Holy baby cow!

So I have this ad up on craigslist asking about unwanted/freezerburnt meat. I repost it every week or so, haven't gotten a hit yet. Until today.

I am at a friend's house taking care of her dogs and my cell rings. It's a local number, I never get called from local numbers. Curious, I answer the phone.
"Hi, I saw you have an ad on craigslist for unwanted freezerburnt meat?" A man asks.
"Why yes, I do have an ad." I reply.
"I was wondering if you would be interested in a cow calf." Pause. "One of my calves died today."
Wait, did I hear that right? A calf? I concider it for a moment, think of saying no, then I reply...
"Sure, yes! I'd be interested."

After arranging a swap-site and running out to pick up a tarp, I meet the distraught Farmer at a farm supply/hardware store. He explains to me that the calf, barely a week and a half old, was fine until about five days ago. The Farmer had gone up to Washington for a few days and upon his return the calf was not looking too good. His mother, a wonderful cow, had a huge "bag" and her teats got too big for the calf to suckle on properly. The Farmer tried and tired to get the calf to nurse, even milked the cow and bottle fed him, but he just wouldn't eat. This was a huge blow to the Farmer, he has only five mother cows and this calf represented 20% of his potential income. In exchange for the calf, we agreed upon a price of $5, but I gave him $10. It was all I could spare. (Yes, I am that poor.)

Anywho, he didn't want the calf's body to go to waste and saw my ad and called me up, and was glad that I could use the entire calf. It's a sad story, but my dogs will be happy to have this little cow to munch on. The Farmer told me that he sometimes has hearts, livers, tongues, and kidneys. He never does anything with them and would rather they be used instead of thrown away, so he kept my phone number so he could call me when he's got some.


After our little rendevouz, I bring the calf home and explain to my Mom, who is not exactly fond of this idea, why I've got a dead baby cow in the back of my Jeep. My neighbor (who has a clear view of our backyard) texts my Mom and asks what I am skinning, then comments about how I should be on a farm or something like that. Most people don't just bring home a calf and start skinning it in their yard...
Unfortunately for me I didn't have anything to hang him on, so skinning (with a box cutter), gutting, and cutting went really really slow. The Girls stood by and watched the entire time, drooling profusely, while Conker bothered the neighbor's Husky, who looked like he also wanted a bite.
Here is my little cow.

I didn't think he was going to be white.

Skinned and ready for gutting.

All cut and boxed up.

The little cow was about the size of a large Mastiff. I do not know exactly how much he weighed, but he fit nicely into my freezer with plenty of room to spare. The Girls are now munching on some feet in the backyard, quite happy with their new treasures. (Conker is a dope and wants a bone, but not one of those bones, so he don't get one.)

We went on a late afternoon/evening hike today.

 

Instead of going at my "normal" industrious pace of 4-5.5 miles per hour, we took things a bit slower today and topped out around 3.5 miles per hour.  I found the slower pace to be a bit more enjoyable than my normal pace, so I may slow things down more often and see which one works out best for Conker and I.

We caught the tail-end of the sunset as we topped Lower Hogback, and though the sky was rapidly growing dark, we pressed on for anouther 4 miles instead of turning back. I haven't been able to get a picture of it yet, but when it gets dark I turn on the red reflective light that is now a semi-permanent feature of Conker's RuffWear harness.

I had originally planned to do an outskirts hike, one that would take all the outer trails and loops for a total of 12.5 miles or so. Instead, since it got so dark and the clouds were not showing any signs of breaking, we cut our hike short and took the trail straight back to the parking lot instead of the longer way back.

In total we hiked about 9.75 miles. A pretty good hike, and I'd like them to stay in that range or be a bit longer from now on. I have plans for a hike this spring/summer that requires Conker and I (and maybe one of or both of the Girls) to be in good enough shape to hike for at least a week straight, around 10 miles a day, carrying packs.

Mountain Valley View

A view of GP from somewhere on Dollar Hill (Mountain). This hike was a lot harder than I remember, I was practically crawling up the mountain. I must not be as physically fit as I thought I was. Conker on the other hand was flying up the trail, something he rarely does. I usually have to encourage him to climb, not tell him to stop and wait for me.

Belated Presents (again)

Yesterday I received an Amazon box with five books in it. I was given a couple Amazon giftcards for various holidays and had pooled up a sum large enough that I decided to use it on some books. It took me a while to decide which books to chose out of a rather large reading list I have accumulated, but I eventually made up my mind and hit the checkout button with a cart full of six books and a few Amazon gift dollars to spare. (One book is a preorder, I will not get it for another few weeks.)

Entertainment!

The books I ordered are:
Navigations by Ted Kerasote
Bloodties by Ted Kerasote
Heart of Home by Ted Kerasote
Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast by Hank Shaw
Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet by Steve Brown

If you can't tell, I am a fan of Ted Kerasote.

