Hot Day in the South

We are so fortunate to live near the May River, South Carolina. The morning was steamy hot so the boys and I went down to the river for their swim.

They are too smart! They know when it is swimming time and not just run around the park time. As soon as I start to collect sticks to throw, they know, and off they go down the hill at full trot and right in to the water! I think they smile with their whole bodies!

Bugsy is usually first and plops in the water with great satisfaction. Murphy goes in up to his knees and waits for action. I throw the stick and he decides to let Bugsy go first. After his brother is half way back with it, Murphy leaps into the water and wrestles the stick away. This goes on for a few throws until my poor Bugsy has had enough and growls at this annoying little brother.

After lots of swimming, sniffing and peeing, we are headed home. Today was one of the hottest days I can remember! I stood there watching the boys and was soaked to the skin. We headed for home and for the hose! Both dogs waited patiently while I rinsed the salt water off of them . Bugsy tries to steal the towel and makes my life difficult for drying off dog number two. By the time we are done, all of us are soaked, but the two of them are frisky and ready for more.

As a woman who has spent most of her life in colder climates, I am grateful every day for the treasure of this place. The heat is wonderful and enveloping. The bright sunshine and blue skies fill the soul. I never tire of the glistening of the water, the smell of the jasmine. I walked down to buy my shrimp for dinner directly from the shrimp boats! How fabulous is that?!!

Tomorrow is another day by the river. I am very lucky!

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Always remember, health comes from the inside out!

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Janice and the boys, Bugsy Wonderdog and Annoying little brother Murphy

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Lucky Human Cuisine

When I started Lucky Dog Cuisine it was with the express purpose of creating a quality gourmet dog food that would allow all dogs to eat healthy natural dog food. I was hoping to provide the finest nutritional value coupled with great taste and succeeded in doing this by using only all natural human grade ingredients. One of my favorite phrases is "if you wouldn't eat it yourself, don't feed it to your dog".

Little did I know that feeding great tasting food would come full circle to reward me in a way I had never anticipated. Our hotel and restaurant program, while only a small part of Lucky Dog, is probably the most fun part. We have a variety of dog friendly, hotels and restaurants that serve a canine menu of Lucky Dog Cuisine with many of them donating a portion of all profits to various animal charities.
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One of these restaurants had us to dinner the other night. My husband Jeff, our spokesdogs and chief testers, Bugsy and Murphy, and yours truly attended Bistro 17 on Hilton Head Island for a dinner that owner Anna Buckingham hinted would be a great surprise. While Bugsy and Murphy chowed down on a great meal of Lucky Dog Cuisine, Jeff and I were treated to a special feast as well. Executive Chef Christopher Carge had prepared a special tasting menu that was absolutely incredible.

Owner Anna Buckingham and Executive Chef Chris Carge

Six courses of perfection, and unlike typical tasting menus these were six full portions. Both Jeff and I were, full about halfway through the second course but we could not stop eating. Everything was amazing and aside from taking one of the desserts home with me we ate everything.

I had my camera with me and I took pictures of all of the dishes. I probably didn't need to for my sake, because I will never forget it anyway but it is great for sharing so I have included them here.
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Course Number 1

Ahi Tuna Tartare
Pickled onions, avocados, Thai Chile sauce & avocado milkshake

Yep, that's right, an avocado milkshake. I was a little worried about Jeff because he rarely eats fish. Never eats raw fish and is not a fan of avocado. Sounds like a recipe for disaster doesn't it but this was actually his favorite dish of the night. It was incredible. Light, tasty, non fishy and very summer specific. What a great way to get started.

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Course Number Two

Poached Pear Salad

Mixed field greens, candied pecans, vanilla bean oil, gorgonzola & port vinaigrette

The only item from the "real" menu to make it into our meal. This is one of my favorite salads and it was awesome as always. The only negative is that it is so big that I was already needing more room for the courses to come.

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Course Number Three

Hand Made Ravioli

Spinach, Ricotta, White Truffle, Roussin Egg & Beurre Noisette & Sage

I think Chef Chris was second guessing his choice to put this one on the menu. He got this one organized in advance and apparently, It took him hours to make just a few, but from the customer's point of view it was worth it.
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Course Number Four

East Coast Halibut

Beet and Balsamic Puree, Golden Beet foam tableside

Another fish dish and my dear husband came through like a trooper. I think if we could talk Chris into doing this once a week or so that Jeff would become a fish love eventually. It was great and the Beet Foam was an interesting touch giving it a very light touch that suited the hot summer night.
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Course Number Five

Colorado Rack of Lamb

Local garden Ratatouille, Lavender Lamb Jus

The lamb was cooked to perfection. I can't believe Jeff and I are still eating. Bugsy and Murphy offered to help but it was just too good to share.

