What Ruby Eats: A Kibblecopia

What do you feed your dog? Once upon a time, most family pets ate Pedigree from the grocery store - I still remember the yellow bags with the blue ribbon.  This question seems to be a hot topic these days and one that can quickly turn into a heated debate.  Raw vs. Kibble, Homemade vs. Store-bought, Big Brands vs. Small Batch... the battles are as numerous as the options. I've been meaning to talk for some time about what Ruby eats, and it's a subject that loosely fits into this week's fostering theme since any foster of mine will be eating the same thing. As you will see, this is a little bit of everything!

It wasn't terribly long ago that my dogs ate Purina Beneful, according to some sources one of the very worst.  I was on a just-out-of-college budget and we all had to make do with less than high-quality cuisine.  As my canine knowledge grew and my means increased, I started switching to what I viewed as better brands such as Merrick and Blue Buffalo.  My Chow mix, Lasya, developed a lot of health issues as she aged and she was placed on a "prescription diet," by our old veterinarian, something I now have a more skeptical view of.  These dog foods, while designed for management of particular illnesses, are often made with a lot of undesirable and filler ingredients, such as corn, that many of us steer clear of in feeding our dogs.  For instance, the Hill's K/D dry that Lasya was eating for a while contains as its only meat ingredients (none of which come first) pork fat and chicken liver flavor.  I discussed switching her to something I felt better about with my local pet food store, Kriser's, and they helped me find a kibble with a similar nutritional profile and better ingredients.

I again turned to Kriser's when I adopted Ruby, knowing that I wanted her to be on a high quality canned and kibble diet.  I feed canned food for breakfast and kibble at night, often doled out for Relaxation Protocol sessions or trick training or procured from one of her treat-dispensing puzzle toys. We started with Nature's Variety Instinct, a grain-free kibble which receives a 5-star rating on Dog Food Advisor, and Weruva canned entrees, another 5-star earner.  Ruby seemed to like all of these but occasionally would lose interest at mealtime.  I picked up a can of Fromm Four Star Nutritionals Shredded Beef for her (rated 4-star on Dog Food Advisor and included on the Whole Dog Journal's Approved Dry Food List of 2013) and she readily cleaned her plate at breakfast time day after day.  This is now our first canned choice.

After some communication with Fromm Family Foods, they sent over a generous box of kibble samples for us in their wide variety of flavors as well as a full-sized bag of their Duck and Sweet Potato Recipe.  Ruby found all the flavors to her liking except the Salmon a la Veg, and seemed particularly fond of the Whitefish & Potato and Pork & Applesauce (neither of which are grain-free).  Overall I am really pleased with the Fromm brand - they offer quality ingredients and a large selection of flavors that should satisfy the pickiest of eaters as well as address most food allergies. 

I am very fortunate that Ruby does not appear to have any food allergies or sensitivities, and for this reason as well as her enthusiasm for dinner-time diversity, I've decided to maintain her on a rotation diet using several of the afore-mentioned brands that I like and trust.  I'll be rotating her kibble on a bag-to-bag basis between Nature's Variety and Fromm, and cans between Weruva, Fromm and Merrick.  This will also allow us to continue food reviews if the product is something that meets my standards. I certainly don't want to eat the same thing constantly, why should Ruby?

When we travel, I've found Stella & Chewy's Freeze Dried Patties to be a really convenient food on-the-go.  They come in resealable pouches which are a cinch to pack. Ruby especially likes the Duck Duck Goose flavor so it's a special treat as well as being easy to re-hydrate.

Eating our veggies

 
I will often share tidbits of my dinner with Ruby, she just has to be reminded "don't be rude" and will usually settle down next to me and wait for her morsels of carrot, broccoli, or the occasional salt-and-vinegar potato chip (initially given in hopes of having a moment like this, but instead, she loved it!).  I supplement her diet with coconut oil and she gets a ridiculous assortment of treats from the many subscription boxes that I order. 

I am happy that I have the luxury of putting so much thought and effort into what Ruby eats, and that the research trends and demands of the dog-loving public are making honesty, quality and safety top priorities.  Our dogs would gladly eat many horrifying things that aren't on even the worst brands' ingredient list, and they are lucky they have us looking out for their tummies and long-term health!  Whatever you feed your dog, I have no doubt that like me, you do it with love and purpose, and that every bowl is met with a wagging tail.

DISCLAIMER: I received an assortment of dry dog foods from Fromm Family Foods in exchange for my honest review.

A Houseguest in Preparation for Fostering

 

Happy Ruby Tuesday! 

Ruby had a house-guest last week: her friend Cosmo, a five-year-old Pug-Chihuahua (apparently these are known as "Chugs").  These two have not historically gotten along for extended periods of time, because Cosmo is somewhat of a resource guarder and his premature grumpy-old-man personality doesn't mesh well with Ruby's relentless hyperactive playfulness. I can't entirely blame him - I've yet to meet a dog who can match Ruby's energy level.  I wanted to give it a try though, because I thought Cosmo would be less possessive in a new territory, my house is well set up for multiple dogs now with dog gates and cat sanctuaries, and with my intent to foster I wanted to give life with two dogs a little trial run.  

I'm happy to report that it went splendidly!   I picked up all toys and chews, and for the first day I only let them together for short periods of time.  I fed them separately and made sure that they didn't get into valuable or tight spaces together.  Cosmo learned some patience and Ruby learned some self-control.  I tried not to intervene unless Cosmo was being particularly grouchy or Ruby was being particularly obnoxious. By the end of the week Cosmo had resigned himself to Ruby's near-constant pestering (she especially liked to grab his curly tail), they were having chase and wrestling sessions, eating in the same room and sharing the bed along with me and my little kitty, Nina.  They gnawed on bully sticks in proximity to one another, I had them doing tricks side-by-side and I was able to leave them alone together in the kitchen area while I was at work the last few afternoons.  Ruby was over-the-moon to have another dog around. Her front-window-vigilance was even decreased - oddly enough she was happy to leave that job to Cosmo - and she was uncharacteristically tired out earlier in the evenings (which admittedly was a nice break for me!) 

