Yeast & Dogs Part II

Here is part II following this post.

Here is Maggie, our beloved Walker Hound Dog.  From the earlier post you learned she is suffering from a yeast take over of her body.  Something that is underdiagnosed, serious and that has happened before.

This photo is from this morning.  Tuesdays and Fridays are Maggie’s bath day, and, as you can see, her skin/fur is clearly improving. 

After Maggie’s bath, we give her one of these grain-free treats.  Grain-free is of the utmost importance when treating a pet with a yeast takeover.  Grain-free is much pricier than the junky counterparts but we limit to two or three treats per week as an incentive to get her bath which she loathes. 

Treat time is quite a hilarious scene at the Umstead Homestead.  Henry almost immediately after bath time asks if we can give Maggie her treat.  He is always laughing so hard he can’t stand up straight.  Maggie sits impatiently patient trying her hardest to be well behaved for the treat.

It’s complete mayhem.

Wilderness also makes a great grain free canned dog food.  And spoiled dogs only eat canned dog food.  It happens to be one of the least expensive at the major pet stores, but I was able to get by Nature online from Pet Food Direct for $1.09/ can which included tax and shipping.  That is more than $1 less than any grain free in pet stores.  I did google coupon codes.  It came in two days or less.  I bought enough for two months.

Henry loves helping feed Maggie.  We feed her a can of dog food plus some dry food and add her Nzymes to her food.  She also is allowed to clean up Henry’s low carb scraps which amounts to A LOT in a day. 

Adventures in Capture the Piglet

It became very clear that a strategy was needed to get one of the piglets away from his/her mother.  Quickly dodging the bites of a huge “she” pig was becoming more and more risky as Mika, Stacey and I attempted to grab one of those fat little stinkers.  Our first line of defense was a trash can lid and grill cover.  We moved to more coverage with old dresser backs and left over bead board.

 

Then we had to bring in the big guns.  Stacey put on her boots and jumped in the pen with the she bear I mean mother pig.  Don’t try this at home.

At first it was all she could do to protect herself in the corner from the continuous bites of Daisy (just joking but not really). 

But she quickly gained ground and positioned herself so our star pig catcher could leap into the pen and grab the goal.

Here she is folks, school uniform and all.  Getting herself a squealing piglet.  She grabbed the little brat, tossed it out of the pen and the team jumped the fence to safety.  This took us well over an hour.  I made little contribution but I tried.

Here is our gold medal, blue ribbon farm girl.  Her momma would be proud (well, maybe not!!!).

She was careful not to ruin her school shoes but her socks made the ultimate sacrifice for our endeavor.

Here is Emma enjoying the spoils.

And Lulu.

But Emma won the first prize for enjoying it most.

Mika and Henry enjoying the piglet.

We ALMOST brought it home to really freak Beth out.  But we figured her life is a little too busy this week and we were trying to be sensitive though it would have been REALLY fun.

So Thankful That I’m in

 

The hands of God.  Great message tonight at church. If I fall, I fall into the hand of God.

Isaiah 59:1

Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened,
      That it cannot save;
      Nor His ear heavy,
      That it cannot hear.

I will rise out of these ashes.  Rise. 

I’m not really in ashes per se.  So don’t get weird on me.  But really we can be in ashes/dust from moment to moment and I had a few of those moments today with a little two year old tike.

But everything was ordered by the Potter in Jeremiah 18, even before I chose the potter Himself.  So don’t feel sorry for me or for you, it’s all part of the plan.  No regrets.  Loved that portion from tonight’s message.

Jeremiah 18:4

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Praying for a baby girl named Olivia.  I mentioned her before.  She and her parents are in our church.  She was born with stage 4 cancer.  They received a good prognosis without chemo but her liver is so enlarged she is having trouble breathing.  She underwent anesthesia for a procedure to receive her chemo.  Please pray for this precious child and her precious parents.  I can barely survive when Henry has a stuffy nose because I want to take his place.  I. can’t. even. imagine.  But God.  Praise You, God, that Olivia is in your hand.

