A Most Wonderful Mistake #Chewy Influencer

When Dr B called to tell me that Fudge no longer was positive for e-coli, we had a long talk about the boy. Fudge had been off his Rimadyl while he was taking antibiotics and after three rounds of antibiotics, he was really showing distinct signs of pain. Not only did he need help on stairs, but he was having trouble just walking across the room.

Dr B said to restart his Rimadyl and since we prefer to use natural methods when possible, he suggested increasing his glucosamine chondroitin, and continuing tumeric. He said the most important thing is to flood him with Omega 3s.

So now Fudge takes his fish oil capsules after breakfast and before bed, but he also gets several as treats throughout the day. He chews them up like candy.

Besides fish oil caps, Dr B suggested giving him either salmon or sardines several times a week. For years we're given the dogs sardines weekly, but now he says Fudge can have them more often. I had used my last can of sardines the night before, so I added them to my grocery list.

Then the mistake happened.

My Chewy review items arrived that afternoon and beside the two items I had selected there was an extra. It had not been among the choices offered but someone at the warehouse had by mistake added a case of Tiki Cat Sardine Cutlets to our box.

Never mind that these say Cat or show a cat on the can. Sardines are sardines and they are the absolute favorite food of my dogs, even Sydney and Sebastian.

These are wild caught sardines, fins and tails removed, then sliced. They're cooked in a both with vegetable gums, sunflower oil and vitamins added.

My dogs were delighted with this special surprise and so was I. Thank you Chewy. If you had to make a mistake, this was the perfect one to make.

Chewy sent us this absolutely delicious and nourishing case of Tiki Cat Sardine Cutlets at no cost to us. Although it was an error on their part, we appreciate it and have given our honest review.

Break Time

After cleaning out some old file boxes, we had a surplus of ratty old file folders. I reuse the ones that are in good condition but some of these had been reused several times already. So what do we do with ratty old folders? Make UFOs, of course. I hesitate to call them paper airplanes because they were sort of free form flying missiles.

Rob did the folding, then we all went into the yard to see if they would fly. The answer was poorly, but that was OK with the pack. Several of the dogs gave chase at first, but the older ones soon grew tired of it. Not Mackey.

Mackey chased each and every plane.

 Then after bringing them back up the hill, she discovered the best part.... shredding them.

Sydney thought that looked like a good idea.

Even Bailey couldn't resist the thrill of ripping something into little pieces.

Sebastian gave us the look. It said "you can't possibly expect me to chase those things".

It wasn't as much fun as when the Porties were little, but at least Mackey enjoyed the activity.

Mackey is only four years old, but she's become very gray. We think it's due to her seizures. Syd doesn't show nearly as much gray.

This Is Just A Test # Chewy Influencer

Don't you hate when those tests come on television and the high pitched scream almost breaks your eardrums? "This is only a test."  So why do you have to make it so loud? Anyway, that has absolutely nothing to do with this post. Today we decided to try our second Chewy selection for this month.

This month we're really being adventurous. Our first review was vegan and now we're trying Nutro Kitchen Classics Premium Loaf Variety Pack. This contains two different flavors. Half the variety pack is Slow Cooked Chicken, Brown Rice and Oatmeal Dinner. We had that one a couple days ago and it was very well received. I can recommend this food.

Tonight we had Grass Fed Lamb and Brown Rice Dinner. I don't feed lamb to my dogs. This is the first time ever and when the other two cans are gone, they will most probably never have it again. It's just a personal thing, Rob and I don't eat lamb and none of our animals do either. I thought long and hard before choosing this.

That said, the food looked good, as good as any pate style dog food does. It didn't smell bad and it mixed easily into their kibble.

 As you can see, my girls thought t was an excellent choice.

 Nutro Kitchen Classics come in other flavors, rustic chicken and veggies; turkey, rice and veggies; and steamed fish and sweet potato, so if you'd like to try it and have an aversion to one of the ingredients, there are other choices available. As far as I can tell the variety pack comes only in chicken and lamb.

Now for the good part, there are no artificial colors, flavors or preservative. The food is made in the USA and the meat is the first ingredient. I have no problem with the chicken food and my vet has often mentioned feeding lamb to my boys because of their stomach problems. This is purely a personal thing.

Chewy sent us a variety pack at no charge in exchange for our honest review. I would buy the kitchen classics again in another flavor. We're still a no lamb family.

Eat Those Veggies # Chewy Influencer

This month we decided to try something a little different, so I selected Halo Vegan Garden Medley Canned Dog Food as one of our review choices from Chewy. I have mixed feelings about this food and I'll explain.

I do believe in feeding fruits and veggies to my dogs. I think they get a nice mix of vitamins and other benefits from eating veggies. When my pups were little I gave them cold baby carrots to chew on. They loved them and the cold helped sooth their gums when they were teething. I credit those carrots for saving the legs of my chairs as well as my ankles from those sharp little teeth.

When they were a little older we used carrots and apple chunks as their afternoon snacks. As they grew we started giving them other veggies and they now love broccoli,

green beans,

spinach and Brussels sprouts. Whatever veggies we have, they share.

