More Things to Come

I got a package in the mail today.  It looks like a paper bag with something oddly shaped in it. And while it has my name on it, the contents are, like usual, not actually for me.

I was shocked at the speed of at which this package came, and on a Saturday to boot!  I ordered it two days ago, got free (normal) shipping and didn't put any rush on it or nothing. So, in my book, ordering online from Altrec is a stinkin good deal since the items I bought were on sale, with free shipping, and got here in two friggin days! If only they had more things I wanted on sale... (I guess it helps that they are in Bend, or at least the stuff shipped from there.)

After opening the paper baggish thing and inspecting the contents, I tossed them across the room for Conker and Juneau. Conker played with the green one first, then the yellow, and Juneau claimed (and still has) the green one as her own.

Motion blur, courtesy of Fuji.

I thought the yellow one was going to be a bit bigger than it actual is, and I figured Conker would have a hard time holding it. Not so, he loves it! He likes to squish it (despite the lack of a squeaker) and carries it around with him wherever he goes.
Reviews on these two items will be up in a week or so.

Random Picture

Kibble mixed with Honest Kitchen Vereve, for Juneau. Looks fantastic, don't it?

The Honest Kitchen: Keen

I have been waiting a while to do this to give the food a long enough trial period.  I believe that a month and a half is sufficient time to write up a review.

Also ordered some samples and some tea.

Back in November I ordered myself a 4 pound box of The Honest Kitchen Keen and I have been testing it out since it's arrival.  Conker was getting roughly half Keen and half home-made food during the first period then exclusively Keen during the second.

Here's the nutritional info.

Ingredients:
Dehydrated cage-free turkey, organic oats, potatoes, organic flax, carrots, cabbage, organic alfalfa, organic kelp, apples, honey, garlic, rosemary, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein, 21% min
Fat, 15.5% min
Fiber, 5.0% max
Moisture, 8.64% max
Calcium, 1.50% min 1.80% max
Phosphorus, .78% min .99% max
Sodium, 0.17% min 0.24% max
Magnesium 0.15% min 0.17% max
Calories per cup 470,  Calories per kilogram 4140 

Ingredients are good, but it appears to be a bit veggie heavy and low in protien. 

Keen with additions.

I frequently added in things like meats, quinoa, egg or other random things to the food.  One regular item was a chicken heart which I use to hide salmon oil capsules in.

Keen and pork.

Even though already liked food items were present, Conker loved the Keen and licked up every last bit.
During the month of December Conker ate Keen almost exclusively.  He did have a couple other Honest Kitchen varieties and some turkey on a couple days but that was basically it.

I am very fond of how healthy and in shape Conker is on his home-made diet.  One of the things I don't like about most commercial diets is the "effects" from it; namely smell, tartar buildup and grease. While on Keen I did not notice much of a change.

Conker did not smell.
Conker did not develop grease.
Conker did however get some tartar, and that is completely expected due to the nature of this food.  His breath also had a strange funk to it if he didn't have anything to chew on for a while.
Conker continued to have good energy, predictable poop and only refused to eat once.
Conker never showed any signs of intolerances or allergies while on Keen.
However, Conker's fur became a tad brittle and dull while on Keen.

I am very pleased with this food and how it compares to Conker's normal diet. The small number of ____ are easily remedied with a few extra ingredients like fresh meat and fish oil.

Reused image of Keen, no additions.

My main motivation for buying Keen was to find a good food for hiking/camping and travel.  The Honest Kitchen is a very good travel food, especially for someone who feeds raw or home-made foods since no refrigeration is required.

My overall opinion of Keen is good. Conker loves it, he does good on it (short term, I cannot say about long term), it's affordable compared to a home-made or raw diet and is easy to prepare and take with you on trips. 

A 4 pound box of Keen costs $28, 10 pounds $55 direct from The Honest Kitchen.  They do charge shipping ($7.50 for orders of $25-$49.99, $10 for orders of $50-$100.99) but they often have coupons and deals if you sign up for their e-mail newsletter or visit them on Facebook or Twitter.


Note: Keen contains grains.  People who don't feed grains may wish to try one of The Honest Kitchen's other varieties like Force, Embark, Love or Zeal.

