Party Weekend

Happy Birthday Dear Tessie,

Happy birthday to you!

This weekend we're celebrating. Today is Tessie's birthday. She is eight years old today. She was born before midnight and other eight were born after so we'll be singing to them tomorrow.

Now I'm off to make cupcakes and Frosty Paws for tomorrow's party. Yes, Tess will get a special treat tonight with dinner.

Change In Plans

Morgan was scheduled for surgery this morning to remove the growth from the side of her face. However it didn't happen.

Morgan has been a picky eater for several months, but over the weekend she stopped eating entirely. She refused everything I tried to feed her.  She would stand next to me as I prepared her food and seemed interested, but as soon as I put the bowl down, she sniffed the food and walked away. I attempted to hand feed her, but she walked away. She refused chicken and even toast with peanut butter.

Yesterday I called Dr B to discuss the situation. We agreed that the antibiotic she was taking was probably making her nauseous. She finished the antibiotic Sunday evening, so he suggested I try to feed her starchy foods for 48 hours till she was feeling better.

Last night I boiled some ground beef and cooked up some elbow macaroni. The combination was a hit. She ate a small portion for dinner, then another before bed. This morning she finished it. I gave her some probiotics last night and this morning with the meals.

Tonight I made her a baked potato and some boiled chicken. She devoured it, so I think we're on the right track. Tomorrow I'll add in a little dog food to the mixture and see if I can get her back to eating her own food again.

After checking in this afternoon, we reset her surgery for next week on Halloween. It seems like a cruel trick, but I'm hoping she'll be back to normal by then and we can get rid of the ugly growth.

What's For Dinner?

I'll bet you thought I was exaggerating yesterday when I said I was playing doggy dietitian. Well, maybe not diatitian but definitely doggy cook.  After my second cup of coffee this morning I got started on my new duties. First a big pot of turkey, sweet potato, veggie food for Noah and Fudge. This will last four days.

Next a crock pot full of beef veggie soup for the girls and Sebastian.  This will also last three or four days depending on how generous I am. This get ladled out over their kibble at dinner only. Breakfast is plain kibble.

Next some rice and mashed sweet potato to try and tempt Morgan. I mixed it with her kibble and thought the sweetness would attract her. I was wrong, so the others got to share it on their dinner.

Finally I baked up some chicken breasts with skin on. We'll do various things with the meat but I'm saving the fatty broth to pour over Morgan's kibble. She needs to gain some weight and this should help if she'll cooperate and eat it. I tried a little tonight and she liked it a lot. Let's hope she continues to like it.

It does take a lot of time to make food for all these different diets, but my reward is seeing how happy they are as they lick their bowls clean.

Guess I'll be in the kitchen a lot this winter.

Do Over

So much for my good intentions of posting more regularly. Last week I kept trying to find some extra time to sit down and post, but life got in the way, yet again. Let me catch you up.

I noticed mid week that Sebastian wasn't feeling well. He's not a high energy dog at the best of times, but this was different. He didn't want to stand up to go outside at all, wasn't interested in eating and was drinking way too much water. He also vomited a couple times.


So on Friday we set off to see Dr B. The exam didn't show much. His temp was normal and he wasn't exhibiting pain. They took some blood and sent him home with some antibiotics. I was told to bring in a morning urine sample this morning.

By Sunday Sebastian was feeling much better. He was eating enthusiastically again, joining the others in run arounds and his drinking problem had decreased. I was at the clinic this morning and learned that his blood was good but his urine wasn't concentrated enough. We'll retest him in three to four weeks and go from there. He could be showing early signs of Cushings. We've dealt  with Cushings before. Lucy, Samba and Morgan all have had Cushings, so we're not overly concerned if Sebastian joins the group.

Meanwhile, all last week Fudge kept sniffing Morgan's mouth. She had a growth inside her lip a few months ago and I thought it might be coming back. I kept checking, but didn't see anything. Saturday afternoon I noticed that the fur on her muzzle was all bunched up. I didn't think too much about it as she loves to roll around. Yesterday it was still messed up so I decided to straighten it out and trim her muzzle. When I touched the spot that was messed up, it didn't feel right. On close inspection I found a large, angry looking, bright red growth. It was bleeding a little.

