Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Dexter, a Kelpie reconstruction!

Just ran across a breed with which I was unfamiliar: the Australian Kelpie.

Kelpie examples:





And, of course, my boy:





Sources:
http://www.freewebz.com/glenavon/index.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/australiankelpiephotos.htm
http://petzopedia.com/dog-breeds/australian-kelpie/

OK, maybe it's just mostly the face. His muzzle is squarer, and the ears are different, of course. But to me, strikingly similar - and the frequency of the eyebrow spots in the breed (three different dogs above, all found in the first couple of GIS pages) is striking.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

My Class Handouts

Here's the most up-to-date versions of the handouts for classes I've taught.

Chaucerian English (2008-08, 1.76 MB)

Cheesemaking class (AEcademy 2005-06-18, 160 K)

Contracts, Seals, and Signatures (2000-08, (4.47 MB)

Guilds - Period Laurels and Their Apprentices (2009-08-04, 2 MB)

Les Trobairitz, Putting Women in their Proper Poetic Place (2006-07-15, 2.9 MB)

Old French (2010-08-09 through 11, 3.37 MB) (9/30/10: FIXED LINK)

Underwear I - Survey of Medieval Underwear (2009-08-01 PW-XXXVIII, 4.52 MB) (9/30/10: FIXED LINK)
Underwear II - Documentable Details (2009-08-01 PW-XXXVIII, 3.24 MB)
Underwear III - Chosen Hosen (2009-08-01 PW-XXXVIII, 2.88 MB)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

[Prof. Farnsworth] Hey, everybody, great news! I found a way for Dexter to travel without puking on my lap![/Prof. Farnsworth]

He's always puked, since his first car ride (home with me, leaving Mom - very traumatic, naturally) (three times on that trip, alone).

I've tried Benedryl, Cerenia, and lately acepromazine. All worked, to some degree, but not completely. Even short trips would leave him noticeably disturbed. But most importantly, I finally took note that his drooling (which precedes his vomiting) could start even before we started moving. So, maybe it's not motion sickness at all, or maybe that's only part of it: anxiety about the trip seems to be the bigger problem.

I went off-label, on a trip where I didn't have the full dose of Cerenia with me, and gave him an SSRI. I don't in general recommend this: some human meds can misfire terribly in pets. But, in this case, I was desperate, and it worked beautifully.

Next, I considered the times he did well: traveling with Loie in the car, he would sit on her lap, and drool a bit, but (it seemed) not as badly as when he & I traveled alone.

On our last long trip (2 hrs), he was tranquilized on acepromazine. Heavily doped, he crawled from the back seat to my lap, where (at 40 lb) he really dominated that space, and crashed out. No problem driving with an unconscious doggy on my lap! The doping made him "forget his manners", and climb onto Daddy's lap. The comfort of that made him sleep.

So, on the way to Grandma's house today for a picnic (20 minutes, plus - usually - "OMG Dexter's getting sick!" time), I stroked him the whole way. No meds, just petting. He did fine.

Once there, someone fed him a few hot dog pieces, before I could stop him. Figured I'd be wearing that food on the way home... However, happily, my stroking on the way home had the same results: no drooling, and a pretty quick settle-down, lethargic state of resignment. No puking!

YAY!!!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Dexterpalooza Video Fest!

These have been piling up, and I want to gather them in one spot. Some new ones below.


Dexter helping me with pushups (8/26/10, 6 months)
I got past my tendonitis finally, but I'm still having problems getting beyond 20 pushups. Can anyone help me? Is there something wrong with my form? Maybe I should buy some of those pushup handle-thingeys I see on TV.

Dexter loves chicken feet! (8/23/10, 23.5w)
They're floppy, they're silly, they're crunchy, and they taste great!!! What's not to love?!

Dexter shows off 7 tricks (8/14/10, 22 weeks)
Right after we reunite at the end of Pennsic, Dexter shows off his tricks. "I didn't forget nuthin', Daddy!"

Daddy and Dexter reunite (8/14/10, 22 weeks)
Dexter is amazed to find out I'm still alive, after 2 weeks at Camp Grandma's while I was at Pennsic.

Dexter jumps in the swimming pool @ Grandma's (8/04/10, 20.5w)
Whoops! It didn't look that deep! Video by his Grandma & Jackie.

