OC Raw Life

04/06/2025

The Goonies

09/19/2024

Morning Adventures at Mason Regional Park

01/01/2022

https://youtu.be/aXlJyGbxclA

As it's at the end of the year I wanted to look back on some of the highlights of OC Raw Life.

On the actual food side of things with the boys we experimented a bit more with some new foods as well as other things we never thought to give the boys like:

🖤 Pheasant Pure Pheasant
💛 Lightly cooked food A Pup Above
🖤 Small Bites Instinct
💛 Fermentation Experiment Green Juju

🎙️ We continued the podcast making more episodes than last year.
📷 Building on the podcast we added videos on Instagram.
📺 Expanding on that we moved videos over to YouTube.

As we ring in the New Year we are extremely excited to not only create more content moving forward but also find new foods and supplements to try for the boys! We would like to thank everyone following us on this journey this year and want to wish you all a Safe and Happy New Year!!

As it's at the end of the year I wanted to look back on some of the highlights of OC Raw Life. On the actual food side of things with the boys we experimente...

12/30/2021

If there is anything that we could take away from the 3 years feeding Midnight and Bua Raw, it is that each dog is different, with their own unique requirements. So we learned over time to: Listen, Learn & Adapt.

LISTEN
We had found out early on in our raw feeding journey about New Zealand Green Lipped mussels and how they were good for hips and joints. So we found whole Freeze-Dried Mussels and gave them a try. At first we saw the exact benefits we were looking for especially with Midnight who has arthritis, where they seemed more agile. What I didn't think about and has been a common problem overall when feeding the boys is the fact they eat too fast especially treats. So what happened was they would start to throw up large pieces of these treats immediately after eating them because they weren't chewing them properly. This is where we listened to our pets body.

LEARN
So what we found out that even though these treats were Freez-Dried, they were pretty tough. So they weren't chewing them properly, eating too fast and throwing them up. So we figured we could maybe cut them up with a knife. The problem with this idea is we were afraid they would just swallow those pieces and might cause a choking hazard or become an obstruction in their tummy. I would like to point out that in most cases we've seen this is not an issue that most dogs would have but is worth mentioning for smaller dogs. Again each dog is different and this is just what happened with our boys. So what was our solution?

ADAPT
We found out that the Green Lipped Mussels worked and we wanted to get the full benefit of this wonderful ingredient. There are foods that incorporate this ingredient in their formula but we found that it wasn't the same results. So the cutting the knife didn't really work and we thought grinding it down might help but this was tough and not only took a while but still wasn' as fine a consistency as we'd like. Luckily we found a few brands that have this product already ground up and picked one we were comfortable with. We've been feeding this product for a while now with no issues throwing up and they still seem to be getting the benefits.

So the lesson to take away from our experience is listen to your pets body, if they don't respond well to something figure out a different solution and put it into practice. Hopefully our experience here helped and we look forward to sharing more of them in the New Year!



https://www.instagram.com/p/CYHc6QjJJ9E/?utm_medium=share_sheet

12/25/2021

From myself, Dana and the boys we wanted to wish everyone who has been following our OC Raw Life a Safe and Merry Christmas!!

12/17/2021

LATEST FREEZER SNEAK PEEK VIDEO IS NOW ON YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/u4c4CFWgh1E 📺

My Freezer Sneak Peek Segment has moved to YouTube. The main point of these videos is to show what I feed the boys and show how variety can not only be important to keep things interesting for your pet but also to keep things healthy for them too.

It's also a good example of what kind of premade raw foods are available to purchase here in Orange County. I Will also include a link to these brands web sites so it's easy to find. Before I go any further I wanted to be upfront and say this is not a sponsored episode these are all just foods and supplements available in my area and that my dogs do well on. I hope as I make more of these videos you will see I only recommend items that I am comfortable with and that seem to be beneficial to the boys.

Raw Bistro Pet Fare
Smallbatch pets
Instinct
A Pup Above
Primal Pet Foods
Swell, gelato for dogs
Green Juju

If you like what you see be sure to like 👍 and subscribe! 📺.

Welcome to my Freezer Sneak Peek Segment, this was something I started on Instagram and will now be showcasing on YouTube. The main point of these videos is ...

12/10/2021

LATEST FREEZER SNEAK PEEK VIDEO IS NOW ON YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/u4c4CFWgh1E

My Freezer Sneak Peek Segment has moved to YouTube. The main point of these videos is to show what I feed the boys and show how variety can not only be important to keep things interesting for your pet but also to keep things healthy for them too.

It's also a good example of what kind of premade raw foods are available to purchase here in Orange County. I Will also include a link to these brands web sites so it's easy to find. Before I go any further I wanted to be upfront and say this is not a sponsored episode these are all just foods and supplements available in my area and that my dogs do well on. I hope as I make more of these videos you will see I only recommend items that I am comfortable with and that seem to be beneficial to the boys.

Raw Bistro Pet Fare
Smallbatch pets
Instinct
A Pup Above Dog Food
Primal Pet Foods
Swell, gelato for dogs
Green Juju

Welcome to my Freezer Sneak Peek Segment, this was something I started on Instagram and will now be showcasing on YouTube. The main point of these videos is ...

12/01/2021

I've been working on a few different things this year so I wasn't publishing as many podcasts as I would have like but its definitely progressed from last year.

I will continue to focus on videos on YouTube but will still continue to work on future podcasts so stay tuned.

It's the small changes that will make the biggest difference. Still moving forward!

A big thank you to everyone following us on our journey!

11/27/2021

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWw-aS_DYfO/?utm_medium=copy_link

First try making Turkey Bone Broth:

🦃 1 Raw Turkey Neck (From 12lb Bird)
🦃 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
🦃 Water
🦃 12 hours on High in Slow Cooker
🦃 Another 12 Hours on Low
🦃 Throw Away Bone
🦃 Cool & Serve
🦃 Store Broth in Fridge (Good for about 4 days)

Truth be told I only used the Turkey Neck because it was raw and unseasoned. I technically could have used the bones from the cooked bird, but I wanted the broth to be as clean as possible.

11/09/2021

"water/moisture is the delivery system of every nutrient".

This quote was something I heard recently and it resonated with me. I think about moisture all the time when feeding the boys. Even though Raw has a lot more moisture than say kibble I always feel its worth adding more. That's why I add bone broth, goats milk and even just plain water (no tap water) to their food on a regular basis.

What extra sources of moisture do you add to your pets diet?

Credit: Q&A With Billy Hoekman! & Green Juju

11/02/2021

I'm happy to announce Episode 1 of OC Raw Life available on YouTube, this episode features Bua! You may have seen me play around with a few different video formats over the months. I'm still finding my point of view but I think I'm becoming more comfortable creating videos more suited for YouTube. Instagram and TikTok were just too restrictive, and I had a lot of problems with the quality the videos. I might still make regular audio podcast episodes in the future, but I like having visuals to accompany my dialogue. So moving forward you may see subjects I covered in my podcast get an update on YouTube. This was a plan I had at the beginning of the year and although it took some time I'm finally getting more comfortable with the format of video vs audio.

Bare in mind I'm still learning but I hope to create more videos like this in the future. Original Video is available on YouTube https://youtu.be/l73pBH6xCeI, if you like what you see be sure to like 👍 and subscribe! 📺.