From the Nihon Ken person:
 |
| One of the last pictures taken by the Cannon. |
From the Shiba person:
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| Terrible picture due to stupidity of Fuji. |
Friday, December 30, 2011
Nihon Ken and Shiba Inu secret Santa gifts.
This is what I got for the gift exchanges on the Nihon Ken and Shiba Inu forums!
From the Nihon Ken person:
A huge assortment of chews from best bully sticks! I have been meaning to order something from them but still have yet to get around to it, and this has convinced me that I need to sooner or later, when this stash runs out. (Not pictured are two twisty things that Conker snatched up and concumed seconds before I snapped this.)
From the Shiba person:
A squeaky chicken thing, some Greenies, a roll of doggy bags (haha, I loved that) and a daypack! I really like the little pack since it's not as big as the Ruffwear Approach and lays quite flat against Conker's shoulders. When I go on hikes in Cathedral Hills I'd like to be able to have Conker carry something without having to take the big red saddle bags along, and this fits the bill perfectly. Plus I won't have to cart his... goodies... around for him anymore XD
From the Nihon Ken person:
From the Shiba person:
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Back in Oregon!
Both drives were uneventful. Both times we stopped at my Mom's friend's house somewhere in central California (Turlock) and both times I gave the resident dog, Pepper, an adorable Lab-Springer? mix a bully stick in return for letting Conker stay in her house.
As you may have read, my point-and-shoot died and I have been using Mom's camera which while it is functional, I do not like it's huge lack of options so the picture quality has dropped. The dang thing also rearranged the order of pictures.
Anyways... Here are some pictures of the trip.
Conker being "comfortable" in the car on the ride down. It's quite hard to get pictures of Conker while in the car since I am normally driving, and I hate the flash so I never use it.
Conker was put in the backyard (much to his displeasure, it was 65 out a lot of the time) due to him being a beggar when food was present. He also decided to be a douche and boycotted doing his stuff on the rocks so I had to walk him around for an hour or more so he could find a suitable spot to deposit his... goodies... instead of doing it in the yard.
On several of our frequent daily walks we ditched the sidewalks and crushed pebble pathways that twisted through urbania to explore the stretch of unfenced desert between the housing development and the I-10. These adventures would have been off-leash if it were not for the proximity of the interstate to the development, as you can see in the background of the above image, so I kept Conker leashed in order to prevent him from becoming a Shiba-splat on the asphalt.
On one of these excursions Conker excavated a ground squirrel or other rodent-type critter's home.
Conker was bored a lot of the time since us humans were often doing other things that did not involve him. He at one point ignored me completely in favor of laying in the cool shade (since it was, you know, a boiling 70 degrees that day) near the sculpture thing I made for my Grandparent's 50th anniversary.
And much to my surprise, he only barked at golfers once despite them and their carts being very visible from the backyard.
This post would not be complete without a picture of at least one of Conker's meals.
So here it is. Christmas food was some Honest Kitchen topped off with raw turkey fat, gizzard and heart. Christmas also marks the day I began raw/home-cooking/alternatives to kibble-feeding Conker.
But that was not enough for the crafty Shiba! He jumped up onto the table and took a whole turkey leg and made a mess of it on the carpet. And since he'd touched most of it, he was allowed to keep it after I removed the bone and weird stringy things.
We dinked around in the backyard with Conker's only real Christmas present from me quite a bit. It's now his new favorite toy since it can do everything. (Kudos if you can guess what it is.)
We met Taro, who is the cutest little dude I have ever seen ever, and his friends Rinji and Mika at a spiffy place called Arizona Dog Sports where the Shibas ignored each other and the humans for most of the time. Despite Conker being a butthead, it was a lot of fun and I was able to get him to go over a few jumps and through a tunnel which was surprising for me.
We went on a 7 mile hike in the White Tank Mountains the day before we left AZ. It was a load of fun since it was a real hike with rocks and scrambling and stabbings by cactus (which will be further written about later) and I wish we could have gotten in about three more of these but that just didn't happen.