Dexter at the River - Solo war with ball (07/26/10), 20w

Dexter at the River - Upstream chase (7/26/10, 20 weeks)

Dexter at the River - "You Ball-Stealer!" (7/26/10, 20 weeks)

Dexter swimming at the river (7/26/10, 19w)
His second time swimming. He's still not too sure about it, but he LOVES playing in the water!

Dexter plays drums (7/13/10, 17.5w)
This is his standard way of telling me he needs more water, but sometimes he does it when the bowl is full. He's got a musician's soul.
I never should have taught him to eat souls.

Dexter LOVES his sock toy (5/30/10, 11 weeks)
1 discarded plastic water bottle + 1 dirty sock (for extra scent goodness!) + overhand knot = best and cheapest dog toy ever!

Dexter's obligatory "Tail Chase" video (5/25/10, 10.5 weeks)

Dexter 1st learns to fetch (5/25/10, 10.5 weeks)

Dexter eats breakfast (raw chicken) (5/20/10, 9.5w)"
Little puppy Dexter shows off his good eating habits, turning a chicken thigh & drumstick into a bellyful of *yum*.

Dexter plays with the spikey ball for the 1st time (5/14/10, 9 weeks)
He barks more in the first 30 seconds of this video than he ever has before.

Dexter walking with me (5/13/10, 9 weeks)
Just me & my new pup Dexter, walking on leash together.

My new best-friend-to-be (03/30/10, 2.5 weeks old)
My first meeting with the litter, when I picked out this little guy to be mine. He didn't get named "Dexter" until we were on the way home, 5 weeks later.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

A Root and Two Radishes

While I was away at Pennsic, a lot of changes happened...

Dexter only gained about 2 lb during his two weeks at Grandma's, instead of the 4-5 I expected. But... he was noticeably bigger. Probably lengthened, which would make him seem taller when he jumped on me.

Dexter and I get reacquainted after Pennsic...

Dexter shows off 7 tricks for Daddy - 6 of them correctly!

He's better at jumping up, too. Now he is pretty confident standing up onto my lap while I sit at the computer, something he really never did before. He has "come into" his adult run; I think his running gait improved slightly while he was away.


And, as the title suggests, something else has changed about him, as well. It will be is (1) time to schedule The Big Snip, soon. (Update: Dexter will get pity-ice cream and kisses on Monday, after surgery...)

(1) I just checked the web. Although Dex' doc said "after 6 months of age", apparently the trend is to get them earlier these days. Anyway, he's about 6.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Hard-Boiled Eggs: Tips

Like many of us, I've read a billionty tips on how to cook, and how to peel, hard-boiled eggs.

The best tip on how to properly hard-boil, without getting grayed yolks, is to put the eggs in enough water to cover well ("covered by 2 inches", but as long as they're covered, they're good, IME). Bring the water to a boil, and turn it off. When you can comfortably rescue the eggs from the water (below 140 deg F), they're done, and not overdone.

Now, how to get them to peel easily. Serious cooking guides (that actually test their own advice) seem to agree the most important factor is using old eggs. Fresh eggs won't peel well. Eggs that are at least three days old peel well. Here's one instance where your grocery store's high turnaround can work against you. Fortunately, they intentionally cycle the oldest perishables to the front, so the ones you pick up are likely to be the oldest available.

Another tip that supposedly works is to plunge them into ice water, after cooking. Tonight, I boiled 3 dozen eggs, and tested this theory. One dozen went straight from hot water to ice water. 10 of them peeled well. Another dozen sat in the slowly cooling hot water (now just warm), and I peeled them next. 8 of them peeled well.

OK, 10/12 versus 8/12. Probably significant, but not overwhelming. But wait...

I took those 4 eggs from the warm water, and soaked them in ice water. Three of those became really easy to peel. Ta-dah! Ice water saved hard-to-peel eggs!

Clearly, it's not important that the eggs get plunged immediately from the hot water into the ice water. My feeling is, after peeling 36 tonight, that the ice bath firms up the whites, making it easier to pull the sticky shell membrane away. As long as the egg is chilled, the outer flesh is firm, and it works. Cooling them slowly, and refrigerating them before peeling, should work just as well. But that test is for another day.

