Friday, March 29, 2013

Saya the treeing shiba inu and day 3 on amazing grass

Saya smiling in this picture because she had wonderful day yesterday.Why was it wonderful? She chased a squirrel up tree.

Before I let the dogs out I tried to give the squirrels chance to get to the woods and stuff well they all ran to the woods. I guess this one figured pear tree was good enough to run up.

I let dogs out to enjoy the morning while I did some stuff. I come walking down with bird seeds and the squirrel jumped off the pear tree that is at side of the house. Saya gives chase squirrel panics and runs up closest tree which is bit closer to the woods, but not enough.

Saya whines at it barks at the squirrel and puts her paw on the tree rinse repeat few times and the squirrel wanted to escape goes to the tree closest to the house and hangs there for a bit Saya coarse follows it to the tree. She climbed the stairs to the back deck coarse not high enough.

Squirrel makes leap to the ground and escapes to the woods on the right if your facing the house.

Saya didn't notice so she looked up whined a bit and checked the other trees the squirrel used to be on.



Monday is when she treed her first squirrel. We had very deep snow about 9inches maybe I forgot. She actually caught up to the squirrel, but it sunk into the snow a bit and Saya kept looking for it in the snow.

She did grab it, but it got loose with some missing fur on it's tail..

Chase was back on and the squirrel got to the tree chattering away at me and Saya it wasn't too happy.

I'm pretty impressed with her as she did good job keeping it on the tree. If I was a squirrel hunter type I'd have two squirrels by now as there were some clear shots..

Though squirrel season is not going on so I think that would be illegal? I could be wrong. Either way I'm not interested in squirrel right now.
Today is day three of the amazing grass green super food stuff. This morning I had it mixed with milk again and I don't mind the taste with it in milk I have to stir it a bit after a bit.

I also had a egg mixed with some spinach too yummy.

For lunch I made a smoothie and had some potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and left over cooked salmon.

The smoothie tasted really good I put half orange, apple, banana, little bit of blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, mango, tiny bit of raw honey, and cranberry juice.

The blender actually worked this time and didn't leak. I think we'll need new blender soon as it has leaked some which isn't fun.

I like the product so far they do have other flavors and even original which probably taste really grassy with no chocolate or berries..

They have samples of each flavors which I plan to try eventually.

I think I'll stick with chocolate though. The samples are inside a cup it does cost some money, but good way to taste test to find which you like best..
I do feel a bit more energized now, but who knows could be placebo effect..

If it is ah well makes good addition for my smoothies.

I'm not one to take daily supplements I don't like them and from the nutrition label this seems to have a good amount of nutrition in it and even has pre and probiotics.

So I feel the supplement is more natural versus multivitamin type pill..

I do still take fish oil, but besides that I don't plan to take any.




Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Amazing grass:Chocolate green super food arrived.

Amazing greens stuff came today. :) I got it from amazon as they coarse have it for lower amount then the company selling it for.. $32.46 compared to $49.99.

I opened it up to see how it looks the powder is chocolate color since I got chocolate.. I'm thinking it'd be green if I got the original formula.

I tasted tiny bit of the powder and it tasted pretty good.
It comes with a scoop it's a little buried in the stuff.

Coarse today is day one on trying this we'll see if the claims it makes is true or not.

I do like the taste so if anything I'll get it from Amazon as it's lower priced and use to mix with my smoothies to give it a boost.

Especially with mowing season begins I'm going to be the main one mowing the fields which is a lot of work doing 16acres.. We only mow whole thing once a year.

I also got a protein bar for free it's not from amazing grass it's called kind +. I'm not one to eat protein bars, but it was free so I thought I'd try it.


                                             Ingredients of the product.
Yeah it has barley grass, wheat grass, alfalfa, and tons other ingredients.. Does have spirulina which I read is supposed to be good for you.

I seen spirulina and few pet supplements and read about it some..

I had my first cup with dinner.. I mixed it with milk it doesn't taste too bad not super sugary like chocolate milk, but drinkable at least.

I think it be more better blended as a smoothie.

Dinner for me was pork chop, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and carrots yummy.

