This update is long overdue. However, I have been very busy with veterinary school so there is that.
I do have some sad news that people who know me well already know but readers here may not. My guinea pig, Lilly, died last year on October 26th 2017 early in the morning after suffering what we believe was a stroke. Also, my bearded dragon died suddenly (the person that I got her from confirmed that hers also have died so maybe they were not super healthy genetically???) on November 16th 2018.
Now that the sad parts of the update are over, however, I can say that everything else is going well. Owen, Smokey and Sunny are all doing wonderful as is my leopard gecko Seze. My aquariums (30-gallon freshwater and 20-gallon saltwater) are doing well. I have a tank full of baby guppies that are probably close to half-grown.
As a veterinary student, I have been following the information about the dilated cardiomyopathy issue in dogs. I have been awaiting the study from U.C. Davis and, when it came out, I read it.
I do not think the problem is as widespread as some were suggesting initially. There appear to be a FEW brands that are potential problems (I am updating my dog food review page to reflect this), but some very widely used "grain-free" brands are not affected at all with cases of DCM, leading me to believe that there is not anything inherently wrong with "grain-free" foods, but that some foods are NOT using as much animal protein as they would have you believe (and instead are using lots of legumes which are low in sulfur-containing amino-acids that are the precursors to taurine).
I currently feed Owen a combination of foods. The ones I'm using right now are Wellness CORE Original, Blue Buffalo Life Protection Small Breed Adult Chicken and Brown Rice, and a variety of "wet" foods, which lately has mostly been FreshPet Select (Small Breed bites formula and Tender Chicken with Vegetables and Brown Rice rolled formula). I also give him "people food" including fruits (apples, blueberries, banana, etc.), vegetables (carrots, potato, butternut squash, etc.), meats (cooked ground turkey, cooked eggs, canned fish, cooked chicken) and small amounts of cheese (his favorite). I have done extensive research into incorporating "people food" into his diet and I feel that it is important to include fresh foods in his diet (if done carefully, it can be very healthy to do so). I do include meals that are completely homemade into his diet as well (in those, I use rice and/or oats and I also use some supplements in addition to the food types mentioned above).
However, I am not a nutritionist so don't treat my advice as a replacement for a consult with one.
Happy New Year!
