Today on the farm we dug up some oddities.

Large scrotal sacs!

(Not actually a scrotum.)

After work, since my Jeep is out of commission right now, I rode my bike to town to get some things.

This is the True Purpose of rear bicycle baskets.

After that I made up a veggie grind for the dogs. It consists of: Carrots, cucumbers, kale, chard, squash, a dash of cantaloup, and some white rice. Everything except the rice is from the farm.

This is Katana's dinner.
A chicken back, rice, egg, veggie grind, small bit of turkey liver, half turkey heart and gizzard.

Katana has had a couple digestive disturbances. He was eating Taste of the Wild when I got him but developed some problems with it, so I switched him to rice and turkey misc for a few days, then added in some other ingredients one by one. So far he is doing much much better (digestive wise) on whole/raw foods, so, like Conker, he gets to stay on them.

The other dogs are currently eating some old EVO (pre-recall) I had in my chest freezer before the move.


Juneau escaped the fence YET AGAIN so she gets to stay on her chain until I build a new fence. I'm not going to bother trying to mod the old one, I didn't do that great of a job on it and I don't see the point in dumping money into something I'm going to replace soon anyways.
The only problem with that is she barks while on the chain in the morning...

Salmon Tail

This was the 6th's meal.

Conker did not eat that salmon tail. I ended up giving it to Sasha since she hasn't had one yet.

This is Oncorhynchus nerka, Suk-kegh, or more commonly known as Sockeye. It is wild-caught fish but I do not know it's exact origin, only that is does come from the Pacific Northwest. 

There is a type of sickness that can be caused by eating raw salmon (or other salmonoids like trout) called salmon poisoning. This type only affects canids. 

Salmon poisoning is caused by a combination of two things. First, the fish needs to be carrying a fluke called Nanophyetus salmincola. The fluke carries a bacteria called Neorickettsia helminthoeca, a type of rickettsia. If the fish is carrying this fluke that is carrying the bacteria, the dog that eats it will most likely get infected.

Symptoms can develop a week after eating the fish and can include: diarrhea, vomiting, depression, loss of appetite, fever, and enlarged lymph nodes. Salmon poisoning is treated with antibiotics (to kill the bacteria) and a chemical such as fenbendazole (to kill the flukes).

90% of dogs that do not receive treatment die from the condition. However, many dogs that are treated will be immune from developing the condition again.

Salmon poisoning can be prevented by not feeding any raw salmon(oids) other than those caught in far northern Alaskan waters, by freezing fish below -0 degrees for two weeks, or by cooking the fish. My salmon scraps have been frozen for several weeks.

Many dogs die from contracting salmon poisoning during or after the yearly salmon runs. This is a common occurrence in the Rouge Valley and the vets warn against taking dogs to the rivers and creeks during salmon season since the dogs could eat an infected fish they find on the banks.

Cathedral Hills

First, some breakfast.

This is a batch of mince that I stuck into a 8lb cookie dough container (quite a shock for anyone who still thinks there is macadamia white chocolate dough in there!) since Juneau and Sasha have put on some pudge and mince is a hellova lot easier for me to portion. The dogs will get mince for a short while with turkey necks/backs as boney treats.

Yumm.

Onto the news...

We went hiking today at Cathedral Hills! Juneau was, of course and as usual, a whacko-jet-dog, running all over the woods, bell jangling loudly, nose working quickly, feet moving so fast they were a blur...

As we were approaching Conker's log, he jumped up on it without me saying a word. Good boy!

He made a quick pose before taking off after the Rocket Dog.

We made many frequent water breaks. I have the dogs drink in order, starting with Conker, then Sasha, and finally Juneau last. I do it this way since Conker is a snob and doesn't really like to drink (out of a bowl) on hikes, so I have him go first. And I do Sasha before Juneau since Juneau will drink all the water.

This is the only decent three-dog photo I took of them today.

Then they blasted off at the speed of light, leaving a huge cloud of dust behind them.

Independance

Here's a little American cheer for you.

In other news...

This is what my dogs got for Independence Day.

