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.

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.

Ugh

Conker is having digestive issues again. Right when I was settling into him having a regular(ish) system it goes all whack on me again. This time though, he's not only got nastyass mucus shit, but there was blood in it. That is a first for Conker, and it worries me greatly to have seen that.

Anywho...

This is also new.

Conker walks (quickly) around with his head and tail low, back hunched, and will stop to lick his butt often and intensely. It's a bit inflamed looking, but I have not seen any signs of bites or parasites. Sometimes he will stand around with his tail low and looks quite uncomfortable. He occasionally whines. When he's resting, he does not look very happy, and will frequently lick his butt or get up and walk quickly around like he does in the video. He goes outside a lot and walks around.

Other than the bloody mucus shit, he is not having problems pooping.

I don't know what the fuck is going on this time.

A not-walk

Where's the Shiba?

Right there.

Conker's pads have gotten worse. He wanted to go for a walk today, so I tried to plan a route that would use the smoothest pavement possible. My hope was that no further damage would happen to his pads. I went barefoot (as I usually do) so I could judge the harshness of the pavement. None of what we walked on was nasty, as some of it can be in this neighborhood.

Anyways, my plan didn't work. About 1/4 mile in Conker began to lag behind. This is very abnormal for him, he never does that. Usually he's forging ahead and testing the strength of his collar and leash. So I stop and check his pads. 

Yep, they are wearing off again.

Instead of turning around and going home, I put Conker on my shoulders and carried him the rest of the 1 3/4 mile walk. He wanted to go out dangit, he was going to finish the walk even if it meant him riding on my shoulders for the vast majority of it.

Only one car stopped to see if my dog was okay. The guy asked if I needed a ride. I was about 1/2 mile from home so I thanked him and declined his offer. One other driver talked to me, but he told me:

"You are supposed to walk them! Not carry them!" Before he blasted through a stop sign.

So, no more pavement walks for Conker. If he wants to go out, he gets carried until we find some grass. This is going to be so fun.

Pads

Conker's pads are wearing off. We walked to the hardware store today (that is only about 1.5 miles away) and Conker was fine. But on the way home I noticed him limping very slightly in the front. One foot, then the other... Conker doesn't limp on his front feet, he limps on the right back foot.
So I stop to check his feet out. All the pads, mostly the toes, have small bits worn off!

The right hind foot has the least amount of wear. He does not put a whole lot of weight on that leg and takes maybe a 3/4 stride.

This is a bit puzzling since his pads were fine last night. The sidewalk and asphalt we walked on was normal, not overly harsh or nothin. And we didn't run, he wasn't pulling, and it wasn't hot.
I am thinking that even though we walk a lot at night, his pads are soft. They did get a bit damaged from the cold in Alaska (which I feel terrible about, and also happened to my hands and feet) and maybe they just finally couldn't hack it, or something.

So I am going to lay off on the pavement walks, stick to grass and whatnot, maybe get him some socks to wear if we do go out on the pavement. I'll probably increase his oysters slightly (for zinc) and apply some vitamin E to help the pads heal.


I saw this sort of thing often at the sleddog kennel. The pads began to wear like this before they got bad and wore or tore down to the flesh underneath. The dogs had vitamin E oil put on and were either rested or wore booties when they were run.

Conker's current supplements

Several people have asked about this lately, so here goes.

6 of 8 supplements, 2 not pictured

Conker gets an assortment of supplements for various reasons. Some are diet related, others for specific reasons. Several are important to him in some way or another, there is a noticeable change (negatively) when he goes not get some of them.


Fish Oil (large golden soft gels)
Conker gets fish oils for many reasons. The main reason he gets fish oil is that they are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids which are very important for the living body. Commercially raised meats are very low in O3's, so I supplement with fish oil to replenish them. I also give fish oil since it is good for the skin and coat and has anti-inflammatory properties.
Conker will readily eat these on his own. He likes to pop them.

Vitamin E (not pictured, liquid form)
Vitamin E is also something that is low in factory farmed meats. Omega 3's can deplete the vitamin E in the body, so Conker gets vitamin E since he gets a large amount of fish oils for his size. Vitamin E is an important anti-oxidant so I supplement it to ensure he gets proper levels.

Probiotics (small white capsule)
Conker gets this to ensure he digests his food properly. He does a lot better when he gets probiotics more often than less. Sometimes I do not give him any for a day or two. Probiotics are also good for the immune system.

