One Easy Step #Chewy Influencer

Could your dog benefit from some health supplements, but the struggle to force pills down his throat is stopping you?

As our pets age and development arthritis, there are several things such as omega 3 fatty acids, glucosamine chondroitin and turmeric that have proven to help with the pain and actually help the joints work more smoothly.

Many dogs have perfected the act of refusing to swallow a pill. They can detect them hidden in the tastiest treats and spit them out and even hide them under and behind furniture.

I make it a priority to train my puppies to take pills. That way when they become old or sick, I don't have to struggle with them or worry about them hiding their meds. I've been teased that my dogs are hypochondriacs because they line up daily for their pills and we make it a happy experience.

This month Chewy offered us the opportunity to try Senior Ultimate Daily Vitamins made by Only Natural Pet. These could be the answer for picky dogs that refuse to take supplements. They're chewable, turkey and anchovy flavored, and my dogs all love them.

I was really impressed with what is in these vitamin tablets. There are a lot of good supplements combined into one tasty chew. Here's the list.
Green lipped mussel - omega 3 fatty acids for joint health

Glucosamine -anti-inflammatory lubricates joints

MSM -anti-oxidant and joint healer
            
Chondroitin -eases arthritis pain especially in hip and knee joints

L-Lysine HCI -boosts the immune system

Omega 3 fatty acids - heart health, joint health, coat and skin health and more

Choline  - brain health, therapy for seizures and helps prevent dementia

Vitamin C  -antioxidant helps prevent stress

Potassium -efficient functioning of muscles and nerves

Calcium - healthy bones, nails, teeth and coat, muscles & digestion

Chiorella -slows down aging

Phosphorus -bone health

DL-Methionine -prevents crystals and stones in urinary tract

Hesperidin complex -promotes normal circulation

Pantothenic acid -reduces stress, promotes energy

Sodium, chondroitin - healthy joints

L-Threonine  -healthy nervous system

Thiamin  - (B1) brain function

Citrus bioflavonoid - antioxidant

Niacin - (B3) skin and coat health

N-Acetyl-L Cysteine -antioxidant

Riboflavin -(B2) muscle strength, normal bones and hair

Vitamin B6 - metabolism of amino acids, prevent bladder stones

Para Aminobenzoic Acid -healthy skin and coat

Coenzyme Q10 - heart health

Silicon  dioxide - found in blood and urine

Inositol  -(B8)oxidizes fats, aids nerves

Biotin -(B7) fights allergic reactions for healthy skin

Chromium -helps prevent diabetes

Vitamin B12 - healthy nervous system

Folic Acid -(B9) healthy cell growth

Vitamin A -eye and skin health

Vitamin D3 -regulates calcium usage

Vitamin E - coat and skin health

Saccharomyces Boulardii -probiotic

Lactobacillus Acidophilus -probiotic

Fungal Amylase -aids digestion

Lipase -aids digestion

Cellulase -aids digestion

Bromelain -anti-imflammatory


 If your dog has a medical condition, you'll want to check with your vet before starting  any new supplement, but if you're looking for a vitamin tablet for your senior dog, you might want to give these a try. Chewy has a large selection of Only Natural Pet items to choose from, so go take a look.

Chewy sent us this bottle of Senior Ultimate Daily Vitamins at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review. I'm impressed with the product and my dogs think they're tasty treats. Don't tell them that they're actually good for them.

A Rocky Start

I am not a morning person. Still, some mornings are better than others. This morning was not one of the better ones.

I got up at 5 to let everyone out to pee, then back to bed. Fudge doesn't like to get up early for these quick outings. He likes to sleep till breakfast.

At 8 when Fudge woke up I jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes to get him outside as fast as possible. I try to always shut the gate on the porch when I go out but today Fudge was in a real hurry to get to the grass and I left the gate open.

Of course today Rob let Mackey onto the porch without a leash and she noticed the open gate immediately. She took off in search of the neighbor's cat.

Mackey's registered name is Legacy's Breaking All The Rules. The name fits her perfectly because she doesn't listen to any commands, ever. We both called her but she ignored us. Rob finally caught her trying to climb a tree to find the cat.

So we proceeded to the back yard where the others were waiting for their breakfast. I fixed their bowls and opened the door. They all came running, but my headcount was short. Bailey was missing.

I went into the yard to look for Bailey. She was vomiting. Then she started toward me but she fell. She just lay there on the ground and I thought this was it. I went to her repeating her name over and over. She got up and walked slowly into the garage. She refused her food so I put her in her crate to rest.

