Getting Closer -- The Parking Lot Rabbit pt. II

So Mondays are one of the days mom has off work. I have to admit I was a little peeved by the time yesterday evening rolled around because stupid Natty got to go out on a LONG walk, and Storm got to go out on a LOOOOooong walk the week before and I had to stay at home for both of them. Where's MY long walk? Mom says I get to go out and do more during the week and Storm and Natty deserve some really good quality one-on-one time too. I say that's a buncha bunk -- she's MY mom and I had her FIRST!

Anyway.... It turns out mom and dad were thinking of me after all 'cause we all got to go on a pretty decent family walk when dad got home from work. Seems like dad got home awful early. I wonder if it had anything to do with this "daylight savings" thing they kept talking about. So we all left the house and as we approached the train tracks the dinger thing started going off. Usually mom starts walking faster but keeps some form of control, but not dad! That's why he's fun! He started running, so we all got to RUN across the tracks! It was invigorating but totally goes against all of our train safety rules! After the train tracks you're in gopher and bunny country. Storm, Natty, and I immediately started checking gopher holes for activity. (I *was* wearing my backpack this time. I bet I could fit a whole bunch of gophers in there!). As we got closer to the other half of the lot mom was telling dad about the rabbit, and then BAM! We saw it!!!

It was sitting by the lone tree that grows in the lot. Mom and dad were totally making fun of me for looking for the rabbit, but the joke was on them! They didn't see it but we did, and all chaos ensued as we got close enough and spooked it causing it to run from it's hiding spot! He's started to change back to a brown color rabbit and his white and brown coat were making for some pretty decent camouflage. Storm and Natty were on the two headed dog leash and when the rabbit started running Storm and Natty took off after it, which surprised the heck out of dad! He had to struggle to gain control of them and looked like a fisherman who had a BIG fish on his line! I shot out and would have gotten that stupid bunny if it weren't for that blasted LEASH again! We were SO close I could almost taste it, and I was overtaken with this primal urge to make my bunny catching noises despite being restrained. I pulled as hard as I could towards that bunny but mom won out in the end and we finally had to give into letting the stupid bunny go. For someone who respects me as a carnivore and a dog she sure can be a party pooper sometimes! Mom and Dad were almost out of breath from laughing so hard and us dogs were zinging with adrenaline so we had to stop and take a breather before we kept walking.

I swear one of these days I'll get that rabbit! The leash mom uses on me is slowly wearing -- maybe one day with enough pulling I can cause it to *snap* and then I can catch the rabbit!

Mom's slow!

So this morning mom was getting ready to start her week (she has Mondays off) and I decided to make her take me to work with her. Usually I can tell if she was intending to from the time she gets up, if not the night before, and I definitely wasn't getting the feeling that she was this morning. I knew I had some convincing to do!

First I followed her into the bathroom, which I usually only do when I want my dinner and she's taking her sweet time. Not only did I follow her in the first time, but I came BACK in after she kicked me out! When she let us out into the yard I went because I had to pee, but I came back up to the door with Storm and Natty. (Usually I like to stay out until the last second possible.) I made sure to hang out by the door and stick to mom like glue as she put her coffee thermos and stuff in her backpack, and guess what? It WORKED! Mom said, "Gee, Meridian, do you want something? You want to go to WORK?" I replied in my own way with those looks that I know mom understands as well as she does English coming out of the mouths of other humans. The message was, "WELL DUH!" She put that stupid martingale collar on me (I don't know who this Martingale is but I'd like to bite him!) and my leash and we were off! She didn't even put my backpack on, which was fine given what I wanted to do today.

We went down the hill and around the corner and I knew it was coming up soon, so I got serious and all of a sudden mom said, "OH MY GOD, you don't wanna go to work, you want to go look for that RABBIT!". What an epiphany. My mom's a pretty smart lady, but sometimes it takes her a while to get things! What did she THINK I wanted to do? Yeah, going to work was a plus, as I like to get petted and have bones and things that my sisters don't get, but today was all business. Business of the the important kind, too, not like the kind mom and dad do all day. This is about a jack-rabbit.

