Changing Of The Food Again

Junie avoiding the snow by standing on mom's feet.

If you follow my mom's blog, you might have seen her post a dog food question yesterday.

She is trying to help me with battling the yeast in my ears.  The ear drops the doctor gives me doesn't cure the problem.  The yeast seems to go away but when the ear drops are gone it comes right back.

She's been giving me probiotics to help battle it but she is trying to figure out WHY it is occuring.  The probiotics have had another positive affect.  When she got me every few days I would throw up stomach acid in the mornings.  She talked to the vet about it and the vet said that sometimes dogs, like humans just have upset stomachs.  If it continued or got worse in frequency/amount to bring me in for another examination.  Since she started me on the probiotics, I haven't thrown up at all.  She also has been using Vet's Best Ear Relief Wash & Dry in my ears, but if she goes a few days without it, I start showing symptoms of an ear infection again.

She says that there has to be an underlying cause.

She started researching my food more.  From her blog:

I was reading this review here.

Black malted barley, however, is an unneccessary source of sugar and likely to contribute to yeast problems.

Now in any other dog this might not be a problem.  Junie though has reoccurring ear infections that are caused by yeast. 

Off to research more dog foods because obviously with my problems with yeast in my ears, Blue Buffalo is not the food for me.  She started going through all the dog foods that were rated 6 stars over there.  She ended up picking out a food by Orijen.  When she went to Iowa Pet Foods Plus, she talked to them about what is going on with me.  The lady just nodded her head in agreement over everything mom was saying regarding my food.  She told mom they don't even stock Blue Buffalo, not because it's a bad food, but because it has been recalled so many times.  She told mom that while the Orijen she had chosen was an excellent food, she would actually choose another recipe.  She said they only recommend the red meat recipes for working dogs.  Little dogs tend to get chubby on red meat dog foods.  She steered mom to this:

Orijen 6 Fresh Fish with Sea Vegetables

She also bought some Wellness Stews. She's going to start switching me over to these foods slowly so as not to upset my tummy.  The lady said that both choices were much better for a dog like me with the "specialty" things I deal with.

Mom said she doesn't think that they could ever own a large dog.  1 can of dog stew lasts me about 5 days mixed with my dry food.  One 5 lb bag of dry dog food lasts me about a month.  She can only imagine the cost of food for a St Bernard or Great Dane when you are giving them the high quality food.  :)

She was surprised that with it mixed I dug right into it today.  Usually I sniff around a new food for a couple of hours before I will even attempt to try it.  She said, maybe this will be easy for me to do.

The lady at Iowa Pet Foods Plus told her that it will take 6 weeks from the last date that I ate the old food to notice a difference.  She also told her that when I am done with my other glucosamine supplement that they have a high quality liquid one that is about the best you can get for a dog.

Mom loved the store.  They also are home to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa West.   They stopped back and looked at the cats and bunnies that were waiting for a new family.  She said they were expecting to have new dogs brought over within 20 minutes.

They got to meet Tigger, Killian, and Stormie who mom said were absolutely gorgeous cats that needed someone to love them.

Killian

Tigger

Stormie

Mom said that she would absolutely love it if they could find new homes.  She would adopt one of them in a heartbeat, but mom is allergic to cats.  Put her in the hospital for a breathing treatment allergic to cats.  ARL is not a no-kill shelter.  If you are in Iowa and you are interested in Tigger or Killian, you can contact the ARL-Iowa about them.  Like I said they are all at ARL west.  There are a whole bunch of animals awaiting new families at the ARL (all locations).  Besides dogs and cats, there are rabbits, rats, and even horses needing to be adopted.  Check out the pets here.  Everyone needs a home.  Remember, adopt don't shop.  They all need saved.

Junie says to check out: Rescue Matters: How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals: A Guide for Volunteers and Organizers

Catching Up

Junie hanging by mom's desk

Everyone has been sick around here.  Mom, one of the Girls, the Littlest Boy was taken to the ER the other night with something wrong with his eye.  It looked like it hurt a lot.

