Emma and Food Issues

Emma and her best friend and playmate, Pippin, enjoy a shared dog bed.

Emma is nearly 13 weeks old, and she is growing like a weed. There are some food issues, she doesn’t have a reliable appetite for her food. Variety seems to be important for her dining pleasure, even first thing in the morning.

Emma and Pippin, our young Sheltie, co-support one another during mealtimes. After their breakfast of The Honest Kitchen Embark, Missing Link, Vitamin C tablet with home made bullion to complete the dish, they each have a whole carrot to chew on. Emma has lunch each day of Natural Balance kibble, and she manages to get a half a cup eaten. There is a morning play and at least 2 hours of hard napping, then play and nap in the afternoon. She is awake and most active when the children are home and ready to play or go for a walk. The evening meal is always tasty and inviting. However, yesterday both girls decided their regular meals were not edible, and refused to eat. I left the dishes down for them, but still nothing was eaten. Lunch time I set down fresh kibble, and very little was eaten. The evening meal was the same way, very little eaten.

Neither Emma nor Pippin have less energy, they are not chewing on things, nor are they more aggressive. They just are not eating. This morning the same thing happened, so I called Lin Hainlen, the breeder, for suggestions and direction.

Any suggestions?

Raw Food Diet for Emma

I have been reading extensively about the pros and cons of various diets for Emma. She is 12 weeks old and still not eating all Lin, her breeder, recommends for the puppies. There is the conventional, over the counter in the grocery store food, then there are the specialty brands, like those recalled, and finally the raw or part-raw diet like The Honest Kitchen.

Lin feeds her dogs The Honest Kitchen diet of dehydrated raw for one meal then kibble from Dick Van Patton called Natural Balance for the second meal of the day. She is recommending the same diet for Emma, reinforced with Missing Link and Vitamin C. I am following her lead, because her dogs all look healthy and happy, they are long-lived, and there is research to back up the approach. I have been adding raw whole carrots for Emma to chew on and small pieces of fresh apple. When I brush Emma’s teeth, she leans into my finger as if her gums and teeth are bothering her. She is chewing on everything, despite her endless supply of chew bones. I have also been doing TTouch on her gums at night as she is ready to retire for the evening. She is sleeping all night now. (I would too if someone were giving me a relaxing rubdown and foot massage as I lay in bed ready for sleep.)

I would love to hear your opinions about puppy diets for large breeds.

Emma and Russian Borsch

Emma was the center of attention at our home Saturday. We had a few friends over for some Russian cuisine. Each knew of Emma because of the e-mail announcement I sent to everyone with her 8-week-old photo attached. I think they came to meet Emma as much as the visit and meal. Many brought gifts of play toys and long lasting displays of affection.

Russian food is not something I can just throw together. I shop and cook for several days. Emma loved the process. She loved the kitchen aromas and remained as close to the center of the action as possible. She had been having trouble eating as much as Lin Hainlen, the breeder, said she should be eating. Preparation for the meal, and the wafting aromas stimulated her apatite, and all of a sudden she was hungry, eating almost the amount she is supposed to.

I use “The Joy of Cooking” recipe for my Borsch. I e-mailed Lin this evening with the ingredients to be certain Emma could have her “dish of choice” to mix with The Honest Kitchen, Embark. She also has Van Patton’s Natural Balance kibble in her diet. I am hoping Lin can find no reason for Emma not to enjoy her Borsch on a regular basis.

Note: Onions are a toxic for your dog as chocolate, so leave out the onions!