Saya had 2.24oz lamb kidney, tiny bit of sweet potato, tiny bit of caned dog mix, honest kitchen, and joint supplement. Yummy. Saya loved it of coarse.

Bella had usual kibble and bit of caned dog food mix and sweet potatoes.

Tomorrow she'll get turkey thigh and some organs and caned dog food mix.


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Nice walk in snow before spring.

We got some more snow which dogs enjoyed. I'm looking forward to spring and hope we don't get anymore as I worry about our fruit trees.

We went on usual walk today and had a lot of fun and it was much easier to walk in the snow as it melted down some so it wasn't so high.

Bella did well on her walk and had a good exercise. Saya coarse did good on walk. First walk Bella was on leash and Saya off and second walk Saya on leash and Bella off.


Bella showed interest in a leaf so we had fun with it for a bit.



 

Saya decided to lay down on one of the rounds so me and Bella kept walking the trails while she enjoyed the snow.
Good thing we had such nice walk today too as temps will be getting in the 40F and 50F so snow will be gone in few days.
I'm expecting a package tomorrow. I got this product called Amazing green Chocolate Green SuperFood.





I got it for $32.42 versus 49.99 It supposed to boost immune system, detoxifies and few other benefits.

Ingredients seems good I never tried any supplement like this especially one that has wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa in it..

I picked the chocolate one I figured it taste good and if not I'm sure blending it with banana and some fruit would help.

I try to not go to nuts on vitamins as I prefer to get it from diet. Eating good meats, veggies, fruit and so on.

I'm doing very well diet wise, but I figure it be nice to have on hand especially if I travel and don't have chance to get enough veggies or fruit or for nice snack. 

Plus I thought I'd try it who knows maybe it'll give me even more of a boost of energy.

The who grasses and stuff might be a nutrition fad who knows. I thought I'd give it a trial for myself and see for myself if it taste good and how I feel after having it once a day.

It'll be here tomorrow so I'll see how I like it full review tomorrow when it comes along with pictures on how it looks.

I'll probably mix it in milk at first to see if it taste good with just milk.


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Groundhog is back!

Today I did usual took dogs on walk then did some yard work while dogs explored some and relaxed..

I found out why Saya has been adamant about checking the shed at least once when outside.

A groundhog is under there. :(

I got two, but apparently there was three or maybe this one is new one coming in to the hole..

I really need to block that area darn cats go under it and groundhogs..

I was sitting on chair while Saya was laying down and Bella was chewing on meaty lamb leg bone. She finished it today. I saw it run from the shed to the field. I was taken back because I thought I was done with it.

Once the two were gone I had no veggies being eaten.. Maybe this one was more sneaky I dunno. I'll need take care of it especially before we plant veggies. 
Soon will be removing the mulch off the bog.
Anyways Bella has been on Totw:southwest canyon kibble for while so far she has done well on it poop wise and no gas coming from her which is good.

Energy wise is same as when she is one wellness core ocean. She seems to like the taste of it too.

She is getting low on it so I've started switching her to wellness core.

Turkey and chicken is the protein of the kibble. I haven't fed this since we first switched her to adult kibble.

Dink had issue with it so we switched to core ocean. I think Dink had issue with cooked turkey.

Bella did fine on it I think, but been long time so can't remember too well.

She has just started so we'll see how she does on this kibble.

She enjoys raw and cooked chicken and turkey with no stomach upset so hopefully kibble form is fine..

Next kibble I plan to do is fromm or some other brand probably duck formula or beef.

 

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Spring is coming.2

Flowers are coming up
Weather has warmed up some 35F to 40F and sometimes in the 50F or so which is nice.

Coarse warm weather means ticks are out. I hate ticks.

Saya will need to go to the vet to get some more heartguard and I plan to try frontline plus again see if it works this time. advantix Saya lost under coat, but frontline plus didn't work at all.

If it doesn't work after couple months I'm done with both frontline plus and advantix.



Pear tree getting ready to bloom soon


The pear tree is getting ready to bloom which be nice to get some pears. I hope we don't get any bad frost that will ruin it..

One day out of this week we have rain/snow showers hopefully we don't get it.

I've mainly been doing minor yard work taking stuff to compost like leaves and compost stuff from the bucket in the garage..

