So, we are now a full week (and just past) the introduction of a new regime for the dogs. I won't say it has been an unqualified success....
Finn continues to exercise her Princess ways and remains, largely, on a hunger strike. She noses through her delectable mixture of organ meat, mixed veggies (which i cooked in ground beef, damnit - spent another 4 hours last night cooking bloody veggies for these dogs! AND in the process almost cut the bloody thumb of myself) and meat on the bone.
Llyr is starting to "get it' - which doesn't altogether surprise me. Deprived of sustenance in his first three years, he is less picky than the Princess and more inclined to take what's put in front of him. We learned early on ijji jh that he was partial to raw meat - having stolen at various times in his first 6 months with us (and ingested), 8 raw chicken breasts, 9 frozen hamburgers and a thick slab of steak .... he is also, thankfully, starting to actually keep it DOWN - as his sensitive stomach initially was rejecting all this raw food and no sooner did it go down than UP it came.
Remarkably, despite the fact that they are still either not eating an entire meal (in Finn's case and partially true for Llyr), I am seeing some changes.
There is NO question, Llyr's coat is looking very obviously healthier. I have been concerned for some time about his coat, finding it dry and dull. It looks, even in this short period of time, thicker and there is NO question it is far shinier. Finn's coat seems more defined in terms of colour - and while the coarseness of her coat which ranges from smooth to curly is a little less obviously different - the black and tan markings seem sharper.
The other odd thing which I can only speculate is linked to the regime is to do with Llyr's cysts. Since I got Llyr he has tended to develop lumps; glutenous, loose lumps, sometimes along his flanks, but primarily along his spine. I have had several checked out and they are simply liquid cysts. In each case, my veg said we could either drain them, or let them do their own thing (i.e. burst or go away)- in EVERY single case, they would grow to a certain point, then one day, simply disappear. Until now... I found one on his flank earlier in the week and with as all of them, monitored it. Yesterday it suddenly burst (I know, gross)- but this has NEVER happened before. So I cut away the fur and cleaned it out - and will continue to clean it twice a day but it it looks clean and uninfected and the swelling is minimal. i can't help but speculate that this is in fact, toxins leaving his body? Or am I reading too much into this?
I know my dear friend and mentor for this diet, Souha, said I would see changes in them as the toxins left - and the first few days I noticed they both scratched far more than normal. She said they would go through a period of adjustment as the toxins from all the unhealthy food they had been eating were excreted by their body.
Anyways, interesting.
They continue to get supplements, 2 kelp tablets twice a day, 1 cod liver oil tablet, bloodroot for both (for spleen health) and for Llyr, HA-180, a natural palliative for his joint pain. I still have to give them the bone meal which I've been unable to find but have on order.
There is no question they miss their kibble... and Finn worries me (a little) although she doesn't seem that much skinnier .... so I assume she will eat when she is truly hungry.
I'm hanging tough on this new regime; it is MORE work, and definitely costing me more - but not exorbitantly more. i truly believe in the big picture both my dogs can only benefit.
(pictures to follow, having thought i was losing my mind as i distinctly remembered putting my camera on the table - I just discovered a bad child has taken it)
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