Fluffeh

I love how poof Conker is in this picture. This was shortly after moving to Oregon, and though his fur had shed before we left, what grew in was fur for snow weather so it was a bit thick for soggy Southern Oregon. I really liked it, it was very soft and fun to dig my fingers into. Then he began to shed again and I didn't like it so much anymore.

(April, 2011)

Early Morning in Wyoming

I want to move to this state really badly. I love Wyoming and how vacant it is.

This is the place that, during the drive from Missouri to Oregon, I was trying to get Conker to walk on the frozen puddles. I tried and tried but he just wouldn't go near them. Guess what happened? One of them broke and my foot got drenched in freezing water.

(February, 2011)

Camo Pup

 

Conker blended in nicely with dead leaves as a pup. He still does, which is one of the reasons why he wears an orange bandana when we go hiking.

(November, 2010)

Black Muzzle

When Conker was younger (4 months in this picture) he had a black muzzle. It's common for Shiba Inu puppies to be born with black muzzles and retain them until they have their first few sheds. After that, they may have a slight trace of black in a few areas that either stay faint or fade completely with age. Conker's muzzle now has very little black, it's almost all gone. There is a very faint amount on the underside of his muzzle that I suspect will disappear by his fourth birthday.
Some Shibas, often those with more black in their coat, may retain the black muzzle into adulthood.

(October, 2010)

The Pup

Conker the Shiba Inu at just under four months old. First ride in the Jeep from the shelter to home.

(October, 2010)

Nothing has been going on lately. There is nothing interesting to do here, and no motivation to do anything. Until I can find something fun to do or write about, I'll just post a picture every day or so with a tidbit about Conker. Until I run out, or something. They may or may not have been posted before, I'm too lazy to go back through and look.

Don't have a good title for this

Oh man, feeding "dog food" is soooo boring. I like making food for my dog. Planning, preparing, cooking, serving... The whole ordeal. I look(ed) forwards to it every day. Scooping, dumping, serving, is not that fun at all. Whoever invented "dog food" sucks.

Anywho... Today was RMB Day (raw and cooked food day now) for the Girls.

The Meat

They got: Turkey neck chunks, pork chunks, beef heart chunks, chicken gizzards, canned oyster.

The Grains

Then later in the day they were given the eeevil grains. Oats, canned fish (mix of salmon, mackerel, and sardine), egg, salmon oil, vitamin E, and ground roasted chicory root.

They thought it was very yumms, but Juneau didn't like how warm it was and wouldn't eat it until I blowed on it to cool it down.


In other news...
I have been researching the term "balanced" and how it applies to dog food. A lot of companies don't have the full nutrient analysis of their foods available to the public, and instead offer a much watered down "guaranteed" version that leaves out many, many things. The few companies who do have the full profiles online tend to have higher-quality foods.
An interesting trend I am noticing is that my version of "dog food" is a buckton more "balanced" than ANY of these companies so far. I find this to be a bit ironic, since "dog food" is supposed to be "better" than home-made food (and in some cases, it is) but when I am done with this research I will print out the data I have collected and stash it in my "how to prove my food is better than commercial" folder that I plan on showing any vet who is dumb enough to question what I do.

Juneau is the cutest dog ever

Taken last February.

Conker in AZ

Taro's owner uploaded some pictures of Conker, Taro, Rinji and Mika when I was in AZ last Christmas and went to that indoor dog agility place. You can see them here.
Conker looks so tall and lanky in them. It's kinda odd now, since he is finally beginning to fill out and doesn't really look like that anymore.

The Kibble Trials: Contestant #1 Nature's Variety Instinct: Salmon

Since Conker has been being stupid about his food for about two weeks now, only eating small amounts and of select items, sometimes outright refusing an entire meal, I decided to bump up the Trials and instead of starting in April, started them at the end of March.

I drove over to Petco and bought two bags of kibble that were on sale.
I looked at the protein, fat, and carb ratios of the two kibbles and decided upon Nature's Variety Instinct: Salmon since the ratios were closer to what Conker's "normal" diet is than the other kibble. They were pretty close, but I decided not to upset his system too much with the sudden switch.


The Rundown.

Nature's Variety has a nice selection of grain-inclusive and grain-free kibbles. I would have gone with grain-inclusive if it weren't for the high carb content (42%) so I went with grain-free. Fortunately, the formula I chose has no potatoes, an item I have linked to digestive problems with Conker. (Sometimes though, as in the case of dehydrated taters, Conker can handle some potato products just fine.) Unfortunately, my Petco has a slim selection of Nature's variety foods and I was forced to chose from chicken, duck and turkey, or salmon formulas. The two I actually wanted to try, beef and rabbit, were not available, neither were the two limited ingredient diets lamb or turkey. So I went with salmon, my number 3 choice.

Ingredients:
Salmon Meal, Herring Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tapioca, Pea Starch, Pork Liver, Natural Pork Flavor, Coconut Oil, Sun-Cured Alfalfa Meal, Tomato Pomace, Montmorillonite Clay, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Carotene, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Potassium Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Salt, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Carrots, Garlic, Apples, Pumpkin, Rosemary Extract, Yeast Culture (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae), Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Freeze Dried Cod.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min): 35.0%
Crude Fat (min): 20.0%
Crude Fiber (max): 2.5%
Moisture (max): 10.0% 
 

The 4.4 pound bag normally costs $19, making each cup cost $1.14 and each pound about  $4.31. That equates out to about 11 days of food for Conker. Fortunately for me, I was able to acquire a $3 off coupon directly from Nature's Variety, and the kibble was on sale for $2 less than normal, so I got $5 off for a total of cost $14.10, bringing the cost per cup down to $.84 and price per pound down to $3.20 (it was the most expensive kibble per cup in the Trials before the sale and coupon).

The ratios are: Protein:31 Fat:47 Carb:23 (using calorie weighted basis from the turkey and duck formula on dogfoodadvisor) which is right about what I was looking for in a kibble. The carbs are almost equal with Conker's normal diet (15-19%) and the fat a bit lower lower (50-55%).

I also got some cans. One each of venison, lamb, and beef. I will add roughly 25% canned every other day or so unless for some reason they cause complications.
Venison cost the most at $4 per 13.2 ounce can can (I got it for $3.60) and beef and lamb cost the same at $3.29 per 13.2 ounce can (I got for $2.92 each).

The ratio for the cans are:
Protein:30 Fat:54 Carb:16 (based off the duck formula on dogfoodadvisor)


So far Conker likes it and switched over just fine. We'll see how well he does on it (short-term) when the bag and cans run out.
More information and a proper review will be included at the end of the trial.