Dog Blog | Rachel Fusaro

Rachel Fusaro
- Feb 27
- 3 min read

Homemade Dog Food Recipe

Just being here makes you an awesome pet parent. You know I am a fresh food advocate for pets, which is why I am sharing an EASY DIY raw dog food recipe*!

For the full recipe video, CLICK HERE

Still new to the idea of raw? CLICK HERE

BALANCED DIY RAW DOG FOOD RECIPE

Ground beef 5.5oz

Chicken Wings 2oz

Beef Heart 1 oz

Beef Liver 1.5oz

Pork Kidney 1oz

Canned sardines 3.5oz

Ccanned oysters 1oz

Spinach 2oz

Kale 2oz

Oragnic Egg 1 medium (pasture raised)

fish oil 1stp

Flaxseed oil 1/8 tsp

Vitamin e oil 1 drop

Kelp powder 1/2 level scoop

NOTES TO CONSIDER:

•When sourcing ingredients, I HIGHLY recommend local stores, farmers markets or co-ops (ensuring ethical sourcing)

•This recipe was formulated for my dood, Fin, who weighs ~60LBs. Steps below to modify by my friend, Scott Marshall, Raw Dog Food Nutrition Specialist

•Every dog is different, as are their diet requirements.

•For supplements, I use products intended for animals

•This is how I feel comfortable feeding my dogs, remember, you are your dog's best advocate

Modifying Food Amount Steps:

Since this recipe was formulating for my ~60LB dood, Fin, below are steps to modify recipe to your dog's caloric needs. Fin eats 800-1000 calories per day.

(1) Identify Your Dog’s Current Caloric Needs

There are many calorie calculators on the internet but this following link is the one Scott recommends (CLICK HERE). Follow the prompts as accurately as possible.

(2) Divide Your Dog’s Current Caloric Needs By The Recipe’s Caloric Amount To Get Your “Increase Rate Number”

With the above recipe’s calorie needs being 1000 calories but their current needs are 1400 calories you would divide 1400 by 1000. Times All Food Ingredients In Your Recipe By Your Increase Rate Number

See example below.

Let’s see how this would work in a simple example.

Step 1.

Let us assume that your dog’s current calorie needs are 1400 calories.

Step 2.

We will use this recipe’s initial calorie amount of 1000 calories.

1400/1000 = 1.4

1.4 is our “Increase Rate Number” in this example. Yours will obviously vary.

Step 3.

For the easiest example, we will use the meat portion or the main protein as the food ingredient that we will be adjusting with our increase rate number.

In this example we will be using 155 grams of ground beef. To effectively increase your dog’s ground beef amount we will want to multiply the 155 grams of ground beef by your increase rate number.

For example:

155 x 1.4 = 217 (I would round up to 220 for easy measuring.)

This same step should be repeated for each food item. Kale - 56 grams x 1.4 = 78 grams, and so on with each food ingredient.

The same thing can be done if you need to DECREASE your dog’s feeding amounts from this recipe to get a “Decrease Rate Number”. Just divide your dog’s current calorie needs by the recipe’s called for calories of 1000 to get your decrease rate number. Then times each item in the recipe by your decrease rate number. Example: 750/1000 = 0.75 “decrease rate number”

Using the 155g of ground beef as an example again. 155 x 0.75 = 116.25g.

Again - thank you to Scott of @Raw Feeding 101 for helping with this!

CUSTOM Meal Plans via Scott "Dog Dad"!

Still feeling overwhelmed, or looking for help with a CUSTOM meal plan for your dog(s)?

Below is a resource + coupon code for you.

Scott of www.RawFeeding101.com is my dear friend, and a Raw Dog Food Nutrition Specialist and pet food formulator! I trust him with my own dogs, and that says a lot!

He is a great resource to help you get more recipes like this one, specific for your dog!

►CUSTOM MEAL PLANS: http://bit.ly/DogDadRecipes

►Your coupon code = rachel10 on Scott's meal plan orders!

►Follow his social here:

Facebook group for members: http://bit.ly/DogDadFB

Instagram: @DogDadOfficial

YouTube: @Raw Feeding 101

Friend Me! Let's Connect:

• FB: http://www.Facebook.com/RachelFusaro

• IG: http://www.Instagram.com/RachelFusaro

• MERCH! https://teespring.com/stores/rachel-fusaro

• Dog Blog: http://www.rachelfusaro.com/blog

• Fin's IG: http://www.Instagram.com/DooditsFin

• Website: http://www.RachelFusaro.com

• Subscribe: http://www.bit.ly/FusarosFostersSub

*Disclaimer for all related content: I am not a professional dog trainer or veterinarian. Any recommendations, tips, product ideas, food, treats, suggestions or advice are simply my opinion and what works for me. Please always seek professional guidance before taking any action. Please foster and train dogs at your own risk. My content may include affiliate and/or sponsored links. This is not intended for children under the age of 18.

