Monday, 4 July 2011
Who's the daddy?!? Me!!!
So my dad had a text last night from my wife's owner. She had ten pup yesterday. So I'm now a proud dad of ten.
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Unexpected dinner
I followed my mum down to the woodstore at the bottom of the shared garden last night. Right in front of the store was a rabbit. I think someone left me a present.
My mum's put it in the big cold white box and says I can't have it for a few days. But I'm looking forward to it - I LOVE rabbit!!
My mum's put it in the big cold white box and says I can't have it for a few days. But I'm looking forward to it - I LOVE rabbit!!
Monday, 17 August 2009
Ethics of keeping a dog
Handed the computer over to mum to write this after she got asked at the weekend how she could justify ethically having a dog.
I'm not completely certain what exactly the questioner was meaning by the question but I'll share my answer. "I don't have children"
I presumed that he was referring to the fact that Saxen eats raw meat and that it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify eating meat if you care about the planet. It's better for the planet to drive in a 4x4 a set distance than it is to use the calories gained from beef, according to New Scientist. I don't have a link to this because I read it in a physical copy of the magazine, but if I remember correctly I remember it being covered in the letters page.
Now for a start I do believe that when it comes to the carbon footprint of meat there's beef and then there's beef. Grass fed beef has a smaller "carbon" footprint than cattle fed grains and concentrates. Of course they also produce less of other gases too. I believe there's a dairy in the US that has a significant reduction in bad gases production since switching their cattles' diet. Then of course beef that is grazed on stripped south american plains and then shipped to the UK is going to be worse than beef grazed here on dartmoor, or on the surrounding countryside. By and large I prefer to source locally raised and grass fed meat. Ideally I would feed more game too.
I also feed a lot of offal/ those parts that humans just aren't so interested in. I get my chicken carcasses from an organic producer who gives them away to a dog food company. So dog food either way because people want to buy pre-cubed chicken breast rather than whole chicken. I also feed a fair bit of ox heart at the moment. Who should see the look on people's faces when you tell them that you eat ox heart. It's priceless. VERY few people will eat it. It sells cheap or goes into cheap processed food. Something that according to the BBC website today, we need to eat less of or face an increased rish of bowel cancer. Or of course - it goes into dog food. But let's face it, I have a small budget and anything I buy is going to be a less popular body part for humans to eat. I hate waste of life and like to see as much of bodies used as possible. So no guilt there.
I guess next is the welfare issue. Again reduced by the points I made above. Free range poultry, grass fed ox heart and offal, locally produced other bits and pieces. I do something buy less well raised meat for my dog (and myself) but that stuff ends up in normal dog food too. So raw food allows me greater control to buy better.
So . . . my dog eats meat and meat isn't good for the planet. BUT the carbon footprint of my dog is smaller than that of your average human. Even if I were to keep dogs for the rest of my life I still believe that the carbon footprint would be smaller than it would be for a human. Again in New scientist I believe I read that the best thing you can do for your carbon footprint - don't have children. So I might have a dog who eats raw meat at best part of a kg a day . . . but he's got a smaller carbon footprint than the man who questioned me about it. A man who has children, travels internationally, drives a Jag and who runs a forge/workshop off coke, gas and electricity.
(this doesn't mean I judge people who have children and pets, just that it's their choice. We find ways to have the things in life we really really want. I believe it's possible to have children, dogs and no guilt about their carbon footprint, it's just harder (or easier if the lack of guilt is born of ignorance))
I'm not completely certain what exactly the questioner was meaning by the question but I'll share my answer. "I don't have children"
I presumed that he was referring to the fact that Saxen eats raw meat and that it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify eating meat if you care about the planet. It's better for the planet to drive in a 4x4 a set distance than it is to use the calories gained from beef, according to New Scientist. I don't have a link to this because I read it in a physical copy of the magazine, but if I remember correctly I remember it being covered in the letters page.
Now for a start I do believe that when it comes to the carbon footprint of meat there's beef and then there's beef. Grass fed beef has a smaller "carbon" footprint than cattle fed grains and concentrates. Of course they also produce less of other gases too. I believe there's a dairy in the US that has a significant reduction in bad gases production since switching their cattles' diet. Then of course beef that is grazed on stripped south american plains and then shipped to the UK is going to be worse than beef grazed here on dartmoor, or on the surrounding countryside. By and large I prefer to source locally raised and grass fed meat. Ideally I would feed more game too.
I also feed a lot of offal/ those parts that humans just aren't so interested in. I get my chicken carcasses from an organic producer who gives them away to a dog food company. So dog food either way because people want to buy pre-cubed chicken breast rather than whole chicken. I also feed a fair bit of ox heart at the moment. Who should see the look on people's faces when you tell them that you eat ox heart. It's priceless. VERY few people will eat it. It sells cheap or goes into cheap processed food. Something that according to the BBC website today, we need to eat less of or face an increased rish of bowel cancer. Or of course - it goes into dog food. But let's face it, I have a small budget and anything I buy is going to be a less popular body part for humans to eat. I hate waste of life and like to see as much of bodies used as possible. So no guilt there.