After the other dogs ate, they ran outside again. It's very hot today so none of them wanted to stay out. Once everyone was inside and the garage was quiet, I brought Bailey back out and talked to her for awhile. Then I offered her some breakfast. She ate it all, then took her pills. She happily went into her pen for a nap.

I checked on her an hour later and she was ready for a short outing. She took Red Monkey with her but didn't bring him back in. I took a quick glance around but didn't see him.

Mid morning Bailey was ready for her snack, then carried Moose outside with her. I searched and found Moose but Red Monkey was still missing. Rob finally found him at the foot of the hill. So Bailey has her little family gathered around her in her pen and she seems to be feeling good.

After the mid morning outing I noticed that Tess was limping. Her front legs both are deformed so she looks awkward when she walks but lately one leg seems to be bothering her. I gave her a Rimadyl and will keep her on leash the rest of the day. Tess loves to run and I think she sometimes over stresses her legs. A couple days of rest should help.

So let's hope that the rest of the day is calm and routine. I like routine.

Late edit: When I finished this post it was doggie dinner time. So before publishing, we went to the garage for dinner. I feed four at a time to cut down on the chaos. Sydney eats by herself when everyone else is finished.

The first four to eat are Fudge, Lola, Bailey and Mackey. I put their bowls down and they began to eat. Mac eats as fast as she possibly can so she can hurry around looking for crumbs the others may have dropped. In her haste, she started choking on a piece of kibble. I waited a few seconds to see if she'd cough it up by herself but she needed help. I did my version of the Heimlich maneuver lifting her back end up and giving her a fast squeeze below the ribs. It worked and the piece of kibble flew across the floor. Mackey raced to get it and swallow it before anyone else got it.

The day is winding down and hopefully the evening will be filled with contented dogs snoring till our bedtime  activities. Just another day with dogs.

Secret Late Night Snacking #Chewy Influencer

Each evening around 10, the dogs and I head for the garage. Everyone lines up in front of the refrigerator and I spoon feed them strawberry yogurt. We always go in the same order and they each get three spoonfuls.

Then we go outside for the last outing before bed. Bailey joins the pack heading for the door but as we go she walks slower and slower until she's the last one to reach the door.

When everyone else is outside, she turns around and goes back into the garage. When I close the door she starts bouncing and wagging and gives me a nose to fist bump. She's excited because it's time for her secret special late night snack.

When I reach for the can she sometimes let's out a happy yip. Why the excitement? Fish! To be exact it's Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Sweet Potato and Fish Formula Grain Free canned dog food. But to Bailey it's her late night fishy snack. It's made with fish broth, sweet potatoes, salmon, ocean whitefish and a bunch of vitamins and minerals that are helping her stay happy and relaxed.

I spoon feed her half a can each night and she seems to really enjoy our little secret, though it looks like Lola may have an idea that her sister is getting something that she's not.

We're making sure that Bailey is getting lots of fish and lots of veggies and she is doing really well for a dog with  cancer. We're going to continue our late night snacking for as long as we possibly can.

Chewy sent us a case of Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato and Fish dog food at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review. Bailey approves and thanks Chewy.

Wait For Us Molly

Almost every Friday our friend Molly takes her Mom for a walk thru the neighborhood and checks out the pretty flowers along the way. Today we decided to join her and point out the flowers and pretty plants in our yard.

Let's start at the top of the driveway and work our way down the hill.  Around here the birds plant a lot of the flowers, so we never know what to expect. Here's a sunflower trying to grow surrounded by pavement. The birds must have dropped a seed from the feeder.

Dad originally planted three of these Weigela bushes but only one remains. That's because Sky and Norma Jean used them as both a back scratcher and toothpicks. This one was lucky to be planted outside the fence where they couldn't get to it.

The Pyracantha bushes flowered recently and soon will have bright red berries where the flowers are now.

This wild rose vine was also planted by the birds. It has killer thorns that grab our hair when we walk by it.

The Clematis is actually inside the fence but has grown out between the slats.

Dad's rose bush is doing well this year.

Along the path the birds have planted Morning Glories.

 

 

 Here are some unidentified wildflowers with the morning glories.

 

In Mom's quiet rock garden the Hostas are getting big. They'll soon be flowering.

Inside the house we still have a few flowers hanging on.  Here is one of the beautiful roses from Bailey's bouquet.

 

Say goodbye to the last Christmas Cactus flowers for the summer. They'll be back in October.

 We can't forget the Moringa forest. One day last winter Mom read an article about Moringa, a tree native to India. It's leaves are supposed to have all sorts of nutritional and medicinal powers. She bought some and tried it and in just a few days her fingers weren't sore anymore. Then Dad tried it and his sore shoulder stopped hurting. So she gave some to me and within a couple weeks I could walk better and climb on the sofa by myself without help. Then she started giving it to all of us and we all feel pretty good. Bailey takes it every day, too.