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Rachel Fusaro
- Aug 23, 2019
- 9 min read

DOG VLOG: 101

Updated: Sep 1, 2019

Because I want you to create something awesome to inspire & empower the world, I'm sharing my tips & tricks that help me when making dog vlogs.

While these are targeted to YouTube, these hacks can apply to ANY social media platforms.

What to Expect:

How to get started tips
Get more views
How to choose video topics
Thumbnail tips
WHY you need to create
My favorite resources for: music, graphics, editing & learning!

Making Movies, & Sharing with the World

Who am I?

If you ask my mom, the proper answer is "I am somebody" <-- remember that, it's important later.

I am a relatable pet mom who is wildy passionate about pet health, animal welfare, & madly in love with creating meaningful content.

It is my mission to #SAVEALLTHEDAMNDOGS by sharing relatable tips on pet health, wellness, relatable dog training and promoting adoption and fostering.

I can't do this alone, let's make movies together:

Find me on:

YouTube: Click for Dog Vlog

Facebook: Click to Connect

Instagram: Click to Connect

Why You Should YouTube

1.9 Billion Users Monthly

-That’s half the internet

Attention = Greatest Asset

-Getting the attention of the world is the fastest way to push for change

YouTube is the 2nd most visitied website

-It was the top APP of 2018

More Americans are on YouTube than TV

-Internet is killing TV, and search results also appear in Google

YouTube is lucrative:

-In 2018, Google announced that they're investing $20M in YouTube to pay creators & they doubled the number of ads they show

Top 3 YouTube Video Types:

-Shop with me videos, Does it work video, everything you need to know video (SO RELEVANT FOR PET CREATORS!!)

Net: as one of the largest search engines in the WORLD, we have to be creating content to share out message. Now. (And you don't have to do it alone, let me help you... starting NOW)

I.C.E

Keep these in mind...

Intention: Be thoughtful with video topics. Making movies is hard, you must be purposeful in creating compelling content (more on how below)

Consistency matters: Youtube is like dating, you have to build trust in your viewers by showing up consistently (aka upload weekly). Consistency leads to momentum. Momentum = exposure.

Easy Search Tool: Remember, YouTube is one of the BIGGEST search engines in the world. Respect it for its strength, and create accordingly.

How to Find Clickable Topics:

Video topics can help you, or hurt you. Remember, most go to YouTube to LEARN.

Tubebuddy: Ranks search terms & topics! Access Here
Google.com: Start typing a phrase in google search, the auto-complete shows you popular topics. Pro-tip: scroll to very bottom of google search result page, and it'll display other related popular topics!
Similar Channels: find similar channels & see what's working for them
Google Trends: Search phrases, topics, "How to..." Access Here
Twitter: Twitter trending page updates hourly Access here

What One do You Pick?

My opinion: Many will say to: "make what you want to make," but to me that's selfish.

Since we are creating content to help & inspire the planet, I work to find a healthy balance between what I love creating, and what my viewers need. Thankfully, since I keep my channel theme niche (hint hint), these two things typically collide.

However, sometimes that means creating "less than fun" videos (still within a theme I love, aka dogs) that my viewers really need help with.

As long as I am working towards my end goal TO #SAVEALLTHEDAMNDOGS, I am happy to accommodate and support my community as they need.

If you're genuine with your intent, your people will find you

Friends I've made from creating dog vlogs!

Do You even Story Board?

Good videos follow a story structure that guides the viewer on an exciting journey of overcoming a conflict. You are the guide, viewers are the hero. This can be challenging to create, but below are easy ways to get started.

And to be frank, this is something I struggle with. I need to do better at this, but below is what I have learned along the way.

Storyboard Structure:

Every GOOD book, movie, and vlog follows a story that takes the audience on a journey. So what does a storyboard look like? It has 3 main part:

The character, or hero (aka viewer)
The conflict (aka kibble, ha!)
The resolution (aka add fresh food LOL). Viewer needs to feel WHOLE after watching

How I (generally) structure my videos:

My goal is to keep viewers engaged as long as possible. Watch time/retention = KEY!