So, to summarize, here's how to make great hard-boiled eggs:

  1. Buy eggs a few days ahead of time if possible, because older eggs peel better.
     
  2. Cover the eggs with plenty of water, bring to a boil, then cut the heat.

  3. When the water cools to a touchable temperature, fill a bowl with ice water, and spoon the eggs into the bath. Once chilled, they will peel easier.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

10th Anniversary of my Vigil at the Runestone

I was here.
Near as I can tell, it was 10 years ago, Wed Aug 9 2000, when I sat at the Runestone in the cold, damp dark, and heard words of love, praise, wisdom, and caution, having been startled clean out of my wits earlier that day by being put on vigil by my Queen, Elana, at an impromptu court in Midrealm Royal.

Upon returning home from Warre, I wrote this missive, and sent it to both the Apprentice List, and the MK Laurel list.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Dexter Learns to Swim

Today, Dexter and I went down to the "river", which today (after three days of rain) actually looks like a small river... until you realize it's never more than thigh-deep. Nice little rapids,  just enough to make it look exciting, but not enough to even body surf. In fact, Dexter walked down them to join me in the "deep part"... which lead to him realizing that the water became too deep to walk. A moment later, I had him in my arms, and plopped him in the water for his first-ever swim. SOOOOO sorry I couldn't take pictures of that!

He, um, didn't like the idea, of course. Swam right to the shore, shook himself off, and pouted. But, a few minutes later, he swam back to me, unable to be apart from Daddy. Once he got to me, he just HAD to climb up on me... which led to him climbing the Daddy tree. Two dog paws on my head, two digging into my ribs, and a wet dog belly plastered against my face. Heh.

After that, he was done swimming. I alligatored in to the shallows to tempt him out again, but he just made me his personal flotation device. Stood resolutely on my back, until he noticed the air mattress floating back out...

Anyway, lots of fun was had, and blessed relief from the humid heat today.

Sorry there aren't many pictures, but it's tough to get them while splish-splashing about! Click to embiggen.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Dexter lies on his back to get his nails done

Sorry, no picture, but like many dog owners, I was dreading the nail clipping times. I tight-leashed his head so it couldn't reach his feet, gripped him tightly against my ribs, held his paw vice-like, and did my business... when it occured to me that I was approaching this all wrong.

The books say, if your dog fears storms, don't console him ("Aw, poor poochy, are you frightened?"), because that only reinforces the behavior. Just like with little kids. Wrong: "Aw, come here. That must hurt!" (tears increase to sobbing). RIGHT: "Did you fall down? Wow! Show me your boo-boo. That's cool!" (head nods in agreement, sniffling). Really. It works.

So, instead of dreading the nail clipping, and making a big, hairy-scary deal out of it, I decided to make it ordinary, frequent, and part of our cuddling time. Every morning, I reach over, take the clippers, and mock-clip his nails, shaving the edges. While he lolls around on his back, getting belly rubs. Once in a while, I clip an actual nail, now that I've convinced him this is nothing unusual.

I let him sniff & lick the clipper. He's cool with it. It's not the enemy.

Since I do it every day, I don't have to do all 4+1 claws on a paw at once. Probably could, at this point, but, heck, they aren't going to get that long, with this practice.

Yay, attitude! His and mine!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

the finger

Reflections on highway anger, beginning with a Bukowski poem.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Puppy Weight Predictions - Weigh-In

So, in this post I used a set of data to predict that my dog would "add 6-7# over this next week (1/3 of his current weight, or 13% of his adult weight)" (that is, over June 4-10).

How much did he actually gain? About 2 pounds.


Dexter Is a Good Boy (repeat!)

HEEL

I didn't post about HEEL yesterday, because I spend too much time on the leash fighting Dex. But yesterday's post made me think about what is going wrong with HEEL... I'm losing my patience, and instead of teaching a command, I'm expecting him to know it - then punishing him for not obeying. That violates "No Bad Dog", since it skips the fact that he really doesn't understand HEEL yet, and assumes he's just being bad. He isn't. I haven't taught him well enough.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Dexter Is a Good Boy (repeat as needed)

So, I have lots of proof Dexter really tries to be good. And now I have one more piece of evidence.