Mom bought some seeds and Dad planted them. He waited and waited and nothing happened, then one day last week some tiny little plants popped up. They're growing really fast now and Dad put a cage around them so that we couldn't eat them. Mom says they probably won't survive the winters around here, so Dad is trying to figure out how to build them a little glass house to keep them warm on cold days. Here's our little Moringa forest.

 So, thanks Molly for walking thru our yard with us and looking at our flowers.
Your pal, Fudge.

A Party For Life

Hi everybody,
You all know that my daughter Bailey is very sick. She's feeling pretty good and we're all happy about that. Mom says we need to spend lots of time with Bailey and be gentle with her.

Over the weekend Mom put her apron on. We all get excited when that happens because it means Mom is going to cook and we're going to eat. Sometimes we sample and sometimes we wait till she's done, but we always get something good to eat.

She was busy mixing and cooking and then we had to wait while stuff cooled in the refrigerator, but finally it was ready.

Mom made a crunchy apple pie for her and Dad. I like it too and get to lick the plates.

For us she made a banana strawberry cream pie. YUM!! It had a cookie crumb crust and the filling was smashed bananas mixed with strawberry yogurt. When it was cool and set, she decorated it with biscuits and SPRINKLES. Dad cut it into nine pieces and it was so good.

Mom said Bailey may not be here with us much longer so we need to celebrate her life every day.

Your pal, Fudge

It's All About Bailey #Chewy Influencer

Bailey has hemangiosarcoma,  a very aggressive cancer that is always fatal. It's a cancer of the blood vessels lining a tumor on an internal organ. The most common organs involved are the heart or spleen. My girl has a huge tumor on her spleen. At some point the tumor will rupture and she'll bleed out in minutes. She was given two weeks to live and we're now in the sixth week since the diagnosis. Bailey has always been stubborn and she's not going down without a fight.

I've been spending a lot of time with her and we've developed a special routine to deal with her condition.  The tumor has squeezed her other organs, so she needs to eat small meals. Her appetite is good, so I feed her four small meals a day. In the morning she eats breakfast with the other dogs. She gets half a cup of our usual kibble mixed with a homemade recipe that Dr B came up with. It's the same recipe that Noah has been eating for about five years, a combination of ground turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and rice or barley.

Mid day Bailey and I go off by ourselves for her next meal. This time she gets half a cup of a food that Chewy introduced us to, Holistic Select Adult & Puppy Health - Salmon, Anchovy & Sardine Meal Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food. This food contains salmon, anchovy and sardine meal, potatoes, peas, menhaden fish meal, pumpkin, cranberries, apples, blueberries, pomegranates, papayas and kelp. It has digestive enzymes, natural fiber, antioxidants and probiotics. And FISH!!! She absolutely loves the food and I appreciate the zip lock bag to keep the fishy smell inside.

I was unaware of Holistic dog food before this and I really like that I can give my sick girl healthy food that contains lots of  fish with no chicken or filler grains.

At dinner time she again joins her pack  to eat. This time she gets her kibble, a small amount of the homemade food and a topper.  I vary the toppers. Sometimes I make rice and spinach, sometimes pasta with mixed veggies and at least once a week she gets sardines. I want her to have a lot of fish. Not only does she love it but it's good for her, too.

Before bed she gets yogurt with the others, then I hand feed her some canned food with a fish base.

Although she moves slowly and can't climb stairs, Bailey is fairly active. She carries her stuffed moose outside with her and wanders around the yard. Then she sits at the top of the hill and barks at people on the trail behind our property.

Shortly after her diagnosis she started losing her hair. Her chest, back legs and face were bare. The vet said that her body is too busy fighting the cancer to grow hair. But yesterday Rob and I both noticed that the hair on her face has grown back in and she has some fuzz on her legs. I'm not sure what that means but we're just taking life a day at a time and enjoying our time together.

Bailey seems quite happy and relaxed. We have a special signal when she's ready to eat. We do a nose to fist bump and she trots over to the refrigerator to wait. I love that little girl.

 Chewy sent us a bag of Holistic Salmon, Anchovy and Sardine dog food at no charge to us in exchange for our honest review.  Both Bailey and I love this food. She loves the taste and I love how well my sweet girl is doing while eating it. Chewy also surprised Bailey and me. When they learned of her illness, they sent this gorgeous bouquet with a lovely message to cheer us.

It did the trick.