[dogmom2]

Another vote for the vinegar and water solution.

We are still doing battle with Hank’s feet, but when he doesn’t have the open sores on his feet, the vinegar and water works great. (It would sting horribly right now, poor guy).

[dogmom2]

Patty, I was thinking about the age factor in the coarseness of his outer coat. And it has been almost 2 years since our “food epiphany” and their introduction to raw, and the like. (they were on innova before..with canned innova.). This last year has been the best coat Hank has ever had, and I attribute it to the change in diet to better more natural foods.
He really is pretty healthy, and happy overall. It has just been a crazy amount of hair on the lawn after evening brushing and all over the house. We vacuum every day as it is, but holy moly!!!

Hdm….you are right. I will watch and wait before I panic!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by dogmom2.

[dogmom2]

Hdm… A few weeks. I am sure it is just the season, but it was a shocking amount of hair! I have never seen him blow his coat like this that I can remember. He doesn’t seem itchy, nor is it patchy…just no undercoat at the moment.
He has always been the sensitive one…so any time anything out of the ordinary happens I think I brace for the worst. I am sure it is normal…it has been a really muggy summer here….

Thanks is for indulging me in this conversation. Sometimes it feels better just to get others take on things. 🙂

[dogmom2]

I don’t know! I just think his coat quality would be a little better….but I was just being a worry wart.

I haven’t ever seen him blow his coat like this before, and that in combo with his feet having such issue this year I just speculate on what may be the reason. My DH always says I try to make relationships between things that may not be related.

[dogmom2]

Weird…not sure why the double post. And it won’t let me edit. Sorry!

[dogmom2]

We settled on the same probiotic that DH and I use. It has 10 strains and 2 prebiotics. We use kefir regularly and DH picked up an new bottle today. (we use plain goats milk kefir). He said the coop has a Nice selection of enzymes so I will check it out this week. I would feel a lot better overall.

As much as I HATE antibiotics..Hankys foot looks much better today. So maybe maybe….

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by dogmom2.

[dogmom2]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. 🙁

[dogmom2]

Well, poop. I just went to their website and they can’t ship probiotics to California.

It looks like the enzymes are okay though I will swing by the local natural food store today and see what they offer that is comparable.

[dogmom2]

Thanks Patty! I was trying to remember the name of the store you guys all liked. I will check it out.

[dogmom2]

I have been using on Hanks feet lately. It seems to soothe his pads. It apparently is helpful in controlling yeasty feet…so we shall see.

[dogmom2]

Hank and Dewey had their first chicken feet the other day. It was fun to watch them crunch them up. It was especially funny to see the toes dangling out of Dewey’s mouth….kind of creepy. They thoroughly enjoyed them tho…and I look forward to the next farmers market where I can get them some more.

My DH says he has to go with me now when I go shopping so he can make sure that someone buys food for us, too. I am always coming home with meat or sardines, or something…and it is always for the dogs. ( I may need an intervention)

[dogmom2]

Hi there…
The coconut oil “dosage” I am using is 1 tsp per 30lbs. We worked up to that dosage over the course of a few weeks. At first they weren’t too sure about it, but now I just feed it to them off the spoon. They love it!
As far as the probiotics…the kind I use is powder form and has the dosage on the back of the label so I am not sure what that will translate to for your product. I usually just sprinkle it onto their morning meal.

[dogmom2]

I have two male Labs. The oldest is Hank, 11 years (yellow), and Dewey, 8 years (black).

No real stories behind their names. I could not think of a name for him….and finally I said what about Hank? And it stuck…he totally fits the name. Dewey was named by the pound (we adopted him when he was 5 months old)…and I liked it…it fit him…kind of goofy yet really sweet.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by dogmom2.

[dogmom2]

I will check them out HDM….at this point I think it would be foolish not to!

[dogmom2]

I hear you about the cost of the supplements. I bought a small jar of coconut oil at the local coop just to see if I liked it. Fortunately Costco carries a giant tub of organic extra virgin for 20$ so we will be getting it there in the future.

[dogmom2]

Thanks patty and hdm… We have a few good local natural food stores so I will look for the ingredients for your home made mix. I think I can find local bee pollen, also…which they say is best to use for allergies in your local area as it is made using local flora.
I think I can grow the wheat grass, too.

You guys are the best!

[dogmom2]

This is the spirulina supplement that my vet.

Animal Essentials Organic Green Alternative

Animal Essentials Herbal Green Alternative Antioxidant Powder for Dogs & Cats

Any thoughts?

Both my dogs are on Darwin’s, or we feed THK preference with an organic protein, or a balanced diet of rmb, meat and organ (usually kidney or liver). We also feed raw green tripe, and on occasion kibble with Merrick. ( we are switching from Evo red meat to trying our first bag of Brothers Complete Allergy. )
We also supplement with kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh eggs, sardines in olive oil.
We give pre and probiotic with enzymes daily, turmeric, glucosamine and fish oil also.

[dogmom2]

I use iFlora digestive formula (prebiotics, probiotics and enzymes) for the boys, in addition to plain kefir. We also feed raw green tripe. ( they had some for their breakfast this morning).
I really think the combination of these has helped tremendously to the over all health of both of the dogs.
We also supplement with turmeric, glucosamine and omega3 fish oil for joint health.

My vet recently suggested a spirulina powder for additional antioxidants, but we have not yet added that in.

I swear…I spend more time nd energy thinking about my dogs food than I do my own!
However, after seeing how well Hank did off the grains, I stopped eating them as well and now I am not having the horrible asthma issues I have been treating for 10 years. It has been 4 months since I stopped taking my singular and I have not had one issue. Amazing. I really wonder if there is something to the quality of the grains with the advent of GMO.

[dogmom2]

Hi there!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back here. It has been crazy busy around here these days.

Hank is doing great on the Darwin’s. We are now into our 3 full shipment, and I am very happy with the food. Both dogs really like it. We also bought duck necks from them, and we are incorporating them into their homemade raw diet. (we get grass fed beef hear, tongue, kidney and liver from a local rancher) It is fun to hear them crunching. My black lab loves sardines as it turns out.

Unfortunately, Hank had his first foot blow up in a year and a half, but we are convinced that it is ingrown hair between the toes that cause it, and not environmental allergies. We are doing laser treatments at our vet, and we did one acupuncture treatment as well. Poor guy, he is on low activity until it heals. His itching and licking is pretty much resolved for now.

All in all, I wish I would have learned about Darwins, raw feeding, etc years ago.

ps. I just ordered my first 5# sample of Brothers complete allergy last night for the days when kibble is whats for dinner!

[dogmom2]

I spoke with them today. They have exceellent support staff
He seems to be feeling just fine, and so we will watch and wait. They had turkey today. I think I will feed them turkey again tomorrow and see how thinks look. Then go from there.

I love the looks of their product, so I hope it works itself out…(so to speak). 🙂

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