Lindsay Young (@eatyoungnutrition) is a Holistic Nutritionist, who Flora has been working with for the last couple of years. When Lindsay welcomed Rosy, a Great Dane puppy to her family in May, we were excited to introduce her to our BiologicVET line of pet care products. Join us as we follow Rosy’s growth, development, and of course her puppy antics over the next 6 months. If you are one of the many people who added a fur-friend to your family during the COVID-19 quarantine, you can probably relate to Lindsay’s experiences with Rosy... so follow along!
Meet Rosy by Lindsay Young
Covid-19 brought about many challenges. Moral dilemmas as to whether it’s right to see our families, an unhealthy obsession with watching the news unfold, financial insecurity, health insecurity. But as I began to navigate through it, I found a love of working primarily from home and with my partner unable to work we realized we finally had the time to raise a puppy – something we’ve wanted for a while.
Enter Rosy: a blue merle Great Dane born on March 10th.
We drove to Jasper, Alberta, early on the 10th of May to pick her up from the breeder. She was 8 weeks and 17 lbs at the time. I’ll never forget how her tiny body clung to me as I held her for the first time. Seeing her come to trust us has been such a blissful experience – it’s a patience inducing process regardless of the dog, but it’s been so worth it.
Raising a puppy -- especially in the first few weeks -- has taught me so many things, but I’ll summarize the greatest lessons for anyone considering it:
- I’ll never again underestimate the power of patience. With patience, you will witness your puppy learn where to use the washroom, how to play with their toys, and how you want them to interact with you. Our biggest struggle has been the boundary between chew toys and our hands and feet, and that she is still learning!
- Redirection can be more powerful than forceful discipline or yelling. What I mean is: rewarding Rosy when she stops digging where she shouldn’t be after distracting her has been more useful than yelling or pulling her away.
I’ve always loved big dogs. I’m also a nutritionist, so I’m aware of the role diet plays on large breeds especially. Great Danes are unfortunately prone to joint issues as they age. I’m really adamant about a grain free, corn free diet, and since speaking to other owners and animal nutritionists, this as well as raw food might just be the best route for Rosy (bonus: she loves it). Great Danes continue growing until 18 months to two years, so the development of her joints is critical in this time. We add a BioVITES (multi vitamin) to her first meal, as well as BioFATS (healthy fats) and bone broth.
Rosy loves her food and treats. Right now, mid heat wave, she loves frozen treats. We noticed that she would chew on ice cubes to soothe her teething, and even now she likes to snack on frozen banana or frozen bone broth (which I like to add greens to). She also loves dogs, especially small ones! She does a little puppy dance whenever she sees one! And if you’re wondering if she’s clumsy, yes, she’s all legs and no balance!
Stay tuned as we follow @mybestfriendrosy’s journey over the next 6 months – we’ll be posting monthly updates!
Flora is offering you a 15% savings on all BiologicVET products right now, simply apply the code ROSY15 at checkout.
Lindsay Young @eatyoungnutrition is a nutritionist and lover of food from around the world. She’s passionate about making healthy, home cooked food accessible and approachable for everyone. She hosts workshops in her home town, Kelowna, sees clients and works as a recipe developer and food photographer.
