Honest Kitchen's base mixes are known in my mind as my "raw training wheels" or "raw for dummies". Using a base mix took a lot of the guesswork and anxiety out of feeding raw for me. Yes, I said it. Anxiety. Many raw feeding groups and message boards are full of knowledgeable members who have their raw feeding groove down but also give off this impression of "lol it's not that hard." Guess what. When you start out, it is that hard. Last summer when I tried raw I could not sleep right and two out of three dogs had issues with the transition. It's easy to get scared right back to safe, clean kibble.
When I made the decision to try a base mix, I went no further than Honest Kitchen. There are other base mixes but I have had such a good experience with HK's products that I knew I would be happy with their base mixes. Honest Kitchen offers two base mixes, we used Kindly, now called "Veggie, Nut and Seed Base Mix". (Honest Kitchen recently renamed all of their products and to be honest I thought it was more user friendly when it was just called "Kindly".)
I chose to start small with just one dog this time, the dog who did not have an issue with raw the last time: Perri. I was also curious to see if Perri would enjoy more behavioral benefits from a fresher diet since whether by coincidence or not, she brightened up when salmon oil was added to her diet. Oh and also? Perri has never really liked kibble in the first place and she has bowels of steel, she would not be likely to get diarrhea.
With the base mix, you do not need to feed or figure out the ratios of bone and organ required for a DIY raw diet. You simply need measure out and add water to the proper amount of HK base mix and then add the indicated amount of muscle meat into the mixture. You can use raw or cooked meat, I chose to use all raw. The base mix rehydrates easily and quickly and mixes well with the meat. And Perri loves it. Perri has not refused her food since we started on the base mix about a month and a half ago. She has tolerated a rotation of different meats as well as raw eggs mixed into her food. The only downside is that I do notice the carrots and flax seed seem seem to pass right through to her poop, which makes me wonder how much benefit vs. filler those ingredients are.
During the time we used the base mix, I became a lot more comfortable with sourcing, measuring and feeding raw meat. Using the base mix was the transition that I needed and I am very grateful that products like this exist and I would recommend it to anybody who is nervous to start raw. It's a really user friendly push in the right direction with assurance that your dog is still getting all of the nutrients they need while you learn!
Last week we took our annual trip to Cape May, NJ. We have been going there for years now and have decided this will be our last visit. Time to explore some new places! It is so hard to find off leash areas for the dogs to run, so much so that between Vince's busy work schedule and wanting colder weather (therefore less people.) we visited later this year than we normally do.
We were rewarded, especially on our last day (with temps in the low 40s and a storm rolling in), with little to no people. The dogs were able to enjoy a whole lot more off leash running time.
I was nervous about how Molly's foot would hold up on the sand, especially since we had an agility trial about three days after we were due to return. I refuse to keep her in too much of a bubble though, so she got to do a fair bit of ball chasing. Last year I had a pretty full proof system in place: backpack for poop bags, chuckit, balls and anything else. So sadly, no camera. It sucks and I so miss having my SLR, but until I grow some extra arms it had to be sacrificed. The iPhone is much easier for snapshots, lower quality but I've always been of the opinion that composition is so much of what makes a photo beautiful, not equipment.
Ein freely off leash. Either Perri or Molly off the leash alternately. I did try a fair bit of leaving Perri off leash while playing ball with Molly, but Perri was so rude with her biting and chasing behavior that I had to leash her. Molly gives Perri absolutely no corrections for her behavior, but simply chooses to go "out to sea" with her ball to avoid being pestered. That doesn't work when it is in the 40s and your dog has no coat! (Not to mention, Molly drinks water while she swims and we don't need any salt water induced diarrhea!) And Molly is only permitted off leash when we are playing ball. Without the ball to occupy her she turns her attention to bullying the other two dogs relentlessly. Despite all these "rules" they all had a great time!
An excellent example of Her Royal Pestiness!
"Out to sea...no poodles...just me, my ball and the great wide open."
"Fools"
If it fits, I sits! (yes, she did jump up there herself!) I lifted her the first time but then asked her to get back up and she did. "Her powers of levitation would make a fakir stare..."
Goodbye, Cape May!
Molly's foot issue did not act up, no limping! She did have her usual sand-induced skin breakdown in between her paw pads though. When we got home I gave her a bath and soaked her feet in Epsom salt, and despite having cleaned the sand out with wipes after each beach visit, I still got more grit out in the tub when I massaged each foot! She had been licking obsessively until that bath, so even though I got the royal stink eye for bathing her, I know it made her feel better! I also massaged a new shampoo into her feet that I have been trying for Ein by Espree. Molly usually fights me in the tub "tooth and nail" but she stood quite still and tolerated her feet being massaged. (Molly has no issues with me handling her feet, she is my best "paw dog", but when it comes to a bath she says no thank you! to everything about it!)
