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Some long time readers may find a pattern here; when the weather gets bad and cold and humid, Nokkaelaimet becomes inactive. That is unfortunately something I can't help much. I have a chronic illness that gets worse during the fall, and due to the climate change (if you still wondered if it's true, welcome to Finland to experience it) fall lasts FOREVER here. Partly because of this and partly because of work and studying I haven't been able to focus too much on researching matters I have been asked about. Instead of any properly researched in-depth article, this time you'll get pictures of our every day life and some casual talk.My illness doesn't really have a name or a code, because this kind of a disease has yet to be properly studied. My situation was caused by breathing toxin and mold while working in an old building, and unfortunately while my condition gets better gradually, I can never completely heal and I developed some chronic issues because of that. This, along with work related stress, studying and some sort of a mental breakdown have slowed my researching down a bit. I have tried to update my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/nokkaelaimet/) quite often, so head over there to have some pictures of fancy raw food. Also, as I have said before, you are free to use the comment section here and there to tell me if there is something you'd like to read about. So, to that casual talk, then! Not so long ago we had two vet visits.
Mrs. Aloofness visited the vet, also. both to get vaccinated and to have a lump on her side checked. The lump was diagnosed to be a lipoma, in all likelihood, and completely harmless. We celebrated these good news with getting her a new set of leg wrappers for the fall (I assume she might have appreciated something to eat more, but what can I say? It does get muddy around here).  Like I said before, I have tried to be more active in Instagram and post pictures of our raw food diet there. I am happy to say our most beloved pet accessory store brought new meats for sale, and some of those meats are chopped meats instead of minced meats. This is a great change and I have enjoyed feeding my dogs something they can gulp, chew and bite. We have also found a couple of products we can use both boneless and with bone. I am not comfortable feeding Miss Dominance full bones, but she has responded well to ground bone and it seems to fit her digestive system better than calcium products, so we have moved further away from powders and more towards natural even in there! All my dogs like ground bone products, even though Mrs. Aloofness sometimes gets full raw chicken necks to crush just because she seems to enjoy it and I always have some around for Armo Svensson, my younger ferret.  Nothing good without something bad, unfortunately. These humid fall days have made Mr. Arthritis very sore and he needs lost of massaging and restricting of too heavy exercise as well as pain killers during the worst days to cope. This is something I know passes eventually, but it's a grim reminder of the fact he is getting older and older. I hope winter arrives soon, so he could once again enjoy exercising like he loves to do. I think that's it for today. I have a post about crating coming soon; another one of those sensitive topics nobody really talks about but everyone has an opinion on. I have seen both the good and the bad sides of having to crate a dog for health purposes, and I think busting some myths about crating could serve a purpose. Not because I think crating is something everyone should feel comfortable doing every day, but because sometimes there might be situation in which you need to crate a dog. When that happens, it's beneficial to know some facts about the effects of crating, may they be good or bad. Till that day! The saying ”two is a pair, three is a pack” is used sometimes to describe the difference between owning one or two individual dogs and owning three or more dogs that already start to have certain pack behavior. Obviously all dogs interact together the same way, whether they live live alone or in a group, but pack behavior usually kicks in when there are more than two dogs. Pack behavior refers to behavioral patterns that are usually met in large groups of dogs. These patterns take act in situations like meeting others dogs, hunting, facing danger or alarming. It is said that a pack of dogs let loose, even if they are pet dogs, is more dangerous than a pair of dogs or just one dog. In Finland we have a saying ”joukossa tyhmyys tiivistyy”. It means you are never as stupid alone than you are in a group. Group members easily adopt behavior from others in the group, and this leads to certain behaviors becoming easily escalated. If one member of the pack is nervous, that feeling reflects to others more easily than it would if there would be just two dogs. Aggression escalates quickly, and so does the hunting behavior. It takes one of the pack to start hunting, and the rest will follow. This leads to problems if the dogs are loose and they decide instead of playing with a small dog they will now HUNT the small dog. Same happens if the pack escapes and ends up harassing lambs or other farm animals, or even people. Dogs that live in a pack form a hierarchy based on each individual and their character. No matter certain roles may change depending on the situation, it is interesting to see how each member of the pack will usually follow the role it was set to have and in many cases even chose itself. Genders have different roles in the pack, and age plays a bigger part in interactions. Balanced leaders will act firm and friendly, while those lower in the hierarchy often clown around and get away with such ridiculous behavior more easily than the ones leaders may seem as ”possible future challengers”. Alarming is one interesting feature I noticed changed significantly when I had a pack. Instead of one or two dogs each barking, a pack now seems to have different roles. When one dog alarms, others will instantly run to the one alarming and try to see the threat. The leader will then decide whether or not the threat is worth noticing. If so, it will take a dominant posture, hold it’s tail up and stare, approaching the threat if it can, while others keep alert, keep barking and follow the leader. If the leader at any point relaxes, others will eventually follow or their attitude will change from nervous and aggressive to curious, playful or indifferent. Lowest in hierarchy might even stay away from the situation, because it trusts the ”higher ups” will care for everything. When having a pack of dogs, it’s important to focus on leading the pack rather than trying to lead every individual dog. This means you need to know what causes certain behavior, and if you need to command the leading dog or leave that dog be and instead find the ”weak link” that feeds negative behavior of the whole pack. Correcting or controlling the alarming dog will not do anything, if the leading dog keeps on signaling we need to stay alert. On the contrary, if one dog is nervous about a situation, working with that individual dog will solve the whole problem while trying to calm the whole pack down each time it gets nervous makes no difference. In a pack one dog’s behavioral issue is EVERY DOG’S behavioral issue. Introducing a new family memberBringing a new dog to the pack can be frightening. What if the dogs don’t accept each other? Let’s say it here in the beginning; it is a possibility. However, you can work with issues, and in most cases that helps. In some other cases you might have to separate the dogs in one way, at least partially and at least sometimes, but even that is not the end of the world. Usually things go smoothly, and sooner or later your new dog will be part of the pack or form a good working pair with the first one.
