Food for Fen

18/08/2024

We were not able to make it to the sheepdog trial this weekend, so am trying to be productive making the meat base for the next several weeks of recipes.There are 3 of these tubs, each with 10.7 kg of meat (20% fat ground mutton, 5% fat ground chicken, beef heart, trimmed and ground). This is the most time consuming part of my prep - cutting, grinding and weighing large amounts of meat.

Each dog has an individualized topper recipe including varying amounts of beef liver, pork kidney, 12% fat tripe for those that need a boost of iron and manganese), RMBs, carbs (this week will be oatmeal and sweet potato, along with a seasonal veggie mix) and their individual supplements to balance the diet to each dog's nutrient requirements.

Because this base will be frozen for an extended period, I add vitamin E powder for food preservation (70-300 IU per lb. of food, depending on how long it will be frozen for). Yes, I have a whiteboard, which needs a good cleaning (and which I alone understand)! 😆

While this method works for me, it may not for others. What are some of your diet prep hacks? Are you a "mix everything together" type, or do you countertop prep at mealtime? Do you "eyeball" amounts or do you weigh and measure? 🧐🤔

20/07/2024

*Commercial Raw Premades* The list you've been waiting for!

The raw dog food industry has come a long way! (Thank Dog!)

While there are still many commercially available premades that are not balanced according to nutrient requirements (and still have labels that read something like "Turkey, Turkey Organs, Turkey Bones, Kelp" 🙄), many companies are beginning to offer at least one line of correctly labeled, complete and balanced food for dogs.👏👏

Beware! Websites are often misleading (some brands labeled complete and/or balanced are actually following a "ratio", "BARF" or "PMR" style of raw feeding, which do not follow nutrient guidelines and are not based in science; they are often deficient and/or excessive in several important nutrients. And no, the popular belief of "rotating proteins" does not guarantee that nutrients are provided in the correct amounts for your dog.

Below is a list of balanced commercial premade raw dog foods that follow nutrient guidelines (AAFCO and/or NRC for North America; FEDIAF for Europe). If I've not included your favorite, there is probably a reason (using seeds and herbs to meet mineral requirements, for example. There are several brands that do this, and the bioavailability of minerals from seeds and herbs is questionable. While the recipe may look fine on paper, it may not be providing all the nutrients as labeled.) But I digress...If your favorite brand is not listed, let me know in the comments!

*"How do I know if a particular raw food is right for my dog?"* If your dog can eat within the package guidelines for his/her weight and maintain an ideal bodyweight, this indicates that the food has the correct caloric density for your dog. Of course, other things must be considered too, especially for canine athletes or dogs with health conditions.

Complete and Balanced Commercial Premade Raw food List (will be updated frequently-ish)

Guide:

ALS = All Life Stages. This means the food is complete and balanced for growth and reproduction as well as adult dogs at any stage of life.
Adult = the brand offers complete and balanced formulas for adult dogs
Adult and Puppy = the brand offers separate complete and balanced formulas for adult dogs and puppies.

*Canada only:*

Purevolution (Quebec only, adult and puppy)
Faim Museau (Quebec and Ontario only, ALS)
Iron Will Raw (Canine Complete only, adult and puppy)
Aliments Crus Grenier (Quebec only, Premium Recipes only - ALS)
Alpha Dog Distribution (Quebec only, AAFCO recipes only - adult)
CaniPro (Quebec only, Completes and Supreme Completes only - adult and puppy)
Karbur (Quebec only - Ontario coming soon, Complete Meat Blends only - ALS)
Karnivor (Quebec and Ontario only, ALS* (they recommend the Beef and Chicken recipes for puppies).
Performatrin Culinary (PetValu)- adult formulations only

*USA only:*

Carnos - formerly Top Quality Dog Food (Completes only - ALS)
Oma's Pride (Completes only - ALS)
Titan (ALS*) *Not suitable for easy keepers - very high fat. Excessive retinol (Vitamin A), although not exceeding safe upper limits)
Rebel Raw (ALS)
Bravo (Balance formulas only - ALS)
Answers (Detailed formulas only - ALS*) *Not suitable for dogs requiring a low histamine diet, such as mast cell cancers, allergies and possible food sensitivities)
K9 Craving (ALS)
Just Food for Dogs (Gently Cooked - ALS* (they recommend Chicken & White Rice and Fish & Sweet Potato recipes for puppies)

*Internationally available:*

Instinct Raw (adult and puppy)
Instinct Raw Longevity (adult and puppy)
Stella and Chewy's (Raw Dinners only - ALS)
Primal (USA and Canada only - adult and puppy)
K9 Natural (Australia and New Zealand only - ALS)

*UK only (FEDIAF):*

Nature's Menu (Complete and Balanced line only - adult and puppy)
Poppy's Picnic (adult and puppy)

*Food for Fen has no affiliation with any manufacturer and by listing the food does not constitute and endorsement*.