Conker really enjoyed this and thankfully didn't throw out either of his knees on the rocks.
Conker was not pleased to be in the car again on the way back. He was good about it though, and slept most of the way and was generally a good dog.
Funny thing. My Grandparents like Conker so much (despite me telling them that he was not his full self at their house) that they wanted to keep him! They want to get a dog soon and offered Conker a new home but declined the counter-offer when they heard that he's not only expensive but I am part of the deal if he were to stay.
And that's it for the Arizona trip! Largely boring with a few good parts.
As you may have read, my point-and-shoot died and I have been using Mom's camera which while it is functional, I do not like it's huge lack of options so the picture quality has dropped. The dang thing also rearranged the order of pictures.
Anyways... Here are some pictures of the trip.
On one of these excursions Conker excavated a ground squirrel or other rodent-type critter's home.
And much to my surprise, he only barked at golfers once despite them and their carts being very visible from the backyard.
This post would not be complete without a picture of at least one of Conker's meals.
But that was not enough for the crafty Shiba! He jumped up onto the table and took a whole turkey leg and made a mess of it on the carpet. And since he'd touched most of it, he was allowed to keep it after I removed the bone and weird stringy things.
We met Taro, who is the cutest little dude I have ever seen ever, and his friends Rinji and Mika at a spiffy place called Arizona Dog Sports where the Shibas ignored each other and the humans for most of the time. Despite Conker being a butthead, it was a lot of fun and I was able to get him to go over a few jumps and through a tunnel which was surprising for me.
Conker really enjoyed this and thankfully didn't throw out either of his knees on the rocks.
Funny thing. My Grandparents like Conker so much (despite me telling them that he was not his full self at their house) that they wanted to keep him! They want to get a dog soon and offered Conker a new home but declined the counter-offer when they heard that he's not only expensive but I am part of the deal if he were to stay.
And that's it for the Arizona trip! Largely boring with a few good parts.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Post
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Conker and I!
Due to stupidly slow internet, this is probably going to be the last update for a while.
Due to stupidly slow internet, this is probably going to be the last update for a while.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
It's finally dead!
Despite the limited internet access here in Buckeye Arizona, had to write about this since it finally happened. The inevitable event that I have predicted for many months has finally come to pass.
The Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS digital ELPH is dead.
The lens will no longer open. It hasn't been able to zoom (in picture mode) for a long long time and recently it began to give me lens errors and it would shut down. Well, the other day I went to take a picture of Conker being cute outside while the wind was blowing his ears and tail everywhere (it was quite intense for a bit there) and it wouldn't open. So I pulled it open but then it wouldn't turn on, and it wouldn't close. So I closed the lens and that's whan it decided it had had enough. Keep in mind that I have not been gentle with this camera for a long time so it's my fault that the lens broke after it first began to give me trouble.
It's still dead though.
That does not, however, mean that there will be no pictures on the blog. There will in fact be pictures, but I will be using a a different camera (Mom's camera) that will hopefully be better than mine and actually do what I'd like it to. For what a simple point-and-shoot is capable of.
But...
It's a Fuij. Mom's camera is a Fujifilm FinePix J10 and if you've read some of my other posts about photography, you will know that I do not like that brand.
Anyways, I will not be getting a new camera for some time since I would like a Canon 20D or 30D and those aren't really something you go to the store and buy on a whim. And since I have purchased a good amount of dog things here in AZ (that aren't available in GP unless you order online) I have set back my camera purchase by a bit. So even with the passing of the five year-old point-and-shoot, don't expect the picture quality to increase just yet. They will eventually, but unfortunately not now.
The Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS digital ELPH is dead.
