I Forgot Friday Afternoon's Photos !!

Sometime Friday night I realized I had not downloaded the photos I took to include on Friday's blog. Hard to believe. All of the house cleaning must have scrambled my brain cells to have forgotten the photos of our mid-day walk on Friday.

Heidi made her after lunch appearance. That pose is so strange because her back is actually straight and level when standing. Her nails were cut later in the day. After a week of Taste of the Wild Grain Free food with venison and lamb meal at the top two ingredients her skin has really improved this week.

With the gray clouds off in the distance it was a good time to get at least one walk in. Even Sadie was off on her own and seemed pretty excited on a couple of things she had tracked.

From the start Stella was on her own schedule and was rarely in view. By the end of the walk she was nowhere around, nor could I see her. Sadie and I drank some water in the house and then took off to find Stella since she had not shown up at the house.

They have just turned the corner and are heading for their favorite part of the field.

Sadie had found something where she had headed into the wooded area by the very back of the field but she came sprinting toward me when I called her name.

Of coarse before she got to me there was something else that caught her attention.

By the time the house was cleaned, my haircut and the hounds getting their nails cut, the sun was back but here were signs of the heavy rains 2-3 hours earlier.

For some reason after every rain Stella likes to chew the tall grass ... she will not eat the weeds or flowers but the grass.

Sadie was positive it was dry enough for a walk this afternoon but the field was saturated with the amount of rain earlier.

It's Saturday and that means a lot of college football today. Problem is, most of the good games are on later in the day and at the same time. The hounds will get their walk in as long as there is not more rain. We normally go outside at halftimes of ball games.

All is good here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Yard Mowed Again Today

Mowing the yard was really not on the list of things to do today. In fact, there is not list to do anything. Still, it wasn't the plan as I sat drinking coffee.

One nice thing about retirement is there is no schedule. I can come and go as I please and if something doesn't get done today, there is always tomorrow.

While watching Sadie and Stella explore the backyard this morning, it looked higher than I expected. I had only mowed 4 days ago and at a higher level. I could see if nothing else I had to mow the backyard and not the front. I ended up setting the mower one level lower and mowed the whole yard.

Stella had already declared it a day for slacking off and just kick back and enjoy the weather. She didn't see the need to do anything but lay in the sun.

Heidi agreed but thought she'd get some stretching exercises in. She is in day 4 of eating Taste of the Wild, with no grain and venison being the main protein. She looks better after that short time and I have seen some improvement on some bare spots of hair where she had been scratching a lot, along with skin color.

You can see the flowers in the field are not going to be around much longer. These are just an example of how fast they are dying due to the change of season.

The hounds took their first walk around 1pm, after lunch. I always wait 30 minutes or so after they eat before we go anywhere. Bloodhounds are prone to bloat and exercise or a lot of water right after eating kibble is not good for them.

Stella got in some running without me calling her. She likes to run.

Today I let each of them wander wherever they wanted to go. I was in no hurry and it's good for them to roam at their own speed.

Heidi has yet to join us for a walk this summer. Her last was in April. Although she does enjoy spending time outside on her own. I let her do what she wants ... everything is up to her.

I found it pretty hard to blog today. Not much going on besides the normal daily routine and at times it's hard to come up with something to write. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The hounds will be going out later for their 2nd walk of the day ... maybe in an hour or two.

I don't think you can beat the weather right now in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Checking In - Not a Lot to Write About

Since it has been a few days since my last post, I thought I'd stop by and write a post. Nothing has really gone one since my last post and as you see I've not posted any photos here like I have promised. Sorry about that.

I have found it very hard to take a lot of pictures when the temperatures are in the 30's. That's just me. I've never been a fan of really cold weather to hangout out outside, unless it was skiing in Colorado and Washington. Even though this winter in the 'tropics' of southern Indiana has been pretty mild so far. The weather experts are predicting a little snow this week, but weather is always changing here, so who knows.

Heidi is looking the best she has in a while. I know, I need to take some new photos and post them here with a before and after shot. By the vets direction last visit, I am now giving her 100mg of Atopica every other day instead of daily with plans of reducing her doses as much as possible.

Her recommended dog bath with medicated shampoo every 3-4 days ... I have failed miserably. It's such a hassle giving hounds a bath, even when they don't mind it. She is getting one this morning though.

