Neglect

That's what I've been doing to this blog. However, I have a good reason for it.

I just moved to a plot of acreage right behind the farm I work on that borders an expanse of BLM land! It looks like a redneck lives in my spot right now, but I am still in the process of getting my crap out of the house and over here to my new domain.

I put up 200 feet of fence for the dogs. While it's not the largest yard around, it's plenty big enough for them while I'm at work. I leave the gate open when I am around and just keep an eye on them as they wander around the area surrounding my RV.
Juneau has escaped a couple times (once to go roll in shit... she slept outside that night) but it seems to be sturdy now. I think it's kinda funny that Juneau is the escape artist instead of the Shiba, where that could be considered a breed trait since it happens so often with them.

I plan on staying here for a while, and my landlady has talked about me helping her plant some fruit trees next year (so she's planning on it too!) and I'm going to slowly clear out some nasty brush and expand the fenceline as my finances and time allow to give the dogs some more roaming room while I am at work.

Money spent in July

So, I didn't really keep very good track of my dog expenses this month. I've had a lot going on, ranging from work to moving, so I had a lot of other stuff to deal with.

Anywho, this is my best estimate of the costs this July.


July 2013

• Food: $50
• Treats/Chews: $5
• Toys: $10
• Gear: $25

Total: $90

Food
I bought some chicken and various meaty things like liver, some more salmon scrap, and beef heart.

Treats/Chews
I got a couple dehydrated chicken feet for the dogs a few times.

Toys
I found a rubber KONG frisbee and some other ball thing in a discount bin and snagged them for $10.

Gear
Everybody got new tags with updated information (phone number and e-mail address). And I got another dog bowl.

Dumbass

Some people came to pick up some furniture, so I put the dogs out in the backyard. They were only going to be out there for like, 30 minutes, but apparently that was far too long for The Emperor of Badass. Naturally, he had to throw a hissy fit and go do this:

Decorate his coat with water and dirt, effectively creating mud. Of course, the other dogs followed suit, so now they get to stay out there for a lot longer than was originally planned.

Baby Beef: salted and dried

I finally got around to salting the Baby Beef's hide. I haven't done this before, so it was a learning experience. It's a lot easier that I thought it would be. But the pallet I salted the hide on left marks on the fur. I guess I should use solid wood next time.

I haven't tanned it yet, but I'll (hopefully?) get around to that eventually. Whenever I decide to pull the head out of the freezer, thaw it, and cut the brains out...

Salmon Tail

This was the 6th's meal.

Conker did not eat that salmon tail. I ended up giving it to Sasha since she hasn't had one yet.

This is Oncorhynchus nerka, Suk-kegh, or more commonly known as Sockeye. It is wild-caught fish but I do not know it's exact origin, only that is does come from the Pacific Northwest. 

There is a type of sickness that can be caused by eating raw salmon (or other salmonoids like trout) called salmon poisoning. This type only affects canids. 

Salmon poisoning is caused by a combination of two things. First, the fish needs to be carrying a fluke called Nanophyetus salmincola. The fluke carries a bacteria called Neorickettsia helminthoeca, a type of rickettsia. If the fish is carrying this fluke that is carrying the bacteria, the dog that eats it will most likely get infected.

Symptoms can develop a week after eating the fish and can include: diarrhea, vomiting, depression, loss of appetite, fever, and enlarged lymph nodes. Salmon poisoning is treated with antibiotics (to kill the bacteria) and a chemical such as fenbendazole (to kill the flukes).

90% of dogs that do not receive treatment die from the condition. However, many dogs that are treated will be immune from developing the condition again.

Salmon poisoning can be prevented by not feeding any raw salmon(oids) other than those caught in far northern Alaskan waters, by freezing fish below -0 degrees for two weeks, or by cooking the fish. My salmon scraps have been frozen for several weeks.

Many dogs die from contracting salmon poisoning during or after the yearly salmon runs. This is a common occurrence in the Rouge Valley and the vets warn against taking dogs to the rivers and creeks during salmon season since the dogs could eat an infected fish they find on the banks.

Cathedral Hills

First, some breakfast.

This is a batch of mince that I stuck into a 8lb cookie dough container (quite a shock for anyone who still thinks there is macadamia white chocolate dough in there!) since Juneau and Sasha have put on some pudge and mince is a hellova lot easier for me to portion. The dogs will get mince for a short while with turkey necks/backs as boney treats.

Yumm.

Onto the news...

We went hiking today at Cathedral Hills! Juneau was, of course and as usual, a whacko-jet-dog, running all over the woods, bell jangling loudly, nose working quickly, feet moving so fast they were a blur...

As we were approaching Conker's log, he jumped up on it without me saying a word. Good boy!

He made a quick pose before taking off after the Rocket Dog.

We made many frequent water breaks. I have the dogs drink in order, starting with Conker, then Sasha, and finally Juneau last. I do it this way since Conker is a snob and doesn't really like to drink (out of a bowl) on hikes, so I have him go first. And I do Sasha before Juneau since Juneau will drink all the water.

This is the only decent three-dog photo I took of them today.

Then they blasted off at the speed of light, leaving a huge cloud of dust behind them.

Limpy Creek

Today I took the dogs to Limpy Creek.

They all had a lot of fun!

Vote for Conker!

What better way to celebrate Conker's 3rd birthday than by winning a RuffWear photo contest?

Go here to vote!  (facebook)  Or you can enter your own dog right here.
p.s. You can vote every day!

Independance

Here's a little American cheer for you.

In other news...

This is what my dogs got for Independence Day.

Chicken, ground beef, (beef) liver and heart, eggs, veggie mix (various lettuces, spinach, squash, raddishes, oats), and goat milk! Sasha also got a strawberry top since she likes those.

Money spent in June

Here is the bill for June.

June 2013

• Food:$66
• Toys: $20 
• Vet/Medical:$68

Total: $152


Food
I bought a lot of chicken this month, since my craigslist stock has run out so I must purchase bone-in items for bone content. I got several 10 pound bags of chicken quarters and two whole chickens, varying from $0.70 - $0.88 a pound. I got a few packages of turkey backs/misc. for $0.70 a pound. A big chunk of the cost came from the local butcher. I stop in every now and then to get beef liver (theirs is the highest quality, and lowest price) and they happened to have beef heart and wild sockeye salmon scraps for $1.50 a pound! So, naturally I buy several pounds of the stuff for the dogs. I got some odd looks...

Toys
I visited a pet boutique-style shop "in the city" and bought two Planet Dog balls.

Vet/Medical
I got three types of dewormers, since I had none on-hand and wanted to try the fenbendazole to see if it would fix Conker's issues (it seems to have, which is a bit alarming, actually...) I got some ivermectin and pyrantel pamoate as well. I dewormed all the dogs with the fenbendazole then the pyrantel pamoate a few days later just to be sure, and will be starting up the ivermectin (heartworm prevention) this month since it's unusually hot and humid right now.