When I looked into switching to a better food several years ago the links on the Tails of the Tundra Siberian rescue website had some great info. I've included a link below. *********************************************************** Also, on a different forum I came across a "food grading system". . Its a method of analyzing the ingredients of the food you feed and determining whether its a high quality/healthy kibble. You will need your kibble's list of ingredients, as found on the bag (or oftentimes their website). Please note, however, this is for ingredients ONLY.... so before feeding a pup be sure to look at the protein and fat and calcium and calories in the Guaranteed Analysis. Start with a grade of 100: For every listing of "by-product", subtract 15 points For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points If there are no specific meats or meat meals, subtract 25 points For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, or grain "middlings", subtract 10 points If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 15 points If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewers rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points for each occurrence If the protein sources are not (specific) meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 5 points If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points (subtract 5 if corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 3 points If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 5 points If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isnÂt allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isnÂt allergic to beef), subtract 1 point If it contains salt, subtract 3 points If it contains corn syrup, molasses, or other added sweetener, subtract 10 points Extra Credit: For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources - do not count egg, cheese, or other similar ingredients), add 1 point If the food contains 3 or less different mentions of grains (or other high-carb plant-based foods like potatoes), add 5 points If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points (if the number 1 ingredient is organic meat, add 10 points) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 3 points If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points If the food contains fruit or vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point If the food contains barley or oats or oatmeal, add 1 point If it contains sunflower, hemp, flaxseed, or other polyunsaturated vegetable oils, add 3 points (add 5 if it is the #1 fat) If the vitamin and mineral sources are chelated, add 5 points 94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D **************************************************** If this info helps even one person find a better quality food then it was worth the time I spent digging it up again.

I have been transitioning my dogs to a raw prey model diet for the last couple of weeks, but since I still had most of a large bag of dry kibble that I couldn't afford to toss out, I've been feeding both on alternate days - raw one day and kibble the next. To my surprise, there has been absolutely no digestive upset at all - no vomiting, no diarrhea, no inappetance. I have read, though, that digestive upset is more likely to occur if you mix raw and kibble together in the same meal. The only negative affect of raw meat that I have noticed is that the dogs tend to follow me around on the kibble days demanding their MEAT! Oh, and they can get a bit constipated if there is too high a proportion of bone in their meals. One of my dogs is also a gulper, so I had to teach him to slow down and chew his bones by holding the meat and forcing him to pull small pieces out of my hands. I don't intend to add any supplements to the raw diet. It should have everything the dogs need nutritionally as long as I vary the meats as recommended. With cooked meats, however, supplementation will be required since you are cooking out some of the nutrients and you are not able to feed cooked bones. I was frankly surprised at how easily my dogs took to raw food. None of my dogs have a history of sensitive stomach, though. Still, you might want to give it a try and see if your dogs can tolerate raw meat without digestive upset. Laurie

When I redid my kitchen this spring, I wanted a different solution to the dog kibble storage; it had lived in an old popcorn tin I spray painted black on the outside, for the last 32 years. Storing in the basement or garage attracted mice BIG TIME. So, I found the wonderful company on eBay and had a drawer liner custom built to hold the dog kibble. <http://www.kennedyhardware.com/custom-bread-drawer-liner.html?cat=89> I have a drawer (shallow drawer on top, same size as middle, on bottom) that holds this wonderful thing and it holds 30 lbs of PurinaOne Lamb & Rice kibble. Oh the joy of opening a drawer, sliding back the top, and using the measuring cup that lives in the drawer with the kibble, to fill their bowls! No smell, no rodents or insects, just perfection! One of my FAVORITE things in my new kitchen.

I have made maple syrup and maple sugar. Boil and boil and boil early spring sap until you have syrup. A cup of syrup starts as about 40 cups of sap. Maple sugar has even more water removed and needs to be watched carefully to keep it from turning into a hard mess. It is good to boil syrup outside or in a sugarhouse to keep the steam and heat out of your home. Special evaporating pans and reverse osmosis systems are used by those who make syrup commercially today. I was looking for cookbooks with Indian recipes (curry, dal, etc.) through my local library's website. One listing that showed up in an Indian cooking search was for Native American Indian recipes. It is The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman. I have it at home now. Sean's recipes use no European staples such as wheat flour, dairy, sugar, and domestic meat. He uses ingredients that were available in North America prior to the arrival of European settlers. The recipes feature wild game such as bison, rabbit, venison and native fish. They also use native plants such as beans, assorted herbs, blueberries, wild turnip, plums, purslane, wild rice, etc., etc. The author is promoting indigenous restaurant food and catering. Here's some more info: https://sioux-chef.com/