After some trial and error we have found that Lucah has responded pretty well to the whole Raw Diet thing. We purchase chicken backs from Taylor's in Sierra Madre and buy legs and thighs from the Super Market.
He can handle about 23 oz or so a day, any more and he does not respond well. He has reduced shedding and seems to be slimmer. Things like runny nosed and eye gunk are a thing of the past. I do admit his breath isn't as good as it use to be, but brushing helps with all that.
The next phase would be to incorporate some sort of organ meat. We have used beef liver, but I feel we could get a little more exotic. A market close to us sells kidneys, stomachs, hearts...etc. and I will start looking into those options. Certain minerals and vitamins that are needed can be found in organs.
We shall see.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Update
It's been like a year since our last post and I just wanted to say everything is fine. Our newest development is that we started feeding Lucah just raw chicken at dinner. Though many people look at us as if we have grown two heads when we tell them the advantages so far are evident. His digestion is so much better and normal. He seems to be happier and sheds less, but we will see what happens. I'll post newer pics soon.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Lucah Is No Longer Cute
I haven't written for a while because...well...Lucah is no longer cute. Part of the joy of a new puppy is the cuteness. I mean the 3AM walks outside, the potty training, and the chewing uncontrollably (which Lucah never did) are only counter-ed by the fact that you have this bundle of fuzzy cuteness. If someone could figure out a way to keep a dog always at that level of cuteness then that person will be able to print their own money. Unfortunately those advancements of science have not been made it yet.
I know what you are thinking. "How can you say such things about your baby?" Lucah and we (thanks Graphic Orb Proofing Dept.) have an open and honest relationship I tell him when he is not cute, he pukes up something he doesn't like, nothing but honesty there. I tried to add some cuteness by teaching him cute jestures like the hand shake and showing his belly, but there is only so much I can do with him. Most of the time he just sits there with a not-so-bright look on his face. His mouth is always open with his tongue hanging out. He looks like he suffered some sort of head injury. [see below]
And talk about uncoordinated. With his current weight he is 130lbs of pure clumsy. The other day at the park he was chasing a ball that took a bad hop, went a different direction, and all I could see were paws and tail tumbling through air. My friend has an Australian Shepherd that can jump in and out of a pick-up truck with out touching the door. Can Lucah do that? Nooooo, he has to be helped into the back of my car like an octagenarian going to bingo.
Look at this picture. That big wet nose...those floppy ears...that tongue hanging out in a not-so-bright way. I don't know what look he was going for here, but it certainly doesn't present the best example of a "cute dog". 
Or take this lovely shot. He is actually watching T.V. You can see the remote in the corner (as well as an open letter, who he gets mail from I have no idea). He could be out working on his abs or trying to get better definition in his glutes, but no that damned Cesar Millan was on and he just had to watch.Now I am not saying that I don't love the big guy. He really is great. I don't know why he is so great, he doesn't really do anything, he has never worked a day in his life and he sheds enough fur to make another dog, but I love him. I just wish the guy could maybe get one of the makeovers I see on the TV. You know...they have the before shot and then they do the cross fade of the new Lucah. They put him in some dark denim jeans, a funky T-shirt from Urban Outfitters and then a smart jacket to tie it all together. Maybe even not that much. Maybe just a bath and a good brushing. And ears...bigger ears....nothing says "adorable" like giant, floppy, almost dangerously big ears. And bigger eyes. He should look like a living Margaret Keane (I frikin' love Google) painting.
See this is more like it, this looks says "I am cute and there is nothing you can do about it except love me!" That is something Lucah should go for. I look at this dog and say "gee that's a cute dog, let me take him home and smother him with love and affection". I don't know which doctor could perform the surgery, but I am sure they are out there. I think I can file a claim with my insurance company. Cuteness is a survival instinct, its the reason why most infants are so cute, so they will be taken care of by their elders out of pity. Anything that can increase cuteness is bound to keep him alive as long as possible, which is what we all want.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Lucah on a Date
After a week of being a "Puppy Kebob" Lucah had his tube removed (see below) and was given a clean bill of health by his vet. The little guy is fairly oblivious that anything has happened and has been to the park (a different park from the scene of the original crime) twice with the only incident being Lucah stepping on a Boston Terrier.
This is why there are separate areas of the park for large dogs and small dogs. This was a case of a small dog playing in the large dog area. Not only was he a small dog, but he was a spirited one who liked to play with bigger dogs. I am not blaming the Boston for the incident, but when you don't even come up to my dog's knees you have to watch out.
