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Five Questions With Barbara From the Blog K9s Over Coffee

“5 Question Friday” is a new feature on That Mutt where I interview people who work with dogs.

Today we have Barbara Rivers from K9s Over Coffee, a dog blog about raw food, recipes, exercise and more. She is also writing about raw dog food regularly here on That Mutt!

Barbara owns her own dog walking and pet sitting business in North Carolina and feeds her two boxer mixes a raw diet.

She wrote an ebook called “20 raw meals for dogs.” It is a great resource for raw dog food recipes and learning how to feed a homemade raw diet.

Here were my 5 questions for Barbara: 

That Mutt: What’s the worst raw feeding advice you’ve heard?

Barbara Rivers: That it makes the dogs’ human family sick. It’s really no different handling raw meat for doggie meal prep than it is handling raw meat for my own meals.

As long as common sense hygiene is practiced, no one should get sick. I wash my hands with hot, soapy water right after handling the pups’ raw meals and wash down any kitchen counter surface the meal prep was done on.

TM: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever encountered on a dog walk?

Barbara: That would be a shopping cart in the middle of a stroll through our rural neighborhood. We snapped a picture, of course, and posted it on social media 😉

TM: What’s something you’re doing that you’re most proud of?

Barbara: This one is only indirectly dog related – I’m learning to stand on my own two feet, financially. It does involve working in the pet service industry though – by running my own dog walking/pet sitting business and starting to work part time at a pet resort.

TM: Do your dogs sleep in your bed?

Barbara: You betcha!

I will say though that I was very strict about the pups not sleeping on my bed for the first 4 years of their lives. They did sleep in my bedroom, but on their own doggie beds next to my bed.

After experiencing some trouble in my relationship, the pups were allowed on my bed which I found to be, and still do, very comforting.

They’re sleeping on a doggie blanket that gets washed about once a week.

TM: Is there anything you want to say to That Mutt’s readers?

Barbara: Keep being the awesome audience you are! It’s always inspiring to read through the many comments Lindsay’s posts receive from you all.

Thank you, Barbara!

If you have any questions for Barbara on feeding raw dog food or on owning a pet sitting business, leave them in the comments below!

For more from Barbara and K9s Over Coffee:

Blog: K9sOverCoffee.com

Ebook: 20 Raw Meals for Dogs

20 raw meals for dogs ebook

Facebook: K9sOverCoffee

Instagram: K9sOverCoffee

Twitter: K9sOverCoffee

YouTube: K9s Over Coffee

Barbara from K9s Over Coffee

If you or someone you know would like to be featured in a future “5 Question Friday” interview, please email [email protected]

Related posts:

5 Questions with Kimberly from Keep the Tail Wagging

5 Questions with a guide dog puppy raiser

Primal Patties raw dog food review

Guat-Lian

Monday 6th of November 2017

I have been trying to increase fish intake in my dog but so far, have limited it to what's available in dry and wet dog food. My local ethnic grocery carries halved salmon heads and dried anchovies, and I would love to offer them to my dog! Before I start, I have two questions for Barbara: should the raw heads be frozen first and do the sharp parts pose a possible hazard i.e. could get stuck or worse, puncture the dog's mouth, gullet, etc? I cook and eat fish heads (yes!) and have experienced fish bones stuck in my mouth, so am wondering if this could be an issue.

Lindsay Stordahl

Monday 6th of November 2017

I haven't fed my dogs fish but I imagine it's the cooked bones that might cause a problem vs. raw bones. I'm curious what Barbara has to say, and here is a post she wrote on feeding raw salmon heads to her dogs: http://www.k9sovercoffee.com/nutrition/for-the-more-adventurous-raw-feeder-salmon-heads/

Langlois j

Wednesday 25th of October 2017

HI I have a 2yrs old husky,who has developed destructive habits when I leave the house! He will distroy all baskets ,trays and hats made of straw or any cousins that I cherish! Why does he destroy things? He even started to snap at the post women & postman recently! I don't know what to do cause I not always in the presencesr of the outcome of he bad behavior? Please guide me in what I should do to stop these bad habits!

Lindsay Stordahl

Friday 27th of October 2017

Sorry to hear of your dog's destructive behavior. I highly recommend taking him to an affordable group obedience class so you can begin to work with a trainer on teaching your dog some rules. In the meantime, can you leave him in a kennel/crate when he's home alone to prevent the chewing on your stuff? Also, I'm not sure how much exercise he's getting but I would recommend 90 minutes of walking every day for a 2-yr-old husky just as a starting point.

Lindsay Stordahl

Friday 20th of October 2017

Our dogs are not allowed on the bed or couch. Ace is just really gross with all his drool and shedding! And Remy still has to be in his crate at night. Plus he tries to eat blankets, haha.

The cats love to sleep in the bed so they get to once a week or so. Not every night because they are annoying! Haha.

Barbara Rivers

Saturday 21st of October 2017

I get the whole drool problem. Thankfully neither of the pups drool a lot.

Colby

Friday 20th of October 2017

Linus wasn't originally allowed in the bed too. He got his spot on the bed for the same reason as you mentioned...relationship trouble :(

Barbara Rivers

Saturday 21st of October 2017

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that experience. I bet Linus was as stoked about the comfort upgrade as Missy & Buzz were though ;-)