First thing this morning I called the Dr B and he said to bring her right in. He said the growth could be most anything from scar tissue to a mast cell tumor. It's ulcerated and bleeds when touched. He shaved around it and we talked over a plan of action. We brought her home with antibiotics and I'm to apply warm compresses several times a day. If by the weekend it shrinks and starts to heal, great. If not, she's scheduled for surgery on Tuesday morning. He's convinced he can remove it using a local because of her advanced age.

Dr B also thinks Morgan needs to gain a couple pounds. She's being a very picky eater lately and I have to get really creative with her. He suggested a couple of high fat options and we went to the store this afternoon to pick up goodies to tempt her appetite.

So please forgive me for not posting much. I seem to have my hands full being a doggy dietician lately.

Who's At The Door?

Ding dong, bark bark bark. That's what happened this morning. Mom rushed to the door with all of us dancing around and this is what she found.

Our October Chewy box had arrived. What could be in it?

This month we tried a treat I hadn't seen before, Grandma Lucy's Organic Oven Baked Dog Treats. I chose blueberry flavor.

As usual I did some research and I really liked what I saw. This is from Grandma Lucy's website.

Grandma Lucy's organic dog treats are not made in a factory, but baked in a bakery by people who love their pets. Since 1999, Grandma Lucy's has taken great pride in making wholesome, natural and delicious pet treats. Your dog will love the great taste of our Organic Oven-Baked Dog Treats, but what you will love most is the fact that they are made with organic, human-quality ingredients. The treats are so tasty, your dog will beg for more. Grandma Lucy's Organic Oven -Baked Dog Treats - an organic treat you will feel good about giving your pet.

100% USDA Organic  -  All Natural  -  No Preservatives
No Artificial Colors, Flavors or Sweeteners
Made with 100 Human Grade Ingredients
Certified Kosher


They come in some wonderful flavors: pumpkin, blueberry, peach, cranberry, apple and banana sweet potato and they're made in Canada.

When I opened the bag, the smell was delicious and the treats themselves are cute little teddy bears, just the right size.

What did the dogs think about them? Everyone got to taste one immediately and here's Morgan enjoying hers.

We gave them a rave review and Grandma Lucy's is about to become a regular in our house.

Thanks Chewy.

A New Adventure

This is big old post number 1201. I never thought I'd have so much to say. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with us and become our blog family.

I haven't been around much over the last couple weeks. There was a death in my family and though I checked in on you, I wasn't up to leaving comments. I'm hoping to make up for lost time over the next few weeks.

Now for my new adventure. You might call it an experiment at this stage but if it goes well, I'll be a happy camper and show off the results. I've seen some of the wonderful new collars your pups have sported changing with the seasons and holidays. You might say I have a bad case of collar envy. I've always wanted to get my pups holiday collars, but with ten dogs, the cost mounts up quickly. They usually stick with their old standby collars till the outgrow or damage them.

Today I made the decision to try making collars. How hard can it be?  I've found sources for the hardware. Look at all those pretty colors.

I've found webbing and ribbons.

I already have a sewing machine.

As soon as I can get a few items together, we'll give it a shot. Then maybe next year my pups can have spooky Halloween collars and pretty Christmas collars and Springtime collars, etc, etc, etc.

If any of you have experience making collars, I'm open to any advice.

Celebrate Whatever

It seems that every day is National or International Something Day. Next year I think I'll design a calendar with all the silly celebration days I can find. Some of them are just too good not to celebrate so in true"'just give us an excuse to party" fashion, we're celebrating a double today.

First up, it's National Black Dog Day.

OK, we've got that one covered. We have two black dogs,

two mostly black with some white dogs,

a black and silver dog,

two black and white dogs,

and a black, tan and white dog.

 Around here we love black dogs and always have a few on hand.

Next it's National Homemade Cookies Day. This is not to be confused with National Cookie Day which is December 4. Mark your calendars.

We're working on this one. I'm in the process of baking chocolate chunk cookies,

and frosted chocolate cookies. These are from a recipe my Grandmother used. They were my Grandfather's favorites and they're mine, too.

Finally, this is post number 1200 for our blog. Break out those cupcakes and let's get this party rolling.