Witness my new pavilion floor cloth, painted on both sides with primer, and now top-coated with a putty-colored acrylic. Throughout all three coats, on both pieces, I've been cautioning Dexter OFF! whenever he came near. I actually started out briefly tying him up, which any normal person would do, but then realized that I would be missing out on a perfect training opportunity.



Monday, June 21, 2010

In Memoriam: Special Agent White, 2010 - 2010

[Per standard procedure, this obituary has been reviewed, revised, and approved for release by Dept. 12. - E]

It is my sad duty to report the termination of employment of Special Agent White, SFA, DVM, OBE [1], known to all of us [2] as an ebullient, resourceful, and above all thoroughly professional Special Field Agent. She was an absolute master of disguise and misdirection, but her most successful "presentation" was as a meek, quiet, pure white kitten. Innumerable enemies of _____ fell for this cover, often to their swift misfortune.

[1] Twice, under separate cover names.

[2] All of us with a "Need to Know", of course.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

"I only count the bright hours" - sundial inscription

So, when I say my 12wo dog knows SIT, STAY, DOWN, WAIT, HOLD, DROP, MINE, COME, SPEAK (new!), and STAND (new!), I don't mean he always obeys them. Not even that he usually obeys them. In fact, in the case of the latest two commands, I only mean he obeyed them at least once, in a way that assured me he wasn't acting randomly (he actually did the action on command).

I only count the bright hours.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Vids of da Dog

I'm lax on posting tons of photos (Dexter, + SCA events), so here's some silly videos of my boy in the meantime.

Dexter plays with his sock toy.

Dexter's obligatory "Tail Chase" video (5/25/10, 10.5 weeks)

Dexter 1st learns to fetch (5/25/10, 10.5 weeks)

Off-Hand Cooking Tips

Here are a few tips that I use regularly, and aren't common in most cooking lists.

  1. Peel ginger with a spoon. It takes off less of the flesh than a peeler, and adapts better to the curves. Plus, it can be used to gouge out scabby bits.
  2. Soak berries briefly in bleach water. To remove pesticides, a minute-to-5-minute soak in soapy warm water is regularly recommended. My innovation: add a teaspoonful of bleach. It won't affect the flavor in that short time, but will kill off surface molds. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries will keep a week, instead of 2-3 days, in your crisper. Don't forget to dry them off well before refrigerating!
  3. Save no-longer-fresh produce you aren't quite ready to eat by parboiling, boiling, frying, or microwaving. Worried that your nice spinach will go off before you return from the weekend? Zap it in the microwave, and put it back in the fridge as pre-cooked greens.
  4. Label! I keep white duct tape and sharpies around in my dining room area. If I am putting leftovers away, I try to label the container with a piece of white duct tape and a sharpie. Sharpies often won't write on the containers directly; either there's dew from the chilled contents, or water from the wash-off, or whatever.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Puppy Weight Predictions

I get asked two questions constantly: "What is he?" (A: a pure-bred grey wolf [1]), and "How big will he get?"

[1] More precisely, his dam, Sasha, was a black lab mix, and his sire, Charlie, was a collie mix.

The latter is a question I wonder about a lot. I cannot lie; size matters to me. I like big dogs. So, I did what any other geek would do: I tracked down data, built charts, and extrapolated.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Finishing the garden

The square-foot garden is almost ready for plants... It's frakking June again, and my plants are still in starter cups. At least they're already in soil this year...


It's split-level - oooh, fancy! 'Cuz it was easier than leveling the old and new portions...

Blog Whoring

OK, technically DelanceyPlace isn't a blog; it's an article-a-day email service.

From their site: Delanceyplace is a brief daily email with an excerpt or quote we view as interesting or noteworthy, offered with commentary to provide context. There is no theme, except that most excerpts will come from a non-fiction work, mainly works of history, and we hope will have a more universal relevance than simply the subject of the book from which they came.


Today's entry is on the rise of Protestantism in colonial America, and how it contributed to the Revolution. I've added footnotes [thus].

Quote begins after the break.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Thanks, Dexter

Yesterday was one of the best days in my life.

He mastered the Scary Slick Stairs, performed a beautiful WAIT for his dinner even after I left him alone (and watched from the kitchen window), the weather was perfect, and we got lots done together.

Oh, and I had a gin&tonic, a nap, got work done for my buddy's project, etc.

