Raw Conundrum

I thought that once I started feeding Abby raw that my life would be so much easier. And it is to an extent, but then again - its not.

At first I thought it would be difficult for her to make the transition, but it wasn't. Abby LOVES raw. She gets so excited when it comes time to eat. She actually whines more than mole - I now know that it is possible. She eats about 3 oz twice a day; that is double mole and triple pocket. For the most part my dogs eat a pre-made raw. I don't have a lot of freezer space and they really don't eat that much, so it is actually an affordable way to feed my 14#s of dog. But when you add Abby into the equation, it becomes extremely expensive. I flip-flop between Primal and Nature's Variety. Both have great food, but they offer different things and I like to give them a bit of variety in protein and veggie. Primal has bags with 64 nuggets, and NV has bags with 48 nuggets. If you do that math, that one bag lasts between 4-6 days. Not even one week. Let me say again, I do not have a lot of freezer space. I go to the pet store a lot.

I talked to some people and am going to try something new for a bit. I am switching to patties instead of nuggets and hope that they last a bit longer. It really isn't any cheaper, but I'm not switching anybody to kibble. I am also going to feed a lot more necks. I really should be feeding more then I do, but I'm a bit lazy. Ok, it wasn't really me being lazy, but I didn't like locking my dogs outside during winter while they ate their dinner. I'll probably also go to the store to see if they have any left over ground - that is where the $avings come in. I may also try to plan a veggie-glop night.

This really shouldn't be that hard.

In other Abby news, she still does not sleep through the night. She has to potty twice during the night. I have started picking up the water bowl, but so far that isn't helping. If she isn't jumping all over the place then she is licking herself constantly. That sound is so gross and will wake the dead out of a sound sleep.

*HIT

I am having more problems with my computer.

Or maybe I am having more problems with my dogs . . .

Two days ago I went to dinner with Mac's mom. It was a much needed night out and a much needed mojito. I had brought the foster with me as she tends to fuss when I leave, but I left my "well-behaved" kids at home to watch the new episode of CSI and catch me up when I got home. But when I came home I noticed something was amiss with my computer - the "S" was missing. Well, it wasn't missing, it was laying next to the computer but it definitely not where it was supposed to be on the key board!

I'm not going to blame anyone but someone removed the letter. Letters don't just fall off your key board when your computer is sitting on your desk. And I since I noticed it as soon as I walked in the door I am assuming that it happened when I was out or else I would have noticed it earlier. I guess this is what happens when you hide the garbage can and lock up the treats - your dogs go hunting for some damage to create.

It took me a while, but I finally got the "s" back where it was supposed to be. Lets see how long it lastsssssssss.

So. . .

Don't read into this, but I started feeding Abby RAW tonight.

I know I said that I wouldn't do this, and its probably unfair to her, but its so much easier for me. And to be honest, I'm not really sure how to feed anything else at this point.

I started out feeding canned Evanger's canned food. I did this because it was the healthiest option in canned food I could find. They cook their food and they do not include any organ meat; but they do offer an organic option. I fed this while her gums were healing from the cleaning and teeth pulling.

Canned food can only last so long in this house because the smell is just too gross for me. I really can't complain about the texture, but it just looks like dog food. Gross! After talking to my food lady I switched her to Ziwi Peak. A great option but an expensive one. She was also having a bit of soft stool on this food. I think because it is a little rich. She liked it, but it took her a while learning how to eat the soft squares. Also, my kids just had to have some too. My main problem with this food is how much to feed. There is a feeding guide on the back of the bag, but since I haven't used it as food the proportions are difficult for me. Abby is already fat enough, the last thing she needs is to get fatter due to my stupidity.

So, raw it is. I do feel that it is unfair to her since her forever-home probably won't be feeding her raw. She will have to switch back to kibble at some point, but I don't think that feeding raw in my house is really detrimental to her health. If I felt that it was, I probably wouldn't be feeding it to my dogs. I have to say, it made me feel good to see her scarf her dinner down - a dinner that was perfectly proportioned to her proper weight. Hopefully her stools will go back to their original size and shape soon. But more hopefully, I hope she gets into her new home so she can start adjusting and I can start sleeping through the night again.

Off Leash With Abby

Ok, I should mention that Abby was not off leash. Despite all of the things that I have been doing wrong (i.e. letting her sleep on the bed, feeding her from my plate) I still have the best of intentions. So, while my kids were running around off leash and Abby had on a very long long-line.