Chicken, ground beef, (beef) liver and heart, eggs, veggie mix (various lettuces, spinach, squash, raddishes, oats), and goat milk! Sasha also got a strawberry top since she likes those.

Happy Birthday Emperor of Badass!

Today is Conker's birthday. He is now 3 years old. Like the past two years, I got him a cornish hen for his birthday feast.

He ate the whole thing and greatly enjoyed doing so!

So, I dewormed Conker with fenbendazole (liquid Safe-Guard) since his symptoms matched those of some possible worm infection. He got the 5 day regime, the Girls got the 3 day. So far, it seems to have worked. He is not obsessively licking his butt, standing around whining, walking quickly in that odd fashion, and the blood has disappeared from his poop.
Hmm.
Anywho, if that shows up again I will take him to the vet.


Here's some dog food.

Berries!

Dogs got homemade kefir in this meal.

June - 12

Today the dogs got:

Big bowls: Chicken leg hunks, beef meat and liver, eggs, minced veggies, goat milk.
Little bowl: Turkey neck hunk, beef meat and liver, egg, minced veggies, goat milk.
Conker is eating whole foods again (again). I will keep the mince I made ready for when he decides to once again (again) not eat whole foods or be choosy with what he'll eat.

Here's some pictures of the dogs eating their meals.

This picture is cruddy but shows that, despite her coat being thin and dull right now, it's still real shiny.

I like how when Conker eats his eyes look kinda primal.

Time for Food

Conker announces the readiness of the food.

This display was not as obnoxious as it usually is.

This is what they got:

Yurmmeh.

Goodies

Raw + whole foods.

They wait patiently for their food to be delivered. After Conker goes into a hysteric barkfest, of course.

In other news...

 

I got a Bark Box from My Rotten Dogs the other day! They dogs each got a turn chewing on that roasted bone (I don't give these normally) and each got to try the vegan veggie and barbecue treats. Obviously they liked the grill treats better, but I left them outside last night and something (raccoon) got into them. Oops. The toy is an eggplant from Planet Dog. I got excited about this since I was thinking of ordering a few toys from them. Juneau loves it and has claimed it as her new favorite toy. 

Well, lets try this again.

Conker is back on the mince. His stint on whole-foods was a good one compared to a few previous attempts, but he's decided he would like to be choosy with his food again, so he gets mince again.
*sigh*
Today I mixed up some mince for him that consists of chicken Q's, pork, beef, liver, chicken hearts, a few turkey bits, oats and rice, and the usual mixins. I also added in some "greens".

Here we have the chicken. Some ground, some being ground, and some waiting to be ground.

This is all the meats. Chicken, beef, pork, liver...

The freshly cooked grains. A mix of a dash more oats than rice. 

The greens were put through the mincer as well. I used a pound of "salad mix" from my farm that consists of some green and red lettuces. (Buttercrunch, Simpson, Red Romaine, Green Romaine, Red Oak, Red Merlot, etc.)

 

I added a few carrots and radishes to round out the greens mix. I only put a few handfuls into Conker's mix and will give the rest to the Girls.

Conker's completed mince.

Juneau and Sasha still get whole-foods. I do not need to mince their stuff. (That turkey neck is actually for Conker, he still likes and will eat those.)

Today's prepared meals.

May - 28th

The dogs join me on the porch while I read after work, usually after they have been fed. They have to wait until I get back around 4:30, I'm not getting up any earlier than I already do to feed them before I go to work.

They watch the goings on of the neighborhood, and occasionally take off after a cat or squirrel...

This is about 10 days worth of food, just the boney and meaty bits (chicken, beef, and pork for this round). The grain-mix, liver, eggs, and extras are stored on top of the lid in their own containers.

Today's meal included a small serving of finely chopped organic greens. I want to see how well the dogs tolerate them, since there are a lot of leftovers after the farmer's markets and we don't try to re-sell two day old greens. (I'm gonna try squash after this.) We eat them, or they are given to the chickens.


Speaking of chickens...

You know it's feeding time when 200 some odd chickens (and a few roosters) gather around the fences or gates when you walk by.