My dog Hattie has the appetite of a Great Dane in the body of a Jack Russell Terrier. I always put this down to the fact that she’s a rescue dog, found when she was around a year old with 3 other dogs in sad circumstances. They were all underweight, flea-ridden, and filthy when they were rescued. I’ve always attributed her enormous appetite and food obsession to her bad start in life.

Whatever the reason, I have a greedy little terrier on my hands.

And what do you feed a greedy little terrier? The obvious answer is anything because she doesn’t really care what it is and will eat it anyway. I’m always amazed when fellow dog owners regale me with tales of their fussy pooches who turn their noses up at their food bowl or pick at their dinner with a look of disdain on their faces. This has never happened with Hattie. Hattie is a hoover who loves food more than anything else. Although I’d like to think I come a close second.

Choosing Hattie’s food

When it came to choosing Hattie’s diet, I was baffled by all the choices on offer. Hattie is my first dog, so everything was new to me. I started off feeding her ‘wet’ processed food and kibble (a word I’d never come across until I adopted Hattie) that I was told was full of good things. The packaging was green and had images of fields of corn on it, so it must be healthy, right?

But the more I read about what goes into making dog food the more uncomfortable I became. As someone who hasn’t eaten or cooked meat for more than 30 years, the ethical aspect bothered me enormously. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a supporter of vegetarian or vegan diets for dogs - you don’t feed carnivores a plant-based diet. But I don’t want to buy food that’s made from factory-farmed animals kept in inhumane conditions. I also wasn’t happy with the extensive list of low-quality ingredients in these processed foods. It felt strange to take such care over my own food choices but not bother about Hattie’s.

Are you calling my dog spoiled?

I started looking for ethically sourced dog food and found a company that produced freshly prepared pouches of food that didn’t contain any ‘nasties’ and only used ethically sourced meat. Brilliant! Basically, they were home-cooked meals for lazy dog owners. I remember thinking that the pouches of fresh meat, lentils, peas, and carrots looked like the sort of thing my meat-eating friends would happily eat with some mashed potatoes on the side.

But it was expensive. It required freezer space and forward planning. And despite my best efforts, Hattie was packing on the pounds and starting to resemble a little barrel.

She was turning into a Fatty Hattie! So I started cooking her meals myself. Even this was a difficult step for me to take. I can’t remember the last time I cooked meat, if ever, so found the whole thing rather challenging. I did this for a couple of months but it was all rather labour intensive and took time and dedication. It also worked out pricey as I only used organic meat and vegetables.

BARF not barf

Around this time I’d started to read a lot about the BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) diet for dogs. When I was young ‘barf’ meant to vomit, and rather aptly I remember my first thought on hearing about raw food diets was ‘yuck!’. I wasn’t quite ready for this leap in the dark. I couldn’t quite get my head around the logistics of storing and handling raw meat. I worried about the dangers of cross-contamination and bacteria (is it a coincidence that most of these stories come from the big pet food companies who are invested in you feeding your dog their processed products?). I was concerned about how I’d store a large amount of food in my tiny freezer department. I also didn’t fully understand why feeding BARF to Hattie was the best thing to do.

But after lots more research I did eventually take the plunge and switched her to a raw fed diet. I bought Hattie her own mini-freezer so I could store it. I got my head around defrosting it, handling it safely, and keeping tubs of it in my fridge. And I navigated the numerous websites selling raw dog food, most of which seemed to have the word ‘nature’ or ‘natural’ in their company name! I chose a company that prided itself on its ethically sourced meat. Hattie loved her new diet - no surprise there. More importantly, she thrived on this new type of food. Her coat was shiny, her breath and teeth fresh and white, and she had lots of energy.

Lecker Bites to the rescue!

And then one day Hattie and I took our first holiday together. We set off on our great adventure to a dog-friendly hotel at Camber Sands. We were staying for 3 days and 2 nights. I didn’t have a car so we went by public transport - 2 trains, a rail replacement bus, and a taxi to be precise. I had to travel light and so did Hattie. We didn’t have room to take tubs of frozen meat. We wouldn’t have the facilities at the hotel to store raw defrosted meat. Now she was a raw-fed dog, I didn’t want to feed her processed food even for a short amount of time.

So I decided to try Lecker Bites freeze-dried raw complete ‘patties’. They’re made from high-quality German ethically sourced meat. They’re lightweight so took up hardly any room in my overstuffed rucksack. They don’t need to be stored in a fridge or a freezer. And even though they’re made up entirely of raw meat, bone, cartilage, and veg (all the essential ingredients a dog needs) they don’t have a strong smell or make me feel queasy when handling them.

When we eventually got to our hotel room after a stressful journey and a welcome pitstop at a nearby pub (Hattie loves a pub), I crumbled up the patties, added warm water, and let them rehydrate for a few minutes. And guess what? Hattie loved them! I’d originally been concerned about feeding her ‘dry’ food with the moisture taken out. I’ve always had problems getting her to drink water, so I often have to bribe her with expensive doggy drinks that taste of meat (“spoilt, moi?” says Hattie). Feeding Hattie this way means she gets the moisture she needs by slurping the gravy. It also helps to slow down the speed she eats her meals. Freeze-dried food gives more bang for your buck too - the same amount of food takes up more space in the bowl, and seems to fill my greedy little dog up more than the same amount of fresh raw meat.

Since then I’ve carried on feeding Hattie a Lecker Bites freeze-dried raw diet. It suits us both for different reasons. She gets all the benefits of a species-appropriate diet, and I get my freezer space back!

I’ll be writing more blogs in the months to come about Hattie’s adventures and experiences, as well as about the benefits of Lecker Bites. Take a look around the website for more information about BARF, freeze-dried raw food, Lecker Bites products, and how a natural raw diet can help your dog maintain their health and well-being.

Want to know what you should be doing with your dog on a daily basis? Check here

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