I guess next is the welfare issue. Again reduced by the points I made above. Free range poultry, grass fed ox heart and offal, locally produced other bits and pieces. I do something buy less well raised meat for my dog (and myself) but that stuff ends up in normal dog food too. So raw food allows me greater control to buy better.
So . . . my dog eats meat and meat isn't good for the planet. BUT the carbon footprint of my dog is smaller than that of your average human. Even if I were to keep dogs for the rest of my life I still believe that the carbon footprint would be smaller than it would be for a human. Again in New scientist I believe I read that the best thing you can do for your carbon footprint - don't have children. So I might have a dog who eats raw meat at best part of a kg a day . . . but he's got a smaller carbon footprint than the man who questioned me about it. A man who has children, travels internationally, drives a Jag and who runs a forge/workshop off coke, gas and electricity.
(this doesn't mean I judge people who have children and pets, just that it's their choice. We find ways to have the things in life we really really want. I believe it's possible to have children, dogs and no guilt about their carbon footprint, it's just harder (or easier if the lack of guilt is born of ignorance))
Monday, 20 April 2009
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Welcome
Well mum has finally managed to get round to setting up this blog for me. So I thought I'd tell you a bit about myself.
I come from Devon, where I was born one of 10 to my doggy mum Pinga. I now live with my human mum and dad on dartmoor. Sometimes they're really annoying, like when they they won't walk me the minute that I ask, but I love them really. I can get quite nervous sometimes, but normally my mum or dad aren't far and I can hide behind them. I also get jealous when they make a fuss of other dogs.
I'm the tallest dog in the village. And I love the sunny weather, more people come to visit and tell me I'm gorgous. I love snoozing in comfy places like the settee and my mum and dad's bed. When I'm not snoozing I like hanging out outside. If I had my way I would spend some time each day chasing deer and the rest of the time somewhere snoozing, but mummy's mean and puts me on my lead when we see deer. When there's no deer I like running around anyway, but it's more fun chasing something else, even if it's just one of my friends.
Mummy tells me that I'm fed differently than most dogs. I think my food's normal, and can't understand why other doggies don't get yummy raw stuff to eat. I don't like it when mum gives me turkey to eat, and sometimes I turn my nose up at venison too, but other times it smells really yummy. My favourite is chicken, and all kinds of liver (except yucky pheasant), eggs, and RABBIT. I like it when people bring me whole rabbits to eat. My mummy is always trying to get me some but she doesn't have much luck. I would be happy with chicken in the mean time but mummy tells me that rabbit is better for me.
So that's me.
I'll keep this blog updated with the stuff I get up to. And sometimes there'll be pictures. Mummy especially likes to take pictures of me eating. I don't go with daddy to so many shows anymore, because I get bored and naughty, but I like meeting people on his courses. If I haven't met you before I look forward to doing so.
I come from Devon, where I was born one of 10 to my doggy mum Pinga. I now live with my human mum and dad on dartmoor. Sometimes they're really annoying, like when they they won't walk me the minute that I ask, but I love them really. I can get quite nervous sometimes, but normally my mum or dad aren't far and I can hide behind them. I also get jealous when they make a fuss of other dogs.
I'm the tallest dog in the village. And I love the sunny weather, more people come to visit and tell me I'm gorgous. I love snoozing in comfy places like the settee and my mum and dad's bed. When I'm not snoozing I like hanging out outside. If I had my way I would spend some time each day chasing deer and the rest of the time somewhere snoozing, but mummy's mean and puts me on my lead when we see deer. When there's no deer I like running around anyway, but it's more fun chasing something else, even if it's just one of my friends.
Mummy tells me that I'm fed differently than most dogs. I think my food's normal, and can't understand why other doggies don't get yummy raw stuff to eat. I don't like it when mum gives me turkey to eat, and sometimes I turn my nose up at venison too, but other times it smells really yummy. My favourite is chicken, and all kinds of liver (except yucky pheasant), eggs, and RABBIT. I like it when people bring me whole rabbits to eat. My mummy is always trying to get me some but she doesn't have much luck. I would be happy with chicken in the mean time but mummy tells me that rabbit is better for me.
So that's me.
I'll keep this blog updated with the stuff I get up to. And sometimes there'll be pictures. Mummy especially likes to take pictures of me eating. I don't go with daddy to so many shows anymore, because I get bored and naughty, but I like meeting people on his courses. If I haven't met you before I look forward to doing so.
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