But that is not all I have recieved.
I decided that since Conker had been neglected for three months and I missed our second anniversary that I would get some stuff for Conker too. I was looking around the web for random things and stumbled across the trail page on Petflow. I looked at what they had to offer and spotted some Evanger's food that looked interesting, $4 for 5lbs. Added it to the cart (I do that all the time, I rarely hit the checkout button) and looked around a bit more. Found some Halo ($4 for 4lbs), Solid Gold ($4 for 4lbs), Canidae ($5 for 5lbs), and Canyon Creek Ranch ($4 for 5lbs), added those to the cart. Oh look, bully sticks for $1 each! Lets get 20 of those. Hey, collar lights! Might as well add in some of those too.

Today my Petflow package arrived, but not without some problems. Notice how the Evangers is not there. It was in stock when I placed my order, and for several days afterwards. Petflow claims to have a quick (24 hour) turnaround time, and they did the first time I ordered from them, but I'd placed my order on the weekend and knew that it would not ship until Monday. Monday comes and goes, as does Teusday. It's now been 4 days since I placed my order and I have yet to receive any notice of it shipping or of a problem. So I shoot off an e-mail describing my curiosity, and frustration, as to the whereabouts of my items since I had already paid for them.
Petflow promptly answered my inquiry and said that there was a few problems with in-stock items going out of stock, but that they were fixed now, and that my order would ship soon. The next day I received my tracking number, so I figured all was good.
Several days later, I get an e-mail from Petflow. The Evangers food would not be included in my order since it was "out of stock" and I had been refunded the price. I checked Petflow's site and guess what? The Evangers trial was over, but the food was IN-STOCK and for sale at the regular price. Huh.
So I did not receive the item that I built my entire order around (the one that I actually wanted) and I am a bit miffed about that. At least I got 10% off after asking about my order though, that was nice of them.

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.

I brought a foam mattress cover thing into my room, folded it in half, and placed it beside my computer. It was originally meant to be a bed for Juneau or Sasha, who would lay on the floor behind my chair and frequently got in the way before I put it there.
Conker promptly claimed the bed and now gets all huffy if one of the Girls is laying on it.

Beneful (Original)

Since the Girls ate this for a short bit I feel somewhat obligated to write something about it.

Beneful is one of those big name dog foods that just about everyone knows about. It can be found in almost all the chain petshops and most grocery stores. Beneful offers a mid-sized assortment of dry foods, ranging from their Original formula to ones like their Healthy Growth for puppies and Incredibites for smaller dogs.
This writeup will focus on the Original formula.

Image Source*

Beneful Original is targeted at adult dogs who don't seem to have any sort of issues like being overweight or skin problems. Beneful's website claims it has

"Protein-rich nutrition, with real beef, to help build strong muscles"

with

"Wholesome grains for energy"

as well as

"Omega fatty acids and antioxidants help support a healthy immune system"

and

"Includes vitamin-rich vegetables and essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients"

Sounds pretty fantastic, doesn't it?  Their commercials with it's falling corn, wheat, carrots, and chunks of beef give the impression that this food is a quality top-notch deal that will provide your dog with supreme nutrition to ensure a long, healthy life.
Lets take a look at those falling ingredients, shall we?

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, water, meat and bone meal, propylene glycol, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, phosphoric acid, salt, animal digest, potassium chloride, sorbic acid (a preservative), dried peas, dried carrots, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, Red 40, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Vitamin A supplement, Blue 2, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, brewers dried yeast, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

Sounds delicious, doesn't it?  I wasn't aware that dogs are cornivores. I thought they were opportunistic carnivores. Where's the meat? Chicken by-product meal and animal fat... What kind of animals? I'd like to know, since I'm obnoxious like that.
Too bad Conker can't enjoy this amazing food since it includes various forms of corn as well as wheat, and soy, and... Propylene glycol? SUGAR? Menadione sodium bisulfite complex? There is a lot of controversy surrounding that last one. All of these, actually, as they are generally not quality ingredients in dog food. Not to mention all the food colorings...

Anywho, where's that wonderous beef that Beneful was talking about? Oh, there is is, the 7th ingredient on the list. Not very prominent, is it? I figured it might be up a little higher since Beneful has got pictures of it on the bag and yaks about it on their website.
What about those vitamin-rich vegetables? Where are they? 19th and 20th on the list? Wow, there's more sugar and salt in this "food" than dried peas and carrots! Holy dang.

What about the guaranteed analysis, hopefully it looks a bit better, eh?

25.0% Crude Protein (Min)
10.0% Crude Fat (Min)
4.0% Crude Fiber (Max)
14.0% Moisture (Max)
1.5% Linoleic Acid (Min)
1.1% Calcium (Ca) (Min)
175 mg/kgIron (Fe) (Min)
0.2 mg/kgSelenium (Se) (Min)
10,000 IU/kgVitamin A (Min)
100 IU/kgVitamin E (Min)

Hmm... Not really.  Quite low in the good stuff: Protein and fat. Wait, didn't Beneful claim that this food is "protein-rich"? They did, didn't they. 25% does not appear to be "protein-rich" to me. I'd say a "protein-rich" food would have at least 35%, not a measly 25%.