Tis the season mom says.

I'm healthy.

Mom says I've put on a couple of pounds.  I noticed that some of my clothes weren't fitting right.  The Velcro would completely pop open or mom couldn't get it fastened.  Mom said I weighed 6 lbs when I came to live with them and she thinks I am up to 8 or so now.  She said we'll know for sure what I weigh after my next vet visit.  She gave most of my clothes away on reuseit to another couple of dogs that wanted to stay warm in the snow.  She held on to my dresses hoping she could fix them so they'd fit me again but then decided she'd just get me new dresses.  She gave those to the chihuahua upstairs though she doesn't really look like she'd fit into them.  Her mom said she weighs 3 lbs right now and isn't going to get a lot bigger.  And I thought I was small.

With the cold weather I've been taking off to use the girls' room instead of going outside.  I know it frustrates mom but it's soooooo cold out there.  She takes me out and we stand and we stand and we stand and look at it each other.  After 10 minutes she decides I'm not going to go.  We come in, she watches me, and watches me, and watches me.  When she finally takes her eyes off of me I sneak into the girls' room.  She knows when the girls yell, MOM!  Junie pooped in our room.  Tattletales.

Mom's been taking me out every hour but man, I hate the snow.  I have a puppy pad on the porch but it's still cold.  I cannot wait until the snow melts and I can go back out on the grass again.

Other than that, it's been more of the same.  I've been spending a lot of time barking lately now that I found my voice.  Mom laughs when I actually think there's a threat and I bark from under that.  She doesn't laugh when I'm barking at midnight from the safety of my bed.  She's afraid that the neighbors will call the apartment manager or that I will wake up one of the kids but I can't help it.  When I hear something I have to let everyone know.  You never know what it could be.  Isn't that what every good dog does?

On the plus side, my ear infection seems to be gone finally.  Mom has been using Vet's Best Ear Relief Wash & Dry and giving me acidophilus.  Huge difference.  No smelly ears.  No major licking.  No tilting my head from side to side.  I feel much better.

We're going to get to work tweeting out some news stories about animals.  If you aren't following me on Twitter yet, please do.  I'm @Junie_Be.

Junie says to check out - Housetraining For Dummies

Happy Thanksgiving!

Junie in her Thanksgiving finery

I told mom that I know that she has been sick, but she needs to get on here and wish everyone a happy thanksgiving.  I mean, we all have so much to be thankful for - me for them, and them for me, and all of us for every other blessing we have - a roof over our heads, food in our tummies, someone to take care of us - that us would be me, the kids, and the birds.  Mom and dad take good care of us.  They love us.

She said she agreed and that she had been laying around long enough, so she got up to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving from us here.

We did go to her brother's for Thanksgiving dinner where I found out at the end, I still don't like cats.  I bark, they hiss, mom picks me up, the cats take off hiding, it's all fun and games until they figure out they still have claws in the back and if they kick up like donkeys they could do some damage to me.

Mom brought my bowls and a little dry dog food.  She admits that she spoiled me a bit today. (Her extended family would like her to admit...when DOESN'T she spoil me?)  She gave me a dab of gravy on my food, then mixed in some minced up turkey.  I went to town on that.  Turkey is good stuff.

There were tons of little feet to avoid, so I tried to stay as close to mom as possible.  People thought she was joking when she said, where I move, Junie moves.  It's true.  I watch where she is at all times and if she gets up, I'm right there with her.  I even follow her to the bathroom, you know, just in case there's an emergency.