Lucah was chasing/running with this little dog, he ran underneath Lucah and got stepped on. There was a "yelp" and then the Boston didn't get up too quick. That is probably one of the worse things you could see. Your dog step on a little dog and the little dog doesn't get up too quickly. You start to think that you just killed someone's baby. The owner was not too happy. The Boston got up but didn't put down its back leg. Thoughts of a little doggie plaster-cast on its leg started to flash in my mind and I wondered what this was going to cost me.
I have to say the owner was very "reserved" in how he reacted. He seemed upset, but didn't want to say or do anything that could make the situation any worse. He just picked up the Boston and left. I almost gave him my business card if there were any vet bills...almost. I know I just had a situation (again below) where I should have gotten owner information for Lucah's attacker and didn't, so I know how it feels to have a vet bill that you feel should be covered by someone else. However, I kinda felt that this was one of those "price of admission" to the "large dog area of the park" things that you kinda shrug off and try and keep from happening again. Also we're broke.
The reason we were at the dog park was not to trample small dogs, but to meet Jaime, her husband Michael, and Bear, a 150 pound male Newfoundland that looks...well...like a bear. Jaime and Michael created Bigpawsonly.com. It is a website for people who favor big dogs. Its a place Akiko and I go to for information and bragging rights. We post pictures and other things about Lucah and we find it very useful for figuring out problems.
Akiko and I have started to explore the world of the "Puppy Play Date". It is pretty much how it sounds. You meet a dog and owner at a pre-approved location and you play. You don't know if the dogs will get along. You worry that the date won't go well and you have one less opportunity to gain a friend. Much like the dating scene of today except there is rarely a dinner you have to pay for.
Bear is 4 years old, so he has both the size and dominance advantage over Lucah. Immediately Bear had Lucah against a fence on his back. I don't believe Lucah was in any trouble, but I can't wait for the day when he doesn't have to roll over for the bigger dogs. I imagine there will be a point when he will just not be bothered by other dogs since he will be the biggest dog for miles. Until then we will have to endure the little guy being tossed to his back and drooled on by other dogs.
Video of Lucah and Bear Playing.
Overall this date was a success. We got to meet new people and Lucah made a new friend. All this is an effort to make sure our large breed dog is well socialized. Nothing is worse than when a 200 pound dog wants to jump on everyone and everything. He is already over 90 pounds and Akiko can only walk him when he is wearing his pinch collar. We will have to schedule more playdates with Bear. He was a sweet dog and Lucah seemed to appreciate the outing.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
WHEN DOGS ATTACK! (your dog at the dog park)
but first the numbers:
weight: 88 lbs.
height: 26 in.
length: 54 in. (nose to tail)
******
Since we had a long weekend I thought we would take Lucah out for an L.A. Dog Park Crawl. I wanted him to visit a different dog park each day and see which one he liked the most. Friday we went to our local Hermon Dog park. Nothing too eventful there...he actually played with another dog which he never does. He is more interested usually in balls rather than other pups...but a nice Pit name Buddy showed him a good time.
Saturday was another opportunity for our boy to be social. We decided to step it up a bit with a hipper park. The Laurel Canyon Dog Park is the place where the rich, young and shiftless take their dogs, or at least have their dog-walkers take their dogs. Its a big place with a lot of running room. I thought this was a good thing. This seems to cause people to let there dogs wander around as they smoke, make cell calls and listen to iPods (the people not the dogs) though.
First Lucah had been accosted by two German Shepherds as their rotund owner sat on a bench and told me "they're only playing with him". Lucah had a scratch from this event...but I think it helped him get use to other dogs and be ready for anything.
An hour goes by and we feel all is well. We relocated away from the two Germans and Lucah was just chasing balls and meeting people. The one thing I think we need to learn is to recognize when dogs are "hunting" for a young pup to molest. It seems like dogs like to gang up on a young dog...and even if you don't start out with a group harassing your dog you can end up with one. They seem to just pick up on trouble and run over to hassle your dog.
Later on, over comes a little grey Pit Bull...not that threatening just playful...then comes the large Borzoi...then comes the French mastiff, then before we know it they have our Lucah pinned against a fence! It was like a bad dream. I could see it happen but I couldn't get there quick enough...almost like I was running in slow motion. I even stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle trying to get to him. Lucah tried to defend himself with the "cower and scream" technique but they weren't buying it. He showed his teeth but it didn't matter. They just ganged up on him and didn't let up until I could get over there to throw myself in the middle of the snarling mass of fur and teeth.