Too bad they don't have carbohydrates and SUGAR listed, since those would be through the roof.

Image Source*

Food coloring! Looks positively scrumptious. Those little tan bones, brown 3 leaf clovers? And generic kibble shapes... Yeah, the food coloring really makes them more appealing to a mostly colorblind animal. Oh wait, that's supposed to appeal to the humans? Right, got it. Fancy.

I don't know about you, but in my area Beneful costs the same or more than several other brands which have far superior ingredient lists. It's about $43 for a 30 pound bag. Diamond Naturals sells for $30 for 40 pounds! Much better deal, not just cost-wise but also on ingredients, and the health of your dog.

Moving on...


The Girls had been recently bathed when I came back from Alaska, so I did not get to see their actual coat condition while on Beneful. However, it rapidly declined since the bath and they began to stink real nicely. Their coats quickly developed a greasy film that made petting them an unpleasant experience. Their fur was shedding out at a rapid rate, much faster than it should in the middle of winter.
Sasha's breath was HORRID, and it was not caused by her busted tooth rotting or some such other thing. Juneau's breath was worse than before her teeth got cleaned last February, and both had noticeable buildup on their teeth that I had not seen before I left. (That could have been due to the lack of raw bones and chews during that period, but who knows.)

Poop was, unpleasant. Nothing as bad as some of the stuff Conker has produced, but it was still quite nasty. Large, smelly, colorful, it would start out firm and turn into mush by the end. No fun to clean up. Liked to sprout mushrooms and other fungi of an unidentified sort.

Energy levels were absolute crap on this food. Allover the place, there was no, method, to their energy while they were eating Beneful. Unpredictable would be a good word to use. I wonder if the sugar has something to do with that.


So! After careful consideration and review of the evidence, I deem this "food" completely unsuitable for use in dogs. It's made of crappy ingredients, produces crappy crap, and crappy health of the dogs eating it. I also hear of dogs dying or getting siezures after eating this food, but I do not know how reputable those reports are.
I do not recommend Beneful Original or any of the other "foods" Beneful produces. As everyone should know by now, you are what you eat, so quit feeding your dog this shit and go find something that's actually good for them.


* I have not used nor support this website in any way. They just happened to have a picture of the Beneful kibble, as I did not take one while it was around.

It's hailing... when you are under a tree

My younger sister informed me today that it was hailing. When Conker and I went out to the Jeep I noticed that it was indeed hailing, but only under the cedar tree. The ice that has been chilling on the branches had begun to melt when the sun came out for a few hours, and some of it was falling off and gave the impression that it was hailing.

Our hike started out much like yesterday's, except without the thick ice fog. We took the new trail again, by Conker's choice. This hike was entierly one he chose. The ground for the first bit was frozen and frost covered the foliage.

But when we came up over the hilltop, the sun was shining brightly and the frost was all melted! The trees here were also producing "hail" and some sections were pretty muddy.

There was a light haze in the forest, mainly hanging out in the lower sections and inbetween the mountain ridges.

This hike, by Conker's choice, was not very long. Though I wanted to have a longer hike today, Conker did not pick trails that created a long route. Also, his right knee has been acting up today (Notice how Conker is holing his right rear leg up in this picture.) so even if he did pick longer trails I probably would have cut it short to avoid injuring his joint.

I thought it was nifty how parts of the trail were sunny and dry, others sunny and wet, or dark and icy, dark and damp, dark and dry... Every corner we turned had a different theme, I guess.

The GP overlook is on one of the prominent ridges but was shrouded in ice. Conker likes this trail (from a certain direction) since it has lots of long slopes that he loves to charge down. (Notice Conker's right rear leg again. Not much weight on it.)

This particular section is one of the steeper ones. I do not like it when Conker blasts down these (like he did today) since he can easily injure his knees on this sort of slope. But he seems to enjoy them, so I do not avoid them.
I like this picture since it shows how fluffy Conker's butt is. Super soft Shiba. It also shows us progressing from the sunlight down into a dark ice-covered valley. There are really tall pine trees on the lower section of this trail. The diversity in tree and plant life is one of the reasons why I love hiking at Cathedral Hills.

Ice Fog

That is what has been covering GP for a while now. Cold, thick, icy fog. It's kinda blah but not that bad, especially if you compare it to some of the other places I have been.

Today, we went for a hike in the ice fog.

The ground was mostly frozen, no surprise since the temperature ranged from about 30 to around 35.

There is a new section of trail that was put in while we were in Alaska. We investigated it today.

It is a spiffy little section, about 1/4 to 1/2 mile long, I have not figured out it's exact length yet. The terrain is pretty varied too, which is something I look for in a trail.

 After the new trail we hit up one of the old favorites.

Then took a couple shortcuts through some of the tougher trails.

Conker posed on a log.

 The fog was pretty thick in some areas, thick enough that you could feel it.

This hike was just Conker and I so it was not as hectic as it is when the Girls come along. Conker thoroughly enjoyed it, and I think that while he has a lot of fun romping with the Girls, sometimes he prefers the quieter hikes.