Know your previous dog/dogs. If you have a nervous dog or an unsocial dog, introducing the newcomer in small steps is usually the best option. Ideal would be to meet the new dog a couple of times before it moves in. Collect all ”treasures” away. Very important objects might not be up for sharing just yet. After all, your dogs just met. Going for a walk together and introducing the dogs on a neutral ground works better than bringing the pup/the dog straight to the other one’s territory. A possibility to give the new dog a safe, calm place to sleep it’s first nights is also beneficial. If others are constantly trying to get to know it, it might stress both them and the new one (and vice versa, if the newcomer doesn’t leave the old dog alone). What if problems occur?Don’t let the old dog jump on the eyes of the newcomer, and don’t let the newcomer boss around the old dog. You are the authority making sure everyone feels safe and sound. Old fashioned ”leadership tricks” like rolling the dog on it’s back work only with soft dogs, and they are not based in any scientific or species related information. In the case of independent dogs and dominant dogs things like this can make the situation worse or the dog may even turn on you. The most important thing, however, is that nothing is taught this way. The effect is based on fear, not respect, and it works only with you and the dog, not to improve the situation between dogs. This is seen in many cases where people use rolling the dog on it’s back, for example, to correct it’s dominant behavior. The dog may then act OK with the human, but still bully in the pack. Nothing was taught, the problem and the source for the behavior still remains. One visible side effect was removed, that’s it. The right way to deal with possible friction between the dogs is to teach and encourage the right kind of pack behavior and to correct the dog behaving badly. How do you correct a dog like that? Well certainly not rolling it on it’s back. Physical corrections should always be used to either get the attention of the dog so you can command it to leave, stay or calm down, or to restrain the dog from harming or harassing another living being. Teaching the right kind of behavior is as important as stopping the unwanted behavior. The problem with ”The Leadership Theory” is that is doesn’t teach the dog anything, it focuses on stopping certain behavioral patterns. Smart dogs might get what you are trying to say, while nervous, aloof, dominant and temperamental dogs usually don’t. Positive reinforcement and working with the dog’s aggression and insecurities usually lead to a dog that can to certain point work and live in a pack, while some dogs never become pack animals. Keep your head cool. ”Be the boss of your dogs and all goes well!” is something you will hear if your dogs are not friends at once. While there is half the truth in that, be careful with how you acquire that position of authority, and remember; weak nerve structure will cause problems whether or not you are ”a boss”. Not all dogs are balanced, and aggressive dogs are aggressive dogs. It is dangerous to assume everything depends on how you raise the dog or socialize it. Always go for mentally balanced dogs, or then be prepared to work with those that have more complicated nerve structure.  Don't be too afraid to add another dog to your pack. Knowing your current dogs and your own resources is the key to success. Another thing to ease a troubled mind; most dogs are pack animals. They might not be super social, but most get along at least with the member of opposite gender. For the majority of dogs having another dog in the family is the funniest, most awesome thing they have ever had happening. After all, we are ONLY human. There are some things only other dogs get, ya know.
As long as there have been people feeding commercial foods to their. dogs there has been a debate of whether or not puppy food is good for your puppies. Those in favor say puppy food is a necessity, it has all the needed vitamins and minerals in a perfect, scientifically proven balance. Those against say puppy foods are not only unnecessary but even harmful for your puppies. First, we need to understand what is puppy food. What makes puppy foods differ from adult foods or foods meant for all life stages? Why were puppy foods developed the first place? Just like with us people, little puppies need more protein and in general more balanced diet than adults. Big food companies tend to recommend using their puppy formulas, but as one goes through the ingredient list, one big question arises; there is a difference, but it is minimal. Is it really necessary to feed puppy/junior formula, if there is no real difference between the foods? Let’s take an easy road here and compare RC Adult Maxi Puppy with RD Adult Maxi (as RC has all the % in their PDFs easy to access). This is NOT to be seen as a recommendation OR a critic). You can click yourself into an in-depth site about the foods yourself and have a peek. http://pro.royalcanin.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Click-here-to-download-the-Maxi-Adult-Pro-Technical-Sheet.pdf http://pro.royalcanin.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Click-here-to-download-the-Maxi-Junior-Pro-Technical-Sheet.pdf Let’s see the first paragraph. There is no significant important difference. Omegas are a bit higher in adult food. Second paragraph lists minerals. As puppy foods are often said to have more calcium than adult foods and a different calcium-phosphorus ratio, it is pretty surprising to see there is absolutely no difference in calcium and not any kind of significant difference in calcium-phosphorus ratio. As we go lower on the list, we’ll see pretty much the same list on both sides, with a slight raise in iodine and iron in the puppy food. Next paragraph of vitamins shows no surprise; almost the exact copy. Vitamin A is slightly higher in puppy formula, and even there we don’t really speak about anything major. There is one ingredient in the whole list of ingredients that appears only in puppy formula; lutein. Lutein is an antioxidant found in spinach, broccoli and eggs, for example, and it affects eyes and skin. RC Maxi Junior has 5mgs of lutein per kg, so 0,5 mgs per 100 g (just to give you a general idea of the amount, one egg contains 0.1 to 0.3 milligrams of lutein). At least in the case with RC Maxi Adult and RC Maxi Junior the difference between formulas is so insignificant it breaks a question; does a puppy