07/07/2024

Garden clean out - the first of the season! The surplus kale, chard, parsley and bok choy 🥬 are harvested for the dog veggie blend, before the bugs can eat it all! This will be cooked and then pulped in the food processor with some overripe watermelon 🍉 and bananas 🍌 the humans couldn't get to in time, and leftover blueberries🫐 and apples🍎. Homemade bone broth🍗 is added instead of water for processing; both for taste and a little boost of glycine. The finished mixture will provide vitamin C, B vitamins and various phytonutrients, as well as soluble and insoluble fiber 🥗. It will be fed as part of a balanced diet but could be a good, low calorie kibble topper as well, in small amounts, watching for loose 💩.

14/06/2024

InstantPot for the win! Bland diet for a senior dog after a session of indiscriminate ingestion of dead animal in the woods. Soaked and rinsed short grain white rice (aka sticky rice), and ultra lean chicken breast, cooked with the rice on a trivet for easy portioning. No boiling over, no watching the stove, less to clean up.

The dog in question will begin this tonight. First step is to give her inflamed bowels 12-24 hours to calm down with fasting (water only). She is a healthy senior and feels fine other than the 💩. Of course, only fast a dog with known health conditions under your veterinarian's guidance!

The bland diet will be fed in small amounts throughout the day and hopefully we'll have a return to regular meals in a couple of days! 🤞

If 💩 has not resolved by then, off to the vet she will go.

10/06/2024

New installment of Feeding Baby Kale up on the Clients Only Site. If you have forgotten the password, send me a message! https://foodforfen.wixsite.com/members

05/06/2024

This week, I learned about insect based proteins in pet foods. I've shared a summary and my own personal views.

This week, I attended a live online Q&A session regarding insect-based protein in pet foods. The industry experts answered questions regarding the latest innovations and industry trends.BUGS IN MY DOG'S FOOD!? Insect-based protein is AAFCO approved for use in dog foods formulated for adult maintenan...

21/05/2024

Big day today! Food for Fen is presenting a webinar for the ASSOCIATION OF CHARTERED PHYSIOTHERAPISTS IN ANIMAL THERAPY (ACPAT): "Nutritional Considerations for Injury prevention and recovery in canine athletes." Thanks to everyone who provided photos and videos to use in my presentation!

Benefits of ACPAT Membership We have three membership types available to you. These are designed to provide you with the level of support you need. Below are the membership options at a glance. Are you a Physio? For practicing chartered physiotherapists who have completed the Msc/PGDIP veterinary ph...

07/05/2024

Give your k9 athlete a head start! Maximize future performance through nutrition AND physical and mental conditioning.

Our good friends at Prehabvet are offering a foundation course focusing on performance by breaking down movement, muscle, and brain function. This will not be your average "fitness training" class, performing difficult maneuvers on expensive equipment! It will be highly individualized and give you the tools to identify issues early, thus helping to avoid injuries and increase your dog's success in his sport or activity. I just signed up with baby Kale. Since she will be my sole competitor at some point, keeping her sound and fit throughout her career will be of utmost importance!

For the nutrition side of your k9 athlete's performance, Food for Fen has consultations opening in June. Don't delay, spots fill quickly!

05/05/2024

Back from 3 weeks down south visiting friends, and sheepdogging. To those waiting for email responses and intake forms, thank you for your patience while I dig out this week! 🥴

27/03/2024

An important reminder for our canine athletes. Awareness, Conditioning and DIET, all play important roles to improve physical and mental stamina and in preventing injuries. Those of you who participated in the webinar hosted with Dore River Border Collies know 😉.

Fatigue starts long before your dog is laying down panting heavily, squinting and with their tongue on the ground …
Understanding and recognizing early signs of fatigue is key to keeping our dogs successful in training, and their bodies safe.
The longer you train, the higher the chance that your dog will experience:
🏋️ physical fatigue (tired body)
🤯 mental fatigue (tired mind - too much information)
❤️‍🩹 emotional fatigue (tired mind - too much stress/excitement)
Or often a combination of these!
The subtle signs can be easy to miss. And if we don’t stop training when our dog first tells us they had enough, things usually go downhill fast …
Be observant and look out for the following:

