[Yorkiedaze]

For those who haven't seen this article in The May/June issue of Fido Friendly I'll post it here.
Since I home cook, these types or articles peak my interest especially from other countries. Here is a typical dog day in Paris!

WHAT DOGS EAT IN FRANCE
AH, PARIS! The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the dogs! But where have the dogs gone since my last trip many years ago?
Even the dog poop is gone, replaced by a $1,000 (U.S.) fine for not picking it up. There are also lots of restrictions in the parks-------"No Dogs Allowed" signs abound; even the Metro has just a dog or two here and there. Where, oh where, have the dogs gone in Paris?
Try the restaurants. They're sitting in chairs at the table or on their owners laps! The Parisienne's still do everything with their dogs....they've just had to become a bit more responsible regarding how they do it.
Since the French are known for eating anything that moves, their dogs do as well. Their diet varies from goat cheese to squab.
My French guide was a 32-year-old editor of a food magazine. We drove throughout Paris in her Smart Car interviewing butchers, dog boutique owners and dog breeders. Except for the "under 30" crowd, natural feeding of dogs is still the norm. The younger people are taking to commercial food for their pets since they prefer the supermarkets over the local farmer's markets.
Food in France is very expensive, and not because the dollar up against the Euro is atrocious but because the food at the farmer's markets are organic, unpasterized and brought in from the outskirts of the city. But the quality and nutrition is worth the price over processed food. The price of meat is sky high, so a dog in Paris gets less meat and more of the meat ends and broth. Organ meat is more available and less expensive and along with cheese and canned fish, are the main sources of protein.
In the restaurants, dogs are seen lapping soup and munching on salad bits with cheese. Breads (which are all wonderfully made by the restaurant) are slathered with real butter and shared with dogs.
After their big meal of the evening, most dogs in Paris are walked. Walking is a Paris past time...just try to find an obese dog anywhere!
We drove to the outskirts to visit the farms and farmers who grow the food for the expert palettes of the Parisienne's. Most of the dogs we found on the farms were working dogs and ate the bounty of the farm. In a day, their diet ranges from raw meat to a cooked stew.
French dogs chew raw bones. Their morning walks take them to the butcher, where bones ar organ meat are purchased daily. The dog boutiques don't sell rawhide chips or bully sticks, so bones are still the chosen fare.
How about treats? Goat cheese is hands-down the favorite choice. My guide, Tika, feeds her 12-year-old Wolfhound dried goat cheese chips that she makes herself.
Paris dogs have become more urban since my last visit, but they still eat like their owners. Paris may be the City of Lights but it is also still the City of Dogs!