A Cool Dude

Sebastian is a very easy dog. He makes few demands. He's never had an accident in the house, will eat whatever I give him and follows the others to the yard or to bed. His one vice is rolling in the dirt.

Sebastian has a sensitive tummy and we have to be careful what he eats. We thought at first it was pancreatitis, but the test was negative. We've been treating it as irritable bowel and for several months he ate a special diet of rice and pork and sweet potato. Last July we weaned him back on to kibble and he eats that mixed with my special home cooked food. He's been doing well.

Occasionally he'll refuse his breakfast and spend the morning in a dark corner of the dining room away from the rest of the pack. I just thought perhaps his tummy was upset. Then last week I realized what was actually going on.

One morning last week Sebastian refused breakfast. He also refused his morning yogurt and his cookie. He spent the morning in his dark corner with his head against the wall. At one point I called him and when he came to me, he was holding his head very low. I looked at him closely and he was squinting. I told him he was a good boy, but got no tail wag in response. I gave him something for nausea and he went back to the dark corner.

Suddenly it occurred to me that he had a headache, and not just a normal headache. Sebastian had a migraine.

I've had migraines since I was ten years old and know exactly how he was feeling. He felt nauseous and light and sound made his headache worse. Getting in a dark corner and pushing his head against the wall probably helped.

I told Dr B what I suspected and he didn't laugh at me. He wanted to know exactly what the symptoms were. Then he agreed that it probably was a headache and when it happens I should give him a Rimadyl for the pain.

A couple days after his headache, he indulged himself in a nice long roll in the dirt. He shakes the dirt  off his body before coming inside, but sometimes he's too enthusiastic when he rolls and he rubs his head in the dirt. Three times recently he's gotten dirt in his eyes and they've gotten red and swollen. Each time we have to use medicated eyedrops for a few days till they go back to normal. I'm really worried that one of these days he'll get a stick or stone in his eye and do real damage. He could easily lose his eye.

So, I decided to try some heavy duty prevention. I ordered a pair of sunglasses for him. My idea was that he'd get used to wearing them in a short time and they'd protect his eyes when he rolls. It sounded good, but didn't work the way I'd hoped.

When the glasses came, (I didn't have a color choice), he was pretty good about letting me put them on him and adjust the straps.

We walked around a bit and it was funny watching him discover that he could see with these things on his head.

 

He can even look for cats.

 Then he realized that he could easily, too easily adjust them. This is how he prefers to wear his sunglasses, just like any cool young dude.

The glasses won't protect his eyes when he rolls, so now I slip a cone on his head before he goes out the door and he can roll as much as he likes without dirt getting in his eyes.

He'll still wear his glasses when we go for walks, just because he looks so cute.

We're On An American Journey

This month we're trying out a dog food that's new to us. Chewy asked if we'd be interested in doing a month long trial of American Journey. I'll be honest, I'd never heard of it before, but after a bit of research, I agreed. I chose the salmon and sweet potato recipe because fish is the natural diet of Portuguese Water Dogs and mine all love the smell and taste of fish.

Here's what I found out. The ingredients are as follows:
Deboned Salmon, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Chickpeas, Pea Protein, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Flaxseed, Menhaden Fish Meal, Blueberries, Carrots, Salt, Salmon Oil, Dried Kelp, Fructooligosaccharides, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols (Natural Preservative), Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Niacin Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract.

Calories are 430 per cup which keeps it off Fudge's diet.

The Dog Food Advisor site gives American Journey 5 stars, their highest rating and call it "an above average dry product" with above average protein, near average fat and below average carbs. They also say it contains a "significant amount of meat", or in this case fish. They "enthusiastically recommend" it.

 I had to decide which dogs would take part in this month long trial. I ruled out the three boys immediately. I've finally gotten them all stable with their various intestinal problems and I didn't want to introduce a new food into the mix. Mackey is keeping Fudge company on his diet and Syd was out because I'm very careful to keep her on a regular diet plan. With her mental issues, I don't want her to get attached to a food that I don't plan to continue feeding her. She stays on a nice safe, somewhat boring diet.

