Puppy Love #4
I miss doing these posts so I'm going to try to do these a few times a month. Just sharing pictures of my furbabies, stuff that's going on and stuff that I love lately.
1. Oh Charley…lately. He's been doing good and then not so good. Recently, we put him on steroids because he's so itchy and has hives! Then, he had a bad reaction to the steroids. We don't have him quite 100% but we're getting there. We are actually switching foods for him…he has a pancreatic condition called EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency). His pancreas doesn't make the necessary enzymes to digest his food so we are always watching him and his weight. He requires about 24 tablets a day which he gets with his food…feeding time is interesting in our house. I would love to hear if you have a hypoallergenic or low grain or grain-free food that you like for your dog!
I was taking pictures of him the other day…
And I kept saying, Charley, look at me.
Look at me…
Kinda sorta got it.
2. Apps I'm loving lately // iOS Apps that is…
Snapseed — Google just revamped their whole photo editing app and it takes a little bit to get used to but I love it. I love the Glamour Glow filter! The only thing I wish it had was a feature to bring in multiple photos like you can in Camera+. That way if I'm editing multiple photos in one sitting, I don't have to keep going to my Camera Roll to retrieve them.
Day One – a great journaling app…I'm in love. I downloaded it as a freebie from my Starbucks app. If you have the SB app, you can get it for free (until April 30th)! It creates a little timeline from your journal entries. You can attach images to your journal entries too. I am starting a gratitude journal and trying to record my triumphs and what I'm thankful for and this app will be so useful!
Other apps I can't live without — UPS and FedEx – register for accounts and verify your address and you'll get alerts when packages are headed your way. You can reroute them, track them…it's pretty neat! Only thing is, no one can send a surprise package to you anymore…you get alerted to boxes on their way to you. Several times now, I have been alerted to delays or problems with shipments before the sender was even alerted.
3. Fave Snack Lately…
Blue Diamond Almonds with Wasabi and Soy Sauce flavor…it's my obsession right now.
4. Netflix…
Have you seen Derek on Netflix, if you haven't you need to watch it. There are two seasons and Netflix just released an hour-long special that's pretty much the series finale (I believe). It's hilarious, crass, heartwarming and poignant…all at the same time. I can't recommend this series enough.
There's a great quotation from Ricky Gervais' Derek character that keeps staying with me since we watched it this week: “If you want happiness for a lifetime, help other people.” I love that.
5. I want…
Last month I attended the Global Pet Expo, the pet industry's largest trade show. I got to see some fun new products. And forgive me, I was playing around with the Aviary editing app, that's why you little fun graphics on the photos.
Thissss Pod Tracker, look how small it is. The smallest pet tracker and it also tracks their steps. A fitbit for pets. I really want to get my hands on one of these and try it out. There were a ton of pet trackers on display at the expo and I love that there's so much new technology for petowners.
New soft collars and leashes from Coastal Pet. Our dogs have a signature color, Cinder's was red. Charley's is purple, Angel is yellow. 🙂
I really like these new leashes (I find cotton web is so much easier on your hands when walking them than nylon) so I ordered the purple one on Amazon and we love it!
How cute are these pet placemats from Buddy Line? They are so cute. There's a huge push with products that look cool and modern so our pet products match our home decor…I love what I'm seeing!
6. #thelittlekitchenrecipes on Instagram
I seriously love seeing your photos of TLK recipes online. I'm going to try to feature a different photo on my instagram account every Saturday! So feel free to post them using the #thelittlekitchenrecipes hashtag or you can email them to me! [email protected] — be sure to leave your instagram account name too so I can @ mention you. <3 you guys!
// Disclosure: There is an affiliate link in this post. I was given a media pass to Global Pet Expo. I was not required to write about it, all opinions are my own. //
My chocolate lab Buckaroo Banzai has elbow dysplasia, so we feed him a grain free diet. We make our dog food (for three big dogs, two labs and a boxer), it is: 4 pounds ground turkey or beef, boiled, then add 10 cups of rice and 2 cups of powdered milk with 4 pounds of either broccoli or spinach. It costs a LOT less than the grain free dog foods, and they love it! Daisy, our boxer, leaps, spins and twirls while we put her dish in front of her.
[…] to the amazing response I got from my questions and needing advice on Charley’s food on my last puppy love post. We started him on Taste of the Wild as a lot of you have recommended and in some ways […]
EVO is grain free and comes in moist and dry. I switched my cats to it about 4 years ago, but I know they make it for dogs also. My local feed store sells it, but it can also be ordered online.
We do grain free because of skin allergies and stomach sensitivity for our two dogs. We used to do Taste of the Wild, which they loved but switched in the last year to Earthborn Holistic. It is made locally (in Indiana) and was comparable in price so we decided to give it a try. I’d recommend either of them.
Go online to Blue Buffalo pet food.
I feed my little dog, Pi, and my not so little cat, Finch, Blue Buffalo. I don’t know where you live but I can get it here at Petsmart. I have a Prime account at Amazon and i get it from them too, no freight..
After you review the Blue Buffalo products, you may want to ask you Vet about which one is best. If your Vet sells pet food in his/her office, he will try to sell you that.
I think you will be surprised at the Blue Buffalo quality.
Bona Fortuna Charley!
Thanks, Sherry Ann! I really appreciate it!
you guys are all amazing! I have a lot to look up and read about but I feel so fortunate you all care enough to take the time to share. xoxo
Oh Charley, indeed. Sweet sweet boy! He’s lucky to have you advocating for him! 🙂
Thank you, Kristen! <3
I cannot recommend a dog food brand, but thought I would pass on what helped me when my cat Gretchen needed to switch to a grain free food. I found that my local independently owned pet food store (not a chain), had a policy that allowed customers to return any food (even open bags of dry food) that their pet didn’t eat or couldn’t tolerate. It allowed me to try some different brands until I found one that Gretchen liked/tolerated. You could also try a local feed store. I find independently owned pet food stores to be much more knowledgeable, and have friendlier return policies, than the chains (at least in the area where I live).