The lens will no longer open. It hasn't been able to zoom (in picture mode) for a long long time and recently it began to give me lens errors and it would shut down. Well, the other day I went to take a picture of Conker being cute outside while the wind was blowing his ears and tail everywhere (it was quite intense for a bit there) and it wouldn't open. So I pulled it open but then it wouldn't turn on, and it wouldn't close. So I closed the lens and that's whan it decided it had had enough. Keep in mind that I have not been gentle with this camera for a long time so it's my fault that the lens broke after it first began to give me trouble.
It's still dead though.
That does not, however, mean that there will be no pictures on the blog. There will in fact be pictures, but I will be using a a different camera (Mom's camera) that will hopefully be better than mine and actually do what I'd like it to. For what a simple point-and-shoot is capable of.
But...
It's a Fuij. Mom's camera is a Fujifilm FinePix J10 and if you've read some of my other posts about photography, you will know that I do not like that brand.
Anyways, I will not be getting a new camera for some time since I would like a Canon 20D or 30D and those aren't really something you go to the store and buy on a whim. And since I have purchased a good amount of dog things here in AZ (that aren't available in GP unless you order online) I have set back my camera purchase by a bit. So even with the passing of the five year-old point-and-shoot, don't expect the picture quality to increase just yet. They will eventually, but unfortunately not now.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Arizona
We got to AZ late last night. Conker was good in the car the whole way which was nice.
Anyways, internet access is incredibly limited so updates will probably not happen. A post detailing the AZ vacation will be up sometime around or after new year. Other updates will be sparse or nonexistant.
Anyways, internet access is incredibly limited so updates will probably not happen. A post detailing the AZ vacation will be up sometime around or after new year. Other updates will be sparse or nonexistant.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Zuke's Z-Ridge and Z-Bones
Back in July I wrote a short post about the chews made by Zuke's which happens to be my favorite dog treat company.
Zuke's has since discontinued the Z-Ridge line in favor of the newer Z-Bones which come in a plastic wrapper instead of cardboard and feature two different flavors than before. The Z-Ridges came in fresh breath, carrot and cranberry. The Z-Bones come in apple, carrot and cherry. Conker's favorite by far is the apple so I can't complain too much about the change.
Anywho, onto the review.
Apple Z-Bones
Ingredients:
Potato Starch, Tapioca, Vegetable Glycerin, Apple, Alfalfa Concentrate, Cellulose Fiber, Spinach, Lecithin, Turmeric, Natural Flavor, Parsley, Ground Clove, Rosemary Extract, Fennel Seed Powder, Vanilla Extract, Chlorophyll, Calcium Propionate, Zinc Propionate.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: not less than 1%
Fat: not less than 1%
Fiber: not more than 2%
Moisture: not more than 20%
Original Fresh Breath Z-Ridge
Ingredients:
Potato Starch, Vegetable Glycerin, Cellulose Fiber, Alfalfa Concentrate (a source of chlorophyll), Natural Flavor, Lecithin, Whey, Vanilla Extract, Clove Powder, Parsley Powder, Nutmeg Powder and Fennel Seen Powder.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein: 0.4% min
Crude Fat: 1% min
Crude Fiber: 6% max
Moisture: 16% max
Both are grain-free so if you're into that, these should be fine.
The ingredients are not too terribly different but I think a better side-by-side comparison would best be done with the carrot flavors (I'll get around to that soon).
One of the reasons why I like Zuke's is that even though the first ingredient on both of these chews is potato starch, Conker does not react adversely to it. Potato, in it's whole form, sets him off no matter how it's cooked if he has too much. Fortunately neither of these chew do that.
The Z-Bones are, as I suspected they would be, around .50 cents to $1 more for the same size of Z-Ridge. I don't like this at all, which is why I bought the bigass box of apple chews since it would save me $6 to do that. But other than the price increase and addition of plastic wrap, I like these chews.
The apple flavor smells quite nice and Conker finishes all he's given. With the old Z-Ridges he would sometimes leave it and Sasha would sneak in and steal it.