1️⃣ Disengagement
If your dog has been happy and enthusiastic during your session and suddenly disengages, sniffs the ground or wanders off, chances are they had enough. Do not keep pushing them to train … it will likely not be successful.
2️⃣ Overarousal
Your dog was in a focused state of mind, but suddenly “spins out of control”? Even though over-excitement may look like excess energy to us, it can actually be a sign that the dog needs a break! Some dogs “stress up” (become MORE crazy as they get tired).
3️⃣ Fidgeting
Your dog was doing well (for example by staying in a Sit Stay), but suddenly starts adding “random” behaviors? Stepping in place, scratching, sniffing themselves etc. are all signs that your dog is getting tired.
4️⃣ Regression
Your dog was doing well at the beginning of the training session, but seems to actually get *worse* as time goes on? This is a very common and often overlooked sign of fatigue.
We see it especially in reactive dog training, where dogs are fine at the beginning of a session, but exposure near their threshold and trigger stacking makes them more and more stressed throughout.
Don’t ignore these first signs. If you try to push through it, your dog will not magically recover (mentally, physically or emotionally) … but is much more likely to keep making mistakes, rehearse unwanted behaviors or even get injured!
Which of the above signs of fatigue do you see most often in your dog?

27/03/2024

I don't do feline recipes, but Tammy's cat Hidee thought the dog's meal prep was very interesting. 🐯😆

24/03/2024

I am caught up in client work, so the third installment of Feeding Baby Kale has been posted to the clients only site. https://foodforfen.wixsite.com/members

Also in the works is "Choosing an Omega-3 supplement for your dog", which will discuss labels, testing, peroxide levels (rancidity) and correct dosing - "more" is not always better! As always, the deepest dive into the subject will be provided on the clients-only site. Gain access with the purchase of any service.

19/03/2024

My day job is Commercial and Gov't Contract Management for this amazing company based in Denmark. We know that nurses, nursing assistants and physical and occupational therapists suffer from debilitating musculoskeletal injuries due to lifting, turning and supporting patients during bedside care and therapy.

Veterinarians and techs that lift heavy dogs exceed NIOSH safe lifting limits and expose themselves to the same hazards. The solution? A patient lift system in a veterinary clinic! https://vimeo.com/924603627

Piqued your interest? More: https://www.guldmann.com/int/video-library?show-group=other-videos -other-videos

This is "Veterinary hospital - Using GH1 ceiling hoist" by V. Guldmann A/S on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

18/03/2024

Other people. "But I don't worry about balanced nutrition for myself..."

Me...

😁

17/03/2024

Food prep clean up crew this morning. Friends Bean and baby Kale sharing prewash duties 🥰

10/03/2024

Carb Snacks for K9 Athletes - free recipe included!

Those of you who tuned in yesterday to the first Food for Fen webinar, hosted by Dore River Border Collies, learned about glycogen sparing and replenishment as a way to promote stamina in our canine athletes. We talked about how muscle glycogen replenishment can be maximized during that short window...

09/03/2024

Done and dusted! Thank you Dore River Border Collies for hosting FFF's first webinar.

For the question regarding how much glucose the glycogen-replenishing snacks should contain, the answer is 1.5 to 3 g of glucose per kg of bodyweight. For reference, 1 teaspoon of honey provides about 2.9 grams of glucose.

🐝🐝🍯🍯

07/03/2024

Last chance to register!

Join us as we learn from certified Canine Nutrition Consultant Fiona Robertson for an informative discussion all about nutrition!

04/03/2024

2nd installment of Feeding Baby Kale 🥬on the clients only site. Not a client? Purchase any service, such as a topper recipe ($40) or a 30 minute video or voice consultation (also $40) and gain unlimited access to growing content on the site. Prices in CAD$.

Enter the client portal to access exclusive content.

03/03/2024

Baby Kale's first recreational bone, a beef rib. 🪥 Gum massage and jawrobic exercise. These bones are not factored into her diet, as they are few and far between and she cannot consume the actual bone. She has shown a tolerance for high fat so this treat shouldn't cause any side effects. I'll let you all know tomorrow...💩

26/02/2024

https://www.foodforfen.com/post/baby-kale-teaser-trailer

Gain unlimited access to the clients only site by purchasing any service from Food for Fen.

Introducing baby Kale, a female border collie puppy. Follow her home-feeding journey on the Clients Only site as she grows! Not a client? Purchase any service. I am behind in beginning this blog series, and Kale is now nearly 14 weeks old. She is a delightful puppy, smart, eager to learn and sensibl...

22/02/2024

More spaces open due to demand!

*Applicable to all canine athletes*

Learn how to help maximize stamina and performance in your canine athlete through nutrition. Learn about energy requirements, how the macronutrients (fat, carbs and protein) provide fuel for each stage of work, learn how to support the body's antioxidant systems, how to hydrate your athlete, when to feed and more! Kibble feeders, raw feeders and home-preppers WELCOME! Only $25 CAD.

