Made some pretty damned amazing hot sausage sandwiches for dinner, and everything was fresh from the farmer’s market. Haven’t had a hot sausage sandwich in forever, but it was really good and easy to make.
BTW- how many of you dog owners have ever heard of Merrick’s? Any comments on it?
Hacienda
Ooh, is Merrick the canned stuff, like Turducken and Cowboy Cookout, that kind of thing? Our beagle LOVES it.
Mr Furious
Is that dog food? I think I heard radio ads for it this week listening to the Sox games online via the Texas Rangers broadcast…
Sounded interesting to me, but I had never heard of it and figured it was only regionally available…
geg6
I think my sister has gotten Merrick for her dog before. And since her dog is spoiled rotten, I’m guessing it’s good stuff. Cuz that dog only gets the very best!
MikeJ
Sooo happy to leaving for the monthly wine tasting. Hottest day of the summer (80°!) and the neighbors have decided the entire neighborhood should sound as if we’re in a gay disco. Every window in the house is open and all I can hear is thumpa thumpa thumpa at 120bpm. Grrrr.
I tried to retaliate but they hardly seemed to notice when I cranked up Cage’s 4’33”.
Anyway, off to see what my local som has in store!
RedKitten
John + ? ;)
That supper sounds really good, though. I find that I get into food ruts, where I’m almost bored with eating. I need to find some new recipes, methinks. Maybe I’ll take this time off to expand my repertoire a bit.
monkeyboy
I don’t know if this ever made it to an open thread – Lilly the 5 legged puppy (that looks like the real Lilly) has been rescued from a freak show and had the extra leg removed.
ominira
@RedKitten:
I guess that’s a new way of spelling date night :).
I like Ming Tsai’s recipes, available on the Blue Ginger website.
mainsailset
I’ve been using Merrick for about 6 years now and was pleased that it never was part of the melamine recall. It is extraordinary stuff, fun names to boot but takes a 2nd mortgage on house to pay for. The dogs are really healthy on it though, a Newfie & a Golden, no hotspots, lots of energy and doggie smiles.
We generally use either Grammy’s Chicken Pot Pie or Cowboy Cookout both the dry and the canned (cause we love the gravy it makes)
I got 2 bags a couple of years ago that were missing the veggies…called the 800# and was promptly given the customer service rep who looked up the bar code and said yep, we had some problems, no argument, sent me a 5# bag UPS with a nice note.
demkat620
@RedKitten: Was yesterday your last workday?
Enjoy the time off. And try to sleep.
Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist
how many of you dog owners have ever heard of Merrick’s? Any comments on it?
The vegetarian stuff?
Wasn’t it Merrick that said “I am not an animal”?
/joke
@mainsailset: We generally use either Grammy’s Chicken Pot Pie …
My dog goes completely bonkers for that stuff.
Elizabelle
from monkeyboy’s story re re Lilly the [formerly] extra-legged dog. Comment from the freak show owner:
“Sometimes, you just gotta say, ‘OK, I still have nine live, two-headed animals’ and move on.”
inkadu
When I used to live in Maine, they had these really disturbingly red hot dogs. They didn’t taste any different than regular dogs
Svensker
How do you make a hot sausage sandwich? It sounds gooooood.
Grilling sockeye salmon tonite. Grilled garlic bread. Tossed salad. Yum.
Just Some Fuckhead
Never heard of it but my dog won’t eat anything except the cats’ food after they’ve had their fill.
Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist
@Just Some Fuckhead: my dog won’t eat anything except the cats’ food after they’ve had their fill.
My dog often eats cat food after the cat is really really finished with it, if you take my meaning.
I try to stop her, but she’s pretty ingenious at finding it around the neighborhood when we’re on walks.
scott
Don’t know Merrick’s but I’ve used Dick Van Patten’s (yes, THAT Dick Van Patten) dry dog food for more than a decade. My vet says its the best available bar none. I mix it with a bit of wet food from Costco ( just to remind the dogs that they are in fact dogs and don’t get to eat better than I do — even though most of my food comes from Costco) and they’ve thrived.