Chicory Root (not pictured, brown powder)
A type of prebiotic that contains inulin, food for probiotic bacteria. I have noticed an increase in good digestion when Conker gets this. Like the probiotics, he does not always get it daily.

MSM (large white capsule)
Conker gets this due to his Luxating Patella. It is supposedly good for ligaments.

Glucosamine/Chondroitin (brown tablet)
Conker also gets this one due to the LP. Both of these are given as a preventive measure.

Kelp (tiny bit in the center, recently added)
I just started using kelp so I have not noticed anything good yet. I use kelp to supplement iodine. Conker gets 1/4 of a tablet, supplementing about half of his daily requirement.

Green Lipped Mussel (greenish capsule, recently added)
Scientific studies have suggested that this particular critter has beneficial properties, namely joint protection and whatnot. (They also suggest that glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM does relatively little, while GLP is noticeably more effective.) I am experimenting with it to see if it does anything or not. It is relatively inexpensive, and Conker loves the powder.


Two more things I consider (whole food) supplements are canned oysters and clams. I need very small amounts to meet Conker's needs of the nutrients they supply, so it is inexpensive to use them.

Oysters
I give these for their high zinc content, which is pretty low in most meats, even red meats. Conker's coat and nails are in much better condition when he gets oysters.
I could just use a zinc supplement, but Conker really likes his canned oysters.

Clams
Clams are high in iron and also have some copper. I use clams when I feed Conker a lot of poultry and less red meat/hearts. I do not always use them.
I could also get an iron supplement, but I prefer to use whole foods when possible.

I also pull the membranes out of eggshells since I have read that it could be good for the joints.


Gee that's a lot for one dog. But he's a problematic dog. I have no issue with spending a bit more to than usual keep him healthy.



If you would like scientific studies pertaining to specific supplements and their usage, feel free to drop me a comment and I'll post link(s) for you.

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.

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.

Fish Day!

Today I gave the dogs each a headless "Extra Fancy" whiting. The fish were part of the free meat I got off Craigslist, and some of the only actually usable stuff. (I had to pitch most of it as it was way to old or just plain nasty.)

Conker briefly investigated the fish, then decided he wanted nothing to do with them. I put his fish back into the freezer for another day.

Sasha instantly knew what to do with her fish. Before I fed the Girls the baby Beef, Sasha would just hold whatever I gave her in her mouth and gnash it, or would lay on the ground with it. Now, after experiencing the baby Beef, she stands on top of it with both paws and rips off large shreds like a wolf. It's nifty to watch her eat.

Growlyface

At first Juneau didn't really know what to do with her fish. She lay down and licked it all over and wouldn't bite it until I checked on her and told her it was okay to eat it. Then she got right to work on it. Juneau will only use her feet for really large or tough items. She chews off pieces of her food, and once it's small enough, just smashes up the rest as one chunk.


A little while later...

Conker got a frozen hunk of turkey misc. (This is what I mean when I say "Turkey misc." in the monthly expenses posts. Turkey neck, gizzard, liver and heart, or backs.) I was going to give it to Conker after it had mostly thawed but since he almost never eats the gizzard (good source of iron and niacin, as well as potassium and selenium) I decided to try the whole package raw.

Conker was delicate at first. Taking small nibbles here, little tugs there. This is how he always starts out eating raw foods now. I guess he wants to make sure it's safe, or something, before digging in.

I wasn't gonna let him have the whole neck, but after he got over the "is it dangerous?" stage he was crunching and munching happily so I just let him finish it all.

Dork

Conker finished the whole package, including the entire gizzard! Good boy Conker.

An observation...

It's cold outside. But that has never bothered Conker before (except for when it was -45 in Alaska). I noticed yesterday that Conker was shivering when I fed him outside. I thought it was odd, and made a mental note of it. He did the same thing today. He was shivering a lot, actually. This is really strange since he still has most of his undercoat, so the cold (around 35 or so) should not be bothering him at all.

I know that the frozen turkey misc could have contributed, but he was shivering before he began to eat it.

Makes me think he's got a thyroid problem...

Pukka's Promise: The Quest For Longer Lived Dogs

I do not usually do book reviews, but I felt that this book deserved one.