Car ride there:


The dumps (aka: oyster bay) was a completely new experience for Abby. I highly doubt that she had ever been on a "walk" before. We had tried a few times before today, but she really is a "freak-on-a-leash" She made it completely impossible for my kids to walk normally. Letting my kids off-leash made it easier for me to control her. The funny thing was that once we were out and away from everything she was perfect. She would walk out in front with one of my kids, but would always come back if I called her - something I never expected. If we didn't come across those scary people every once and a while she probably wouldn't have needed the leash at all.



Besides people,we came across a few other "scary" things. The orange cone was probably the scariest. It was just laying in the path and we could see it from a distance - causing her anxiety to have a chance to grow. But once she saw that Mole thought it was ok, she thought it was ok too.


Those creepy blue things didn't seem to bother her as much. At one point she tried to jump up on it! My shutter speed was too slow to catch it, tho.


Another lesson we learned: not all plants are nice. This one jumped up and bit her. I don't think she ever figured out why, but she never got close to another plant with those purple flowers.



All in all I think that we had a nice walk. The best part was coming home and having everyone fall asleep - giving me a chance to rest for the first time in a week.

I Was Being Suffocated

. . . By dog hair.

Well, It felt like it anyway.

For some reason today I felt like I was being suffocated by dog hair. I felt like it was everywhere. It seemed like I couldn't pick it all up fast enough. It all started when I washed the crate blanket. When I pulled it out of the drier I pulled Mole out with it! There must have been 9 pounds of dog hair in the lint trap. And I know the trap was clean before I stuck the blanket in there. The weirdest part is that the kids NEVER use their home crate - I have actually been thinking about retiring it to the garage to give me more space. Guess the hair just traps there because of the blanket.

You know how cleaning goes. Once you start you just can't seem to stop. Since I had dog hair issues I had to pull everything out from under my bed and get all the hair out from there too. While I was at it, it seemed like a good time to go through my books. Not sure why today seemed like a good day since I haven't done that in YEARS! It one of my "things" throwing out books. I just can't seem to do it. It practically hurts me to do so. But I somehow managed to get rid of 6 bags of books. Took them to the closest used book store - and now I have store credit so that I can stock up again!

The last thing was that I got a new rug. I haven't pulled it out yet, but I got it. The rug I have has been down for about 2 years. Not that long in people time, but 2 people years is like 10 dog years when it comes to rugs. I think that the weave is capturing that "dog smell". So gross. The reason I haven't put it down yet is that there is some discussion as to whether or not the fire retardant causes thyroid issues in cats. A thyroid issue would probably be beneficial to one of my cats, but its not that fun in the long run. I think that I'll hold onto it for a bit before I decide.

She's On The Internet!

Abby is up on the rescues website. The group that got her is Nor Cal Animal Friends, but they are also known as Nor Cal Beagle Rescue. You can read up about her on the adoptable animals page. Let me make one thing clear: Abby is not under 10lbs. She is fat - yes, I know most "normal" people think she looks fine, but all dog people have asked me if she was pregnant (that's how fat she looks! - and is!) But even at her ideal weight she will not be under 10lbs. I would be happy to get her to 12-15lbs . . .or, 3-5 lbs less then she is now.

Other than that, Abby is turning into a dog. She has *finally* started eating and this morning we had our first poop. I was so proud. Followed by our first pee accident in the house. Oh well. She comes to work with me and sleeps very quietly in the cage all day. But at night - when the kids and I are ready to sleep - she is awake. She whines a lot and paces constantly. She was fine sleeping in her crate for the first few days, but now she is only content up on the bed. Its horrible of me, and I really do know better, but she absolutely LOVES mole and curls up into a ball right next to him (and he doesn't seem to mind!)

The thing that really makes me the happiest is when we get home from work and she sees the kids for the first time all day. She wags her whole body and runs around the yard. It is absolutely adorable! Now if only she will be that happy to see a person she might stand a chance at getting adopted.

Wish her luck.

Smart Idea

First two nights with the foster have been sleepless. But that is not because she isn't sleeping. Its cause the other 5 dogs aren't sleeping. And because the stupid neighbors got a puppy and he doesn't sleep through the night either! And it seems that everyone else in the house is sleeping right now - everyone but me.

Mac's mom called me this morning to see if I wanted to take a walk with the kids (and possibly the foster). I hemmed and hawed a bit because I knew that the foster did not walk on a leash. Not that I blame her, she has probably never had one on before Friday night. But I agreed because I knew that my kids needed to get out and it would probably do Abby some good to see the world a bit. This was not the smart idea.