After Cosmo went home, Ruby and I enjoyed a fairly lazy weekend together.  Colorado got another blast of wintry weather and it was perfect for leisurely brunches with friends followed by quality time with Ruby on the sofa during a Six Feet Under marathon.  Ruby was content to cuddle, glad to have access to all her toys again and comfortably readjusted to her only-dog status.  The whole experience made me even more excited to welcome a foster dog into our home, and we are likely going to be meeting Sampson soon! As an older gentleman, there is the possibility that he could become a long-term foster, and that is just fine with me.  I really enjoyed having two dogs around again, and I think Ruby benefits immensely from interaction with her own kind.  I'm very much looking forward to meeting this fluffy guy! (As an interesting coincidence, my mother's maiden name was Sampson).

In light of this upcoming new adventure, this week my blog's theme will be dedicated to fostering.  What about you? Have you ever fostered a dog? Would you consider it? I'd love to hear your stories!

Monday Musings: Why Positive Reinforcement Training Was the Right Choice For Me

Where's my cookie?

I grew up riding horses.  My first horse was a red Welsh-Arabian mare called Tinker, and had previously been my grandmother's mount.  She was sturdy, steady and safe - the perfect partner for a young girl to learn and grow with.  At some point Tinker developed what is known as "barn-sourness," when a horse is reluctant to leave or in a hurry to return to its herd-mates, employing any number of evasive behavior tactics to achieve this goal.  Tinker's evasion of choice was to pull the reins out of my hands on the way home, by lowering her nose to the ground and shaking her head, all the while increasing her speed.  One day she ran away with me up the driveway to the pasture gate in such a manner, and in an adolescent tantrum, I leapt yelling off her back and slugged her in the neck.  Her chestnut head shot up in shock and her deep brown eyes widened in surprise.  I was immediately horrified by what I had done and threw my arms around her neck sobbing my apology into her mane.  I promised to never do such an unfair thing again, to let my emotions get the best of me or to physically punish an animal.

My continued interest in horses led to an education and early career spent riding and training them.  It's true that you can't avoid the physical with horses - we're sitting on their backs, they outweigh us tenfold and even the gentlest training methods use a leather conduit to a noseband or a metal bit in their mouths - but I was always drawn to the "ride with your mind" and "less is more" philosophies, the trainers who employed soft hands and low voices.  I was easily offended by horse professionals who jerked on horses' mouths or smacked them with lead ropes, and I endeavored to avoid those methods.

By now you're asking "Isn't this a dog blog?" and I'll transition from the equine to the canine, although it's surprisingly not so different.  The horse is a prey animal and the dog is a predator, but both experience the same range of emotions, and with reactive dogs we are so often dealing with fear and insecurity.  Until I got Ruby I was not so interested in dog training.  I was happy for my dogs to be my constant companions, and so long as they were not destroying the furniture or nuisance barking, I wasn't concerned with tricks or obedience.  I'm going to make another confession now...despite my early experience with my horse Tinker and my vow to be a kinder, gentler animal handler, for a while I used a prong collar for my dog, Lasya.  She was a bad puller, and it was suggested to me by someone - I can't even remember who, now.  As Lasya got older, she became easier to manage and I eventually switched her to a regular slip-lead.  She had a very thick coat and that big Chow Chow lion's ruff, but I'm still sorry I used that medieval collar on her, because I know better now.  

When I adopted Ruby I knew that I wanted to work with her using purely positive, force-free training methods, and hired a trainer with a philosophy in line with my own.  I had heard of clicker training and even had a clicker lying around that a friend had given me, but for some reason I always thought of it as cheating.   My first experience with it was in Ruby's group obedience class (which we promptly flunked out of due to her emerging reactivity), and I quickly realized it was not a gimmick.  It is simply a more efficient bridge between the cue and the behavior, a quicker, more consistent way to say "good dog!"  Ruby picked up on it immediately and I nearly always use the clicker to introduce new tricks.  I take treats on walks and a squeeze bottle of peanut-butter in the car.  If a problem behavior develops, I ask myself what I'd rather see her doing, and take the steps to reach that goal.  I offer alternatives and encourage her more desirable choice.  Positive reinforcement is more akin to essays than true and false, and the results are not as fast or as flashy as certain celebrity trainer methods or the increasingly out-dated pack/dominance theory.  Positive reinforcement feels more fair and honest to me, it's a conversation instead of a diatribe. It's funny to me that the same trainers who keep choke chains and e-collars (a sneaky name for a shock collar) in their toolbox consider clickers and cookies "crutches." Wouldn't you rather your dog work for the currency of treats and praise instead of out of fear of discomfort or pain?

As I've gotten older I'm able to more closely articulate the kind of relationships I want with my animals.  I am not interested in being the boss, in receiving a rehearsed answer to every question I ask.  I want a partnership in which my horse or dog thinks for itself, offers questions of his or her own.  It's in the moments where we're listening that the real magic happens.   Existing with and training dogs is a learning process, and it is our responsibility to evolve with the knowledge available to us, to better ourselves and our relationships.

Further Reading:

Why Dogs Are More Like Humans Than Wolves from Smithsonian

De-Bunking The "Alpha Dog" Theory from Whole Dog Journal

Dominance Myths from the Association of Professional Dog Trainers

The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller

Reaching the Animal Mind by Karen Pryor