Moby, my 130 pound Presa Canario is, at 11+ years of age, just as frisky ( read that to mean that he is totally uncontrollable or, as my friends like to say ” a lawsuit waiting to happen) as he was at 1.
While Ripley, my 12 year old Cattle Dog, is still aggressively herding anything and everything that moves — much to the chagrin of our cat George — who, if truth be told, really kinda loves the attention.
Save a few shekels and get Dick Van Patten’s — you won’t be sorry. But be sure to give her some Glucosamine with her food. Like 1,500 mgs per day if she’s 60 pounds or more.
When she gets older you, and more importantly she, will be thankful for it for it is a miracle cure when it comes to the onset of arthritis and early dosing can save her much pain later on.
Katherine
After my dog and one of my cats got sick after eating contaminated food a couple of years ago, I switched to dry food by Canadae and Merrick’s wet food. The vet said it’s good (although she thinks it’s better to cook fresh/organic food) and the animals seem to like it.
John Cole
@Svensker: I cut up eight hot peppers, 4 tomatoes, two onions, a clove of garlic, cooked it all down with a bay leaf, some salt and pepper, sauteed the sausage links, then threw it all in on low for a couple hours. Put it on a good piece of bread and go for it.
Mark S.
I found this funny/appalling (via Drum). It’s about a PAC set up by Michael Reagan and some friends:
If I donated a $100 to help starving children in Africa and learned that only $2 was actually spent on that purpose, I would be pissed. In fact, I think there’s a term for that: Fraud.
Nethead Jay
@MikeJ:
Hahahahaha FTW.
rikyrah
what is hot sausage?
hot italian sausgage? smoked sausage? peppers- which kind?
Terri
Fed the little dog Merrick’s puppy food. She was a puppy mill rescue, and had some health issues. Fixed her right up, then at 9 months, she decided she would rather eat what the big dogs eat, California Natural. My theory is, you spend a little more and feed them good food, and you won’t spend so much at the vet’s office down the road.
General Winfield Stuck
Electric has been off all afternoon, just came back on. I might dine on myself being pretty well done.
Fulcanelli
@Terri: You are absolutely correct in that better quality food equals fewer vet bills and longer living pets.
@John Cole: Merrick food is among the best, but it’s very rich IMO, and should be used sparingly as a mix-in treat with the dry kibble. When I used it even as a half-n-half mix with kibble for my two pups it gave them the runs and gas that would sear your eyelashes right off.
Just Some Fuckhead
Pizza and beer for me tongiht. Gonna stay away from elitist food until we find out what’s causing this latest outbreak of insanity.
Brick Oven Bill
Cheap cut of pork, the cut with the bones in it that you can get on sale for $0.99/lb. Simmer for 3-4 hours and remove the bones and connective tissue outside the pan. Sautee several chopped onions in the grease, add the cleaned meat. Slow cook for a while longer, stirring frequently. Add BBQ sauce.
Serve on a bun with dill pickles. You should probably eat some vegetables too.
Linkmeister
Steak, sautéed fresh white mushrooms and home-fried hash browns. Steak cooked in my brand-spanking-new Belgique anodized aluminum grill pan (hey, $17; half-off the regular price). Whole kernel corn to go with, I guess.
RedKitten
Yep, it sure was!
I’m definitely going to enjoy the time off — I think that on Monday, when I go to town for my obstetrician’s appointment, I’m going to treat myself to a new book or two. And I’ve been trying to sleep, but it’s not easy. I’ve been a back sleeper my entire life, and having to adjust to sleeping on my side has been a real challenge. So between the constant bathroom trips, and the constant rolling over to alleviate my aching hips, I haven’t been sleeping all that well. Oh well, at least I’ll now be able to nap during the day, which I wasn’t able to do at work.
Comrade Darkness
Hoboken and NJ in general is proof god wants New Yorkers to be happy.
Or at least feel good about themselves.
