Thunderstorms are fun!

Conker has always loved storms. I don't know exactly why, but they seem to energize him. The more wild and violent the storm is, the crazier Conker gets. This is way different than the typical dog reaction of fear when they hear thunder.
So what do we do when a storm is on the horizon, threatening to dump it's fury down upon us? We go out and play in it, of course!

Tug is one of Conker's favorite games. When combined with fetch, it is his favorite. I try to find toys that we are able to both tug and play fetch with effectively. This particular toy, around 6 feet of soft rope (formerly a horse lead), is very fun to use.

Here Conker plays with my younger sister.

Spring is in the air...

One of the cherry trees (that was not hacked to bits by an overzealous moron) out front is blooming full force! Looks like we are going to have a TON of cherries this year.

Conker is getting slightly chubbish (for him anyways). So I have been taking him on more walks, and will be cutting his food back slightly. I don't like to do that with him...

We often cross the creek in several places, but most of the time it's too steep for Conker to go for a dip. This is the same creek that he visits near the dogpark.

We always stop to let him sniff around and explore the area around the top of the creekside.

He tried to go down, but the leash prevented him from doing that. He was not happy about that. Not at all. He thought the upper 70's was too hot and really wanted to go for a swim. I got a Shiba lecture for my refusal to let him do as he wanted.

Mince Mix #2

Today I mixed up another batch of mince for Conker. (Sorry, no pictures this time.)  It was relatively the same so I wouldn't be re-introducing too many "new" things at once.
I used two very large chicken quarters, about two pounds of pork meat, some turkey gizzards, hearts, a dash of liver, half a can of baby clams, half a can of pink salmon, and a tin of sardines. I did not have quite enough beef liver so I added in what I had and will put a small chunk in each meal when I get more.

Conker really loves canned fish, particularly mackerel and salmon. He likes sardines a lot, but not as much as the other two fish, which is why I added a bit more than"normal". I wanted him to like this mix.
I sometimes add a spoonful or two of plain whole-milk yogurt, and he always gets an egg and his various supplements (fish oils, vitamin E, joint stuff, digestion stuff...) added in when I feed him.
He scarfed today's mix down much faster than the previous one, so I'm guessing he really liked the addition of canned fish!

I will be gradually re-introducing oatmeal to his meals, starting with 1/4 cup and increasing from there. In the past Conker has done fine with oatmeal, and I'd like to include it again, but I'll find something else if he (for some random reason) cannot tolerate it well.


The next mix will include beef instead of pork. We'll see what he thinks when he's done with this batch.

Sasha at the Vet

Today Sasha went to the vet. She's been having some incontinence issues off and on for the past couple moths. It's always when she's been asleep, and she is otherwise peeing normal amounts normal times a day. Last night she peed twice (while sleeping) in my room, so I booked an apointment to get her checked out.

The vet looked at her busted carnassials while we were there. He is not concerned about them and told me to continue brushing them every night and just keep a close eye on them and the gums surrounding them for anything suspicious.

They got some urine from Sasha and did an analysis to rule out an infection. It was pretty normal, so they figure that's not the cause of her incontinence. The next thing on the list is something called spay incontinence that happens (frequently) in spayed females, generally when they get a little older. It's an estrogen thing, and since there is no ueterus or ovaries in a spayed dog...

So we came home with a bottle of 60 50mg Proin pills to try and see if that helps. Right now Sasha will get one half a pill twice a day, and we'll decide what to do next if it helps or not.


In other news...

Conker finished all the mince mix without refusing any! I will be making more tomorrow. He appears to be digesting it a lot better than whole raw pieces, which I am glad to see. He also hasn't had any deathfarts (yet) so I am going to keep it up for as long as he'll eat it.

Slavonic Tail Dance

I was bored.

Antonin Dvorak, Slavonic dance Op. 46, No. 1 - George Szell 1947

You know you live in a small town when...

This story is on the front page.
Yes, Conker and I attended. I actually lent Conker out (again) to an Irish lady and her grandson, while I handled Juneau (who was a buttface about pulling and trying to eat the smallest dogs) and Sasha. You can see me briefly in the video. I'm the only one wearing a baja and fedora.
The lady in the video is my next-door neighbor. I do stuff for her sometimes.


Anywho...

Conker and I went on a short 3 mile hike today.

 It started out sunny, then partly cloudy, and ended as cloudy. Gotta love Oregon's weather.

The flowers are still coming up. There were large patches of these red ones, and purple flowers too. But it's still pretty brown out there, so spring isn't quite here yet. You know spring is in full swing when everything is uber green.

