I call that the "Everything Must Have A Name" rule. None of this "poultry fat" stuff - gotta tell me if it's chicken or duck or whatever. Just "animal fat"? Run away screaming. On the "meal" issue... if your pet food contains fish meal, make sure it is specified as "ethoxyquin-free". Not that the entire pet food in total is ethoxyquin-free, but that that particular ingredient is. (Pet food manufacturers are not required by law to tell you what may have been added to an ingredient before it comes into their possession if they don't want to, so all kinds of preservatives, contaminants and such can be in there. They just have to tell you what THEY do to it.) By US law, fish meal not intended for human consumption must be preserved with ethoxyquin. A very few processors have been granted waivers to produce fish meal preserved with something other than ethoxyquin and usually it's trumpeted loud and clear as a marketing point when a pet food manufacturer uses ethoxyquin-free fish meal - Wellness is one of them, and it took some digging but Natura Pet Products (Innova, EVO, California Natural, Healthwise, and Karma Organic) is on board there too. "Digest" must be avoided at all costs even if it does have a species name although more often than not it's just on there as "animal digest". It's gods-only-know-what waste material chemically or enzymatically broken down - predigested - into a slurry in order to convert it into supposedly-bioavailable protein that a less-than-scrupulous pet food manufacturer can use to raise the "crude protein" content on the label. Not only does the animal usually get little actual nutritional value out of the substance but what can legally go into "animal digest" is gruesome to say the least - there is no control over quality, source, or contamination. I do have to nitpick just a little bit though - by-products are not necessarily always bad, but it's a case of Know Thy Manufacturer. See, people go on and on about by-products being whatever junk swept up off the factory floor when by legal definition it is just the stuff that isn't "striated muscle" (either skeletal muscles, diaphragm, or heart): "lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomachs and intestines freed of their contents" and specifically excludes "hair, horns, teeth and hoofs". If you've got a food company that gets that material fresh and handles it properly so it doesn't spoil, it's very good stuff. C'mon, people eat kidneys, brains, liver, blood (usually made into sausage - black pudding being a famous variety), stomachs (tripe), and intestines ("chitlins" and sausage casings), and many of the frozen-raw-diet manufacturers are all over the stuff. A hot trend in natural pet food is "green tripe", which is cow stomach without the contents removed, just ground up semi-digested grass and all. (The smell of it will clear a house though. Whoooo-eeee!) So really it's more a question of knowing your manufacturer than avoiding an entire class of ingredient. Many of the better pet-food manufacturers are avoiding brains entirely these days though, because of worries about BSE.

The part i can see looks wonderful. I have wondered what was going on at your place. We were there in Oct. and I thought of you as we drove around town. I am sorry you have had so much stress and poor support from your work force. I sure hope the New Year will bring you good fortune and you can finish your kitchen and have joy in your beautiful space. I too would love to see the rest of your interesting home. Also the work table in the kitchen. BTW you have a very talented cousin ! c

Well, Jynx just left the vet. According to DH, he was diagnosed with prostatitis. His temp was 104.6 deg. They gave him an antibiotic shot and a shot for pain / fever, then sent him home with baytril (sp?) and rimadyl. They also drew blood and are doing a full panel work up. The vet said this was from not having him neutered and she recommended getting him fixed as soon as his infection is cleared up. We are definitely going to do that. The vet is going to call me tomorrow to check on Jynx and I am going to ask her how long until his infection is gone so we can get him scheduled right away. I definitely don't want him getting this again. Husband says the poor little guy just looks so pitiful today, but even so, that he was such a trooper during his vet exam. Okay, that's pretty much all I know for now.

annz--- The point is.......after she came off the meds she returned to her normal self with no more accidents. Was there any kind of transition period that she had to relearn her housebreaking habits? The behavioral thing is really what I was trying to ask about. She is going to be on the lasix for life, and I know that's at least part of the problem. But I was thinking there also might be a behavioral aspect. Because of the unlucky coincidence of getting a really serious uti at about the same time she started a new drug that makes her drink and pee a lot, she was basically peeing in the house almost continuously, without getting punishment since I knew she couldn't help it. I'm wondering if she might have "learned" that the rules have changed and peeing in the house is now allowed, and that might be part of the problem? (she manages to unlearn all her table manners in about two seconds flat whenever my mom visits...) Her behavior has changed... she doesn't bother to drop her head and tuck her tail between her legs in Guilty Dog Pose as soon as she sees me, I have to go looking to see if there's been an accident. If it's behavioral, I can try to address it, but was just thinking it might be easier for her to relearn if she isn't also coping with the diurectic influence of the lasix at the same time... just to clarify, would not do that w/o the vet's ok, and would be very temporary even if I did, I wasn't really asking if that's a good idea health-wise. Was just wondering if the idea that she unlearned her housetraining because she's been unable to help herself and I've recognized that and therefore "allowed" it-- is even a possibility? Has it happened to other dogs, that after a medical issue like a uti, they had to relearn bathroom rules?