Today I picked up Bella's number twos and Saya was hanging out back, but when I got done picking it up she moved to the side of the house.

I then played fetch and tug with Bella for a bit then headed to the dock to relax.

Dogs coarse followed and explored the area.
Saya does really well off leash sometimes I think she isn't a shiba. haha

Not sure why she is good, but I'm happy. Probably thanks to being where I am as I can practice it more often.
Compost is doing good and well composting stuff. I enjoy it as it keeps a lot of things out of the trash like coffee grounds, tea, ashes from the fire place, stuff from food I don't eat, banana peels and so on.

The turning compost sucks the crank broke on my so it no longer works well. :\

I plan to get another squire compost as it works just as good though turning the compost can be hard, but it does good job.

The bin on the right is done composting it practically looks like dirt..

I'm keeping the turning compost as I plan to try to fix it so I can lock the lid better and just turn it by hand somehow if it doesn't work out I'll use it for something eventually or trash it.
Bella loves her bison hide
Bella is doing better off leash too she listens and doesn't go as nuts like she used to which is good I don't want to get gray hair early in my life.
Bella is off!
Amazing how fast Bella can run she is now much more mature and when she runs she keeps it in the yard.

Though I think her runaway troubles was a mix of hypothyroidism and not being treated correctly by my dad..

He was having some emotional issues and he'd go sleep on the couch instead of his room like normal person and Bella being goofy friendly boxer puppy she coarse wanted to lick his face and be petted..

He yelled at her very loud way to loud for any sort of correction. Which sent Bella into shaking mess.

I was pissed, but couldn't say anything as a daughter is always wrong and below her dad.. Well that is how I feel my dad thinks of me..

Sure I understand to respect my parent's I do, but when I put up with what I put up sometimes it is hard and sometimes daughter is right.

I think it was due to meds he was taking dumb doctor kept over medicating him on things plus his drinking did not help.

Since being on the medicine Bella is less lethargic and less flighty she acted scared a lot which is due to hypothyroidism I think. Before the meds Bella mainly layed on the couch did nothing and now she is active and happy.

I've told the vet about Bella's running and he says that is symptom of hyperthyoidism.. She has had blood checks and she is fine no need change meds.

I dunno what exactly is reason for her running, but I don't think things are so clear cut on it.

I'm glad she is better and dad is no longer changing medicines so much so he is stable mostly his only issue is he repeats himself sometimes..

Monday, March 11, 2013

Spring is on the way

This was taken Thursday.. I made Saya a shiba igloo in the snow.

Sadly it's gone. :( Weather warmed up a lot in the 40s and some rain every so often.. I guess spring is on it's way..

Ticks are a sure sign of it plus robins in the yard. One day I counted 20 robins! Like a army of birds.

Some vultures thought they'd hang out in my yard one day.. there was three there and one or two in the skies I think. I scared them off after I got pictures..

I saw no dead animal so maybe they were hanging out I dunno.

Good thing Saya wasn't out or she'd run them off. She chases off goose, hawks and any big bird really.
This is what Saya likes to do when she isn't taking walks, hiking or looking for mice. Relaxing in the comfy grass.

Sadly ticks are out with warmer weather. Saya's outer coat where it fell off where the advantix was applied is pretty much grown in. I still notice it, but it isn't as bad.

I just dunno what to do for tick protection for Saya.. Frontline plus Saya got ticks still I'm sure it takes time to kill the tick, but it was alive and semi gorged. I check her multiple times despite the stuff to be safe and coarse I missed this one. :\

Advantix worked and killed them, but made her outer coat come off where it was applied. I even tested and put tiny bit in another spot besides where it said sure enough tiny bit came off. Kinda dumb to test, but it proved it was the advantix not some off wall blowing coat or coat issue.
Here's Saya outer coat gone.. just under coat and some red colored outer coat.

It's now better I need get pictures of it now since it's grown in some.
I love walking in field and I hate leaving Saya home and only walking Bella in the field due to her bad reaction..

I don't want walk her in the field unprotected by ticks either.

I might try frontline plus again and see if it kills the ticks now.. If not what point spending $$ on it if it doesn't do it's job.

I don't want use the product that did kill them as it causes issues with her coat.