I also noticed a favorable difference in Molly's hips this year. Because of what we were dealing with in her left front foot, I doubled the dose of Dasuquin I had been giving her after the first episode of lameness in that foot. After she improved I backed off to maintenance dose until the beginning of October when the limp returned after a day of Fast CATs and beach play in very loose sand. Last year at the beach I remember Molly dragging her hips up, she was very stiff after playing on the beach. This year I saw none of that and I have to think that the doubled Dasuquin is to thank. Good stuff!
With Molly's soundness under discussion I will roll right into a quick update about our USDAA trial from last Sunday! We have done little trialing since September, with the exception being a very short day mid-October where Molly took a crash on the dog walk after a very poor approach. Although Molly seemed quite sound afterwards, I didn't feel much like playing. So, last Sunday I was hopeful for an enjoyable day. My main focus was on my weird ring nerves in the Masters ring, my feelings of self doubt and inferiority. I actually put a little meme on my phone with a message that encouraged me and made me smile all throughout the day.
I do not want to be a handler who lacks confidence anymore. I really want to tackle this and overcome it. I was feeling pretty good about our Jumpers course, though mildly obsessing about a wrong course tunnel. By the time we went ringside I was intensifying in feeling some of those feelings of being worried of making a fool of us, of failing, of not belonging. However, my focus for this trial was honestly to address this issue I am having and by the time we took the line in Jumpers I was working hard on exactly what the meme above states: being confident and not doubting myself. We won our class, our first Masters/P3 Jumpers Q. :)
The rest of the day was a lot of waiting as Biathalon Jumpers and Grand Prix were in the run order and we had not entered either of those. (I keep saying when we get a Steeplechase Q we will then try Grand Prix!) We had Gamblers and Standard remaining. Here is our Gamblers run, which I did not love. Molly was sort of tired, not very fast, and I gave her an awful approach to the Aframe for her first time. While we got whistled on the Gamble (hmph.) we did complete the distance challenge so I was happy with that!
In Standard I had the same kinda ho hum pokey dog, though we did run our first clean P3 Standard! We were one second over the SCT but I am still grateful for what was a very nice run! However, Molly's inability to run three agility runs in a day without becoming so tired that we are overtime was initially upsetting for me. It brings up another issue that I have:beating myself up for days after a trial over every single thing I did not like. Introspection is good but I take it too far!
However, introspection on Molly's energy and speed makes me realize that I truly have let her become a "weekend warrior" and as she is getting older, she is not able to maintain endurance on just being young and in condition. Because...she is getting older and I am not keeping her in proper condition! Perhaps I could blame her feet still being sore, or fret that her lymphoma is becoming symptomatic, but I don't think so. Really, beginning this year more than ever, if Molly doesn't want to go walk or hike, I leave her home. Molly's exercise is so sporadic, it could be only a walk every two weeks or a hike here or there. Starting this week I have tried to take Molly on a 15 minute walk every day. It is not much but it is better than nothing and it is a start. (Our usual weeknight exercise is an hour+ walk perhaps 2-3 times a week, and again if Molly doesn't want to join Perri and I, I just shrug and go on without her. No more!)
Six days later I have already created a monster, Molly has more energy! While she would normally eat her breakfast and go back to bed on a lazy weekend day where I am at home doing chores and bills and drinking coffee, guess what. She was pestering me for her walk! I love it! Now, I just have to start saving up for a Dog Pacer.
These were taken in October but I am trying to get more organized with my photography (ha! organized!).
This is a new-to-us toy, a Kong Jumbler, and Molly really loves it! I am told by a doberman friend of ours that this toy is definitely able to be destroyed, but Molly is a very strong chewer and has given this toy some good gnawing for sure. She hasn't been able to destroy it (yet.)
The toy is a rubbery shell with a tennis ball inside, and handles on either end. We have actually been able to play some tug with this toy...though it's not our favorite (we don't like our hand near where she re-grips!) Molly likes to throw it around and jump on it. It makes a funny and tempting sound when it lands, with the tennis ball thudding against the rubber. It also squeaks! Molly destroys all plush toys that squeak, so it's nice to have a tougher version of a squeaky toy that she can't immediately tear into shreds. It has been with us since October and that's a record for Molly and Anything That Squeaks!
This toy comes in two sizes, a Medium/Large (which is what we have) and a Large/XLarge (I may add one of that size, I think Molly would enjoy chasing a bigger one for outdoor play.)