It was fun and I eventually warmed up to everyone.  I didn't spend all of my time on my mom's lap with my head tucked into the spot between her arm and her side.  I spent sometime laying at her feet watching the kids play.  I thought we had a lot of kids at our house.  We have 4, but The Oldest Boy was with his dad for the weekend. So The Two Girls, The Youngest Boy, then her brother has 3 kids, her other brother has 2 kids, and her sister has 1 (so far). 9 kids, that's 18 feet to avoid.  18 little people feet.  I'm not counting the big feet.  Let's see - The Grandma, The Grandpa, The Sister In Law's Dad, The Brother 1, The Brother 2, The Sister, The Sister In Law, The Brother In Law, My Mom, and My Dad. 10 more people, 20 more feet.  It was safest to stay under mom's feet.

It was a blast, but I'm not sad to be home in my basket, where mom promptly tucked my blanket around me. I am now ready to go off to dreamland where I shall dream of chasing turkeys.  Maybe there will be one in my bowl tomorrow?

P.S. If I look greasy again in the picture above it's because mom had to start my ear drops again.  She noticed I was shaking my head back and forth and licking a lot yesterday.  She got up and smelled my ears and said, yep, the ear infection is back.  She had some drops left after my 7 days worth that she gave me, so she got those out until she can get me to the vet to recheck my ears again.  They leave me all greasy on top.  I'm still beautiful though!

Junie Says To Check Out:  Zack & Zoey Safari Dress Sm Red Leopard

Changing Of The Food

No dog is loved more than Junie

My mom thought since we talked about how she fed me that it was important to make a post regarding the fact that she changed the stew that was mixed in with my food. 

You see, she is a member of a group called Crested Friends.  It's a group of people who love Chinese Crested dogs just like my mom loves me.  They have helped her out with transitioning me to my new home and she says they are all just wonderful.  Always there when she has a question and they have the best advice for her regarding me.  She says that she is able to take care of me better because of their help.

When she posted that she had been mixing my food with the Beneful stew, they gently suggested switching me to a better brand of  dog stew.  You see, if you read this review at Dog Food Advisor, the stuff in Beneful is not pretty.  Standards haven't changed and the use of rendered meat in animal food is not illegal.  My mom certainly doesn't want to feed me something made from euthanized cats and dogs. :(  Whether it's in there or not, the other things that are in it are not things that my mom wants me to eat.  Many DOT's take roadkill to the rendering plants and some shelters are required to take the animals there after euthanization.  That's what is in most cheap store pet foods and some of the foods labeled premium.

So, mom switched me to Blue Buffalo stews (to match the dry dog food I already eat).  I think my favorite is the Blue Buffalo Irish Lamb Stew. I love that!  The difference in the appearance and smell alone is amazing.  When mom put the Beneful in my food, I would go over and investigate and eat very slowly.  Eating here and there (after the first bowl, which I'll admit, I ate all of).  With the Lamb Stew, I eat my whole bowl in about 3 minutes, which is VERY fast for me.  Before, I rarely finished all of my food.  I've finished every bowl since she changed me over to the Blue Buffalo (yesterday).  It's so yummy!  Mom said that not having to throw dog food down the garbage disposal because I didn't eat it is awesome too.

(Mom said to tell you there is an awesome blog post/video on making your dog's food at Yeepet.  She's going to try that also.  She already cooks for the birds, why not for me too?)

Mom also got me GNC Ultra Mega Hip & Joint in dreamy peanut butter flavor, which I don't dig at all.  She snuck it in my lamb stew last night and I ate it.  Today she tried to sneak it in and I ate around it.  She's got to be more sneaky than that, come on.  I'm a smart dog.  Who wants peanut butter with their lamb?

I know she says that it will keep me from having pain in my jaw down the road, but I don't like it.  I'm not eating it.  Until she sneaks it into something else.

Speaking of things I don't dig.  She just gave me my ear drops again.  How many more days of that torture do I have to endure.  It does feel good when she massages it in, but having her stick a little tube in my ear freaks me out.  3 days down, 4 more to go.

