In Orijen We Trust

Well, today's the big day. Today Mom opened that bag of ducky treats that have been sitting on the counter for a couple weeks, since Chewy sent them. These are Orijen Free-Run Duck freeze dried DOG treats.

Mom was really really happy when she read the back of the bag because not only is it 100% duck and duck liver but it said some other good stuff too. You see Mom, like a lot of your Moms, is always worried that some tainted food from China will sneak into our treats. She goes online and checks out all our treats to see where it's made and where the parts come from. In this case not only did the bag tell the country of origin, but it told the exact farm where these duckies grew up. They came from King Cole Duck Farms in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Now why can't other companies be that honest?

These are nice treats, not too big and not too little. They're sort of soft chews and have a great taste.

 I went first because, well I am the big guy in the house. First Mom told me to sit so she could get the camera ready.

 Then came the big test. Oh yes....... These are great!!!

 Then even though Mom said they were all for me, she let some of the others try them because they were all sitting and looking pitiful. 

 Then she closed the bag and put it way back on the counter and told me that the rest are mine. Thanks Mom.

Mom said we need to say that Chewy sent us these super delicious ducky treats at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review. I say they are the best and Mom says she appreciates the no worry practice of giving the source of the ingredients. 

These wonderful treats come in other flavors, too, so be sure and remind your Mom that the next time she places an order, these would make a great addition.
Your pal, Fudge

A Most Fantastical Day

Hi Everybody,
This is an amazing day here in Portieland. The big truck stopped at our house and the man left a box at the door. When Mom brought it in, we checked it out and we couldn't believe our eyes and noses. 

This is what happened. A couple weeks ago Mom was sipping her morning coffee and kind of looking around on the internets. She came across a contest and the prize was some Zukes. She knows we love Zukes, so she entered us in the contest but she didn't say anything because she didn't expect us to win.

 BUT WE WON!  Mom got an email from Aimee at 4 The Love Of Animals blog saying that we won.
Still Mom didn't say anything, so when the box arrived we were all surprised. It was jammed full of bags of Zukes.

 Look at all the wonderful Zukes that were in the box. 

There's Delightful Duck. That one's for me.
Tasty Peanut Butter.
Tasty Chicken.
Lamb and Chickpea.
Salmon and Sweet Potato.
and Pork with Bacon. That one's for Sebastian

Even though it's about 870 degrees outside today, we're doing a happy dance inside. Thanks Miss Aimee and thanks Zukes Company and thanks Mom for entering us. Now let's go open some bags.
Your pal, Fudge

But Mom, We're Dogs!

Hi Everybody,
We think Mom made a terrible mistake. She says she knew exactly what she was doing, but I'm not so sure about that. I'll tell you what happened and you be the judge.

You see this month when Miss Sydney  from Chewy asked Mom what treat we'd like to review, Mom chose one we'd never heard of before. It was called Cat-Man-Doo. Are you starting to get the idea? It said that it was dried Bonito Flakes. Mom wasn't real sure what bonito was, so she looked it up. The Google said it was a tuna type fish. Ok, we like tuna, so why not? Then it arrived.

Look at this package. First it has that clue in the name. Then it has a picture of a cat on the front of the package.

Then it says this across the top, "A natural and nutritious treat for cats".  MOM.... we are dogs.

Mom said not to worry, she knew what she was doing. So last night when we went down to the garage at dinner time, she took the package of cat food with her. We all went into the yard to wait while she made dinner, except Noah. He always stays and helps Mom make dinner. He's a mama's boy. She opened the bag and this was inside, super thin flakes of tuna. 

She asked Noah if he wanted to try it and he did. He said it was good.

She put some flakes on top of the kibble for the girls. Noah and Sebastian and I get special food, so she didn't give us any.

Then she let everybody in. The girls loved this fishy smelling stuff. They gobbled it up. See, this is Lola eating her Cat-Man-Doo dinner.

 Tess liked her, too. The girls didn't even care that it said cat treats on the bag. They told me to be more open minded and try new things. How about that, my own daughters lecturing me.

Then she gave it a real test. She put some on Sydney's dinner. Sydney is a really really fussy eater. She doesn't like any food very much, not even treats. Mom and Dad have to coax her to eat anything. Look... she likes it. She ate her whole dinner with Cat-Man-Doo bonito flakes on it.

Mom said the only thing she didn't like about it is that the flakes stick to everything. They stuck to her fingers and to the spoon. Then the girls had some trouble getting the very last flakes off the bowls and Mom had to help them.

