Presious Passion

My husband, Stephen, and I follow horse racing and often have several favorite horses we like to follow. I wanted to tell you about the horse, Presious Passion. The 6 year old, chestnut gelding is woman owned and trained (I suspect named by a woman as well :-). His typical running style is to lead the pack at a blistering pace. His jockey is instructed not to fight Presious Passion, but to let him do his thing.

Generally, horses with this suicidal running style tire by the end of the race and are passed by other horses before crossing the wire. "[horses] that run with the same reckless abandon and gusto on the front end are no-hope pacesetters who usually barely make it to the finish line". Presious Passion is described as "he runs as if he's being chased by demons. He can open 10, 15, or 20 lengths on you and rip off dazzling fractions, and even if you catch up to him, good luck getting by him. Remember Michael Meyers from "Halloween?" Every time you think he's dead, there is he coming at you again."

Here is a clip of Presious Passion shattering the course record for 1 3/8 miles at Monmouth Park in the $750,000 United Nations Stakes (Grade 1). Presious Passion is #7, but you can't miss him. He is the one in front. Hilarious!

Riley's Turn

Riley's latest in heeling.

S.L.O.P.

The latest S.L.O.P. contains lots of turnip greens (on sale this week), strawberries (also on sale), a handful of blueberries that tasted bad, so I saved for the dogs, garlic, celery, carrots, red cabbage, and avocados. I'm not sure if I have ever used red cabbage before and its been awhile since we have used avocados.

*Avocados contain a toxin called persin that is poisonous to dogs. I'm really not concerned about 2 small avocados divided amongst 5 dogs over a period of 6 weeks. I probably would not put an avocado in a Chihuahua's veggie mix for the week. Please use common sense.

Limo, You're Not Alone

Limo, my sister's GermEagleChowPyRusky (confirmed in a DNA test), has a fear of pumpkins and watermelons that is well documented on her blog and Youtube. Here is a clip of Limo's pumpkin surprise.

Limo, I am not sure if Riley shares your dislike of pumpkins, but you are not alone in your fear of watermelons. I was quite surprised when Riley balked at passing the watermelon in the kitchen. I normally think of her as brave and curious, so shying away from a watermelon was very unexpected and humorous.

FYI, I rarely clicker train 2 dogs together. It simply can't be done successfully except in very few cases. Riley was getting a click and treat for moving forward. Reagan was lying down during the clicks so she was being rewarded for her downs. No harm done.

Part-Time Work

Reagan is finally back to part-time work. She is not allowed to go full tilt or do tight turns yet. I have to build her back up gradually. The rule of thumb I use is if you are inactive for 6 weeks, you need 6 weeks to build back up. Reagan is so bouncy and is always in a hurry. She is giving me a heart attack at times.

Here is a recent clip of heeling. Reagan is a little rusty, but she is happy and bouncy. Heeling probably gets a bit boring to watch, but if you compete in obedience you know how very important it is. Heeling is a requirement at all levels, so we practice it a lot.

Reagan weighed in at 52 lbs yesterday (up from the mid 40's)! I think she is really starting to look great and the difference is becoming apparent.

I think these photos even show that her hair is filling back in.

Its In The Bag

Reagan has reminded me why I love feeding raw food...........the poop! 1 cup of kibble in and 2 cups out. The volume is unbelievable, but it is normal and firm. So much more foul also (Stephen and my sister, Denise, are probably tired of hearing about Reagan's poopies by now although good friend, Helen, is always nice to ask :-).

I switched Reagan's kibble to Acana Grasslands about a week ago. The Blue Buffalo Lamb and Rice seemed to cause problems as soon as I was trying to feed her more than 2 cups of food per day (which she needs). I searched the Internet for another option. I found this website very helpful in comparing different brands of food - Dog Food Analysis. Use the search button to see how your brand stacks up.

The problem I faced is that many foods sneak in chicken fat and we are trying to avoid anything "bird" at this time (except eggs). Chicken fat alone crossed many high quality brands off my list.