really benefit significantly of puppy food? For research purposes, I compared yet another two common foods that offer both puppy and adult formulas. Hill’s Junior Large breed differed the most from Hill’s Adult Large breed, but the changes were still very minor. Most changes were with minerals such as copper and in the increased (slightly) amount of vitamin A, while calcium-phosphorus ratio remained the same and protein and fat levels were not that far from each other. Other vitamins than the mentioned A are about if not exactly the same. In Acana Puppy Large and Acana Adult Large the difference is ridiculously small. It is in fact so small the ingredients lists are almost completely exactly the same, and the changes in them, while they appear are hardly noticeable. So, all in all, we can right here in the beginning come into conclusion that puppy formula is so close to adult formula feeding adult formula to puppies MOST LIKELY doesn’t affect them negatively. But, once again, I am no nutritional expert nor do I recommend using this blog as an ultimate truth. Research, talk to people, make your own decisions. Is puppy food harmful to the puppies? This question raises up specially among large breed owners and breeders. The issue is, there are people saying feeding puppy formula to their puppies made the puppies grow too fast, causing abnormalities in bone structure. Some people and even vets say the exact opposite; that feeding adult formula will cause bone growth issues. First suggested reason to puppy food causing problems with growth is that puppy food has too much calcium. At least in large food formulas I researched, this was not true. There was no more calcium in puppy foods or in adult foods and the ratio between calcium and phosphorus remained the same. Another possible reason is too much protein. Once more, I did not see a significant raise in protein, however puppy foods do tend to have slightly more protein. This is because puppies need protein to grow. I asked a question in a raw food group I am in, wanting to know if giant breed owners or breeders have or have not fed puppy formulas, if they have used kibble or raw, and if they have noticed abnormalities. Out of 6 people answering, one person said two puppies fed with raw food (the breeder did not identify whether the food was constructed by the owner or if it was store bought complete raw food) had developed abnormalities in bones. Four people said they had fed their puppies mostly with raw, some self constructed and some with MUSH Vaisto Puppy, and they had not met problems. One person said she had fed her puppies with both raw and kibble (she identified the kibble as puppy formula) and the puppies had grown up OK. This leads me to think, if the problem with fast growth is both genetic and caused by feeding errors. You can make a difference in general to the dog’s life with a good diet, but there are things you can’t control. You can also break a perfectly healthy dog with a poor diet. So, it is very difficult to say whether or not, in cases where abnormalities form, the main cause is genetic, wrong kind of exercise, accident or feeding. One thing to note is that abnormalities are usually met with very large/giant breeds. This leads to another possible situation; large dogs may just be so big they are getting too big for their own structure. One thing one can possibly say quite safely is that excessive/too little calcium and poorly constructed diet cause problems with growth. Puppies are much less forgiving with feeding than adults. When you feed your pup with raw food, make sure you really meet all the requirements. If you choose to go with kibble or 50 / 50, always go for a good quality kibble. If it is puppy formula or adult formula most likely does not matter.  Different hobbies that require lots of energy and high drive have increased in popularity. This has led to some breeds being very hyper, aiming to produce top dogs for those certain hobbies that require exploding action. Unfortunately this also leads to certain problems with dogs of these breeds that end up just pets. How to deal with hyper breeds and/or hyper dogs, so that everyone can enjoy their life equally? |
| So, what can we do, firstly, to get calcium? We can feed bones, obviously. That is the normal, natural way for dogs to get calcium. Many times people get afraid of bones, mainly because they hear bones are dangerous for intestines or that feeding bones messes up the phosphorus-calcium ratio. I can only say, once again: see, what they would eat in the wild. No grinded eggshells or calcium-phosphorus powder there. Only bones (I do love grinded eggshells, but more about that later). As long as you feed good meats and not too much bone, you are good to go. The urban legend of twisting legs and weak paws and wrists of raw fed pups were most likely caused by vitamin and mineral deficiency rather than bad calcium-phosphorus ratio. |  |
Also, to ease everyone’s mind, in 100 grams of minced chicken meat, high in phosphorus, there is 178mgs of phosphorus. If we make that up to 200mgs just for the fun of it, and feed 600 grams per day (see where I’m going with the calculations here, lazy me), it would mean 1200mgs of phosphorus per day. To balance this we would need about 1,5 grams of calcium. This means feeding even the slightest bit of bone in the diet would meet and even exceed the need for calcium.
So, feed some bone. That simple? Unfortunately not always.
So, feed some bone. That simple? Unfortunately not always.
What if bones are a no-no?
In some cases, feeding bones simply doesn’t do. Some dogs are very sensitive to bones and their stools get painfully hard when they are fed bone. In these cases, sometimes adding fiber helps. Grinded flax seeds are a good option, even better when mixed with minced vegetables. This builds up quite a lot of fiber, but in some cases this alone doesn’t help.
| One option is to try grinded egg shells. Egg shells in general are a good source of calcium, because unlike bones, they don’t actually have pretty much anything but calcium in them. So, you can be quite sure the calcium-phosphorus ratio stays balanced. Also, for some reason, maybe because of this, egg shells are tolerated better than bones. If you don’t want to grind your own washed egg shells, buy already grinded. |  |
If even egg shells are a no-no, then try some artificial calcium product. Some dogs, once again, tolerate artificial products better than actual bones, but unfortunately this is not always the case.
