lot of dog foods brands. IF they don’t have trial sizes, buy the smallest bag as a test if your pooch turns his nose up call a local shelter and see if they will take the food. Most places will take anything and love the extra help!! Just remember its important what you feed your pet and if you have any questions ask me or just google it.

Take care and stay tuned for more tips on keeping your pooch Paleo Perfect!