My dog looks so much better now! I can no longer see her ribs at all. I'm not worried about her being fat because she's always been active and slim, which I think is why she was so thin in the first place. I can't wait until I have some rabbits to feed her. With the fat.

My garden is doing well and I've gathered several tomatoes from it, but I still will need to grow things aquaponically during the winter to really cut my food and feed bill. As soon as I have some starts ready for the tank, I'll buy and introduce the goldfish. I've selected goldfish, in particular, because they are inexpensive and if I make a fatal mistake, I can always buy more. Still, I hope I don't and they live long enough to grow to the size where they can be eaten.

Then maybe I can move up to tilapia, which is what I really want. Maybe crayfish, but I doubt it because they supposedly fight. Or there are those british crayfish (I can't remember what they're called right now) some people are using, but I'm just not sure if they will fight or not. I could close their claws like restaurants do with lobster,  but I just don't want to. Seems cruel to me. I want any livestock I raise (aquastock? I think I like that) to be as happy and healthy and have a good life as possible, and to be slaughtered humanely even if I have to do it myself. I'm of the opinion that if you eat, you should be there for every step of the way anyway to understand what sacrifices are being made for your food and so you can give it the best life you can give it, whether it's a tomato or a fish. People are too far removed from that. Some even think meat doesn't come from animals at all, but some grocery store manufacturing plant.

Anyway, I'm looking for a dehydrator (my brand new one broke and I can't find the receipt...grrrrrr) and a pressure canner. I've tried to dehydrate some edible weeds in my oven and met with moderate success, but it takes time and I'm not comfortable leaving it on while I'm away. I've found a couple of pressure canners, but they were missing vital equipment I wasn't sure could be replaced since they were no-name brands. Sigh.

My theme song for the week: "I Will Survive."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Faf1ch7Q9XE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Blessed Be.

My dog is finally starting to look the way she should, filled out and beautiful. She's also more playful than she's been for some time. I won't be putting her to work just yet, of course, until she gets a bit more filled out, but I'm so, so glad she's eating and gaining weight. She's still getting kibble along with the meat and she's eating both. I think this 40 pound or so dog ate about 2 pounds of meat tonight! Plus kibble.

On another note, my sprouts are a huge success and I'm considering planting some in an aquaponic system to see how they'll do. If they work, that might open a whole world of possibilities for indoor gardening, which could save money and help me and my critters to be happier and healthier. It's a win-win.

Blessed Be.

Why I fed my dog raw chicken

I fed my dog raw chicken yesterday. An entire drumstick large enough to still be attached to the spine. She ate most of it and my little dog got the rest.

She's been steadily losing weight and was not at all like her usual playful self. She ate only enough to keep her alive, but not enough to keep her at her healthy weight. It was downright painful to watch her ribs start to become visible as she walked. I added vegetable oil to her food, scraps, starches, anything I could think of, she still didn't maintain her weight. She'd gain it, yes, but then she'd refuse to eat very much and it seemed to drop right back off.

Then I remembered how, a few months ago, I had fed them raw hamburgers that I wasn't about to eat myself because they were terrible tasting. She eagerly gulped them down each day and awaited them the next. She loved them, once she realized they were really food.

Kibble, of course, is less expensive and in some ways easier, so when the burgers were gone, she went back to that. She did fine for a while, but not forever. I was beginning to worry about her health, as well as the very real possibility that animal control would see her and decide to pay me a visit. Even the vet could do nothing if she refused to eat and was otherwise healthy.

so I threw her a large piece of chicken.

She's a very large dog, but that piece was too much for her. Since it was large and frozen, I think she was a bit overwhelmed. She couldn't easily tear a piece off and she couldn't really chew it well, so it sat.

I thought I knew the problem so I cut it. Immediately, she began to chew at the piece I threw her, crunching and tearing. It took a bit of time, but she ate it. I gave her more and more and she loved it.

Today, she's being playful. I haven't seen her that way in months. Feeding meat (although not raw) was something I was planning to do "some day." Now I know she needs it today.

It doesn't matter what the AVMA rules. I know what's best for my dog and raw food is the only thing that's getting her back to her old self. I love her enough not to listen to vets who care more about the kibble industry than about my dog, and to listen to what my dog tells me instead.

Blessed Be.