Digestion wise, like with any new item I give Conker, is fine if I gradually increase the amount. Things do turn a bit green, red or orange respectively, but I find that they digest just fine. No chunks of the chew come out intact.
Since I bought the box of large sized chews I ended up hacking each one into three pieces that would be about the same size as the mini chews. The regular size Z-Ridges I would normally buy for Conker I would allow him to chew about half then give the rest later, so it equals to the same amount that way.
Anyways, the Z-Bones are pretty good in my book. While they don't really clean teeth as good as a nice bone or hard bully stick, they do make Conker's breath smell nice which even though it doesn't smell like anything to begin with, is a plus.
Zuke's has since discontinued the Z-Ridge line in favor of the newer Z-Bones which come in a plastic wrapper instead of cardboard and feature two different flavors than before. The Z-Ridges came in fresh breath, carrot and cranberry. The Z-Bones come in apple, carrot and cherry. Conker's favorite by far is the apple so I can't complain too much about the change.
Anywho, onto the review.
 |
| Box of Z-Bones surrounded by Z-Ridges |
Ingredients:
Potato Starch, Tapioca, Vegetable Glycerin, Apple, Alfalfa Concentrate, Cellulose Fiber, Spinach, Lecithin, Turmeric, Natural Flavor, Parsley, Ground Clove, Rosemary Extract, Fennel Seed Powder, Vanilla Extract, Chlorophyll, Calcium Propionate, Zinc Propionate.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: not less than 1%
Fat: not less than 1%
Fiber: not more than 2%
Moisture: not more than 20%
Original Fresh Breath Z-Ridge
Ingredients:
Potato Starch, Vegetable Glycerin, Cellulose Fiber, Alfalfa Concentrate (a source of chlorophyll), Natural Flavor, Lecithin, Whey, Vanilla Extract, Clove Powder, Parsley Powder, Nutmeg Powder and Fennel Seen Powder.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein: 0.4% min
Crude Fat: 1% min
Crude Fiber: 6% max
Moisture: 16% max
Both are grain-free so if you're into that, these should be fine.
The ingredients are not too terribly different but I think a better side-by-side comparison would best be done with the carrot flavors (I'll get around to that soon).
One of the reasons why I like Zuke's is that even though the first ingredient on both of these chews is potato starch, Conker does not react adversely to it. Potato, in it's whole form, sets him off no matter how it's cooked if he has too much. Fortunately neither of these chew do that.
 |
| Reused image from July post |
The apple flavor smells quite nice and Conker finishes all he's given. With the old Z-Ridges he would sometimes leave it and Sasha would sneak in and steal it.
Digestion wise, like with any new item I give Conker, is fine if I gradually increase the amount. Things do turn a bit green, red or orange respectively, but I find that they digest just fine. No chunks of the chew come out intact.
Since I bought the box of large sized chews I ended up hacking each one into three pieces that would be about the same size as the mini chews. The regular size Z-Ridges I would normally buy for Conker I would allow him to chew about half then give the rest later, so it equals to the same amount that way.
Anyways, the Z-Bones are pretty good in my book. While they don't really clean teeth as good as a nice bone or hard bully stick, they do make Conker's breath smell nice which even though it doesn't smell like anything to begin with, is a plus.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
We're off to Arizona!
Updates may or may not happen. I've got something slotted for tomorrow but after that I can't say since I don't know what type of computer and internet connection the relatives have in AZ.
Anyways... We should be leaving within the hour and will hopefully arrive in AZ sometime tomorrow night.
Anyways... We should be leaving within the hour and will hopefully arrive in AZ sometime tomorrow night.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Results of Various Vegetable Oils
I wrote a short while ago a bit about fats and oils and how some of them kindapossibly affect Conker in adverse ways.
Here's a short and to the point analysis of what went down.
Corn oil: NO. End of discussion.
Canola oil: Okay in very very very small amounts.
Olive oil: Okay in small amounts.