It looks like the Cat-Man-Doo people have changed some of their packaging and now call their treats for cats and dogs, so maybe they realized that we like fishy things, too.

Mom says to tell you that Chewy sent us these treats at no cost to us in exchange for our honest opinion. I didn't get to taste them, but the girls and Noah all said they were excellent. Don't worry, Mom says the next taste test is for me. I can hardly wait!
Your pal, Fudge

Big Bird Lives Here

Hi Everybody,
Guess what!! Big bird lives here. No, not that one, he lives at Sesame Street.

We have a pair of barred owls that live in the trees here. One of them hangs out in the tree in our yard and the other one lives in the woods behind the yard.

These guys are big and scary. Mom and Bentley met one once. Bentley was old and had to out during the night, so one night he and Mom went out the front door and there was Mr Owl sitting in the street right in front of our house. Mom said he was really big and he swiveled his head around and looked at her, then he lifted off and flew away.

A lot of nights when we go outside for our last call, the owls are hooting to each other. Sometimes Mom answers them but a couple times when she's done that, one of them flies towards us  making really scary noises. Then we all run for the house, even Mom.

One night we went outside and it was quiet so we all started into the grass to pee. Mom was standing under the oak tree by the house. All of a sudden Mr Owl, who was sitting in the tree above Mom, let out a really loud hoot. Mom jumped and we all raced for the door. 

We've had some mousies around lately. Dad trapped two in the garage and Sydney caught one in the yard on Saturday. We think the owls are hunting for mousies at night. See, he dropped some of his feathers. Mom said we 're going to collect them and build our own owl.

Just to show you how big these feathers are, here they are next to one of Calder's feathers. Yikes!!! Yeah, it's true, we're all a little afraid of those big birds, even Mom.

Your pal, Fudge

What We've Learned In A Year

Yesterday was an anniversary of sorts. It was a year ago yesterday that Fudge had his stroke. That was a terrible day for all of us. Fudge after screaming in pain, was paralyzed in his back legs. We were able to get him to the clinic quickly and Dr B got right to work with pain killers and steroids and then he and I sat down with a textbook and we discussed what had happened and how to help Fudge recover.

Now a year later, Fudge can walk, though he has a noticeable limp. He can run in a hip hop way, he can climb up on the couch to cuddle and he can still spin, though not as fast or long as before. He's a happy boy still, but I know his leg bothers him. 

With Dr B's guidance I've become familiar with some supplements that I never knew existed before last year. I'd like to share them with you. First I must admit that I have some arthritis in my fingers and I have a degenerative joint disease in one foot, so I have joined Fudge in testing out these supplements. In fact, I try them before I give them to him.

First is an old standby, glucosamine-chondroitin. I have given this to my arthritic dogs starting with Lucy many years ago. I saw how much it helped her. When I was diagnosed with Freiberg disease in my foot, the doctor really scared me. He told me not to use my foot and that I would need surgery. I got a second opinion and that doctor told me I could use it as much as I could stand the pain and I didn't need surgery for awhile. At first I was taking pain pills to get thru the day, but I wasn't happy with that, so I did some research and found that a doctor in Europe had good results on his Freiberg patients using glucosamine chondroitin. I tried it and it worked for me. I still have some pain on occasion, but it's nothing I can't handle.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are part of normal cartilage and is found in the covering of shellfish. Now Fudge and I both take it daily.

All my dogs have taken fish oil (omega 3) for years. It's what I use to teach puppies to take pills. They like to crunch them and taste that nice fishy, oily taste. I prefer not to taste it.  Dr B often tells me to increase the fish oil when one has arthritis or some other problem. In her last few months Morgan  was taking eight to ten fish oil capsules a day. She was old and creaky but she could get around on her own. Be sure your fish oil is molecularly distilled to get rid of heavy metals.

I realized after my hand surgery in November that my fingers are often stiff and painful, especially in the morning. While researching ways to help Fudge, I came across articles about tumeric. I asked Dr B about it and he said yes, definitely give it to Fudge. First I tried it and at the two week point, I realized that the pain in my fingers was gone, though they were still a bit stiff. I talked Rob into trying it for an old shoulder injury from an auto accident. He too, found that he could sleep without the shoulder pain that was keeping him awake. Now we all take tumeric daily, humans and dogs.