What if NOTHING mentioned helps? Well, first of all, make sure the meat you use is mostly meat, not cartilage and other junk. It’s a wonder how much of a difference good quality meats can make. Secondly, if you have just started, give the dog some time to adapt. If it. This doesn’t mean letting it suffer from constipation or have diarrhea, obviously! Stools may be a tad harder than normally in the beginning, or quite the opposite, but this shouldn’t take for long or happen to extremes. If it causes discomfort for the dog, you need to act asap. If not, then follow the development of the situation.
For some dogs, full raw never does the trick. This is unfortunate and it usually tells something about the quality of the digestive system of the dog, but we need to understand not all dogs thrive with raw. These dogs can thrive with 50 / 50 or 70 / 30 diets, or just some additional meat in their diet. The main reason to feed raw is to feed the best possible food, and if raw is NOT the best possible option for your dog, then do what fits YOUR dog. Any dog can enjoy SOME meat in their diet, it doesn’t have to be raw all the way.
What if NOTHING mentioned helps? Well, first of all, make sure the meat you use is mostly meat, not cartilage and other junk. It’s a wonder how much of a difference good quality meats can make. Secondly, if you have just started, give the dog some time to adapt. If it. This doesn’t mean letting it suffer from constipation or have diarrhea, obviously! Stools may be a tad harder than normally in the beginning, or quite the opposite, but this shouldn’t take for long or happen to extremes. If it causes discomfort for the dog, you need to act asap. If not, then follow the development of the situation.
For some dogs, full raw never does the trick. This is unfortunate and it usually tells something about the quality of the digestive system of the dog, but we need to understand not all dogs thrive with raw. These dogs can thrive with 50 / 50 or 70 / 30 diets, or just some additional meat in their diet. The main reason to feed raw is to feed the best possible food, and if raw is NOT the best possible option for your dog, then do what fits YOUR dog. Any dog can enjoy SOME meat in their diet, it doesn’t have to be raw all the way.
Our style
I feed some meats with grinded bone in them, but the bone needs to be extremely well minced for my dogs to have it. I used to feed calcium powder, but I felt it was hard to give just the right amount. The stools got very hard sometimes, and I feel giving minced bone, even if the general amount of calcium is then higher than before, fits the digestive system better. Go figure. Feeding is a form of art for itself.
Now, with the current style, my dogs seem to be OK with the amount of calcium they get. Just to be sure they get all they need I still use mostly grounded salmon (seems that fish bone digests better than actual bone) so I can give more of it and I feed additional kibble, rice and porridge here and there for extra fiber.
 |  |
Another important matter to remember when rawfeeding, besides making sure your dog gets all vitamins and minerals needed, is the quality of the meat you feed. It's a common practice to use lower quality parts of the carcass in order to make minced meats for dogs. This means less meat and more tendons, throat, lung and muscle membranes.
Dogs can digest ”rubbish” parts of the carcass, as can we people. The problem is, there are little to none important vitamins and minerals in those parts of the body. We are talking about tissues that hold no vital nutrients, take longer to digest and can cause issues with the digesting system. One of the main reasons raw fed dogs develop rock solid stools is feeding too much bone and feeding low quality meats.
If you are not willing to pay loads of extra and only use human consumption quality meats from your nearest grocery store or raise your own meat, you unfortunately need to do a little research trying to find proper quality meats. It all likehood you can't find super meats, but you can find decent and good meats. As long as the meat is clean and you use the best product you can get with as much meat as possible, you are good to go.
How can I tell a good meat from garbage?
| First, look at the meat. It's hard to see if a frozen meat is good quality, so if you are about to buy frozen meats, buy one package first, melt that and take a look. If the meat is stringy under the spoon, it has lots of big pieces of cartilage, membrane and throat and in worst case scenario, this all topped with bone, skip it. You can find better. Even without bone meat like this is not really giving anything to your dog. It just takes time to digest and makes stools hard. Many small dogs can't properly digest these kinds of meat, so I would recommend being careful with small dogs and bad meats. |  |
Second factor is the smell. I recently changed our cow meat, which was not the best possible, to a new, way better beef, and the change in smell was huge. The previous meat, also stringy and filled with big pieces of whatever garbage parts of the body, also smelled horrible when defrost. This new meat smells the same as the minced beef I use to make meatballs (or I would use, if I'd make meatballs). It is finely minced and has nice texture and it's not overly bloody either.
Third factor is, unfortunately, the prize, but let me tell you, it doesn't always tell the ultimate truth! True, if the meat is dead cheap, it is probably not that great. Have a look at the prizes of different brands, ask around, and then pick test packages to defrost. That way you can find a nice quality food. II will list some good picks I use myself down below, but since I live in Finland and most people in the world don't, you might need to sneak around and do some research on your own among your own meat manufacturers.
Third factor is, unfortunately, the prize, but let me tell you, it doesn't always tell the ultimate truth! True, if the meat is dead cheap, it is probably not that great. Have a look at the prizes of different brands, ask around, and then pick test packages to defrost. That way you can find a nice quality food. II will list some good picks I use myself down below, but since I live in Finland and most people in the world don't, you might need to sneak around and do some research on your own among your own meat manufacturers.
Risks of membranes and cartilage
| Like said, meats with lots of rubbish parts are harder to digest. Small dogs that are fed lots or cartilage, bone, membranes and other stuff like that can even suffer from clogs. This is possible even with larger dogs. Therefore, if you need to use not that great meats at one point, for one reason or another, mix them with finely minced good meats. From my experience I can say it's easier to find good quality minced turkey and chicken than good quality beef, pork and a mix of the two. |  |
Even if your dog is able to digest these worse quality meats, their stools often get rock solid. This was one of the reasons I became aware of the problem; the stools were always hard no matter what I did and how much I fed fiber. When I played around with the meats and made sure I use better quality meats, the stools gradually got better.