Been a while since I've done one of these, so here it is, the Obligatory Pick-Nick Table Shiba.

This picture shows how much ice was on some of the plants in certain sections of the trail.

The ice fog gave the trails a really neat visual affect, somewhat eerie but pretty cool at the same time. It felt really close, not claustrophobic (like in crowds of people, or buildings), but almost as if you had the entire forest to yourself. Until suddenly 30 feet away there is another person and their dog. Which Conker did superb with, coming right when I called and heeling perfectly by my side as we passed the other party.
This hike was a lot of fun, I really liked the ice fog. I have no idea how long this hike was, something in the 5 mile range I believe, and it was not enough for either of us. The next hike will hopefully be longer.

Food Snob

It is back, the Discriminatory Shiba who harshly criticizes every healthy meal I attempt to feed him. He outright refused to touch the chicken neck, gizzard, and liver I offered him yesterday. The Girls got that and scarfed their shares down without complaint. Today he would only eat the turkey heart and neck, not the gizzard or liver. I don't think Conker likes liver very much, or gizzards for that matter, but this hate of chicken... I see a pattern from his previous sessions of food boycotting.
Note: Conker will inhale cooked chicken. Funny how that works.
As long as he does not refuse to eat turkey backs and necks again we'll be all fine and dandy, I think.

But with the Discriminatory Shiba, you never know.

This is what Conker was offered. Half a turkey neck, half a gizzard, half a heart, and one quarter of a liver. The Girls wouldn't have hesitated to dig into this, but Conker had to sniff it over for a while before nosing aside the liver and gizzard and daintily licking up the heart, which he chewed slowly, then went after the neck in a cautious fashion.

Tomorrow I will offer him the same thing since I halved the package. Juneau will get another 1/4 of the liver like she did today (Sasha, since she is the only one who will touch it, gets a chunk of venison liver) and if Conker refuses to eat anything else, she will get that as well.

This was one of my attempts to get Conker to eat the liver and gizzard. I chopped it into little bits and mixed it with an egg, but he would only lick up the egg and spit out the bits. I also tried mixing it with oatmeal (same result) and grinding the whole concoction up in a blender (outright refusal) but ended up giving it to Juneau.

I really would like to feed Conker more than just his kibble-of-the-day/week/month, an egg, some sort of bone-in turkey item, and his various supplements. I haven't tried the beef meat yet, but so far he has never really refused beef so I do not think that will be an issue.

Crappy cellular phone picture

Picky brat dog. He's just like a kid who won't eat his vegetables.

Belated Birthday Presents

For me, not Conker. His birthday is still six months away.

Since I did not really get to celebrate my birthday (December 14th) I went ahead and bought myself some presents. I ended up with some Merrell True Gloves (discontinued) that I found on Gear Trade for $33! They are a tad on the biggish side but I easily modded the heel with a bit of padding from an old sleeping pad that I use for Conker when we go backpacking and some foam to make them fit better. I haven't even had these shoes for a day and I already love them!

I also got myself two more pairs of toesocks since my old ones are quite decrepit. And missing.


To make this post Conker-relevant...

I got two packages of beef meat for $1.99 a pound today.

New food for the Girls

Unfortunately, as usual, when money gets tight the dogs get shortchanged. When I came back from Alaska the Girls were eating Benecrap which really ticked me off. "No!" I said to that since there are many brands that cost the same or are cheaper than Benecrap that have much higher-quality ingredients.
Though Taste of the Wild is quite decently priced, I guess it's not "cheap" enough, so they get downgraded to Diamond Naturals. Which isn't a bad kibble, but I really liked how well they did on Taste of the Wild and am a bit annoyed about having to put them on something else.

I got the regular Chicken & Rice as the introductory formula, 40 pounds for $35 $28 on-sale with $1 off coupon from Mini Pet Mart. I wanted to get the Extreme Athlete due to the higher protein and fat content, but it was $6 more and I didn't want to tick Mom off since she said I had to "Get the cheap stuff."
Anyways...


Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, dried plain beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: 26%
Fat: 16%
Calories: 3,708 kcal/kg (368 kcal/cup)

This food is basically the grain-inclusive equivalent of Taste of the Wild so I shouldn't have much to complain about. The protein and fat levels are similar to the Pacific Stream and Sierra Mountain formulas, which were not my favorite but I still fed them since the Girls did well on them.

I will most likely be trying out the Beef & Rice formula, but not the Lamb & Rice since it's protein content is too low. (I stop at 25% protein. No lower than that.) I might give the Small Breed Lamb & Rice a shot instead since it's got more protein. I might even try out the Small Breed Chicken & Rice since it's ingredients list differs a bit from the regular Chicken & Rice.  I will also be trying out the Extreme Athlete when I've got an extra $6 I can throw in.

Remember this?

Pictures of meats! They be back.
Today I got some lamb breasts for $1.33 a pound (Walfart), and some turkey misc for $0.69-$1.79 a pound (Rays). Not pictured is the turkey back chunks that I gave to Conker and the Girls.

