Small Conker Update

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

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

Anywho...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Dog

First off...

Baby Beef day 5: Same as yesterday.

Conker decided that he was going to be a happy dog today. He started it off by having a very long morning nap, then spend a good chunk of time basking out on the deck.

It was a warm 62 degrees today. Perfect for winter/spring basking.

Then we went on a hike. My younger brother found Conker's harness, it was in an odd place, no wonder I couldn't find it.

Conker was incredibly excited to go hiking today. I don't really know why, maybe because he was wearing his harness, maybe because we hadn't gone hiking yesterday. Either way, he started whining then barking when we got close to the parking lot and pulled in. He's never done that before.

He was very energetic today, but was able to control himself and not chase after a pair of mountain bikers who passed us on one of the trails. (He will occasionally chase them for a few yards if they are going fast enough.)

Here is a rather unspectacular picture of the sun.

I let Conker pick half of the trails we took today. The other half I picked in order to make the hike not too long or too short. Conker protested this route for a few minutes. He wanted to go a different way.

We didn't get to see the sun set (we were on the wrong trail at the time) but we did see some cool looking scenery.

Obligatory bench.

The hike was around 7.25 miles. Conker loved every minute of it.

F-12

Baby Beef day 4: Leftover legmeat.

In other news...

It has arrived! And it is thick. I think I will like this one.

F-11

This is what the girls got today. More meaty legbones and a smorgasbord of organs.

I took Conker on a short 4.75 mile hike today.

He is being picky with food again. Sometimes he'll eat plain kibble, othertimes plain raw meat, then ten seconds later he doesn't want either. I don't think he likes the kibble he's currently on very much though, he's never really been very interested in it.

His leg hasn't gotten any better yet. I don't know where his harness is either.

At least the scenery was nice today.

F-10

Today the Girls got: Baby Beef meat, liver, and lung.

Conker and I (and my younger sister and some of her friends) went on a short hike today. No pictures of that.

Beginning the Baby Beef

Today was the first day of feeding the Baby Beef to the dogs. (Excluding the legbones the Girls got the day I got the Baby Beef.)  Conker, since he is a dork and will not touch any part of the Baby Beef period-end-of-discussion, will not be participating in the eating of the Baby Beef. This adventure in rawfoods is only for the Girls.

I have boxed portions of the organs that will last for a little under a week each but am still going at the meat and bones. I have three biggish plastic boxes of them, and the first is only half thawed, so every few hours I go and hack it's contents up a bit more. (When I skinned and gutted the Baby Beef, I did not cut it up much. Only into leg, back, chest, and neck sections.)
This is what the girls got today.

Legbones! Yes, these bones are safe to give to the dogs. The Baby Beef's bones are very soft so there is very minimal risk of fracturing teeth, especially when compared to adult beef bones.
Also in the bowls are bits of organs; Liver, lung, heart, kidney, and... Something... Not sure what.

Sasha is very good at stripping meat off bones. She pulled almost all of it off before crunching the bone into little bits. She liked to lick the marrow out of the bone then crunch the bone down, then lick more marrow out.

Juneau kinda just munched the whole thing at once. A bit of meat here, a bit of bone there, a bit of meat and bone at the same time... Juneau seemed to eat around the marrow (as odd as that is) then eat the marrow after it was well exposed.
She left a small bit in the yard which Sasha later claimed and devoured.

Both of the Girls thoroughly enjoyed their Baby Beef meals. Tomorrow will be the rest of the leg meat that was not fed today and a smaller portion of organs.

Friday Hike

We did an average 6 mile hike today. Nothing spectacular happened, if you don't count Juneau attempting to swim in every puddle and creek she found. It was actually quite entertaining watching her try to bathe in a stream the size of my arm.

The dogs all enjoyed the hike. Conker got to ride on my shoulders a few times since his leg was bugging him a bit. I don't know where his harness is so he gets to be carried like that instead of a piece of luggage.
I am thinking of getting him a DoubleBack Harness (if I can find one on sale) to replace his old one instead of an Approach Pack. The DoubleBack has more chest and belly support, which would make it more comfortable for him to be carried in than a regular Web Master. Plus it's a badass harness and Conker would look awesome in it.