Pukka's Promise is written by Ted Kerasote, the author of my favorite dog book Merle's Door.
Merle's Door was a huge inspiration for the way I have gone about raising Conker. This book is the greatest reason why he is allowed off-leash as often as possible, why he eats a healthy diet, and why I started this blog.

Onwards!

Ted Kerasote's writing style is incredible. He is both a great storyteller and analyst. He is able to combine those two things into this book about how we can attempt to find a way for our dogs to live longer. He talks about his previous dog, Merle, and compares how Merle and Pukka were raised, some of the differences between the two, and their similarities.

There are several topics in this book. he writes about today's current breeding practices, nutrition, vaccines, enviromental pollutants, spaying and neutering, caner, and animal shelters.

A couple of my favorite bits are what I'll talk about.

Kerasote points out how today's show breeders, the supposed elite and "responsible" ones, are one of the biggest reasons for the current lack of genetic health in many breeds. Popular sires, and eliminating dogs from the gene pool for something as simple as a slightly wrong marking, amongst other things, are seriously hurting the overall health and well being of dogs by severely limiting the gene pool. He went through an exhaustive search when he was looking for his next dog, a dog whom he wanted to he healthy in all meanings of the word; mentally, physically, and genetically, something that today's show breeders don't often put on their list of priorities. 

The chapters on nutrition have some interesting parts in them. One bit is about rendering. We've all heard the stories of how euthanized dogs and cats end up in commercial kibbles, and how "4 D" animals are commonly turned into pet foods. Kerasote talks with and visits a few rendering facilities, and the information he uncovers is quite interesting.
The argument over grains in dog food is not left out either. Should dogs eat corn? Is a question he asks. He attempts to get some of the big-name petfood companies to talk with him, but at the last moment, they all back out for various reasons. I wonder why... Other grains are also talked about and how they could possibly be a cause of many of the ailments modern dogs suffer from today.
Raw foods are brought up with some interesting stuff written about it.

Then spay/neuter debate is not left out. Kerasote talks about the supposed "pet overpopulation" and questions if spaying and neutering all pets is really a good idea. He suggests alternatives to spaying and neutering, and talks about how the overall health of dogs is affected by the surgery. Negatively, in many cases. I found this chapter particularly interesting.


Overall, this book is very well researched, quite interesting, and is neither boring you to death with science or drowning you in stories. I loved every bit of it and think that anyone with a shred of interest in dogs should read it and actually pay attention to what Kerasote writes.

Conker's Luxating Patella Journal

I have decided to write up a post where I will come back and add in things I notice about Conker's Luxating Patella. I need somewhere to keep track of this, so I figured I'd post it on the blog since that's how I keep track of Conker's food stuff.


History.

I first noticed a possible problem with Conker's knees way back in St. Louis when he was still a little demonic pup. His joints snapped, crackled, and popped (like the cereal) sometimes, and I thought it was odd that a young dog's joints did this. I asked around a bit. I did not get any definative answers, only that it might be X, or Y, or maybe A and C, but no one was sure that the noises were indicative of anything. So I just kept an eye out for anything odd, but paid special attention to Conker's knees since Luxating Patellas are common in Shibas.

The first time I wrote about Conker's Luxating Patella was on April 3rd 2011. It was an infrequent occurrence, and did not appear to cause Conker any problems. The knee would go back in on it's own 80% of the time, and I had a vet show me how to put it back in correctly so I didn't damage the joint further. Conker was around 8 months old when I found this out. his knees were diagnosed as "Barely a grade 1." on the right and "Basically non-existent." on the left. Vet's words, not mine. Good news! I thought at the time, but I still did what I could to ensure his joints wouldn't get damaged further.
I began to give Conker increased dosages of fish oils and added in joint supplements to his diet.

The next time I wrote about it was in June 2011 when his LP seemed to get better. I was still giving him fish oils and various joint supplements. I did not know if those actually helped or what, so I kept it up just in case they were. Conker had been eating an entirely raw/homecooked diet for 7 months and was now almost one year old.

Fast forwards to October 2012. Conker had previously been on raw/homecooked foods for one year and five months, but had now been eating commercial foods for 5 months. His LP began to occur more frequently than before, and was more severe when it happened. Now I had to manually replace the kneecap 50% of the time it went out. Conker was still getting joint supplements.