One owner ran over, but he didn't own any of the dogs in the scrape. He was just helping me get my pup out of harms way. The actual owner of two of the dogs came over and pulled her dogs off. She seems apologetic (sort of), but not too concerned. I noticed the same type of incident earlier with the same dogs, but thought it was just a fluke. Apparently in the dog world some dogs, or groups of dogs, are just assholes.
When we left the park we didn't think Lucah was worse for wear, but after about an hour we were at a pet store and we noticed blood coming from his side. We moved his fur aside and found a hole the circumference of a pencil. Akiko and I freaked out a bit and were immediately upset. We didn't realize he was this hurt...the little trooper is so tough...had we known we would have collected some names and numbers. But now we have a dog with a small hole in his side and no way to execute any recourse.
We asked two different pet stores what to do...they both said to just apply neosporin on and keep an eye on it. One lady (thank goodness for her) told us we should go to the vet even for something that looked so small. We are glad we did. After waiting in the pet ER (shout-outs to Eagle Rock Emergency Pet Hospital) the doctor looked him over and gave us the bad news. Apparently in a bite situation the wound may look minor, but the damage is much more considerable. Basically, Lucah's skin was pulled away from his flesh creating a small pocket. This pocket would have eventually filled with fluid and became infected causing all sorts of problems. Because we took him in so soon the damage will be minimal, and he should recover pretty quickly.
Lucah spent the next day sleeping. He was pretty soar, but didn't bleed or do anything that made us worry. This morning (Monday) he was very energetic and was able to get up and down the stairs on his own. Akiko has reported that he is willing to play and willing to eat normally. There are no signs of infection and he is healing well.
I guess you can say we have learned a couple of valuable lessons here. First keep an eye on your dog, you need to know how your dog might react in any situation and be prepared to help out when his reactions create a problem. Secondly watch other people's dogs, you need to know who might be over to say "hi" or who wants to start a fight.
Another thing we learned: you should go to the vet after most injuries. We thought he would be okay with just some neosporin and a band aid. But some good advice and our concern lead to us preventing Lucah from having a serious infection and fluid build up in his side. We could have been out a lot more money as well as risking Lucah's life. I feel a good rule of thumb would be if the skin is broken have a vet or vet tech look at it. A lot of people who work in pet stores "claim" to know things, but had we listened to the pet store staff we talked to I have a feeling I would be at the vet now with a dog with a swollen side and infection.
And finally, Lucah is a very somber drunk. He was pretty drugged up on Saturday night after the vet. He didn't seem confused just real relaxed. Getting him up the stairs was a task and it required me to hoist all 88 pounds of him in my arms and make the trek up the two flights of stairs. Which reminds me of how much we need to move.
Some pictures of the aftermath.
Sad Boy
A close up of the damage
weight: 88 lbs.
height: 26 in.
length: 54 in. (nose to tail)
******
Since we had a long weekend I thought we would take Lucah out for an L.A. Dog Park Crawl. I wanted him to visit a different dog park each day and see which one he liked the most. Friday we went to our local Hermon Dog park. Nothing too eventful there...he actually played with another dog which he never does. He is more interested usually in balls rather than other pups...but a nice Pit name Buddy showed him a good time.
Saturday was another opportunity for our boy to be social. We decided to step it up a bit with a hipper park. The Laurel Canyon Dog Park is the place where the rich, young and shiftless take their dogs, or at least have their dog-walkers take their dogs. Its a big place with a lot of running room. I thought this was a good thing. This seems to cause people to let there dogs wander around as they smoke, make cell calls and listen to iPods (the people not the dogs) though.
First Lucah had been accosted by two German Shepherds as their rotund owner sat on a bench and told me "they're only playing with him". Lucah had a scratch from this event...but I think it helped him get use to other dogs and be ready for anything.
An hour goes by and we feel all is well. We relocated away from the two Germans and Lucah was just chasing balls and meeting people. The one thing I think we need to learn is to recognize when dogs are "hunting" for a young pup to molest. It seems like dogs like to gang up on a young dog...and even if you don't start out with a group harassing your dog you can end up with one. They seem to just pick up on trouble and run over to hassle your dog.
