The Three Jacks

Yes, The Three Jacks own an Organic Dog Bakery – Three Jacks Dog Bakery.  Of course I write this blog, tweet and have a Facebook page to promote that business.  But that is not the reason for my promotion of Organic and Natural products for dogs.  I have very strong feelings and beliefs that back my promotion of such products.

The Three Jacks, Beanie, Maddie, and Petey are my dogs and I love them with all my heart and I know they love me too.  Because of my love for them I want provide for them the best possible life I can.  I want them to live long, healthy lives!  It’s wonderful that at 11 years old, Maddie still competes in agility and is in wonderful health!

Maddie 11 years old - still competing in agility!

I’m sure most of you were alarmed, as I was, of the pet food recalls in 2007.  Melamine in dog foods and treats.  And why was this chemical in there?  Profit, the all mighty buck!  The pet products industry is a huge market, according to the American Pet Products Association, Inc. in 2009, $45.5 billion dollars were spent on pets in the United States!  This is one of the fastest growing markets in the country.  Sales in 1998 were only $23 billion.  It’s no wonder so many companies are jumping on the bandwagon to get those dollars.  And do they really care what’s in the products our pets eat or play with?

Big companies like Purina, P & G and others spend millions to advertise their products and therefore they have become household names.  But what is really in these treats that they are pushing to our pets with their cute television commercials?  Let’s take a look at the ingredients in just one very popular product: Pup-Peroni – Original Beef  Recipe -

Pup-Peroni Original Beef Recipe
Ingredients: Beef, Meat By-Products, Soy Grits, Sugar, Liver, Salt, Propylene Glycol, Garlic Powder, Caramel Color, Natural Smoke Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (used as a preservative),Sodium Nitrite (for color retention), Red 40, BHA (used as a preservative), Onion Extract.

Now let’s take a closer look at these ingredients: Open the document – What’s in Pup-Peroni PDF

I don’t know about you, but there certainly are quite a few ingredients in there that I will not feed The Three Jacks.  One in four dogs in the U.S. die of cancer.  Our pets are subject to all types of chemicals in flea products, heartworm preventatives, lawn fertilizer, worming agents – why in the world would we want to have them eating chemicals and questionable ingredients?  It’s not just Pup-Peroni that has these chemicals and bad ingredients – it’s many, many treats, and foods that are produced for our pets.  The way I see it, if it’s not fit for human consumption, it’s not fit for my dogs.  Food for humans and animals are supposed to be nutritious and healthy, not just something to fill the stomach!

I urge you to take a look at the labels of the treats and foods you feed your pets.  Just as in humans – healthy food choices lead to less health problems.  The additional amount you may pay for really good food and treats for your pets means less cost at the vets office, and less discomfort for your pet.

Stop shopping at the big pet superstores and visit your locally owned pet specialty stores.  Here you will find wonderful healthy products for your pets and you will also be helping your local economy!

So – Go Organic! Good for your Dog! Good for your Planet!  – at the very least go natural – no artificial preservatives, no artificial additives!  Look for products without added sugar – they don’t need the empty calories!  Your pets will thank you for the great care you give them with added healthy, happy lives!

It’s hard to believe Beanie is 12 years old today.  I adopted him when he was 8 months old.   Bean is such a super good dog and he is my heart dog.

Let's Play Ball

Beanie loves to play ball, splash in his swimming pool, dig for worms, walk in the woods, play in the hose, and boss the other Jacks around!  Though he suffered an injury when  he was about 2 years old that left him without the use of his left front leg, that didn’t slow him down much.

Age has began to slow Beanie down some, and he has arthritis now.  He still plays hard in his pool, and pushing around his big blue ball.  And he definitely still likes bossing the other dogs around!

Click here to see a video of Beanie and his Big Blue Ball!

Each day with Bean is a celebration and today on his 12th birthday he will have an extra special day – swimming in his pool, a walk in the woods, a trip to the store for a new toy, and we’ll stop and get some ice cream.

As I see him struggle a little more to get up each the morning, and notice that he naps a whole lot more than he used to I know that our time together is winding down.  I can’t really imagine life without Bean, I just know that there will be a huge hole in my heart.

