This is what the dogs eat, and the cats, this, plus the same ground coarsely. The trouble in winter, is that it is frozen solid when I pick it up from the butcher's and then is stored outside, where it remains frozen solid. Thawing meat that is as cold as minus thirty degrees is not an easy feat. The porch, the brand new porch, is so cold that the meat stays frozen. Heck, Robbie's water freezes on the floor, but that is another sad tale. In the meantime, the dogs need one of these boxes of meat daily. There are 7 dogs, 5 of them very large and the other two medium sized. They eat a lot and since they are only fed these meat scraps and occasional, but infrequent household scraps, that means a constant supply of meat. Giving them a thirty below frozen box of meat is hopeless. They cannot get it apart, try as they might, so it needs to be thawed in the house. I have brought some in and left it on the floor near the fire, waking to a huge bloody mess the next morning. I did get a Rubbermaid tote to do this in now, but it is in the bed and breakfast house and the dogs need this meat today. So, I set the largest pot I have on the wood stove and managed to balance it there caught on its legs, while sitting the block of frozen meat scraps more or less in it. Filled with water, the pot is steaming the meat apart, but not without making a mess. Gross! The tin foil is catching some of the drips. I do have a larger copper kettle pot, but the wood stove top is small and the copper kettle does not balance there easily either. I will try it tomorrow, hoping it does not leak. The pot at the back of the stove has water in it too, to help steam the meat apart so the dogs can eat it. This take a long time, most of the evening actually.
Why do the dogs get fed this food? Dogs are carnivores. They are not meant to eat grain, which is what dog food is made from, except the very high end (read that ridiculously priced) food. For seven large dogs, I would be spending about 500 dollars a month to feed them a high end no grain food. As it is, I feed them these meat scraps and the cost is about 200 dollars a month. If they were fed a good quality commercial dog food, the price would be about the same at $48 per bag. Another bonus with feeding meat to dogs, is there is less going out. Grain is not utilized and most of it comes back out the other end. Meat is used as food and digested, leaving only small stools. With seven dogs, that too, is a consideration, though the livestock guardian dogs will go a long distance so as not to soil their own territory. I like that. Just the border collie needs to be cleaned up after, and that is not so bad. As the puppies get older, they too are leaving the farm yard to do their business. That is how those dogs do it. That also marks their territory, giving animals a whiff of the dog's scent warning them to stay away.
So, the meat is on the wood stove, sort of and the dogs are waiting for supper. I will bring the Rubbermaid over and leave a box of food in it overnight. That should lessen this thawing task considerably. Ah, but I do love those dogs, those dogs who fight with their lives to protect that which is theirs.
Why do the dogs get fed this food? Dogs are carnivores. They are not meant to eat grain, which is what dog food is made from, except the very high end (read that ridiculously priced) food. For seven large dogs, I would be spending about 500 dollars a month to feed them a high end no grain food. As it is, I feed them these meat scraps and the cost is about 200 dollars a month. If they were fed a good quality commercial dog food, the price would be about the same at $48 per bag. Another bonus with feeding meat to dogs, is there is less going out. Grain is not utilized and most of it comes back out the other end. Meat is used as food and digested, leaving only small stools. With seven dogs, that too, is a consideration, though the livestock guardian dogs will go a long distance so as not to soil their own territory. I like that. Just the border collie needs to be cleaned up after, and that is not so bad. As the puppies get older, they too are leaving the farm yard to do their business. That is how those dogs do it. That also marks their territory, giving animals a whiff of the dog's scent warning them to stay away.
So, the meat is on the wood stove, sort of and the dogs are waiting for supper. I will bring the Rubbermaid over and leave a box of food in it overnight. That should lessen this thawing task considerably. Ah, but I do love those dogs, those dogs who fight with their lives to protect that which is theirs.
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