Getting started on raw...

We had the cutest golden retriever puppy come by the store today, and as the new doggie papa and I were discussing diet options for his new pup, the concern about the raw diet being too complicated and time-consuming came up again.

Before I started feeding Lucie a raw diet, there was definitely concern about the ick factor - mostly since I'm vegetarian and hadn't handled meat in over 15 years. Having fed my dogs a raw diet for the last 3.5 years, I can honestly say that I spend about one minute of hands-on time per day feeding my dogs two meals each - and it really couldn't be much easier.

With the raw diet becoming increasingly mainstream, feeding a natural, fresh diet no longer has to involve tons of prep and elbow grease at home. Each night, I take out a frozen packet of food and move it to one of the fridge drawers to defrost. To feed the dogs, I take out one neat packet, cut open the top and divide the contents into two bowls. The dogs gobble it up in 20 seconds or so, and I pop the cleanly licked dishes into the dishwasher. There is much less mess and mucking about with raw meat than there would be making yourself dinner. (The prepared food is usually a mix of 75% meat - with bone and/or organ - and 25% juiced veggies... and usually better quality meat than what you might find at Safeway in that those we sell are usually made with non-medicated, hormone-free meats and organic veg.)

Because of the benefits of feeding raw bones, I try to feed them a bone (instead of the prepared ground meat) every night that I have dinner at home. Again, not messy. I have a stack of 'bone towels' that I keep under the sink. When I first started, I had to teach my dogs a "towel" command. I put the bone on the towel, and when she tried to walk away with the bone, I took the bone away and put it back on the towel and said "towel". After doing this a couple times, when she tried to move it again, I took the bone and put it back in the freezer for 10 minutes. After a couple times of this routine, she caught on very quickly what she had to do to hang on to her bone! (In the photo is my little chi-yorkie Bruce Lee gnawing on his lamb neck dinner).

If you're getting started, remember to start with one red meat for the first 5 days or so - buffalo is a good one to start with - and add a new protein one at a time. We would be happy to help you get started - come by the shop, or if you'd like a more in-depth, personal consultation, we're happy to arrange a complimentary consultation with you. Once we walk you through the process in about 15 minutes, you'll find it a breeze - and your doggie will thank you for it.

Bruce Lee's 2nd B-day Paw-ty!

Our long-time clients will remember Bruce Lee from when he was just a not-quite-2 lb pup... so we thought it would be appropriate his entry into 'adulthood' with a birthday celebration at bow wow haus.

We had a great time - and as always, was super-impressed by the all the amazing doggies - big and small! A big thank you to everyone who came out to play.

Woof, woof!

Self-serve dog wash!

Our dogs (like most) love to swim, but hate getting bathed.

Though it's easy enough to pop little BL in the kitchen sink for his bath, I find it too much work to bend over the tub to bathe Lucie, my golden retriever... Not to mention all the cleanup of the soap, water, and of course, fur.

The self-serve dog washes are very much worth the $20-30 wash fee, in my opinion. No reservation required, and they provide everything you need: the shampoo, conditioner, brushes, nail clippers, ear cleaners, towels, etc.

My two favourites: Dirty Doggz at Lonsdale & 3rd in North Van, and It's Still a Dog's Life on W. Broadway.

Doggie friendly homes in Vancouver

We're not really sure why doggie-friendly housing is hard to come across in Vancouver. As far as I can tell, my doggies wreak far less havoc on a living space than a teenager. :)

If you have a dog-friendly space for rent - or know of one, drop us a note and we'll pop it up here.

Get your dog's coat "dreamy"...

People always comment on the silkiness of Lucie's coat - and of course being the typical golden retriever, she just sucks up all the love and attention. I attribute a healthy raw food diet for her glowing coat - but in the last little while, we've been adding a bit of the Vitaglo food supplement to her meals, and I have to say it's been an AMAZING difference. Noticeable difference within a couple weeks of daily use!

Definitely worth a try. We have customers who swear by it - for dogs with dry, flaky skin in particular...

Super-soft bagel beds

We love this bed. I guess more to the point, our dogs LOVE LOVE LOVE the bed. Here's a photo of my doggies snoozing in their new bed...

Made in New York, the bed is super well-made, completely washable, and unbelievably cozy and as the name says, super-super-super soft.

Macdonald Beach

One of our spring/summer time favourite walks... Macdonald Beach (by YVR) is definitely on our doggies' schedules at least a couple times a week...

This park has a big off-leash area that is far from any roads/parking lots... Located along the Fraser River, there's lots of room for our dogs to swim and romp in the sand and grass. Best of all, there's no salty ocean water that I have to rinse off my golden!