Coconut oil: AMAZING!
That's the general jist of it. I haven't tried anything else so far but I'm content with the results of coconut oil to not feel the need to further experiment on this topic.
The coconut oil I got is a brand called Dr. Bronner's Magic "All-One!" Fair Trade & Organic Fresh Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil. Whooooo!
Anyways, Conker loves the coconut oil. He gets a spoonful(s) when he eats The Honest Kitchen and a bit drizzled over his meat when he gets raw food. Sometimes it's solid and I just plop it in there, either way, he enjoys it and it gets him to eat things he finds questionable quite easily.
Since adding coconut oil to his diet his fur has softened, begun to shine more and adds a slightly tropical scent to his coat that I like due to him smashing his back against my face in the middle of the night. It hasn't seemed to help the deathfarts but I've basically given up trying to remedy that.
Here's a short and to the point analysis of what went down.
Corn oil: NO. End of discussion.
Canola oil: Okay in very very very small amounts.
Olive oil: Okay in small amounts.
Coconut oil: AMAZING!
That's the general jist of it. I haven't tried anything else so far but I'm content with the results of coconut oil to not feel the need to further experiment on this topic.
The coconut oil I got is a brand called Dr. Bronner's Magic "All-One!" Fair Trade & Organic Fresh Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil. Whooooo!
Anyways, Conker loves the coconut oil. He gets a spoonful(s) when he eats The Honest Kitchen and a bit drizzled over his meat when he gets raw food. Sometimes it's solid and I just plop it in there, either way, he enjoys it and it gets him to eat things he finds questionable quite easily.
Since adding coconut oil to his diet his fur has softened, begun to shine more and adds a slightly tropical scent to his coat that I like due to him smashing his back against my face in the middle of the night. It hasn't seemed to help the deathfarts but I've basically given up trying to remedy that.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Conker's Current Campaign
Remember this? Well, that is what Conker has been up to lately. Getting up onto the table and eating whatever is there while I'm still asleep. But while people are still home.
A week ago is was some spaghetti.
Yesterday it was a plate of lebkuchens.
Today it was leftover teriyaki chicken.
And that's not all. Conker has been going upstairs where he has in the past, secured another plate of spaghetti, a bowl of salad (wtf dog you are not herbivore) several cups with icecream reminants and other various food items. He's not allowed in either elevated place. This is not making me happy.
Last week Conker had an explosion in the back yard. I could not figure out why. I don't know why nobody bothered to tell me that they had SEEN Conker on the table eating the spaghetti until yesterday. I would have liked to have known that the day it happened.
The only reason why I knew Conker ate the lebkuchens was because Mom came home, saw there were none left and remarked that she remembered there being some when she left and asked who ate them. Her BF says, oh, there were some there, but Conker got up on the table and ate them.
Thanks for letting me know ahead of time.
And today, Conker got the leftover teriyaki chicken which who knows what kind of effect it's going to have on him since it was probably mostly juice and sauce. Which is one of the things he CAN NOT have. Just like wheat, which was in the spaghetti and lebkuchens... which thankfully Conker deposited on the dirt rather than the rocks.
I really cannot understand how people can't follow simple instructions like, if you see Conker on the table, YELL AT HIM TO GET THE FUCK DOWN SO HE'LL LEARN NOT TO DO IT AGAIN!
A week ago is was some spaghetti.
Yesterday it was a plate of lebkuchens.
Today it was leftover teriyaki chicken.
And that's not all. Conker has been going upstairs where he has in the past, secured another plate of spaghetti, a bowl of salad (wtf dog you are not herbivore) several cups with icecream reminants and other various food items. He's not allowed in either elevated place. This is not making me happy.
Last week Conker had an explosion in the back yard. I could not figure out why. I don't know why nobody bothered to tell me that they had SEEN Conker on the table eating the spaghetti until yesterday. I would have liked to have known that the day it happened.
