Hi friends,
Today I am sharing a little about our dog food journey.
In South Africa, I was feeding York vet suggested "Royal Canin" pet food. His skin became very irritable. He would break out in hives and eventually his hair started to fall out. This is when I started to educate myself on dog food and realized this Royal Canin Diet wasn't the best.
I started feeding York Vondi's in South Africa. A month later, York's skin was healed and I never had issues since. Vondi's is a "registered, scientific, complete and balanced diet that is natural, wholesome and free of preservatives." I would order ostrich and chicken meat with a blend of veggies, herbs and rice. When Ro, joined our family she ate Vondi's as well and had no health issues.
So when we came to the USA I knew I had to find food similar to this, and luckily we did with @thefarmersdog. We are so proud to be sponsored by @thefarmersdog 50% of both pups nutrients. So I realized I had to get 50% of their nutrients somewhere else. Most people mix real food with pebble, but thats not me. I SAY NO TO DRY FOOD COMPLETELY. So I made my own version of what dog food should be.

Recipe:
Ground Turkey Meat
2 Boxes of Instant Brown Rice or 2 cans of sweet potatoes
1 Bag of Diced Carrots (frozen)
1 Bag of Peas (frozen)
1 Bag of Corn (frozen)
1 Bag of Green beans (frozen)
Olive oil

In a big pot, put in 1/4 cup olive oil and the turkey meat. Cook the turkey meat completely. Then cook the rice in separate pot. When the rice is about 90% cooked, place into the pot with the browned turkey meat and add in the veggies. Put on medium heat for about 7-12 minutes, stirring frequently.
Let cool and your done!

I placed a big portion of the food into a large tubberware and froze it. The rest I placed in the refrigerator, so its ready to be served!
This is only my first time making it so I hope to get creative, my next batch I will be adding fish oil and some more flavors.
Both York and Ro loved this meal and I am glad to cook this up for them<3

Below, I have attached Ro and I trainer's guide to rating your dog food. She believes "dog food" is marketed to us humans as a quick and easy solution without realizing what we are giving our dog. And I totally agree. Hope this rating guide helps you as it did me.

​Thank you @petqwerks for sending us a never ending box of fun!
If you haven't heard of @petqwerks, stop everything you are doing and go check them out.
​
Our @petqwerks box of goodies included:
2 Barkbones- made with real bacon. These Barkbones are STRONG and YUMMY.
1 Babble Ball- interactive toy that talks when touched. The house hasn't been quite since giving them this ball!
1 Nylon Antler- Ro's Favorite of the bunch. "Pet Qwerks Nylon Antlers are designed to provide a safe alternative to a natural favorite. Inspired by real Elk & Deer antlers. Eliminate the risks of bone fragments and broken teeth with these durable nylon antlers."
1 Puppy Puck- My favorite of the bunch. It looks just like a NFL Hockey puck but for dogs! HOW CUTE.
1 Sock Monkey Plush- the cutest monkey toy. Dogs always love a good plush toy!
1 Incredibubbles- Bubbles your dog can eat. We were lucky enough to try these bubbles last year and this is one of the reasons we have become obsessed with @petqwerks.
1 FlavIt- NEW FLAVOR ALERT: SWEET POTATO. This bone has tiny flavor cells on both sides, so even though the bone is flavored, you can still add peanut butter (or flavor of your choice) to this bone making it a double flavor sensation!

@petqwerks is an incredible company that creates out of the box products to keep your animals entertained.
Check them out here:
www.petqwerks.com
and here:
www.instagram.com/petqwerks
​

As you may know, Ro and I are working on becoming a registered therapy team so we can give back to the local community and help others!
I am getting tons of messages regarding how to get started and that makes my heart happy.
Of course, I would love to help you get started. However, I realized every state is a bit different with the therapy registrations and process. So I recommend going to GOOGLE and searching your state name and therapy animals. I am positive the information presented will send you to the right places.
We recently moved to Utah so I googled last year "Utah therapy animals." Right away I found Therapy Animals of Utah. For anyone in Utah, this is the company you will be contacting.
For our Utah friends, there are 3 steps to become a registered team.
First step, complete an online course with PetPartners. This course took me about 2 hours to complete. 
Second step, attend Hands on Handler Practicum. Which is what I did this weekend. This class was 9 hours and was incredible. You learn how to teach your dog to deal with wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds and so much more.
AND LAST STEP, pass the Pet Partners Team Evaluation with your dog.
Now this is the hard part. Ro and I are in training so we can pass our exam. This exam combines basic training with stressful situations to make sure your dog does not show any aggression.
I was told most teams do not pass the first time! AH so nervous.
In the class I attended this weekend, they do an example evaluation exam and wow Ro and I are not ready. Your dog will be tested on simple sit, stay, down, leave it commands. But also people poking and squeezing them all at once, walkers, distractions, hygiene and more.
If your dog is already trained, YOU GO! This exam will be easy. But if you are like me and your dog isn't that great with some commands. I recommend attending training.
Once you pass your exam you and your pup are a registered therapy team and can begin visiting facilities.
One awesome thing is that this registration allows you and your dog to help in all 50 states, not just Utah.

Ro and I's end goal is to be able to work with hospice. With hard work and lots of love, we plan on getting registered as a team this year!

HAPPY HELPING<3

I am so excited to share @thefarmersdog food with you, as this was a long time coming!
Last year, I was contacted by @thefarmersdog but unfortunately due to our location being Cape Town we could not join @thefarmersdog family. But this story has a happy ending, and we are now in America and teamed up with the freshest dog food in the USA!

@thefarmersdog uses human-grade USDA ingredients. What does this mean? This means less processing, natural nutrients and higher safety standards. They comply with the same standards that our food does!
When signing up, the @thefarmersdog team helps you personalize a plan just right for your dog! Easy ready to serve meals are pre-made and pre-portioned. UHM CAN I GET A BIG YES PLEASE!
The food is delivered fresh, and can be kept frozen!
For York and Ro, we received the turkey and pork meals.
I love seeing the fresh veggies in the food and the dogs are just wild about the food.
Healthy, fresh and delicious.

Check out The Farmer's Dog here: 
www.instagram.com/thefarmersdog
thefarmersdog.com/

​

@thedapperdogbox is a monthly subscription box for your dog.

You have the choice of choosing the standard box or heavy chewers box.
(Mine are heavy chewers, OBV)
You then create a profile so you can add your dog's allergies and their chewing style. This helps your pups box be a perfect match.

What's inside @thedapperdogbox? Well every monthly box is different.
But generally you should find toys, treats, and bowties/bandanas.
In ours we got: 
Rosie's salmon and ginger treats
Vital Essentials turkey fries
Bon Bon toy from Wag More Bark Less
3-play hippo toy from Cycle Dog
Barkbone from Petqwerks

I am simply amazed with @thedapperdogbox.
I really thought it would be a "trial box" but it wasn't at all.
It was a box filled with no sample toys and no sample treats. Everything was full size.
I was also amazed with the quality of the treats! The treats are all grain free and gluten free. YES! And love the fact that every month box is different, so there is always that sense of surprise!
​
OVERALL VERDICT:
WE ARE OBSESSED WITH THE DAPPER DOG BOX!!!!

​
Get yours today and USE OUR DISCOUNT CODE: BULLDOGS for 10% (excludes birthday box)
www.thedapperdogbox.com
www.instagram.com/thedapperdogbox