Conker was SO EXCITED to get that chunk of raw turkey. He hasn't had any raw meat for three months!

DIY Poop Scooper

Today Conker and I had a relaxation day. I was going to hike but my calves are killing me from yesterday's hike (and since I'd walk/jogged downtown and back the day before) so we took the day off and walked to the petshop instead.

Conker in sepia

I found a large bag of EVO Red Meat for cheap cheap that I stashed in the freezer for later use. I got many stares as I was carrying it back home since it was raining and, well, you don't often see people carrying 30 pound bags of dog food while walking down the street. With a fox Shiba Inu.

Conker and I also went to the hardware store to pick up a few items for a project I had planned out.

Yes yes, I know it's not centered. The camera screen is broken so I cannot see what I am taking a picture of*

DIY poop scooper! You need:

2 wooden dowels, whatever size you like best
1 dust pan, any size that will fit your scooping needs
1 piece of thin metal, about 3x5 or so
screws or nails
something to heat/bend/cut plastic with
something to cut metal with
possibly some duct tape


Step 1.
Cut your wooden dowels to whatever height you like best. My scraper handle is a bit short, so make it a bit longer than "perfect" just in case you screw up

Step 2.
Heat the dust pan's handle so you can bend it at a 90 degree angle, straight upright. Don't do what I did and heat it too much and melt the crap out of it. Nail, screw, or tape your dowel to the dust pan's bent handle.

Alternate Step 2.
Cut the handle off the dust pan (if your dust pan has a flat back, if not, see Step 3). Nail, screw, or tape the dowel to the back of the dust pan.

Step 3.
Cut your metal into the desired shape. A 3x5 chunk should work just fine.  Nail, screw, or tape the other dowel to the top half of the metal. Bend the bottom half ever so slightly, on the side that the dowel is not attached to, towards you.

Step 4.
Go find a pile of poop and test out your new poop scooper!

Poop bucket

I also got a 5 gallon bucket and lid to put the poop in. Use a plastic bag as a liner to keep your bucket cleaner and make it easier to remove the poop once the bucket is full. Also, the lid helps keep the smell down and unwanted things like rain, snow, leaves, dogs, squirrels, little kids, etc. from getting into the poop.


*I'll get better pictures of the scraper and pan when I get around to it.

Cathedral Hills!

Today I took all three dogs on a hike at Cathedral Hills. It wasn't too long, and there was nobody else there. Probably due to the winter weather.
The dogs all thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Sasha! I figured Juneau would be the one to go bonkers so I had her wear a weighted pack, but I did not think Sasha would be running around like a rocketship. I should have brought one for her.

It had snowed earlier but was mostly melted by the time we went hiking. (Younger sister uses my Jeep to go to school, so I don't have transportation until after 3:30.) There was still a bit of snow on the ground at Cathedral Hills, it was raining, and there was fog. I thought it was fine weather and quite enjoyed it.

Conker had a blast, but got tired rather quick. Both of us need to work on getting back into hiking-shape so we can enjoy the 10+ milers that were the norm before we went to Alaska. But I've got to take it easy for a bit first to give Conker time to rebuild his leg muscles so I do not injure his knees.

Juneau and Sasha did fine, Sasha needs a loaded pack to slow her down. She was just having the time of her life blasting around with Juneau while Conker took up the rear, Sasha's usual position.

The Kibble Trails: Contestant #8 Before Grain Buffalo + Results

I had brought the bag of Before Grain Buffalo with me to Alaska since it was set to expire in January and the other brands I had stockpiled were good until at least June (or July, can't remember). After I ran out of the EVO Red Meat I brought with me I put Conker on the Before Grain, then back on the EVO when I ran out of this.


The Rundown

Before Grain was manufactured by Merrick but is now discontinued and has been replaced with updated formulas that are basically the same with only minor changes and new Merrick packaging.

Ingredients:
Buffalo Deboned, Chicken Meal, Potato Dehydrated, Turkey Meal, Canola Oil, Sweet Potato Dehydrated, (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid, a source of Vitamin C), Yeast Culture, Natural Dried Chicken Liver, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lysine, Guar Gum, Sea Salt, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Acai Berry Freeze-Dried, Blueberry Dried, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Venison Broth, Zinc Amino Acid Complex,Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Natural Venison Flavor, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Rosemary Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Natural Celery Flavor, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Natural Color (tumeric), Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (Not Less Than) 32.0%
Crude Fat (Not Less Than) 15.0%
Crude Fiber (Not More Than) 3.0%
Moisture (Not More Than) 11.0%

Ingredients look good, but do take note: The buffalo is actually not the main ingredient since it is in it's raw form, and the chicken is in meal form, which is concentrated, so this is actually a chicken-based food. 
It is the first kibble (since I attempted Orijen way back in the beginning) that has a considerable amount of chicken in it. I was a bit on the fence about this, but since Conker has not shown any negative signs to cooked and highly processed chicken in quite a long time, I gave it a shot anyways.

The kibble, floating in water.

