8th April – My new Grrra?

Heidi is doing so well; she has her usual bounce back & is merrily circling her way around the dining room. She was a little unsettled when the out-laws first arrived (coinciding with her bump expansion so she was probably feeling a bit grim), but they quickly fell in love with each other.

All protected & safe

Heidi is now wearing her t-shirt & grrra daily (we take it off at night on the basis that I’d hate to wear one all night!). Thankfully, I’m a bit rubbish at throwing old things out so was able to massacre a bra & stitch it to the bottom edge of her t-shirt & use one of the straps around her hind leg to hold it in place comfortably. I continue to be surprised at how cool the lump is within its sling but can only assume that friction has been reduced. She is certainly able to gallop around the garden at full tilt while she pursues Meg with her ball.

I decided to go with white in case anything untoward happens to the lump; it would be easier to see if anything gets damaged underneath with white, but it will also need cleaning more often. I will use a gentle handwash so the amount of chemicals potentially being transferred to her system through very thin skin will be reduced.

A childhood watching Blue Peter was not wasted…

I have been curious at how many people are focused on an animals ill-ness as opposed to their well-ness. It’s been tricky with this blog so far as it has been about her daily life with illness, but it can be very easy to take ones eyes off the ball & miss the well bits. Yes, Heidi has a variety of lumps over her body, a bad heart, a dodgy liver, hypothyroidism & who knows what else, but when you look at her you can only wonder at how healthy she looks, how light her step & how bright her eyes are.

On the diet front I have been getting an increasing feeling that I need to move her onto a mainly raw diet. She loves her cooked food but I do feel she’s missing something from the nutrients with it being cooked. There are so many conflicting pieces of advice for dogs with cancer - feed carbs, don’t feed carbs; reduce protein, increase protein; fats good, fats bad. It’s very easy to get into a flat spin so I decided to take my own advice – trust your instinct.

We will lightly steam some of her veg & chop it up finely in the blender. Her raw veg will go through the juicer & she can have that with a small amount of porridge, & the potatoes / rice / pasta will be cut right back to a balance with her greens. The CV247 diet specifies a large amount of carbs which doesn’t sit right for Heidi (it is possibly fine for another dog). The fish & liver will be fed raw or made into treats. The more people speak about their experiences with John Carter, the more I wonder at where the diet came from which is given with the CV247 now. Wheatgrass & carrot juice is mentioned, a supplement called Tryplase, the liver being fed raw, & so on. It’s all very confusing so I’m returning to a diet which isn’t hugely different to the one provided but may feel more “alive” when being fed. When her mix is made up daily it feels faintly sluggish whereas Meg’s food feels vital & alive (she’s fed all raw). I can only work with what I feel (unless I’m given irrefutable evidence otherwise).

I’ll let you know how it goes.

R & Hx