Dog Product Review - Wag Lifetime Joint Care

          While hanging out on Google+ I came across a post in my feed about getting a sample of Wag Lifetime Joint Care. What can I say but I'm a sucker for dog related giveaways and free dog stuff. What also attracted me to this was the fact that my nearly 13 year old dog is on prescription pain medication for her hips and arthritis.

          Over the years I had put my dogs on various glucosamine and chondroitin pills and supplements and to be honest I never saw any type of change or improvement. Perhaps glucosamine and chondroitin is best used as preventive, well at any rate I had stopped use them and needless to say I was skeptical about Wag. When you have your dog on a veterinarian prescribed pain med you think how much could a OTC joint supplement actually help. As I said I'm a sucker for free and the after looking at its ingredients I figured what the heck I'll give it a shot.

          Once I got the pills in the mail I opened it up to begin testing them. The first big test was to see if my dog Fussy (she is her name) if she would eat these chewables on her own. I broke one in half and then in half again, Fussy only likes to be given tiny pieces of anything foreign for her to taste. Big relief not only did she like it but asked for more, so I handed her the rest of her dose. Now for the main test, would Wags do what it claims it does and alleviate my dog's joint pain.

           After about a week I realized that Fussy was moving much better in the morning, not as stiff getting up, not falling over as much, and was walking better. I was rather shocked that I would be able to see a noticeable difference in my dog and within such a short time. I was so astounded that I had to ask a family member for a second opinion, and sure enough I wasn't crazy they saw it to.

          Now that I knew this stuff actually works and my dog likes it I had to go and find out were I could buy it and how much this stuff costs. I was in for sticker shock on how much it cost per bottle, it was well over $40 for a bottle but if you signed up for their automatic monthly subscription it would cost you less. I hate, hate, hate automatic subscription deals and the cost was more then I had expected. This was a horrible dilemma......do I not buy the pills that obviously helped my dog's pain, do pay more money and just buy the pills when I could afford to, or do I pay less and be locked into a automatic subscription for a price that I find to still be to pricey? This is one of those choices that will drive a person insane!

          The tipping point came when I received an email from the company with an offer of buy-one-get-one bottle free with shipping included (automatic subscription only), not only that but on their website there was a code to also receive 10% off the price. Ugh! They found my weakness, my love of my dog and my love of saving money. I caved and ordered the bottles now I have to figure out if I should keep the subscription or just order when I can. Not sure what I will do.

          Did you find a joint or pain supplement that you think works tell me about I would love to hear what you have to say.

Dog Product Review - Snack 21 Salmon Skin Bone

          It is so hard to find a long lasting treat for a dog that can't chew anything to hard. Most of those long lasting treats are to tough and anything soft enough doesn't last longer then a few seconds. What makes it even more upsetting is having dogs that can eat long lasting treats and one that can't, life can be so unfair.

          While I was going to place an online order at petfooddirect so I thought what the heck and began looking through their dog treats and chews section. I nearly gave up looking for something that I would feel good about giving and something that my dog would eat when I found it.....Snack 21 Salmon Skin Bones and Rolls. They are 100% natural wild salmon skin that has been rolled into a stick or knotted on the ends to make a bone. I went with the bone shape hoping that it would make chewing it a little more long lasting.

          Salmon especially wild caught are a healthy food and a good source of Omegas which are important for dogs with joint issues (like my dog Fussy). Can't go wrong with a healthy good for you treat that may also be long lasting. I placed my order and waited for my things to arrive. Receiving a box of goodies makes me feel like a kid at Christmas time, even if it is all things only for the dogs. And just like a kid I have to always check out any toy or treat first. I ordered only two of the salmon bone just to sample, I pull the one out and remove the plastic wrapper. Good news no strong offensive fishy odor. But what I was surprised to see was all the fish scales were still on it. That concerned me some even though they weren't huge or anything. Have you ever eaten fish and found out you got a scale sticking in your throat, it is hard to brake the suction.

          Now for the big test... will the dog like it and how long will it really last. I hand to bone to Fussy which she takes, good sign so far. Being the dog she is it takes her dropping it and me passing it back to her for a few times before she starts chewing it in earnest. At least that means it isn't to tough on her mouth, another point in its favor. As she chews it still there is no over powering fishiness. However I do see that those scales are popping off and are littering where she is chewing the bone, point against. I wished I had timed her but much to my surprise it took her about 15 or 20 minutes to finish off the whole thing. That certainly makes it a long lasting chew for Fussy, big point in favor of. Despite the issue with the scales I think this Salmon Skin Bone is definitely a keeper.

New Study Shows That Dogs Use Color Vision After All

          We have come a long way from thinking our canine pals only saw in black and white. I always find it fascinating just how little the animals living closest have been studied. Domesticated animals have lived with humans for such a long time and yet we are still finding out new things about them. It really makes you think, doesn't it. Well anyway, I hope you find this article as interesting as I did.

New Study Shows That Dogs Use Color Vision After All | Surprising Science

"But because they only have two cones, dogs’ ability to see color is indeed quite limited compared to ours (a rough comparison would be the vision of humans with red-green colorblindness, since they, too, only have two cones). Whereas a human with full color vision sees red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet along the spectrum of visible light, a dog sees grayish brown, dark yellow, light yellow, grayish yellow, light blue and dark blue, respectively—essentially, different combinations of the same two colors, yellow and blue..."

Dog Product Review - EVO canned food

          As many of you already know Fussy my almost 13 year old English Springer Spaniel is aptly named thanks to her finicky nature. Giving her pills have always been a royal pain in the bum, so guess what she has to take everyday now that she is an older dog.....that's right pain pills.

