your eternal spirit
moves swift
like ridges
on the hunt

to prowl around
one last time
on your porch
where you taught me

to romp
track flies
and scare children
into thinking

i was as mean
as my looks
and not just
a puppy inside

Dedicated to my grandma, Kinley, whose spirit ascended from this rock over the rainbow bridge. I’ll be seeing you again and again….Satch

My bowl is packed
with raw meat goodness
Thankfully
I ended up
in this home

Is it gross to have to thaw out the meat, break in up into meals, handle it, smell it, then clean it up?

Sometimes it can be. I’m a vegetarian and not used to handling meat at all. I was definitely nervous about feeding raw meat to my pups, but I was also committed to their good health, so I pushed through my fears.

I didn’t have anyone telling me how to do this, so the first time I tried to thaw a few weeks supply of meat, then make them into patties and re-freeze. I read that that was the best way to feed your pups – in patty form, and had no idea the mess I was getting into.

The walls were splattered with raw meat, my yellow rubber gloves were a mess and I thought I was going to die. It was bad.

After that experience I realized that all I needed to do was pull out a chub or bone pack (one or two meals worth), toss it into the utility sink and cut the raw meat out of it’s package when it was mostly thawed. It would then be fine to put in the fridge (bottom shelf with plastic bag over the dog bowl) until feeding time. Limited mess and minimal handling of the raw meat. (I’m still trying to reckon why someone said that patties were the way to go).

So is it gross? Tripe can be smelly and chicken has the most blood. Bones are the cleanest and turkey makes minimal mess.

For us, as long as we keep the silverware, yellow gloves of happiness (that’s what Moe calls them) and towels out of our kitchen and in lthe aundry room, there is minimal grossness to feeding your dog or cat raw meat.

Tell me your grossest raw meat story? Moe would love to hear it.

-Courtney

The blood you see
on the toothbrush
isn’t mine
but whoa, let me lick that off
for you

Wait, she says
at the door
at the car
a hand in my face
at the face of my meat bowl
Wait before
OK – go

Beautiful day to you from Portland. Satchel has asked that I write about the equipment you will need to start feeding your pet raw meat.

First, the freezer. Any freezer with ample room will do. Because we have 2 dogs (95lbs & 55lbs) that eat quite a bit, we bought a separate raw meat for dogs freezer that sits in our laundry room. It’s one of those 3 foot tall, front loading models that works perfectly well. It can fit a month supply of tubes (chubs), raw meaty bones, turkey necks, rabbits, pre-made frozen veggies and left-over veggies from our fridge that are waiting to be processed for the pups.

Like I said, we keep this in our laundry room, which is also where we prepare their meals. I always use rubber gloves when handling raw meat (I’m a veggie and don’t like the idea of touching raw meat). Satchel and Maji also have their own designated set of silverware that we use to cut their tubes of raw meat open with and stir their veggies.

Last, but not least, is their very own personal sponge and soap set to wash out their bowls and supplies.

Easy! That, my friends, is all you need to begin feeding your dog or cat raw meat. Freezer space, rubber gloves (optional), specific silverware (again, optional) and their own sponge (recommended).

Happy Feeding on the Raw Meat Diet! I’d love to hear if anyone out there has other supply suggestions they use when feeding their dog or cat raw meat. Do share!!!

Courtney

what is this
tripe blanket
sworn so not to say
i’m hungrybut still
the bowl
in the sink
coated
with what was missed
when my tongue
donned its dinner dress
alas
i rub my face
in the blanket
to savethe savor
of food
and know
later
when the treats
are away
another meal
awaits

Hi. My name is Courtney and I work for Moe’s Meats. Satchel has handed over today’s blog so I can talk about my decision to feed raw meat.

I’ve raised dogs all my life feeding them kibble twice a day. I never thought anything of it until my own diet began to change. I started looking at the food I was eating and began incorporating organic, whole and raw foods into every meal.

When Dave and I were waiting for our new puppy to arrive we started researching diet. We couldn’t get over the thought of feeding Satchel something that is so overly processed, dry and the furthest thing from natural.

As I researched the subject I found lots of info supporting both sides. I talked to Satchel’s breeders (http://www.aegisridgebacks.com/home) who strongly encouraged the raw diet, especially since Satchel was being weened on raw meat.

Being a vegetarian, I was a little put off at the thought of handling raw meat and had no idea what to expect, but when I sat with myself I knew what to do. There was no way I was going to be able to feed my little puppy something I would never want fed to me. I just couldn’t live with myself now that I had this expanded understanding around the raw meat diet option.

hi. my name is satchel. aka Moe, founder and proprietor of Moe’s Meats (http://www.moesmeats.com/). as you can imagine, i am no ordinary dog. on the contrary, i’m Satchel, Rhodesian Ridgeback and card carrying member of the Ridgeback Mauraders, class of 2005. i assume you are, like, checking out my site, and, in so doing, you have, you know, found my blog. you are, like, a very fortunate human.

so, i started, you know, Moe’s Meats, as a way to get humans off the kibble. well, not humans, but to get humans to get their dogs off the kibble. kibble kills. haven’t you heard? cats too – they should eat on the raw, like, all the time. and even though, like, i don’t, you know, particularly like cats, i believe they deserve to eat well and fatten up.

beyond, you know, a recap of my wandering Ridgeback thoughts, i’ll also throw in some favorite recipes, tips, treats and links for, you know, your educational delight.

la’ate