GT in WY
Don’t know about Merrick, but you should check out Mulligan Stew. New company out of Jackson Hole, WY. Dogs (and cats) go crazy over this stuff and the ingredient list is the simplest in the industry. Lily will love it!!
jenniebee
diced white onions sauteed in a little olive oil with a clove of diced garlic until they pearlize, then add diced roma tomatoes, a cup of fresh chopped basil, white wine, and a bit of oregano if you’re so inclined. Toss in the pan until it’s good, just a minute or two, then salt well and toss it with angelhair pasta.
Yummers.
General Winfield Stuck
I guess you have to do that so when the little feller decides it’s trampoline time you don’t lose a kidney.
RedKitten
@General Winfield Stuck: Evidently, it’s because when lying on one’s back, the weight of the baby presses on the inferior vena cava. And if the books are to believed, that’ll result in everything from screwing up your kidneys to screwing up your kid’s chances of getting into McGill.
Steeplejack
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I had the pizza and beer last night. Teh good. Not so hungry tonight, as I had a big breakfast and a middling lunch. Usually don’t have three squares in a day. Maybe some hummus on Wheatsworth crackers later with a rum and tonic. Haven’t had rum in the house in a while, but I picked up a hogshead of Mount Gay at the liquor store today.
Oh, yeah–late shift reporting early tonight.
Linkmeister
@Steeplejack:
hogshead: a large cask, esp. one containing from 63 to 140 gallons
A little commenter’s license, perhaps? If true, how do you keep it from getting stale? ;)
Brick Oven Bill
And, after a yummy sandwich or two, a smoke, being a geographic bachelor for the time being. Not a heavy smoker but do enjoy it.
A friend in his 50s caught me smoking a Marlboro recently and got concerned as there, according to him, is salt peter in Marlboros to keep them lit which, again according to him ‘makes your dick soft’.
He suggested a brand called American Spirit. These smokes have nothing but natural tobacco in them, and I would have to say, are pretty good. After smoking one of these, you can taste the chemicals in the others.
Best not to start in the first place.
Steeplejack
@Linkmeister:
How do you keep anything from going stale? You consume it before it goes stale. Although I don’t think that is an issue with demon rum. But I do my best.
Just Some Fuckhead
lmfao steep
JenJen
What a delightful weekend, really. Thunderstorms and cool temps in southwestern Ohio right in the middle of the dog days of summer? WIN. A friend just gave me four ears of delicious Silver Queen sweet corn; soaking now and will throw on the grill in about an hour with some burgers.
John, I’ve been feeding my dogs nothing but Merrick for years now. I’ve tried just about every diet out there, and Merrick was the one that really stuck. I do a mixture of about a 1/4 cup dry and half a can, twice a day each, for my mutt and my champion Aussie. They adore it, they’re so healthy, their coats shine. I just love the stuff. So much easier than Bones & Raw Food (BARF), and Innova is too fattening even for my most active dogs.
I’m not one to get all up into supporting a product, but Merrick really is the best commercial diet you can feed your dog, in my opinion.
vacuumslayer
iPhone users, I’m desperate for help. I’m having to charge my iPhone twice a day. This can’t be right. I’ve turned off WiFi, push functions, auto-brightness, etc. yet I still can’t seem to keep this thing charged. What am I doing wrong?
Also, I just uploaded a new work to my gallery…
General Winfield Stuck
It might turn to vinegar in about 50 years. So your performing a selfless act to keep that calamity from happening. A drunkards redemption.
vacuumslayer
Oh, and I made roasted chicken with a honey balsamic dijon glaze. Sounds delish, no? Sadly it wasn’t. Chicken was cooked perfectly, yet oddly the glaze lacked oomph.
JenJen
By the way, I feed my dogs far, far less than the recommended amount. The recommended amount is cr-aaaa-zy and will only lead to an obese dog. My dogs are each in the 35-50 pound category (you will obviously need far less for Lil) and 1/4 cup dry mixed with 1/2 can x twice a day works perfectly for me. At the evening feeding, I throw a bit of hot water from the tap into the empty can, mix it all up, and pour it over the food. Mmmm. Gravy!
