Martha and the BARF Diet

From Each Day....

Miss Martha has not been feeling well. She has never had a very strong constitution but things have gotten worse for her since last November.

Skin issues with Golden Retrievers is pretty common. Seizures are common. Smelly ears are common. Allergies are common. The list could go on and on. And she has them all.

Martha started to get really obsessive about scratching and licking. We were fussing at her all the time to stop. Forget about letting her sleep in the same room with us at night. And she smelled horrible. Her breath was awful and if you pet her you had to wash your hands right away because they would smell so bad.

From Each Day....

I brought her to the vet and he prescribed Cyclosporine and gave her a prednisone shot. She was on the Cyclosporine for 3 months and we attempted to ween her off but she started scratching all over again. We tried to start the regimen again but never got the desired results.

Back to the vet again (well actually many times) we had a scare of possible Lymphoma, a round of Doxycycline, weight loss, swollen gums, swollen paws,swollen elbows that were raw and bleeding,  no appetite, and then she started limping. It was time to switch vets.

The new vet did a full blood work-up, took x-rays of her leg and did research on the cyclosporine.

Come to find out that a side affect of the Cyclosporine is : heavy callusing on the footpads, red/swollen ear flaps, and proliferation of the gums.  Hmmmm, you would think the vet that prescribed the medication would have been aware of the side affects especially after we came back with the problems.

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

So now we are off the Cyclosporine.  The side affects should hopefully be gone in 3 months.

She was placed on an antibiotic, medicated shampoo and another form of prednisone. But most importantly we have changed her diet. We have taken her off traditional dog food and is now on the BARF diet.

I told you that her breath and coat smelled horrible. You really could not stand to be near her.
Well not anymore. I started her on the raw 2 days ago and the smell is GONE. I am not kidding, GONE. I expected it to go away but I never though it would be so profound and so fast.

I do not give her any grains. She is only getting raw beef, chicken, fish all with the bones. All whole, not ground up. Selective fruit and veggies. Whole egg with shell and  loves every bit of it. She used to be such a pest when it came to food, always begging for it, now she seems much more satisfied. I am really looking forward to seeing how she is 3 months from now

From Each Day....

Crazy Realtor and the Guitar House

From Kawasaki Vulcan Riders Forum 2011 Culpeper, VA

So much going on, where to start.

About a  month ago my husband was offered a position in Asheville, NC and we accepted. In the past month we have been busy trying to find a home and getting our home in Va ready to sell.

We had really hoped to be in NC by the 18th of August so the kids could start school on the first day. I had gone down previously to look for a house and found several that we liked. We put an offer in on a home that we will  call the "crazy realtor" house. They ultimately accepted the offer and we went ahead and ordered the appraisal. Because we had a contract we were able to register the kids in school, which we did. We had hoped to have the appraisal back before school started but because the sellers crazy realtor would not let them in the house to do the appraisal we were very concerned that this deal was not going to go through.

In a panic I called my husband who was still in VA and said "I need you to get down here and help me look for another home".  The kids and I were living in a hotel and all of a sudden there was no plan. We were only going to be in the hotel for 30 days. We went down early so they could start school on time, knowing we would be in a house in 30 days. Suddenly, poof, plan in the toilet.

So Bob came to Asheville and we found another house.  A new home that the builder was trying to sell and had renters living in it. We refer to this home as the Guitar House because they have a band living in the house and they are pigs. After negotiations  with the seller we came to an agreement and now have a contract on a house to close in 60 days. Because we did not want to live in a hotel for OVER 60 days we brought the kids back to Culpeper and they started school on time here.

So we get back to Culpeper and low and behold we have an EARTHQUAKE!  Now may I say this scared the CRAP out of me. There are some things in life that should remain constant and that is the earth below my feet should remain solid. Thankfully we did not have any structural damage to our home, pictures fell and books off the bookshelf and that is about it.

We now have a hurricane bearing down on us and it can just GO AWAY!