Adequan - Giving Ginger Her Life Back

                      Art,  I think you actually caught her smiling this time!!

If you've been following the progress of "Ginger",  a sweet little 15 yr. old Gordon Setter with debilitating arthritis, you'll be glad to know she is doing very well.  Her owner,  ArtOC,  started a treatment of Adequan on Jan. 27. Art has been giving her the injections himself. 

If you'd like to read this story from the beginning and get an idea of the cost for your dog,  go here:  http://gordonsettercrossing.blogspot.com/2010/01/day-1-ginger-starts-adequan-great-news.html

This is the update I received from ArtOC today. WOW!

 A lot of the snow has finally melted and there are bare patches where the sun shines directly on the ground.  Spring is right around the corner and the dogs are more than ready.  I've started giving the Adequan about every 7 days and that seems to work fine.  Ginger is much more active and is able to navigate the steps pretty well.  She has been going out and walking abound the yard for longer periods of time.  I'm really pleased with the results.  At the end of December I wasn't sure that Ginger was going to be able to walk much longer and now she is able to pretty much do what she wants.  She is obviously more comfortable.  She follows us around, wants to go on longer walks and is once again a pest at the table. 

FAT....His, Mine, and The DOGS?

My husband, Dan, had a heart attack a few years ago. Dr. said, "Change, or die". I'm happy to say he chose to change. We both did. Weight wasn't really a problem for us, but eating fatty foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat was. So now, we look at the fat content in everything we eat. Too much, we don't eat it. Hopefully, this will enable us both to have longer healthy lives.

Our dogs are totally dependent on us for proper care and nutrition. They don't have the luxury of choosing their own food or snacks. And I suspect, that like humans, dogs vary slightly in their nutritional health needs. Some of us can eat more fat than others and not be affected. Whereas, some people hardly eat any fat at all, and still have cholesterol problems.

I was reading about fat in dogs and how important it is to have the correct level. Not too much, but not too little either.

According to peteducation.com, this is what they recommend for each stage of life, or type of dog:

Puppy..........................8% minimum, 17% recommended  
Adult Dog..............5% minimum, 9% - 15% recommended 
Performance Dog.........8% minimum, 20% recommended  
Racing Sled Dogs.................................50% recommended  
Lactating dog................8% minimum, 17% recommended
           
                          Too Little Fat

Problems from too little fat in your dogs diet, can be; impaired reproductive efficiency, a dry dull coat, dry flaky skin, can cause an increase in skin infections and pyoderma. It can cause a slowing in healing, and if developing puppies have too little fat, it can actually cause developmental problems as well as growth deformities.

Too Much Fat

The obvious, of course being obesity. It is estimated that 50% of the pets in America are obese. I wonder if that includes gold fish? Obesity is just as bad, maybe more so, for your dog, than it is for humans. Problems from obesity that arise are: decreased immune function, increase in cancer, digestive problems, spinal problems, a decrease in liver function, diabetes, a decrease in stamina, a lower tolerance to heat, (especially in summer months), heart disease and increased blood pressure, damage to the joints, ligaments, and bones and a much shorter lifespan. Not to mention, it makes it more difficult to do surgeries and very risky to receive anesthesia. Believe it or not, these are just some of the problems that can arise from obesity, which comes from too much fat in the diet. Who would want to do that to their beloved dog?

It's okay to give your dog treats and even a little table scrapes, (no more than 10% of their diet - which isn't much) but we must use good judgment. Buy treats that are low in fat, good quality dog food, and make sure they get plenty of exercise and hopefully, you'll never have to worry about over feeding fat.

When you consider how short our canine friends live, don't you want them to be as healthy as they can be to live the best life they can?

Got Snow?? Make Snow Penguins!

I know that some of you are REALLY sick of the snow. Montana is enjoying a mild winter this year, but usually we gets lots and lots of snow. Foot after foot, after foot, of snow. This is what I did one year.

Meet : The Snow Penguin Family
I saw this idea in a catalog a few years ago. They had all of the felt pieces for in a package for sale. I made my own and had a great time doing it. Kids will too! The only other thing you need is snow and imagination.  I got lots of comments and our propane delivery man said, "I like your little friends there!" I even made a few pics and used them for some of my Christmas cards. I used the caption, "Hope Your Christmas is Full of Fun Surprises!"Everyone loved them.

And why stop at Penguins? You could get creative and do all kinds of animals. The important thing is,  to have fun and try not to let the weather get you down. Felt is cheap.  Buy plenty of it and sit the kids down with the scissors. (supervised that is) Use only felt, or possibly wool material. The rough texture is what makes it stick to the snow.

For the penguins make: scarves, bow ties, ear muffs, feet, flippers, eyes, beaks, and noses. Ad to the scenery: Christmas trees ( well, maybe not now) Flags, signs, etc. 

If you do make some snow penguins, send me a pic and I'll post it! Or, at least let us know so we can see what you've done.

Can anyone make a MOOSE??

Dream Pursuit Grants Wishes to Ill Children

                                  http://www.dreampursuit.org/



I have found another web site that I'd like to share with you. Actually I didn't find it,  BenG-Outdoors, did and I found it on his blog. So, I have to give thanks to BenG-Outdoors for doing the "leg" work with an interview with Rick Davis who started Dream Pursuit.

If you'd like to read this interesting interview please go to :http://beng-outdoors.blogspot.com/2010/02/interview-with-rick-davis-of-dream.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BenGOutdoors+%28Ben+G.+Outdoors%29

Dream Pursuit is a non-profit organization that funds hunting and fishing trips for young people under the age of 21, that have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, but has been released by a doctor to participate in such a trip. Currently Davis works with 3 hospitals; Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Cardinal Gleenan in St. Louis, and St. Judes Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tn., and social workers who help connect patients with Dream Pursuit.

Dream Pursuit pays for all expenses related to the dream trip. Not only do they cover equipment and licenses, but they also pay for travel expenses, lodging and meals. That's a lot of money and they depend on the contributions from hunters, taxidermists, guides, outfitters, and people just like us to make it happen.

I challenge you all to match my donation of $15.00, or more.

If you'd like to donate please go to: http://www.dreampursuit.org/  to do so.  
I am not set up to collect donations.
When you see the smiling face on Dream Pursuits website, it'll melt your heart!

This is a great quote that graces the front page of Dream Pursuits Website.........

"The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give"   - Walt Witman