Today was good, although the tally of mosquito bites from yest turned out quite high.

Finished the four 4x4' raised bed enclosures for my square-foot garden, had a successful vet visit, and got good tips from her on where to go next in training. Vet: "It's never too early to start training. You can't expect him to take a one-hour training session, but 30 2-minutes sessions are OK." I agree completely.

So, we started learning SIT today.

Too bad about the mess in the car, though...

But really, thanks, Dexter, for everything. For every minute. Even the ones I spend cleaning up your yak or pee. The needle-tooth cut on my index finger. The allergy meds, as I adjust. The 6am pee breaks, and the standing-in-the-rain ones.
But of course, for the adorable rolling around on your back, biting the sock chew toy moments. And the wanting to always be near me. And the kisses and tail wags and cuddles. The chasing-your-tail fall-overs. The bounding through the grass when I call. The sleeping underneath my chair, and nibbling my beard with puppy-submissive-love. The splaying-your-legs when I rub your tummy, "ohhhh that feels so good don't ever stop!". The mostly self-taught housebroken behavior. The preference for peeing on the linoleum, when you mess up. The social skills from being born in a house with 2 inside dogs, 8 outside dogs, 3 horses, 2 small children, 5 adults, and a cat. The attentive desire to please me. The sleeping near me, so neither of us are alone. The giving me space, when I'm not alone.  The ear-flipped-up, Billie Holiday impression. 





Everything.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Promises, promises...

And with this post, I am declaring my intent to go hiking next week with Dexter. His first hike - I decided he was still too young this week - and my first since moving back to PA.

The Allegheny Ntnl Forest is nearby, and hiking & camping is totally free there. I'd need to find some trail information.

We won't make much distance, of course, but sleeping out with my boy would be wonderful...

Time to check my ultralight kit...

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Carnivory III

While I installed the overhead run in the backyard, Dexter explored the high grass and creek.

... and when I finished, and called him, he came back eagerly muddy, as a young boy should be. I don't mind a little mud on my dog. However, the Amazing Scent Cloud that came with him...

Monday, May 24, 2010

Log In, Old-Style (parte le seconde)

The field test of my pavilion poles at War Practice was an unqualified success!

The top beam slid out of its moorings on the first attempt to raise it (they were purposely left loose, since the beam has to rotate 90-degrees from ground to erect position). Second try, with 3 people helping, it went up like a charm. I think only 2 people would be needed.

More after the break...

Thursday, May 20, 2010

What a Difference a Day Makes

(This post was actually written on Feb 25, 2010, the first day in my new digs, and intended to be the first post in this blog. Eh. I'm a slacker deluxe.)

  

Yesterday, I dreamed of eating entrails. My dreams throughout this move have been of dismemberment, not living up to my (still-living, in my dream) father's reknown, maggots & worms, tumors, zits, and bruises received while fighting.


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Log In, Old-Style

The pup & I went logging this afternoon. My pavilion is a French bell (similar to this one), and the original beams are saplings. I've since changed the internal support structure, making it look like a sawhorse:

________
 /\  /\


instead of pi:
_______
 |   |

I made the legs of the "sawhorse" from 2x4's, but they lack the charm of the saplings.

I've also fiddled around a lot with the details of how the legs and top beam interact. I started with a roughly 18" triangular frame of plywood & 2x4's, bolting the legs in place, and in the process discovered that overconstraining the top beam to the legs results in split wood during setup/take-down.

After a few variations on this theme, the period solution seemed ideal (imagine that!): rope lashing.

Went out onto my landlord's 11 acres, and (with his permission) chopped down a 4" diameter maple. My first fell went pretty well; I was pleased with how cleanly I was able to make the cut. (About the time that the tree came crashing down, Dexter suddenly took a dislike to lumbering.)

As I cleaned up the bottom 12' of the sapling, my elbow spoke up, and reminded me of its tendonitis. "Broom, old boy," it said, for we are fond friends, "Wouldn't you think that the next 12' of this tree look mighty strong as well? And wouldn't it be easier to use that, than to fell another 3 trees this size?"

"P'shaw, nonsense!" I replied, for I was in a mood.