Crows in the Park

I took Conker on a short walk to and around the little park down the street from my house. There were crows scattered in the park, picking food and bugs out of the grass. The crows largely ignored us, until I told Conker...

"Get the CROWS!"

I drop the leash (and thus, since he was not "off", avoided breaking the law) and watch as he streaks towards the nearest crow, unaware that a Shiba is barreling down on it. Suddenly, right before he gets to the crow, Conker breaks off his pursuit and makes a tight circle around a large tree, then arcs out into the grass, leash trailing behind him.

Conker takes a few large passes then begins to spin... And makes a loud attempt at catching his own tail. Round and round he goes, snarling viciously, grabbing his tail, dropping it, running for a few yards, then jumping in tight circles once again.

I stood there, a bit confuzzled. Conker chose to chase his tail over catching (and killing) a crow, which I am sure he would have, since the bird hadn't flow off yet and didn't seem concerned about the insane dog running circles in the park a few yards off.

Oh the joys of owning a Shiba Inu.

MINCE!

 I found a meat mincer at a yard sale for $5. Bought it on a whim. Yes, it can grind chicken bones! 

I minced some pork, chicken Q's, and beef liver, then added a dash of clams and mixed it together. I separated it into six portions. I did not want to put too many ingredients into the mix lest The Emperor decide he not like one particular item and refuses the whole lot because of it.

I finished it off with an egg and Conker's usual supplements, gave it a final stir, and served.

It was a hit! He finished the whole serving in one sitting, under five minutes.

We'll see how the mince mix does over the next few days. Conker's refusal rate is around the third day, and if he makes it past six days without refusing to eat, I'll make up a larger batch with more ingredients and give that a run.

What I've been up to lately

20 aluminum bracelets, various colors.

Half Persian 4-in-1 chains, various metals.

Titanium wallet chain. This is actually about 5 years old.

Black stainless 200 (+4) ring 21" chain. I currently use it as an extra-long keyfob.

Aluminum 21" chain.

Combo stainless 21" chain.

Stainless "semi-permanent" cuff. This one is also really old.

Stainless tag collar. Not to be used with a leash.

This is a long-time hobby of mine. I have a stainless steel steering wheel cover made out of chainmaille, and a shirt-in-progress that I'll finish eventually. I make stuff every now and then, and sell something when someone asks about it. Right now it's basically the only crafty thing I've got motivation to do.

M-17

I got a bunch of free meat today, mostly pork and beef. Some roasts, steaks, soup bones, etc. The Girls will be very happy.

In other news...
Conker is, once again, being choosy with his food.

This dog drives me nuts sometimes.

M-15

Since nothing else of immediate interest is going on, here's a boring soundless video of Conker eating some turkey misc. For some reason Windows 7 thinks I don't need sound in my videos.

Yumm yumm. This is from a short while ago.

Anywho...

Juneau and Sasha found and rolled in some cat piss in the front yard today. So I take them into the backyard and wash them with some lovely smelling handmade lavender soap. As soon as the wash is over and I set her loose, Juneau takes off for the nearest patch of dirt and ROLLS IN THE DIRT. Then, she runs through the brush and COLLECTS A BUNCH OF LEAVES. Then, goes and JUMPS INTO THE POOL. And does it ALL. OVER. AGAIN.
WTF dog...
At least she had fun whole she was doing it.

Spring is coming.

The weather has turned warm, the sun shines often (but not today), and plants are starting to sprout.

Conker has a definite preference for larger rope toys. I think he feels like he can shake and kill them better than the shorter ones. He also prefers they be softer and more flexible rather than stiff.

And since it was such a nice day...

Naturally, we go hiking.

Despite the warmer temperatures, it still gets kinda cold at night, and there is still snow on the mountains.

Conker ass-picture. I actually really like this one...

Obligatory bench.

Since spring is right around the corner, I figured I'd take some pictures of the plants that are popping up at Cathedral Hills.

This one is always there, actually, but still worthy of a picture.

A day in the Life of The Emperor

This morning...

I found Conker on the couch. He's not supposed to be on the couch. He thinks otherwise.

Conker got some chicken for breakfast (he eats raw chicken now!) along with all his supplements, an egg, and some beef liver. He'll get some pork later tonight.

We went for a short walk. Conker investigated some shrubbery.

He begged for cheese as I watched a documentary about salmon.

We played fetch-tug in the front yard. This is Conker's favorite toy game, other than KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!

In other news...

