Noah's Eyes

You almost never see Noah's eyes in photos.

But the boy does have eyes and normally they are nice soft brown eyes that sparkle.

Noah has had problems with his eyes ever since our disastrous experience with crypto. The infection left him with colitis and at one time he was prescribed an antibiotic that caused a reaction. His reaction was to develop chronic dry eyes. We use Optimmune, the doggie version of Restasis, daily to relieve the dryness.

A while ago I noticed a small cyst on his left upper eyelid. At first it didn't seem to be a problem, but suddenly it started growing and Noah apparently felt like he had something in his eye, so he started rubbing it. The cyst became ulcerated and really started rubbing his eye and besides being ugly, it caused lots of mucus to start forming in the eye. It all became really ugly, red and goopy. I didn't even know if he still had vision in the eye.

So Friday morning we visited Dr B to get his opinion. I was a nervous wreck, sure that he would tell me that Noah was going blind, but all he said was " That needs to come off." Fortunately, the cyst has a small stem so he'll only need to remove a small wedge from the eyelid. We scheduled the surgery for Tuesday morning and it should only take about twenty to thirty minutes.

We went over post op care and he assured me that Noah's vision should be fine once the growth is removed. Noah will be wearing a hat for at least a week and he'll get an antibiotic ointment as well as his Optimmune and pain pills. He'll also need drops several times a day. Don't worry, Noah loves attention and is super good about sitting for his eye medicine. Soon my boy should have pretty eyes again.

Noah could sure use some POTP on Tuesday. At 12 years of age, any surgery can be risky, but we think he'll do great.

Tylee's #Chewy Influencer

Have you tried Tylee's? I really like this stuff. We first tried it when Sebastian was dealing with acute IBS. We tested him for pancreatitis but it was negative so we decided to treat him as for IBS.

At first he couldn't keep any food down. After fasting for 48 hours we started him on rice mixed with mashed sweet potato. We served it one tablespoon every two to three hours. We did this for two weeks.

When he was able to go two days without vomiting, we gradually increased the amount. After a few days we added a couple small bite sized pieces of baked pork chop.

For three months he ate rice, sweet potato and pork chop in several small meals a day. Then it was time to try and transition him to a more normal diet but I didn't want to go too fast and have to start over.

It was at that time that Chewy offered us a new food called Tylee's. It came in a pork variety so it seemed like a good option for Sebastian.

Tylee's is human grade frozen dog food and needs to be kept frozen. It arrives in a styrofoam box packed in dry ice. On arrival it must be kept in the freezer. Chewy includes a convenient plastic measuring cup. For serving, just scoop out the amount you need and let it defrost in the refrigerator. If you forget to take it out in time, you can microwave it for quick serving.

When I used it for Sebastian, I would defrost what I needed for the next day and leave it in the fridge overnight. Then I started mixing it with his rice and sweet potato mixture. It contained pork, beef liver, broccoli, kale, carrots, butternut squash, pineapple, chia seeds, sunflower oil, flaxseed, cod liver oil, parsley and cinnamon.

My first impression was how good it smelled. Next how good it looked, like real food that I would eat. Next how much Sebastian liked it and finally, how well he did on it. He kept it down, and thrived. Eventually I was able to start mixing in a few pieces of kibble and finally he was back to eating normally, kibble with a topper just as the others were.

I like to keep a bag of Tylee's in the freezer and rotate it into my toppers. This month Chewy offered Tylee's as a review choice and I was pleased to see a fish variety, Tylee's Human Grade Salmon Recipe Frozen Dog Food. I like giving my dogs fish frequently so this was a perfect choice.

This recipe includes deboned salmon, peas, pineapple, spinach, sweet potatoes, chia seeds and flaxseed. This variety doesn't smell as good as the pork, but the dogs seem to think it's great.  I scooped out enough for two days worth of toppings and kept it refrigerated until we used it.

We all agree that we like Tylee's, but for different reasons. I like the quality and convenience, the dogs because it tastes so good and Sebastian because it helped him get well.