Hacked down another one, a bit smaller. My elbow again spoke up, while I rested, and its sage and simple advice began to make some sense to me. I shall make two poles from each of these trees, and thereby test just how thick the tent poles really need to be. After all, it's only War Practice this weekend; a safe and easy test.

My elbow is so smart, sometimes. In fact, it's smarting right now. Vitamin I, where are you?

The best part of the experience: I got to use a timber hitch for the first time!

OK, I lie: the best part of the experience was when I realized my little boy was nowhere in sight - he was finally brave enough to venture more than 50' from me! I called his name, and he popped up from around the bramble pile. COME, DEXTER!, and he came bounding across the creek, through the higher-than-him grass, tail high, happy as a puppy could be to come back to his master.

That sight was the best part of the day.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Carnivory II

Parte the seconde.
    


Dexter is 9-1/2 weeks, and I started him on his raw diet. I was a little hesitant... but he wasn't! OMG can that boy eat meat!

I hear you saying, "RAW?! He'll get sick from bacteria!" I've seen dogs casually snarf up mummified mice from the roadside, with no noticeable aftereffects. Just last Wed my boy celebrated his 9wo birthday by scooping up a dead mouse on a walk; he was so stealthy that the tail was disappearing as I noticed he wasn't chewing on a stick. And the poop was just fine. Whole mouse, dead for ?? long, preserved by... not being discovered by any other carnivore first.

They're scavenging carnivores (1), a subspecies of grey wolf (2), sharing at least 99.8% of their DNA (2). Wolves in the wild eat over 98% of their calories in meat (4), even accounting for the small bit of vegetation they get from eating prey intestines & stomach (which they empty first, despite what you may have heard). IOW, carnivores, not omnivores, as I had previously believed. And well-adapted to eating carrion.

(1) Perhaps redundant. Is there such a thing as a carnivore that doesn't scavenge? Even sharks attack carcasses. But my point is: they're evolved for eating not-fresh dead meat.
(2) Canis lupus familiaris. So, the next time someone says, "Dogs aren't wolves!", you might politely correct them. They are.
(3) Interestingly, dogs appear to have branched away from wolves (were domesticated? domesticated themselves? Strunk & White advise the active voice...). 100,000ya - quite a bit longer than the time that we have been wearing clothes!

(4) "But my dog eats grass!" Yeah, and my cousin drank a fifth a day. And I eat too much at meals. Want != need.

But what about their ability to eat non-meat human scraps? Well, you can eat indigestible junk, too (the parts of beans that give you gas, for instance). But more importantly, they, like us (5), are attracted to both sweet and fatty tastes - both of which human food abounds in! However, unlike us, their saliva does not contain amylase, an enzyme that is used by seeds to break down starches (storing energy in a hard-to-digest fashion, to protect the seeds from predators) into sugars (which is the first step in malting grain, which is the first step in fermenting beer, which is YAY BEER!). Where was I? Oh, yeah...

(5) But unlike cats, which cannot taste sweet. No receptors for sugar on their tongues. 


Humans have amylase in their saliva. Perhaps the oldest method of making beer is to chew grain, and spit the "cud" into a jar. Leave to ferment, et voila! Chicha! The mere act of chewing your sandwich begins the digestion process right in your mouth. But, although that WonderIfIt'sReally Bread is sweet (like an unsupervised child, it's fucking close to candy), doggie can't really digest (most of) the grain part of the bread.

But wait a minute! Almost every single dog food on the market, from Wallyworld's Choice to expensive canned stuff, contains grain fillers of some sort. And they've invested (collectively) million$ in research to make sure their product is top-notch. All true. But what's lacking from that evidence is independent, blind testing of dog nutrition needs. I don't doubt that Bayer wants me to eat an aspirin a day... it's when an impartial body finds evidence in their tests that corroborate this, that I become a believer (retaining the privilege of a healthy level of doubt, of course). And I don't see that sort of unbiased research out there saying, "A dog's diet should contain grains."

 So I'm going with the field experts on this one. So to speak.

  
The guidelines I've read say to start on only one meat, to watch for protein allergies (possibly less of a concern for a mutt, which is de facto less inbred, but that may just be wishful thinking). However, the store didn't have chicken livers, so he gets chicken quarters and beef liver.

