Feeling Itchy? #Chewy Influencer

Hi Everybody,
Do You have an itchy dog in your family? We have two of them. Both Norma Jean and Sebastian are itchy. We've tried lots of stuff to help them. They both take antihistamines each morning, but they still scratch.

The doc thought they might have food allergies so we tried them on special diets but they still scratch. We went back to their regular foods.

We've tried washing them with special shampoos but they still scratch.

Finally Mom got tired of all the scratching and declared war on the itchies. She washed both dogs with medicated shampoo and rinsed them with vinegar so they smelled like salads. She changed the antihistamine that Sebastian gets and Norma Jean gets a special pill from Dr B every couple days. Mom also has some nice smelling liquid stuff that she rubs on their legs if they feel like scratching.

So far it seems to be working.

But then Chewy offered us some special treats for allergic dogs and Mom said "Yes, send them." They are called Health Extension Allergix Treats.

Do you remember my birthday pie? Those heart shaped treats on top are the Allergix treats. We all tried them and they taste very good, not like medicine at all.

Allergix are made without artificial preservatives, flavors or fillers, no rendered animal fats, glutens added sugar or BHT. So what's in them? Lots of good stuff, like chicken and turkey, pumpkin, carrots, blueberries, cranberries and spinach. There's a lot of other things too that make them taste yummy without making us feel itchy.

Norma Jean and Sebastian are both feeling better since Mom went on the warpath and we all think these little heart shaped treats are part of the reason.

 Chewy sent us a big bag of Allergix Treats at no cost to our peeps in exchange for our honest review.
Your pal, Fudge

WOW

It's been a wild and crazy month so far and we're only half way thru. It started with that 30 vehicle pile up and hasn't slowed down. But it hasn't been all awful. Let me give you a little tour.


One afternoon I noticed a truck pulling up in front of the house and hurried to meet the driver at the door before he could ring the bell. That way we could avoid all the dogs calling out a greeting at the top of their lungs. He handed me a Chewy box which confused me, as I hadn't ordered anything. At least I didn't remember ordering anything. The WOW team at Chewy had sent us a couple of new items to try out. They know our pack pretty well by now and had selected two items that they knew we could use, a probiotic and some glucosamine chews.

 We've been using maintenance  probiotics since our crypto disaster a few years ago and Noah needs them daily for his chronic colitis. We have consistantly used one that our vet told us about and it worked pretty well, but this one by DR LYON'S had different ingredients listed, so we decided to give it a try.

It comes in individual packs and each pack has enough for a couple dogs to share. In Noah's case, when his colitis is flaring up, he gets an entire pack to himself.

 Inside the pack is a granular substance that we sprinkle over his food. All the dogs love the taste and think it's a special topping. No problem getting them to eat and lick up every last granule.

My opinion? Dr Lyon's probiotic is actually working better for Noah than the one we used before and will probably become our new regular probiotic.

 Next we tried the Hip and Joint soft chews.Several of the Porties have some arthritis. Tess has deformities in her legs that can cause aches and pains and Fudge has severe joint problems from his stroke. They all get various supplements daily to help with the pain. These chews will be an enjoyable way to give them some extra pain relief.

The chews are much larger than I expected and also a bit chewier as I watched them chew for longer than usual.

As you can see the dogs decided they liked the taste and any help for their achy joints is good with me.

 Dr Lyon's seems to be a winner at our house. Thanks to our friends at Chewy for thinking of us when they needed testers.

A couple days later the doorbell rang and there was a florist's box waiting for me. Inside was a birthday card and these gorgeous roses.

 These were from our friends at Chewy, also. I was blown away by their thoughtful  gift.

Meanwhile, our front yard was under attack by the utility company who in their infinite wisdom decided that February was a good time to lay new gas lines. February, when everyone is running their furnaces, not July when the gas isn't being used as much. February when the ground is getting muddy from rain and melted snow, not July when the ground is dry from drought.

