Out Of April #Chewy Influencer

It seems like there should be at least a couple more weeks left in April, but my calendar says that today is the last day. Is that possible? I know I didn't sleep thru it, but it's almost over. So that means we owe you a Chewy review. This is a good one.

I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that my dogs are all getting old. Fudge is 13 and his pups are 11. That means that there are lots of achy joints at the end of the day. They all take supplements to help with the aches and pains but age won't be stopped and I look forward to anything that will give them extra relief. Here's some help.

NaturVet Hip and Joint Plus Soft Chews was an option from Chewy this month and I grabbed it. These little chews are a nice size for any dog or cat, and they're soft enough for easy chewing.

My dogs all take pills nicely but if you struggle to get pills down your dog, try these. My gang thinks these are special treats. They don't know that they're getting extra glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM.

Here's evidence that these chews are tasty and seconds would be welcome.

Sebastian says these are delicious. Would this face lie?

Chewy sent us a bag of NaturVet Hip and Joint Plus Soft Chews at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review.

Peaks and Valleys #Chewy Influencer

We've been partners with Chewy for a long time, trying new products and doing reviews. My dogs have really enjoyed trying a variety of foods and treats and I've discovered some products that have impressed me so much that I've added them to our  feeding rotation. Some products were totally new to me and others were old standbys that we had relied on for years.

Each month when I write our reviews I enjoy sharing our experiences with our choices and most of the time I can highly recommend them. Occasionally we get a clunker but it usually has some redeeming quality to mention. This time, however, I can't give a good review.

For a month we've been trying Rachael Ray's Nutrish Peak Wetland Recipe. The only good thing I can say about this food is that the dogs will eat it, though not enthusiastically.
My dogs usually make a switch in foods pretty easily but I was never able to get them onto just Peak.

There are several issues with this food. First, the food smells awful straight from the bag.

Second, the food gives the dogs very stinky gas.

Third, the stools are large, soft and extremely strong smelling.

At one point, after the second week, we considered donating the remaining food to a shelter, but I was determined to complete the month as I had agreed.

I'm sorry, but I can't recommend this food. If you feed it to your dogs and have different results, I'd be really interested in hearing your experience.

Chewy sent us a supply of Peak to try for a month. It was at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review. 

The New Kid Doesn't Eat # Chewy Influencer

Hi Everybody,
Well what season is it today where you live? We keep going from winter to spring with a summer day thrown in now and then to confuse us. One day last week Dad filled our wading pool because it was 87degrees. Then it got cold again and snowed. We're confused, the peeps are confused and the flowers are confused too. Mom says thank goodness for weeds. They're the only things that just seem to go ahead and bloom no matter what the weather is doing.

No matter what the weather is up to outside, a dog still has to eat. We remind Mom well before meal time so that she has a chance to think about and prepare our yummy meals. We like some variety, so she needs to plan ahead. This month we're trying something new to us. It has a funny name, Eukanuba Adult Lamb & Rice Formula Canned Dog Food.

Not only have we never had Eukanuba before, we don't get lamb food either because Mom has a problem with feeding us lamb. This time she chose lamb because the other choices were chicken or beef. Some of us can't eat beef and she doesn't trust chicken in food she's not familiar with.

This time she got fooled. Even though the label says lamb on the front, the first four ingredients are either chicken or pork. She's angry that she didn't study more before ordering. She also thinks this is rather deceptive labeling and she says we won't be ordering Eukanuba foods again.

But, it's here, so we tried it and we all agree that it tastes good even if it is mostly chicken and pork.

Mom reminds everybody to read labels and don't get sloppy like her and wind up with something you don't want or even something dangerous. So far there have been no bad results from eating this chicken and pork food.

Now here's the new guy. Mom made him a couple weeks ago. She likes that he's quiet and doesn't eat, but she say his eyes are too high. She had them positioned just right but she thought she'd get clever and give him a head tilt. After she attached his head she noticed that his eyes looked higher, but she was too annoyed to take him apart and make the changes. She gets like that sometimes. We like him anyway even if we aren't allowed to play with him.

 Chewy sent us a case of Eukanuba Lamb and rice Food at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review.
Your pal, Fudge

Post Surgery

Hi everybody,
Dad held a huge multi-day surgery this week for our stuffies. Each evening, while watching tv, he threaded his needle and worked on some of our friends. 

Many of the patients were Bailey's babies that just had some wear and tear, but some were victims of Mackey's "rip and shred" method of play.

The patients started to accumulate in the recovery room better known as the high table. This kept them out of reach of Mackey and her jaws of doom.

 A few patients came out of surgery with an entirely new look, sort of extreme plastic surgery. This one, for example, doesn't resemble any known creature anymore, but because half of it is a tennis ball, it's acceptable.

Mom really likes this one. She isn't sure but she thinks it's a headless teddy bear. She laughs whenever she sees it. Bailey will happily adopt it as one of her much loved babies.

Now all the stuffies are stitched up and some have new stuffing. Oh oh, Mackey just grabbed one and ripped it's leg off ! Here we go again.
Your pal, Fudge

Peak Week 2 #Chewy Influencer

Last week we started a month long taste test of Rachel Ray Peak Grain Free Natural Wetlands Recipe with Chicken, Duck & Pheasant Dry Dog Food.

Chicken is the first ingredient but duck and pheasant are numbers 12 and 13. The ingredients also contain peas, potatoes, flaxseed, cranberries and menhaden fish meal. One statement that concerns me is "safely cooked in the USA with the world's best ingredients."  Cooked in the USA doesn't mean that the ingredients came from the USA. I like to know the sourcing of the ingredients in my dogs' food.

Another thing I noticed is the calorie count. Our regular dog food has 417 calories per cup. This food has 337 calories per cup. That's fine for Fudge, Sebastian and Mackey who all gain weight easily, but Noah and the girls have trouble maintaining their weight and need more calories, not less.  I compensate with more kibble and yummy toppings.

When I first opened the bag I noticed two things immediately. The kibble is a very dark color and has a very strong smell. Everyone except Noah was going to try it, so I started adding a small amount and increasing it a little each day. They all liked it alot.

Almost immediately we noticed that their stool was much darker in color than usual and a bit softer. We also noticed that they had a lot of really stinky gas, especially overnight. It doesn't seem to bother them but the humans don't much enjoy it.

As of now they're eating about half regular kibble and half Peak. We'll continue on and let you know if the air clears.

Chewy sent us a supply of Rachel Ray Peak for this trial at no cost to us in exchange for our observations and opinions.

What's Going On?

Hi Everybody,
Did you all have a nice Easter yesterday? Did the bunny come visit you? Our Easter was not what we were looking forward to. Every year we have a big exciting biscuit hunt, but not this year. Not yet anyway. If you were planning to wear a new bonnet, this was not the place to do it.

When we got up yesterday morning the sky was gray and angry looking. Then while we were eating breakfast it started to rain.

When we went inside to dry off we heard thunder boomers.

We looked out the window and saw all these little icy balls hitting the porch and the yard.

Pretty soon it started raining really hard. Then we had sleet which is icy rain. Then it turned into snow. We had a little of everything except sunshine. And did I mention that it got cold? Really cold so that all the trees, even the ones with new little leaves, were covered with ice.

It sure wasn't a good day for a biscuit hunt. Mom said we could do our hunt today but it's been drizzly all day so as soon as the sun comes back from vacation, we'll have a biscuit hunt, even in the mud.

Your rather cross pal, Fudge