I do hate putting chemicals on her, but I have to living in country there is a lot of ticks and a lot of animals that carry the ticks deer, rabbits, groundhog and so on.

Checking her works, but only so much as Saya is so darn fluffy even in summer it's hard to check her as her coat is pretty thick.

Coarse not as thick as her winter coat, but still thick.

Saya did have bad reaction to the advantix so even the good kind of spot on have issues.

Each dogs are different and they react differently to certain things so I don't think advatnix is bad, but it isn't for Saya..

I plan to try frontline plus which I hope it works.



Took recent picture of Saya.. She looks nice here now. :)

The previous picture was taken in December 2012 and recent is today. I was bit worried it wouldn't grow back, but it did.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Random raw stuff

Saya has been enjoying the cold weather. :) lots fun hikes and running around in the snow.

Not much happening with raw stuff usual meals.

I did buy recently two packs of turkey wings for decent price three wings in each pack yummy.

Saya gets bigger piece of the wing. I cut it so there is wing tip and the bigger piece of the wing. She is also getting a egg and chicken gizzards to add bit more meat to the meal.
One of Saya's meals last week.
This was meal of pre made raw, bit of caned sardines and coconut oil. The coconut oil is the white stuff.. I made a cheese spinach omelatte so I put couple pieces on it Saya loved it.
Another meal last week egg, beef ox tail, beef heart, and ground emu. Yummy. hehe

boneless pork, chicken gizzards and two chicken hearts yummy..

Boneless pork, chicken foot and honest kitchen love formula with some joint supplement added. I add tiny amount of spirulina it makes the mix more green.. hehe

Spirulina is supposed to be good for the immunity or whatever so I take some myself and Saya gets tiny bit once in while. Article on spirulina on dogsnaturallymagazine benefits of spirulina..

I don't give it with every meal probably three or so times a week. Plus her joint supplements.

She seems to like it and will even lick it with no water or anything mixed in it.

Since it is a powder I prefer mix it in either a bit of water, coconut oil or caned stuff.
Yummy grass fed beef liver

Saya enjoys food like honest kitchen and it makes nice meal if I need hurry up or need mix something in it.

I prefer raw, but it's good to have back up in case of power loss or camping..

I plan to get honest kitchen zeal once out of love. right now still have plenty of it. I plan to use it for some recipe on the cook book I got.
beef thymus and chicken liver
 When thinking about doing raw diet for your dog please do your research on the diet there is so much information out there and some of it is confusing and some a bit of wrong too..

I've seen people tell me feeding solely raw green tripe is just fine and dandy.

Yeah raw green tripe is good for dogs has a lot of nutrients and stuff, but I wouldn't feed it as sole boneless meal..

I know of a breeder who gives raw green tripe as first solid meal to her dogs, but they eventually go onto other items not solely green tripe..

It probably makes a good starting meal.

I've known someone who was told only feeding chicken quarters to their dog is enough no need feed anything else.  I was shocked this person followed the advice.
 
Diet solely on just chicken isn't good they need some variety you don't have to go nuts like I do, but feeding something other than chicken is good..

pork is usually on sale for good prices in my area..

Coarse when a dog is new to raw sticking to one protein is good.

If your dog is sensitive to raw chicken then turkey or pork can be doable if must.

Saya can eat turkey and pork bones fine depends on the piece with the pork.

Pork ribs, pork feet, and jointed part of the pork shoulder roast makes good bone in meals.

Lamb is pretty edible with bone ribs, neck, leg roast and shanks. The leg roast and shank Saya gets bone off the jointed part.

It all depends where you live. Lamb is coarse bit pricey.

I only get the shanks and leg roast when on a decent deal. I can get ribs for OK price and since it is grass fed from local farmer I don't mind feeding it.

Saya has pork head she is working on not sure how much of the skull is edible, but it makes a good workout and meaty chew. She still on the skin, meat and fat..
It all depends on your dog and your area prices vary a lot. I find it worth it as Saya enjoys it and does well on the diet.

Bella my parent's dog she is mainly kibble fed, but she gets raw as dinner every other day and she does well with it. Sometimes I give her half kibble and later on pork roast to work on.