The Results

Conker did just about exactly the same as he did on the pork formula. Teeth did get a bit gunky, he smelled a bit stronger than my likes, poop was bigger than I'd like but still smallish and slightly smelly, and was green like it was with the pork formula.

I kinda liked the kibble, but not enough to feed it long-term. Maybe in rotation with something else. But since this food is discontinued, that is irrelevant anyways.

I will probably test out Merrick's new formulas when I've gotten though the kibble stock I've got on-hand and compare them to the old Before Grain line to see if there are any noticeable changes.

Note: I found a misshapen kibble in this bag, it was rather hilarious looking, but I have misplaced it and do not have a picture.

The Kibble Trials: EVO Red Meat Results

Conker Finished that bag of EVO Small bites I got at the Grange a while ago, and has been eating some Large Bites for a short while because it was available in Alaska.

The Large Bites

Conker has done very well on this food, is in great shape with good muscle tone and very little excess fat.
Note: Due to his greatly reduced activity while in Alaska, Conker lost a lot of muscle tone. However, it was amazing beforehand while he was on this food, so I am giving it good marks on the muscle score.
There is almost zero coat smell or grease, an amazing coat actually. Since we'd been in Alaska it had grown in incredibly thick and was very soft and of a nice quality. Very shiny. Shedding out now but is still maintaining it's quality.
His teeth look great, energy is great, poops are good (small, firm, nonsmelly), I really like this food.

Conker usually gets around 1-2 cups (depending on the brand) of kibble, but he needs a bit less of this stuff since it is very calorie dense, so it tends to last quite a long time. I've still got a bit of it left.

Large Bites kibbles

Both the large and small bites are square shaped, the large bites being about 1/2 inch big and the small bites being about 1/4 inch. It has a meaty smell, not too strong or unpleasant.
I soaked the kibbles a few times when Conker would not drink and it would take a long long time for them to fully soak, so they are pretty dense.

Conker really likes the taste if this food. Enough so that I can use it for treats, which is highly unusual for a kibble that he is currently on. That normally does not work with Conker.
He also did not need any pre or probiotics added to this food. He digests it quite well and can make an instant switch to it with no problems. This is always a good thing and something I look for in a food.
Note: This kibble contains probiotics in it already. However, I highly doubt that they actually do anything, so I never depend on probiotics that may be in a kibble and will always add my own if I feel they are needed. Also, I tend to freeze kibble if it is in a larger bag or won't be using it soon, and that will kill the probiotic bacteria and render them useless.

The Small Bites

In general, I find this kibble to be a very good one. The price is on the high side, right at the top of the price range, but I would be able to feed this full-time since Conker does not need a whole lot and I like to add in other things.
I plan on testing out the other two varieties, one fish-based and the other poultry-based once I have gotten through some of the other bags I still have on hand.


Note: I did try out a few cans of this food (beef and fish) and quite like them as well.

The Beans

Short story is: I was completely miserable.


Things were fine for the first few weeks, but once we got into trucking the dogs in order to run them, it just kinda flopped from there. I hated trucking the dogs, hated running them. I thought it would get better once I was more experienced and knew what I was supposed to be doing, but that never happened.
Then the cold hit.
Not cold as in zero degrees cold. Cold as in -20 is the high, -45 the low. For weeks. Now those temperatures wouldn't be as bad if you didn't have to be outside in them all day, but I was. The dogs had to be loaded onto and off of the truck several times a day which took at least an hour to do, and there was always something else that needed to be tended to.  I figured, again, it would get better, once the cold was gone. Once we were running out of the yard with the snowmobile and sleds.
Did that happen?
No.
It kept getting worse and worse. We got snow we needed and put the trails in and were running the dogs with the snowmobile and sled instead of the ATV's, but it was still just as bad. I did not enjoy any part of "training" and really hated the days we did it. Off days, as they were called, were spent doing things I didn't mind so much like fixing things and maintaining the trails. It still sucked, but it wasn't as bad as running the dogs.

Keep in mind that I never got to ride the sled, so I do not know if that is actually fun or what.

The dogs... I did not like them very much. Which surprised me a bit. I liked a few of them, Router (who was a megabitch, funny how that works), Lark, Miter, Kodo, and Flywheel. Dar, Kubota, Fergy, Case, and Massey were the only others you could say I liked. The rest, no.
They were incredibly rude dogs. They bit, smashed into you, jumped all over you, and were just a pain-in-the-ass to handle. Yeah they weren't pets, but they should at least have a few manners to make being around them a little easier.
They all ate shit, and a good number of them (especially Mig) would wait until I was out scooping to eat it. When I was watching. Usually as I was heading to their spot to clean it.

I was almost never given any form of positive feedback. I get it that when I do something wrong I am told not to do it like that, but when you just tell me "We'd like to train today so you need to do that faster." without telling me how...Yeah.
I would help with the dishes, take out the trash, vaccum the house... I didn't need to, but I did anwsyas (because I was told i'd get an "allowance" if I helped with household chores, which I never did get) and for the nearly three months I was there, I was thanked enough times to count on one hand.  I hauled all the firewood too, was never thanked for that.
I mean, how hard is it to say, "Good job with the snowmobile today, just try not to run yourself off the trail on the straightaways." or "Thanks for giving Dar some extra straw today." or even, like I said before, "Thanks for taking out the trash." It's not very hard at all, and my Mom thanks me EVERY TIME I do it at home and it always surprises me, since I think I should just automatically do it since I am her 24 year old spawn and it's my duty to do it since I suck at life and still live with her.