Start video with: 5 second "coming up" clip to tease the most exciting part of video
3 second intro of channel, "Welcome to another, Dog Vlog..."
Identify the PROBLEM viewer has: "If you're watching this video then..."
Define video topic: "And today I will share how to fix said problem..."
Credibility: "With my years of experience in..."
Pro-Tip 1: Youtube anaytics gives your "Average View Duration". This tells you WHEN viewers are clicking off. This is the part of the video you need to make more exciting
DO NOT: give queues that you're ending video, otherwise they will leave early. Example of what NOT to say: "Okay guys, before we end today's video...." etc.

Net: A video is only as good as the content, and huge part of "good" content = a great story. Overtime, you will find your rhythm. As long as you improve a little with every video, you're doing an amazing job! I look forward to getting better at this, with you.

Why Velocity Matters

Velocity is how fast your video gains views at launch. YouTube elevates videos with high views in first 48 hours of publishing.

How to Increase View Velocity:

Promote before video launches on YouTube community tab, & other social pages (more on YouTube specific tools below)
Be authentic in your promotion, by bringing your audience in to the process. Examples: Ask audience polls before launch to get them engaged, such as: "best thumbnail? You pick!" & give them 2-3 options, Asking between two video topics to post next, ask a Poll of what TIME to publish tomorrow "When is a good time for me to upload tomorrow? 12pm CST or 6pm CST?
Reply to every comment within first 24 hours
When replying to comments, ask questions to get them to reply back (circle of comments)
CTA's: Give 2-3 call to actions in every video, such as: subscribe, click like, share video, comment below etc
Distribute video once live (tips on how below)

People watch you because they love you, and more often than not, they want to be part of what you're doing. So tell them what you need, & give them a WHY.

Examples: "Join our mission to #savellthedamndogs by subscribing!" or "Let's spread positive vibes in the universe today, comment below one thing your dog does to make you laugh!"

I hope my mission becomes our mission #saveallthedamndogs

Good Stories Need Good Distribution

Creating isn't enough, you have to authentically distribute your videos to reach the world.

Distribution Tips/Examples:

Collabs: Collaborate with other creators in your category of similar size (or smaller).
SEO: Strong keywords (helps with search) and google specific keywords
Just don't spam: Share on your social media platforms without spamming
Email: Send Email (you should be capturing emails)
CTA: in video, ask audience to share your video "to help inspire & empower others"
Playlists: Every video should be added to an existing, or new, playlist
Engage: Interact in comment section of other YouTube channels - PLEASE DO NOT SELF PROMOTE HERE, simply add value and let YOUR people find you organically
LIVE: Go live on YouTube
Series: Create series, which gets people wanting to come BACK and share

We're friends, we collab, we empower others together

They key i to find ways to add value in multiple communities, connect with others and allow your network to build your audience. This i the fastest way to engaged viewers.

Get that Click

Video thumbnails (i.e. the cover image of your video) do not get the credit they deserve.

A great video that is NEVER watched, is a great video that was never watched

Remember when I urged you to be purposeful in your content creation? This is a stellar example. If you spend hours filming, editing, and publishing a video that nobody watches, you not only wasted time, but you lost the ability to reach & inspire viewers.

How do you get people to watch your video?

Create awesome content
Create clickable, engaging, & bright thumbnails that make people want to click. Without that click, your video will get lost. And so does your mission.

Tips for Clickable Thumbnails:

Optimize for mobile (shrink image to mobile view to ensure it's crisp)
Consistent aesthetic, bright
Avoid having the same text in thumbnail & video title
Thumbnail real-estate is HIGHLY valuable, respect that
I like blurring the background and making main image crisp
IMO: thumbnails should represent what's actually in the video (I avoid stock images)

PRO-TIP: On YouTube Studio analytics, rank your videos by highest "click through rate" or CTR and find similarities in your top performing CTR videos (aka, videos that viewers actually clicked on). Double down on what works.

Two examples of thumbnails I made below, what similarities do you see?

Thumbnail had over 10% click through rate, which is high for YouTube

Thumbnail with over 11% click through rate, which is high for YouTube

Net: Test, test, test. Your audience will respond differently than my audience, so try different techniques and see what works best!

I'm a Data Nerd. Here's Why Should be too...

YouTube is NOT a guessing game. If you aren't making educated decisions in how you create content, you are wasting your time. YouTube has an incredible data Studio of data to help you create, better.

VERY High-level Analytics Tips:

Most Important Metrics (IMO): click through rate, watch time/views, retention, engagement (ie comments), AND revenue earned.

You may not be motivated by money, but YouTube is.

When your videos generate ad money, YouTube's advertisers make money. YouTube is a business with vested interest in making their advertisers happy... win win.

Subscribers: You might be surprised to learn thatI believe # of subscribers matter the least. Why? Most creators are lucky to get ~15% of their subscribers consistently watching their videos. Most views come from non-subscribers

YouTube does not recommend your videos based on your # of subs, nor do they pay you more for larger subscriber count. Subscribers are mostly a vanity metrics, but...