I am still in my book reading mode, can't seem to stop. It must be the cooler temps outside that keep me reading books inside. Maybe I have traded my yard work in the good weather for book reading in bad weather.

A lot of college basketball on the television and I must say that I am thrilled with Indiana beating Butler yesterday. The college football bowl games are just starting, but I only watch the ones where I like the team match-ups. There are really too many football bowl games but as usual in sports it's all influenced by money. Even though many of the games are not attended well, I guess those few that do attend do bring enough income to the host city to make it worth it. Cities still want to host some kind of college football bowl game. You would think they are about to run out of sponsor names for those bowls.

Some colleges that are selected to play in those bowl games end up losing money for the trip. Yet at the same time a bowl for a college team gives them extra practices, a boost to their recruiting and an increase in alumni donations to their college.

For those following my house heating experiment, I have had to turn on the electric heat since the outside temperatures dropped to the 20's and 30's. A few times it was cold enough inside the house that I didn't see any need to be cold just to save a few dollars. Since I can see my kilowatt usage every day on the utility company website, I can tell from the usage, how to use my 1975 baseboard electric heat in an economical way. I am still spending below my budgeted amount.

This past week I was asked by a different people what kind of dog food I feed the hounds. It was kind of funny because these questions came from people that didn't know each other, were from different parts of the country, was asked via different ways of communication and all about the same time ... within a couple of days of each other.

Looking back at my list of dog food purchases, it looks like I have changed the food a lot, but it's all been good dog food. Some was 'no grain', some wasn't. The reason for the changes were the allergies that Heidi had ... I wanted to see if it was the food or was environmental.

A few years ago you might remember me taking photos of the cart full of eight 40# bags of Nature's Domain bought at Costco. That food is made by Diamond dog food, with the ingredients very very similar to Taste of the Wild, which is also made by Diamond dog.

With a 200 mile round trip to get to my closest Costco, last year I stopped making that trip and started buying dog food locally. At that time it was Diamond Naturals 60+, now called Diamond Naturals for Large Breeds. Recently they changed not only their packaging but also the list of ingredients. They have more fruit and vegetables added but still had 'grain' but has never had corn, wheat or soy. I can buy that at the local farm feed store, 40# bag costs me $33 including tax, cash or check, no credit or debit cards....yes, it's an old fashion feed store.

With Heidi's skin allergies, which she had when I bought her from Guardian Angel Basset Rescue in July 2011, she had those same allergies, and they were noted on my paperwork along with all of her medical records. In trying to find a possible source, I tried different dog foods, some of them were 'grain free'. A raw diet was never tried and 90 days of a Dinovite supplement did nothing for improvement.

Hoping I could solve her allergies with 'no grain' dog food, I tried Taste of the Wild and Fromm dog foods. Fromm is a family owned business in Wisconsin that deals in only manufacturing dog food. They are one of three dog food manufacturers in the USA, that only deal with dog foods. It's really a great dog food.

Well over a couple of years of trying the no grain food, then switching back and forth to the Diamond Natural for Large Breeds ... I didn't find that Heidi's allergies were dog food related. Her skin rashes did not improve by feeding her 'grain free' food. All three hounds have the softest coats and vets have told me multiple times they have never felt a basset hound coat feel so soft.

So the food I am feeding them is good, since the hair would be the last part of a dog using the ingredients of the dog food that is used.

Yes, for people that laugh (in a good way) about all of my Excel spreadsheets, I do have one that lists the top five ingredients of each dog food I have either bought or were interested in, along with the percentages for calories, fat, water etc. I can look at them side by side and compare them.

I have a different Excel spreadsheet I did a few years ago tracking the "true cost" of a bag of different dog foods, by adding using the miles driven to buy the food, fuel cost estimate and frequency of trips to come up with a cost per pound.

Even though it is a 200 mile round trip to my local Costco, that was the cheapest dog food per pound. Although it would increase the amount of fuel used for the month.

Am I crazy with all the analysis I do?  LOL ... at times I think I am slightly insane ... or maybe it's nothing more than curiosity.

Some have said you have to be a little crazy to keep from going insane.

I have deactivated my Facebook account, again. 

