{Ruger Update ~ warning wordy post!}

February 18th, Ruger turned 7 months old!  He was 90 pounds and 30 inches at the shoulder.  He was eating better, we have tried so may different foods our mudroom looks like a pet store! He is still on the thin side but not scary thin.  He probably eats between 6-9 cups a day. If he eats a big breakfast then dinner won't amount to much or vise versa.  I noticed i would get so stressed out that when he started to eat I would make everyone/thing in the house freeze so it wouldn't distract him!  After a couple days I realized how crazy I was and had to think back to when the kids were babies.  You have to run the vacuum, ring the door bell, have the phone ring, etc when they are sleeping so they get used to it.  I also started him on some Raw foods.  While I was doing some research online I stumbled across a great blog: http://www.bighoneydog.com.  This is all about a fawn Great Dane in Australia.  The blog is written as if the dog is talking and it is hilarious! I started reading the posts and I would laugh out loud at the stories and comments from a dog's perspective. This owner is so active with her dog; agility, dancing, therapy work and the posts talk about their adventures.  Anyway, the woman who writes it, Hsin-Yi, is a freelance writer for Dog/Animal magazines and has done countless hours of research on dog behavior and training. She started her Dane on the Raw Diet when she was 3 or 4 and just seeing the health benefits of this now 8 year old dane I really got interested.  The raw meaty bones provide natural sources of Glucosamine & Chondroitin, which promote healthy joints and bones.  So, instead of starting our dog on supplements when a problem arises the dog is getting the natural cartilage from the raw foods on a daily basis.  I started seeing chicken and turkey necks at the grocery store and a pack of 3 is about 80 cents, so I buy them whenever I can.  I wasn't sure how he would react, since he's so picky with dry food.  The first frozen turkey neck was gone in about 3 minutes.  The next time it was raw and it was gone in one swallow!  I am not going to go out of my way to find raw foods but when I see them at the store I'll buy them.  Like the other day I saw chicken feet at Rainbow!  Dan has been giving pheasant feet to the dogs after hunting trips as a treat so Morgan was used to it and ate hers in no time.  Ruger had to jump on his, throw it around, bark at it, suck on it and then eventually Morgan took it and ate it.  After a couple attempts like this I figured Morgan was going to benefit from this and at least I tried with Ruger.  This morning I threw one to him and he ate it! 

 
Speaking of Morgan, she has gained some weight!  She is a sneaky girl, always there to clean up Ruger's mess and push him out of the way to finish his meal when we weren't looking.  Her new name is Fatty Poo Poo and she's now on a diet.  Thankfully as Ruger has been growing taller his food dish has been growing taller too. I am going out today to get a 20 inch plant stand for his new feeder, 15.99 at Target instead of 30-50.00 at the pet store.   Also, the warmer weather and more running around outside will get her back to her slim figure!