When we first got Sampson (and I fell in love with him) I was determined to take care of him in the best way I could.  I started with dog food.  I talked to my trainer and she recommended California Natural, that is what Sampson and then Delilah ate for quite a while. 

Last March I was advised by a vet that the best food for the dogs was the raw diet.  After consulting with a friend of mine we settled on Oma’s Pride.  Once a month I drive out to the facility in Avon and stock up on the dog food; it comes in 10 pound blocks.  It sounds pretty gross but you get use to it and figure out what works for you.  The food basically is like ground beef, except it has bone in it and vegetables.  We feed them based upon what we WANT them to weigh and Delilah has lost about 20 pounds.  Sampson’s weight is a little harder coming off. 

We were feeding them the raw food at night and for the morning I switched their kibble to Taste of the Wild, but within the past month they have gone totally raw, but you don’t feed them the ground meat twice a day.  The get the ground meat at night and in the morning they get turkey necks.  Yup, they get the turkey neck with bone and all.  At first I tried putting it in a dish but I’ve graduated to the point where I just hand them the neck. Naturally I try to do this over a towel; Delilah is easy because she practically swallows the turkey neck whole, but Sampson is a bit harder.  I usually end up moving the towel and trying to get it under his mouth.

What do you think about the pet foods out there?  Have you researched anything or do you just feed them off the shelf?

Next Saturday is the Pet Writing Conference in NYC and I am attending.  The PWC gave attendees the opportunity to sign up to meet with agents and editors during the conference (limited time, limited number of slots)  I sent my application in for the agents.  Makes sense, I don’t have an agent, I would like an agent.  There are only three agents attending the conference.  The application said “Please list your first, second and third choices.”  So I listed the agents by starting with the one I thought was looking for the type of book I had, then the second then the third.  I figured I had a decent shot at least getting to see one of them.  Today I got an e-mail from the conference and I am meeting with ALL THREE!!  OMG I am losing my stuff.  Furthermore, I am the first one they are all seeing!  They each have one time slot and I am the first name in each time slot!   Honestly I had no idea that they would be setting me up with all three, I thought I would get one.   So now I have about a week to research each agent, find out what they want from me and get it ready!  Isn’t this exciting?

Chet and I took Sampson and Delilah to obedience class tonight.  Usually I take D to class and he and S go for a walk but due to the horrific weather and all the icing, they have been coming to class with us.  It gets the dogs out of the house and gives them a bit of exercise. 

There is a gentleman in this class who has two Weimaraners, he shows his dogs and I think he may do agility as well.  One of the things he does with his dogs is he has some bar bell type things that he sets in the center of the floor and then he has the dogs pick out one particular bar bell.   He also occasionally offers his advice on how to train your dog, tonight he was trying to help a couple that has a particularly angry little Corgi.    In dog class we call it “handler mistake.”  He didn’t handle the dog correctly; I didn’t see the whole thing but Morgan (the dog) was angry and growling and the handler made the mistake of putting his hand on the dog’s muzzle and he got bit.  It wasn’t a bad bite that required stitches or anything but it was bad enough to cause a lot of bleeding and turned the handler an ashen color.  So please keep this in mind when you are training your dogs…when you have a snarling, growling dog NEVER put your hand near their mouth!