Postings by Bambi's Family

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Ember 1285072     Barked: Tue May 28, '13 12:53pm PST  My dear little almost bald Ember (naturally bald, not a health problem) gets a little red splotch right where her aluminum pet tag sits. This tag also has a plastic silencer that was purchased at Petco when I got the tag. I am not sure if it is the tag itself or the silencer, but I went ahead and ordered her a new tag from Boomerang that is stainless steal, as I know that won't cause problems with sensitive skin (as I personally am exhibit A and can only wear titanium or stainless steal jewelry). When I get this new tag I will put the same plastic silencer on it (if it fits...). On the chance that the silencer is the thing actually causing her itchy skin or if it doesn't fit, how could I go about silencing the tag in another way that leaves it still visible front and back? I was going to just get one of the tags that sit on the collar, but this dog has some wrinkles on her neck and when I tried the one I have for my cat on her it rubbed against the bare skin in a way that would probably cause problems. The other problem is that she is like 5-6lbs, so not only does it have to be lightweight, it is also quite visible so it needs to look somewhat attractive. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ember 1285072     Barked: Tue May 28, '13 12:34pm PST  I feed my cat a raw diet based on the recipe from catinfo.org He has been on it for about 10 months now, and I do grind it and add some of the supplements she recommends (especially taurine as grinding removes this essential nutrient). I also do cube some of the meat, but it took him longer to start eating those. Now he will eat the really crushed up stuff first and then eat the chunks of whole meat. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Take two: How about this recipe?

Ember 1285072     Barked: Thu Feb 14, '13 10:40am PST  I was also worried about the cat eating red meats, but after a post over on Catster I am not worried about giving him just as much variety as I give the dogs! The only thing I have to worry about is giving too much fish to the cat. I am, unfortunately, all too aware of the effects of not enough or too much iodine as I am a 4 year thyroid cancer survivor (not directly related to iodine, but I still know a thing or two about human thyroid health). Of course now iodine doesn't really do anything for me considering I don't have a thyroid. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Take two: How about this recipe?

Ember 1285072     Barked: Wed Feb 13, '13 3:14pm PST  Looked up more stuff on the taurine. It seems as though yes, grinding it does pretty much destroy taurine, but freezing shouldn't be a problem. Someone tested whole mice (who had been frozen for 3 months) and the taurine levels were unchanged. There was also some mention of maybe being some actual studies on freezing taurine, but I couldn't find them. I could easily add more though, as they can easily excrete it if I give too much. It's not like Vitamin E... The lite salt contains half the sodium that regular table salt has, but my main reason for including it is for the iodine. There isn't much iodine in the rest of the diet, except for the egg yolks and the sardines. Otherwise, I am not sure what to add for iodine, as kelp is unpredictable as well as indigestible by cats. And I can't add any more sardines, as mercury could be a problem and it is generally not advised to feed a lot of fish to cats. The previous one would have probably been fine if I was feeding chicken thighs (15% bone) that is actually called for on the catinfo.com diet instead of the chicken leg quarters (30% bone) I have been using. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Take two: How about this recipe?

Ember 1285072     Barked: Tue Feb 12, '13 11:48pm PST  After further research, I realize how off base my diet attempt was. So here is round two. Math is not my strong point so please point out where I am straying or if I made a terrible error. This is an attempt to make a diet that both my dogs and cat can share and be healthy on. It will be ground to a consistency similar to pre-made raw for the cat. Assuming every chicken leg quarter (30% bone)is 1lb I will add: 1lb of boneless meat (beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, etc) 2oz of liver (beef or chicken) That would put my ratios at about 15% bone, 6% organ, and 79% meat. Not the ideal 10/10/80, however, not every chicken leg quarter will be that 1lb either. Most will probably be a little less, but I will assume they are that 1lb and still add an additional 1lb of boneless meat. Also, my dogs tend to get loose stool with less than a little extra bone. I will also be adding some sardine and eggs (no shells), but not in a large quantity. For every 20lbs of the above mixture I will add probably 6 eggs and one tin of sardines (no salt added). Additionally I will try to source another organ so I can boost that 6% number further while hopefully not causing squirts. Does green tripe count as an organ? For every three pounds of meat (bone/skin/etc) I will also add (mostly for the sake of the cat!): 3000 mg fish oil 400 IU (268 mg) Vitamin E 50 mg Vitamin B-complex 2,000 mg taurine (the dogs will not have a problem excreting extra safely) 3/4 tsp Morton Lite salt with iodine Thank you for taking the time to read and evaluate this and offer your input. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Daisy Use your nose!     Barked: Sun Feb 10, '13 11:25pm PST  I like it! As for it being only a few dogs on one type of raw, give me a break. This is one person doing all this, not a company that can have X+ dogs. As it is, she doesn't even seem to be promoting Answers yet as (at least what I read) the trial isn't over yet. She is just being honest and reporting all her variables. I would be very curious to see where this goes. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Thoughts on my feeding this diet?