Sebastian came to us already an adult and had never eaten veggies. It took awhile to introduce them to him and today he loves them almost as much as the others, except for carrots. He's never really learned to like carrots, though he sometimes takes them to please me.

I knew the dogs would probably like the Halo Vegan Garden Medley and I was right. It doesn't look as I expected, it's a pate that I mix with their kibble. I told them they were getting salad with their dinner.

 It's made of vegetable broth, chickpeas, potatoes, pea protein, carrots, olive oil, peas, spinach, dandelion greens and lots of vitamins and minerals.  My dogs all liked it.

 I'm not really sure why anyone would buy vegan dog food unless their dog had a severe meat allergy or some other health issue. If you can't give your dog fresh veggies or he refuses to eat them, this might be a solution.

We've tried Halo products in the past and I like them. I don't think, however, that I would buy this particular food again unless one of my dogs was ill and needed a special veggie diet. It's a good product, but I prefer to feed fresh vegetables.

One other thing to mention, we learned during the evening that veggie farts are just as bad as fish farts.

Chewy provided us with a case of Halo Vegan Medley at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review.

Let's Catch Up

Hi Everybody,
Have you missed us? Did you ever see one of those circus guys that spins plates on sticks? Mom said last week she felt like one of those guys, running back and forth trying to keep everything spinning and not let them all crash to the floor. This week seems to be starting out a little calmer, so we've come to catch up with the happenings in Blogville.

 So, here's some of the stuff that's been going on with us. First and most important, I finished my third set of antibiotics for my terrible infection. Mom took another urine sample to the vet and then we waited for the results. Mom's not a good waiter, she gets nervous and paces a lot. After a couple days the call came. I'm cured!! Dr B said the PH was perfect, the gravity was good and there was no blood. Now I just need another urine test in a month to make sure it stays away. We were all very happy about that news.

The same day that my test results came in, we got a really neat surprise from Chewy. My post last month won the summer fun contest. For a dog that's kind of like winning the Pulitizer but with yummy treats. The big box held lots of wonderful things for us.

  There was a Chuckit toy with extra balls. We can use it here in the yard or even at the lake. As soon as the hot temperatures go down, we'll give it a test.

There were a couple of Nylabone chews for the two little spotty demons, Syd and Mac. They love to chew and have destroyed some of our good toys. These will keep them busy for a nice long time and hopefully quiet, too.

There was a tug toy that some of the girls will enjoy. They like pulling each other around.

There was stuffy snake for Bailey.  Her crate is so full of her stuffy babies that there's hardly room for her at night, but she's always ready to adopt a new one.

There were bandanas for us and a shirt for Mom and socks for Dad.

 And best of all, there were two bags of American Journey treats, chicken for the girls and turkey for the boys. What a great prize box with something for everyone.

We've been having a pretty nice spring and summer with warm but not hot temperatures and lots of rain, but that all changed. Suddenly last week it got hot and dry. Today it's supposed to be 100 degrees, way too hot for a dog. The first hot day last week our air conditioner died. We have fans in the house but even with them running it got really hot and I was panting really hard. Our air man came over about 6 o'clock and it was just a little part that needed to be replaced. By bedtime we were comfortable again and Mom's mood was improving.

We've had some of the usual summertime dog stuff going on too. Some scratching and limping and all those other things that we need Mom to fix.  Dad has been busy giving us haircuts and baths.  Mom has been treating the bites and scratches and sprains. 

On Saturday Mom went into the kitchen and stayed there all day. We all stayed with her, of course. She made human cookies and dog cookies. She cooked Swiss steak and chicken with rice. She said she wanted to get all the cooking done ahead before it got too hot. We love when Dad cooks because he lets us sample and test the food. Mom isn't as generous, but when she's all done there's usually some good stuff for our dinner and this time we had rice with spinach to top our kibble.

 So we had an extra busy week last week but now things are getting back to normal and we're ready to wander around Blogville and check in on all of you. See you soon.
Your pal,  Fudge

The Noisy Holiday

Hi Everybody, 
It's that time of year again, Kaboom Day or as the peeps call it 4th of July. I've got to admit, it's our least favorite holiday. Some of us, like Norma Jean and Lola and Mackey are totally terrified of the noise. Sebastian and Noah bark back at the booms and Tess, Bailey and Sydney just tremble and stay close to Mom. I just do my best to get thru it.

 This year Mom tried to cheer us up by baking some Kaboom Day cookies. She made sugar cookies from the Heart Association cookbook. She made them look like stars, then she iced them pink, white and blue for the holiday. She says it's hard to make red icing without using up the whole bottle of coloring.

 Then she cut some of the cookies into littler stars and iced them plain white for us. And look what else she added.... SPRINKLES!!

 Now that's what I call a holiday treat, iced sugar cookies with sprinkles. Thanks, Mom.

Try to stay safe everybody and keep your ears closed. Oh yeah, today is Sebastian's gotcha day. He's a good guy and we're all happy that he found us.

Your pal, Fudge