 Because our house is at the end of the line and is built on rock, we had the pleasure of their company for two weeks as they pounded and dug. At one time we had five of these tractors in our yard at once. Of course the dogs enjoyed all the extra practice they got barking and we all really loved the constant pounding for eight hours a day. The gas (read heat and hot water) was off periodically and they managed to cut both the internet-tv-phone line and the water line.

 I know little boys grow up with a fascination  for these big trucks and tractors and love messing in the dirt, but I didn't and don't. Fortunately, the crew was wonderful. They checked in with me each morning to let me know what to expect and each evening before knocking off they let me know how much progress they had made. The foreman even gave me his cell phone number if I needed to get in touch when they weren't there.

Now we live with mud until the weather allows for some grass to grow in.

A  couple days after the roses arrived, Chewy sent our review items for the month and we'll get to those in the next few days.

Then the big day came, Fudge's birthday, aka Valentine's Day. Would you believe that the WOW team once again thought of us and sent a box of cookies and candies to the humans in the house. Man, I'm starting to feel spoiled.

Then, as if that wasn't more than enough, Chewy came thru again and sent Mr Fudge a birthday gift.

I guess it's only appropriate that yesterday was Chinese New Year and 2018 is the year of the dog. Of course, at our house, every year is the year of the dog, but now it's official.

Happy New Year everyone.

Lucky 13 on the 14th

It's been a tough year for Mr Fudge, but he fought back and yesterday our furry valentine celebrated his 13th birthday. We wanted to do something special to show the boy how much we love him, so Rob suggested a pie.

I wanted to make something he and the rest of the pack would enjoy but would also be healthy.

First I made the crust from crushed dog biscuits mixed with a little butter.

Next I mashed up some bananas and mixed them with some kefir.

I let it chill for a couple hours, then decorated it with heart shaped treats from Chewy and of course, sprinkles. It isn't a party without sprinkles!

It went back into the refrigerator and today when Rob gets home we'll be serving the slices. I have the feeling they'll like it.

CRASH

We all think about it now and then... getting that call you don't want to get. Remember a few years back when cars were rolling over because of faulty tires? One Sunday afternoon during that period I answered the phone to hear a paramedic tell me that our suv had rolled over and Rob was badly injured. He gave me the information on what hospital he was being taken to and that began a day of horror. Rob had some serious injuries, but he was alive and he recovered.

This week Rob is in St Louis for business. St Louis is about a three and a half hour drive from here. He was going to leave on Sunday afternoon so he could get a good night's sleep before his early Monday meeting. Because it was super bowl Sunday and a lot of people on the road may have been drinking, I convinced him to leave early. He left about noon.

About 2 the call came, but this time it was Rob calling. There was a multi vehicle accident on the highway and he was in the middle of it. I stayed on the line as he described the semi trucks scattered all over the highway around him. He was able to maneuver around the worst of it and neither he nor the car received a scratch. Many were not so fortunate. There was one fatality, eleven injured and two were airlifted to hospitals.

Leaving early didn't work out so well yesterday. It took him twelve hours to get to his hotel. We talked every hour or so as the police and fire department worked to clear the mess. I found some photos online to show the area. He described this truck to me. Somehow it landed on top of a semi.

I hope none of you ever receive one of those calls. I've had more than my share. I spoke with Rob this morning and he's tired, but safe.

It Worked

A couple weeks ago we asked for your help with some extra POTP for Fudge. He had an angry looking growth on his face just below his eye and the doc said it needed to go. He wasn't sure what it was and so we sent it to the University for analysis.

This morning we went for Fudge's recheck and to get the pathology report.

The surgical area looked good and Dr B removed the scab so he could get a good look at the surrounding tissue. There were no sutures to remove. He said it all looked healthy.

Then we took a look at the pathology report and there were smiles all around. It was a sebaceous adenoma - BENIGN!!

We're all really happy around here and we're thanking all of you. That POTP is powerful stuff.