paranoia

Last weekend’s storm wasn’t as stormy as was predicted, starting later in the day and petering out overnight. Carm was able to get into the city to return Adia’s new toy - destroyed in less than 5 minutes :-(  He got her another type but didn’t notice that it was a fetch toy… it’s got a few holes but will still be good for outside this spring. 

He also did a quick (is that even possible?) stop at Costco to stock up on a few essentials. I don’t want to get caught up in the paranoia about the Coronavirus, but figured having things to tide us over if we didn’t want to venture into crowded Costco wouldn't be too paranoid, it would just be me pretending to be a boy scout. Or is it? I know that I have to keep away from reading news articles and worse still all the crazy comments…

Speaking of paranoia… Kirsten’s dog Atlas is having some health difficulties which are suspected to be DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) - we’ll find out tomorrow. I don’t know if you’ve seen the articles on the internet about the possible link between grain free foods and DCM. Much of it is speculation based on very little fact - it’s not conclusive by any means, no meaningful studies have been done and tens of millions of dogs are eating this food with no heart impact. The relationship is a correlation rather than causation. But it’s had me studying food labels. 

Intellectually, I know the odds of my dogs having an issue is small, but my emotions are making me change their food to something without peas, lentils, or potatoes. Do you know how hard it is to find something decent without those ingredients? I will NOT feed a food whose first ingredient is corn or wheat!

No one knows what amount of these ingredients may cause a problem. The kibble that we are currently feeding is at the top of the ‘bad’ list, but is it okay to feed the premium raw-coated grain free kibble as a treat? Can Spike continue to have the kibble that’s based on green tripe with some peas and lentils? Is even a trace too much? Or is it a case of ‘in moderation’? None of this is known.

(Spike’s kibble is PetKind Green tripe - Beef tripe, beef, chicken, peas, chicken meal, turkey meal, pea starch, pea protein, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), lentils, flaxseed, natural flavor, quinoa, pumpkin, spinach, carrot, broccoli, cranberry, apple, blueberry, banana, ...)

(for training treats we use stella & chewy’s raw coated kibble - Chicken, chicken meal, peas, lentils, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), chicken liver, chicken heart, natural chicken flavor, salmon oil, suncured alfalfa, chicken gizzard, fenugreek seed, flaxseed, coconut oil, …)

(this is what I might switch to for their daily meal when they aren’t having raw meat: stella & chewy’s ancient grain - Chicken, chicken meal, pearled barley, oatmeal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), brown rice, natural chicken flavor, tomato pomace, flaxseed, millet, chicken liver, quinoa, …) I’m not loving that it has quinoa though.

Adia’s training is still going well - we find that she’s even getting better with everyday things. The training for ‘mat’ is transitioning to wait at the door and ‘out of the kitchen’. I’m trying to get her outside for some loose leash walking, but now the laneway is 2” deep in slush - not the ideal conditions unless one is wearing huge rubber farm boots. It is amazing how one little piece of hotdog on the ground can be such a big distraction!

I’ve noticed that over the last several weeks that Spike is not spending as much time in the bedroom by himself. He’s out here with us most of the time (unless there’s a sunspot or visitors). I wonder if he was feeling unwell for the last year and that something has improved. I guess we’ll never know. The other night when he was cuddled up against me, my mind played tricks on me and made me think he was going to die that night. I can’t bear the thought of losing him and wonder how I will get through it when the time comes.

Chin up! As Monty Python would say “He’s not dead yet!”. I’ll focus instead on the fact that he seems to be perking up. He’s playing a lot more too - he and Adia have become really good friends :-)

As usual, I sat down with nothing in mind to write about and as my fingers fly across the keyboard doing a brain dump the post ended up really long! Crazy 🙃

“Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.”

~Sylvia Plath