I have decided to interview each of my dogs by asking them each the same five questions.
I know I am the crazy dog lady (ahem, the Dog Dame), but I'm not crazy, I swear. Read on to learn about the mutts that inspire me to blog!
1. For the record, please provide your full name:
They call me Mr. Bits! My registered name is Lil Bit, but my family mostly calls me Bits or Mr. Bits.
2. Tell me about when you joined the family. How long has it been?
Wow! I joined the family in July 2016 and am their newest addition. I'm eight years old, and have the body of a chihuahua and the colors and markings of a beagle. I'm the smallest of the mutts, and the craziest! Despite having two slipped discs in my back, I like to race around the house and yard like a wild puppy. I'm about 13 pounds but have no problem jumping on my new siblings - even Remy who is a lot bigger than me! I LOVE the love, and have no idea what the words "personal space" mean! I was adopted from Love Mutts Rescue, just like my brother, Otis!
3. What is your favorite toy?
I like to wrestle with my stuffed toys! I roll around on the floor and wrestle with them - I win about half of the time. My favorite to play with is Otis, though. I love to run and jump on him. It sometimes takes a long time to convince him to chase me, though! I'm also a big fan of the kong, which is usually filled with peanut butter and kibble, or steamed veggies!
4. What is your least favorite thing to do?
I hate going outside. I'd much rather be in someone's lap or cuddling with Otis on the couch! My people make me go outside and play with the others, though, and I do sometimes have fun. I hate when my feet get wet, or when I have to get my nails trimmed, and I don't like it when it's cold, or hot.
5. What's your favorite treat?
I really love green beans, the 3 ingredient cookies, and the dental treats. I also like peanut butter/greek yogurt ice cream in the summer. I used to enjoy chicken broth popsicles until my people figured out I'm allergic to chicken!
Showing posts with label Lil Bit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lil Bit. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2017
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Interview with Mr. Otis
I have decided to interview each of my dogs by asking them each the same five questions.
I know I am the crazy dog lady (ahem, the Dog Dame), but I'm not crazy, I swear. Read on to learn about the mutts that inspire me to blog!
1. For the record, please provide your full name:
I am Mr. Otis Ulysses. You may call me Mr. Otis. My family calls me Mr. Odit or Mr. Otis.
2. Tell me about when you joined the family. How long has it been?
It's been almost 15 months since I joined the family. I was five years old I was adopted from Love Mutts Rescue, and my family brought me home to live with Remy. She just wanted to play, but I was too dignified for that, and a little portly, too. It was love at first sight though... as soon as I met my new sister, I just wanted to cuddle with her... ALL THE TIME. I was really scared of the people in my family and hid from them, especially from the males. I loved Remy, though. The humans kept giving me love and cuddles and treats, though, and after awhile I wanted to be around them, too. They had no idea for the first several weeks that every day, I like to greet the morning by loudly singing the song of my people (beagles) to the entire neighborhood. They know and love (or at least begrudgingly accept) that about me, now.
3. What is your favorite toy?
I haven't played with many toys, though I do have a red squeaky ball that I like to carry around, and sometimes roll around with. Remy steals and and hides it because it squeaks. I also enjoy playing with ropes and other toys that I can play tug of war with Remy. I love to hide a cow femur in the leaves and chew it when I think nobody is looking. I do run and play now, but mostly I just like to chase Remy (or run from her) and sniff things. I like to cuddle with soft toys, but she Remy steals them to rip them apart and Bits steals them to cuddle with, too.
4. What is your least favorite thing to do?
I love to be outside, so I hate when it's really cold or rainy and I can't be outside much. I just sleep on the couch those days. I'm not a huge of fan of getting my nails clipped but mom says I am the best out of the three about it.
5. What's your favorite treat?
ALL OF THEM! I love to eat, and I love all of the different kinds of treats! I love green beans, raw carrots, 3 ingredient cookies, ice cream, and I really love the dental treats.
I know I am the crazy dog lady (ahem, the Dog Dame), but I'm not crazy, I swear. Read on to learn about the mutts that inspire me to blog!
