the ideal diet? maybe.

As I type, Hope is sitting between my legs obsessively licking our couch. That is her favorite hobby, licking things. She has a borderline OCD with licking things, in fact. She licks whenever it is time to 'settle down'. At night, she licks for at least 10-15 minutes. She will lick the sheets, blankets, couch, my laptop, my pants, my arm - you name it. If you try to prevent her from licking by distracting her, she cries. I am not sure what to do there quite yet. One thing at a time.

Hope is very attached to me - and I to her. With her recent diagnosis of the "Big C" we are prepared to go the long haul with her. We haven't actually spoken about it, but Chris and I both know that this is destiny. It is extremely hard to adopt out a dog that bites, let alone one with health issues - let ALONE one with CAN---. We don't really speak the C word in the house. Mommy gets very upset.

On another note, I would like to share what Hope has finally decided is "her diet". We are feeding Primal Buffalo Grind(hearts, organ meat, bone) - .2-.3oz in the morning. Yes, .2oz is right. She also gets 1oz of ground buffalo meat three times a day. She isn't as boney as she was when we got her and the weight she has gained is what I would call "good weight". The last weigh in on Friday at her at 5.4lb!!

To prepare these tiny amounts of food we use a scale. I line it with waxed paper and then wear latex gloves to handle the meat to avoid contamination. I then spoon little 1oz portions onto the scale, check the weight, then transfer it to a cookie pan lined with clean waxed paper to freeze in smaller lumps. For the grind of organ and bone I fork pieces onto the waxed paper in the same fashion but then I drop it onto the cookie sheet and smash it with a fork into a flat cookie type form. This is a little time consuming but I can get a lot of lumps and cookies out of a chub of frozen raw food so we don't have to do it more than once every 2 weeks. It's also a "zen" process for me.

The supplements that Hope is currently on are pictured here:

We follow the 1/4 1/4 1/4 rule - 1/4 teaspoon of each of these tubs, twice a day. I've mentioned them before - B-Natural's Berte's Immune Blend and Herbsmith products. I'd testify to the effectiveness of any of these. They have really helped Hope a lot to overcome her mange.

Final dish before smashing the supplements in:

We rarely have an issue getting Hope to eat at this point. Sometimes she will balk but heating it up a little bit more usually does the trick for her. It is MUCH easier than 99 kibbles, canned foods, etc that she eventually refuses.

We heart raw.

special delivery.

Today it was my turn to feel under the weather. I stayed home to lay low and in turn was here to intercept the B-Naturals.com package that came(finally) for Hope. Inside were Berte's Immune Blend, Tasha's Detox, and the Yucca Intensive.

For lunch, Hope had a couple of wedges of Fresh Pet Vital Salmon/Whitefish with 2 drops of the Detox. It was recommended to start very light with it to avoid GI tract issues. She scarfed up the food without an issue.

The food thing is still bouncing around here. She ended up disliking the Paw Naturaws big time. We'll be using it as a food topper for the big 'uns. She REALLY likes Freshpet. I figured, "okay, Freshpet. We'll do the Vital(grain-free) type with the Bison in it then so we're still on the Bison/Buffalo". Wra-onggggg. She didn't hate it, but she didn't want to necessarily eat it either. That will also go to the big 'uns. She does, however, enjoy the fish version of the Vital. I dislike it a little because it has fruit in it and with the big C looming sugar/fruits are a no-no. It also stinks to holy hell. She needs to gain some weight so we'll take what we can get for now.

We're ordering some raw buffalo from Oma's Pride that arrives 2/10 so we'll start a raw diet then(if she'll eat it). I also grabbed up a couple pounds of ground duck, tripe, and buffalo bones - but that's for another post.

I'll use the next few weeks to do the detox and get her whipworms under control.

we'll get by with a little help from our friends.

After doing some quick research on cancer diets and the like, I reached out to my friend, Anna of Calling All Dogs Utah, last night. She is not only a great trainer, but she is someone I consider an expert on canine nutrition and supplements. It is a shame she lives in Utah, I think we could cause a lot of trouble together.

Anna reconfirmed what I had been reading - feed the dog, starve the cancer. For a cancer patient, the worst thing you can do is feed the cancer. Cancer thrives on grains and sugars. A grain-free approach is the best bet for a dog with cancer. Anna is also big advocate of a prey-model type of raw diet. It basically consists of meat, bone, and organ meat. It embodies the "cancer diet" of high fat, high protein, no sugar(think Atkins for dogs). I have fed a raw diet to all of my dogs before, so I am somewhat familiar. I am not sure prey-model will be right for Hope based on my guess of what her teeth probably look like. Anna thought patties or medallions of raw were probably a good option, coupled with some bones if her little teeth are up to it. Raw marrow bones are great for cleaning teeth.

We also spoke a little bit, okay a LOTTA bit, about supplements. The quick retort was that she definitely needed to go through a detox program and then be supplemented with an immune blend to help fight the cancer and add some anti-inflammatory into the mix. A few favorites thrown out were Tasha's Detoxifier Formula and Berte's Immune Blend - both from B-Naturals. Azmira's Yucca Intensive will add to the mix for anti-inflammatory benefit, along with some chinese medicine. Herbsmith's Immunity Support came on the top of the list. Anna was quick to note that fish oil should still be included in her diet - 2000mg per day - which is basically 2 capsules. I was concerned that it was a high dose(that is what I feed my large dogs per days) but for therapeutic levels it is a necessity.

So, the preplanned regiment will be as follows:
Days 1-4 - Detox formula, Yucca, Fish oil
Days 5+ - Detox, Yucca, Fish Oil, Herbsmith, Berte's

I'm looking into raw sources for her. Our local pet supply place, The Hungry Puppy, carries a few brands. At 4lbs she isn't going to cost much to feed so I'm happy to pay for quality. She'll also need drops and smidgens of the supplements so we may be stocked for life around here after this initial buy.

So today's shopping list, as I am still in Denver on vacation, is to find the Herbsmith local(I found a store listing online) and possibly stumble upon the Azmira Yucca Intensive in the same shop.

Thank god for friends.

Actual Hope update: A temporary foster was found for her and so she is OUT of the shelter until Sunday. That puts my mind at ease a lot until I can get my hands on her myself. The PSPCA said she has an eye issue going on and she'll be coming with eye ointment, but I think that's the least of our worries.