First, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! This is a day for Americans to give thanks, and a celebration of our harvests. Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday - it is not commercialized, and it is a time of celebration and fellowship to be spent with those you love and car about. Today I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I'm thankful for - my family, my friends, my loved ones, my animals and my sweet Milly, my opportunity to ride horses again, my health, my home, my job, my blog and blog followers, and my freedom of speech that enables this blog - there are too many things I am thankful for to list.
I woke up early on this Thanksgiving to go to the Blessing of the Hounds at our local fox hunt. I was running a bit late, and missed the actual Blessing, though I did get to watch 40 horses and riders (a very small turnout) and many, many hounds run/gallop off into the woods as horns pressed against field masters' lips blared into the morning fog. It really is a sight. I actually used to partake in these fox hunts (don't worry, in my many years hunting we never once brought a fox to ground or killed a fox).
I spent my afternoon/early evening in fellowship with my family (minus one brother, his wife and their darling daughter) and my parent's dog Lucy. I left Milly in Arlington, VA this Thanksgiving to keep my significant other company (holidays are never a favorable time of year in his family, unfortunately) - she slept last night in the bed, and dined on a raw bison marrow bone this afternoon. This afternoon we had an amazing dinner prepared by my brother Teddy, and the whole family pitched in.
After stuffing our faces with Turkey and fully satisfying our appetites my dad suggested giving Lucy some Turkey, but I immediately said make sure no skin, no fat, and no turkey that has been seasoned, because it is rumored to be connected to holiday pancreatitis.
So before you feed those left overs to your pooch make sure 1) there is no turkey skin 2) there is no fat 3) the turkey has not been seasoned, because you don't want your pooch to get pancreatitis.
Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all! Let me know what you did today and what you're thankful for!!! :)
With so many risks associated with feeding a commercial pet food diet, and recalls hitting every part of the animal nutrition industry – from canned food to kibble to treats – it’s comforting to know there are some natural ways to reward your pet. The raw food movement has really infiltrated the pet market, and I have considered on numerous occasions switching Milly to a raw diet, but ultimately I have decided not to change her diet, because I have finally found a food that works for her itchy skin. I do however feed raw marrow bones, and want to tell you a bit more about these. They are a wonderful treat, and you will be amazed at how white your dog’s teeth will become after eating them. They really are great for promoting healthy teeth and gums.
For most dog owners they’ve heard their entire lives never to feed a dog bones, as they not only pose a choking hazard, but can also break and splinter and cause severe damage to a dog’s esophagus and entire digestive tract. Well, this old idea is true to an extent – never feed a dog COOKED BONES. Raw bones are an exception to the rule, and a wonderful, natural chew treat to give your dogs.
I have spent the past year reading up on the wonderful qualities of treating with raw marrow bones. I searched high and low, but could not find a butcher in my area, and instead decided to try Nature’s Variety raw bones – they come in a variety of sizes, and you can chose from many different animals. I’m sure they are a bit more expensive than just going to your butcher, but they are only a couple of dollars a bone, and I thought they were worthwhile. I bought lamb, bison and beef marrow bones and serve them frozen one at a time – each bone will last months, I’m told.
Milly has so far only tried the bison marrow bone, but she LOVES it. She happily chomps away for a solid hour when I give it to her, and when she’s done, I simply rinse the bone and pop it back in the freezer in a baggie for next time. I highly recommend trying raw bones with your dogs, but if you do decide to try this make sure the bone is large enough that your dog cannot swallow it (this could be a choking hazard). You want to stay away from raw soup bones (often found in the frozen section at the grocery store), because these tend to be cut small, and can easily cause your dog to choke. Also, for the most part stay away from joints like elbows and knees (these also can easily break). I always supervise Milly when I give her a raw bone to be on the safe side. I also recommend giving the bone outside, on your porch, in your garage, on-top of newspaper, etc. so you do not get raw marrow all over your house.
You can see in this photo the bones come shrink wrapped, which in my opinion reduces the gross factor of buying raw bones, and storing them in your freezer beside the Ben & Jerry's!
The easiest way to find these bones would be to look for a retailer on Nature’s Variety’s website, and then call the retailers to see if they sell the raw, frozen bones.
Do not forget there is still time to enter the second PUPCAKE GIVEAWAY!!! The drawing will take place on July 24th using a random number generator!! Good Luck!! :)
