Task Training and Indie's Birthday!!!

I am starting to work with Lincoln on some task training.  His tasks will include picking up and retrieving items, such as a bag with emergency medications, deep pressure therapy, counterbalance, body blocking, etc.  Right now I'm working with him on retrieving some items, such as medicine bottles, a shoe, my car keys, etc.  The videos below are showing some of the progress we have made with the car keys.  I made a paracord tab that he can grab instead of the keys themselves.  You can see how to "grab it" command from my previous post has been connected to "bring" and "give." I use the give command when he brings his toys also.  This helps give consistency to the word.

I'm also working on more intense "leave it" commands.  Being an aussie, Linc is more reactive to movement and I am working on that by tossing or rolling treats at him.

That's it for now.  I've been sick on and off this month, so there isn't much going on here.  My mom and I did go to Madison Comic Con in order to expose Lincoln to a convention atmosphere and to be around people in costumes.  He met lots of people in costumes and had some fun taking pictures with the DeLorean from Back to the Future, William Shatner and a few others.

This video was towards the end of the day and I was too tired to tell her not to pet him.  He was pretty ready to go also.  But, Linc will never turn down a chance to love someone.

Heeling through the crowd at Madison Comic Con.

On another note, Indie turned 13 on the 11th!! We had ordered him a peanut butter and carob cake, while my mom ordered decorations.

Of course it would have been a party without some party hats! The birthday boy himself modeling the custom made hats.

 Indie's awesome cake from The Canine Crunchery!

Lady Guinevere December 21, 2001 - October 9, 2014

Lady Guinevere Bernstein (Gwen)

December 21, 2001 – October 9, 2014

Guinevere was helped across the Rainbow Bridge on October 9, 2014 due to oral cancer.  She lived a spectacular life with the Bernstein family.  She was adopted from Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary on February 14, 2002. Her favorite activities included sun bathing, barking at people passing in front of the house, going“buh-bye” and spending time with her family and pack.  Guinevere is survived by her human family, Marc, Cathy, Michael, Jennifer & Elizabeth, her pack, Indiana Jones (best friend), MacKintosh & Lincoln and her African Grey buddy Harrieta.  She will be remembered as one of the greatest dogs that ever lived and one of the most unique.  She lived her life as a fighter, over coming hook worm, demodectic mange and burst cysts on her paws. She has finally found peace while being surrounded by her family and friends.  She will always be missed.

In honor of Guinevere, we ask that you donate to the National Canine Cancer Foundation.

http://www.wearethecure.org

Help find a cure.

Raw Meals

Mac & Linc waiting to receive the command to eat their lamb leg chunks. At 6 months old, Linc is around 20" tall and 40lbs.

 Lamb leg chunks

 Lamb hearts and chicken drumsticks for Linc & Indie and bone in chicken for Mac

 Spanish sardines and beef tongue (Linc also got a duck wing)

 Ground chicken, chicken drumstick and duck egg for Linc and Indie and beef tongue, drumstick & duck egg for Mac

 Beef heart

Linc being a hyper puppy after the boys both got baths.  He LOVES to annoy Mac.  He acts like his butt is on fire.

Weed

The puppy is growing like a weed! He was 38.2lbs last week when I weighed him and is around 20" tall.  He's a big boy!

 Linc's task work training is going very well.  Here is is today working on "pressure" or deep pressure therapy at the grocery store.

 His long stays are wonderful!

 Another long stay while I emptied out the cart.  He didn't budge!

 Here are some of the boys' recent meals: beef lung.

 Beef liver, duck head, turkey back and some Blue Ridge Beef.

 Norwegian mackerel and some Blue Ridge Beef.

Gwen's tumors on her right jawline are growing.  They are now ulcerating inside her gingiva and so her gums are bleeding.  Her personality and body condition are great, but we don't know how long it will be until she stops eating.  We have upped her chemo to twice a day and she is back on the Doxycycline. We aren't sure if she'll be here for Thanksgiving. =(

Big Puppy & Gwen Cancer update

I weighed Lincoln this evening and he is 32lbs at almost 19 weeks old! Big boy! He is also almost 18" tall, which is great progress.  He has had quite a growth spurt since his 15 week check up. He was 24.8lbs then.  Quite a difference.  He is eating very well.  He eats 2lbs of raw food each day.  I feed a higher fat and bone content than in an adult because he is growing.  He also gets organ meats about twice weekly.  Here are some examples of the aussies meals recently:

Duck feet, turkey hearts & ground beef for Mac. High fat ground beef and a duck foot for Linc.

 Wild caught Indian mackerel and beef lung for both.

 Spanish sardines, beef liver and turkey hearts.

 Lamb breast and turkey hearts

 Fresh green tripe, turkey neck section and ground beef.

 Ground venison for Linc and chicken feet and ground beef for Mac.

 Turkey neck section, lamb kidneys and ground beef for Linc and lamb kidneys, ground beef and chicken foot & a chicken drumstick for Mac.

 Duck head, duck wing and turkey hearts.

I finally found a source for fresh, uncleaned beef tripe! It smells horrible, but is so good for them! Linc inhaled his tripe.  It is a wonderful meat that everyone should feed their raw fed pets, cats and ferrets included. I bought 30lbs and feel so privileged to have access to it now. The previous tripe I fed had been rinsed and ground.  This still has the plant material and enzymes, which adds to the benefits.