My vet is the one who went all Miranda Priestly on me about their weight, before I lowered their Merrick intake. “They’re obese. You’re feeding them too much,” he said.
“Well, I’m just following the recommended quantities…”
Vet: “No, no, no, that wasn’t a question.”
General Winfield Stuck
Ben Stein — Unplugged and Unglued.
Velvet Elvis
Raw food (bones in) is really the best you can do for your dog
OriGuy
@MikeJ:
Try playing Wicked Tinkers full blast.
plaindave
We use Fromm’s. Recommended by a breeder. Our Mastiff, Lab, Dachshund, and Chihuahua all love it. As a bonus, it makes poop firm and easy to pickup. Just sayin.
http://www.frommfamily.com/
Steeplejack
@General Winfield Stuck:
Well, all the able-bodied hands in the crew get a ration of four ounces twice a day, as per Royal Navy regs, so it does add up.
AhabTRuler
Yes, but the real question is how often do they get the lash (and the sodomy)?
General Winfield Stuck
He’s baaaack!
Rick Perry – Texas Gov. On Health Care Reform
More 10 th amendment nonsense. Texas Don’t need no stinkin’ Obamacare.
From Austin Business Journal
I hate these GOP blowhards.
Yutsano
Okay this is torturous. I’m sitting here reading about all this damn good food and I’m still about half an hour away from my lunch hour. GGGGRRRRRRR!
I’m having a hard time believing Ben Stein wrote that piece. I mean for crap’s sake, wasn’t he a professor or law or something at Harvard? That looked like a junior high essay. Is he talking down to the wingnuts to encourage fear of teh darkie?
General Winfield Stuck
@Steeplejack:
LOL. No doubt the good stuff too.
Demo Woman
@General Winfield Stuck: Was this the same Ben Stein who felt bad for his friend who was going to lose her house to foreclosure? Living on $20,000 a month is such hard work.
General Winfield Stuck
@Demo Woman:
The one and only.
Steeplejack
@AhabTRuler:
We maintain a strict “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy aboard HMS Steeplejack.
D.C. Forbes
Merrick’s is an excellent ‘wet’ component of a well-balanced canine diet, in tandem with a high quality kibble and supplement(s)…highly recommended by reputable reviewers (e.g. The Whole Dog Journal).
If the Dominionists/End-Timers/Rapture Righties are correct in their prognostication(s), I could easily eat the stuff after being ‘left behind’…
JenJen
@General Winfield Stuck: Oh ceeee-ricessst. Finally read it. Wake up, beloved America! Wake up, you princes of New England! Rise, Hillary, Rise! The “Other” may just be your president! It’s OK to be a-feared. You’ll feel better, you really will.
Or something like that. Isn’t Ben Stein starring in some kind of rip-off “free” credit report commercial right now ?
You know, my dear old dad told me on Inauguration Day that it was fantastic and wonderful, but it would take about six months until the nuttiest nuts came out from hiding after realizing this is really happening. I’m starting to think he’s a genius.
Yutsano
Or something like that. Isn’t Ben Stein starring in some kind of rip-off “free” credit report commercial right now ?
This is probably completely irrelevant, but Ben Stein almost ran me over once on a bicycle on Santa Monica Beach. His wife is quite a looker too.
Steeplejack
@General Winfield Stuck:
Mount Gay Eclipse. “Perfected by tradition since 1703.” The only other I like as well is Barbancourt (three-star, not the five-star), a Haitian rum. Mount Gay is Barbadian. Neither Bacardi, Captain Morgan nor Ron anything shall e’er cross my lips. Arrgh!
parksideq
@vacuumslayer: My iPhone is a battery hog now that I upgraded to 3.0 software. It’s a really widespread issue; looks like the only solution is for Apple to release 3.1 to address the battery drain :(
Balloon Juice is the only place on the Internet where I can chat about politics, food, and gadgets on the same thread. It’s why I lurked/finally de-lurked for so long.
