Tuesday 29 May 2018

Raw Feeding






When I got my first dog Maggie,  I didn't really give much thought as to what she ate.
Her previous owner had raw fed her, but I imagined it to be smelly and expensive so I changed her to a mid range dry food for perhaps the first 6 months that I had her.

But when Maggie got ill, I revisited the idea of raw with her previous owner, who explained some of the benefits of raw food and was absolutely passionate about it. The claims that this person made compelled me to want to do some more research on the matter and find out if there was science behind the them, or if it was just a fad I hadn't heard of.
What struck me however, was a real lack of any kind of research at all!
I found plenty of information on the importance of feeding zoo animals a species appropriate diet, but could find nothing pertaining to domestic pets.
So, despite knowing very little I made the choice to switch Maggie back to raw - it just made sense to me to feed her, what I had deduced was what she was biologically designed to eat.

Some 10 years later raw is very much mainstream and thankfully so!
Research has now proven raw to be the absolute best thing to feed your dogs and people are moving away from poor, low protein, high carb foods (such as Bakers Complete which is only 4% meat) to high quality foods that are uncooked, unprocessed and 100% meat.

So, in brief I thought I'd share some of the most basic facts and benefits of raw feeding, for those who may be new to the idea. I also hope that these points will help to dispel some myths about faw feeding.

1. Raw feeding is actually very easy!

You can buy it in ready made blocks of minced meat, that looks just like the minced beef that you would use to make a spa bol with.

2. Raw feeding isn't at all messy!

 (if you don't want it to be) If you choose to feed the minces, you can simply plop the mince into the dog bowl the night before and it will be defrosted in time for the morning. Some minces even come in little tuppaware boxes, so that it can be defrosted in them.

3. Raw feeding isn't expensive!

I pay between 60 and 90p a day to feed both a toy and a standard poodle if they eat the minces alone.

4. Raw feeding is safe!

There have been some horror stories in the media recently about how salmonella can be spread from raw dog food. Yes it can, however salmonella and other nasties can be spread from handling any raw meat so as long as basic hygiene rules are applied you shouldn't have an issue. Raw dog food is generally human grade, so you really have to exercise no more caution than you would if you were preparing to cook raw meat for yourself - wash your hands, the bowls and the surfaces that raw meat has touched to avoid cross contamination.

5. Raw Feeding is Healthy!

Your dog is biologically designed to eat raw food.
There are no additives, preservatives, grain or colourings in raw dog food so you know exactly what they are getting. Next time you are in the supermarket, take a look at the list of ingredients on the back of any packet of dog food. Do you understand what all of the ingredients are? No? Well with raw you will!
Feeding raw bones will also improve dental health and keep teeth naturally clean. Trust me, Dentastix will never cut it.

6. Your dog will poop less!

Because raw food is what a dog is designed to eat, the majority of it is absorbed and used by the body. You will notice that your dog poops a lot less, because there is less of the food they eat wasted by the body.


All of my dogs are raw fed and I have 100% faith in this method of feeding. I feel that it is the right decision for us and I know exactly what we are getting. I usually raw feed a prey model diet, which means that I feed whole animals such as rabbit, with skin, head etc attached.
However the puppies have been raised on pre-made minces and given bones for chewy treats.

Below are a few photographs of the dogs enjoying their raw bones.














For more information on raw feeding please consider clicking on of one of the below links and joining the associated Facebook groups:
Raw Fed Poodles UK
UK Raw Feeders


Monday 21 May 2018

Green Collar Boy is Re-available



Due to unforseen circumstances little green collar boy is now reavailable to his forever home.
I don't know why as he is the naughtiest, cheekiest puppy I have and whenever I am looking for a puppy myself that is exactly what I choose!
Perhaps sensibly, all of my puppy owners have chosen the quieter more sedate puppies first, but I love the confidence and fun of pups like Green.
Green is an active little man. He loves toys, he will go through an agility tunnel and if there's a playfight going on with his brothers and sisters he's always the first to pile in.
Green can stay here with me until his perfect forever family come forward. I am in no rush to rehome him, although that said he will be ready to go to his new home in just over 2 weeks.
Here are a few photographs of him. He does have an album on my Facebook page - Marcasite Poodles.