Chewy sent us this bag of Tylee's Salmon Recipe at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review. Try this for your dogs. I think you'll be pleased. It's also available in beef, chicken and turkey recipes.

It's Finally Here

It's Fall and around here the temperatures are actually pleasant. It's been a hot dry summer, so we're all ready for the change of seasons. Here's something I made to share with you.

Now it seems like the perfect time to bake an apple pie.

For our friends down under, we hope you're enjoying a wonderful Springtime.

Sad News

Our neighbor went to the bridge this morning. Jack was an Australian Cattle Dog who was about eight years old.

Jack and our dogs didn't get along due to territorial issues. He loved his family and will be missed by them and we will miss seeing him in the yard. He was a good dog.

Syd Shared With Us #Chewy Influencer

Hi everybody,
First, you must all remember that Sydney is nuts. I'm not being mean, Syd is actually a little crazy. As long as she takes her Prozac every day, she does Ok.

Syd can't live with the rest of us because she snaps sometimes and attacks us for no reason. Also, Mom and Dad have never been able to housetrain her.  Instead of telling them when she needs to go out, she finds a hiding place and pees on the carpet.

So Syd lives in the garage. Dad built her a little apartment of her own. It takes up about a third of the garage and has wire all around  and a gate so that none of us can get in and bother her. She has lots of big fluffy blankets, a water bowl and her favorite toys. She loves her apartment and sometimes has to be coaxed out to go outside.

Syd also has decided that she doesn't like kibble. She wants only the toppers but Mom said no to that. Instead she mixes the topper and kibble together really well. Usually Syd will eat that but sometimes she licks the toppers off the kibble and leaves the kibble in her bowl. Mom doesn't fall for that trick. She just sticks the kibble in the fridge and gives it to her again at the next meal.  Mom is pretty stingy with Syd's toppers and makes one can last about three or four days.

This month our Chewy friends offered us a case of  Purina Pro Plan Savor Variety Pack. It's the very same food Mom has been getting for Syd, but we'd never tried it. When it arrived Mom said we could all have it for dinner.  There are two different flavors, one is turkey and sweet potato and the other one is chicken and carrots, so we told Mom we should all get to try both kinds.

 

 

The first one we tried was turkey and sweet potato and it was like having an early Thanksgiving dinner. Mom liked it because it mixes easily and we liked it because it was delicious.

Mom raised both Zelda and Libby on Purina dog foods and they lived to be 17 and 15 with no major health problems, so she's happy for us to get to taste these new flavors.

We're going to try the chicken and carrot flavor later this week and we think it'll taste really good too. We all thanked Sydney for sharing this food with us. Actually, Mom made her share it because Syd doesn't believe in sharing.

Chewy sent us all this yummy Purina Pro Plan Savor in exchange for our honest opinion. It's my opinion that Syd has a pretty good thing going on.
Your pal, Fudge

Sending POTP

We all have our paws crossed for the peeps and pets in the Carolinas as they deal with Hurricane Florence.

Our Mom used to live in Myrtle Beach and it makes her sad to see her beach getting beaten up.

POTP is pretty powerful stuff and we hope it helps.

Fall Preview

Gordon dropped by this weekend. Yes, the remnants of hurricane Gordon swept thru bringing lots and lots of rain. He also brought cooler temperatures, almost chilly temperatures. It was nice to wear a jacket outside and a sweatshirt inside. Today is sunny but still cooler, it feels like Fall.

It even looks like Fall. The berries on the pyracantha are bright orange.

The crabapples are hanging on the trees.

The last Rose of Sharon flower of the season has opened.

Due to the severe drought we've experienced this summer, the trees are stressed. The oaks are putting out record numbers of acorns.

Gordon's rain brought out a mass of mushrooms. I like these red ones tucked behind the rocks.

There are a lot of these strange little ones.

We spent most of the weekend inside because we got drenched every time we stepped outside. But we had something to cheer us. This gorgeous bouquet arrived from our Chewy family in remembrance of Bailey. The bright yellow daisies, lilies, snapdragons and roses smell wonderful and all the dogs go over to admire it frequently.

Summer will return in a few days but we know Fall is on the way and we're looking forward to it.