A Long But Enjoyable Day

A Long But Enjoyable Day was Originally Posted on June 24, 2010 by lavarock

I woke up at 5:301 this morning as I have to finish getting the house ready. Today at 8:30am I receive my new puppy, O`Lena, a female yellow Labrador for my kennel.

She grew up near South Point between two old lava flows in a very well cared-for environment. She will be coming to a farm where she will have more space to run, however, not as much grass as we both would like for her. That will change in the next year or so.

She also will have Koa to play with and they should get along quite well after a careful introduction period. Koa is 3 years old and 70 pounds; she is just a handful at 8 weeks. Since her teeth and claws are still sharp, Koa may not be quite as careful as he would be with the older dogs he plays with. They must be introduced in a calm way and with constant supervision as they interact.

After picking her up, I’ll head north to Sandra’s and await the meat delivery. I ordered some beef for both dogs. There will be fresk neck bones (with nooks and crannies) just perfect for dogs t oknaw on. Also I ordered some skirt meat and kidneys for the dogs. 8 weeks is not too soon to put a puppy on “real” food. In the wild they would have been eating ir weeks ago as soon as they were weaned from Mom.

Kidney is an organ meat and you don’t want to feed that too often, perhaps just once a week. Also, a dog (like 1 year or older) can also go a day with feeding every so often, as they would do that in the wild.

Yesterday I picked up chicken for both dogs also. Safeway had their 5 quarters for .99 a pound; however KTA had 5 pounds for about $4.00, so KTA it was. I got 20 pounds total and may go back for more there or to Safeway. These dogs can eat chicken bones, as long as they are not cooked.

I realize that Vets don’t recommend raw food or bones, mostly because the only funds for pet food research comes from the pet food companies and they are related to cereal companies. Most of their product is wheat and corn, with the ocassional melamine from China added.

When you think about the factories which turn this stuff out, you have to wonder. At least I know exactly where my dog food comes from. Starting at the slaughtering house, there is a USDA inspector. Then it is frozen and put in a refrigerated truck. That truck stops at some supermarkets and th4en makes it way to Sandras, where often I help unpack the meat and sort it for CO-OP members. This could not be a more direct route and a purer product.

I’d be happy to match health records with people who feed dry dog food to their pets.

Back to O`lena, I put up a fence across half of the lanai so that Koa and O`lena have room to their selves. To begin with they can eat apart, but will slowly be allowed to eat side by side. By the way, if you have a dog who is a picky eater, that might change if it is fed near another dog. They have a tendency of gobbling food if they think another dog (even a brother or sister) might eat it first

I have set up a kennel with a roof outside so that she can have some time alone if need be. Also, I can leave one dog upstairs and the other down, when I go out. As they interact, I expect O`Lena to nibble on Koa’s ears while he does his best to sleep. That is also not an uncommon things puppies do.

I’ll post newer photos on the website at http://KonaLabradors.Com in the next few days.

However, at this moment, I need to start getting ready to greet my new puppy!