From Dump to Trump

Here it is in the basement.  It was probably used as a workshop table for over 30 years by the previous owner’s husband before he passed away.

Now the basement work table is an office work table and part of the design reveal that will be happening soon.

I love the idea of using a rustic farm table as an office desk.  And then it dawned on me from the help of my husband that we had one in the basement.

 

I think my biggest fear was getting it up the narrow stairs and the doorway that angles at the top.  It did it by myself.  With lots of sweat, grunting, a little anger and lots of praying (okay, maybe a lot of grumpiness too). 

 

I painted layers of bright white, dark gray, gold and a coppery clay color.

Moved the table (yuck)

Distressed

Wiped with walnut stain to age

 

 

Linking up here:

 

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/p/diy-project-parade.html

Transformation Thursday

Blue Cricket Design

Ginger Snap Crafts

Tea Rose Home

Beyond the Picket Fence

Someday Crafts

Sew Much Ado

Type A

Potpourri Friday

Yeast and Dogs–Serious and Underdiagnosed

Just like people, dogs can have an overgrowth of candida albicans.  And just like in people an unhealthy over take of these little organisms can be manifested in a myriad of health issues – allergies, foul odor, chronic ear infections, arthritis, severe hot spots, poor skin health, low energy, hair loss and many, many more.

A few years ago Maggie started scratching like crazy.  We took her to several vet appointments at a very well known and well respected vet.  After spending several hundred dollars (maybe thousands), they determined Maggie had several allergies and should go on very expensive steroid shots.  The money and treatment didn’t sit well with me.  Steroids sounded like treating the symptom and not the root cause.  It bothered me to say the least.  I started googling dog health issues (which I know is almost as dangerous as googling your own health issues because you can convince yourself you’re going to die tomorrow).  But it really was a miracle from God because I found this website.  I started reading like crazy all of the health issues these owners faced with their dogs.  So many of them were told to put their dog down or were also told their dog had allergies.  Come to find out this is the most misdiagnosed problem with dogs. 

Just like with humans, dogs diets have become filled with junk and lacking basic and needed nutrients.  This and the overuse of antibiotics in meat and with health issues, dogs also have an over growth of yeast. 

I know you might be thinking, “Yeah, this girl is nuts.”  Keep reading folks.  Keep reading.

When I first starting treating my dog with Nzymes and a low carb diet, she went from scratching 24 hours a day (literally), having raw skin and losing fur to being able to sleep through the night without scratching.  That may seem like no big deal to you, when you sleep with your dog it equals sleep for you. 

So, just like us, I got lazy with my dog’s diet.  We moved to Trader Joe’s food which is cheap, not bad as far as fillers and very convenient.  We also let Maggie eat whatever she wanted of Henry’s leftovers.  Also a lazy move because it means less clean up for us. 

Shocker of all shockers is Maggie’s health declined including a maybe stroke, ear infection and a new diagnosis of allergies which Dave fell for hook line and sinker.  So, after some heated discussions about how my diagnosis of yeast is bogus and my belief that the vets were just throwing out a diagnosis to prescribe drugs, I secretly ordered Nzymes again (shhh, don’t tell).  Well, really you don’t have to tell because the proof is in the pudding.

This is what happens to dogs when yeast dies off.  It’s pretty sick.

This photo of Maggie’s chest was taken tonight.  It’s for all you freaks who think I’m a freak (just joking, just joking).  But this is living proof that there is serious problem when yeast takes over a pet’s body and YOUR body.  The black stuff is the yeast dying off an coming through her skin.  Sick.  I am treating her with a high protein diet, Nzymes supplements and 2 baths a week.  We are in week two folks.  Week two of her detox.  Pretty darn sick.

So next time your pet has health issues, consider its diet first and check out Nzymes instead of suppressing everything with drugs.  And maybe think about what you are eating and your own health issues.