I also was trying to avoid foods that contain too many kinds of meat. For example, Evo Red Meat would be an excellent choice for Reagan, but it contains beef, lamb, venison, AND buffalo. Throwing all of my red meat options into one food did not sit well with me. If there are any protein allergy problems in the future, I would like to still have venison and buffalo as an option.

I was planning on buying something else, but found the Acana Grasslands while browsing the shelves of the boutique pet food store. It is lamb based, clearly states "no poultry", no by-products, and is grain-free (something else I was happy about).

Reagan is doing very well on the Acana Grasslands. I am able to feed her 3 - 4 cups with no problems. We are closing in one month and she has not had any major digestive blow outs (not even on the Blue Buffalo). Now that she is eating a suitable amount of food, I hope to see her gain a few pounds over the next couple of weeks. Her skin is no longer flaky. Reagan's coat seems brighter and softer. Time will tell if the thin areas are filling in, but I am believing that they are. This picture was taken last weekend.

I wish I had a picture of Reagan dated today. I think she has gained the weight I wanted in just the last few days and her color is so much brighter! I think we are on the right track.

Psycho

I don't think you could take a picture this horrible if you tried. I promise to post something more educational soon. I have pictures and videos ready to go, just need to edit and do some writing.

Trade

Since Katie hates the van, I cannot take her with me when I take Riley and Reagan out to train (because we take the van). Stephen can't take Katie on hikes with his hounds because his Volvo will only accommodate 3 greyhounds. And neither of us wants to leave Katie home alone. So we solve the problem by trading dogs.

Of course, I think Stephen gets the best end of the bargain. Katie has to be one of the best trained greyhounds on the planet with an agility championship and a utility level obedience title......... and I get Allie. Allie is alright, but she is no Katie. I am sure Stephen would like you to know that she is a Field Champion lure courser and has a Canine Good Citizen.

Allie bounces between two extremes..... a live wire and near death. Allie is so lazy. Difficult to rouse, she can be slow to potty in the mornings and before bed. Allie would happily trade a long walk for a piece of kibble. She LOVES her crate..... because she eats in there and if she is in her crate she may get to eat again. Allie does not mind being left home alone. We could easily leash up the other 5 hounds and walk out the front door and she probably would not even get up. But wave a crumb under Allie's nose and she comes alive with dancing feet. "Do you want to see me sit? Down? Sit? Down?"

So we did a little free shaping with a box. Free shaping is when you do not provide the dog with any clues as to what you want him or her to do. You simply click and treat when the dog does something in the right direction. I provided Allie with a big box that I wanted her to step her front feet into. I clicked and treated for her interactions with the box. Eventually, I only clicked and treated for a touch with her foot. It took several sessions, but she finally understood that I wanted her front feet in that box.

I think Allie has enjoyed the extra attention and food. And as you can see, both are fans of the large round bed in our living room.

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! You have to love a greyhound that will pose for pictures holding something in her mouth. Thank you, Katie. I hope you are all having a wonderful celebration. I am sure mine is much better than it was last year.

Hiking Together

The family that hikes together.... Takes separate cars. Thanks to Katie and her van terrors. Katie gets her own ride.

Don't worry. She is panting because it is 90 degrees. She is happy as can be in the car.

Fishies Out Of Water

Reagan is finally able to swim again. We had to wait for the spay incision to heal. Swimming is such a good way to tire Reagan out while her dislocated toe continues to heal. And look who also came.

The last couple of times, 30 minutes has been too long of a swim session for Reagan. Its clear that she has had enough after a period of time. So I brought Katie too!

I swam Reagan first for good reason. I knew she probably would not sit still while Katie swam had Katie gone first. The plan worked perfectly and Reagan was much better than I expected.

Reagan waited very patiently and enjoyed baking in the sun while Katie had her turn. She never once moved.

Mission accomplished! Two tired hounds!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Riley and Stacker. Riley is 3 today and Stacker is 10. Here is a clip of Riley working on weave poles and then fetching and playing with a toy. Reminds me of Travis when she does laps around the ring.

