Walkin’ Walkin’ Walkin’ …. Yup now a days thats what Trixie is up to. We know that exercise is important, but another thing that is just as important to keeping our dogs fit is a proper diet. There are all kinds of diets we can choose from nowadays, home cooked, raw, manufactured raw (ie Nature’s Variety, Primal or Stella & Chewy’s), kibble, canned, and the list goes on.
Currently we are consuming The Honest Kitchen, Preference base mix. Though this is titled as The Honest Kitchen Preference Review, it is a dog food we love, and really wanted to share. With 4 little dogs to feed this is actually the most economical for us since I want to fix a more ‘home’ based type of a meal. The guess work of fruits and veggies is taken out and all I have to do is measure, hydrate & add protein. I call this my little ritual. Though the pictures only show the Tzus only feeding on chicken, I do rotate the protein. Their favorites include Salmon, Mahi, Talapia & Ground Beef, yup they Tzu’s like the little fishies!
Our ritual begins with a rotisserie chicken. This is not store bought as I have a rotisserie. I have found the store bought chickens to be very greasy, and not very much fun de-boneing. It is much easier to de-bone the chicken when it is warm rather than cold.
Once the chicken is stripped and slightly shredded it is placed in a Braun blender and ground up. I do this rather than grinding before cooking because I think the consistency of the chicken is better and flakier. One chicken will usually last approximately 3-4 days, depending on the amount I feed and the size of the chicken.
Once the preparation of The Honest Kitchen is in place, each bowl is measured out appropriately for each Shih Tzu. Based on their weight and activity level, the two big bowls are for Riley and Katie and the little ones are for Trixie & Chicky. The preparation is done once a day, half is given in the morning and the second half for dinner. The time spent for preparation is less than 10 minutes for breakfast & dinner.
Once served everyone is very happy.
I wanted to share this little meal ritual because weight management is so important. We put a lot of thought into our exercise programs for our dogs, a lot of thought should be put into what we put into their bodies also. I encourage you to research the food you serve thoroughly and make the best decision of what is right for you and your dog. If your dog has special medical issues, be sure to consult your vet or canine nutritionist.
Another tool we use as part of this management process is the Slimdoggy App! With this app we have been able to calculate the amount of calories our dogs burn and the amount of calories needed to maintain or lose weight. Make sure you stop by their website for more info and download the free version for your iOS device to get started!
A big shout out to the hosts of FitDog Friday Blog Hop, SlimDoggy, Peggy’s Pet Place and To Dog With Love.
Thank you for posting this. I am looking forward to seeing how their diet works for them. 🙂
Andrea recently posted…Happy 32nd Leia!
Thanks!! We will be having another Trixie update soon 🙂
They sure look like they like their food. I find the store rotisserie chickens very salty. Must be the marinade they use.
2 brown dawgs recently posted…Big Smiles
They love their food!! I get little dances from everyone!
You keep on to of it, way to go!
Jana Rade recently posted…Veterinary Highlights: Analysis Of Dog Hair Reveals Hormonal Imbalance
Thanks so much… we are trying!! It’s going to be a long haul but we’ll do it! Thanks for the support.
Never mind Gizmo that chicken has me drooling…I’d love to have a rotisserie…Sounds like you’ve developed a sensible and healthy meal plan and the pups are thriving on it
GizmoGeodog recently posted…Geocache Primer for Geodog Day
Great post and thanks for the shout out!
You are smart to pay attention to what you are feeding your dogs. Diet (esp. the number of daily calories) is the biggest determinant of your dog’s weight. Adding daily exercise to an intelligent feeding program will increase the odds that your dog will be healthy, happy, and live a longer life.
SlimDoggy recently posted…Exercise Alternatives for Senior Dogs