(Yeast are unicellular fungi.  Dermatophytosis or ringworm is a clinical condition caused by fungal infection – if you are looking at the rings).  Maggie does have massive amounts of black coming out of her armpits, ears, eyes and other body parts.

Fun with the Bubs

We tried to make the most of our errand running day yesterday.  Started off with being a witness in a court case. We weren’t sure if the case would be tried yesterday, but Henry and I were there bright and early.  I was so proud of my little boy.  He was so well behaved in the lobby and the courtroom.  Our case got postponed.  It’s nothing major.  Just a ridiculous lie made up about a person I was with the entire time.  It’s amazing or maybe even sickening what the state spends money on. 

After court we went home and ate lunch and then went to get Dave’s truck tested for emissions.  It was a lot quicker than expected and Henry and I had fun playing in the truck waiting for our turn.

Today was another busy day just getting things done.  I was feeling like a hamster on a wheel going no where fast.  Always more dishes, always more laundry, always more toys to pick up and always mouths to feed.  It’s a privilege but can quickly become a burden with lack of sleep and abundance of attitude (those late night jogs with Beth are so much fun but I’ve gotta learn to go to bed!).  So we broke up the day with a trip to the bank which happens to be a hike because we still haven’t switched to a local bank.  On the way home we stopped at Ikea.  Henry’s number 1 or maybe tied with the farm or maybe number 2 place to go.  He asks to go there all the time.  I am trying to teach him to listen to me in public, so our trips to Ikea have been very, very short lately.  When he runs away from me, we leave.  That simple.  I am hoping he catches on quickly but on the other hand, it’s a good excuse to make it a snappy (no pun intended) visit.

On our way home, I heard the window going down in the back seat.  They are usually locked.  Someone thought he was pretty slick and had his hand out waving to other cars and enjoying the breeze.  Of course I had to whip out my camera, whilst driving down the highway in hopes of capturing the cute moment on film.

P.s. I am going to speak with the high school students tomorrow to see who is interested in taking our art class.  We have been delayed a few weeks because of my back ground check needing to be completed – a safety measure to keep the kiddos safe.  It all works together for good because both Beth and I feel much more confident and much less rushed in the whole process.

Guest Blogging Today

I am guest blogging on my super dee duper cousin’s blog today.  It’s an honor and privilege.  Check out the amazing, beautiful and gifted Myriah Mae.

On The Farm Again…

Just can’t wait to get on the farm again (Henry’s version of “On the Road Again”).

Here is a new piece I am working on thanks to my friend Amy (my friend Beth’s little sister).

I have a just a little bit of work left on this one and waiting on the hardware.  Can’t wait to show you the finished product as this was probably the most challenging piece as far as the condition when starting.

When we got home from church (it was an outstanding message by the way and you can click on the church link to hear) Henry and I were in the basement and I was working on a farm table down there.   The phone rang upstairs and I asked him to go up and get it.  Just taking a stab in the dark that he could find it because most of the time I can’t.  About a couple of minutes later he came into the back room of the basement where I was working with my wallet.  When I went upstairs to put it back, I noticed my phone was on the countertop out of his eye sight and reach.  I also noticed he had taken everything out of my bag carefully looking for the phone which I found unbelievably adorable. 

 

After Henry ate lunch, we went to the farm/corn maze.  Upon arrival I spotted this little girl walking around chatting on her phone with this t-shirt on “chillin with my peeps”.  Pretty cute.  I asked to take her photo and her little brother had to strike a pose next to her.

Henry checking out the piglets.

Do you think Dorothy looks like she has an attitude in the photo?  Well, she really doesn’t.  This is McKenzie, my aunt Stacey’s niece by marriage.

Henry and the Lion checking out the piglets.

Henry and Dorothy.

I love this photo.

The Scarecrow…

Ferdinand

A group of kids that came to visit the funny farm, I mean the corn maze.

Here is Henry with one of his all time favorite people cousin Tim.  He loves him so much.