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Course Number Six

Homemade Desserts

Chocolate Lava Cake forrest Berry Gelato

Chocolate Pate Pastichio Gelato

Tiramisu, Carmel, fresh Florida Strawberries.

Riggghhht! We hadn't had enough food yet so we really needed dessert. The way Chef Chris was bringing out food I thought for a moment that we were going to have to eat all three but as it turned out we had options. Jeff, not really a dessert guy, (what does that man eat anyway?) had the Chocolate Lava Cake and loved it. I opted for the Tiramisu and after having a couple of bites I knew it was going home with me. It was amazing and despite the fact that I thought I might never eat again I wolfed it down the following evening with coffee.

All in all, the food was awesome but even more so was the thought. It was totally appreciated and I would like to thank, extremely talented Executive Chef Christopher Carge for the magnificent meal he prepared along with Bistro 17 owner Anna Buckingham who comped the meal for us. Anna has done great work with our dog food at Bistro 17 with all of the profits going to Best Friends and other animal related charities. Thank you so much for supporting Lucky Dog Cuisine and for being our friends.

Janice

I'm baaack

After an extended absence from my blog I have finally returned. I have been busily posting to my website with nutritional articles on everything from gourmet dog food to the best premium dog food so have not been keeping up with my blog here. I have had so much going on lately that the time has come to start sharing again.

Among the new news is the fact that we received a letter from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group stating that they were ready to add Lucky Dog Cuisine to their Miami location. Now, not only will you be able to stay with your faithful dog at one of the finest hotels in the country but you will be able to feed them the finest dog food in the country right from the room service menu.

Closer to home we have added a number of new restaurants to our program and have dramatically increased the number of "club autoship clients". This makes me extremely happy as I feel that we are either saving, or at least extending, each dog's life that makes the switch to a "human grade food".

I have had a number of requests to start posting some of my nutritional articles here on blogger so without further ado here goes article number 1


Healthy Natural Dog Food - Part 1 Humans vs Dogs


I have always been interested in knowing how dogs function. Looking at how they are built and how they differ from humans helps us understand them. With this knowledge, we can also choose foods that suit their physiology to help them live long and healthy lives. For those of you that are frequent readers you know I have a passion for healthy natural dog food. To understand the differences between humans and dogs is to understand why they need quality proteins and whole foods.

Let’s start with the teeth and jaw. Dogs have 42 well-spaced teeth. People have 32 and our teeth are closer together. The space between dogs’ teeth allows food to enter quickly. Dog’s mouths are funnels to get food into the stomach as quickly as possible. Your dog gulping his food is his natural way of eating. He has fewer taste buds than we do, so there appears to be no need for him to savor his dinner! Our canine friends also lack the ability to grind food. Their jaws only allow up and down movement, not side to side like ours. They also do not predigest starches in the mouth like we do. We get cavities. Dogs get more tarter build up, but no cavities!

It takes about 5 seconds for food to move from their mouth to the stomach. Once in the stomach, the food is stored and digestion begins. Dogs have more acid in their stomachs than people do and this allows them to break down bacteria more effectively than we can. They also have this antibacterial ability in their saliva.

The small and large intestine in the average human is approximately 36 feet long. That’s the length of a school bus! A 70 lb dog has a 6-foot long intestine therefore dogs need high quality proteins to be able to digest them quickly. People have longer digestive systems so we can handle eating raw fruits and vegetables. Give a dog a piece of whole carrot and it comes out the other end much the same way it entered!

That’s why even with healthy natural dog food we need to make sure that we follow certain protocols. Complex carbohydrates and vegetables should be cooked and vegetables pureed to allow predigestion. Cooking keeps the glycemic index low to help maintain even blood sugar levels. This causes less stress on the pancreas and liver and less chance of developing diabetes.

If you are like me and have your dog sleeping on the bed with you it’s not a great leap to understand that after being domesticated for thousands of years dogs, while different from humans in many ways, are similar in others. You need whole natural foods to thrive in our environment and your dog needs, healthy natural dog food to do the same.

Look for more info on dogs vs humans in upcoming segments.

Always remember your dog needs whole foods too!

www.luckydogcuisine.com