Annie,
congrats on the latest addition to your family, and i’m glad that spanky will have lucy for company while you’re away.
i’m away at work 12 hours a day myself, so i know what you mean about not being home to train a dog. i’ve found, though, that dogs can train each other, so spanky may very well teach lucy the ropes while you are away from home! 3 of my dogs are in the basement together while i’m away, and the alpha in the group keeps the other two in line. so funny!
you are so right about the controversy in feeding opinions! and it’s even more difficult when you try to combine frugality with feeding your dog(s) the best.
if i only had the little dogs, i’d make my own dog food. it’s hard to feel good about feeding your precious babies commercial food when there is NO regulation on dog food companies… and that means *anything* and *everything* yukky can be and *is* in your dog food. bleah! the old adage that “people food” is bad for your dog is not one i buy into. cooked processed scraps are one thing, but fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc., are healthy for our four-footed babies!
i’ve done a lot of research, and feed my dogs, cats, and ferrets INNOVA brand, which is pricey, but, frugally speaking, i’ve saved tons of buckage on vet bills (haven’t been in years) and other health-related costs. (they eat less in the long run because they get less useless filler). (i don’t immunize either, which is a whole ‘nother can of worms.)
i also give my dogs raw turkey necks to clean their teeth, and when chicken backs are available, my big dogs get them in the back yard. yes, raw. controversial, yes. frugal, yes. anyone interested in studying up on the pros and cons of feeding raw should do a web search for “barf” (bones and raw food) and check out the pros and cons.
best of luck to you and your babies, annie! :)
zoomama