This is when we went to Alaska, and Conker basically got zero exercise other than when he was taken out to do his stuff in the yard, or when he was penned and raising hell since he wanted to be near me. Conker was eating EVO Red Meat and still got fish oils and joint supplements. However, he now only put light weight on the right leg, unless he was running or walking briskly. Whenever he stood only his toes were touching the ground. He started to hold his entire leg up during December and January and began to use only the Left when he walked. His right knee was now almost constantly luxated in some manner or another. Manual replacement only resulted it it slipping right back out.

Back in Oregon... I started giving Conker more fresh foods and increased his joint supplements and fish oils. I saw no immediate improvement. I started Conker on an exercise program (hiking) and he put on some much needed muscle that he lost while immobile in Alaska. His knee briefly got better, but shortly returned to "toes touching, light weight only" status. Much to my annoyance, the full leg lift returned as well. To top that off, he's developed a funky gait in his right rear leg where the part of the leg below the knee is held at an odd angle.
(You can see the leg lift here, here, and here, the toe touch here, and here, and the odd gait here and here.)


The here and now.

Conker is still eating commercial foods, but I have reduced the amount to less than 1/2 of the overall diet. Once what I've got on-hand is gone I will most likely cut out all commercial foods and resume a completely raw/homecooked diet. I might even stop feeding Conker the commercial foods sooner than that and just feed what's left to the Girls. It all depends on how pissed off I get.

Conker currently gets two 1200mg fish oil capsules (around 900mg of EPA and DHA combined), 500mg Glucosamine, 400mg Chondroitin, 500mg MSM, and the membranes of at least one eggshell daily. This stuff is not meant to treat Luxating Patella, but to help reduce inflammation and possible joint damage from slippage, and as a preventative measure against arthritis. Which I am convinced this joint is going to be riddled with by the time Conker is 5.
The joint does not feel right to me. I am in no way a vet or whatever, but I can tell the thing is off. It feels nothing like his left knee, which has otherwise been in excellent health as far as I can tell, nor does it resemble either of the Girl's knee joints. I cannot describe it, just that it feels wrong. It is most likely inflamed or swollen. Or something worse. Who knows.

Conker still uses the leg normally about 50% of the time, loves to hike, and will still run around like the maniac he is. Other than not putting weight on the leg some of the time and biting at the joint (a sign of discomfort or pain), he shows nothing else to indicate that his leg is bugging him. But it is, or he would be using it normally and wouldn't bite at it.


The worst part about all this is that I can't afford to treat this properly. Can't afford the surgery to correct his patella, which I am starting to believe is not salvageable anyways. I can't even afford to take Conker to the vet to get some damn x-rays.
Hopefully I will be able to soon, but I highly doubt it.
My belief is that Conker's right knee has increased to grade 3, based on his current symptoms.



Updates.

3/26/13
Conker has been back on raw foods for just over 4 weeks now. I have seen a slight improvement in how he carries his leg, and he will now put his full weight on it on ocassion. He still holds it up or toe-touches a lot though.
Conker is currently getting MSM every day.






Causes of Luxating Patella in Dogs.

Luxating Patella can be caused by a few things. Most commonly it is a genetic issue. Shallow trochlear grooves and weak tendons are two causes. Unfortunately, LP is strongly believed to be hereditary. So if one or both of your dog's parents had it, there's a good possibility that yours will too. It could also be from some other sort of joint defect (inbreeding is a strong cause of such things). It might be caused by an injury to the knee, possibly from trauma to the leg like landing incorrectly from a jump or getting rammed into by something (another dog, perhaps), or from a very sharp and fast turn. Poor nutrition can also affect joint growth and overall health. It has even been linked to altering, which if done early (as in Conker's case) can negatively affect the joints of growing dogs, especially males.
A dog with Luxating Patella has an increased risk of tearing the cruciate ligaments. There is a huge increase of this if the dog has been altered, regardless of when the procedure was done. 

I believe Conker's LP is caused by a possible combination of things. Namely:
1. Poor genetics. He is, after all, a puppy mill dog. They don't breed for health in those places. It's incredibly common for mill Shibas to develop Luxating Patella of various severity in one or both knees, which makes me think this is a very probable cause.
2. Early neutering. The shelter I got him from had him neutered at around 2 1/2 months old. I now know that is a very stupid and horrible thing to do and will no longer support anyone who does this.
3. Possible injury. I can't remember if Conker might have twisted that joint wrong when I was with him, but I think it's recent degeneration might have been hurried along by an injury I did not witness. He gets an immense amount of unsupervised time in the backyard. Something easily could have happened while chasing a cat, fence-fighting with a neighbor's dog (I've tried to stop this), or jumping off the pool deck into the bushes.
4. Nutrition. Mill dogs are generally not fed high-quality diets. He was also not fed a quality diet while at the shelter, which might have helped lead to his condition. I have noticed though, that his LP seems to get worse when he eats lower protein foods (below 30%) regardless of type, and it also seems to worsen when he eats commercial foods. Nutrition is one of the biggest the building blocks of health so his poor diet as a pup might have contributed to the condition.