We went hiking on Dollar Hill today

Not the usual day to hike, but since Mom and her BF went to the coast with no warning and messed up my plans, I had to rearange things so I took the dogs hiking today instead of tomorrow.
I took all three dogs, something I don't normally do.
Anyways, it was relatively uneventful.  Juneau was being her normal excited-about-everything-and-pulling-like-crazy self, Sasha was pretty meh and Conker was... regular.  They all enjoyed it though.  My favorite part about the hike was this:

It was somewhat overcast in GP but above it was beautiful.  I was not expecting this view at all and while untangling myself from a mass of dog leashes, legs and tails, I spotted this out of the corner of my eye and turned to have a look.

Conker being stupid and going off the trail.

Conker didn't seem impressed. Not pictured on his face is the TICK I swatted off a moment later.  I thoroughly searched all dogs for ticks after the hike and thankfully didn't find any more.
(DayPack review is in the works.)

The view of GP from the top of the hill was equally awesome.  I really like the clouds that hang over it when seen from above, it reminds me of being in a plane.

The pictures of Juneau and Sasha are largely unimpressive, thanks to the Fuji's retardism.  I did however snap this shot which I later edited to look like an out-of-focus black and white film image.

Derp Dog is super cute, even when out of focus.

Update on the tooth: Extraction scheduled.

Well, we had the tooth looked at.  The pulp is exposed in 2 or 3 places and the break is, according to the vet and how Juneau has been acting lately, causing some pain.  There were two options we could do: Have the tooth extracted or do a root canal.  I am personally in favor of the root canal (friggin metal teeth cap-thing whoot whoot!) but in order to do that, we'd have to be referred to a specialist in Ashland, who is the only vet around here that does that sort of thing.  Plus the break is so extensive that the cap might fail.
So we opted for the extraction. Which is going to cost some $430-480.  That includes cleaning the rest of the teeth, anesthetic, monitoring, painkillers, antibiotics and whatever all that other crap is.
Anyways, she's going in on the 17th at 7:00AM or so. 

Everything else was great.  She's heartworm free (despite not being on preventives, we picked some up though) and if the vet hadn't been given an age, she would have guessed Juneau was only two years old!  I guess that says something about her condition.

Vet visit at 4 today

Poor Juneau gets to go to the vet!  She is one of those dogs who breaks down and shakes the whole time, so I am going to play with her a lot before hand to get her worn out so she isn't so wound up.

I will update later when I know what's going on with the tooth.


Here's another sneak peak of an upcoming review item.

Lets play: Where's That Tooth!

Remember when Sasha chipped a tooth? Well, Juneau BROKE a tooth.  See if you can find it.

This picture is terrible, courtesy of Fuji. Juneau's other teeth don't look that bad.

Not much left, is there?

Same tooth as Sasha, same side as Sahsa.  Again I have no idea what caused this.  None of the dogs have been given any hard chews lately and I can't remember if I checked the Girls' teeth right when I got back from Arizona or if the other day was the first time. Either way, this tooth was definitely intact when we left and was either busted during the trip or shortly after we got back.

Reused wolf skull image for comparison.

I don't think it's going to be a particularly cheap fix.  The pulp is exposed in not one but two places, most of the external carnassial is gone. Mom still thinks dogs don't need dental care but I know they do. However, she knows that this break is worse than Sasha's and that Juneau needs to have it looked at soon.  Until then, I am going to monitor the tooth daily and keep it clean, and if I have to, I will take Juneau to the vet myself.

What a way to start the new year. I hope this does not become a trend.

Happy New Year!

2011 is gone, I'm not exactly sad.  It was a very blah year.  I hope this year is much better. 

Last night was filled with fireworks, explosions and gunshots. (Yes, I heard quite a few of them here in little GP.) Juneau spent the entire night in my room, Sasha was there part-time and Conker was harassing them anytime they moved.  See, he thinks the room is HIS and doesn't like ANY other dogs going in there, even when they are given rare permission from me. To calm Juneau she was given some Rescue Remedy (she's the only dog it works on) and a bully stick to keep her busy.

I remembered to make a new folder for the 2012 and January pictures (I normally don't and have to rearrange everything) BUT the lame-ass Fuji messed up the order so I might as well have not made the folders.  At least I know what order they go in...

On to our regular program.  Today the dogs got:

New Years Breakfast

 Juneau and Sasha: Turkey back, gizzard and liver, chicken heart and egg, french toast.
Conker: The Honest Kitchen Force, turkey tail, chicken egg and heart, various supplements.

All dogs thoroughly (omg first time I've ever spelled that word correctly) enjoyed their meals.  Conker was his normal loud self and savaged the Girl's faces as I carried the bowls outside. 


