Germany

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.

-Unknown

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am a 28 year old Canadian women that loves dogs, well ok, all animals, cooking, travelling and nutrition. I am currently living in south Germany with my husband and this has afforded me the time to finally get this underway!

My history with dogs started back when I was 8 years old (or was it 10?) when my family and I got our first puppy. Maggie was a beautiful, soft, black Labrador that was basically the best pet any family could ask for. Starting at the age of 14, I began working in the dog industry. I have worked in veterinary clinics, boarding kennels, doggy daycares and most recently, I worked for four years in a fast-paced, no kill shelter. Working in a shelter was an eye-opening experience for me as I would work with dogs of all different backgrounds, breeds, ages, as well as physical or mental ailments. We saw chronic allergies, varying stages of urinary diseases, the devastating effects of vaccinosis and many other medical conditions. We were constantly working with owners that were forced to part with their pets because of mounting vet bills or general frustration. With a background working for 5 years in a veterinary clinic, as well as a degree in Animal Science, I would diligently treat these ailments with the prescribed prescription diets. Antibiotics and steroids were given ad nosium and results were slow and generally fragile. Towards the second year of my employment, my team and I decided to take a leap and try feeding raw food to our dogs. This was something that no other shelter in our experience had tried before...we were taking a step into the dark!

At the beginning of our journey we were learning how to prepare the food, how much to feed and how often. We learned how to transition to a raw diet without dietary upsets and how to entice a picky eater. I remember one particular 7 year old rotti cross that for 3 days would pick up her bowl of food and throw it at her kennel gate. This same dog slowly began to try the food and by weeks end was goggling her dinner with eager enthusiasm.

The results within the entire kennel were slow in some areas and rapid in others. To begin, our dogs no longer suffered from bouts of diarrhea. In our kibble days this would be a regular occurrence due to the stress of their environment as well as their digestive tracts. Our raw fed dogs had clean, small stools which to us signified health and digestion and also contributed to a fresh, clean kennel atmosphere. The long term effects came to those dogs that had suffered from poor nutrition for a very long time. We witnessed senior, legathic dogs become energerized and peppy, chronic skin allergies developed into a soft and supple coats, overweight dogs shed the pounds and developed visible muscles. These changed I witnessed began my passion for canine nutrition wellness.

This blog is not just about raw food feeding. In this blog I will write about well quite simply, my life with dogs!