The general rule of thumb is 80% meat with meaty bones,  10% organ meat (for vitamins, so heart & tripe are considered meat), and 10% fish and/or eggs. Naturally, growing puppies (4-legged or 2-) require lots of fat, so the meat shouldn't be the well-trimmed, health-conscious variety.

Again, guidelines: 2% of adult bodyweight in food daily (regardless of puppy age & size!), or else 10% of current puppy weight. That's a guideline, unadjusted for activity level, of course. 2% of 40# is 12 oz. I packaged 10# of chicken quarters into 11-oz allotments, and added 1/16th of my pound of beef livers to each. I fit these parcels 3 to a quart baggie (the livers made nice visual breaks between the allotments), and froze them.

He ate his 12 oz of meat for breakfast, and was hungry again by mid-afternoon At this stage, if he's hungry, and not putting fat on his ribs, I'm feeding him... so he's now getting 2 of those 12-oz packages a day, with an egg added to the breakfast serving. (I blended 6 whole eggs, and dole it out from a tupperware container in the fridge, since the shells have lots of calcium.)

  
Now, to the really interesting part, since you've stuck with me this far (thank you!).

I believe in TINFL when raising dogs: There Is No Free Lunch, or, essentially, I want them to believe that everything they want or need is a gift from me. Dexter eats when (& where!) I choose. He goes where I say he goes (crate & leash; almost no free run).  I cut him slack on potty duty, because after all: he's just a pup. But although he lets me know when, and I jump-to, even if we "just went!!!eleventy!", ... I pick where. To the left of the door, in the 10'x15' gravel area, not over to the right in front of the patio, nor straight out from the door in the grass.

So, when he grabbed his chicken and moved away from me, a perfectly natural and appropriate thing for a puppy in a litter to do to protect his meal, I took it away. Then, I gave it back to him. He growled; I "put him down" (pressed him gently but firmly until his head & neck were on the ground). Then I let him eat again, but with me holding on to the joint. He tried to turn so he was facing away from me; I turned him back. Food comes from me; it is not taken from me.

I've been using "DROP IT" as his command to stop biting (5). I used it intermittently a few times during his feeding. After a few trials, within one or two repeats of DEXTER DROP IT, he stopped eating, and let go of what was in his mouth. Amazing. GOOD DEXTER, OK, and I move the meat back to his mouth. The carnage resumed.... What a gooood boy!

(5) He now knows his name, GOOD, DROP IT, and is getting used to OK and WAIT. I'm not saying he's trained on those words, but he recognizes them, and responds in some manner, even when the tone isn't the message.

And that's when the most amazing thing happened. Not in him: in me. Or maybe, in us. This voracious little predator, with pin-sharp teeth (don't I know!!!), ripping savagely at the meat & skin, crunching through entire chicken femurs and pelvic bones, ate gingerly around my hand. Not once did his little teeth touch my skin. I braced the leg; he pulled & twisted & crunched & gnawed, earning each little well-chewed morsel of meat, fat, skin, bone, marrow. I felt like a mama dog. I really felt like I was bringing him food.

I can't quite put it into words, except: it's like the difference between taking your new love interest out to dinner (impress her with the white tablecloth "I treat you right!" stuff), and making your new love interest dinner.

Also, watching a predator (even junior-grade) consume prey... educational, in a very anatomical, hidden-power sort of way.

  

BTW, on the subject of indigestible dog food components... His next two bowel movements were irregular (first diarrhea, then constipation). He's returned to normal since then: a diet adjustment. I collected his last fewmets: 1.5 oz. About 90% of his meal was absorbed. I never weighed his droppings while he was on Puppy Chow, but I can tell you they were larger (maybe 2x?).

Monday, May 17, 2010

Carnivory

Carnivory, parte the first.

I finally got around to trying KFC's much-touted Double Down sandwich today... I was famished, running late, and wouldn't be home to eat something proper & cheap for at least an hour. Perfect excuse to blow $5 on a temptation.

Verdict: a resounding 'meh'.
The slice of pepper jack was unphased by the chicken, so clearly they were near room temperature when the sandwich was put together. The spiced mayo was nice enough, as was the bacon, but, seriously... meh.

And in retrospect, not releasing this menu item during the Atkins craze (not thinking of it in time; however you wish to phrase it) was the oversight of the decade for KFC.