When you stand up in front of a crowd in any way, shape or form, you will be judged, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing, it’s just a thing.
If you choose a profession where you will be standing up and speaking out, especially in a puppy classroom type of setting, you must to be willing to do your homework, have specific knowledge on what you are teaching, and a more broad base of knowledge on everything else in the world, everything, because you just never know what you will be asked.
In my puppy classes I focus on the whole puppy, in an integrative way and sometimes this means I need to lead by example, because words just aren’t enough.
When it comes to dog nutrition, learn to demonstrate, Trade Secret #34.
In every single class at least one person will mention, that besides my ten gold crowns, my other teeth are so white, how do I do it? Well I give about six raw bone demonstrations a week, fifty weeks a year, fifteen years in a row, do the math.
In the dog food world, you will find that raw bones are the ‘gate way’ food to a healthier and more species appropriate diet.
Never cooked bones, ever, only raw bones, but not all raw bones are equal. My rule of thumb is, if you see the bones left over from a coyote kill while out hiking, those are the same bones you would not feed your dog, because if a coyote cannot eat them, neither can your dog. Sometimes if it is young, small, or just parts of an animal (cornish hen, rabbit, lamb, chicken/duck necks, wings, etc) more of the bones can be ‘legal’ for your puppy as they are smaller and more elastic.
Now why bones, why?
Well bones are composed primarily of calcium phosphate. Calcium and phosphorus are important minerals for a dogs overall health and growth.
The added bonus of gnawing, scraping, and ripping on raw bones keeps teeth and gums clean and healthy, and as we all know in the human world, great oral health equals great overall health.
And when a puppy lies down to invest time into a raw bone, well it becomes calming, satisfying, and satiating, especially if its teething time.
So the take away –
- important minerals
- clean healthy teeth
- calm fucking puppy
I don’t want to leave it up to a novice dog owners discretion as to what this might all look like, so I lead by example and demonstrate during our ‘raw bone night’ in class.
Clean, clean, scrub, scrub, gnaw, gnaw, sometimes it tastes okay and other nights it’s a bit rough on the taste buds, really rough some nights actually, but it’s all for a good cause.
As soon as the puppies realize what’s in your mouth, every single one will be at the end of the leash, watching attentively, drooling, and taking notes. Oh and on that note, please make sure they are on leash as this demo can go really wrong really quickly, and you don’t want to find that out the hard way with six puppies running your way and a raw bone in your mouth.
When the human end of the leash stops gagging, they will usually nod their heads and agree to start offering a bone a day, or at least a few times a week to start with. This is all a good thing.
So shine your sparkly whites, open up a good conversation on raw bone health benefits, and prepare to lead by example. – Nancy
photo credits – JESSICA DUNBAR PHOTOGRAPHY
Nancy Tanner 