Please remember to mention rescue groups for people looking for specific breeds. We love Newfoundlands, and are celebrating the one-year anniversary of our adoption of Terra, a brown Newfie we rescued.
Terra was very stressed by the move and I wasnt really planning on preparing another BARF (bones and raw food) diet. She doesnt like kibble, though, so here we are again. BARF diets are a little hard to get started, but once you get a system, theyre not bad. The hardest thing for me is getting enough fresh chicken necks, since my usual grocery store doesnt stock them, so I have to make a special trip to a different store, but I think its a lot cheaper than buying the prepared meat meals.
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I started receiving Whole Dog Journal when we had our first Newf. We got her as a pup and she soon became infected somehow with chronic Staph after her spaying or another operation. It was awful! Could you imagine bathing a Newfoundland with two different antiseptic shampoos every other week?
Being a holistic health nut myself, I just couldnt see having to give her antibiotics for the rest of her life. Thats where your publication came in. I read Whole Dog Journals articles about BARF diets, and after more research, gradually switched her over to BARF when she was two or three years old. The Staph went away completely, never to be seen again! She did have problems with arthritis, even on the great diet. We tried chiropractic and acupuncture, and were finally able to manage the arthritis with Adequan injections. She lived to be almost 12.
Also, I wanted to write last winter and tell your readers how difficult it is to adopt a dog in winter in a cold climate. Here I was with my treat bag, bundled to the hilt, having to remove my mittens to reward this enormous dog who had never been trained to do anything (!) for nice walking! We had much fun, though, using Pat Millers run away technique for training a dog to come to you. Terra invented her own variation: She would run several yards in front of me on the snowy path, and then turn around and look at me, wait for my signal and run back to get her treat. I wait for Pats articles every month!
Laurie Pevnick
Glendale, WI
In my editorial last month, I mentioned rescue groups and local shelters as ideal sources for dog adoptions. However, please see this months editorial (page 2) for information on how to determine whether a rescue group is legitimate. Increasingly, we read reports of so-called rescue groups that are hoarding animals, or worst of all, failing to properly care for them while profiting on their sale. Editor
