Very interested in seeing and hearing how it goes. I'm super excited about this seed mixture thing that seems to be working for you.

 

I'm very curious as well, it seems like a lot of work i hope that it doesn't burn you out before you see results! :becky:

 

Luckily, I think re likes to cook. At least I hope so!

 

Good luck! I'll keep checking back to see the results... hope it helps Bubba!

 

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Re, I look forward to continuing to hear more about how things are going. I'm with you on the animal thing. I won't deny I like beef and chicken, turkey etc. My issue is having lived for 20+ years in a rural township and experiencing concentrated animal farming operations, (CAFO). Across the road from our home, and backed up against a mountain was a CAFO egg laying opertation that was mismanaged. The fly infestations were beyond words every spring, summer and fall. Totally turned me off of eggs, so I began shopping for free range chickens for meat and eggs. We have one beef CAFO operation in the township and I avoid that like the plague too. Plus my stepson worked at a local pig farm during high school and when I visited the farm I was apalled at the condition of the pigs who were heading off to the Hatfield factory and ending up on my plate. So rather than sit back and complain a group of us neighbors got an attorney and filed an intent to bring suit against the township/farmer. About the same time elections rolled around and my cousin became a township supervisor and I was nominated to our Environmental Agricultural Advisory Council. This summer we finally managed to shut down the egg laying operation, and we almost had a normal summer, with a normal amount of flies, and no crazy chemicals which were not working to control the flies anyways and had also made some folks dogs sick. Now that I chair the EAAC my goals are more directed toward CSA(Community Supported Ag) and pasture fed animals. I have found a few local butchers and have managed to obtain meat for ourselves and the dogs minus all the growth hormones and antibiotics. We just had someone start up a CSA with ducks. Definitely looking forward to some duck next spring. These farmers are producing healthier veggies and meats, we pay a bit more, but the food is far healthier. We're also keeping our money in the local economy. Sorry for going on a tangent about the quality of meat and veggies and fruits grown on large scales in this country, but if we as a country are not careful we will all be less healthy in the long run. It's time to go back in time. Oh, and have you ever read the benefits of raw milk vs. the milk available at the market? However that is a whole other story.

Definitely enjoying the new section in this forum since Blaze is so sensitive digestively, I will slowly be trying some new things with him too. Crossing my fingers Bubba grows some hair!!!!!!!

 

Bald eh...

Something that came to mind... is zinc. Zinc can be great for hair... but too much can be bad.... and zinc is found in a ton of things like oysters, red meats, poultry, liver, dried brewers yeast, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, mussels, shrimps, egg yolks, nuts and various soy products. A raw diet will be full of red meat, poultry, liver etc etc....

Too much zinc inhibits other minerals which are key for hair growth (copper, magnesium, iron and manganese mainly).

Something the chew over anyways.... there's a ton of things that can contribute to hair loss/growth.

Another thing to consider is silica. I'm not sure how much dogs would take, but they sell it at health food stores. It's great for hair and nails.

 

Good luck macigre! I'm happy that you are willing to try it and see the results on your dogs. It is the best way to check if something is beneficial or not.

 

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i can't avoid zinc if i am to feed red meat. my dogs are basic carnivores. they need red meat. ergo, i feed red meat. since zinc is a water soluble mineral, and my dogs have healthy kidneys, i'm going to presume they will pee out what they don't need.

plus, malia is not losing her hair.

Well each person/dog is different. Some people have a hell of a time with iron (which is also linked to hair) and have to take a special kind, and the rest of us are fine. One thing in turn causes this other thing to be low which causes this to be out of wack... and there you are banging your head against the table.

It could even be not enough zinc (calcium interfears with the uptake of zinc).

Only thing you can really do is what you are doing now... tinkering. G'luck!


... have you questioned Bubba on his family history? Maybe it runs in his family...

 

I'm starting to consider throwing a few fruits/veggies Zoey's way (as supplementation more than dietary necessity). She loves pretty much anything I've ever given her, and I think if her system will digest it, it can't do her any harm (you know, barring no-no foods like grapes/raisins/tomato stems/avocado skins/etc). :smile:

Good luck growing Bubba's hair! Something has got to work for him.

