For starters...

I am a 20 something female living in rural northern Minnesota. I own 2 cats a dog and a horse. This blog will center primarily around the dog, Jade, and her feeding habits. She is a purebred Miniature Pinscher born September 2008.
When I first got her I started her on Science Diet Naturals puppy formula after paying rediculous prices and having to drive 30 minutes through a Minnesota winter I decided I needed a change. About this same time my parents' labrador, Annie, became allergic to the high buck grainless dog chow she had been eating. So, they gave me about 20lbs of the stuff for free. They began feeding Annie a raw diet to prevent any further allergic reactions. Dad did a lot of research in raw diets and foods for dogs with allergies. After a few months of that he reported to me that he had noticed a significant change in Annie. She was more mellow, her stools were smaller, her coat was shinier, she no longer hoovered her food, and it cost almost as much (and sometimes less) than the high quality dog chow.
When Jade ran out of her grainless chow I decided to give the raw foods a try. This is a log of how this experiment is going.

I feel it is important to feed quality food to my dog simply because she does not have a say in the matter. I try to keep her nutrition and well being in mind when selecting the foods she eats. I have read countless articles on the topic of feeding raw and am quite aware of the controversy that surrounds it. Feeding raw makes sense to me and unless I see Jade acting adversely to this new diet I intend to continue feeding a raw diet. I also understand a raw diet will not work for every dog or every owner but I feel it works for us. This log will contain refrences to the articles and books I have read on the subject as well as the recipies I am using myself.