1. For the record, please provide your full name:
I am Mr. Otis Ulysses. You may call me Mr. Otis. My family calls me Mr. Odit or Mr. Otis.
2. Tell me about when you joined the family. How long has it been?
It's been almost 15 months since I joined the family. I was five years old I was adopted from Love Mutts Rescue, and my family brought me home to live with Remy. She just wanted to play, but I was too dignified for that, and a little portly, too. It was love at first sight though... as soon as I met my new sister, I just wanted to cuddle with her... ALL THE TIME. I was really scared of the people in my family and hid from them, especially from the males. I loved Remy, though. The humans kept giving me love and cuddles and treats, though, and after awhile I wanted to be around them, too. They had no idea for the first several weeks that every day, I like to greet the morning by loudly singing the song of my people (beagles) to the entire neighborhood. They know and love (or at least begrudgingly accept) that about me, now.
3. What is your favorite toy?
I haven't played with many toys, though I do have a red squeaky ball that I like to carry around, and sometimes roll around with. Remy steals and and hides it because it squeaks. I also enjoy playing with ropes and other toys that I can play tug of war with Remy. I love to hide a cow femur in the leaves and chew it when I think nobody is looking. I do run and play now, but mostly I just like to chase Remy (or run from her) and sniff things. I like to cuddle with soft toys, but she Remy steals them to rip them apart and Bits steals them to cuddle with, too.
4. What is your least favorite thing to do?
I love to be outside, so I hate when it's really cold or rainy and I can't be outside much. I just sleep on the couch those days. I'm not a huge of fan of getting my nails clipped but mom says I am the best out of the three about it.
5. What's your favorite treat?
ALL OF THEM! I love to eat, and I love all of the different kinds of treats! I love green beans, raw carrots, 3 ingredient cookies, ice cream, and I really love the dental treats.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Dog Food Allergies: The Struggle Is Real
Food Allergies. When I hear that, I usually think about human food allergies. You hear stories about kids that are allergic to peanuts or strawberries. I knew that dogs could also have food allergies, but didn't have any personal experience dealing with it.
That was before, and this is now. Now, I have a little experience because my newest adoption, eight year old Lil Bit, is allergic to chicken. When I adopted him, he had a skin condition that appeared to be a fungal infection, but he had also chewed his feet so much that they were infected. He was given prednisone, OTC antihistamines like benedryl and zyrtec (not together!), antibiotics, and an antifungal. He had a small amount of improvement, but the condition and his misery persisted. I took him back to the vet and we discussed his environment and food.
Grains are usually a culprit of food allergies, and when I first adopted him, he was eating a food that contained grains. I had transitioned him over to a food that was grain free though, because my other two dogs eat grain free food. His skin improved a little, but not much. Since he was eating a high quality grain free food, we decided to see if the protein, or meat source was the issue. He was eating a chicken based food. I normally rotate feed different brands and proteins, so my dogs usually get a rotation of beef, chicken, and fish proteins. The vet suggested we switch to a fished based diet.
Wow, did I find there is chicken in EVERYTHING! My vet said to avoid all chicken including chicken meal, chicken fats, chicken organs (liver), and eggs. I did a lot of research and tried to find a fish based kibble that wasn't terribly high in fat (under 12% is ideal since I have an overweight dog). I compared reviews on sites like www.chewy.com (where I tend to buy dog food) and also reviews on DogFoodAdvisor. To make my life easier for a few weeks, I decided to switch all of my dogs to the same fish based food. it would help to make sure my chicken-allergic dog wasn't accidentally fed food with chicken.
Ultimately, I chose a food that contained 8% fat, 26% protein, and 394 calories per cup. Since this food is much higher in calories than my dogs normally eat (they are usually 320-345 per cup), I reduced the amount of kibble, but did add in some extra veggies to help them feel full and get some extra nutrition. I posted about the kind of veggies I use as food toppers, but pretty much any fruit or vegetable that is safe for them to eat works pretty well. In order to find a food with no chicken that met my other requirements, I ended up getting a limited ingredient kibble, so the extra veggies help supply some important nutrients.