Happy Birthday my Beanie Boy, I love you!

Hey Mom

I'll kill 'em Mom

Celebrating the 4th of July 2010

Can you help an old guy up?

Tired Old Guy

With the sale of Natura Pet Products to Proctor & Gamble I was left with the chore of finding a new food for The Three Jacks.  For many years they had thrived on EVO, I was devastated with Natura’s sale.  That was then …. Now I think of it as the best thing that ever happened for The Three Jacks!

I spent days researching foods, I even switched them over to a different kibble for a week or so, all the while I was still researching raw.  Finally, because the cost of the new kibble was just too much I decided to switch The Jacks to raw.  It is something I have thought about many times, but thought it was just too much of a hassle.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Now three weeks into their raw diet, I have gotten into a routine and find feeding raw no more of a chore than feeding kibble.  What exactly do I mean when I say raw?  Raw meat and bones, the prey model.  No vegetables, no cooking, just raw meat and bones.

The first raw meal was interesting… We started off with chicken which is what is generally recommended as the first meat you introduce when feeding raw.  The recommendations are 2 – 3% of the dogs ideal body weight in food each day.  I chose to feed this in two meals, since two meals a day is what they were used to.  So here we go, scale to weigh meat, chicken breasts, meat cleaver, cutting board.  Each little pile of meat put onto a paper plate for each dog.  Petey being the hunter of many things and having just enjoyed a freshly killed rabbit meal two days previous ate away at his chicken with gusto.  Maddie, being the little prima donna she is, I thought would look at me like “um, excuse me, what’s this”, Oh, how wrong I was!  She was thrilled and gobbled it up, crunching away through the bones.  It was Beanie who was confused.  He picked up his hunk of chicken and held it in his mouth, like okay mom I killed it, shall I bury it now?  Being 12 years old and a lifetime kibble eater I can understand the confusion.  So with a little help and encouragement, my holding the chicken and him ripping and biting it, he devoured his first raw meal.

Three weeks of raw feeding behind us now, The Three Jacks have been enjoying chicken, chicken liver, chicken gizzards, and this week pork.  I am so am amazed how excited they are to eat their “real food.”  They crunch through the bones like little wolves!   I have noticed some improvements in a few little health issues, Maddie has always had a runny eye, and it’s pretty much cleared up.  Beanie has/had a sinus condition where he would sneeze big boogers – yuck!, well that problem seems to be gone!  I wasn’t one of those that would have believed such claims of disappearing health issues, but I have seen the results for myself.  Another big difference with raw feeding is what I call the “Poo Factor” – so much less poo, and a lot less stinky!  And no more stinky dog breath – I am truly amazed!

Raw Feeding is not for everyone, but if any of you have even given it the slightest thought, let me say Go for it.  I can’t imagine feeding The Three Jacks kibble ever again.  Of course they still enjoy their organic dog biscuits from Three Jacks Dog Bakery.  I feel so good knowing that Beanie, Maddie and Petey are eating totally nutritious meals and treats.

My crazy little Jack Russell Petey is seven years old today!  I adopted Petey when he was about 8 months old and he is still just as energetic as he was then.  Petey has been a real learning experience for me.  He had so many issues when I adopted him and overcoming them has taken a lot of love, patience, training, research, and understanding.  I’m proud to say Petey is now a loving, happy and well behaved dog (most of the time).  I’ve learned so much from Petey and so glad he is part of my life.  He is so full of love, energy, happiness, and bounce!

Petey's Famous Jump

Fast Aframe

Happy Petey

The Pond

Petey & Sara

Petey Bucket

Petey in the Bucket

All three of the Jacks love to play in the water.  It doesn’t matter the type – pools, sprinklers, ponds, mud puddles, bathtubs, and showers – The Three Jacks are water crazy!

Take a look at how Petey likes to spend hot summer days!  There is no lazy in his Crazy Days of Summer!  And what keeps him going?  Organic Banana Blueberry Bites from Three Jacks Dog Bakery!