Pain, Pain, Go Away!

One of my math teachers once described a student's answer on a test. The question and answer were right, but in between was the sentence, "A miracle happens." No points for that. In real life, though, the right answer does get points. My dog, Molly, who has had problems with her anal glands most of her life, seems to have finally gotten permanent relief. Over the past month or so, I've been feeding her cooked liver--about half a pound a week. (I've also been giving her 250 mg of magnesium every day.) The liver goes in the dog dish, a miracle happens, and the yucky stuff comes out of her anal glands when she goes outdoors, just as it should. I know this because I almost never see her sit and scoot anymore, and she licks a lot less. Molly also eats Taste of the Wild dog food (bison flavor--she's constantly hungry on the salmon flavor), non-starchy veg, a little coconut, and the liver (which replaces an equal amount of dog food twice a week). She also pre-washes

Want to exercise without spending a lot of money? If you're self-motivated and don't have health problems like a touchy back or a heart condition, consider working out at home. I've worked out at home for years and prefer it to going to a gym. When you work out at home, there are no dues, no commute, no public shower, and no pressure to buy expensive workout clothes and puffy, high-tech shoes. I exercise barefoot in the summer and in basic canvas tennis shoes in the winter. I work out on my own schedule to my own music or enjoy the quiet. There's no pressure to keep up with others. I use Fred Hahn’s Slow Burn method of weightlifting (see Exercise without Joint Pain ). All I need are four sets of free weights, a yoga mat, a fan, a timer and a metronome. The last two items are free online (links are in the Exercise without Joint Pain post). I do this workout twice a week. Keep safety in mind, especially if you work out alone. Get familiar with any machines you use so you

"Poop Van Scoop. We pick up where your dog leaves off. Number one in the number two business." -A long-running ad for backyard sanitation services. Readers, if a post about canine gastrointestinal problems (read: pooping problems) isn't your cup of tea, why don't you read this post about how music made me feel better than the 20 pills a day I was taking at one point in my life. I've always had dogs, but I never had one who would sit and scoot, until Molly. Dogs do this when their anal glands are too full; conventional wisdom says that hard, small stools cause the problem by not pressing on the anal glands enough to empty them. I just knew that every so often, I had to take Molly to the vet to have them drained. Sometimes they even became infected, or "full and stinky" in veterinary terms. For the past few years, I've been fiddling with Molly's diet to help her poop be less like jawbreakers. From what I'd read about digestion, I thought the a

Does Molly's fur coat make her look fat? My dog, Molly, has been to the vet a few times in the past couple of months for an infection and teeth cleaning. The vet recommended that Molly lose some weight and asked how much Molly was eating. "One and a half cups a day of ... dog food and some cabbage," I said. And yes, that's using a measuring cup, I explained, not a slurpee cup. Yes, Molly gets exercise--she runs on the treadmill every day. Nonetheless, the vet suggested giving Molly less food. Is this a good idea? Let's consider some observations, facts and assumptions. First, is Molly fat? Someone at the dog park nicknamed her "Marshmallow," and her hips look quite a bit wider than her chest when she sits down. Yet there aren't rolls of fat on her. When I pinch her fat around her middle, it's only 3/8" thick. Her hind quarters are too firm to pinch. Her midriff is thick and her hips are wide--but maybe that just means she isn't built lik

My calculus II teacher, Monica Fleischauer, once told our class, "Good mathematicians are basically lazy." I took that to mean that they didn't make extra work for themselves--the opposite of the saying, "You get out of it what you put into it." The statement about being lazy seems to apply to losing weight. A few months ago when I was on Body-for-Life, I was working out six days a week: lifting weights, doing intense cardio workouts and ballet strength conditioning. And I'd gained 20 pounds over the last few years. About two months ago, I dropped BFL and slashed the carbs. I eat meat, eggs, nuts, greens, and protein powder drinks (homemade) until I'm satisfied. I'm pretty good about limiting the carbs. Last night, I had a Netflix night with half a bag of pork rinds, hot wings and a diet root beer. Right now, I'm enjoying a low-carb brownie made of protein powder, peanut butter, nuts and coconut, and a coffee with cream, no sugar. For exercise, t

Sasha always attracted admirers, but didn't like to be petted by them. He was handsome and fluffy, but I heard he bit someone who put his hand over the fence. He was more cat than dog, but ended up with a common canine disease: oral melanoma, a cancer of the mouth. My vet, Dr. McCarthy, said he'd live three months if I let nature take its course, and referred me to a veterinary oncologist. The oncologist was taken with Sasha; Sasha let her look in his mouth. After discussing our options (chemotherapy, expensive radiation, ghastly partial jaw removal), we decided on chemotherapy. A few days on chemo put Sasha at death's door: he wouldn't eat and had become incontinent. I took him to Dr. McCarthy with the intention of putting him down. But she recommended Zantac and a diet of chicken breast and white rice, and no more chemo. She looked at Sasha as if she'd never see him again. About that time, I consulted a holistic veterinarian who recommended a grain-free diet. I ha