General Winfield Stuck
@Steeplejack:
I always liked Baccardi 151. Saved my precious time.
WereBear
Thank you! I’m so happy. It didn’t look like a useful leg, ya know.
Look away, all gourmands! I’m eating Lime ‘n’ Chili almonds and a protein bar for dinner, because it’s been Website Mania all day. While the Significant Other has been 3D’ing it all day… the cats made sure they ate, of course.
And the new kitty baby ate three times. Because she’s special. She influenced a friend to take her nephew to the same shelter, and now a cat who has been in a cage since she was six months old… has a home.
Truly a magical little one.
@RedKitten: As I’m sure your little one will be! Mazel tov.
Mark S. @ 19: What, 2% actually went to the cause they fundraised for? Someone is getting in trouble. Profit… is sacred.
parksideq
fix’ted Ben Smith’s idiocy.
BethanyAnne
This would be O/T, but it’s an open thread :-) I just saw “The Craft of War: BLIND”. It’s a machinima, but done a bit differently than most. The author loaded warcraft models into a 3d program, and made the movie in it. Just frickin amazing. Well worth watching in full screen. It’s here.
RedKitten
“Look away, all gourmands! I’m eating Lime ‘n’ Chili almonds and a protein bar for dinner, because it’s been Website Mania all day.”
Those are freaking awesome. I’ve been eating almonds a LOT in the last few months, as they’re low-carb, and really enjoyed the lime ‘n’ chili ones. Don’t feel bad for having that for dinner. When I was living by myself, supper was often a bowl of pistachios, or a bag of Crispy Mini rice cakes.
General Winfield Stuck
The Miracle of Motherhood
Svensker
The grilled salmon was completely awesome. On real hardwood coals, so it picked up some smoke, but not too much. Served it with a very simple sauce of sour cream, lemon and parsley, so the fish would shine. Yum.
The hot sausage sandwich sounds really good, John. What kind of peppers, tho?
Svensker
@RedKitten:
a bag of Crispy Mini rice cakes.
Salted rice cakes with creamed honey spread thick is one of my favorite treats.
Incertus
@Steeplejack: Barbancourt is good shit, either the 3 or the 5. A friend of mine brought a bottle of each to a party of mine about 4 years ago and we still shudder at the hangover. But we were straight sipping it–no ice, no mixer. Glorious.
monkeyboy
@John Cole:
I like Italian sausage but generally I go for a loose meat approach in a sauce with lots of tomatoes, peppers (bell and hot), onions, and garlic. This way you can put it in a sandwich or on pasta. And also if you make a really big pot of sauce you can amortize your preparation effort into frozen portions.
Lately I have been having problems scrambling the sausage meat that you can push out of casings – my local is too dry and won’t divide easily divide into little pieces while cooking.
Today I made a batch involving 3 lb sausage, 7 onions, 6 peppers, etc. This was enough to unearth the food processor. After processing the vegetables and browning them in a fry pan, I decided to loosen the meat by putting it in the processor and lightly pulsing it with some added water to make almost a slurry. After which I ‘browned’ it in the fry pan. The 3lb of meat had to be divided in half, and once the pseudo-slurry got up to heat in the pan I poured off the expressed water, grease, and whatever into a container which went into the fridge. Then the sauce simmered for a long time in a big stock pot. Towards the end, the grease in the refrigerator had congealed which allowed me to pour the liquid into the sauce.
This approach seems to work well for making large batches. Is there something wrong with the sausages I buy locally (? not enough fat? – there was only about 1/4 inch on top of the liquid in my 4 cup pyrex container). Am I evil for throwing out pork fat while adding olive oil to brown the vegetables?
JGabriel
MikeJ:
I specifically keep a copy of John Zorn & Naked City’s first album for exactly that purpose.
.
RedKitten
Watching that, all I could think was that compared to the size of the mother, that baby is really, really tiny, and just seemed to pop out really easily. Is it weird to be envious of a panda?
AhabTRuler
@JGabriel: The ultimate weapon (especially for demi).
