***There will be no CrossFit Kids session tonight at 5:00 due to a really cool opportunity for our coaches and Kids program. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.***
Workout of the Day:
Skill Practice – Pistols
Spend 10-15 minutes on drills to improve your single-leg squats,
and then,
Rounds of 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6 and 3 reps for time of:
Kettlebell Swings (24/16 kg)
Burpees
Choogie - the Invictus pup might be the strongest puppy ever
My Dog Eats Better Than You
Written by George Economou
It may be old news, but Sarah (The Human) and I recently had a small mammal. Chugach vom Grunenfeld (“Choogie” to his friends) is now a 13 week old, 23lb German Shepherd Dog . . . and he’s growing. For anyone who has ever been a first-time puppy owner, or anyone in the market, there is a TON of information out there on how to prepare for the new arrival, puppy proofing your home, the right vets and vaccines, puppy kindergarten, crate training, feeding, etc. It can be a bit overwhelming, and you eventually start to wonder about some of the advice you’re receiving. One piece of advice that made complete sense was on diet.
We purchased Chugach from the Grunenfeld Kennels, which has been breeding GSDs since 1976. When I asked the breeder about what kind of food we should provide the young pup, she strongly advised against puppy foods, and promoted a partial raw diet. I asked about the puppy food, and she explained that in the wild there’s no such thing as a “puppy squirrel” or a “puppy rabbit,” the adults and puppies eat the same things. That made sense, so I figured I’d take his diet one step further and go grain and corn free. After all, it’s not like we see packs of wild dogs tearing up crops and wheat fields across the country; but corn or rice are often among the top three ingredients for most pet foods.
Luckily, there is a member of the Invictus Community we were able to turn to for help. Our own Lori Blauert owns a pet store in IB (www.ibpet.net), and she was extremely helpful in setting us up for success. Lori introduced us to a couple of pet food companies that specialized in natural and raw diets. What we ultimately decided on was the Nature’s Variety brand of foods. Currently, the Choogs is eating 2 cups of Instinct kibble in the morning, and ¾ lb of raw meat in the evening . . . all obtained from Lori. Both the kibble and raw are rotational diets, meaning we switch between different “flavors” of kibble and raw. His current kibble is grain-free and gluten-free, and it’s top three ingredients are Duck Meal, Turkey Meal, and Salmon Meal (there are also Chicken and Rabbit varieties). His raw diet rotates between beef, venison, and chicken throughout the week. Additionally, we supplement him with about 1 gram of fish oil a day (that’s EPA and DHA amounts), and vitamins with Yucca, MSM, Chondroitin, Sulfate, Glucosamine, Ester C and Vitamin E.
In short, my dog eats better than you. He’s taking more fish oil than you probably are and his variety of meats throughout the week are venison, beef, chicken, turkey, and salmon. You?
A Paleo-like diet makes sense for dogs and humans alike. If you haven’t embraced it yet, start implementing portions of it slowly. Or at the very least, start by improving the diet of your canine or feline friend. Talk to Lori down at the gym or get in touch with her through her store website.
Happy Birthday, Barry! You are the love of my life!!!!
Happy Birthday Barry! You’re not quite the love of my life, but you’re up there
Our very own CJ Martin is a web-lebrity today on the CF Football site. Apparently, he’s taking our friend Dutch Lowy for a walk.
Barry, I hope those burpees got your birthday off to an awesome start.
Happy Birthday Barry!
George.
How do you get your dog to eat the fish oil?
Do you just mix it in with his food? I try to get Franklin to just eat some of my tablets, but he doesn’t really go for it, unless I wrap it in some meat. I definately looked into food for Franklin when I first got him but I didn’t know Lori had a pet store.
I alread have a guy that delivers my food, but I haven’t asked him about raw yet, other then the occasional scaps in his bowl, raw egg, avacado(sometimes a dab of avacado oil which is great for his coat). I liked the ingredients and settled on “Solid Gold” for his kibble.The difference is amazing, I get at least a few compliments everyday on Franklins shinny coat and muscle tone.
Dog food commercials are a pet peeve of mine, they drive me crazy because all of those Brands (even the supposed “Premium” foods like science diet) have corn in the top 3 ingredients.
Any thoughts on an invicuts paleo holloween party?
-August
Happy Birthday Barry!
3,010,264 meters!!! 4 million meters will fall!!! Let’s go get it.
George: If I had no hands and was forced to eat what was in front of me or starve…I don’t think I would have a problem eating like a newt or a dog for that matter.
Choogie is an awesome looking pup.
Now you did it; you got me talking about dogs- I could probably spend all day.
…I eat alot of fish and Franklin always get my skins.
I really think the reason he prefers women is because everytime I have a date over for dinner he gets their left over meat/fish sometimes veggies. I don’t know how he does it, but he is a player.
So I might be a little obsessive about my dog…
My mother is sewing me a Franklin costume for Halloween.
Thats not too obsessive is it?
I don’t know how to make Franklin into me yet, but would love it if anyone had any ideas.
Happy birthday Barry!
George,
are you are saying that the kibble you buy for your pup is safe for human consumption and can be used in emergency situations? For example, coming home after a night out on the town only to find the cubbord bare and the fridge empty.
August,
I carry Solid Gold also…it’s a great food and local too! Which on are you feeding?
