Dog Stew - AKA Poop Soup

Is it wrong to use the word poop in the title of a pseudo recipe post? Asking for a friend.

Gus has been going to acupuncture to address the major sway in his hindquarters. Whatever has caused this (we think a disk problem that is not unusual in pugs) has made him favor his front legs and lose a lot of muscle tone in his back legs. Acupuncture has helped him a lot, but it is fucking expensive. Acupuncture is not just the little needles in you - there's a food therapy component. We operate under the premise that food has energy. Depending on what's going on with your dog, certain foods may benefit them. You can read more here or consult an actual pet acupuncturist. I only play one on this blog and am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. There are other facets to acupuncture and chi that I'm not covering here, but it's quite interesting and I urge you to look into it if you have an aging pet or one that seems to have issues that are not being solved in a traditional vet's office.

Anyway, in order to maximize the in office treatments, I've switched the dogs' diet, taking them off dry food entirely. The acupuncturist suggested Fresh Pet Vital Select grain free for food, to be served with dog stew. They also take a multi-vitamin supplement and get scrambled eggs - the protein is great for them. So they basically eat better than we do.

The burning question on your mind (if one can have burning questions about dog recipes) - why is it also called poop soup? A component of the stew is you - your love and good energy that you're cooking into it. And when I'm cooking it, surrounded by three small eager pugs, I sing to them about poop soup. It rhymes and it makes me laugh and they prance around while I'm singing it and it is a big love fest in the kitchen.

Before you think this is all hocus pocus, this acupuncturist is a certified vet. I sought her out after traditional meds from my vet didn't work. Acupuncture has helped my Gussie tremendously. We were at the vet last night and she couldn't get over the improvement. I love our current vet and I think she's tremendously smart and insightful. I also think there are limits to typical western medicine treatments for animals just like I think there are limits to western medicine treatments for humans. My regular vet agrees - she happens to be calling on my acupuncture vet because she's studying it and will be offering it as a service.

Ingredients would vary if you were using this for medicinal purposes. For straight up good for your dog purposes, this will do fine. You're looking for a 1:1 ratio of meat to veggies/fruit. There is no grain in here because my dogs don't need it, but if you are more comfortable with one you could add some oats. I vary the ingredients, but my basic recipe is...

Ingredients
1-2 pounds organic chicken or beef - cut very small
1/2 sweet potato, peeled and diced very fine
1/2 cup green beans, cut small
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, cut very small
1/2 cup organic blueberries (frozen2 okay)
1/4 cup spinach, cut small
1/4 cup parsley, cut very small
1.5 tbs coconut oil
Water to cover

Directions
Cook small pieces of meat in a pan or brown and drain if ground. Add veggies/fruit and coconut oil, then water to cover about half. Cook down until liquid reduces and veggies are cooked - about 20 minutes to a half hour.

I give 2-3 tablespoons of this to the dogs per day.

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Haikuesday

Poop Soup is catchy...

but not really edible. 

Okay, not at all. 

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Did I just post a recipe for dog stew? I did. Indeed. I did.