How is Luxating Patella Diagnosed?

Symptoms of Luxating Patella are but not limited to: Skipping a few steps or "bunny hopping", popping sound in the knee, holding the affected leg up briefly or for extended periods of time, biting at the joint, limping, "donkey kicking", or crying.
Diagnosis is done by a veterinarian who will manipulate the dog's knee joints in and out of place and be able to give a general grading based on how the patella performs and by comparing described symptoms and watching the dog walk. X-rays can be used to determine how shallow the trochlear groove is, if some other deformity is the cause, or if arthritis is present in the joint.

Grade 1: The patella can be pushed out of the groove manually, but it returns to position when pressure is released.
Grade 2: The patella can be pushed out of the groove manually or can spontaneously move to the side when the joint is flexed, and it remains out of place until it is manually repositioned.
Grade 3: The patella remains out of the groove most of the time, but can be manually repositioned with the joint extended. However, flexing and extending the joint results in the patella slipping out of place again.
Grade 4: The patella is out of the groove at all times. Moreover, it cannot be manually repositioned. The trochlea is either too shallow or is missing all together.


How is Luxating Patella treated?

Depending on the severity of the condition, Luxating Patella can be treated by simply increasing straight-line exercise, providing a high-quality diet, and adding preventative joint supplements. Or with surgery. Dogs that need surgery are usually those with grades 3 and 4 Luxating Patella(s) but sometimes a dog with grade 2 is a candidate. Surgery is usually one of two procedures: Deepening of the trochlear groove and/or modification of the connecting patellar ligaments.

Small Conker Update

Baby Beef day 6: More legbones! And a bunch of organs.

Conker briefly investigated the bones but would not lick them. He still won't touch any part of the Baby Beef.

Anywho...

Conker has developed inconsistent eating habits again. His old favorite, raw eggs, are no longer a favorite and have been reduced to "No, I'm not going to eat that." status. He will sometimes eat his kibble, sometimes, but hardly ever finishes a full portion in one sitting. Sometimes he does, but not as the norm. He loves raw bacon though, and that is how I get him to eat his supplement pills. Not the best thing to use, but it works. For now.

He also doesn't seem to have any interest whatsoever in any form of normally fed raw foods. He used to be fine with turkey necks, now they are bad. Beef liver is bad. Chicken is bad. Even ground beef is bad!

I am starting to think he's got some other sort of digestive problem in addition to not digesting stuff normally. Now that he's been eating mainly kibble for a while now, I believe it is going to be tough to, digestively, transfer him back to raw foods. He is able to eat kibble and raw intermittently, without digestive issues, but he has occasionally thrown up after eating some raw items. This is a new problem that has not been an issue in the past. Digestive upset that results in nastyass poop is what I'd expect from this, not throwing up. That is a new symptom.
Maybe it's an acid reflux problem. Either way, whenever he throws up after eating something, no matter what it is, he becomes averse to that item in any form.

Oh, and he has no interest in his previous favorite chews, bully sticks. So now I've got all these bully sticks sitting around and he won't touch them. 

I am once again on a quest to figure out what is wrong with Conker's digestive system. Is it this new kibble? Is it because it's chicken-based? Is it some other problem that's been hidden for a while and is just now showing it's ugly head? Or is he just being a jackass? I have no idea what it might be.

Whatever it is, it hasn't affected him in any other manner except appetite, which is big but not for his foods. He is still the obnoxious Emperor Conker and is still a very energetic dog, enjoys hikes, and loves to play rough games.
I do not think a vet visit is in order unless that begins to change.

Oh Yay!

The Girls have worms. I don't know if Conker has them too, I do not think so, but I have suspected something along those lines for a few days now. Poop has not been, satisfactory, so I "explored" a couple turds and found some little round-tubular-shaped worms (not tape segments, thankfully) in a couple of them. So totally happy about that.

