Cooking for man’s (or your) best friend

My house is a disaster zone these days. The floor is awash with litter. Bits of fuzz, small objects both hard and soft, torn paper and unidentifiable flotsam are everywhere. There’s a shredded toilet paper tube in one corner. At least that’s better than the one not long ago that still had paper on it. I keep cleaning things up, but I no sooner finish than the house is a shambles again. It’s so bad that last week I tripped on something and fell facedown onto a chopping block, smashing my nose, and getting my first-ever black eye. If things keep up like this, I’m considering applying to FEMA for disaster relief.

We have a new puppy. It’s been almost 20 years since we’ve had a really young puppy, so it’s taken us awhile to get the house totally puppy-proofed. We’ve always had dogs, but most have been strays or have come from Adopt-A-Pet. It’s been even longer since we’ve had a small dog. Our last, a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix, topped 150 lbs., making him ten times bigger than Toulouse, a mostly Jack Russell terrier, will be when fully grown.

Toulouse is named for my husband, Peter’s, favorite artist, Toulouse-Lautrec, who also had short legs. Toulouse (the dog) is exceptionally clever and quick. I’m fighting a cold, and his latest trick is to come up to my side when I’m sitting, as if he wants to be petted, then pull tissues out of my robe pocket and start tearing away. As exasperating as the mess is, he’s been worth it. When Toulouse isn’t tearing things up (and sometimes even when he is) he’s charming, good-natured and loves absolutely everybody. And there is hope. A sharp “NO!” will make him immediately stop his errant behavior, and after a few repetitions he understands that it’s forbidden. Unfortunately, it’s never long until he finds something else to get into. We’re becoming better at finding and keeping undesirables out of his reach, too. What to feed our little darling has been less problematic, although what he eats has sometimes been very problematic, since he believes that anything he finds is not only OK to tear up, but also to eat. This has resulted in two trips to the Animal Emergency Clinic, one at midnight on Christmas. So we’re trying to make sure that the only thing that gets down his throat is Eukanuba Puppy Chow and a few of the freeze-dried liver treats we’re using to train him. At least for now. When he’s grown, I’d like to try to make some of his food myself.

I’m not alone in this. The recent scare regarding pet food imported from China has greatly increased interest in homemade dog/pet food. The Internet has hundreds of sites with information, tips and recipes.

Understandably, veterinarians are dubious about — and sometimes even totally against — homemade dog food. “It just seems like a lot of work,” says Dr. Janet Hill of the West Lake Animal Hospital. “The people who are serious about it are going to the pharmacy, getting amino acids and vitamins, making sure their dog’s diet is just right, and that’s