Benefits of good meats
Shortest paragraph ever; more vital nutrients, softer stools, easier digestion! As simple as that. Better quality meats means better quality food, and better quality food is what we aim for, isn't it?
Some good products
Bear in mind, these brands are met mainly in Finland (some in Sweden too), so if you happen to be from somewhere else, I am afraid this is of little help.
MUSH:
Grounded salmon (jauhettu lohi): MUSH uses whole salmon, grounds it, and packs it with only one freezing behind each product. Their salmon is thus good quality and it has vitamin D to good extent. It does have lots of bones in it, up to 11%, and the ground is not super fine. Use it as a small part of food rather than main ingredient. If it's your only source of vitamin D, I would sometimes add D with another fish product or cod liver oil, for example.
Boneless minced turkey (luuton kalkkuna): Excellent product of finely minced turkey meat. Also comes with bone.
Boneless minced chicken (luuton kana): Excellent quality finely minced chicken. Also comes with bone.
Pork intestines (sian sisäelinseos): Lots of intestines that are considered just meat for the dog, but also liver. I have liked this product and feed it every now and then as a source of vit A.
Chicken gizzards and hearts (broilerin sydämet / broilerin kivipiirat): Excellent add-on sometimes. Just what it says they are.
Mur-Kis:
Minced white wish (siika kylkiruotoineen): Excellent, very finely minced product that has lots of vitamin D in it. So finely minced I have never met large pieces of bone in it. It's a bit pricey, but worth the money.
Chopped beef (naudan palaliha): OK. I was hoping to have more actual meat, and the product does have muscle menbranes in it, but works sometimes instead of minced meat.
KennelPakaste:
Minced turkey (jauhettu kalkkunan liha, luuton): Excellent product once more. As you can see, it is fairly easy to find nice quality turkey and chicken. Unfortunately they are also pretty expensive.
Salmon (jauhettu merilohi): I liked this one. It seems to have a little less bone in it that the MUSH equivalent. A bit finer minced, maybe.
Minced beef (naudan jauheliha): As far as I know, only beed meat and no other rubbish ingredients. Very expensive, too, but good.
Hurja:
I like the whole brand. Most of the meats have been very good, including salmon and some minced meats like turkey, chicken etc.
Kennelrehu:
This is the name of the company that delivers meats from various sources as well as produces some themselves. They have a truck stopping roughly once per month in certain towns and you can then pick up products you have pre-ordered through their website.
Some of the meats are very good, some not that great. I have tried many, and have grown fond of
Minced turkey (jauhettu kalkkuna): Boneless product. Very nice, fine mince, clean, doesn't smell and keeps the stools good.
Puppy minced beef (pentunauta): Best price/quality ratio beef I have found. Their minced beef has cow meat and minced cow hearts, nothing else. Excellent product used for small dogs and puppies, thus, because it's easy to digest.
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A little while ago I wrote about how you need to socialize your dog properly, pert of this being you need to make your dog tolerate children. Not be their best friend, not all dogs are, but for a working society where we can all live you need to make sure your dog can behave around children, no matter if they are ever going to come to the skin or not. It needs to be able to tolerate their presence without aggression or fear. Now, while we dog owners have responsibilities, parents also have them. Here are some things to remember when you teach your child to behave with a dog – and believe me, it needs to be taught. It does not come naturally.
Children can be absolutely fun company for dogs, and vice versa. Even a little bit snappy, nervous dogs can work with a child if the child knows how to behave. Obviously I would never recommend putting too young children together with nervous dogs, because you need to be able to talk to the child and give instructions and the child will need to be old enough to understand at least the basic instructions. This works with balanced dogs, too. From what I have seen in my family, even a smart two year old can work with a dog and listen to instructions, but it requires extensive help, guiding and presence of the parents. You can not let a child that young be with a dog unsupervised! That's how kids get bitten and dogs get killed.
One of the most common mistakes I have witnessed myself and heard from others is that small children, toddlers, are let to walk unsupervised in a house with a dog, specially if that dog is not in the same family with the child. This can lead to dangerous situations where the child will approach the dog and either forget or not care about how to give space and respect the animal. In these cases, often enough, the dog will feel threatened. If we adults are not there, we can't interfere. What of the dog is in it's bed? What if it is in a corner? What if it feels trapped? A child, specially if he or she does not live with a child or is very small, can't tell all the subtle body language the dog may be giving, leading to a dangerous, risky situation. So, always supervise your child! After all, it is YOUR child and you should be in charge of it's safety.
One of the most common mistakes I have witnessed myself and heard from others is that small children, toddlers, are let to walk unsupervised in a house with a dog, specially if that dog is not in the same family with the child. This can lead to dangerous situations where the child will approach the dog and either forget or not care about how to give space and respect the animal. In these cases, often enough, the dog will feel threatened. If we adults are not there, we can't interfere. What of the dog is in it's bed? What if it is in a corner? What if it feels trapped? A child, specially if he or she does not live with a child or is very small, can't tell all the subtle body language the dog may be giving, leading to a dangerous, risky situation. So, always supervise your child! After all, it is YOUR child and you should be in charge of it's safety.
Respect own space
Dogs are very commonly fond of certain ”own spaces” withing the house and the yard. The most classical example is the dog's own bed, but under the owners bed, in a certain room, a certain corner of the house, a certain place on a mattress, all those can also be seen as ”safe spots” for the dog. Make sure you communicate with the dog's owner to see when the dog is at it's ”own space” and respect that space. Do not let a child approach the dog when it seeks the comfort of it's safe spot. This can well be compared to our own home. We go in our home to be at peace, to feel safe. If every random human being passing by can just walk in our livingroom uninvited, does it make you feel safe? It stresses one up, and it can lead to a point where grabbing the nearest object and swinging it against an intruder feels like a good idea.
