3 weeks and counting! Talk of counting, I am counting the cost of giving the dogs liver....phew...Piglet did a silent but deadly pong in bed last night and I immediately knew it was the liver.
She was also sick in the night, but that was all the plastic and rubble she consumed during the day.
She eats anything! Aren't I just the luckiest woman alive? No man, just foul smells and sick....yes, lucky is what I am alright!
Maddy is getting possessive about everything..it must be her hormones!
Last, but not least, my brother has had his op and is making a full recovery. Thank God! I can now get on with my life and stop holding my breath!
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Friday, 18 January 2008
Jan 18th Day 20
- This has been a good day. Having cooked a 1/2 of all the liver in the oven with two oxo's and bits, found they absolutely loved it. Mixing it up with rice, or tabboulet (I had some in the cupboard) there is nothing left in their bowls. The other things I have noticed since cooking their food myself:
- Better shinier coats
- Eyes clearer and shining
- Their stools are much lighter
- It costs much less to feed them and they actually get more.
- I know exactly what is going in their food.
- Alfies dry skin has gone...in just a few days!
Having worked out a dogs daily food consumption cost wise is approx £1.00 per day....a cats £0.50 per day x 3 is £4.50 daily for my tribe. (At least)
Multiply that x 14 = £59.00 for tinned dog food.
My butchers price of £29.00 seems exceptionally cheap to me, with a whopping saving of £30.00 per fortnight!!!!!! Add £7.00 for gas or electric, £7.00 for oxo's, veg and rice etc; and that still leaves me with a total of only £43.00 saving me £16.00 per fortnight at least.
I will of course let you know how far this £29.00 worth of food takes me, but I have a long way to go, and am sure it will last a lot longer than 2 weeks. Watch this space!
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My brother is in hospital having his brain operation right now, so I am keeping busy. It has been the most traumatic few days of my life, and one I have dared him to repeat!
The dogs are noisy, Maddy is being a right little madam and Piglet as usual is being her screeching self. Poor old Alfie is under the thumb and knows it. God help him when he has kids - hehe!
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Day 17 18 & 19- My Brother is very ill !
Day 17: and all is well with Maddy and the other muttleys, bless them, but have just been phoned and told my brother is having a brain haemmorrage and is in AAU in Marlborough County Hospital and being transferred to The John Radcliffe in Oxford tomorrow - if he makes it through the night. Dear God not him, he is my last remaining relative and I can't lose him.
I have to go to him, although Maddy and the other dogs need me here - I must go!
Short and not so sweet blog today: I hope to come back with good news tomorrow.
Day 18: God help us if this is what we have to expect from our hospital when we are dying. Poor Chris is in absolute agony and they give him morphine to relieve it, but it doesn't last very long. He is still bleeding from his brain and they can't move him to the neuro unit as there are no beds. Its an exchange, one of JR patients for one of GW hospitals.
Day 19: The hospital is waiting to place him in a bed at The John Radcliffe...he is dying and they are waiting for a bed???? Heads will roll if anything happens to him in the meantime, as I am a real softie at heart but a lioness when it comes to my family. The NHS is about as good as a chocolate teapot...when you need them most! We used to have a healthcare envied by the Western World, not so any longer!
Maddy and her swelling tummy. She is well, but tired. I am feeding her as many home grown nutrients as possible, with canned tuna, fresh chicken and fresh mince and vegetables...plus bonemeal, so she should be healthy!
Piglets foot is better, so I was right not to worry too much thank goodness!
We are all eagerly waiting, and already I have had a phone call from my local health visitor who knows me well to ask if I will sell her friend a puppy. A great recommendation, so I am happy. She also has two other friends who would like one, so it looks like Maddy will be losing quiet a large chunk of her family as soon as they are ready.
I will keep one I think...it has to be worth Maddy's effort.
At last I managed to get to the butchers today and bought £6.30 worth of Ox liver @ 30p lb or 60p kg, 10lb of their best mince @ 98p per lb, 6 boned breast of lamb £10.00. 12 large fresh eggs, a bag of bones and a chicken. £29.00 for two weeks worth of food for 6 animals. All that and my son and I will eat it too, though not the liver, yuk, it's bad enough having to prepare it.
Why do we all buy the disgusting tinned dog food at such a price, as it's unfit for humans, and can actually harm you pet and shorten it's life by up to 8 years.
Breast of Lamb is great for dogs and we love them cooked crispy...the very cheapest lamb, and the tastiest if cooked for a long time, with rosemary and garlic. Yum!
One big bag of liver has gone in the oven for the dogs....so they will eat well tomorrow. Liver, red pepper, garlic and veg with a nice gravy...better be careful not to give them too much as you know what it does to them!
Just to finish the night off, my brother is out of pain and awaiting his brain op this evening...he is so much better in the new hospital, thank God. I am now more hopeful than the past two days that he will make it now. All digits crossed and a prayer.
