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.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
*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.
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.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, April 18, 2008
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.
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.
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