iExploreAmerica

an unorthodox journey

 

How to allow your dog to live a long, long time

BetsyLoo is a most unfortunate looking dog who has tolerated me for nigh on 22 years. In a nutshell, she is so dreadfully ugly that small children turn and run to their parents and clutch onto an available leg.

HER DIET: is thanks only to the wonder of a book called Natural Rearing for Dogs and Cats by Juliette de Bairacli (sp) Levy. 

The basic principles of this diet (which I have adapted somewhat over the years) are:

 

Night meal

  • Raw meat - never pork

  • Finely shredded cabbage, carrots, garlic, parsley

  • Cooked oats (mixes well with protein)

  • Molasses and olive oil - in moderate amounts

  • Pure honey

Fast the dog one day per week (unless s/he is very old or chronically ill). This gives the dog's constitution time to rehabilitate and cleanse itself.

 

The midday meal

  • Cooked maize (not too refined) with a little watered down milk, honey and a little bit of peanut butter

  • Fruit - if the dog will eat it. It is to be encouraged as is the eating of grass

  • Lay off giving the dog rawhide, chicken bones and rubbish to eat.

Get the book if you love your dog - it will change your life.

 

You may wonder why she has lived so long.  I can only attribute this to two things: her diet and sheer spite
 

Keep on your journey, Friend. Dreams change. Find joy in something.