Meet Gracie

Here she is! Meet Grace/Gracie, our two month old Scottish Terrier. 

We picked her up from the airport yesterday and she's currently settling into our home and making us smile - a lot.  She's eating and drinking well and pulling Hanno's shoes around by the laces. She slept well last night, only waking once for a little cry. She's in a box she can't escape from right next to our bed and she looks pretty comfy in there with her warm fleeces.

At the moment we're feeding her Black Hawk puppy biscuits, a chicken, rice and vegetables meal I make myself, water and lactose-free milk. If we run out of home cooked food and can't make one up that day, we'll give her a small tin of salmon, tuna or sardines. So far she likes all the food I've given her. I did some research on puppy and dog food while we were waiting for Grace to arrive, and in opinion, much of the commercial biscuits and tinned food isn't fit for a dog. They contain by-products, corn and wheat which aren't good for dogs or puppies.  We're taking Gracie to our vet tomorrow for a check up and I'll discuss her diet with him. I definitely don't want her to eat those vet endorsed meals or biscuits, I don't want her to eat the science meals, I want her to eat good fresh food cooked here in my kitchen so I know what's in her food.

Here is a review of the current dog and puppy foods on sale in Australia. It's very interesting reading. If you have a dog, check what you're feeding your pet, it might surprise you. I'm surprised that well known vets recommend what they do. Of course you need to keep your pet foods within your family budget but buying commercial foods that contain non-specified ingredients or "meat by-products" isn't the best way to do that.  I'll do a post the next time I make Gracie's food and price it up for you. I think home cooked food gives the best value for money and will keep your pet healthy for a long time. You can put it all in a crockpot and cook it overnight, so it doesn't take a long time to produce good pet food.

In the meantime though, we'll be enjoying this joyful little character we have living with us now. I think Gracie will keep us on our toes, and that's not such a bad thing. ;- )