Because I have one bag of this food and don't know how far it'll stretch, I chose Lola and Bailey to be the taste testers.

OK, so what do we think? I didn't know what to expect when I opened the bag. We've had some fish based kibbles that smelled so fishy we had to hold our noses while dishing it up. This wasn't one of them. It has a mildly fishy smell, but not too strong. Still the dogs agreed it smelled great. The kibble is a small size, easy for almost any size dog.

I started mixing it with their usual kibble in order to avoid a shock to their systems. Never a good idea to just instantly introduce a new food. I learned that a long time ago, the hard way.

My two testers were more than happy to stick their heads in their bowls and give American Journey a try. They cleaned their bowls without complaint and I'm sure would have eaten a second serving.

 Mid month we'll let you know how the girls are doing with the new food and if we see any changes, good or bad.

Chewy sent us this bag of American Journey Salmon and Sweet Potato food at no cost to us in exchange for three honest reviews during the month of March.

Fixing A Leak

Hi Everybody,
Thanks to very one who sent Power of the Paw to me when my back was hurt. It feels really good now and last Friday I visited Dr B for a little checkup. He said we could cut back on my meds and that I could do steps by myself and go in the yard with the other dogs. He stole some of my blood and sent it to the lab to see what was going on inside me.

The report came back Monday and Mom went to meet with the doc to go over it. They were both really, really happy because it was perfect. My insides are working just like they're supposed to and Dr B said it looked like a report of a young dog, not a twelve year old.

Mom and Dr B had to discuss two little problems. One is my weight. Even though I'm feeling good and I do believe I look more handsome than ever, he says that I'm fat. The nerve!! He says I need to lose 10 pounds and told Mom to keep a diary of every single morsel that I eat. How humiliating! She started doing it and told Dad that I can't have any bites of his food and he's to give me only Zukes for teats, not biscuits. Zukes only have one calorie, so that's all I get while the others are munching away on their biscuits. She also cut back on my kibble and added extra green beans. To make me feel better about dieting, Mackey is dieting with me. The peeps decided that she needed to lose a few pounds, too.

My other problem is kind of personal, but I'll share with you. I leak a little when I sleep. Dr B says it's probably age related though it could be a hormonal problem since I was neutered last year. Since all my blood work and my urine test came back perfect, I started taking a pill that should help. He says we'll know in about a week if it's working. If not, he really doesn't want to give me hormones, so he and Mom talked about making me a special shirt to wear that can absorb the pee and keep me dry and happy.

All in all it was good news and Mom has promised to walk me in the park to help lose those extra pounds. I need to get rid of them before October when we have our next birthday party. I don't want to miss out on the cupcakes with sprinkles.

 Your pal, Fudge 

Late Edit:  We have wonderful news. The medication worked and Fudge has been dry for two days now. He's feeling good and except for the diet thing, we're all happy about his health.

February Review

Wow, February sure got away from us. Here it is the last day and we have a Chewy review for you. This month we tried Newman's Own Organic Salmon Skin and Coat Snack Sticks.  That's a long name!

For years my dogs have enjoyed various Newman's Own treats. After reading about how Newman's Own products are made, I felt virtuous giving them to my pack. Then I decided to try Newman's Own food and though I felt good about it, my dogs didn't like it. Oh well, you can't win them all. Still I looked forward to trying these skin and coat sticks.

As I've mentioned before, Norma Jean and Sebastian are both itchy. We don't know why exactly, but I suspect it's more habit than a skin problem. I do give them both antihistamines each morning just in case. When I see a treat made with fish and high in Omega 3, I'm pleased to give it a try.