When talking abiut dogs, they don't grab an object. They use their snout to poke and teeth to snap.
If you want the child to admire the dog from afar, leave a good space between the resting dog and the child. No matter if you don't touch the dog, hoovering 10 centimeters from it's face doesn't feel very safe.
A sleeping dog should NEVER be touched! This is a rule very important to teach, and maybe the most important one.
A gentle touch
Little children are often rough. They can't handle their plump little limbs as good as adults do and they may be a tad ”brutal” when petting a dog. Very small kids also get intrigued by possible hairs and have a tendency to grab them (don't let your afghan hound over the baby's crib. Babies grip, and they grip good), which is usually not a very good idea. The same goes with the swinging tail. Always be there, ready to instruct the child to be more gentle and make sure it doesn't grab any part it should not. Believe it or not, it's not uncommon for a small child to grab a you-know-what part of a large male dog, just saying. We can all probably agree it doesn't feel that nice, and that the dog might not appreciate the effort.
Guide the child when petting a dog, making sure the child is gentle and respectful, meaning it doesn't touch the eyes or grab the ears or anything similar. Safe spots with a strange dog are the chest and the back.
Let the dog decide when it's had enough. When it leaves, it leaves. It has the right to do so.
Feeding time is sacred
Don't. Let. The. Child. Approach. A. Dog. That. Eats. No matter if the dog is not at all food aggressive, it's not the time or space to go and interfere. The dog is eating, and it should be able to eat in peace. Don't let the child near the food bowl of the eating dog and don't let it touch the dog when the dog eats. Teach your child to wait further away or just ignore the dogs and do something else while the dogs are eating.
Even docile dogs may react if they are interrupted while eating. Or would you like to have someone poking your hands and sides and messing with your plate when you are having a dinner? What is a small correction for a dog, something they would do to each other, might be a severe injure for the child (we will talk about this later).
The same goes with dogs when the child is eating. It might make ”a cute” Youtube video to show the dog and child sharing an ice cream, but it is always better to teach the dog to respect a child when the child is eating and teach the child to respect an eating dog.
Know the animal or have someone knowing the animal around
Mr. Hyperactivity loves children and puppies. He loves playing with them and he doesn't mind either when they are a bit rough. He is a tad rough himself, too, and he doesn't have the perfect aim or concentration when playing with toys. He can jump on the ball while you are taking it or he can accidentally grab your hand when he tried to grab the toy you were playing the tug-of-war with. He always lets go, he never means to hurt, but he is just SO HAPPY and SO FULL OF ENERGY he makes mistakes. Just the day before yesterday I played with him, and he missed the rope toy just a bit when correcting his bite of it, hitting my arm instead.
| If my hand looks like this after this small indicent he meant no harm with, he was just being inconsiderate, imagine how a small child's face would look. Trust the owner. If she or he says you can't let the child play with the dog ”because he gets so hyper” or ”she is a bit rough”, don't go ”oh, but it doesn't mind, my child's used to it!”. The owner knows the dog he/she shares the house with, and he/she knows whether or not the dog can play with a child safely. |  |
Same goes with everything from playing to petting to even going to have a look. If the owner declines, respect that and move on.
Correcting is not a bite
I mentioned earlier that the dogs correct each other. They do that with poking with their snout and snapping with their teeth. Mothers do this to pups. Friends do that with each other. Dogs of the same house do that. It's not a sign of being aggressive, it's simply interacting and telling something is not OK. Same goes with growling.
We have unfortunately grown to believe a growl or a snap is a sign of an aggressive dog. We teach out dogs to never growl and we see dogs correcting each other as ”mean”. We expect all dogs are the most docile labs or the most gentle beagles, but that is not true. We have a HUGE variety of breeds and breed mixes and a HUGE variety of temperaments. Some temperaments are more desired with house pets than others, but those temperaments wouldn't probably work with for example a hunting dog or a guard dog or a service dog. Even within just house pets we have many, many, many different dogs that prefer different things.
Some dogs, no matter what their purpose, breed, gender or age, are more prone to correct with a snout poke or a snap. From my own experience, older bitches are more likely to do this than males, but once again, this is just my own experience. Don't use it as a guide and think you can take your child to hug a strange older male because nokkaelaimet.weebly.com said it's OK.
When a snap or a poke happens, even if the skin is not broken (and usually it is not because the dog knows perfectly well how to use it's teeth) it is often labeled a bite and the dog is getting a stigma of being aggressive. REMEMBER; A BITE NEVER LEAVES THE SKIN UNBROKEN. When a bite happens, the dog is wishing to harm. It feels threatened enough to injure to get out of the situation. This is a VERY serious thing, the child often needs medical help after the incident, and we should NEVER let this happen. This is exactly why we should always supervise animals and children together.
If the child cries, but the skin is not broken (or the wound is hardly there) and the dog doesn't seem to be too ”stressed” what has happened is most likely a poke with a snout (and the kid got scared of the hasty movement) or a snap. If we happen to witness the situation, the dog has most likely presented a very wide variety of different calming and warning signals before that; stiff posture, licking of teeth, growling, looking other way eyes enlargened, panting... may they have been clear or not, may there have been many or not, those signals of the dog have been ignored and it moved on to the next phase of trying to solve the situation; physical correction. This is how dogs communicate with other dogs, and because of OUR OWN MISTAKE things have lead to the situation where the dog felt threatened or irritated or both enough to use physical force.