Other than when I put them on heartworm preventives this past summer, the Girls have not, to my knowledge, been dewormed. Ever. Conker had been several times by the shelter I got him at as well as when he was put on heartworm preventives, and before I went to Alaska.  I guess it's a bit my fault since I have basically taken over the Girls' care, but they are also Mom's responsibility, so she takes a bit of the blame as well.
I don't yet know where these worms came from, I do not think I ever will either.

Upon discovery of the little nasties, I promptly ran out to the Grange to grab some deworming medication. Last time I did this for just Conker I got the canine safe-guard dewormer for about $10. It would cost (with the current local price) about $55 to deworm all three dogs using that product. Instead, I bought the goat safe-guard dewormer since it is the exact same chemical, but in a different form (liquid instead of granules) and concentration (10% instead of 22%).
I learned a few tricks about saving money when it comes to this sort of thing during my stay at the sleddog kennel, like using this variation of the dewormer instead of the other one, as well as proper dosages for this (fenbendazole) and other (pyrantel pamoate, ivermectin) dewormers in various concentrations.*
Anyways, the 125ml bottle cost me $20 and will treat all three dogs for three days in a row (which is what you do with fenbendazole) twice. I saved about $90 right there.

The Grange did not have any liquid pyrantel pamoate for some reason, so I only got the fenbendazole. I wanted both just to have them on-hand since I prefer to rotate dewormers instead of using the same one every time. I guess I'll check the other two smaller feed-stores next time I am near them to see if they've got it.

So starting tomorrow all three dogs will get dewormed, then again in a few weeks just to be sure the little buggers are gone.


*No I will not share this information. In the event of someone attempting to DIY ends up killing their pet, even if they followed my dosages exact and did not overdose or whathaveyou, I do not want to have been the source that resulted in that pet's death. If you are really that curious about it, ask your vet. Or figure it out yourself, the math is really not that hard. Either way I recommend you talk to your vet first.

Those joints

As you may or may not know, Conker has Luxating Patella. I've known about it since he was about 8 months old or so, and I have tried a couple joint things and was generally pleased with them.
Well, the joint slippage has been just an occasional thing for a while, but when I started testing out various kibbles I stopped giving Conker "therapeutic" doses of fish oil (sometimes completely cutting it out) and instead just giving a "maintenance" dose, and I cut any joint things I was giving him at the time as well. With the exception of when he was being stupid about food, Conker has remained a pretty active dog.
So, what's the purpose of this writing?
I have noticed an increase in Conker's knee slippage, especially the right knee. It's bugging me with how frequently they slip, and how they don't go back in right away on their own. I have also noticed him biting at his knees, usually after one of them has slipped. I'm not exactly glad to see this, and I asked around about it, so I am going to restart the joint supplements and increase his fish oil. I will also be doing a few back leg strengthening exercise things to build the muscles up a bit more.

A trend I have noticed is that when Conker is on lower protein foods, he loses muscle mass and gains fat. So, I will either cut out all lower protein (below 30%) foods from the trials or mix meats and eggs into them to boost the protein. I am less concerned about how Conker does on the food (without mixins) and more concerned about his joint health, so I will be "sacrificing" some results because of that.
Which is a bit funny, since I'd feed the food with mixins if he were on it long-term anyways so... Yeah.

Progress

I have refrained from posting about this for a while since I wanted to be sure we were on the right track. It's nothing too big, just an update on Conker's condition and eating habits.

For several months, Conker was not eating normally. He would outright refuse food he otherwise loved. I was not "allowed", due to financial restraints, to take him to the vet (unless something more serious showed up) so I was immensely stressed out about it for quite some time. That didn't help any at all, since I was quite easy to set off and I redirected my frustrations and fury onto other people.

This is not the first time Conker was too skinny for my liking. When he was 6-9 months old, right in the middle of his first major digestive crisis and for a while after, he was pretty dang lanky. His thick winter fur that grew in due to the cold and snow in St. Louis hid how skinny he really was.
Conker has always been tough to keep weight on. When he was on raw-foods only, he never went over 24 pounds. Granted, he was a ton more active then, but even if I upped his food, he did not gain weight. After I added in oatmeal, Conker's weight rose to about 24.5 pounds even though he maintained his very active lifestyle. The additional weight he put on, I will mention since I think it is significant, was not fat. It was all muscle.

