I am so happy to report to you all that Riley is doing SO WELL!!!!!  If I had a dollar for every person who came up to me and said "Wow! He looks so good!". They cannot believe it if they find out that he is fighting cancer. Also, I cannot tell you how many dirty looks I have gotten when we go to the dog park and I make him take breaks every 5 minutes or so. When people ask me why I would make my dog stop playing when he is so obviously having a good time, and I tell them that he has hip dysp...
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June 17, 2009

Unfortunately there is no way to know if your dog's immune system/spleen can handle the raw food diet, until you try it. Well, we tried it and now know that that is NOT the diet for Riley. He got so sick that he was vomiting all day and night and had to be hospitalized for 4 days on an IV. We took many X-rays and blood tests, trying to make sure there was not something major causing the problem, all to no avail. But, all that matters is that he did get better, and he is now quite...
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June 9, 2009

Once I learned of Riley's struggle, I was faced with the question: Do I continue to foster dogs with no homes and risk Riley's recovery, or do I stop fostering, and just focus on the dogs that I have?  I was stuggling with this decision a few weeks ago, when I ran into the Stockon Animal Shelter foster program coordinator at the dog park (my other dog was in serious need of play). He understood my predicament, but then told me about two australian cattledog pups about 5 months old...
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June 7, 2009

Since it is now flea season, and I think the puppies who came to stay with us recently have been acting like they might have fleas, I have been finding natural ways to fight this battle. What I found is very encouraging and interesting. I found that basically any of the really strong smelling herbs- lavender, rosemary, mint, basil etc. will fend off fleas. You can even soak a rope in these essential oils and use it as a flea collar! I love to  garden, so I am always excited to lea...
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June 3, 2009

Since we are now feeding this all raw diet, cleaning up after and during meals is huge concern. I felt SO dirty dealing with that meet/carcass in my house, keeping them in my refridgerator, Riley eating it (outside, and me having to stand out there watching him for the whole of it), and then coming in and wanting to give me a kiss on the chin, or touch my leg with his nose to say hello, or smelling the trash can and touching it, smelling the floor, licking the floor, licking my h...

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June 1, 2009

Since Riley is fighting cancer, one thing everyone seems to agree on is that you need to make it as easy on their immune system as possible. This means- not feeding them out of plastic, not using harsh chemicals around them...yes that means finding natural cleaners, flea repellent, weed killer (I have just given up on that one...hmm, my dog, or a few less weeds.... that's a no brainer! ), keeping them away from possibly sick dogs (not easy as a foster parent), and trying to keep t...
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May 23, 2009

So, after almost 3 weeks on his new diet, this is what we are now feeding.

1/2 lb of ground chicken or turkey

1/4 cup pureed greens: (cellery, carrot, apple, parsley, and beet are the staples, and then I just throw a little bit of whatever else I happen to have on hand- zucchini, alfalfa sprouts, watermelon, bell peppers, etc.  Note: it is important to know the list of veggies to NOT feed your dog. The list is located at the link above. 

Oils: 1 tsp cod liver oil, 1 tsp flax seed oi...

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May 5, 2009

So now that I know that I need to feed Riley an all raw diet, I am faced with the challenges of stepping into the unknown. It is so easy to have confidence that you are giving your dog everything he/she needs to be healthy when you are buying a heavily researched, scientifically balanced diet that is rated by the experts as being an excellent food (evo or wellness core).  So you can imagine how scary it is to suddenly have the world as your limit as to what you can feed him. It doe...
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May 1, 2009

We found out April 22, 2009 that Riley (my 3 1/2 yr old boxer) had cancer. We were told that since it was "stage 1", we had "the most favorable prognosis".... but what the heck does that really mean? If any of you have had this, or similar news from your vetrinarian, you know just how scary that unknown factor is. Once I spent an innoridinate amount of time on the internet researching  what our type of cancer meant, what the statistics were for us, and found out that there ARE thin...
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lately

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