Today is a huge day for me. First and foremost, I, Louis Reginald, turn one human year old (bring on the presents). Secondly, in honor of my birthday, I am starting my new column, Off the Leash with Louis. Additionally, April 14, 2008 is the day Cup of Dog has been honored with winning Dogmark’s Cool Dog Site of the Day!

In this column I will be chatting with other dogs to share our perspective with people. After all, we canines need a forum to express ourselves with all these humans around!

Our first participants are Stanislaw and his brother Big Pupi . They are two awesome Cocker Spaniels that author their own cool blog, I Eat Raw Meat. Since I also eat raw meat, we have plenty in common!
By the way, call me Louis. (Its pronounced like ‘Louie’ btw).

__________________________

 

 

Stanislaw Big Pupi

Louis: Stanislaw and Big Pupi, I really like catching up on your blog I Eat Raw Meat and following your gastronomic adventures. I especially like your menus, even though I drool a lot on the laptop when I read them. Why don’t we start by you two talking about how you found your humans.

 

Stanislaw: I was arrested by the dog catcher for peeing on private property. I wound up at a kill shelter and the Houston Cocker Spaniel Rescue came and saved me. I was a dangerously skinny, starving boy because I never had any humans to feed me. I lived by eating frogs and lizards that I found in the grass. Soon after, I was at an adoption day and I saw my future humans and their dog Big Pupi. They looked pretty nice, so I asked them if they would adopt me and feed me. Sure enough, they did. I’m around 1 year old.

 

Big Pupi: In a flash and a blur I wound up behind bars. I swear, I didn’t do it. I was there for over 24 hours, donning my Elvis ‘do and yearning for some belly rubs, when a lady from the Austin Cocker Spaniel Rescue came and took me home with her. Her house was awesome – fun dogs everywhere, fabulous feasting and lots of attention. I got a hair cut and wound up at some adoption days. Finally, I moved in with my mom, made it though heartworm treatment with her, and it’s been great ever since. I have no idea how old I am. I’ve heard anywhere from 4 ½ to 7 years, but my mom sticks with 4 ½ because she says I was such a “puppy-brain” when she first got me. I would have been about 2 then, and have since matured into the perfect boy that I am.

Louis: I live in Miami and it’s pretty easy for my parents to get me all the raw I desire. Tell me about where you live and if it’s easy for you and other raw eaters acquire the meat that makes tummies happy.

 

S: We lived in Texas and one day we went on a long drive and ended up in Chicago, where there is an endless winter. I miss swimming in the Colorado River, but I do really like Lake Michigan and the geese that live here. I hunt my own meat — you know, squirrel, pigeons, and such. I would be a great hunter if my dad ever let me off the leash. I haven’t actually caught a squirrel yet, so I’m lucky my raw meat comes from the magic meat locker in my kitchen.

 

BP: Our humans talk about co-ops, a meat packer and a local Yahoo! group that tips them off to meat sales. Stan and I have never gotten the chance to check out these magical meat locations. Our people just sort of arrive at home with mass quantities of feasting materials.

 

Louis: Wow! I lived in Chicago when I first moved in with my family. After a few months we moved to Miami, my mom said its so we won’t be cold. Anyway, have you always eaten raw meat?

 

S: I dabbled in some raw meat eating when I was a young pup. Frogs and lizards and such. When I was adopted, I started eating Canidae but my tummy didn’t like it and I was unable to gain any weight on it. I’ve been eating raw for 3 months or so.

 

BP: I started out on Nutro Naturals, moved to Science Diet as prescribed by my vet (bad experience!), then Canidae dry food and finally raw. I’ve sampled many kibbles and canned foods in my day, and I’m telling you… real meat is the way to go.

Louis: I will pretty much eat anything. I really like that white long paper thing I unroll from inside the bathroom and can drag everywhere. So soft and chewy….Yum. So, since my mom switched me to a raw diet at six months old, I can’t get enough! I am really a lot healthier and more important shinier. I like to look good. Why did your people decide to make the change from another diet to raw?