Ella in NM
“BTW- how many of you dog owners have ever heard of Merrick’s? Any comments on it?”
Dude, at 37.95 for a 15lb bag of the dry “Turducken” dog food, I don’t think I will be giving Merrick’s to my 90lb Golden Retriever until I win the friggin’ lottery.
General Winfield Stuck
LOL, nope. I don’t think so. At least till you start craving Bamboo Chutes.
Demo Woman
@RedKitten: You’ll do great. How’s the nursery look?
Demo Woman
@Ella in NM: My last golden lived until he was 17 years. The first 9 years, he ate purina dog food and when we brought home our second dog which was a shar pei he had lamb and rice dog food. He did fine. The mutt that I now have eats a Trader Joe’s brand.
RedKitten
@Demo Woman: It looks all right. It’s not a fancy-pants dream nursery like something you’d see in a magazine, but all the furniture is ready (except for the crib, which should arrive sometime next week.) I wouldn’t mind getting a little rug for the floor, and maybe some pictures for the walls, as they’re bare. I have an obstetrician’s appointment on Monday, so will probably head in to town earlier that day, and might pick up a couple of things to make the room cozier. The baby’s going to be sleeping in our room in a bassinet for the first little while though, anyway, as I’m planning on nursing (hopefully!), so it’ll be a lot easier to not have him/her down the hall from us.
CatStaff
John, there’s a really good pet store in Alexandria, Virginia called “Pet Sage” that carries Merrick, Newman’s Own, California Natural, and a bunch of other very good pet foods. They also ship their stuff.
They have dog and cat food, toys, holistic stuff, etc. I love the place, and my cats do really well on the food.
Fred Fnord
That’s the only Cage piece that won’t send me screaming out of the room.
As for me, I use bagpipe music for that purpose. Specifically, I get my girlfriend to play her Uilleann (Irish) bagpipes. Given, they’re neither as loud nor as… ah… shall we say not as much of an acquired taste… as Highland pipes. But they’re still probably louder than your stereo can go without either burning out an important bit or tearing small pieces out of your speakers.
-fred
Demo Woman
@RedKitten: The first one I nursed only a few months, the second I nursed forever. He was my allergy child and was allergic to new foods. He was finally weaned about 16 or 17 months. Every day that you nurse helps though.
I actually asked the nursery question cuz I was hoping you would give clues as to the decor. I guess we’ll just have to wait a few weeks to find out the sex.
Steeplejack
@Incertus:
I like it with tonic water and a huge slice of lime. You get the sweet, you get the tart, you get the smoky dark rum. For me the one for sipping is the Mount Gay Extra Old. ¡Caramba! Very expensive, but worth it. Or Gosling Black Seal, which is the darkety-darkest of dark rums.
HRA
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/07/24/house-to-take-up-resolution-demanding-obama-apologize-to-crowley/
They have gone full tilt. I have never seen anything even close in comparison against any other president.
RedKitten
Well, count me in amongst the “we”. I don’t know the gender either. :)
They don’t tell you anymore at routine ultrasounds. We could have gone to Halifax and paid $175 for a 3D ultrasound with photos and whatnot, but we decided to leave it a surprise.
So the nursery is yellow, and the bedding is yellow, sage green and white, trimmed with black and white gingham and it has little embroidered bumblebees on it. One bonus to this is that even if we DO find out the gender of our second child (when the time comes to think of such things), that bedding will still work. Whereas if we’d found out the gender on this one, I would have not been able to help girlifying or boyifying the room.
FWIW, the husband thinks it’s a girl. And also FWIW, I have absolutely none of that maternal intuition regarding the gender — I honestly haven’t the foggiest idea, and I don’t even dare guess.
WereBear
Gosling… Black… Seal…
/Homer Simpson
Steeplejack
@WereBear:
You forgot the “Mmm . . .” at the start.
SiubhanDuinne
@ WereBear /62
That Olwyn is one amazing-looking kitteh! Is it just the camera angle, or are his paws HUGE compared with the rest of him?
