Leila taught me about the fragile nature and importance of puppy growth.  I could pick the perfect puppy, with the perfect structure and breeding and temperament – do all of the right training from the start (Susan Garrett’s Puppy Camp at 11 weeks old), provide the healthiest organic foods and all it takes is one topple off the bed at 4 months old to potentially wreck her performance career.  I mean, what puppy doesn’t slide of the bed onto a carpeted floor?

Leila’s got a date with an ortho specialist on Wednesday.  She’s a little wonky in her rear and walking stiffly.  The breeder – Ellen – thought that it sounded a bit like a ruptured cruciate…  “A What?”, I said.  Unfortunately it’s pretty common in dogs and the description of it is pretty much what happened and how she looks now…which is not reassuring.  We’ll get some new films and see what we’ve got.  I’m going to keep in mind that we’re just taking precautions – making sure that there aren’t any injuries that need immediate attention.  I’m sure she’ll be fine and she’ll be back to catching discs and jumping high in a few months.

In the mean time, check out how long her legs have gotten!!  She’s looking long, lean and mean and can’t wait to get back to our disc training routine.  Considering how much crate time she’s had, and how little physical training – she’s been a champ.

She is growing beautifully.  I think that her long legs will really help her vertical.  Who says that conformation dogs are too big and heavy to be great disc dogs!  She’s got a better build that Lilli – and Lilli is a superstar!  Keep the positive juices flowing…

The problem: Most foods make Lilli throw up.  Any raw meat (other than chicken) makes her throw up.  Most foods give her diarrhea.  Evo was the only food that didn’t make her throw up, HOWEVER the enormous amount of stinky gas that came from both dogs ALL DAY was too much to bear – especially on long car rides with the windows up…GASP!

So, I brought up the conversation on K9Athlete – a forum where Jason and I connect with other disc doggers and performance dog owners.  I’m a bit proud that it’s the current ranking thread for most comments.  That to me means:

1. People want to know more about their pet’s nutrition
2. People want to give advice and share their experiences to help the people that want to know more about their pet’s nutrition.

I know for sure that I’ve asked our vet 12 ways to Sunday about what we should feed and what would help and what to do.  Most responses were to take Flagyl and try a different food.  The ones we tried above were the suggested foods.  I don’t have any hard feelings at all towards our vet, however I have learned from the conversations in that thread, that asking a vet for nutritional info may not be the best bet.

Long story short – I went and got a food called The Honest Kitchen.  I was made aware that it’s mush – basically like oatmeal consistency – and dehydrated raw organic food.  Also, a couple of myths I had heard were busted.

• Busted Myth #1: Soft, wet or mushy dog fod is bad for dog’s teeth.  Nope.  Not bad for their teeth.  They get plenty of chewing action by chewing bones or a kong or their master’s fingers…
• Busted Myth #2: Dogs can get sick by salmonella, e-coli and other bacteria by eating raw chicken.  Dogs’ bodies don’t work like peoples’ bodies.  They don’t “get food poisoning” from chicken and raw meats like people do.  Go ahead – feed raw.

So the purpose of this post…the new food makes great, healthy poops, gives no gas and smells edible.  The girls don’t particularly like it though.  I think they look at it like a kid looks at a pile of mashed peas for dinner…mmmm….nah I’ll wait til I’m hungrier…

So today, I took it a step further and applied some other advice I got from Susan Garrett’s feeding plan for her dogs: chicken necks!  The store was out of chicken necks but they had chicken backs for .69 per pound!  So I bought a bunch up, came home, chopped it up, put it in their green, mushy, super-healthy super-food and WALA!  They ate it right up! AND it gave them something to crunch on. 

I’m grateful for healthy dogs with healthy tummies and clean smelling air.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to our new meal plan!