While there is a connection between the tendency to correct and the tendency to bite, most dogs that physically correct never meant to harm the child. They hold no grudge. They simply corrected it in a way their species work. To label this dog aggressive, to put it down or find a new home for it immediately shows our own misunderstanding of the situation and how badly we handled it before the incident. Instead of this labeling we should understand we let this happen, and we should not let it happen again. While in some cases, if the dog is super stressed around the kid in general, it would be best to not let the kid and the dog be together, usually these kind of things don't happen again if we make sure the child and the dog are interacting in a correct, safe way.
A snap or a snout poke is not a bite. Don't call it a bite, and don't see it as an aggressive move from the dog's side only. Something has happened that led to the situation, and most likely it was our mistake that allowed this unfortunate incident. If the situation doesn't result anything more serious than a crying kid with no visible physical harm or a slightly tense dog, move on. Make sure next time you handle things better. Specially if the dog is not your own dog, there are NUMEROUS things you can do to make sure in future your kid stays untouched and the dog doesn't feel threatened by it. You can start by figuring out if you let some of the forbidden things described in this post happen.
Dogs and kids can be terribly good friends and they can do lots of fun things (and get into lot of mischief) together, but this means both of them know how to behave around each other.
Socialize your dogs properly and teach your kids to respectfully treat a dog. This way a dog can really be your kid's best friend.
I sometimes get asked how hard and time consuming raw feeding is, if it is expensive and if it is dangerous to feed 50 / 50. I have answered to most questions in this blog already; it takes some time to get things right, but it isn't rocket sciense, it doesn't take more than feeding good quality kibble and 50 / 50 is an excellent way of feeding your dog. To give some practical example of how our raw feeding is, I decided to make a small post about how it can look. I left out calculated vitamins and minerals, but I will note some things you need to remember if you decide to try them out. Balance is everything and while you can leave something out one day and boost the other, you need to balance it the next day or in near future.
Vitamin boost
Egg, chopped beef, turkey, grounded salmon and veggie mash (cucumber, broccoli, lettuce) infused with zinc, calcium powder and coldpressed sunflower oil
This is something I do to boost the overall vitamins and minerals in the diet.
Eggs supplement all but C-vitamin and dogs can use everything in the egg easily. It is kind of a superfood for them.
Grounded salmon keeps the amount of vitamin D high enough, so I can be sure today the need is not only met but exceeded.
Beef is rich in zinc, and giving it as chopped meat pieces I can be sure all the vitamins are there. Minced meats often use less rich parts of the carcass too and while those are beneficial in their own way, feeding real full meat is good at least every now and then. It also gives the dogs something to chew on, considering they don't just gulp all and swallow it.
Turkey is a nice light meat that is higher in fat than chicken, but also very well digested by most dogs.
Supplements add to the overall minerals and vitamin E.
Note that this food has no liver and even though an egg gives some vitamin A, you need to add more if you have a large dog or make sure you meet the needs in following days.
Egg, chopped beef, turkey, grounded salmon and veggie mash (cucumber, broccoli, lettuce) infused with zinc, calcium powder and coldpressed sunflower oil
This is something I do to boost the overall vitamins and minerals in the diet.
Eggs supplement all but C-vitamin and dogs can use everything in the egg easily. It is kind of a superfood for them.
Grounded salmon keeps the amount of vitamin D high enough, so I can be sure today the need is not only met but exceeded.
Beef is rich in zinc, and giving it as chopped meat pieces I can be sure all the vitamins are there. Minced meats often use less rich parts of the carcass too and while those are beneficial in their own way, feeding real full meat is good at least every now and then. It also gives the dogs something to chew on, considering they don't just gulp all and swallow it.
Turkey is a nice light meat that is higher in fat than chicken, but also very well digested by most dogs.
Supplements add to the overall minerals and vitamin E.
Note that this food has no liver and even though an egg gives some vitamin A, you need to add more if you have a large dog or make sure you meet the needs in following days.
Low(er) Fat Happy Birthday dinner
Chopped chicken gizzards and hearts, minced turkey, grounded whitefish, liver casserole (raisin free), coldpressed sunflower oil, zinc
Ms. Dominance turned two years old, so I wanted to celebrate giving dogs their ultimate favorite food; liver casserole without raisins. Being ”human food” and all, it is pretty high is fats and salt, so I tried to balance this obvious trash food with some low fat meats.
Chicken gizzards and hearts are not organs for dogs. For them they are actually closer to muscle meat than anything else, since dogs don't need taurin (therefore chicken hearts are seen as organs when you feed ferrets, because they have taurin in them). They are also very low on fat, so they are a good way to raise up protein level without raising the fat level. They are also nice and chew-able food for the dogs to eat.
White fish has over double the amount of vitamin D as salmon. It is, in return, also much lower in fat. Therefore I like feeding it as salmon's replacement every now and then. The only problem is it is also double in prize, so it is a rare delicasy rather than something the dogs eat every day.
Turkey is added for the same reason as before; it is good easily digested meat fit for many dogs.
Chopped chicken gizzards and hearts, minced turkey, grounded whitefish, liver casserole (raisin free), coldpressed sunflower oil, zinc
Ms. Dominance turned two years old, so I wanted to celebrate giving dogs their ultimate favorite food; liver casserole without raisins. Being ”human food” and all, it is pretty high is fats and salt, so I tried to balance this obvious trash food with some low fat meats.