Last month I taught Juneau how to tug after reading The Culture Clash. Juneau had never played tug before, and now she thinks it is just as good as fetch! She's really strong too. My next goal is to teach Sasha to play tug... Eventually.

M-12

 Here is Conker basking in the yard. I was reading a book.

I took Conker on a walk to the petshop. That collar he's wearing keeps breaking. I'm getting a new one soon.

On the way home, Conker found a large pinecone. He claimed it and destroyed it.

Conker has blown a good chunk of his coat. I brushed out what was loose, but he still has about half of it left in there somewhere. His knee has been flip-flopping between okay and meh. Looks like there may be some slight improvement going on.

This Weekend

We had a yard sale. There was a HOARD of people waiting for us to "open" at 9AM yesterday morning. One lady was a total bitch and was yelling at us before 9 (we were totally not ready) and was just being an ass as we rushed to get all the shit organized.  The second 9 rolled around, they piled in like a stampede and began to grab stuff and demand to know how much it cost. (Thanks to the bitchy lady we did not get anything priced since she kept interrupting us.)
There had to be at least 20 people. Stuff probably walked without getting paid for. It was insane.
Poor Conker got trapped in the back by the hoard and was looking around with a huge "Oh my GOD, get me OUT OF HERE!" expression on his face. Then he spotted an opening and rapidly booked it to the safety of the house.

Anywho...

After things calmed down, I brought Conker back out and he decided to bask on the porch.

He changed positions a few times and continued to bask. When he wasn't basking he was following people around as they browsed the crap we were trying to sell to them.

I got Conker to lay on a foldup table thing. It was pretty cute.

The Emperor is not amused...

I took a break from the yardsale to drive REALLY FAST over to a friend's house to walk her two dogs.*

I took Conker along with me.

We take this one long route that passes by a large field. There are often cows in it. The dogs all stared as we walked by.

The cows showed a small amount of interest. One even came up to the fence and sniffed at Conker and Lucky, then left to go eat some more grass with the other bovines.

The next day...

Conker did some more basking as we sold more crap to people.

The end.

*I was not actually going over 120 MPH. The speedometer on my Mom's Envoy doesn't work correctly. It lies. By a lot. It also needs an oil change.

Halo Spots Stew: Lamb

The next kibble on the list was made by Halo. I got the Lamb one to try out first and also have the Surf & Turf for a later date.

Ingredients:

Lamb, Whole Peas, Eggs, Oats, Pearled Barley, Chicken Liver, Pea Protein, Vegetable Broth, Flax Seed, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Calcium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Inulin, Taurine, Salt, Vitamins (Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate , Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein 27.0% (Min)
Crude Fat 15.0% (Min)
Crude Fiber 6.5% (Max)
Moisture 10.0% (Max)
4,350 kcal/kg
435 kcal/cup

At first glance this kibble appears to be moderately meaty, has a moderate-low protein content, contains some grains, and generally looks alright. The protein content is on the lower side than I like, but I decided to give it a shot anyways.

The kibbles are small and flat, a brownish color with faint green specks. There are dried carrots and peas mixed in with the kibbles. It has an incredibly strong veggie scent, something I find completly unusual since it is the first kibble I've noticed doesn't smell like generic low-quality "dog food" nor the higher-quality "meaty" kibbles.

Upon first offering, Conker thought it was awesome. Then he quickly decided it was sub-par and would only finish small amounts, like usual, unless mixed with an egg or bacon grease.

Conker rapidly developed a doggy smell on this kibble, and his feet began to smell like fritos. That's new and not welcome. His energy levels were meh, but poop looked alright. A bit more voluminous than I like, but not bad.


Anyways, I did not feed this to Conker long due to his lack of interest and my dissatisfaction right off the bat. It's a bit misleading, as far as actual meat content goes. Upon further discrimination of the label, I realized that the 3 of the top 5 ingredients are plants, and pea protein is pretty high up on the list as well. That makes a good chunk of the protein come from plants (peas), not meat, as I originally thought. It probably contributed to the heavy veggie smell as well.

In general, I was dissatisfied with this food. It is a quality food, but not one that I'd readily feed again.
The Girls got to finish this bag since Conker was switched to full raw in the middle of it.


All further kibble trials will be conducted on the Girls. I'll most likely feed two at a time and use different formulas for each dog. I'm a bit sick of trying out commercial foods on Conker due to his reluctance to eat most of them and deteriorating knee health.
Overall, I have been unhappy with the results of the various kibbles compared to his previous raw/homemade diet.