Note: Yes, I do exercise Conker on his bad leg. Why? because when I don't, he loses muscle mass which helps hold the patella in place, and the luxation gets worse. So in order to prevent it from getting really bad I still take him on walks and hikes (the longer the better, funny how that works), and play games like tug and fetch, and wrestle.
Every now and then his leg will act up so we either go home or he gets carried, or I end the game. I am very concerned about his leg, but at this point not letting him have any fun is far more damaging than the small risk of injury occurring on a hike.

F-6

Other people keep using my Jeep when I want to, so I haven't gone on many hikes recently.

Today I took all three dogs with me. Juneau and Sasha wore packs. 

Juneau did a lot better than she normally does. She wasn't as spaztastic this time around. (But the camera was.)

Since my Jeep was occupied until after 3:30, the sun set and it got dark while we were still on the trails. Conker (white) and Sasha (blue) wore lights, but Juneau broke hers somehow so she didn't have one. I had her stay beside or behind me after it got dark enough but the other two were allowed to range out a bit.
I guess I need to figure how how Juneau broke her brand new light, and need to carry extras when I go on afternoon/evening hikes in case it happens again.

This hike totaled around 13 miles. I ended up taking my shoes off for the last 3 miles or so since they were bugging my feet.

ORANGE

Conker is currently eating a chicken-based food and has yet to show any signs of irritation! He ate a food that contained chicken meal while in Alaska and also didn't develop any of the stuff he has in the past when he's eaten a chicken-based/inclusive food, so I am wondering what the deal is with that.


Anywho, Ruff Wear, my favorite dog gear company, has come out with some spiffy new stuff!
First off, they have updated the Approach Pack. While I don't think this newer version looks as cool as the older one, it now comes in... ORANGE.
This means that a lot of online companies are clearanceing the now outdated style pack. I am torn between paying full-price for an ORANGE pack, my favorite color and "Conker's color", or going with a discounted older-model green one instead. Or not getting either and just waiting until I can find an ORANGE pack in the correct size on sale...

They also reintroduced the Chain Reaction collar they had out a few years ago. I like this collar, a lot, and guess what? Yes, it comes in ORANGE too! I've seen the old one a few times on the web but never at a good enough price to buy. So now I get to wait until I spot one of these on sale to buy as well.
The Top Rope collar has been updated too and also comes in ORANGE.

Their new Slackline leash is pretty cool too. (Yes, it comes in ORANGE as well.) But I am really not into padded-grip leashes, which all of Ruff wear's newer leashes appear to be. I've got a black padded-grip leash that I sometimes walk one of the Girls with and I really do not like it very much. So unless I can find one of these leashes for a really good price, I probably won't be getting one.

Aaargh why does Ruff wear's stuff have to cost so much! I love their gear, it's so awesome...

Money spent in January

Here it is, the first of 12 posts describing what I spend on Conker each month for the year 2013! Yay.


January 2013

• Food: $112
• Treats/Chews: $20
• Gear: $9
• Toys:$2

Total: $143


Food.
I spent a lot more on this than I wanted to, but I kept finding good deals on kibbles and meat so... It adds up.
Kibble: First I got a 28.9 pound bag of EVO Red Meat for $35.75. These normally go for closer to $68, so there was no way I was passing that one up. Then I got a small bag each of HALO Surf & Turf, Canidae pureELEMENTS, Solid Gold Wee Bit, and Canyon Creek Chicken for $17 total from Petflow.
Raw: Over the month I picked up various turkey bits for $0.70-$1.80 per pound, two packages of lamb breast for I think $1.33 per pound, some ground beef for $1.40-$2 per pound, A pork shoulder for $1.10 per pound, and the baby beef for $10.

Treats/Chews.
I got 20 6 inch bullysticks from Petflow for $20.

Gear.
Six lights that attach to a collar for $1.50 each from Petflow. (three red, one pink, one blue, and one white)

Toys.
Two footlong rope toys from Walfart for $1 each. (one blue, one pink)


Thankfully that's it for January! Glad this month is gone so I don't keep running that total up. For the month of February I hope to not spend any money on food, since I've got more than enough for all three dogs for a while.