Allergic to chicken

I just got back with Clara from a chiropractic appointment. The shortdog is doing fine, her back just needed to be adjusted in the usual places -Thanks Anne! While we were there, I decided to ask what she thought about Clara's eye tearing alot of late. Anne thought she may be allergic to chicken. So, we asked Clara, I know it sounds strange/weird/far fetched, but, Clara said she's allergic. So, I'll change her bone source to something else and we'll see what happens.

My friend, co-worker Kathy (Dr.) went to a seminar and sat in on a nutrition lecture. She told me that the nutritionist said that a lot of raw diets are unbalanced, and that she would bring me home some information to read and I will share it here. Hopefully, my diet will only need some minor tweaking or preferably none at all. We shall see...

I Went To The Grocery Store Alone

Okay, it's not THAT big of a deal, going alone that is. But, I'm very much the novice at feeding raw and it's kind of a daunting task to buy chicken wings and ground meat for your dog. C'mon, I didn't want to buy the wrong stuff, what if she gets sick? Okay, so I found chicken wings for about $1.21 a pound and some ground turkey for about the same. And, I know that I can eat the very same as Clara, I just don't cook very often for myself. (I didn't need any veggies, I still have an unopened bag at home in the freezer.)

Poor Clara, I had to get her some lower fat ground meat, she'd gained some weight since the diet change. We've been hanging out with Katrin, our friend, who's been sick as a dog for what seems like an eternity, and Clara had not been getting the exercise she needs or is used to. I'm happy to say that I've gotten the extra 2 pounds off her, hey when you're only 21-22 lbs those extras really show!!

I am happy to report that we haven't had any serious stomach upsets since we started raw. She has had a little diarrhea (watery, only usually once) if she has a veggie that she's not used to or too much of it. Right now her eye (she only has one) is a little runny. I checked her at work and got some ointment for her, it may be conjunctivitis, allergies, or it could also be a phase of detoxification. We'll have to see how long it lasts. Her teeth look good, I can't wait for her to be able to plow through a bigger bone, there are a few areas of tartar that need to get cleaned off.

The little short dog really seems to like her new diet. I feel better feeding her something that is what it is. When feeding commercial diets: You look at the list of ingredients on the label, then you look at the kibble and think "is there really chicken meat in this or is it beaks, feet, feathers and any other parts?"

And, there are no preservatives, artificial colorings, flavorings, or added salt, sugar, etc...

I want Clara to live a healthy life for as long as possible, which is why we have this little "experiment" running.

Feeding raw CAN be more expensive than feeding a high quality commercial diet. I'm glad I have the freezer so that I can buy in bulk when I find wings and meat, etc on sale. I feel that I'm investing money into the highest quality nutrition which (I hope)will keep Clara healthy.

Katrin would have been so proud of me if she hadn't felt so sick when I told her. I hope she gets better soon!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going RAW On Vacation

So this raw diet for Clara is working out fine. We went on vacation last week to VA and back, in the car. We drove with our friend Katrin and her three boys (James, Niche, and Monty) in her trusty truck. I wasn't sure I'd like feeding raw away from home as I like to do what's easiest and quickest. Well, you can't get much quicker than kibble, right? Well, with raw, I had to throw in a meatball, some supplements and a serving of veggies. Can't get much quicker than that. Yeah, kibble is quicker, but (I bet you heard that coming) Clara is still doing great, she's looking fantastic, breath is not clearing the room like it was. I'm still very happy with the results that I've seen so far. More soon...