Hopefully I will do some more interesting things this year.  I am planning to go to the Oregon Badlands (near Bend, where Ruff Wear's HQ is located!) sometime this spring and/or early summer.  I am really looking forwards to that.  I'm also going to start hunting, and look for more interesting and harder hiking trails.  Now that I've got NOT TELLIN YOU YET! I'm going to take the Girls hiking more often too.

 Anyways, that's it for now.  More will come when I've actually done something other than sit around and dink with pictures in Photoshop.

New Years's eve + Birthday!

The year 2011 is almost over, and the end of the year marks the birthday of somebody I know.  This somebody is turning 50 (which is apparently an embarrassing age) so they will remain unnamed.  Anyways, Happy 50th!

Today I took Conker and Juneau on a quick 3 mile hike at Cathedral Hills.  Both had a lot of fun and both were sporting new gear which will be written about in a few days. In the meantime, here's a sneak peak at Juneau's stuff:

I is excited about it.

Arizona Adventure: Get the Moe*

*When I tell Conker to get something, I normally shorten the name or say it stupidly.  In the ground-critter's case, it was called a moe instead of mole, I don't think it was actually a mole though.

One of the adventures Conker and I had in Buckeye Arizona took place on the portion of undestroyed undeveloped desert between the large complex of neighborhoods and the busy I-10.  The adventure was incredibly fun and stimulating for Conker, because it involved a potential snack.


I spied a small critter sitting atop a hole in the ground not too far from our current position.  I think it was a ground squirrel, but due to the population of moles at the dog park I decided to call it one since Conker understood that a mole meant an opportunity to dig.  I turn, look at Conker and say, "Lets git d' moe!" in a stupid voice. Conker's ears perk at the words, especially the last, and he waits for me to point out the moe's location.  Dead ahead, I motion with my arm.  His gaze follows and Conker spots the moe as it flashes into it's den.

That brief glance was enough.  He was at the end of the leash in a split second, pulling hard to reach the hidden critter.  As we neared it's den I could see Conker grow more and more excited.  He promptly stuck his nose into the den and inhaled deeply when he was close enough so to do.

Conker did not need to be told what to do.  He began to scratch at the entrance to the den, first making smaller gouges in the soft earth then progressively harder and deeper scratches.  Soon he was digging full-force in an attempt to unearth the moe.

"Where's the moe?"  I ask in an excited tone. Conker shoves his muzzle into the hole up to his eyes.  I can hear him sniffing hard, searching in the darkness for the small snack.  "Git dat moe Conker!"  I cheer as he resumes digging.  A small pile of dirt had begun to appear between his legs.

After a short while Conker started to get discouraged.  The moe had not shown itself and he appeared to be getting bored of digging.  "You haven't found the moe yet!"  I say as Conker examines the exterior of the somewhat-collapsed den, his small black nose working hard to find a fresh scent.

That was enough to get him started again.  He attacked the entrance with a newfound fury, digging quickly and sloppily in hopes of finding the critter quick.  "Git it! Git it, Conker!"  I say, egging him on as soft dirt flies in all directions.  Then, as if he willed it, the moe appeared, but it was in the wrong hole!

Conker chagred the ground-thing but didn't seem to notice the rather difficult bush in his way.  No matter, he's a Shiba! That bush will bend to his will if he wishes it so.
And that's what it did. Conker shoved his way through the bush and almost got the moe but it dashed back into the hidden den entrance beneath the bush's roots.

 Conker returned to the first entrance and continued excavation.  He dug faster and harder and began to bury my feet with the interior of the moe's den.  He was determined to catch it now that it had the gall to openly mock him like that. "You gonna let it escape, Conker?  Git d' moe!  Git it!"  I say.

The entrance was no longer a muzzle-sized hole in the ground.  It was a crater big enough for Conker to fit most of his front half into.  He paused to shove his face in deep and inhale many times, his nose searching for the moe that had probably escaped through a different tunnel by now.

Despite his apparent defeat, Conker continued to dig.  He cleared out a hole slightly larger than a cubic foot and made a heap of dirt several inches high and two feet wide.  If he wanted he could have curled up into the hole.
But no moe appeared.  It was lucky, this time, that Conker is not that great of a digger.

Over the course of the rest of the week, every time we would go out into the undeveloped desert, Conker would go back to the hole and snuff around for the moe.  It was never there, and had probably wised up and moved to a new location where Conker could not harass it by destroying it's front door.