New Feeding Schedule

Morning:  breakfast RMB
Afternoon:  lunch Preference (greens) with Cosequin
Evening:  dinner RMB + egg dessert

An egg a day keep dandruff away?  We'll find out!

After Raw

Well, it's been a couple weeks on raw now.  We've been having great success transitioning to half/half raw/kibble.  The girls get raw (chicken wings, thighs, turkey necks) for dinner and kibble (chicken soup/NB venison & sweet potato) for breakfast.  This is the result...

JoJo

You can clearly see the scraped off tartar & plaque, especially in her receded gums, and I do believe her gingivitis redness/swelling has gone down.

Kibeth

Here's the link to see their before photos blog:

http://grantedwishesgreyhounds.blogspot.com/2009/12/before.html

Now at the time of this photo, Kibeth was lying on the couch.  Her highness is not to be disturbed in such times, so this is the OTHER side of her mouth, which is her worst side because it's not her dominant side for chewing.  So before/after not quite as useful, but you can see where her teeth are turning white, and that all of her gingivitis is gone.  This should be Kibeth's FIRST routine dental since coming off the track.

Both girls will have what I truly hope to be their last dental January 5th.  JoJo's mouth was in such bad shape last time, her first dental cost $510 (with discounts!).  Hopefully this one won't be so bad.  While she's under, JoJo's hips/knees will be X-rayed to clear her for agility training, which will commence this Spring.  She trembles when she sits, so I'm really hoping all is OK back there.

Her royal highness, Kibeth, wants nothing to do with circus tricks such as jumping and tunnels.  However, she finds performing commands to demonstrate her prestigious knowledge of the English language most satisfying.  She'll be my obedience queen. ;-)

Raw Shopping

I bought $23.44 worth of chicken wings and backs + turkey necks just now.  Altogether, they make 16.5 meals, averaging $1.42 a meal at 2/3rds of a pound per meal.  That's just over $2.84 per day.

Feeding

Kibeth and JoJo and I have tried just about every high-quality kibble on the market, I think.  At least sampled it, if not used it at one time or another.  The results varied, but as I mentioned before, I like:

• Wellness
• Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul - Large Breed
• Natural Balance

However, the vet bills with regard to their dental health are too staggering to be ignored, and neither of them enjoys putting up with daily toothbrushing and mouth rinsing.  The brushing has not been successful in delaying the inevitable gazillion $$ dental cleaning by much.  After hearing/reading all the benefits of raw, the possibility is now too good to ignore.

Understand, I don't even cook for myself.  I HATE cooking.  I'm also a huge animal rights activist, and I can't stand seeing a dead deer on the side of the road.  Handing my dogs dead poultry parts and someday organ meats is absolutely REVOLTING.  But, alas, I love my hounds and will do anything to keep them healthy and save myself a buck here and there (and hopefully, lotsa bucks on dentals!!!).

Their first excursion into raw involved a turkey neck for dessert last Thursday night.  Nomnom, Mom!  They were both a little hesitant at first, and figuring out exactly where to eat was a bit of an adventure of itself.  Shortly thereafter, everyone chose a spot and had something under them to, ughm, catch the droppings.  Both girls chowed down like champions.

I had peeked at their gums prior to giving the turkey necks.  As expected, Kibeth's tartar/plaque was a brownish color all over, and her gums were slightly enflamed.  JoJo doesn't get too much discoloration on her teeth, but her gums were red and puffy with gingivitis, and her problem-molars that have receded gum lines had a build up of gunk (that doesn't come off with brushing).  The effect post-neck was immediate.  Kibeth's teeth were less brown in several places, and JoJo's build up was worn smooth.  They have since had chicken wings with pumpkin and/or ground turkey with parsley.  Neither of them now have bad breath, when before, my Mom nicnamed the scent, "Dragon breath."

Problems:  Kibeth developed diarrhea and JoJo threw up some bones and got mucousy poop, then mild constipation.  Solution:  transition gradually.  For now, we'll do kibble for breakfast, RMB for dinner.  The only reason I'm dissatisfied with kibble is because of their dental health and constant dry, flaky skin.  Eventually, though, I would like to go all raw.  Machines needed:  processor, juicer, freezer.

By the way, training for JoJo to be my psychiatric service dog has begun, but that's another post for later.  I can still get another hour of sleep this morning...