The Adventures of Raffa The Cavapoo
I asked my mum to write this blog post as she is my chef. I am not sure what's in my breakfasts and dinners, but when it tastes good, I reward her with a special "compliments to the chef" dance when I have finished eating. Over to my mum ....
Liz here ... In this video puppy Raffa can be seen eating steamed pumpkin, raw cucumber, vegan kibble, coconut based vegan yoghurt and Pet Plus nutritional supplement.
Raffa has two courses at each meal. His first course is always fruit. He then has a gap of 30 mins to one hour before he receives the next course. This is so that foods don't conflict in his stomach and cause upset.
He gets some of whatever I have in the house. I make sure I have a supply of fresh fruit from the following list :
Note that all the fruit is prepared and never given whole. Seeds and pits of various fruit are either poisonous or a choking hazard. All of Raffa's fruit is sliced or chopped, and if melon, apple, mango, nectarine, cherry or peach - is also de-seeded.
Note - it has to be fresh and ripe fruit. You can't fob a dog off with sub-standard food. They won't eat it.
Raffa has vegetables, rice and Yarrah vegan kibble for his main meal. The vegetables or grains are usually three or four from this list of his favourites which are
Bear in mind that some vegan kibbles are only for adult dogs. While still a puppy he had a vegan puppy kibble by Benevo. It just depends which one you can get your hands on.
For a topping I sometimes chop one small, ripe and extremely sweet tomato. Dogs must not eat green tomatoes or any unripe tomato. He loves ripe tomatoes.
Another garnish might be some vegan coconut based yogurt. He is used to this level of hand-constructed meal.
Dogs should eat raw food when possible, so if you do feed meat, feed it as a small addition to the kibble just to make it go further and so you kill fewer animals. Obviously avoid this if you can. Dogs can be much healthier on vegan food than on the poor quality processed stuff most of them are fed.
Clearly the vegan dog food and some of the vegetables he is fed are not raw - which is why it essential to also add a sprinkling of PET Plus.
He has a half a teaspoon per day of Pet Plus which is a digestive enzyme and micronutrient supplement that ensures maximum health, and provides the enzymes missing from processed (read cooked) food.
Raffa has only bottled water. I give him Evian as the Evian factory is in Evian-Les-Bains, down the road from me here in France. Additionally, I filter it. Do not give unfiltered tap water to your dog - not if you want him to be super healthy. If you are worried about plastic particles, then also filter bottled water. Note you are not safe from plastic particles if you use tap water. Plastics are everywhere.
I make him vegan dog biscuits. I'll put the recipe on his blog at some point. But another really cool snack which he enjoys occasionally is a banana milkshake. I make the exact same thing for myself and just let him have a little. Sometimes I pour his out and then add extra sugar to mine and continue blending.
To do this for yourself and your dog take :
All in all, there is only so much we can do when trying to do the right thing. I feel I have maximised the variables here and am giving Raffa the best food, the best health and the best life. He is very energetic, fit, fast and mischievous.