These treat sticks are perfect. The first ingredients are salmon, chicken and chickpeas. The sticks are a nice size but can be broken for smaller dogs. They are not hard chews. My dogs aren't allowed hard chews such as antlers since we went thru three root canals. Now we stick to softer chews.

So today we braved the wind, we're on tornado watch, to see what the canine members of the household thought of these. As I was opening the bag and getting ready, I had an audience on the other side of the door.

Rob offered to distribute the treats while I manned the camera. Ready?

Each dog got a stick.

 Everyone came back for seconds.

 The Newman's Own Skin and Coat Sticks were a resounding success. All nine dogs agreed they are to be added to our list of favorites.

 If you'd like to try these very excellent treats, just contact Chewy and they'd be happy to deliver them right to your door.

Chewy sent us this bag of Newman's Own Skin and Coat Snack Sticks at no charge to us in exchange for our honest review.

Belated Birthday

Hi Everybody,
I am feeling so much better!!

I'm still in resting mode and Mom won't let me climb the stairs, but I can get on the couch now to snuggle with her and I can roll on my back and do my daily stretches.  Today Mom cut back on my pain pills,  but I can do just about everything I could do before my beck started hurting so badly.

Unfortunately, I am now on a diet. I don't get as much dog food as I was having, but I get lots of tasty green beans along with my food, so that's Ok with me.

Sunday was a nice day and I was feeling good, so Mom and Dad decided that I should have my birthday party. Because I can't do steps yet, some of the other dogs and I went onto porch for our cupcakes. 

 This picture is funny. Dad turns the cupcakes upside down after he removes the papers. He says they're easier to hand out that way.

  The girls were in the back yard, so some of us had our cakes, them Mom put me back in my safe place and they took the rest of the cakes to the yard for the girls.

 

 Everybody thought they were delicious.

 

There was one cupcake left over and even though I'm on my diet, Mom said I should have it because birthdays only happen once a year.

 So while the others watched in envy, I ate the last cupcake complete with sprinkles.

It was a nice party, but the best part was being rid of that really really bad pain in my back. 
Your pal, Fudge

Fudge Update

Fudge came home this afternoon. He's groggy and wobbly from the pain meds, but he's sleeping comfortably in the living room where I can keep an eye on him.

The great news is that there are no masses on his vital organs. Yeah!! That was my worst fear.

The less great news is that he has a disc problem in his back. It looks from the xrays as if we caught it pretty early and Dr B thinks he should make a good recovery. He's taking anti-inflammatory meds and pain pills and if he isn't feeling better in a couple days he'll get some muscle relaxants. We're hoping he won't need those. He'll need strict bed rest for a week.

 The boy has gained about 10 pounds in the last six months and as soon as he's feeling better, we'll do a thyroid test. The extra weight may be putting too much stress on his weak leg and his spine. It also may be putting pressure on his bladder as he's experiencing some leakage issues. If weight loss doesn't help, he'll need to take some hormones to fix the embarrassing problem.

It may sound like a lot of bad stuff is going on, but they're probably all related and controllable.

His birthday party has been delayed for a couple days till he feels more like himself. He should sleep better tonight. I know I'll wake up dozens of times to check on him, but that's what moms do.

An Unhappy Birthday

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. My best valentine, Mr Fudge is having his twelfth birthday today. The cupcakes with sprinkles are waiting on the counter, but Fudge is at the hospital.

He has had a pronounced limp since his stroke a couple years ago, but yesterday he had more difficulty on the stairs and all day he was restless. He couldn't seem to find a place to relax.  He didn't  sleep last night, so neither did I. He paced and panted all night. This morning he refused breakfast and had even more trouble with the stairs.

When we left for his vet visit, he couldn't get into the car and when I tried to help him, he cried out in pain. When Dr B touched certain  spots on his back, he cried out.

Dr B kept him to run xrays to see what we're dealing with. We'll be going back later this afternoon to pick him up and get the diagnosis.

Fudge could use some power of the paw today to get thru his birthday.