Ember 1285072     Barked: Sat Feb 9, '13 10:13pm PST  I will definitely add some more meat, especially of different animal types. The leg quarters do typically contain some back though. About 6 inches of back, a little rib, etc. Daisy gets 3% of her body weight, Ember gets 5-8% because she is under a year. They are both small breeds at less than 6lbs apiece. Would 1 lb of meat to the 3 lbs of chicken quarters be appropriate to balance it better? Or should I be adding more per that 3 lbs, like 1.5? Would it be better if I buy whole chickens and grind them (whole being without head/neck/feet but with some organs)? I will ask my local market if they carry anything other than the chicken liver. Sometimes I add turkey or chicken gizzards and hearts, but I know that is just more meat, not organ. I get that variety is key here though. If I could order some cans of green tripe would that count as an organ? As for it being ground, my dogs chew very slowly and never scarf anything. Again, I mostly grind to make sure everything is mixed in well and so the cat will eat the bones. Thank you though for pointing out this risk. It is fairly well ground, I consider it akin to canned food or the pre-made Nature's Variety. For the cat food, I would buy pre-made if I could get it for that nice $1 per pound. As it is, my cat is my largest animal and once my puppy is no longer a puppy, will eat the most. It will also help once I move in August to somewhere where I will be for 6 years and I can find someplace I can more regularly use to buy stuff if I need to go with pre-made. Thank you for being patient with me! I really do want to do what is best for my pets. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Thoughts on my feeding this diet?

Ember 1285072     Barked: Sat Feb 9, '13 11:46am PST  So basically where the problem is is mostly in the fact that there is too much bone? They do need a higher bone than not, as they have loose stool with less than 15%, but I agree, 30% is too high. Again, not sure if I can double the liver as they (the dogs) tend to get runny stool with too much more, but I can do a variety. I can def add more meat though. Beef stew meat is cheap enough. As far as the supplements, they are more for the cat. I know that taurine will just be expelled if there is extra, and won't cause problems. Thinking about adding some sardines in place of the fish oil or doing a 50/50 for that. The sardines will add some nice flavor. Does anyone know if there is a similar guide/spreadsheet for cats on raw? I know I should be able to make a diet for the three of them, as there are a few commercial dog/cat diets that are nutritionally sound. It's just going to take some more research and work. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Thoughts on my feeding this diet?

Ember 1285072     Barked: Fri Feb 8, '13 9:26pm PST  I have been feeding Daisy raw for a while now. Whole chicken legs and the like with some liver, sometimes adding in some beef. She did good on that, but I always worried about ratios a bit. At 7 years though I figured that I couldn't do too much wrong. Her growth and development wasn't at risk. Now however I have decided to go all in. I actually bought a meat grinder so I could get my cat on raw and decided that the pup (Ember) would go on it as well. While the grinding of bones obviously removes some of the benefit for their teeth, I am much more comfortable feeding this to everyone as it greatly reduces any chance for choking. Plus the cat won't chew enough bones to get the ratios right. I follow the recipe found on catinfo.org. I have no doubt about it working for a cat, but I do worry it isn't balanced for a dog. Ember is still under a year old. She has been on this for about a month now. Perfect stool, eats it like a champ. Weight and energy are great. Thoughts? For every 3 pounds of chicken quarters (with bone and skin) I use: 1 cup water 2 eggs 5000 mg fish oil 400 IU (268 mg) Vitamin E 50 mg Vitamin B-complex 2,000 mg taurine 3/4 tsp Morton Lite salt with iodine Liver (4 ounces) my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Daisy Use your nose!     Barked: Tue Oct 23, '12 8:10pm PST  My boyfriend has to muzzle his dog at all times around other dogs. So if he is walking alone, no muzzle, but if I go with him and the little ones, he wears the muzzle. He wears the muzzle inside the house at pretty much all times unless he is crated. We knew when we had to muzzle him it needed to be a super comfortable one that he could wear for hours and hours, pant, drink, and even eat kibble in (though the kibble thing we learned by accident, more concerned with the drinking and panting). He has been wearing it for 2-3 years now. The only problem we have is every once in a great while it gets really dirty. That is the only time it will rub the fur off, and once we are living together I will have a second one so I can rotate them out and clean them more frequently. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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