I have to go to him, although Maddy and the other dogs need me here - I must go!
Short and not so sweet blog today: I hope to come back with good news tomorrow.
Day 18: God help us if this is what we have to expect from our hospital when we are dying. Poor Chris is in absolute agony and they give him morphine to relieve it, but it doesn't last very long. He is still bleeding from his brain and they can't move him to the neuro unit as there are no beds. Its an exchange, one of JR patients for one of GW hospitals.
Day 19: The hospital is waiting to place him in a bed at The John Radcliffe...he is dying and they are waiting for a bed???? Heads will roll if anything happens to him in the meantime, as I am a real softie at heart but a lioness when it comes to my family. The NHS is about as good as a chocolate teapot...when you need them most! We used to have a healthcare envied by the Western World, not so any longer!
Maddy and her swelling tummy. She is well, but tired. I am feeding her as many home grown nutrients as possible, with canned tuna, fresh chicken and fresh mince and vegetables...plus bonemeal, so she should be healthy!
Piglets foot is better, so I was right not to worry too much thank goodness!
We are all eagerly waiting, and already I have had a phone call from my local health visitor who knows me well to ask if I will sell her friend a puppy. A great recommendation, so I am happy. She also has two other friends who would like one, so it looks like Maddy will be losing quiet a large chunk of her family as soon as they are ready.
I will keep one I think...it has to be worth Maddy's effort.
At last I managed to get to the butchers today and bought £6.30 worth of Ox liver @ 30p lb or 60p kg, 10lb of their best mince @ 98p per lb, 6 boned breast of lamb £10.00. 12 large fresh eggs, a bag of bones and a chicken. £29.00 for two weeks worth of food for 6 animals. All that and my son and I will eat it too, though not the liver, yuk, it's bad enough having to prepare it.
Why do we all buy the disgusting tinned dog food at such a price, as it's unfit for humans, and can actually harm you pet and shorten it's life by up to 8 years.
Breast of Lamb is great for dogs and we love them cooked crispy...the very cheapest lamb, and the tastiest if cooked for a long time, with rosemary and garlic. Yum!
One big bag of liver has gone in the oven for the dogs....so they will eat well tomorrow. Liver, red pepper, garlic and veg with a nice gravy...better be careful not to give them too much as you know what it does to them!
Just to finish the night off, my brother is out of pain and awaiting his brain op this evening...he is so much better in the new hospital, thank God. I am now more hopeful than the past two days that he will make it now. All digits crossed and a prayer.
Monday, 14 January 2008
Days 15 and 16...January 14th
It is such a wonderful journey - finding out all there is to know about whelping, feeding and health for my soon to be parents.
I have just had a phone call from Alfie's last owner saying she is over the moon for the pair of them and that she would love to be at the birth. That makes 3 of us so far - enough I think! She also has pictures of Alfies Mum, Dad and Grandad, so anyone buying the puppies will get a whole family tree on Alfie's side, and Maddy's Mum is local, so a good start.
I need feeding bottles, scissors, goats milk, dental floss, heaters, naval pegs (whatever it is they call them) lots of clean bedding and a lot of sleep leading up to it!
Only 6 weeks to go and the girl is getting mighty proud, and nicely rounded. You can now see her stomach from behind, its like a saddle bag!
Poor piglet hurt her leg today and is limping, but not making a sound, so I expect she is going for the sympathy vote...oooh, owww, ahhhh! Bless her, if she seems distressed at all tomorrow I will get her to the vets immediately, but she seems OK apart from a small limp.
And today I learned how to make bonemeal from eggshells...it is supposed to give them calcium without phosporous, as they don't need that...too much can apparently harm them, so I am doing my bit for all concerned.
Off to bed with my kids now....luckily two of them are happy with their bed on the floor now, so I get some sleep...hoorah!
I have just had a phone call from Alfie's last owner saying she is over the moon for the pair of them and that she would love to be at the birth. That makes 3 of us so far - enough I think! She also has pictures of Alfies Mum, Dad and Grandad, so anyone buying the puppies will get a whole family tree on Alfie's side, and Maddy's Mum is local, so a good start.
I need feeding bottles, scissors, goats milk, dental floss, heaters, naval pegs (whatever it is they call them) lots of clean bedding and a lot of sleep leading up to it!
Only 6 weeks to go and the girl is getting mighty proud, and nicely rounded. You can now see her stomach from behind, its like a saddle bag!
Poor piglet hurt her leg today and is limping, but not making a sound, so I expect she is going for the sympathy vote...oooh, owww, ahhhh! Bless her, if she seems distressed at all tomorrow I will get her to the vets immediately, but she seems OK apart from a small limp.
And today I learned how to make bonemeal from eggshells...it is supposed to give them calcium without phosporous, as they don't need that...too much can apparently harm them, so I am doing my bit for all concerned.
Off to bed with my kids now....luckily two of them are happy with their bed on the floor now, so I get some sleep...hoorah!
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