I also had to check the labels on treats because while many of theirs are homemade, like my three ingredient cookies, some treats like their dental treats, I do buy. I found that even the beef flavored treats had at least chicken broth in them. I finally found a vegetarian dental treat made by Blue Buffalo that didn't have any kind of chicken product.
My tips for finding a food and/or treats for food allergic dogs:
Sources:
Pet Education
DFA
That was before, and this is now. Now, I have a little experience because my newest adoption, eight year old Lil Bit, is allergic to chicken. When I adopted him, he had a skin condition that appeared to be a fungal infection, but he had also chewed his feet so much that they were infected. He was given prednisone, OTC antihistamines like benedryl and zyrtec (not together!), antibiotics, and an antifungal. He had a small amount of improvement, but the condition and his misery persisted. I took him back to the vet and we discussed his environment and food.
Grains are usually a culprit of food allergies, and when I first adopted him, he was eating a food that contained grains. I had transitioned him over to a food that was grain free though, because my other two dogs eat grain free food. His skin improved a little, but not much. Since he was eating a high quality grain free food, we decided to see if the protein, or meat source was the issue. He was eating a chicken based food. I normally rotate feed different brands and proteins, so my dogs usually get a rotation of beef, chicken, and fish proteins. The vet suggested we switch to a fished based diet.
Wow, did I find there is chicken in EVERYTHING! My vet said to avoid all chicken including chicken meal, chicken fats, chicken organs (liver), and eggs. I did a lot of research and tried to find a fish based kibble that wasn't terribly high in fat (under 12% is ideal since I have an overweight dog). I compared reviews on sites like www.chewy.com (where I tend to buy dog food) and also reviews on DogFoodAdvisor. To make my life easier for a few weeks, I decided to switch all of my dogs to the same fish based food. it would help to make sure my chicken-allergic dog wasn't accidentally fed food with chicken.
Ultimately, I chose a food that contained 8% fat, 26% protein, and 394 calories per cup. Since this food is much higher in calories than my dogs normally eat (they are usually 320-345 per cup), I reduced the amount of kibble, but did add in some extra veggies to help them feel full and get some extra nutrition. I posted about the kind of veggies I use as food toppers, but pretty much any fruit or vegetable that is safe for them to eat works pretty well. In order to find a food with no chicken that met my other requirements, I ended up getting a limited ingredient kibble, so the extra veggies help supply some important nutrients.
I also had to check the labels on treats because while many of theirs are homemade, like my three ingredient cookies, some treats like their dental treats, I do buy. I found that even the beef flavored treats had at least chicken broth in them. I finally found a vegetarian dental treat made by Blue Buffalo that didn't have any kind of chicken product.
My tips for finding a food and/or treats for food allergic dogs:
- The most common ingredients for dogs to be allergic to (in order of likelihood) are beef, dairy products, chicken, lamb, fish, chicken eggs, corn, wheat, and soy.
- Check the ingredients! Even if the main protein is different, you may find the many foods will use more than one, especially in the form of meal (i.e. chicken meal).
- Consider Grain Free, since many allergies are related to grains.
- You may need to even consider vegetarian, if your dog is allergic to multiple proteins.
- Consider an unusual protein source, like rabbit or kangaroo. Dogs seem to be allergic to the most common proteins, chicken and beef.
- You have to keep your dog on the new food and avoid the suspected allergy for several weeks to see real improvement.
- Common signs of allergy are itchy skin, recurrent ear infections, hair loss, paw biting, and excessive licking. Keep an eye on your dog whenever switching foods and watch for these symptoms.
- Keep in mind, medicines like heartworm preventatives may contain the ingredient your pet is allergic to.
- If you end up feeding a limited ingredient diet, you may also need to supplement with a variety of fruits and veggies, and/or with a canine vitamin supplement to ensure proper nutrition.
Share your struggles with dog food allergies - and share how you found relief for your dog!
Please either share here by posting a comment or on our facebook page!
Sources:
Pet Education
DFA
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