 This past month I also bought a 5# bag of duck heads.  They are a great change from the dogs normal bones.  They also have other organ meats, so it has more benefits than just bone and fat.

Lincoln has definitely become a little carnivore.  His appetite is fantastic and he'll basically eat anything.  He has yet to turn his nose up at any meat I offer.  he has eaten lung, head, tripe, heart, bone, fish, etc. He also has learned to use his paws while eating and while he still takes forever to eat bone pieces, his teething is advancing faster than it he ate kibble. His adult teeth are almost all in place!

Another photo of him working on that turkey drumstick.

Alright, an update on Gwen.  We and the vets truly believe that the cancer is an aggressive localized cancer.  Her CBC comes back basically perfect except for her kidney functions, which are elevated.  She is probably dehydrated and needs to drink more.  She is eating pretty consistently, she did get bored of the homemade diet and is currently eating boiled chicken.  We are going to try her on the cooked diet off and on and try to change things up.  Gwen had never been a big eater and this has always been a problem.  We need to continue to put the proper nutrients into her body, especially now.  The tumor is growing a little and because of this, we have made the decision to try a cytotoxin drug.  Cytotoxin drugs are drugs that kill cells.  They are more commonly known as chemotherapy drugs.  Yes, this is a more drastic approach, but it is a less toxic chemo.  We are basically attempting to slow the tumor growth and allow her to live out her natural life.  Otherwise, she is doing very well.  Her surgical wound healed within a week and the vet who performed the surgery was shocked at how well she is doing.  She is 12.5 and when you treat cancer in animals, it isn't to cure them.  There is a very different mentality than in humans.  We will see how this treatments works. And it will be chicken flavor apparently, so we'll see if she'll tolerate it.

Cancer and a Cancer Diet

My 12.5 baby girl has an unidentifiable aggressive cancer.  We found the tumor 3 weeks ago and we have been told that we only have 1-2 months left with her.  We are going to try holistic palliative care and try to slow down the growth of the tumor.  80% was removed in Wednesday.  We are hoping to keep her comfortable and maybe extend the 2 months to 6.  It is all based on her quality of life.

Gwen's Cancer Diet

Ingredients:

7-8lbs of ground meat (a variety would be best)

1lb of organ meat (1/2 liver, 1/2 other organ meat)

6 scrambled eggs without any butter or oil

Veggies:

2 small heads broccoli

1 small head cauliflower

6oz spring mix

12 oz brussel sprouts

Supplements:

4 tbsp bone meal

2 tbsp Prozyme

9 days worth of ground vitamins (optional)

9 days worth of Dasuquin (optional)

Cook the ground meat in a non stick pan until browned.  Then place all of the cooked meats and eggs into a large bowl.  Steam the vegetables in steam bags in the microwave and then puree in a food processor. Add the veggies to the large bowl.  Sprinkle all of the supplements over the food in the bowl and then mix until completely mixed together.  Measure out and weigh each meal.  Freeze all but 3 days worth of food.  This recipe makes 9 days worth of 10oz meals.

Meals, Mine & the Dogs

I am basically 44lbs down since I restarted this journey! I feel awesome! Granted, I was ill with a horrific cough last week, but fresh ginger, lemon and tea have been my best friends! Perfect for a cold. 

You should check out my nutritionist Sally Twellman's Blog! Great recipes and advice!

Turkey cutlets broiled with cabbage, carrots and leeks.  Color is the key when you eat your vegetables! Always goes for the colorful ones.

Home made gluten free lemon pepper pollock (broiled).  It wasn't as tasty as other lemon pepper fish meals I have eaten.  I believe it may be because I left out the butter.  I try very hard not to consume very much dairy as I am on the brink of lactose intolerance. 

 Boiling duck eggs! New protein source!  I can request them at our local feed store.  My friend Hillary also has a sister who raises organic duck eggs! So tempting! They are huge compared to chicken eggs! Also, much cheaper than quail eggs.

 Boiling normal chicken eggs.  i eat these for breakfast and snacks. 

Trader Joe's Gluten Free battered Halibut (baked) with roasted cauliflower (a non-paleo meal).  This battered fish is a treat and I'll only eat it every couple of weeks.  It is very tasty though! No need to fry it, just bake!

 My own version of a Hopdoddy lamb burger with a fried sunny side up egg and avocado.  No bun.  I had their lamb burger with a gluten free bun when I visited my brother in Austin last month.  It was awesome and very easy to make at home.

 Onto the dogs' meals.  Indie & Mac ate beef tongue and Gwen ate ground beef

Beef heart for the boys and Stella & Chewy beef pattie for Gwen (she wasn't thrilled). I ran out of the Blue Ridge Beef for Gwen and had to substitute something.  I have learned not to feed it to her. Plus, it's ugly compared to the fresh, unprocessed Blue Ridge Beef in the photo above.

 Here is my beautiful baby boy Mac on our walk yesterday evening. Mac turns 8 on April 5th! I can't believe we've been together for so long!

Butchering

The goat kid after it fully thawed.

The rabbit after I opened it up and removed the stomach, intestines and anus.

The rabbit once skinned and completely gutted

The rabbits once butchered. 

The goat kid once fully butchered.

 Indie & Mac enjoying the freshly butchered rabbit for dinner.