That one really hit me hard. No form of positive feedback is very difficult to work with when you are basically doing servant/slave labor. Which is what I've decided is what these people wanted.

So I tried to tell them once that I couldn't handle it anymore and either something needed to change now or I was going to leave, which they took as "The handler is having a mental breakdown, they all do it around this time of year. It's normal." So when they blew me off I gave them a few more days to see if it would get better (we'd all agreed to attempt a few things to make stuff easier for each other, all of which I did, they didn't) but it did not. Seemed like it, as usual, got worse.
I'd had it, I really couldn't stand it anymore. I was getting out. And I let them know.

Oh man the shit hit the fan! I got lectured, was insulted, and generally made to feel very uncomfortable and afraid.
Funnily enough, I'm usually the first (and often only) one to throw insults. This time however I didn't say one damn negative thing about these people. I thought they were nice, which they seemed like they were, until they decide they don't like you, then they were complete assholes.

Being told that: "You are very good when nothing changes, but when one little thing gets changed, you can't do shit. You would do really good in an environment like an office where it's the same thing every day and you don't have to think."  Was perhaps the most insulting thing I have heard in years.
Problem with this is: When something did change in the routine, I WAS NEVER TOLD ABOUT IT. It just changed, nothing said or explained, and I was supposed to magically know about it.


Conker is a subject all of his own.
He was not liked, at all. He was basically given one introduction to the three house dogs, one of whom he growled softly at when she got in his face, then became socially isolated. Well, I never told them since I wasn't supposed to be doing it in the first place when they weren't around but... The three house dogs and Conker got along JUST FINE. When they were at work and I was in the house, I'd have all four of them out and there were no problems.
Finch, actually, was the one who was the asshole. She'd walk up to Conker and growl at him. He was usually just standing around or laying and she'd up and growl at him. So really, it wasn't Conker who was the asshole, it was their precious Finch.

Since Conker was "bad" and not trustworthy, he did not get to be around other dogs, or anyone other than me. When we were in the house he could be in my room, but that was it, so that's where I spent most of my free time (they called it "hiding in my room") because that is where Conker was and I honestly did not feel very accepted around them.
When we were outside, he could either be in a wire crate in the garage, or in a pen outside. I did not like putting him in either, but preferred the pen since he could move around if he chose to. When he was in the pen he would bark (he'd bark in the garage as well but not as much). At other dogs, animals, people, whatever. No biggie, all the other dogs would bark at those things too.
But unlike the other dogs, he would constantly bark. All the time. This was a new behavior from Conker that I had not seen before, and it took me a while to understand what it was.
If there were people over, he was going to bark. We all knew that. I'd try to keep him quiet but STRANGE PEOPLE MUST BARK AT THEM! Or if someone let the dogs in the garage (injured) out, STRANGE DOGS MUST BARK AT THEM!
But this constant barking... I figured it out when I took the time to stand there and really listen to it. It was completely new to me, and from my limited experience with dogs, what I heard was loneliness. I tested that by walking over to his pen to see what was up. If it was a strange person, dog, or animal, he would not stop when I approached. If it was not one of those things, and was this new bark, he would stop. If I turned around and left, he would start up again.

Conker was calling me.

They said that they didn't think being socially isolated (my term) was bothering Conker at all, but after discovering this new bark, I knew they were full of shit. I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out, but it did, and once I did, I knew something had to change.
So I asked if we could try having Conker with the house dogs again.
"No, he growled at Finch."
He was not even given a second chance.

All these things and a few more made being in Alaska completely unbearable. And with how I was treated ("You need to find a flight out of here, the sooner the better, because we are not going to feed you anymore.") when I tried to tell them in a nice way that I couldn't stand it anymore, there was no way I was going to stick around.
So that night, after I told them the problems and that I was leaving, I booked my hotel room, flight, and vet appointment.
Conker and I were driven to the airport (Conker didn't get to ride in the cab, he had to stay in his crate in the bed of the truck regardless of the temperature) after N had done morning dog chores and had his breakfast while I finished packing and cleaning up my room.

Let me tell you, stepping out of that truck and dropping my bags on the curb and retrieving Conker felt great. I have no regrets and do not feel bad in any way about ditching those people in the middle of their season. Many other things were said to and about me the night before that made me realize that they were not actually very nice people at all and had a huge problem with communication. I am so glad I did not stick out the last three months with them.


The End.

Travel Day

It's here, the day Conker and I fly back to Oregon. We are just waiting for check-out time to arrive so we can hitch a ride on the shuttle to the airport and sit around for an hour before check-in, then do some more sitting around, some flying, a lot more sitting around (got a 4 hour layover that wasn't there before... SO happy about that) and a bit more flying before we make the 30 minute drive back to GP.

