At Crown Thistle Collies
Excellent Nutrition has Gone to the Dogs!
by Casey Makela

Ingredients of one of our typical stew pots - farm fresh vegetables, chicken & chevon - especially made for our Crown Thistle Collies!

---

As a Midwife and educator in the field of natural childbirth, I am known for my dedicated attention to the subject of "nutrition during pregnancy for women". It is a topic of such great importance to me it has earned me the reputation of being one of my favorite soap box lectures, solicited or not!

That enthusiasm completely carries over to the field of canine management. I really believe in and advocate for the importance of excellent nutrition for dogs. Excellent nutrition is one of the cornerstones of our management program for our dogs and we make every effort to ensure they are fed the most nutritious meals possible - we even cook for our dogs, every day!! Why do we place such an emphasis on excellent nutrition? The answer is very simple.

After genetics and environmental stability, few things have such a profound impact on the health, well-being and longevity of a dogs life as excellent nutrition. We take the nutritional needs of our dogs and puppies very seriously. Our Kennel is unique for the fact that we go to every extreme to ensure that our Collies receive a diet brimming with natural and wholesome sources of nutrition. Much of the whole/fresh food we feed our dogs we produce right here at our environmentally friendly farm. That's right, we produce our own eggs, milk, meats, and summer fresh produce not only for ourselves and our freezer, but for our dogs and their freezer as well!! More than 3/4 of our small-scale farming efforts are done for the benefits of our dogs. It is a great satisfaction to us to know that our Collies, faithful friends and beloved companions that they are, enjoy the same long term health benefits of our farming efforts that we do!

As part of their daily diet, our dogs receive: * Fresh goat milk * Farm fresh eggs (cooked) * Meat/vegetable stews with chicken, lamb or chevon - ingredients shown in the picture above * Whole grains

Is all of this effort really worth it? Absolutely! The benefits of our efforts can be noted in the extraordinary coat quality of all of our Collie dogs, their complete lack of allergies and skin problems, and the individual excellent over-all mental and physical health of each and every one of the dogs who live here. Nutrition is just as important for a dog as it is for a human - never doubt that fundamental truth!

For practical purposes, we are careful to prepare our Collie pupies for the future likelyhood of a commercial diet in their new homes. We do this by incorporating an excellent dog food mixed along with their natural foods for the benefit and convenience of our buyers.

We also offer nutritional advice and education to our buyers and visitors via personal consultations and information posted at our Internet site.

We hope to find the time to post some of our favorite recipes for dog biscuits and stews. All things considered, you could definitely say that in our management program, nutrition really has gone to the dogs!

Look for our new book - Canine Cookery by Casey Makela due out in Autumn 2009!