DOGGY DIETS

DOGGY DIETS

Have a pet with a problem? Allergies? Too fat? Too hyper?

Listen UP!

Pets have allergies, too. Some are allergic to fleas. Some are allergic to grass, pollen from various plants. How about itchy little tushes? They could be pollen allergies or mites from too long grass.

What to do for your Doggy Baby?

CLEAN it up. Clean up the doggy doo, clean up the doggy booty. The area your dog exercises in can become diseased. Pick up after it. After walking your dog, bring him/her in and wash its booty with warm baking soda water. Or try a mild betadine solution; this will turn the area pale yellow and the washcloth, too, but it washes out completely.

DRY it up. Use a soft towel and/or hair dryer to completely dry the area. Don’t scrub a dub it, gently blot and brush til dry.

Make sure your dog has a diet that includes some fat or oil. Mine likes chicken skin. A few dog biscuits, made in USA, have some fat in them and are acceptable. OR.....

COOK it up. Cooking for your dog is not a wussy thing to do. It will help its health in the long run, since most commercial dog foods are full of filler, some even have weird animal parts you wouldn’t dream of feeding your doggy.

Recipes:

Main Meal: Chicken Soup. Right! It’s good for you, good for your dog, good for everything! And super easy. A small frying chicken is best, lots of meat and not too much fat. You won’t waste any of it!

Separate it into pieces; I happen to like white meat so the breast and wings go into a freezer bag for later; the back, legs, thighs and anything else that looks like stringy stuff you don’t know the name of goes in the soup pot. (Don’t have a soup pot? Check out your nearest Good Will or SallyArmy store -- mine is an old pressure cooker rescued from the pile of stuff going to the rubbish bin after my aunty passed away.) Oh and don’t forget the parson’s nose...what my dad called the north end of a south-bound chicken! It’s that little triangular thing at the tail end of the back.

Cover your little chicken with 2 cups water, maybe a half envelope of cup a soup mix, chicken or cream of chicken flavor. Add garlic clove chopped, bay leaf, sea salt (maybe half a teaspoon), chop up a carrot,a stalk of celery (include some of the green leafy top), a few chopped up chives, some parsley. If you have leftover juice from something else, add that too. Any kind of pasta or potato will thicken it. Bring to boil, lower heat and cook an hour or so til meat comes off the bone.  Take out the chicken and remove all bones, return meat to soup and cook some more, half an hour should do it.

SPECIAL TREAT: Roast Beef! Yup, roast beef even at $4.59 a pound for a rump (my favorite cause it has lots of flavor) is cheaper than canned dog food since it’s ALL Beef, no additives. Instead of wondering where’s the beef in that can, you’ll be enjoying, along with your Royal Dogness, one of nature’s finest meals.

RUMP: catch it on sale if you can, (3.49 to 3.99) get a 3 pounder and cut in three pieces; season with garlic powder and sea salt by coating each side, roast fat side up at 325 for half hour per pound (so that’s only half an hour to cook it, right? RIGHT!) And the smell is simply scrumptious while it’s cooking. Your dog will be drooling and so will you.

Let it sit five minutes, then slice. You’ll need to figure out which way the grain of the meat runs and cut against it to have it be the most tender, mouth melting thing you’ve ever tasted. A bit of trouble but oh, honey, it’s worth it!

Chop your doggie’s portion into bite size pieces, yours, not so much, you’ll want to slice it thin, maybe stack it and pour some of the delicious juice on a french roll for a french dip...or just eat it with your fingers if you can’t stand to wait. A baked potato with perhaps a bit of broccoli, cottage cheese and grated cheddar on top is a gourmet accompaniment...and I mean for both of you! Your dog will like the broccoli with cheese, trust me on this! Mine also loves the peel from baked potato, either sweet or white. Cut that in small pieces for him/her.

I'll cover baking dog biscuits in the next episode. Watch for it! Meanwhile, Happy Trails to you. Move it on out, that is, take a long walk. Dogs need exercise! and so do all of us. If you have a special need or request, write me!