 

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in your case....and of course, you should do whatever you believe in.....i would personally not start adding in veggies and fruits..

one, because she is healthy like horse....
two, she is showing no sign of anything that is nutritionally deficient.
three, because you really just started her on raw....and pmr is, for most dogs, a full and whole diet, without the necessity of adding in fruits and veggies and other things.

if you were going to do this, i'd wait at least a year for her to transition properly....and then re assess...

chances are, i would not be doing this if bubba's hair stayed lush and magnificent. but it didn't and this is how i'm experimenting.

Hmmmm. Good point. Although after our first hiccup, she's been handling everything really well! I guess we'll see what her pre-spay bloodwork looks like next week. That can help inform. And really, the additions would be more like snacks than actual parts of her meals.

 

Magicre;

May I ask what seeds/oils you are giving, and how much? Am considering it for Zoey. I posted a thread with a picture of her baldish belly/chest.

 

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RE...lets see if I can remember the questions you asked. We live between Allentown and Harrisburg in Berks County, about 1.5 hours northwest of philly. Hubby is from Erie Torresdale philly area. You are right about what they can actually call free range chickens, but I pick them up at a farm nearby where I can see the chickens roaming about. They section off various parts of their property for the chickens, so they are moved around over about 10 acres and are kept in what looks to be about one acre sections at a time. Owner has to be careful though because they lose chickens to the hawks periodically. The difference between the flavor of these eggs vs. the flavor of the eggs at the grocery store is amazing. We contemplated doing our own chickens for meat and eggs, but we are getting old and lazy I guess and would prefer not to have siberians tantalized by chickens, or there might be fewer chickens. Not good. We don't eat tons of pork but the word Hatfield makes me want to yack after seeing the tumors on the pigs at the farm, and the deformities etc. I have found three butchers actually, two are reasonably close, and the other is in Lancaster county and I pass through there for work on occasion so sometimes stop there for meat. The closest butcher is almost like family, having grown up with the owners sister as my next door neighbor, he does his best to bring in quality meats. I do know I gag when I eat beef from the grocery store and the difference in flavor between his meats and the grocery store meats is noticeable. I will have to inquire if they finish them off with corn though, I neglected that. I find their meats to be about $2-$3/lb more than the grocery store. That is to say delmonico steaks at Wal Mart or Redners would be maybe $9.99/lb vs theirs being $11.99. But when I buy there I buy what's on sale that week. If sirloin is on sale, then it's sirloin, their ground beef is $4.99/lb and I have not looked at that in the grocery store so can't compare. We're not rich by far, live a simple life in our little spot near the Blue Mountain Ridge(Appalachian Trail). What I've noticed though is the dogs get meat, period and we are eating more fruits and veggies.

Did a lot of researh recently on milk and we have switched to raw. The health benefits of raw far outweigh the pasteurized/homogenized stuff that loses a lot of it's vitaimin/mineral content in the processing. Only thing is you gotta watch that the raw milk doesn't make you fat, lol...all that butter fat on top and then you shake it up and drink it. I'm not a huge milk drinker, but once in a while I enjoy a nice cold glass of this milk if treating myself to something sinful, like a brownie or piece of pie.

Every time I hear about Bubba, ,it reminds me of our first boy Thorn, Bubba was his nickname and he had coat issues too. He was the sweetest male sibe. Bubba, love the name....lol Hoping your boy Bubba starts getting furrier soon.

 

@MagicRe

I have a feeling that you are starting to get the whole thing wrong. You didn't get the "veggies and fruits" thing at all.

Veggies and fruits in dogs diet are not meant to fix some health problems, they are meant to help dogs body do the vital functions and to keep dog healthy. That is what we believe.

It seems to me that you look at the veggies, fruits and seeds as some kind of drug or medication. If something goes wrong we will add veggies, fruits and seeds, if everything is ok don't add anything. That is a wrong way of thinking. Veggies, fruits and seeds are not meant for that in a dogs diet, they are meant to be used daily(or often) and to help and keep the dog healthy. Every dog had a period when he/she was nice and healthy. If your dog is healthy now, that doesn't mean that you should not be doing anything about his/her diet. Most of the sicknesses come from not doing something properly before the dog got sick, not from not doing something properly at the moment dog got sick. I'm a healthy man, but I do not eat apples. If I ate apples I would be even healthier. If something goes wrong maybe starting eating apples will help me get healthy again. But will something go wrong If I ate apples before? Very simple example.