Later on, over comes a little grey Pit Bull...not that threatening just playful...then comes the large Borzoi...then comes the French mastiff, then before we know it they have our Lucah pinned against a fence! It was like a bad dream. I could see it happen but I couldn't get there quick enough...almost like I was running in slow motion. I even stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle trying to get to him. Lucah tried to defend himself with the "cower and scream" technique but they weren't buying it. He showed his teeth but it didn't matter. They just ganged up on him and didn't let up until I could get over there to throw myself in the middle of the snarling mass of fur and teeth.
One owner ran over, but he didn't own any of the dogs in the scrape. He was just helping me get my pup out of harms way. The actual owner of two of the dogs came over and pulled her dogs off. She seems apologetic (sort of), but not too concerned. I noticed the same type of incident earlier with the same dogs, but thought it was just a fluke. Apparently in the dog world some dogs, or groups of dogs, are just assholes.
When we left the park we didn't think Lucah was worse for wear, but after about an hour we were at a pet store and we noticed blood coming from his side. We moved his fur aside and found a hole the circumference of a pencil. Akiko and I freaked out a bit and were immediately upset. We didn't realize he was this hurt...the little trooper is so tough...had we known we would have collected some names and numbers. But now we have a dog with a small hole in his side and no way to execute any recourse.
We asked two different pet stores what to do...they both said to just apply neosporin on and keep an eye on it. One lady (thank goodness for her) told us we should go to the vet even for something that looked so small. We are glad we did. After waiting in the pet ER (shout-outs to Eagle Rock Emergency Pet Hospital) the doctor looked him over and gave us the bad news. Apparently in a bite situation the wound may look minor, but the damage is much more considerable. Basically, Lucah's skin was pulled away from his flesh creating a small pocket. This pocket would have eventually filled with fluid and became infected causing all sorts of problems. Because we took him in so soon the damage will be minimal, and he should recover pretty quickly.
Lucah spent the next day sleeping. He was pretty soar, but didn't bleed or do anything that made us worry. This morning (Monday) he was very energetic and was able to get up and down the stairs on his own. Akiko has reported that he is willing to play and willing to eat normally. There are no signs of infection and he is healing well.
I guess you can say we have learned a couple of valuable lessons here. First keep an eye on your dog, you need to know how your dog might react in any situation and be prepared to help out when his reactions create a problem. Secondly watch other people's dogs, you need to know who might be over to say "hi" or who wants to start a fight.
Another thing we learned: you should go to the vet after most injuries. We thought he would be okay with just some neosporin and a band aid. But some good advice and our concern lead to us preventing Lucah from having a serious infection and fluid build up in his side. We could have been out a lot more money as well as risking Lucah's life. I feel a good rule of thumb would be if the skin is broken have a vet or vet tech look at it. A lot of people who work in pet stores "claim" to know things, but had we listened to the pet store staff we talked to I have a feeling I would be at the vet now with a dog with a swollen side and infection.
And finally, Lucah is a very somber drunk. He was pretty drugged up on Saturday night after the vet. He didn't seem confused just real relaxed. Getting him up the stairs was a task and it required me to hoist all 88 pounds of him in my arms and make the trek up the two flights of stairs. Which reminds me of how much we need to move.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Life's a Beach (...that's right I said it)
But first the numbers...
age: 19 weeks
weight: 60 lbs.
height: 23 inches
length: 47 inches
***
On Sunday the wife and I took the pup down to Dog Beach in Huntington Beach. It's a 1.5 mile stretch of beach that a dog can run off-leash. As a dog owner, places like this are golden because your dog can get some exercise and socialize. Lucah is a bit of a wimp when it comes to aggressive dogs, so a lot of his interactions were only with dogs that would allow him to sniff them in a "familiar" way. But he warmed up to strangers and ran around like a mad puppy.
We found out that Lucah isn't afraid of water, but is afraid of the waves coming into the beach. We would walk him out on the sand and as the wave came in we would keep him in its path. As the water came up to his ankles he would immediately try to hop away...but he would head out to sea, getting himself deeper in the water. Once this happened he would just run in circles until the water went back out. I don't think he will be a water rescue dog, but I can see that eventually he will really enjoy the surf, which will make the 30 minute drive totally worth it.
One of our biggest finds at the beach was Gus, a 230 lb. apricot mastiff. Gus stood about 38 inches at the shoulder and was a pussy cat. Lucah must have felt something familiar with him because he wasn't afraid and ran around him. Gus' owners say he is only 230lbs. but I think they were not entirely honest about it.
We plan to go back this week. This time wearing appropriate beach attire.
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