Allergies: It is a Bulldog’s World

9/17/2014 Blog Post #3

Fast dates: September 14^th through October 13th

Me: You’re your so vain, I bet you think this blog is about you, you’re so vain, I bet you think this blog is about you, don’t you, don’t you? (Don’t lie, you sang it, not read it.)

Levi: Duh mom, my name is in the title. Like Dozer Batts says “It’s a Bulldog’s World”

Jacqueline Hill the microbiologist from Answers Pet Food sent me the official guidelines to this fast. I have pasted them on a page in this blog for anyone who wants to read them. If you are viewing this from your phone you will not see the page, at least I do not see it on my iphone, but if you view it from a computer you will see it.

I have had several people to ask me the cost of doing this fast. One thing is for sure it does cost some dollars. Each carton sells for $5.99 and a case of (12) 16 oz cartons is $71.88. Today I purchased (4) cases for $306.93 after the $19.41 added for NC state tax which makes the case cost plus tax $76.74 per case. I refuse to put in writing the cost of the 7.5 cases required to give Levi 3 cartons a day for this fast. Let me just say that it will be 2015 before I will be meeting my friends for dinner and a drink again. It is a Bulldog’s World for sure at my house!

Let me do some more math for you in case you think you will just stick with the Atopica. Now the markups up of this drug will most certainly vary by the vet you purchase it from. I do not off the top of my head remember the specific cost of it when I had purchased it for Levi several years back at my vet’s office. However, I do have other dogs in my household on the generic: cyclosporine modified from Costco. The highest dosage pill is 100 mg and a 30 count box of it is $89 from Costco, which is the most affordable place I could find to purchase it from. I have a 95 lb American Bulldog I am fostering who has to take it daily. Due to his size, he takes 200mg daily which is 2 boxes every 30 days. (Thank goodness the rescue pays for his meds.)

My hope for Levi is that once this fast is over is I will be able to just supplement Levi’s diet with this product to maintain him if this fast works. The recommended dosages of this product are as follows for supplemental feeding: 2oz for up to 20lbs, 4oz for 20-50lbs, and 6oz for over 50lbs. If I continue to supplement him daily after the fast, a case which totals 192 ounces, will leave him enough for 6.2 ounces per day, for 30 days, added to his daily raw and still be $13.26 less expensive than the generic Atopica each month. Instead of suppressing his immune system with a drug I will instead be building up his immune system with a tasty supplement. To me it is obvious which one is the better choice if this fast works for him. I just felt it was important to point that out. And if I no longer have to pay for allergy serum and syringes then I am really saving money. So it depends on your situation on whether you think the cost associated with this fast  is just too expensive.

So how have the last two days been since my last post? Levi still seems content with the (3) cartons per day. He does not seem hungry and has not been bothering my other dogs when they eat. If he was hungry that for sure would happen. He gets each carton in a separate meal. I do not think you could do this fast with any less than 3 meals a day. I am certain some dogs may require more than 3 separate meals. He is still being compliant with the no treats rule. Will this compliancy last? Who knows?

The Answers guidelines suggest you take your pet off of all medications if you can. Levi is only remaining on Clomipramine which I affectionately call his “crazy bullie pills.” He is almost intolerable to himself and others without them. Once thing is for sure, if someone ever tried to steal him he would be returned as soon as those meds wore off. I have discontinued the Hydroxyzine and his allergy shots. He is pretty happy about not being stuck with a needle every 3 days.

The poop situation remains the same. In the Answers guidelines for this fast they describe it as a yellowish pudding consistency and for the first 4 days that has been right on the money. So may be a good idea to stock up on some Earthbath wipes if you plan to try this. I have found the green tea wipes to be the best soothing wipes on the market for a Bulldog. I just love Earthbath products.

Drum roll please………you hear it? Pretend you do ok……

Today I have been sick and worked from home. Levi slept at my feet for most of the day. AND….yes AND not once did he lick his paws. Did you hear me?? Not once did he lick his paws and today is only day 4 on this fast. Are his face and feet still dingy brown? You bet they are! It took a lot of bullie licking to get them that way. The first step in clearing that up though is for his incessant licking to stop. I am well aware it will take time for that dinginess to go away. So today I am feeling pretty confident about where this is going.

Some more things I want to point out. The Answers guidelines discuss a detox that will happen if you do this fast. I know all about detox as does any raw food feeder. I went through it with Levi and Esther when they made the transition from kibble to raw. Luckily, Dr Becker the holistic veterinarian I mentioned in my first blog post covered this in her videos she has on YouTube about raw feeding or I would have been rushing them to the vet asking what was wrong. Answers Pet Food calls it a bio-film. It is a slimy covering you will see over the dog’s poop for the first 1 to 2 weeks when you switch to raw. The body is ridding itself of all the yucky stuff in kibble. And trust that no matter what kibble you are feeding- it will happen. It really brings to light the fact that there is stuff in kibble that dogs really should not be getting. So since Levi has been on a raw diet for a couple of years now this is not happening with him. He has already detoxed. So in this regard, he is ahead of the game. Finally, at least one thing in life I can say he excels at other than being a lazy bum and a crazy fat man. He could gold metal in crazy fat man!

Thank you to everyone following my journey with Levi. As a reminder, if you choose to “follow” this blog you will receive an email each time I make a post. Just click on the “Follow Blog via email” button at the bottom of the page. If you are viewing this from your phone you have to scroll through prior posts to see the button at the bottom. Word press will send you a email with a link you will have to click on to confirm you want to follow.