In case I don't make it back to blog until after the holidays ... Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday's to all that read this blog .. A Happy New Year!

Heidi and Her Allergy Update

Heidi may be the one hound that isn't talked about as much as the others but I give her just as much attention as Winston and Sadie. Since I bought her from a rescue service in July 2011, she seems to stay by herself most of the time. Sadie is a little big for her to play with, Winston is at the age where running around and playing is not on his agenda ... so she hangs out kind of on her own. When she is in the house alone she does like to play, will sprint all over the house wanting someone to chase her but will immediately stop if Sadie enters the house. She does sleep with them at night and will also sit on the couch with Winston in the evenings.

Sadie would like to play with her but doesn't realize how big and strong she is. Sadie has clipped blocked me before in the back of my knee, knocked me down various times and it felt like one of the better tackles I remember from high school football, many many years ago.

When I bought Heidi from GABR on July 2011, she came with a reputation of being "a runner" and a file full of medical records where they had treated her for allergies. She now walks leash free on the daily walks with no problems. She has chased an occasional rabbit but will always tire out and stop before getting to far away.

She also goes out and stays outside for short periods of time without a leash. I think it might have something to do with her knowing this is her home since it's the first time she has been at one location for three years after moving from different families and ending up in the dog shelters her first two years.

Walks Leash Free

Walks Leash Free

Walks Leash Free

 When those allergies flare up like they do every summer, they look like the following pictures.

She does not wear a collar except on her walks. The original diagnosis was alopecia on her rear legs. She has been treated at different times over the past three years with Ketoconazole, Medrol, Tribrissen and the latest was a shot of Vetalog.

Most of the pills and shots last a month or so and then the rash will return. This past July I decided I did not want to use the different shots or pills so I tried a food additive called Dinovite. After 60 days of daily use, there was no improvement and in fact the rash became worse.

So a few weeks ago when she was due for her annual check up and annual shots, I had the vet give her a shot for her allergies. Within 24 hours I could tell a difference in not only her rashes but also the way she acted.

With all the time she spent sleeping and not wanting to go outside, she must have been in a lot of pain. I will remember that in the future. I was thinking she was just tired/laidback but the reason I assume she was in pain is the way she has been acting in the past few weeks after getting her shot.

She now goes outside around 7am with the other two hounds, in fact she will get up and go outside anytime they want to go outside. Before when I didn't realize how much pain she was in, she would not go outside hardly at all. The only thing is now she thinks that every time she comes back inside, she get a Milk Bone and starts barking. She has always barked more than the other two hounds, doesn't bark a lot, only when she wants a Milk Bone and it's time to eat in the afternoon.

So I can tell a major difference in the way she acts. I will be returning the empty box of Dinovite for a refund as their policy states. I read their customer comments, both positive and negative, before I made the purchase but I thought it might work even though I had my doubts.

I never really thought it was food allergies. In the past I have fed her Taste of the Wild (no grain), Diamond Naturals 60+ for large bread dogs, Fromm Golden, Nature's Domain (no grain) from Costco, all with no improvement.

To find out if it might be the grass or hay she was allergic to, I kept her out of the yard when she would go outside and no daily walks for two weeks. Some of those walks were canceled because of the temperatures being above 95°. After two weeks there was no improvement in her rashes.

I mentioned all of this to the vet at her annual checkup and she said in past allergy tests she had given to other dogs recently, they were allergic to almost anything, ranging from dust mites, pollen, dog dander, etc. She did not think it was a food allergy based on her experience.

The vet did tell me to use the Antibacterial Antifungal spray I had bought the next time the rashes show up and see if that would work before bringing her back in for shots. 

The vet then trimmed her nails way back. The vet is the only person Heidi will let cut and dremmel her nails, so they are much shorter than what these pictures show.

Winston and Sadie have not shown any kind of allergies living in the same environment and eating the different foods. They will eat anything in dry kibble just as long as they get their dinner by 4pm eastern time every day. When it gets close to that time, Sadie will come and get me if I have not fed them yet.

She is a great dog that has been a house dog from the first minutes she arrived with no accidents or destruction. I am not sure how she kept ending up in the animal shelter, although the GABR did say the last time she was a "owner surrender" to the shelter. It is estimated she will be 6 years old this December 2014.