Chicken gizzards and hearts are not organs for dogs. For them they are actually closer to muscle meat than anything else, since dogs don't need taurin (therefore chicken hearts are seen as organs when you feed ferrets, because they have taurin in them). They are also very low on fat, so they are a good way to raise up protein level without raising the fat level. They are also nice and chew-able food for the dogs to eat.
White fish has over double the amount of vitamin D as salmon. It is, in return, also much lower in fat. Therefore I like feeding it as salmon's replacement every now and then. The only problem is it is also double in prize, so it is a rare delicasy rather than something the dogs eat every day.
Turkey is added for the same reason as before; it is good easily digested meat fit for many dogs.
Basic mix 1
Chopped beef, grounded salmon, minced turkey and vegetables with coldpressed sunflower oil, zinc and calcium powder
A little less fatty choice for your ”everyday trusty dinner”. Beef has less fat than feeding minced pork/beef and is richer in overall zinc, salmon adds some D and E, turkey is good basic meat with OK vitamin and mineral amounts, and all the add ons balance the diet to meet the basics, if you feed them with ¼, ¼, 2/4 manner (beef, salmon, turkey).
Note that this dinner has no liver, so you need to add some or make sure you meet the needs in following days.
Chopped beef, grounded salmon, minced turkey and vegetables with coldpressed sunflower oil, zinc and calcium powder
A little less fatty choice for your ”everyday trusty dinner”. Beef has less fat than feeding minced pork/beef and is richer in overall zinc, salmon adds some D and E, turkey is good basic meat with OK vitamin and mineral amounts, and all the add ons balance the diet to meet the basics, if you feed them with ¼, ¼, 2/4 manner (beef, salmon, turkey).
Note that this dinner has no liver, so you need to add some or make sure you meet the needs in following days.
Basic mix 2
Minced pork, beef, liver and turkey, grounded salmon, vegetables, calcium powder, lactic acid bacteria powder and dried seaweed
At the moment our favorite go-to, because it meets all the needs, has liver for vitamin A, seaweed for iodin and balances the digestive system. Note: I don't add the lactic acid bacteria every day, only a couple of times a week, but I see it as an important part of the weekly diet so I wanted to note it's existence.
If you have an older dog and/or an overweight dog, note that this food is pretty high on fat. To reduce the fat you can replace beef/pork with just minced beef, and/or replace the salmon with white fish every now and then.
Minced pork, beef, liver and turkey, grounded salmon, vegetables, calcium powder, lactic acid bacteria powder and dried seaweed
At the moment our favorite go-to, because it meets all the needs, has liver for vitamin A, seaweed for iodin and balances the digestive system. Note: I don't add the lactic acid bacteria every day, only a couple of times a week, but I see it as an important part of the weekly diet so I wanted to note it's existence.
If you have an older dog and/or an overweight dog, note that this food is pretty high on fat. To reduce the fat you can replace beef/pork with just minced beef, and/or replace the salmon with white fish every now and then.
Basic mix 3
Basic mix 2 plus an egg, for the added vitamin boost
Basic mix 2 plus an egg, for the added vitamin boost
Just to show how a balanced weekly diet would look with these recipes, here's a list for you. I have added mornings and evenings separate, because I feed mine twice a day, but if you only feed your dog once, go for the evening-portion.
Monday
Morning: Basic Mix 2
Evening: Basic Mix 3
Tuesday
Morning: Basic Mix 1
Evening: Basic Mix 1
Wednesday
Morning: Basic Mix 1
Evening: Vitamin Boost
Thursday
Morning: Basic Mix 2
Evening: Birthday Dinner
Friday
Morning: Basic Mix 2
Evening: Basic Mix 2
Saturday
Morning: Basic Mix 1
Evening: Basic Mix 1
Sunday
Morning: Basic Mix 3
Evening: Birthday Dinner (without casserole, replaced with grounded beef and a bit of liver)
So, having a few recipes at hand you are able to form a very balanced weekly diet for your dog that doesn't take that much time. Excluding the birthday dinner, which took some extra time, mixing the meats and dividing them takes so little time I am able to do it before work in the morning without problems. I CAN take my time in the evening, but in the morning we go with the fastest possible solution. Therefore I add supplements in the evening food, excluding oil which is usually divided in two and given both during the morning and the evening.
I hope this was somewhat helpful and also answered to some questions considering how it is to feed your dog with raw. It may seem like a hassle, but when you get down to it, it's pretty simple, fast and doesn't cost any more than any good quality kibble.
Monday
Morning: Basic Mix 2
Evening: Basic Mix 3
Tuesday
Morning: Basic Mix 1
Evening: Basic Mix 1
Wednesday
Morning: Basic Mix 1
Evening: Vitamin Boost
Thursday
Morning: Basic Mix 2
Evening: Birthday Dinner
Friday
Morning: Basic Mix 2
Evening: Basic Mix 2
Saturday
Morning: Basic Mix 1
Evening: Basic Mix 1
Sunday
Morning: Basic Mix 3
Evening: Birthday Dinner (without casserole, replaced with grounded beef and a bit of liver)
So, having a few recipes at hand you are able to form a very balanced weekly diet for your dog that doesn't take that much time. Excluding the birthday dinner, which took some extra time, mixing the meats and dividing them takes so little time I am able to do it before work in the morning without problems. I CAN take my time in the evening, but in the morning we go with the fastest possible solution. Therefore I add supplements in the evening food, excluding oil which is usually divided in two and given both during the morning and the evening.
I hope this was somewhat helpful and also answered to some questions considering how it is to feed your dog with raw. It may seem like a hassle, but when you get down to it, it's pretty simple, fast and doesn't cost any more than any good quality kibble.