 

S: I was 15 pounds when I was adopted. I’m supposed to be around 25. Needless to say, I went on a major feasting campaign with the goal of gaining some serious weight. Kibble helped a little, but my body couldn’t process the grains. In other words, kibble goes right through me and I’m unable to absorb the valuable nutrients I need to gain weight. Since I went on the raw diet, I’ve gained around 4 pounds in 3 months and I’m up to 22 pounds. My body really loves raw meat so it keeps it instead of letting it all go out my bum. I’m a much stronger, healthier boy now.

 

BP: I’ve got terrible food allergies, and they were just getting worse on dry food. The list of things I could not eat seemed to be getting longer all the time, and the itchiness drove me nuts. Plus, my kidney function was never quite normal, and my humans couldn’t help but wonder if a new diet could help. The raw diet has eliminated about 99% of my allergies, and my kidneys are stronger than they’ve ever been. And as an added bonus, my teeth are sparkling clean.

 

Louis: I regularly enjoy a variety of raw meats, bones, and I like to snack on stuff from the floor. My favorite meal is pheasant. I also just tried venison for the first time! YUM! What do your favorite meals consist of?

 

S: Goat, tripe, that sock over there, some garbage, a couple Mexican takeout containers, that thing I found in the elevator, and some yogurt.

 

BP: I’d have to agree with Stanislaw and say that tripe is pretty awesome. That’s way up there on my list of favorite feasts. Even though femur bones aren’t necessarily a meal, I have to admit that I’m a sucker for that rich marrow. We’ve also got some heart, whiting and duck on order and we’ve never tried those things before… so my favorite list is subject to change. Pheasant sounds awesome too. I’ve got to get on that one.

 

Louis: My mom has recently added tripe to our diet too. Its great! What would you guys say to other dogs that want to eat raw meat and bones? Is there anything other dogs should be prepared for? I went through a yucky sick period, even though the food was better then anything I ever had, tummy got all out of whack. My mom said it was ‘detox’. Tell me about your experience.

 

S: The whole first half of my life was a period of detox, so I didn’t really mind that raw meat hurt my tummy for the first week or so that I ate it. I feel great now. A few days of sickness is well worth it in order to be able to wake up every morning and eat bloody goat meat in my bowl or a raw turkey neck in my feasting cage. My advice to other dogs would be ‘no pain, no gain’.

 

BP: Yeah, it was a rough couple of days there. I didn’t really feel or act ill, but my tummy was an absolute mess. I was waking my mom up at 3am for potty emergencies, and making frequent trips to my favorite vomit spot – the sofa. Our humans kept a close eye on us and make sure our systems weren’t being pushed too hard. I’m sure glad we made it though just fine. Man, I love to crunch those bones.

 

Louis: Besides eating, I love to hang out in the park, rip open my toys, sniff things, push around my sister, sleep, give lots of kisses and snuggle. What are your favorite things to do, other then chow down?

 

S: I like to mark over my brother’s spots, harass him and my humans with my lunatic antics, try to snag treats from my mom’s coat pockets (she’s always got some in there), chase dogs and do a million play-bows. I also like to talk a lot and I like to feast hard.

 

BP: Nothing’s better than a good hard run and swim in the lake. My heart also goes out to day-long hikes and agility… even though I haven’t been able to practice my agility since we moved out of Texas. I’m an all-out exercise kind of guy, but then I love to turn into a mush pile at the end of the day and scrunch up on the sofa with my humans and watch baseball. Oh, and severely thrashing my stuffed-singing-Christmas-tree-mouse-toy. I can’t forget that.

 

Louis: I really appreciate your taking the time to be a part of my new column. If there are any final thoughts you would like to share with our Cup of Dog readers, please feel free to howl!

 

S: Louis, you should ask your human to get you some goat meat. I’m sure you’ll love it!

 

BP: We appreciate your interest in our feasting blog, Louis. Good luck with your new column!

 

Thanks, Stanislaw and Big Pupi! I really am happy to have had the chance to learn about you guys and how the raw diet has helped you out. On my next trip to Chicago, we will have to catch up and go squirrel hunting and I’ll be pushing to get some goat meat! The mere thought makes my tummy rumble.

 

I am looking forward to future chats, will include an aspiring canine model, a fashion forward toy poodle and much more!

   Email This Post

Related Categories:

Off the Leash with Louis!

 

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.