Welcome to Bay Woof, September 2021

Howdy Chow Hounds,

Welcome to Bay Woof’s Food issue! 

Of course, our furry friends may not always be as gastronomically discerning as we’d wish. Stella, one of the BW office dogs, is especially known for her street food skills, delighting in the grossest of urban decay, which she views as a delicacy worthy of the late Anthony Bourdain - if he’d been reincarnated as a scavenging Bordain-Collie! 

Luckily, most dogs have humans to make the critical meal choices for them (those opposable thumbs have gotten us pretty far). To feed Fido, we can opt for convenient kibble, uber nutritional fancy foods, yummy treats, or some combination thereof. As long as love is the main ingredient, everyone’s happy. 

Chomping through September’s Food issue, you’ll find the “first of a four-part series” on raw foods, says SFRAW’s evangelist Kasie Maxwell Grujcic. Sirius’s Kelly Gorman Dunbar dispels some common dog food myths, while divulging her pack’s secret love for In-N-Out burgers. We’ve also got a natural food recipe with nutritional insights from trainer Jonathan Jones, plus a bunch more fast pup-friendly recipes that will have your pack drooling in no time. 

The September smorgasbord continues with Cyd True (True Training 101) on how and why to teach your dog to gamble for a big treat payoff in the Monthly Woof. Our Good Dog! column features trainer Angela Gardner with advice on working with pups who aren’t particularly food-motivated. And if you’re on the cafeteria plan, you’ll want to nosh on September’s Nose for News, including a look at Queen Elizabeth’s new business gambit: royal dog biscuits. 

Filling out the issue, we’ve got Ask Dr. Dog, with an update from Fix our Ferals about its efforts to provide quality vet care for pups whose humans are in financial need. September’s Shelter Zone, written this month by Kate Singleton and Erin Ohlendorf of Grateful Dog Rescue, shares the challenges of keeping bonded pairs of dogs together for placement. Commission Tails, contributed by SF ACAW’s chairperson Nina Irani, discusses the lessons learned from Project Coyote and the importance of respectful coexistence in all aspects of our lives. And of course, Mr. Smarty Pants provides a menu of tasty factoids, while Red and Howling offers delectable sweetness to complete your meal. 

Last, but not at all least, this issue marks one year since we relaunched Bay Woof as a digital magazine under a new nonprofit organization, Bay Woof Foundation. And what a year it’s been. We’ve covered everything from rescue orgs and vet clinics forging ahead amid a global pandemic to world-class training essentials, wildfires, dog art, working dogs, small dogs, big dogs, and so much more.  We are enormously grateful to all of our contributors - dog pros who’ve generously shared their wisdom - and to the thousands of readers who’ve helped build a stronger pack of dog lovers in the Bay Area and beyond. 

If you’ve enjoyed reading Bay Woof, either as a main meal for a dog nerd or as the occasional comfort food treat, we’d love to hear from you at bark@baywoof.org. We welcome community contributors or advertisers so, if that sounds like you, give us a shout. 

However you slice it, here’s hoping September will be your tastiest month yet. Thanks for reading Bay Woof!

M Rocket
Publisher

About the cover: Naomi is our cover dog this month; photo by Erika Slovikoski of Stardog, with special thanks to Liz Jaroslow.