This more recent bout of concern was not due to digestive issues. It's been a long long time since any of those have surfaced (excluding testing a singular food substance) but due to Conker not eating. He's had periods of refusing certain foodstuffs, but not entire meals, or anything that's offered to him. The longest he went without eating anything, not even what he "wanted" was 8 days. Excluding that ordeal, he was otherwise eating, but it was barely more than 2/3rds cup of kibble on "good" days.
Conker hit "bottom" right after the Bend trip, on which he ate nothing but chicken and beef jerky, and only a handful at best. He weighed just 23 pounds, which is a huge decrease in weight for such a small dog. His ribs, hips, and spine were very easily felt. I was really unnerved at this time.

Shortly after, Conker's appetite jump-started a bit. He would eat a cup of kibble with an egg mixed in, if I spread it out over two feedings a day. He slowly began to gain a bit of weight. All of a sudden, at the end of July, he decided his hunger strike was over and would eat whatever I offered him in almost any amount. He quickly packed on the pounds (a bit of fat, but mostly muscle) and now weighs 25 pounds! That's the most he has ever weighed. He still looks a bit skinny to me, but his ribs have a healthy covering of muscle on them, his spine is harder to feel, and his hips don't stick out like they did a couple months ago.

Conker now eats a "large" cup of kibble and an egg every day. Large as in about 1 1/3 cups. Not a huge amount, but this particular kibble has a ton of calories in it so I generally need to feed less of it anyways.
He has also eaten, quite enthusiastically I might add, several raw meals whenever the Girls get one. (With no digestive upsets!) He is back to eating anything I toss at him and looks forwards to meal times every day, harassing the Girls and making a ruckus as I prepare their food.
Which I've mentioned a million times already, but I need to get a video of it. It's hilarious.

Conker's Vet Visit

I took Conker to the vet today for an exam and rabies vaccine. I asked them if they could do a distemper/parvo shot too, and SPECIFICALLY asked for ONLY distemper and parvo. I ask: "Is that only distemper and parvo?" They say, "Yup!" So I let them give it.

When I get back home, I look at the bill and I notice that the vaccine's name consists of quite a few letters, more than I thought it would. I look it up...
FUCK
Conker got vaxed unnecessarily for adenovirus and parainfluenza on top of rabies, distemper, and parvo all in one day. Fucking liars. That really pisses me off.
The rabies shot only cost $9.50. But I would have outright refused the other vaccine if I knew what the hell it really was and saved myself $17.

Anywho, Conker was scared entire visit but was generally good. I got him microchipped, had a heartworm test (negative), got some heartworm preventative, and has his knees looked at. They are barely even grade 1 (manual exam only) so that is good. Really good, actually, as long as they don't get worse from slipping out or some sort of accident.
And they didn't bring up diet, so I didn't either. They really liked how soft Conker was though, so I told them it was the salmon oil.

So, while I really like this vet office since they are nice with the dogs and try to get to know them before doing stuff and plan on going back for whatever, that still doesn't make it okay to lie to my fucking face about the vaccine.


Here's a picture of Conker being stupid to make this post interesting.

Piss on your lies

The little dumbass lost that spiffy Zuke's bandanna yesterday when I took him hiking and he tore off into the woods after some animal and didn't come back for a while. Ticked me off that did. But he came back and that's the only thing that matters really so no harm done.
Except for losing that bandanna. It cost me $1 dammit.

Conker's Food Prep: Supplements!

 Last post was about grain meals and how I plot and prepare one.

Today's subject is supplements.
An often debated topic in the canine nutrition world is supplements; what to use, how often, how many, or even at all. For a dog eating kibble, unless they show signs of a problem, they usually don't need a supplement. (If they do have a problem, they probably shouldn't be eating that kibble anyways.)

Conker gets a couple supplements for various reasons. Some of them are because I think they will help in the future, and others are for current conditions.
Right now Conker gets:

Salmon/fish oil: Supplies omega-3's which are basically non-existent in factory farmed meats. Also act as an anti-inflammatory and has been shown to promote heart health, amongst other things (Dunno how true those claims are, though. I have yet to read enough studies on it.) Conker gets one 1,000mg capsule a day. That seems to work well for keeping his skin and coat nice.
I have actually run out of these and ordered a ton from this place. They should get here relatively soon.