It started last Wednesday when mom took me to work with her. We were on our way home and we were walking thru the short cut parking lot by the train tracks. All of a sudden I saw the most amazing thing! It was a GIANT white rabbit! He thought he was being all sneaky in the winter time by turning himself white, but the joke was on him! The snow had all melted a couple days before! It was just in the middle of the lot and I KNEW I had a chance! I darted off after it, but I had let it slip my mind that I was wearing a collar and leash, and mom was a little more on the ball than I thought! She's usually pretty lax about my leash walking manners thru that lot, and she's even let me off leash a few times even though she tells me she could get something called a "fine" for it, so I have to be really good. I was trying to get that darned rabbit as mom held me in place with that darned leash and I watched as it ran farther and farther away. Mom did say that she wishes she could have let me chase it, and I knew she meant it, but I stayed where I was. It was torture when it stopped for a second at a chain link fence before finding a spot to go under it.

I had to make due with sniffing gopher holes after that, but mark my words: I WILL GET THAT RABBIT! I'll be on a campaign of getting to go to work with mom every day I possibly can, which is a total of three times a week! That's six chances for seeing that parking lot rabbit again! I better be really good at work if I'm to expect that she bring me that much. I've been trying really hard. Really!

It's my birthday!

Well, today's my birthday and I'm TEN years old! That's what the people keep telling me anyway, and apparently it's quite a big deal!

I've been tagged!

Yikes!

I've been tagged three times since this morning as part of this game! I was tagged by Parker, Summer, and Sabrina. Because I'm at work and should probably get some work done, I'm going to condense my tags, and might have to postpone any future tags!

Here are the rules of the game!

Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Dogs who are tagged, need to post in their Diary the rules & their 7 pawsome facts. Then choose 7 dogs to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to bark them a pmail that they have been tagged and to read your Diary, or, send them a fun Rosette announcing they've been Tagged!

7 facts about me:

-- I was named after a small town in Mississippi called Meridian. Mom was told once that it's "not fair to name dogs after little f**cked up towns" in the South, but mom doesn't care! (Turns out this opinion-holder grew up in Meridian and didn't think it was such a great place.) Mom thinks Meridian is a fine name, and though she's learned since that you're supposed to keep dog names simple, easy to recognize, and ideally with a vowel ending, I have done just fine with my 4 syllable name! Mom says it's because I'm smart.

-- I have completely changed the course of my mom's life. She didn't grow up with dogs, and never intended to work with them professionally. She went to a 4-year art school (University of the Arts in Philly) for photography, but now works at a natural pet food store, has helped start a raw food buyer's group in Calgary, and spends WAY too much time talking about canine health and nutrition on the computer. If it hadn't been for me (and I guess I'll extend some credit to my sisters) she probably would have never gotten so obsessed with all things dog!

-- I have two doggie sisters, Storm and Natty Gann. I am my momma's girl, though, and that's why my sis's are so horribly underrepresented as her voice on the Dogster Forums! Mom had me before she met dad, and he had Storm before he met her and I. Natty came along when we all lived in New Orleans, after mom and dad were married. I know mom loves us all equally, but she's heard people talk about the one dog you'll have during your life that's your "heart dog". That's me!!!

-- I come to work with mom sometimes and though I'm pretty well behaved I secretely want to rip to shreds every other dog who comes in "my" store full of food and toys and books! There are two entrances to the store, and visibility is awful due to the shelves and the set up of the counter. It is very stressful for me to be there 'cause I can't properly watch out for mom, and I'd really prefer that other dogs didn't get to walk around like it's them that own the place! Thankfully mom has recognized my stress and only brings me once in a while. I like the outing, but it's definitely not an everyday sort of thing!

-- I'm afraid of thunderstorms now. I never was until one evening in New Orleans (I was about 6 years old) when a lightning bolt must have hit the drainpipe on the house. It went "CRACK!!! BANG!!!!!" and mom and dad jumped out of their chairs and afterwards all our hair was tingly and standing on end. That really freaked me out, and now I feel I need to protect mom and dad from any storm, especially when they're sleeping. Mom and Dad think it's weird that I'm actually OK with thunder storms when I can be outside with them while it rains and thunders, but I think it makes perfect sense -- I mean the danger was INSIDE that time!