You can get fish oil in a bottle. I sell it in pumps bottles to help you easily measure how much your size dog needs and you simply put it right on the dry. Most dogs like the taste of it too! It does wonders for dry skin and helps reduce shedding.
Also I can deliver food (even raw) to the gym for you. Let me know if you would like to try the Nature’s Variety Raw and I can bring a sample to the gym tomorrow morning if you’ll be working out at 7am.
HAPPY B-DAY BARRY!
6am completes me. The upside of this WOD is that I was actually looking forward to the KB swings. Constant evolution.
Happy Birthday Barry! I hope you have a great day!
I’m a big advocate of giving omega 3s to pets. Lily has been on them since she was a pup, and everyone knows what a nice soft and shiny coat she has:) Plus they really help with dry, itchy skin, which can be a big problem here in SD. I’m so happy Lori introduced me to Nature’s Variety. Switching to a grain free diet helped one of my cats get to a healthy weight and Lily LOVES her raw food.
My cats are not big fans of Nature’s Variety raw diets, but they do like the Primal Raw Feline diet that Lori carries, so I would recommend that if you want to get some raw into your cat’s diet.
I also really love the whole Honest Kitchen line. (also at Lori’s great store!) They’re local and they make a dehydrated raw food in addition to some really awesome supplements. One of my cats goes nuts for their food.
Happy Birthday Barry! I hope your day is full of wonderful things!
Just a note about our little Choogster’s diet. You may not see wild dogs going crazy over a tomato plant, but Choogs LOVES fruits and veggies. Often when we are training him, we’ll use blueberries, raspberries, or pieces of melon, strawberries, etc. instead of traditional pre-packaged treats. He also went crazy for a piece of carrot that fell on the floor while I was making dinner last night and LOVES coconut. Just stay away from grapes–I’ve heard they are as bad for dogs as chocolate.
Grapes, raisins, onions, chocolate—no no no for doggies!
Mary!!! Congrats to you and Patrick! We’ve missed you guys at 6 a.m.
Human,
Franklin loves all of those too, but he’s picky about berries (only raspberries and blueberries- no blackberries or strawberries). Carrots are awesome for teething! Franklin just always leaves a mess when he’s done with them.
Lori,
Franklin eats a combination of Solid Gold, I forget there names offhand, but I think one of them has Lamb as the main ingredient(Hoch flockin? maybe) and one has Bison (wolf king I think). I mix in a little of the Solid Gold wet food once in a while (even though its mostly just moisture).
I’m definately interested in the fish oil bottle (so he doesn’t eat all my capsules) and raw, I’ll talk to you @ 7!
The only reason I’m staying with my guy for Solid Gold right now is because I’m about ready to get a free bag, and I see him everyweek at Little Italy’s Mercado Farmers market.
Happy Birthday, Barry!!! Thanks for the encouraging words to help me finish that brutal work out today!!!
Happy Birthday, Barry!
Happy Birthday, Barry!!! Wishing you a great day.
WOD: 8:15, I love Burpees… back to the erg
August,
Ok so you get your food from Danny @ Natural Pet…I know him…he’s got a lot of great stuff! Well after you get that free bag make the switch to IB Pet! j/k…but you really should.
It’s called Hund-N-Flocken and it means dog food flakes in German. Solid Gold makes a grain free food called Barking at the Moon…you should try it. It has ocean fish and beef in it. I’m all about a grain free diet for my dogs and cats because in the wild the only time they would eat grain is if they consumed and animal that had eaten grain. It just makes sense. I’m also a big advocate of a raw diet. Dog and cats are carnivores and in the wild they would raw meat, organs, and bone. All dry and canned foods are heat processed at such high temperatures that a lot of the important nutrients are lost. Instead of feeding wet food you could mix in the raw. I’ll bring you a free bag of the Nature’s Variety raw tomorrow.
Sorry for the late post…wonder if anyone even reads it this late…
August, good to hear I’m not the only one obsessed with his dog, though I can’t say for sure if the Choogs is a player/chick magnet. so far he’s only helped me with the human. As for the fish oil, I’m mixing in the same stuff that Sarah and I take, Carlson Fish Oil. It’s straight liquid, and lemon flavored. we eyeball it and put it in with the kibble in the morning.
As for the paleo halloween party, we are planning on holding one at the gym on 23 Oct. It will be a paleo-pot-luck, and details will be forthcoming.
ciao!
George,
Well choogs is definately cute! One that dudes, chicks, and kids can all appreciate. I don’t in any way mean to say I’m a player, but Franklin somehow has a way with the ladies. He needs to find himself a little Doggy Girl Friend though (aka DGF/bitch)- so he doesn’t feel the need to break out of his cage and jump out of hotel room windows while I’m at training.
-August
Lori,
Thanks for the Raw today, I’m exited to go home & feed Franklin.
I wouldn’t mind switching at all to your store, but I have to do it gradually & tactfully, Danny has always been very freindly I like to be a loyal customer when I can be
.
Thanks for the tip on the barking at the Moon: grain-free makes absolute sense, I looked at a few foods, and I hadn’t really found one previously, I just read labels and I knew the forms of grains in the Solid gold that I was using were better(than straight up corn meal) and pretty far down on the ingredients list, but now that I know there is a completely grain free formula you can bet I’m switching.
-August