If you're going to try tumeric there are a few things to watch for. Be sure it's 95% standardized curcumin, plus it should contain bioperene. Bioperene is derived from black pepper and helps the body absorb the cucurmin.

Now we were on a roll, but I still was looking for something to help Fudge thru his ordeal. One morning I was reading a veterinary newsletter and came across an article about arthritic dogs benefiting from New Zealand green-lipped mussel. Another quick call to Dr B, then I ordered some. First thing I noticed is the smell. There is no way you can't notice the smell. FISHY!!! Fudge loved it as did Bailey, but I had to hold my breath and swallow fast, then eat something to get rid of the smell and taste. These things are awful, BUT by the third day I realized that the stiffness was gone from my fingers and I could move them freely for the first time in months.

So did I stop there? Nope. Recently I read an article about Cat's Claw ( uncaria tomentosa and uncaria gulanensis) The supplement comes from the root and bark of this vine and is used for a number of disorders. The main one is arthritis, but it's also used for digestive problems such as colitis and leaky gut. When I saw that I really took notice. Noah has colitis and Fudge has leaky gut syndrome. I ordered some and it should be here this week. I'll keep you posted on the results.

 I order most of my supplements from WonderLabs .  I have no connection with the company except as a satisfied customer.

If you have a pet that you think might benefit from a supplement, be sure and check with your vet first. Last year when Fudge needed help, I didn't know about several of these supplements, but they have become an important part of our routine now and are helping keep all of us pain free.

Over The Rainbow

 During the night Stanley flew across the bridge. Goodbye little buddy.

                                                                 Stanley                                               
                                                March 2012 - July 9, 2016
                                                           

Reaching Out

There's something really wrong going on in our country. It's hard on a day like this to keep from sinking into depression. To try to keep myself afloat, I'm thinking about and reconnecting with old friends.

I'm a pretty private person and I don't have a lot of friends but I cherish the few close friendships that I've developed over the years. This week has been extraordinary in regards to my friends. You have all read about my best friend Sue in my posts over the years. Sue is from England and came here after marrying an American. They lived next door to us for ten years and Sue and I are closer than sisters. We've had spats a couple times over the years but we can say anything to each other and we'll always be there for each other even though we live in different states now.

Another friend that you've read about is J. She and I met when she knocked on my door one morning because she'd heard that I had a Portuguese Water Dog. She had one and wanted to meet another. She got more than she bargained for that day. I had Fudge, Samba and seven of their puppies playing in the yard at the time. She not only got to meet them, she wound up adopting Gracie. She and Rob and I became friends and then later she married T and now the four of us are friends and see each other often. Strangely, J is also from England.

A couple days ago J and T were on the way to puppy class with Miss Zoe. They stopped by to give me a most wonderful gift. This is a plaster paw print of Gracie.  J had it made for me and I am so touched. It is truly treasured.

Back many years ago, when I worked at a bank in Syracuse, I made friends with a new co-worker. He had recently moved there and I met his wife, who was a lovely woman. We all became good friends and when their baby daughter was born, I got to babysit and take them all home to meet my family. We remained friends for  several years till they moved to Alabama and I moved to South Carolina and we eventually lost touch.

 Over the years I've thought of them often and tried to find them, but suddenly this week, I found their daughter on Facebook. I messaged her and she got right back to me. I sent some baby pictures of her and she gave me her Mom's phone number. Yesterday I had the joy of speaking with my friend Shirley for the first time in about 40 years.

Then, while going thru some old photos that were stashed away in a drawer, I found these two shots of my closest friend during my teen years, my dog Zelda. She was a puppy from my first litter and she and I were inseparable. I thought I only had a couple of pictures of her and I don't know who took these, but I don't remember ever seeing them before.

 It was a sweet surprise to see her and I love the look on her face. She looks pleased that she convinced me to carry her.

These are truly the best of times and the worst of times. Stay safe.

Mid Day Refresher

It's been very hot here for a couple weeks. Today it's right around the 100 mark but the worst part is that we're having sporadic thunder storms so that the humidity is very high too. It's really uncomfortable for the fur kids, so today we offered them a little something cool and refreshing at their 2 o'clock outing.

Everybody thought it was a good idea and instead of making them work for their treat, Rob decided to just hand it out.

 Except for Syd,who takes hers off away from the crowd, everybody stayed close to Rob and the dish of watermelon.

Sebastian came back for seconds and thirds, but he took his pieces off to eat in comfort.

 This was a very popular idea and we'll do it again soon.