-- Secretely I miss life back when it was just me and my mom, and her and I were stuck like glue to each other and we used live in Philly and go to New York all the time and take trips all over, and I got to socialize with my doggie friends all the time no matter what. Having one house that we've stayed in for a long time is kinda cool in a way, and I like having my daddy-guy around all the time, and having sisters is fun, too, but there was something nice about the "old days"! Mom misses it, too -- I can tell.

-- I am 9 years and 3 months old. In that time mom has only left me for more than a long work-type-day (always with friends or just dad -- no kennels for us!) three times. The first time was when I had only known my daddy for about 6 months and mom had to go from where we all were in Austin, TX to Michigan to get us the Jeep that we drove after that. She was gone for a little over 3 days that time. Then mom AND dad left us all with our friends Sarah and Adam while they went to Louisiana for 5 days to go to my aunt Tenille's wedding. That was a hoot -- we totally RAN that house for the whole time with no rules!!!! When our pack leaders returned they weren't too impressed! The last time was just two weekends ago when mom went way up to Fort McMurray for Jason and Sage's wedding and left me with dad and Storm and Natty from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon! That was kinda weird and daddy didn't hold up too well. Mom has only left him those two times -- that time in Austin was 5 years ago! Sometimes I hear mom grumble something about "codependency", but I think they just love each other a lot!

That was fun! Now who should I tag? I think most of the pups I can think of to tag have already been tagged lots! let's see...

I'm tagging my sisters, Storm and Natty 'cause they need to have facts in their diaries, too (is that fair? Mom's going to have to write those too!)

Looks like my fellow Albertan buddy Taco hasn't been tagged yet, so I'll tag him.

It doesn't look like Vance has been tagged, either, but maybe he's too busy with his starling babies to write his "tag"!

I "met" Fig Newton here on the Dogster Forums and it doesn't look like she's been tagged yet, either!

Looks like Jackie Poo hasn't been tagged. I'd like to hear her 7 things -- she's one interesting dog!

And last but not least, Gio's new little bro, Romeo!

New toys

Everyone's getting new toys. We celebrated Storm's birthday yesterday and mom brought her home a new toy, which, incidentally she likes a lot. So does Natty. Not my thing. Dad has been getting packages in the mail which contain things he gets excited about. Mom says she's gonna kill him if he orders one more thing off e-Bay. Mom got a new toy, though, too. It's technically her Christmas present. It's a new camera! She's VERY excited, and I guess this means we'll all be back in front of the lens again! I think I'm quite the attractive dog, so this is very good news. I wonder if I'll get a new toy anytime soon?

My mom

We just got a note that my doggie momma, Chewy, died last night. I didn't know her very well, but, well, she was my mom! My dad died several years ago. I guess I'm an adult pup with no parents now. My mom had me when she was young, so I guess she was about 10 or 11 years old. Not a terrible run for a dog, especially considering she was a street dog in Philly when her and her person got together! We don't know how she died, but we hope she wasn't in pain or anything.

We'll be thinking of her and the fun times that she afforded me and my human by bringing me into this world (no matter how much it probably shouldn't have happened!). My doggie sisters and I have changed my human's life quite a bit. It's because I'm so awesome!

Website

Guess what? Mom is working on a website about raw feeding. I personally don't really understand why she's so gung-ho about making this information available to dogs we don't even know, but it seems to be important to her, so I'll let that go. Maybe if it can help other dog moms and dads not have to spend as much time on the computer and with their noses buried in books it's worth it.

She's just in the beginning phases, but has compiled a list of resources so far. She has hand-written out the intro which tells a little about us and a little about the diet, and she says she's going to try to get that page made up tommorrow. I say it's supposed to be NICE out tommorrow so she should wait 'till she's at work and has no choice but to sit behind a counter with a computer in her face all day and spend her time playing with us. She say's "We'll see. It would be easier to do at home". Hmph.

So the URL for the site is: http://www.geocities.com/manteega/packlunch.htm.

She says she'd like me to appologize for the ads on the site. Really annoying. Maybe she'll shell out the money for an ad-less site with her own domain name this weekend, too.

Gotta go! I've got to go run around the house like a maniac 'cause I can tell mom's leaving work and coming home to hang out with us!!! Yay!!!

A correspondence with Sabrina -- Advice on rawfeeding resources

One of our buddies here on Dogster has been getting interested in feeding how we get fed. She pup mailed me with some questions. Mom thought that she'd post the info here for other dogs to read. That Sabrina had some great questions.