Vitamin E: If you supplement fish oils and there isn't Vitamin E in it, you need to add it. Omegas deplete the Vitamin E in the body and can cause problems if the two are not given together. I use low-dose capsules (around 100 IU) since I don't like to over-do stuff. Vitamin E is also an antioxidant.

Chicory Root: I saw an experiment on DesertWindHounds about chicory (contains inulin, a type of prebiotic) and did a little reading on it. I liked what I saw, so I gave it a shot myself. The results were spiffy; increased digestion with smaller and less smelly poop! I don't talk about it much but I really like this addition to Conker's diet.
Note: I tried two different kinds of chicory. Raw ground and roasted ground. There was very little change in digestion with the raw, so I tried roasted, and digestion improved greatly. It's cheap, and works best when grains are included.

Lithe Tea: I currently give Conker this stuff to see if it helps with his joints. It's an herb mixture, and honestly, I have no idea if it works or not. I still have more than half of the tin left, so a long time to continue the experiment before I make a decision. It smells nice though, and Conker doesn't think it's nasty so I make his oats with it.

Sardines/mackerel: I consider the canned fish a supplement since I include it for only one reason: Vitamin D. This vitamin is important for proper bone growth and regulates calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood. It's not something you should leave out. Conker needs about 1.25 ounces of canned fish a day to meet his Vitamin D requirements.

Coconut Oil: I use this when I feed The Honest Kitchen or a meal with little fat. It contains Omega-6 (not O-3) and I use it to boost fat content in a meal. Conker needs a lot of fat, and just 1 teaspoon adds enough.

Heavy whipping cream: Also a fat-booster. I add this to grain meals, or to THK, or to something Conker isn't quite fond of eating. I usually give him about 1 tablespoon or slightly less.

K-9 Glucosamine: I used this for some months last year as an experiment in how well it protected Conker's joints. I liked it and will probably use it again. You can see the review I did on it here.

Probiotics: When I switched Conker to raw foods I gave him one of these. I used one called Gentle Digest and it worked nicely to help get Conker's digestive system under control. I do not use one anymore since he is doing fine, but I keep some on hand for those just-in-case moments. You can read the review I did on this product here.

PlaqueOff: I didn't actually use this with Conker, it was for the Girls, but it worked in softening up the nasty tartar buildup on their teeth.

Apple Cider Vinegar: Not exactly a supplement, but I used this when Conker magically got two fleas from another dog as an experiment in prevention. I killed them before they could make more fleas though, so it's not exactly got a purpose anymore. I still use it, to see if it can actually do anything to repel them or not, but I am doubtful that it actually works.

And those are the supplements I use.


Tune in tomorrow for a post detailing how to use Nutritiondata to balance home-made dog food.

How I decide on what goes into Conker's food

I've gone into it a couple times but never really in detail.

Over the past year I have learned a lot about canine nutrition through talking with other dog owners online, websites, and most importantly, scientific research. Never leave that last one out. Having scientific facts to back you up is a lot better than "some person on the internet".
Granted, there are some truly knowledgeable people I have gotten information from, but again, it's better to understand why they say something than to just follow it blindly.
And I am so totally into the why of things, it's why I do so much research.

This is quite long, so I am putting it under a break.

Photo of Juneau's busted tooth.

I posted this a while back but I had someone request I show it, just in case she doesn't see my comment reply.

The tooth was the upper left carnassial and had a large enough chunk broken off that only about two sections of 1/3rd inch of tooth was left. The pulp was visible in three places and was a darkish brown color.  The break was sharp and jagged and caused Juneau some pain. She rubbed her face on the ground or with a paw frequently, which is a sign of discomfort or pain.

Due to the extent of the break we had to have the tooth extracted. That's not a cheap procedure but it's well worth the cost compared to what could happen if one were to ignore the tooth and let it abscess and rot. During the extraction the rest of Juneau's teeth were cleaned.  They didn't need it that badly but passing it up would have been kinda dumb since the cost of anesthesia and monitoring is what drives the price up so high.

My suspect for breaking the tooth is a rock. I say this because I had not given the dogs any hard bones or chews for a while. I could have missed an old one in the yard, but I haven't found any since the break occurred so I doubt that is the case.
Anywho, I think it was a rock since our yard has lots of rocks in it and the Girls like to chew on sticks, and sometimes they get rocks in their mouths when they chew out in the yard.