Holistic Vet

So glad it is Friday.... busy week!

As you know, Reagan and I saw Dr. Julia last week. I thought Dr. Julia was a nice compromise. She was well versed in a number of holistic approaches (acupuncture, kinesiology, nutrition, Bach flowers, Chinese herbs, chiropractic, homeopathy, homotoxicology, and western herbs) and she was a veterinarian of conventional medicine. She had lots of tools to draw from.

The staff marvelled at how well behaved and sweet Reagan was. She was either relaxing on her fleece pad, squeaking her stuffy goat, or practicing sit stays. Kudos to me! I must be doing something right!

I had typed out 2 pages of history and printed out Reagan's blood work results for Dr. Julia to review. I indicated that trying a cooked diet was probably my next step. She agreed that raw food is not for every dog and Reagan may be one. However, she recommended going with a commercially prepared diet instead of cook. She also was concerned that Reagan may be headed towards a chicken allergy and a hypo-thyroid problem.

Dr. Julia suggested that I avoid poultry all together. She said Reagan was a cold energy which might make sense because Reagan is much more heat tolerant than the other greyhounds and quick to need a coat when temperatures drop. Per the holistic point of view, if you are cold energy, you should eat hot energy food. Poultry is cold energy and red meat his hot energy. I don't understand any of that and I don't believe it is based on any science. It does not mean it is wrong though.

Dr. Julia recommended a very high quality venison and buffalo kibble. I was not interested in going that exotic yet. Ideally, it would be best if Reagan did well on beef and/or lamb since that increases my choices of food and treats I can use.

I decided to start with Blue Buffalo Lamb & Rice since I had some already. I had tried feeding it to Jet, but he did awful on it.

Believe It Or Not

After two months of what appeared to be calm and effortless digestion, Reagan still looks terrible. She continues to have bald patches and thinning areas of fur on places that used to be thickly covered. She always appears to be slightly underweight despite the volume of food she consumes. Her skin is dry and her coat is brittle.

Dr. Toby strongly suggested that I try cooking what I was feeding to see if she would improve. Maybe she simply cannot break through the cell walls and absorb the nutrients in raw food. Cooking might make the nutrients more accessible.

In the past, I have cooked for older, sick dogs. It was time consuming and my primary concern was simply getting calories into failing bodies. I was not concerned with providing a balanced diet geared for long-term health. Reagan is only 2 years old, so cooking her food was going to be a huge commitment and required some education.

Balancing a raw diet seems very easy to me, but balancing a cooked diet does not. Do you cook the bones until they are soft and if so, is the calcium any good? And if you cook for so long that the bones are soft, have I changed the nutrients in the meat? Should I just forget the bones and supplement calcium? How much? My head was spinning. I decided to seek the assistance of a holistic vet hoping she could guide me through cooked diets.

Ironically, the holistic vet, Dr. Julia, suggested feeding Reagan a high quality, commercial dog food. So for the first time in a decade, I am feeding one of my greyhounds dog food. Yes, you heard that right. I am feeding Reagan kibble.

So far I am stunned with how smooth the switch to kibble and even some canned food has been. From a digestive standpoint, everything is coming out perfectly. I could not be happier. I felt a little pang when Reagan looked at me with "where's my chicken?" eyes. But she still eats her meals with lots of enthusiasm and is the only hound in our house that eats twice a day.... lucky Reagan. Only time will tell if kibble will bring Reagan back to the healthy state seen below. I am hopeful.

I will tell you more about the holistic vet in the next post.

Riley Agility Update

I apologize. This is a terrible video of Riley running agility at a Run Thru held at one of the Atlanta agility clubs. A Run Thru provides an opportunity to run an agility course at different location and around other dogs and people. We are doing the Jumpers course below.

Riley did well. Her focus was better than I expected. I jumped her at 20 inches instead of 24 inches since she had never practiced agility on mats before. She is playing it safe in the video above because she had already had the wind knocked out of her when she was not paying attention and crashed into a triple bar jump. OUCH! She was a little banged up, but nothing serious obviously.