Or if I fed her early kibble I'll give her chicken foot in evening. 

When starting on raw your dog should start on one protein source and slowly work in other proteins as the dog does well. Going slow can be a good thing as some dogs take longer to transition and no one likes loose poop.. Liver especially or any organ like heart, kidney or thymus..

Chicken is usually recommended as it's not pricey and bone in is edible plus you make it bland by taking off the skin and slowly keeping the skin on.

Coarse if dog has issue with chicken then you can try duck, rabbit, turkey or pork. Same thing try trim off fat off the pork or take skin off duck or turkey.

Feed appropriate sized items.

Bella does pretty well with small items, but something her size would be chicken quarter, half cornish hen, lamb ribs, lamb shank, pork shoulder roast, pork ribs, turkey drumstick, turkey neck, turkey wing etc..

She gets boneless or organs with her meals too.

Some dogs do fine with raw chicken despite not doing well with chicken in kibble or cooked chicken and some are sensitive to all three..

Dink had loose poop and gas whenever she ate kibble with turkey or unseasoned turkey meat cooked.. Even when very slowly transitioned to the turkey kibble she had issues..

I did give her turkey necks and turkey wings and she did fine with them. Zero gas.
Here's example of meal Bella gets. Chicken quarter beef kidney, beef liver.

A lot of what your dog can get depends on your dog. I never give Bella beef ox tails as she might swallow them whole or try crack it open too hard and break tooth. Saya does fine with them though most times she can only grind half of the bone sometimes she eats all the bone.

Saya can eat pork foot no issue, but on forum I'm on someone's dog cracked tooth on a pig's foot.

Pig foot is a lot of bone. I usually let Saya eat half or a little but and she gets some organs or boneless then I take away for next week to enjoy.

Some dogs had issues with turkey bone in meals being too hard, but Saya and Bella do fine with them.

There is a lot of types of raw feeding to choose from.

I'm no expert so can't say for sure which is best some thing Barf is only way to go a dog must have veggies and fruits every meal or whatever.

Prey model raw no veggies or fruit..

I like prey model raw's guideline 80% meat/ 10%bone/ 5% liver/ 5% other secreting organ like kidney, thymus, pancreas, and spleen few others..

I follow it and I do make some small modifications to it, but it's guideline I follow.

I don't weigh every meal like before. only thing is guaranteed to be same or close to the weight is liver and other organ. I try to keep the weight on those organs to 2.24oz if it's bit off like 2.30 2.40 or 2.50oz I'm fine with that tiny bit extra isn't going to kill.

I don't give Bella her full amount of liver or other organ needed as she gets kibble mainly she gets same weight as Saya 2.24oz..

Once I get my own freezer and able to feed Bella raw as dinner daily then I'll probably work her up to it.
I like to give caned sardines, salmon and mackerel as yummy snack, small meal, or some mixed with honest kitchen.

I used to give caned oysters too Saya liked them. She got tiny bit each week. I used some in making her dog treats too..

I think little bit of oyster goes long way don't want to overdo it on the stuff. I froze them and tiny bits so I can take two or three instead of it sitting in the fridge.

Giving raw or cooked fish is good meal too. Coarse it can be hard to source it depending where you live and it might be pricey..
2.62lb Whitefish cost me $10.45
All individually frozen into meal portions..
Yummy whitefish tail.. the fish made enough to feed her for 6days..

Coarse I didn't feed the fish for 6days I gave some once a week. She even ate the head of the fish no problem. Yummy eyes and fish brains.. hehe
Pacific Saury(mackerel pike) is another source of fish I feed I get this more then the whitefish. Mainly because it still has it's had and guts. The store also offers them without head and guts for bit less, but I prefer getting the whole fish.

Saya loves this fish she'll eat whole thing or half of it sometimes.

I get them from a Asian market it comes with four in a pack for $5 and some cents maybe bit more I forgot. I usually get two packs plus a mackerel.

I'm glad there is places in my area like the Asian market the prices for things are good and they have a wide selections. Coarse gotta check the fish as some are salted.

Sorry for such random blog post I haven't posted in while and mainly been trying get things in order..

Spring is hopefully on way so I'll be bit more active with things hopefully.