So, do not use veggies, fruits and seeds as a medication, use them to avoid the need of any kind of medication. If your dog get sick and "some food" helps him get healthy again, it is clearly obvious that "some food" brings health to him/her and that it should be part of the diet.

 

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Re, thanks, sometimes I need to be reminded that we really do live in a beautiful area of Pa. Sometimes the daily grind of life makes you forget to stop and smell the roses and actually appreciate the beauty around you. Our township is one of the three most agricultural in this state. Then having the Blue Mountain/Kittatinny Ridge and the App. Trail at the top of that mountain is truly special. With EAAC we fight constantly to control development. However every township needs its cash cow/tax base and if I go two miles west I have development, and 5/6 miles east and I've got major development...cabelas, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, RV Dealer etc. etc. It's truly amazing though in this 8 mile stretch of road along the mountain that I come close to hitting deer every night, and see turkeys regularly too.

I stopped at my favorite butcher tonight, and discussed the beef and pork. This year his beef suppliers are basically providing all pasture fed beef, we had such a drought this summer that the corn crop was terrible. He did say his suppliers occasionally do finish off with corn. The farmer across the road from me who raises a small herd of beef cattle has all pasture fed. I spoke to his daughter about that tonight. Oh, and Hatfield and several manufacturers make scrapple. I hated it as a kid, I eat it now, but as infrequently as possible and only if I get a bizarre craving. I try very hard not to think about it's contents. lol Have you ever eaten souse, or pickled tripe? That stuff is gross too. There are just some foods you don't really want the details on their ingredients, hotdogs would be another. lol

Am really enjoying the new info we are receiving on barf and cooking. Sending Bubba hair growth thoughts!! lol

 

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Re, you are an adventurous soul. I can't stand souse or tripe. The souse is either tongue or pigs feet varietie, with the tongue being the meatier looking one. Ugh, I ate it once at a wedding reception as a kid and when I was told what it was I swore that would not happen again.lol As far as scrapple...besides Hatfield, Martins also produces it, and there are others that escape me at the moment.

Hershey is about 45 minutes away, and Lancaster county in general is about the same. It is a beautiful area and the pace of life is a bit slower, and there is just tons and tons of agriculture. The roads are like a maze through one corn field and soy bean field after another.

I guess we are sort of stuck with the occasional beef that is finished off with corn. Although today after babysitting the grandson close to Reading PA I stopped at this market I have always wanted to visit. Lots of homemade everything. It was called the Hershey Market, just a small store near the city, but as soon as I walked in I found freezers full of pasture fed beef, pork and free range chicken. Their prices were a bit over the top for my purse, but on occasion we shall treat ourselves, if I haven't gotten to one of my regular butchers. They also sold raw milk at a better price than I have seen so far. The gallons were $5.00 and regular whole milk in the grocery store is over $4 so that price difference is worth the benefit. Their cheeses were more expensive but made with cream from pasture fed beef, I splurged on some of that, then again their prices didn't compete with Wally World but they were quite close to the other local grocery stores.

As far as feed lots, just disgusting inhumane places, and I'm not a cow/steer hugger. I simply don't like what they stand for. You cram that many cattle in that small of an area and it's a breeding ground for bacteriaand diseases. Thus the need for antibiotics, and the growth hormones to get the beef up to slaughter weight can't be good for us either. Hey, maybe I can blame beef for being a bit over weight...I've eaten growth hormone. lol Guess the meats we feed ourselves and the dogs are the best we can afford and if nothing else I know they are not coming from feed lots. I have visited our one CAFO beef farm here in the township and all I can say is it just didn't make me happy. However, I guess in some ways at least they produce food for folks who are struggling more than we are to make ends meet. Who knows, my first heating bill came....mumble, mumble....I will work within our budget but there are some things I just will not cave on.

 

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