          Over all the years and of all the dogs that I had I've become adequate at administering pills. Hiding meds in a treat or food is the easiest followed by the direct down the hatch approach. Fussy on the other hand is more then adequate at detecting pills in food and stopping any pill administered directly (I wont get into details but suffice it to say she is good).

          It has been extremely hard to find something edible that I can hide her medication in. First the food item needs to be able to hold the pill in place without coming apart. Second it needs to be tasted enough that Fussy will not examine it and take it in only one bite. Every time I think I have found something that will work she only falls for it for a short time, she is just to dang smart and not amply piggish. Once she catches on she will either refuse to ever touch that food again or she will gingerly pick at it to remove any "foreign objects".

Fussy is quite adorable looking but she has a devilish side!

          Earlier this year I went to the pet store and bought a small variety of quality canned dog. I didn't exactly buy them to stick pills in but as luck would have it one of them turned out that way. EVO canned food had the right texture and constancy to hide a pill in but more importantly Fussy goes nuts for it. Hallelujah!!

          There have been a few times where Fussy had noticed I stuffed a pill in her spoonful of EVO but the taste of the food is way to tasty for her to be fussy over it. Let me tell you that feels like a miracle or at the very least takes the stress out of pill time. If you have a finicky dog or are having a hard time administering your dog's medication you may want to check out EVO canned dog food.

          The pet stores in my area can be a pricey when it comes to buying healthy dog food, so I thought I would search the internet and see if I could it cheaper. I came across petfooddirect, they have the food for a decent price and even have sales from time to time. What I also liked was for that brand of food you can buy a variety case that includes three cans each of beef, chicken & turkey, duck, and venison. This is great because even dogs some diversity in flavor.

          How do you give your dog its pills, I love to hear if you found a better way. Have you bought dog from an online store, what store did you use and how where their prices?

Is Your Dog's Prescription Correct? - Medicine Mix Up

          Older dogs more then likely are on some sort of prescribed medicine from the vet, be it for a temporary illness or a permanent condition. Dogs of all ages at some point in their life will need a prescription drug for one reason or another. Usually you would get them through your vet, but if you are like me you are getting them through a drug store. My 13 year old dog is on Tramadol for her arthritis and it turns out that we can get the drug cheaper through a traditionally human pharmacy.

          Earlier this year my dog needed a refill of her pills. Called it in, got it filled, no problem. That was until we picked it up. I opened up the bottle to give my girl her pill but there was something wrong, the pills were a different color and shape then we normally get. I checked the label on the bottle...nope all was well there, but I knew this was still wrong. So I thought "Ah-ha! I'll Google the number stamped on the pill". Wouldn't you know it there is a website that you can look things like that up. It turned out that the medicine I received was Simvastatin a drug used to treat high cholesterol.

          The moral of the story is people make mistakes but you are your dog's last line of defense before that pill goes down their throat. It may be redundant, time consuming, and boring but every time I get a new prescription or refill I make it a point to take the time to check that it is correct. To check your dogs meds I recommend the website I used Drugs.com, once there click on the Pill Identifier tab and fill out the information.

Summer Paw Safety Reminder - Hot Pavement Can Burn

          Summertime means hot weather and another issue that we often overlook....hot pavement. Dog's don't walk around in sandals or other foot wear like us humans, which means they are walking barefoot. Pavement that is to hot will burn your dog's paws. I know I am guilty of forgetting this at times, and I am sure I am not the only one.

          So how can you tell if the pavement is to hot? Very simple, put your barefoot on the pavement and feel for your self. Remember to use your foot and not your hand, feet have padding that hands don't so the temperature will feel different. If the pavement is to hot for your feet it means that it is much to hot for your canine's paws.

          If your dog refuses to walk it could be a sign that the pavement is to hot for them. Symptoms of burnt paws are limping, licking or chewing of paws, paw coloration darker then normal, and missing parts of the pad. Dogs that have been swimming their pads get soften just in the same way our feet and hands do. This means that hot ground will feel much hotter on their paws.

          Apply first aid right away if you suspect your dog's paws have been burned. Fist get them off the hot ground quick as possible, grass will be cooler. Flush pads with water, preferably cool water and apply a cool compress if available. Afterward you will want to get your dog to the vet so they can tend to the burns, if the burns are bad enough they will prescribe antibiotics.

          If you know someone new to the world of dogs please make sure they know about this information, dogs will thank you!

New Papillon Color Added!

New Papillon in black & white

          Once again thanks to a customer asking for it I can now offer to everyone a new color option in Papillons. For those of you looking for black and white you will be pleased to know that is the new color.

          Currently I only have the new color listed in my Zibbet shop. But rest assured that in time I will get it posted to my website along with my other shops. Of course if you can't wait you are always welcome to contact me and I will get it posted faster.

          If you are looking for something in particular let me know and I will work on adding it to my line of all breed dog crate tags/magnets.

          I thought about working on new breed colors or new breeds but instead I decided to take a bit of a break from that. (That is not to say I wont do it if a customer asks.) In lieu of stitching something new I am finally taking the time to work on the crochet patterns I have bought over the years. My crochet skills aren't very advanced and I haven't crocheted in years but darn it all I want to! (LOL! Heck, I even have knitting patterns sitting around and I don't even know how to knit yet.) I figured if I keep waiting for the perfect time to work on them I will never get my chance. Who knows, if any of my crochet pieces works out perhaps I will end up selling them in one of my shops.

Happy 4th of July America!

Have a safe 4th of July.

Dog fireworks safety.