Hi Kate, you’re right! Thanks for the advice!
Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw and Grain-Free is my absolute preference. I have 3 dogs, all geriatric, one of whom is diabetic. Dixie has been diabetic for 4 years. It’s taken far longer than it should for me to educate myself, but after endless research and homework, I learned that if I could ultimately switch her to a completely raw diet, I would be able to decrease and finally discontinue her insulin. When I started her food transition, I also switched my other two dogs’ diets to the same food, knowing it was a far healthier diet than what all of them had been eating, even the highly prescribed dog food for diabetic dogs. It took some time to get any of them to even try, much less eat, the raw food, but now, almost 5 months from the time I started, they are approximately 80% raw with the balance dry grain-free. I add the dry grain-free mostly for the crunch. Best of all, I’ve been able to considerably decrease Dixie’s insulin units, since I have blood panels done every month to check her vital values. Her state of health continues to amaze everyone, including my vet. The switch has also helped my other dogs’ allergies and arthritis. It takes lots of patience, endless homework research and it’s not cheap, but I’m convinced that raw and grain-free is far healthier for all of them. They’re carnivores in the first place and their systems don’t handle grains well, if at all. And as an earlier comment above implied, when your dogs are family, whatever it takes is what you do.
Rosalyn,
I hear you…we do what it takes. Sometimes it’s really stressful but it’s worth it because we love them so much. We used to give them Nature’s Variety treats so I’m definitely going to research this. Thank you so much! I do appreciate you taking the time to share with me. So GLAD your Dixie is doing so well!
Taste of the Wild’ s Bison and venison
When we got our rescue pup, Kaylee, had a nasty skin problem. She kept licking and chewing on her legs. Our vet told us to get a grain free product and she has made a miraculous turn around. Don’t forget to get some grain free treats. I can’t lie the cost is high on these products, but she’s so much happier.
Hi Karen,
Thanks so much! I’m going to check into this. Glad it works for her. I really do appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!
My dog is very very fussy she drives me to drink sometimes she eats most times she won’t have anything to do with her food…. I started to cook for her, I make her pastina with eggs, spinach, sweet potato, peas and carrots, sometimes zucchini, and pumpkin, because she’s 2yrs old and still eating her poop which is grossing me out… They told me put pumpkin in her food…
ElenaJo,
Not to scare you but is she maintaining her weight? Because what you described is a major symptom of EPI…what my Charley has. Please take a look at http://www.epi4dogs.com/ on the home page, it spells out the symptoms. Please talk to your vet because they shouldn’t be doing that, there’s a medical reason why they do that…and if she does have EPI, pumpkin is not really good for her.
Please keep me posted and I really appreciate you commenting and sharing with me!
My dog has cushing’s, hypothyroidism, allergies, and chronic ear yeast infections, we have her on a special grain free vegetarian (I know it sounds ridiculous) diet that we buy from the vet I think it is Hill’s brand. For treats we give her vegetables, mostly cooked sweet potato, green beans (raw and cooked), carrots (raw and cooked), lettuce (she likes the crunchy parts), cucumber, and any type of squash (cooked). She also loves apples, bananas, cooked rice,canned pumpkin, and the occasional rice chex when we are running low on produce. She is definitely high maintenance and super expensive (her meds are insane) but she’s family.
Hi Carly,
I feel you…oh my goodness. I feel like we are in the same boat. With Charley’s three orthopedic operations and rehab and pancreatic condition, it’s been hard. But like you said they ARE family. We just switched from the Hill’s brand because I think we need to go grain free or low grain for him. Do you remember which Hill’s diet it is? I really appreciate the time you took to share with me your experience the dog food you like…we love our pets so much and just wants what’s best for them!
Just checked the bag and it is Royal Canin, not Hill’s, vegetarian grain free veterinary diet. I think you can only get it from a vet and it’s about $60 a bag. I hope you nod something that works for Charley!
Natures recipe salmon, sweet potato and pumpkin changed my dogs life. She has to have a grain free food but was also allergic to chicken and lamb. She is also a generally itchy dog and the fish oil in the salmon has helped with that as well. She also loves it…so that’s a big plus. We tried more expensive brands but never saw the results we get from this one. They say to give about 8-10 weeks to see improvement…we saw the changes in two weeks. Good luck!
http://naturesrecipe.com/dog-food/grain-free/easy-to-digest-salmon-sweet-potato-and-pumpkin-recipe/
Thanks, Bryn!
I’m going to look into this. Part of Charley’s pancreatic condition is that he can’t have a lot of fiber (like less than 4% of the food can be fiber) so I worry about the pumpkin but I’ll look into this! I really appreciate the time you took to share with me your experience the dog food you like!
Have good luck with this brand as well. Also, green beans(canned) broccoli (raw) and canned pumpkin.
Thank you, Susan! Good to know! I really appreciate the time you took to share with me your experience!
Hi! My dog also requires a grain-free diet as part of his arthritis treatment. We have been very happy with Fromme foods. They are pricier (but if you are already paying for hypoallergenic food, you won’t have sticker shock) but because it is so nutrient dense he eats a small amount and a big bag lasts a long time (he’s a big dog too). He never really cared much about his food either way before we started feeding him Fromme, and now he gobbles it up. Hope this helps!
Hi Meg! Thanks for sharing! Sorry about your dog’s arthritis! I really appreciate the time you took to share with me your experience the dog food you guys like!