SiubhanDuinne
Frank Rich’s column in Sunday’s NYT is (1) the first really intelligent tribute to Walter Cronkite that I’ve seen, and (2) a grand smackdown of what passes for journalism today. He does not exempt his employer. Good stuff. Sorry, cannot provide link from the ‘Berry.
andy
Merrick food is good, but it’s not my dog’s favorite. Their treats are great, though. I recommend:
-Hungry Dog Value pack, a really big bag of various ‘factory second’ chews. They hold up well, and my dog loves them. The bags I’ve gotten have had Texas Toothpicks, Snozzles, Moozles, Hoofers… gross looking stuff, but I’m not the one devouring them.
-Flossies, a tendon wrapped up in a spiral. Good mix between a chew and a treat.
-Texas Taffy, basically beef jerky. My dog literally raided the pantry to steal one of these. Dog crack.
The prices on their web site aren’t great. I think they try not to undercut independent pet stores. You can do better at the Pet Supermarket or on Amazon.
Also, anyone that drink rum and hasn’t had Ron Zacapa Centenario is missing out.
tess
Merrick is the only wet food one of my cats will eat. She’s turned her nose up at everything else, especially if there was some sort of gravy involved, but Grammy’s Pot Pie makes her Very Happy. At 16, with cancer, she gets whatever makes her Very Happy.
I agree that the suggested amounts on the can are a little high. When she was eating a 3.2oz. can per day plus dry food that’s left out for her all the time (Royal Canin–the only wheat-free dry they liked as regular food rather than just a treat), she was putting on weight pretty fast. We’re on weekly vet trips right now for treatment, and we could see the weight coming on in real time–she was a little underweight when we started, so not a huge deal, but not the situation most encounter, especially with dogs.
We use the fish ones as a treat for our other cat that goes outdoors, keeping it in the fridge so he can have a couple tablespoons of “Fish Ice Cream” as a treat. It helps cool him down a bit and is not nearly as stinky as other canned foods we’ve tried (or baby food, for that matter).
Yutsano
This approach seems to work well for making large batches. Is there something wrong with the sausages I buy locally (? not enough fat? – there was only about 1/4 inch on top of the liquid in my 4 cup pyrex container). Am I evil for throwing out pork fat while adding olive oil to brown the vegetables?
If I had to hazard a guess it’s that those sausages are very lean. You can either substitute a little of the meat fat the sausage is made of (since you didn’t specify which didn’t want to assume it was pork) or use a little olive oil instead of the water when making your poultice. (You say slurry and I say poultice…) Either way getting the moisture in is important for both texture and flavor, but if the water works mazel tov!
Joy
You really do have to watch the amount of food you feed your dog. I followed the directions and now have a pretty overweight golden. My vet said the same thing – don’t pay attention to the label. Now she’s on a calorie restricted diet (Science Diet R/D) and very limited lo-cal treats. The weight is coming off, but very slowly. Haven’t considered the weight loss medicine for dogs yet, but may have too. She’s young and I don’t want her to have orthopedic problems later. Lessons learned too late.
vacuumslayer
@parksideq:
Same here…great company.
Thanks for the input; i feel a little better now.
Pock
Test
Cheryl Williams
I can’t believe anyone else had a bad experience with the Merrick sausages. I gave my pug one and she ended up with pancreatitis. It was horrible. Three vets agreed it was the fat content. This cost over $10,000 and she nearly died.
Cheryl Williams
I recently heard that Merrick reformulated their sausages, sure enough, I looked in the store and only %10 fat now. Still, if anyone had this experience pre-change (last year) I’d like to know. I also, find it suspicious that there are ads everywhere for just the sausages (Merrick makes a lot of types of treats) think someone unloaded the bad ones? I don’t know…
Cheryl Williams
PS I made a mistake! I said I can’t believe anyone else had a bad experience…..I meant no one else had a bad experience.
This is the sausages we are talking about, before the new formula, back when they were %20 fat last year. Out vet were devastating and our baby pug was i so much pain! Be careful of fatty treats. Let me know if you had this please. XXO OCW