Mom says we have to go help her brother move today.  I love car rides.  That will make up for the cruddy ear medicine and the washing of my head earlier.  She said I was greasy from the medicine.  I say it didn't bother me at all.  This whole "I'm only doing what is best for you thing" is for the birds sometimes.

I still love her lots though.

Junie says to check out:  Blue Buffalo Longevity Dry Food and  Blue Buffalo Irish Lamb Stew

The Rescued Pet Vet Visit

Junie in the laundry basket she has claimed during the day.

Mommy took me to the vet yesterday for my rescued pet check up.  She took my vet records from my spay and shots and had them check me over so that she would be aware of any problems that I might need to have fixed.  She wants to get me as healthy as I can be.

I got to meet the wonderful people at Ashworth Road Animal Hospital.  I have to say, they loved my dress I had on.  Mom didn't put me in a dress to look pretty.  She put me in it because she knows I don't like my heavier clothes and thought I'd be happier in the dress for a longer period of time and still be warm with the wind and cold.  Mom said I do have to get used to my coats because we live in Iowa and it will snow sooner or later.

The vet took lots of time looking me over.  As my mom expected, I have an ear infection.  She thought something was going on with my ears because of the smell I have.  When the doctor started cleaning stuff out of my ear with a Q-tip, my mom just about got sick from the smell.  She should know how it smelt to me.  I have a better sense of smell.  GROSS!  I have antibiotics that mom puts in my ear now.  Mom thought I was licking my jaw so much before because of my jaw.  I started licking like mad when the vet was cleaning out my ears.  My poor ears itch and hurt.  I wish I knew how to tell my mom that so she could have taken me in sooner.

They took me back and cleaned out all of that icky out of my ears really good.  The vet showed mom how to give me my antibiotics in my ear.  She did it this morning and I did not sit quite as good for her as I did the vet.  I knew what was happening this time.

They also tested me for heart worm and I got a bright pink piece of gauze wrapped around my leg that the kids thought was the coolest band-aid ever.

I got a heart worm pill, dewormer pill, and a flea pill (because the vet said Frontline won't work as well for me seeing as I don't have much fur on my neck to put it in).  

I also got gel for the acne on my toosh.  The doctor said that might be part of the reason I get a bad odor to me also.  Plus I got a special shampoo for the skin every where else because it's so dry.

The vet also found a spot in my eye where it's scarred.  She said I was injured when I was younger and that it healed.  Mom is wondering if that means I will have trouble seeing out of that eye later because it has been injured like that.  Let's hope not.

Then they discussed my jaw.  My jaw is in bad shape.  The vet said that she definitely wants to have xrays of it, but they will have to put me out to do it.  They also want to do an ultrasonic teeth cleaning because my teeth are caked with tarter.  She said they could do both at the same time.  She said that my teeth don't line up at all and compared my jaw to a conveyor belt when I try to eat.  I can't pick up my food with my front teeth like another dog would.  That's why she has to wet my food down.  When it's wet, I can pick it up with my tongue and move it to the back.

The vet wants a specialist to look at my jaw.  She said he may look at it and decide nothing needs to be done because I can still eat, but that he may also look at it and say WOW!  this needs to be fixed.  She said it definitely will start causing me to have joint pain because of how unaligned it is.  She told my mommy that she needs to put me on a joint supplement for that so that we can keep the pain to a minimum.

The teeth cleaning and the x-rays will be done at a later date.  Right now we are trying to get me physically healthy.

My dad about had a heart attack when mom told him the free visit turned into $162 so far.  She said, well, do you want Junie to suffer?  He said, no.  Do whatever she needs to have done.  Let's get her healthy.  He's a good daddy.  Mom said she is lucky that she found someone who loves animals as much as she does.

So, that's where we are at today.  Well, today I am laying on my mom's lap.  Just enjoying the warmth and love.  It's the perfect life for a dog.

Junie says to check out: Every Rescued Dog Has a Tale: Stories from the Dog Rescue Railroad