Your subscriber count does give you TWO important things: clout & credibility. And ultimately, I believe in quantity over quality. I would MUCH rather have a small audience of highly engaged subscribers versus 1M subs of people not on the same mission as me.

Net: do not get discouraged with low # of subscribers. If you have a low sub count, take that as an opportunity to practice your craft.

Retention: On your last 10 videos, see what the retention rate. Goal is 50% retention at least (aka, people watched at least 50% of your video before leaving). THEN, see if you can find similarities of WHEN people click off, and avoid doing that, ha! Finally, don't get discouraged here. Work to increase your retention rate little by little every video, and over time you will see massive upside!

Data nerds! Photo by my friend, Ashlee Huff Photography

Let's get Creative!

Below are a few easy tips when filming, to keep audience engaged!

Change camera angles frequently. Try: punching in, first person view, etc
Lighting is #1 = natural light greater than any other. I use these
Backgrounds matter (think Instagram aesthetics). Moving around in frame helps
Audio quality is probably top 2, poor audio ruins videos. Mic I use
Equipment doesn't matter at first, just create! This is my camera & lens
I try to avoid ONLY talking heads in videos, movement keeps viewers engaged
B-roll is an easy hack for talking head videos.

Keep the story, and the frames, moving! Photo by Ashlee Huff

Pro-Tip 1: Every time you film, remember to capture B-Roll to use in post
Pro Tip 2: For every video you create, edit multiple versions for variety of platforms. Uploading a YouTube video directly to Facebook, without making it the optimal size, is not ideal. Respect the platform you are uploading to, for the viewer's sake :)

Work Smarter...

Below are some of my favorite tools & learning resources.

Music:

Where I find free music:

-Youtube Audio Library: ACCESS

-Facebook Library: ACCESS

-Soundcloud: search "copyright free" music and DM artist, ACCESS

-Youtube Channels: go to description of fav youtubers and find their attributes

How I create Thumbnails:

Canva, Picmonkey, photoshop

Never Stop Learning (Inspiring Creators):

My Creative Catalyst: Casey Nesitat
BEST Series & a Fav: Gary Vaynerchuck
Greatest Pet Story Teller: Rodney Habib
YouTube Editing Genius: Peter Mckinnon
Beautiful creator: Sara Dietcshy
Vlog Like a Boss: Amy Landino
Fav Photographer (she took my thumbnail pic!): Ashlee Huff
The 'tube Guru: Sean Cannel & Here
YouTube OG: Roberto Blake
Growth Hacks: Nick Nimmin
Camera Tips: Sawyer Hartman
Social Media Examiner: HERE
Awesome IG & YouTube Tips: Vanessa Lau

Net: There is NO need to re-create the wheel. Learn from other creators, study their style, then make it your own. Your spin on what someone else does will be totally different, and totally beautiful.

Don't Give Up... Ever

Regardless of the platform, being a content creator is hard. Very hard. It's lonely, often discouraging and can become a dark place. Please consider and remember the below:

You may get hate, you may grow "slower" than you want, but at least you're putting yourself out there to inspire & empower. Few would do what you do. And that is how I know you are, and will be, a legend

Things I do when I'm Feeling Unmotivated:

Pull early videos of big youtubers today, see where they started! We all start somewhere, and you will get better over time
Compare your analytics from 90 days ago - as long as you're improving every 30-90 days, you are amazing!
Find Youtubers from completely different genres that you enjoy, and study what they do for inspo!
Never stop learning & don't never lose your curiosity. Try new things, take risks.

You Can do this, Just start!

Actionable tips to do NOW

Upload once weekly without fail, and work way up to 3x weekly
Research trending topics within your niche, and write down 8 video ideas (set timer for 1 hour to do this), then:
Film two videos over one weekend - there now you’re two weeks ahead!
Ask your audience (on other platforms) which video they want (of the two topics you chose above). Give audience ownership in your content.
Then post that video, rinse and repeat

Who Are You?

You are somebody

If you got that right, you were meant for greatness. If you didn't, you were meant for greatness ;) (just don't get that answer wrong again)

Net: I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't believe in you.

You are reading this because you were meant to create. Whether that's a blog, podcast or videos, the world needs you to hear what you have to say.

Before you leave, watch this, then go make something beautiful

My Content:

Youtube: Access

Instagram: Access

Facebook: Access

Note: It's important to note that everything above this line: is not my own. My creative work is simply a culmination from those that inspire me. I learn every day, & if I can help you along the way, i'd be forever content.