Saturday 19 May 2018

The Pups Meet their New Families




Our house is becoming a hive of activity now that the pups are old enough to have proper visitors from outside of my family.

Socialising the pups from a young age is greatly important as it will hopefully help the puppies to be happy and confident in a variety of situations.
So this week in amongst our visitors they have also met a baby, heard a noise desensitising CD (this plays noises such as fireworks and sirens) and been given a variety of new toys and foods to try.
They have spent many hours in the garden and are currently being brushed daily and having their faces shaved weekly.

Some of the puppies have met their new owners and have been given their pet names. I am using these when interacting with them, so that the pups will be used to hearing their name by the time they go to their new homes in just a few weeks time.




Orange Collar Boy is called Archie and is staying locally which I am absolutely thrilled about. He is a cracking little dog, both in terms of conformation and temperament and would have been my pick of litter had I kept a boy.
Here is a picture of him with his new mum and dad, who are currently visiting weekly.
I feel I have gained some friends for life and couldn't have asked for more.





Black Collar Boy is called Otto and is going to London, where he will have a very busy life indeed. His new family own horses and he will accompany them to the yard daily. It is also hoped that he will be trained as a gun dog. I am very excited to follow this little man's progress, he is a confident, comical little dog and his new family are just perfect for him.





Yellow collar girl is called Sawa (pronounced Sava) and the meaning behind her name is quite beautiful. Allow me to explain. In Polish Folklore Wars was a fisherman. He fell in love with a mermaid called Sawa, who cried silver tears. When they married the city of Warsawa - Warsaw was born. 
I love the amount of thought that has gone into this name and it really suits this little girl. Sawa is also going to live in London, where she will be a pet to a family of four children who are currently counting down the days until they can take her home.




Brown Collar boy is going to be called Saber (we think!) he is a lovely laid back puppy who has a slight kink in his tail, from where he was cramped in the womb, this causes him no issues and should barely be noticeable when he is an adult.
Saber is going to live in Wales with a dog groomer, her husband, daughter, another Standard Poodle and a Labrador. 
Saber's new mum is already looking at arranging an annual meet up for all of these puppies, which I am very excited about. It really is lovely to have owners who want to stay in touch.






Gold Collar boy doesn't yet have a name. He is going to live in Milton Keynes but will be visiting Devon regularly so I will be able to stay in touch with him and go for walks from time to time. His new mum has owned poodles for many years and he will be joining an older miniature who will become his new sister. Gold is also a nice laid back little man, absolutely nothing phases him.



Green Collar boy doesn't have a name yet either. He's the naughtiest pup in the litter, always on the go and always up to mischief! He is cheeky and is going to be a really fun little dog and will need lots of exercise.





Blue collar girl will be staying here with me! Her name will be Peggy - she is a fun little girl who is confident and feisty so I feel she is a great fit with my existing dogs. 





In between all of the puppy mayhem, Stan and Edna are enjoying their walks in the sunshine. Here are a few photographs from our walk on Dartmoor today.







Thursday 3 May 2018

New Collars for the Puppies



Today has been glorious, so the puppies have been in the garden most of the day. They have enjoyed some tripe and duck mince and also had their faces shaved and collars fitted.

The pups all have different coloured collars. This will help me to identify who is who and enable their new owners to monitor their progress, whilst they are waiting to collect.

The boys have gold, brown, black, green and orange collars.

The girls have blue and yellow.

Below is a photograph of each pup and a few of Edna feeding them in the sunshine.


                                                     Gold Collar Boy

Brown Collar Boy

Black Collar Boy

Green Collar Boy

Orange Collar Boy

Blue Collar Girl

Yellow Collar Girl



And here are some extra photos, just because!