After getting to Mac's house we loaded up all the kids in the car. My 2+1 in the crate in the back with Mac sitting firmly in my lap in the front. This was not the smart idea. Pocket has figured how to get out of the crate. She already figured out how to open the door. But she has now figured how to climb out the top of the crate. Definitely not a smart idea with a mostly pocket-friendly pit bull in the car.

The smart idea actually came when Mac's mom said that I needed to get a little martingale collar for the foster. Great idea cause once we were actually using the leash, the first thing that girl did was try to back out of it can hide. Not a smart idea on a busy Oakland street.

Showing off the pretty purple princess collar


Playing in the Oakland snow (really!)

Number 135

I work for a vet hospital and like most vets, we do some pro-bono work. Yesterday a special little girl came in for a complete make-over. She was "rescued" from a puppy mill in Missouri , or as my friend said "from misery". She came in to get spayed, vaccinated, and her teeth cleaned. And what a mess those teeth were (I actually wore gloves!) For some reason this little one spoke to me - not many do anymore. I felt bad for her and felt that I could give her a nice few days of pampering and rest. Oh wait, I forgot, I'm pet sitting. Some how five dogs doesn't sound very relaxing. But she seems to be adjusting well. She does better with them then she does with me.

Side view: she is so fat!!!! but so cute.


Checking herself out in the mirror. How can you say "no" to that face?



I love how her little tongue sticks out. Its sad really, cause we had to pull her bottom incisors out.

Warning!!!! Gross Stuff To Follow

I read a lot of other blogs - most are animal related in one way or another. Someone I read on a semi-regular basis is Dolittler. There are all sorts of interesting animal stuff on there from Microchiping to chiropractic care. But today I found something even more interesing "7 unhealthy habits of veterinarians" Seriously? This can't be good! The public must not know exactly how gross we people really are.

But this gave me an idea. Maybe by confessing my "sins" I will stop doing them . . . Probably not. But I'll let you in on a big one:

I HARDLY EVER WEAR GLOVES

Its true and its gross. I always wear gloves when I knowingly dive into a fecal specimen - but sometimes you don't know and its not avoidable. I hardly ever wear gloves when scaling teeth. Or when I'm cleaning out ears. I should always wear gloves when handling the feral cats, but do I? of course not. I take it for granted that most diseases really aren't zoonotic. That doesn't mean its not gross.

On the flip side, I wash my hands constantly. If people only know how much Dial we go through in a given week. Luckily we get free hand sanitizer from the big drug companies, cause we go through that like a college kid goes through a keg! And we are constantly sanitizing surfaces - cause we know that there are germs that other animals can catch. And its gross not to - says the kettle to the pot...

Potential Hobby #2

Picture Taking . . .

I completely ruled this out very early on because of the cost. Its not a very expensive hobby once you get started especially if you take digital pictures. But getting started can be very $$$$. Some basic cameras start at $400-$600. That is just for the body! Lenses themselves are also expensive. I have a bunch of lenses from when I actually had photography as a hobby - way back in college. But then I would have to figure out how those worked with a new digital body. That would take up a ton of my free time. It would almost be a hobby in and of itself. Or is learning considered part of the hobby?

Either way, I had fun taking pictures today at lunch. I took this one with my very old point and shoot.

Tan Lines

I love spring. Its my third favorite season, but today it was my first love. The reason it jumped to number one?

Baseball

Beer

Sunburns


Today was a great day. But something happened that almost killed the mood - this girl was worrying about her TAN LINES! Its BASEBALL! Not happy hour at the pool! But the beer kicked in and I stopped worrying about her - until the group got a little amorous. . . and possibly incestuous. Weird.

How Does That Happen?

Do you ever wonder how something can start out one way, but somehow turn itself around and end up completely different. Almost like that old quote "The best laid plans. . ." Or how you can view something one way and another person can view the same thing completely different.

I took a long walk today during lunch, much needed considering how crazy this day was turning out. There are tons of different birds at the park - from large (mean) geese to pigeons, most of them hang out in flocks. I saw this flock and wanted to take a picture of it:



The funny thing is that I took another picture of the same flock after walking around a bend



I didn't crop the pictures so you can see the effect. The same thing from a different point of view. Notice how the second picture looks like it is taken on a hillside, but you can see from the first that it is flat ground. Strange. Kinda like my day.