I certainly remember hearing from you previously, but I don't remember you telling me about trying 22 brands of food before discovering the allergy to corn. That must have been an awful time for Misty, and you.

I'm so glad you've now found a great food that's working for Misty. It sounds as if you're doing all the right things for her.

Regards,
Brigitte

My Misty and I , don't have a regular set time , to eat ,but , We do always eat together { at the same time } . It may be noon , 2:00 pm , 6:00 pm , 10:00 pm ,etc. . She , as I've told You before { I don't know , if You ever got My reply , last year } , is an Australian Shepherd / Queensland Heeler . She had a very bad allergy , to corn , which took , going through about 22 brands , of dry dog food , to find this out . She used to chew herself , scratch , endlessly , 'til I finally discovered "California Natural" Dog Food . It has only 3 basic ingredients ; lamb , or chicken & rice , and , sunflower oil . She stopped all the chewing , and , scratching , and , all her hair grew back , on Her belly . She will be 12 years old , May 1st , but , thinks She's 1 year old .

p.s. I also give Her , a little of what-ever meat , I am having , cut-up , and , put over Her dry food .

Thanks , for all Your great info , in Your newsletters .

Rick

Sorry for the delay. I don't check these comments to see whether there are urgent questions. As I'm sure you'd appreciate, only a vet should be consulted in an emergency. There's an article about Internet vet advice – here.

That whole experience must have been extremely frightening.

I really have no idea what could possibly have caused the seizures, or whether it had anything to do with the cider vinegar you sprayed on the dog.

One word to the wary, though – no matter how much you disagree with how your neighbor is caring for her dog (or not), and no matter how much you prefer holistic methods over drugs (as I do), you really should not impose your preferences on your neighbor without her knowing.

Why don't you try suggesting these alternatives to her? Or ask her permission to try certain things on her dog?

I just hate to imagine how you would have felt, and how your neighbor would have felt, if something you did to the dog caused (or even appeared to cause) a major ongoing problem for the dog, or worse.

Regards,
Brigitte

Nice to hear from you again.

I love to hear stories like yours!

You're absolutely right – feeding raw doesn't work out more expensive than commercial dog foods at all.

And when you think about it – pet owners should be happy to spend a little extra if raw food does actually cost more upfront, because how on earth do the pet food manufacturers keep the cost of their products so low – lower than raw food, when they've got all those production and advertising costs to cover? – It absolutely proves that those foods are FULL of rubbish. Or they'd never be able to afford to sell them cheaper than the natural, raw food.

You're doing a fantastic job with Hannah, Miyako. Well done!

Regards,
Brigitte

Hope all is well with you and your canine friends. My dog Hannah and I are doing very well.

Yesterday, I bought some raw bones with bone marrow intact, and some meat still clinging to the bone. Well, the shine in Hannah's eyes when I offered it to her was just priceless. She tackled it with great pleasure and anticipation of tasty things to come. To see her so happy and getting so much joy out of a raw bone brings a big smile in my face. It was not like this at the beginning when she came home with me from a shelter almost a year and half ago.

She was eleven years old and had lost many homes due to, according to the shelter people, her unruliness. She was an escape artist and never came when called. She had been hit by a car at least once. And she had been in fights with other dogs many times. I agree that she would be a difficult dog to keep in a city. She needs to run free everyday, and fortunately, she can get it here in her new home. So, she is thriving. She now comes when called; well, mostly.

But it took over a year to get here. Her health was another problem. Four months after adoption, she was diagnosed with a liver disease. This is when I started to look into dog foods closely, because I did not like the ingredients of the special liver diet my vets recommended. It was mostly soy beans !! Wild wolves, for example, does not eat soy beans ! They do not eat cooked foods, either !!!

So, with an encouragement from a friend who was feeding her dog natural raw food, I decided to switch to raw food also. I bet Hannah had been fed commercial dry and wet foods only. She did not want to eat raw food at first. I had to coax her into eating it. But it did not take long before she discovered that she liked it. And I introduced the raw food slowly, increasing the amount slowly over a 3 – 4 weeks period to avoid drastic detox simptoms. Since then, I have learned that some dogs can do it overnight, and some dogs are better off doing it slowly.

With raw food and milk thistle to help restore her liver, Hannah has not been to a vet since that first visit. So, I pay no vet bills. Some people might say that the raw foods are more expensive than commercial dry and wet dog foods, but I am saving all kinds of money on vet and medication bills. I know from my own experience with my last dog how expensive they can be.

I also make her treats myself. Just boil organ meats in water and cut them up in bite size. As you know, organ meats are very inexpensive, and dogs just love these treats.

So, wouldn't you say that I am saving a lot of grief and money overall ?? And, I have a very happy and healthy 12-year old dog who runs in the woods hours every day. I don't think that the shelter people would recognize her today. They might even think she is dead by now.

But she's not only alive and well, but I have reduced my vet bills to NONE !!!

With a happy smile,

Miyako and Hannah