Chronicles Of...Becoming A Doggie Mum II
I'm *almost* there!
Today I went down to a pound that collects dogs from pounds in south-west Sydney (and puts them in foster care if they're not reclaimed or adopted) and applied for an 8 month-old female miniature schnauzer cross. If she's not reclaimed tomorrow, she's mine! *Fingers crossed*
She's a very placid pitch black girl sprinkled with silver and just beautiful. She'll be microchipped and desexed on Wednesday, which is when I can pick her up.
I have spent hours on the net researching the breed, ogling shopping sites and getting very caught up in it all. So, a question for dog owners in the meantime: what do you feed your doggie? Can, fresh, home-cooked, meat, fish...?
Today I went down to a pound that collects dogs from pounds in south-west Sydney (and puts them in foster care if they're not reclaimed or adopted) and applied for an 8 month-old female miniature schnauzer cross. If she's not reclaimed tomorrow, she's mine! *Fingers crossed*
She's a very placid pitch black girl sprinkled with silver and just beautiful. She'll be microchipped and desexed on Wednesday, which is when I can pick her up.
I have spent hours on the net researching the breed, ogling shopping sites and getting very caught up in it all. So, a question for dog owners in the meantime: what do you feed your doggie? Can, fresh, home-cooked, meat, fish...?
posted by Julia at 7:33 PM
3 Comments:
OH I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!! And so proud of you for getting an older puppy from the pound. Fingers crossed that it all works out.
I've heard that the best diet is meat and grains -- here there's a store that apparently sells pre-measured doggie portions, but that gets very pricey, especially as my dog is 75 pounds. I don't like giving him the packaged (preservative) food, but I can't afford fresh meat for such a big appetite.
He eats mostly dry food as it's better for the teeth. Always the same amount and always at the same time of day. Sometimes he'll get wet mixed in as a treat and on very special days (or when he's sick) he'll get egg, rice, chicken. For treats, I go for the lowest fat possible, just a couple of tiny biscuits when I leave for the day and training treats when he's off leash; a lot of doggies love carrots, and that's also a good treat! (Jake has also recently informed me that he likes raspberries, go figure.) Chew treats (do you have Greenies there?) are also good for the teeth.
One of the big things is dental care -- you want to keep her teeth healthy and her diet will be a huge influence on that (I have brushed Jake's teeth, but they look pretty good for a 10 1/2 year old doggie, so I don't subject him to the trauma of having to be put under for a real teeth cleaning).
oooohh! Schnauzers are gorgeous!
we feed The Buffoons a mixture of dried biscuit, fresh meat, rice, leftover vegies (grated carrot, brocolli, beans, potatoes, but not onion) and chicken necks.
They love love love chicken necks ($2.50/kg at Coles/Woolies)and they are very good for their teeth and digestive system. They usually get 6-7 each but a small dog would probably only need 1.
Avoid tinned food (not good for their teeth or their breath - they NEED meaty bones. Tinned food also tends to pay you back the next day. STINKY and SLOPPY. Small dogs tend to get more teeth problems than larger dogs so make sure she gets plenty of hard biscuits and bones to chew on to avoid teeth problems.
I could never afford to feed them fish but strangely they love prawn heads - our prawn heads rarely make the bin.
In terms of fresh meat don't buy that kangaroo meat for pets from the supermarket - it has a preservative in it which prevents vitamin uptake.
For a small dog you'd be better off getting some decent fresh beef mince and freezing it in single serve portions.
Watch the fat content of her food because it can upset their stomach. NanuBuffoon has a very sensitive stomach to fat and if i overdo it...BAD news.
How exciting! A new puppy!
Does she have a name already?
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