So last night Conker, as usual, was up every few minutes barking (softly) at noises outside. This is normal for him in a hotel room, he's done it every time we've stayed in one. Unfortunately for me that means I get less sleep, but at least I got enough that I woke up before my alarm went off instead of after.
I gave Conker a long, long brushing and pulled many puppies worth of undercoat off him. Which means he's shedding right now, and it'll only get much much worse once we are in Oregon with the warmer temperatures. He looks, feels, and even smells a lot better now since he has not had a good brushing since like, the first week of being in Alaska.
After the brushing session, I gave him a very thorough massage which he completely enjoyed, so much so that he was making these funny sounds that he only does when he's very relaxed and comfortable. That made me happy to see him finally enjoying some good one-on-one time with me.

And that Amish Mafia show I watched last night? Freakin awesome.

Anywho, looking forwards to getting back to GP. I'm sure Conker will be very glad to be back home, Juneau and Sasha might not be as happy as him since he does annoy them somewhat (a lot, actually), but since I am part of the Conker package, I think they will be fine with that 'cause I'll take them hiking with me again.

Anyways...

Conker and I are booked to boogie at 2:20 tomorrow afternoon. We spent one last stress-filled sleep-deprived night at the kennel then got a quiet yet quite Republican (Rush Limbaugh was on the radio) and uncomfortable ride to Anchorage where we were dropped off at the airport then caught a shuttle to our hotel. (Intentionally done that way.)

I dinked around on the free wifi for a bit before taking Conker to the (rather expensive) vet to get a health certificate so he can fly tomorrow. The vet tech and veterinarian were very nice people and just LOVED (and also knew where it was from) Conker's name. He was not so fond of them but they still adored him anyways. The vet noticed his right luxating patella in a snap, which I told her I am fully aware of, and she reconfirmed that it is not severe. The vet tech was surprised to learn that I was also fully aware of how severe the heartworms are in the States and that since I am going to (returning) to them that Conker should be put back on (though he was never really taken off of) preventives. She was also surprised to learn that I happened to be going to one of (if not the) worst areas for heartworm infections in Oregon. But she was glad that I was not only aware but had already taken the steps to avoid Conker getting infected.
They were impressed with Conker's weight (I admitted that his condition wasn't as good as it's been before, he lost a lot of muscle mass over the past couple months much to my extreme annoyance) and complimented me on keeping him trim, especially since his knees are bad.
It was the fastest vet visit I have ever had, which was good for Conker since he was already stressed from the hour and a half ride in a cold crate in the snow-filled back of N's truck down to Anchorage, as well as the 3 mile hour long walk along the ice covered sidewalks of the city as traffic rushed past a bit close for comfort.
They were incredibly nice people, fast yet thorough, and even though we were never going to see them again, I could tell that they cared about Conker's well-being. That was pretty cool.

(Holy crap a TV show just came on that's about the Amish mafia... Watching this for sure!)

After the vet visit we walked (slower than before, my feet hurt and it got 10x slicker during that brief visit) back to the Puffin Inn where I left Conker for a short moment and hopped over to Mc Donalds where I picked up a McKinley Mac, an Angus with bacon-and-something burger, a large Diet Coke, and large coffee (with creams and sugars!) for myself and...

A double cheeseburger for Conker. Yes, giving my dog (who has a history of digestive issues) a double cheeseburger the night before a full day of airport madness was probably not the best idea in the world, but it was only $2, Conker had not eaten anything all day (nor had I, N and J refused to give me food) and I was greatly lacking in the give-a-shit department. Which I still am.
He also got some french fries which he just adored, moreso than the cheeseburger, oddly enough.

I took a nice long relaxing shower as Conker snuffled around our rather small but very cozy hotel room (seriously, it's barely bigger than my old trailer, but I like it) looking for more french fries, and nosing his head into the shower every few mintues to check-in with me. (Funny fact: If the shower has a curtain instead of a hard door, Conker will regularly stop by and brave the indoor rain for a moment to be with me, but if it's a solid door he wants nothing to do with the shower.)

Well, it's 6:30, the Amish Mafia are, mafiaing, and I am beginning to hear the calls from the frosties at the Wendy's across the street. (Remember what I said about the give-a-shit department?)  I might jump the road and get one in an hour or so.


I might write another update tomorrow morning before we jet (or propeller?) but will save the explanation post for when we are back home and comfortable again.

Homeward Bound

Conker and I are leaving this fucking place A.S.A.P.  More information coming soon to an internet near you.

Money spent in December + Year 2012 Conker total cost

Since I didn't spend any money on Conker for the month of December...

December 2012

Total: $0



So here is the complete total of what I spent on Conker this past year.


2012

• Food: $431.50
• Treats/Chews: $83.90
• Vet/Medical: $253.40
• Supplements: $47.30
• Toys: $18
• Other: $189.70

$1024.80

I do not even know where that all came from.


I am going to continue to keep track of the monthly Conker costs for this next year.