Do you have a favorite website or book that you think explains things the best? I'm a little overwhelmed and it seems everyone says something slightly different. I'm good at following recipies and stuff in the kitchen, so I guess I would like something that's a little more step-by-step if you know what I mean.

Well, you sure don't have to be good at recipes for this, but I totally hear where you're coming from! Ummm, OK. As far as resources go for the prey model thing, here's my top picks:

First are the Yahoo! Groups groups. They are email server lists and SOOOooo annoying to use, but the folks on there are so knowledgable. If you are seriously interested in the prey model thing, these groups can't be beat. The main group to discuss food and feeding is at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/
There is a sort of "off topic" list of the same people to discuss things not directly related to food or feeding at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawChat/?yguid=229789893


Tom Lonsdale is the name of the guy who is like what Ian Billinghurst is to the BARF folks. To be honest, I haven't read any of his books cover to cover, mostly 'cause I haven't found any at the second-hand bookstore or the library. He's got a website you can find at http://www.rawmeatybones.com/ that has lots of articles and his book "Work Wonders" as a PDF file.

A book I got recently and LOVE is called "Raw Dog Food: Make it Easy for You and Your Dog" by Carina Beth McDonald. She feeds a veggie mush which isn't really part of the prey model thing, but basically if you ignore the veggie sludge info (or embrace it if it makes sense to you and Sabrina does OK with it) it's a great resource. You can get the book off Amazon, and find used copies thru them as well. Though not a huge book, it covers the basics, has a great "how to", and is a really amusing read. The book has a webpage at http://www.raw-dogs.com/default.htm

Ummm, another little book with some good info is "Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats" by Kymythy Shultze. Her website is at: http://www.kymythy.com

There's a great website at http://www.rawfed.com/myths/
Check it out for sure.

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/ is another fantastic website made by a prey-model feeder. His name is Kevin and he's on the Yahoo rawfeeding group offering his expertice quite often.

About the organ meat-- what percentage should I give? 10% is what I've been told but I want to make sure. Also, does it matter what kind of organs? I mean, are organs just like intestines, or do things like hearts and lungs and stuff like that count as organs, too?

Yeah, 10-15% of the diet should be organs. Half of that 10-15% should be liver, as it is a big organ and would make up a significant part of a whole prey animal. You can feed organs from any kind of animal (chicken, beef, whatever). Heart is both a muscle and an organ. Lots of raw feeders use it as sorta both. It's really dark and rich. Kidneys are something you can usually just buy at the grocery store. Spleen is also a good one. Lungs and intestines and all that can definitley be part of the diet! I find mine at an Asian supermarket. As a veggie yourself you might find them super icky, but Sabrina will love 'em I bet. One thing to avoid is tripe meant for people. They use lye to bleach it making it not-so-great an option for the dogs. If you can get your hands on green tripe (unbleached) on the other hand, you have found something great. It's a wonderful food for the dogs. I'm still looking for a green tripe connection. THe organs are richer than muscle meat. My girls can totally handle a whole meal of just organs, but I've heard that some dogs can't. If she's sensetive to them and pukes or has diarrhea after you can feed her little bits as a 'side dish' with RMB meals.

About the veggies-- I know I need to add veggies to the mix, how much do I add just to make sure? I have a blender at home and can make my own veggie mix, but what do I put in it? Are there any veggies I especially need or need to avoid?

Actually, you don't have to do the veggies. It is really up to you and Sabrina's system. If they make you feel better, go ahead, but you really don't have to and Sabrina will probably be better without them. I did the veggie sludge making for the first two or three months when we started raw, then as we read more decided to stop. It was after I stopped with the veggies that I started to see the major improvements in my girls. The bully breeds in particular seem to have issues with grains, fruits, and veggies, so they might not really do right by Sabrina. See the fist two myths on the http://www.rawfed.com/myths/ page for a more complete explanation. The Carina Beth McDonald has a pretty good section on veggies if you want to do them, and that dog Fudge who's been posting on the forums I think gave some advice on veggies.