Partial proceeds going to Royal Inland Hospital Cancer Centre in Kamloops, BC. 👏

https://doreriverbordercollies.com/store/k9-nutrition-webinar-march-9?fbclid=IwAR0MwbOosonxPHtcDKKy_CUVQ1VQZVvJySmxV0dyiA5938O6nxCpLAcf1wk

Join us as we learn from certified Canine Nutrition Consultant Fiona Robertson for an informative discussion all about nutrition!

16/02/2024

Busy, busy! Food for Fen is now at ~6 weeks turnaround for new clients. There are plans for the blog and the "feeding Baby Kale from 8 weeks to 1 year" on the clients only site, but of course, client work takes precedence (and the darn day job) Also - webinars! Food for Fen has been invited to speak to veterinary and rehab professionals of ACPAT (UK) on "nutritional considerations for reducing injury risk and aiding recovery in performance dogs". Thank you Dr. Tracy Carter DVM BSc MRCVS for your recommendation!

Benefits of ACPAT Membership We have three membership types available to you. These are designed to provide you with the level of support you need. Below are the membership options at a glance. Are you a Physio? For practicing chartered physiotherapists who have completed the Msc/PGDIP veterinary ph...

06/02/2024

Substitute "working sheepdogs" for any canine athlete: agility competitors, hunting dogs, canicross etc. To maximize physical and mental stamina, nutrition for your canine athlete should be as important a consideration as training and conditioning.

🍗🍗K9 Nutrition Webinar - March 9 at 10 AM (PST)

🐶"Maximizing physical & mental stamina in working sheepdogs"

Join Food for Fen's Fiona Robertson, certified Canine Nutrition Consultant for a fabulous session of learning and get your dogs well prepared for the upcoming season.

Substitute "working sheepdogs" for any canine athlete: agility competitors, hunting dogs, canicross etc. To maximize physical and mental stamina, nutrition for your canine athlete should be as important a consideration as training and conditioning.

We will discuss practical strategies you can implement, whether using commercial, raw or homemade diets.

Hosted by Jen L'Arrivee from Dore River Border Collies.

Register here: https://doreriverbordercollies.com/clinics-events

Partial proceeds going to Royal Inland Hospital Cancer Centre, Kamloops, BC

04/02/2024

Senior border collie with stage 3 kidney disease and history of possible pancreatitis enjoying his FFF formulated home-cooked diet after weeks of anorexia, causing his owner a lot of anxiety! This recipe was specially formulated to be low in fat with restricted phosphorus yet enough high quality protein. A low omega 6:3 ratio using high potency, pharmaceutical grade fish oil and extra antioxidant support can help repair damaged kidneys along with extra B-vitamins, which also help stimulate appetite.

25/01/2024

Website updated. New! Pack/Kennel Services. https://www.foodforfen.com/kennel-pack-diet-services

Also, coming soon on the clients only site: Feeding a puppy from 8 weeks to adulthood, a special series featuring our new addition! Meet "Kale", a 9 week old Border Collie puppy. Currently she is eating a 50/50 diet of Farmina puppy kibble and Instinct raw for puppies. When I am home from my vacation, we begin Kale's homemade diet and the challenge of monthly recipe changes to ensure optimal development. Stay tuned!

14/01/2024

Movie night! With butter and salt for the humans, unsalted without added fat for the dogs. For healthy adult dogs only of course, and organic is best for us all.

07/01/2024

Road trip prep. Leaving 2 dogs home means meals must be easy for the human looking after them. Same calories (650 kcals) for both dogs but different macronutrient profiles. Which one is the higher fat? 🤔 Can you guess?

27/12/2023

New blog post!

In the previous blog post, the nutritional claims of bone broth were discussed. It was summarized that bone broth is probably beneficial for dogs but that many claims are anecdotal. We do know bone broth can provide energy as well as various amino acids, minerals and collagen that are extracted from...

11/12/2023

Is lab-grown meat the future of commercial pet food?

It is accepted that animal protein is more bioavailable to dogs than plant protein (although research on plant based and insect based diets for dogs is ever-expanding), so might lab-grown meat be the ethical and "green" way to provide animal protein in commercial diets for dogs? How do you feel about it? In Czech Republic, the first manufacturing plant has been authorized by the European Feed Materials Register to provide lab grown beef.

At Bene Meat we work on changing the future of meat – meat without the need of killing animals or destroying the planet; meat that is healthy and accessible to all for an acceptable cost. We are developing the technology for cultivated meat production without the use of animal components. Our star...