The only reason why I knew Conker ate the lebkuchens was because Mom came home, saw there were none left and remarked that she remembered there being some when she left and asked who ate them. Her BF says, oh, there were some there, but Conker got up on the table and ate them.
Thanks for letting me know ahead of time.
And today, Conker got the leftover teriyaki chicken which who knows what kind of effect it's going to have on him since it was probably mostly juice and sauce. Which is one of the things he CAN NOT have. Just like wheat, which was in the spaghetti and lebkuchens... which thankfully Conker deposited on the dirt rather than the rocks.
I really cannot understand how people can't follow simple instructions like, if you see Conker on the table, YELL AT HIM TO GET THE FUCK DOWN SO HE'LL LEARN NOT TO DO IT AGAIN!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Taste Test: ZiwiPeak Venison
I haven't been able to find any ZiwiPeak within a 30 minutes drive of my house so I shot an e-mail over to the service center on the site and asked if they could send a sample. A couple days later, this arrived on my doorstep.
The box was much mcuh larger than I thought a sample would be and was surprised that the "sample" was an 8 ounce bag of the venison Daily-Dog Cuisine! That was enough for a couple days instead of a single meal. The sample came with a measuring cup that is equal to 1/2 regular measuring cup.
Ingredients:
Venison - Meat (min. 65%), Liver, Tripe, Heart and Kidney (min. 19.5%), Chicory Inulin, Green-lipped Mussel (min. 4%), Fish Oil, Lecithin, Kelp, Vitamins and Minerals, Parsley, Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, additives: Vit. D3 592 IU/kg, Vit. E 7.4mg/kg, Copper (copper proteinate) 9.8mg/kg. Calories 1794 KJ/100g.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein (min.) 34%
Fat (min.) 26%
Moisture (max.) 15%
Ash (max.) 8%
Fibre (max.) 1.6%
Calcium 2%
Phosphorus P 1.1%
The only ingredient I find to be a problem is the lecithin which is soy-based, but other than that it looks great, especially for an almost completely meat diet.
According to the instructions, Conker should get about 2 scoops a day, or something around 6 ounces. I gave him one scoop with some extras like Honest Kitchen, ground beef, egg, etc. since this wasn't an actual trial. Anyways, Conker LOVED the Ziwipeak and didn't have any immediate adverse reactions to it so I hope to pick up a bag sometime soon for an actual trail, possibly while I'm in AZ for the holiday.
I also used the food for treats while re-crate training and it worked out good for that too.
If you want to give ZiwiPeak a try and don't want to buy an expensive bag, sent an e-mail asking for a sample. I was more than satisfied with mine.
On a completly unrelated note...
Today is my birthday. I'm 23 and still live at home with Mom. Yippee-ki-yay... not finishing that.
 |
| Sample bag and measuring cup. |
Venison - Meat (min. 65%), Liver, Tripe, Heart and Kidney (min. 19.5%), Chicory Inulin, Green-lipped Mussel (min. 4%), Fish Oil, Lecithin, Kelp, Vitamins and Minerals, Parsley, Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, additives: Vit. D3 592 IU/kg, Vit. E 7.4mg/kg, Copper (copper proteinate) 9.8mg/kg. Calories 1794 KJ/100g.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein (min.) 34%
Fat (min.) 26%
Moisture (max.) 15%
Ash (max.) 8%
Fibre (max.) 1.6%
Calcium 2%
Phosphorus P 1.1%
The only ingredient I find to be a problem is the lecithin which is soy-based, but other than that it looks great, especially for an almost completely meat diet.
 |
| One scoop of ZiwiPeak. |
I also used the food for treats while re-crate training and it worked out good for that too.
If you want to give ZiwiPeak a try and don't want to buy an expensive bag, sent an e-mail asking for a sample. I was more than satisfied with mine.
On a completly unrelated note...
Today is my birthday. I'm 23 and still live at home with Mom. Yippee-ki-yay... not finishing that.
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