The Vet and other adventures

Well, well, well. So much for writting often! I've been busy. You know - things to sniff, balls to chase, sisters to torment, food to eat. I don't always have time for the computer. Mom sure does, though! I guess the biggest event to happen around here in a while is that we stopped eating kibble. Mom finally bit the bullet and decided to start feeding us raw food. She's been wanting to get us off kibble for a long time now. She tells me that she's wanted to feed me homemade food since I was a pup, but never knew quite how and was afraid she wouldn't be giving me all the right stuff. Boy am I glad she finally started! I feel so much better, and my teeth are really clean. I love getting to eat something different every day instead of the same old crunchy pellets day in and day out. I know they tried to switch it up taste-wise every once in a while by alternating between the lamb and chicken kinds, but I never really noticed that much of a difference. Now we get beef, bison, chicken, fish, and pork --- actual meat and bone, not meat flavored processed crap. Sometimes I can tell that Dad wishes he could throw our food on the BBQ and eat it himself! Mom laughs at him and tells him that there's quite a bit of bone and the meat wouldn't be that tender, but I can tell he wants it anyway. Mom tells me they will buy us rabbit when she gets the freezer she wants for her birthday. That sounds pretty cool.

We went to the vet a week and a half ago. I actually didn't mind. This lady was so cool! I have been to some exceptionally bad vets in my life, and this was such a refreshing change. Mom says we will be living here for a long time and we can go back to her every time we need to go to the vet. She only poked me with one needle, and I didn't even yelp. I'm a pretty tough girl, but I usually still let out a little yelp when I get shots. It's embarassing, but I can't help it! Supposedly the shot I got was to make me immune to rabies if I ever get bit by a rabid animal so that I can't pass it to anybody else. Mom says it's a bunch of hooey and isn't good for me, but the government says I have to have it anyway. I don't get it. Why would they do that? The upside is that I got a pretty new purple tag to wear. Mom says I'm gonna get a new silver tag from the city, too. I love it when I get to wear lots of tags! They jingle so nicely and I always know when I'm gonna go out 'cause I hear the noise of mom picking up my collar and can come running. I'd hate to miss a trip to the park or a walk to the store!

Well, it was a rough night, so I'm gonna take a nap. Mom and Dad's friend from Vancouver Island came over last night, and stayed up late talking with their other friend visiting from Montreal. We've had more visitors here in the last couple weeks than we've seen since we moved to Canada. Storm loves it, but it kinda puts me and Natty on edge. I knew Jason from before---when I was only 3 or so and we lived in Philly. I don't think mom thought I'd remember him that well, but I did! They were kinda loud, so I knew they were out there even though the bedroom door was closed. I had to stay up to make sure he didn't open the door and try to get too close to Mom or Dad while they were sleeping. That's one of my many duties, and I think I do a pretty good job. They don't ask me to protect them, but I do anyway. Natty splits it up with me now. It's nice to know she's up to the task of protecting Mom and Dad too. Storm always left that up to me before Natty came along.

Bath Time Sucks

Hooooo boy, what a day. I woke up thinking today would be the same old thing. I was wrong. Mom was doing her normal thing, and then, all of a sudden, she grabbed Storm and hauled her into the bathroom. I knew that meant trouble for her, but I figured if I laid low, I might avoid the same fate. Wrong again! It looked like I was in the clear, but, sure enough, I got one too. I am shedding a whole lot right now, and I dont' mind the brushing, but the bath I hate. I guess Storm and Natty and I have been lucky so far, I've overheard Mom and Dad saying the B-word (bath, not the other one), a lot lately but they haven't acted until today.

Other than that, I'm doing pretty good. We moved to Calgary in November, and although I liked living out on my grandparent's land in a way, it would have been a lot better if we had free reign of the acreage. Stupid Ridgebacks, grrrr.... I hated having a fence around me even though we had a ton of space and our own cabin. I dug out almost every day, hah! I just wanted to go see my Mom in the house, and do some sniffing around. Don't tell, but I think my mom saw me sometimes and ignored the fact that I was out so that I could!

Well a fresh clean start for me, the perfect day to write my first journal entry. I'll try to do this regularly, but I think the weather is supposed to get a little warmer, which means a lot more time outside! It's been SO cold lately, and even with my thick undercoat, I can only stand so much! My feet get cold, too, and the snow bothers them sometimes. I've heard my Mom saying the word "booties" sometimes when she looks at my feet, but I dont' know what that means.