Things are pretty well overall. Still working at the store and enjoying the learning experience. It feels nice waking up in the morning and not dreading going to work for a change. I thoroughly enjoy helping people and their pets. Couple days a woman came in almost in tears, she handed me a lost dog flyer and asked her if I could put it up in the window. Of course I said yes. Her king Charles spaniel escaped from the yard and she has spent the last 2 hours looking for him. At first I was going to put a notice on our facebook page, but decided to check craigslist lost and found first. Lo and behold the first ad I see is someone who found a sweet dog in that neighborhood. They provided no description, just a number. I called the owner right away and gave her the information. She came in today with a bouquet of flowers and tears in her eyes thanking me for helping her find her dog. I said it was nothing and it's the least I could do. I know if I ever lost Uno, I would be heartbroken, so I just wanted to reach out to her.
Things like that really make my day. Of course the next day you get some butthead who decides to give us a nasty review on yelp because we wouldn't give him a free 30 lb bag of Orijen.
The dogs have been doing well. Uno is still on raw and I'm experimenting with various supplements to see what he likes and does well on. Part of the reason is because I'm trying to expand our supplement selection in the store. Right now our selection is dismal to say the least. There are still supplements on the shelf that were there when I first started working (8 months). My main reservation is that it's very hard to recommend a product that I've never used myself. The only things I've really used for the dogs would be the seameal and fish oil. I've tried some of the honest kitchen products with good results (I love perfect form for any digestive issues).
I'd like to bring in one of a kind products that are not sold at big box stores, actually work and are not ridiculously expensive (under $35).
I found couple things so far that I like. One is called Dogzymes by Natures Farmacy. It's a powdered multi vitamin sort of blend meant to fill any nutritional dietary gaps whether you're feeding kibble, cooked or raw. The ingredients are fairly straightforward with no real red flags that I noticed.
Ingredients: Dried Organic Coconut, Parmesan Cheese, Algal Oil (source of omega-3 DHA), Choline Chloride, Yucca schidigera, Sodium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Cinnamon Extract, Origan Extract, Cayenne Extract, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin, Niacin, Manganese Proteinate, Yeast Culture, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine HCl, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide and mixed tocopherols.
The dogs absolutely gobble it up because when you open a jar is smells like pizza, I'm not kidding. They use cheese powder as a second ingredient and God knows, Uno will do anything for cheese. Both dogs have been on it for about a month and I have definitely noticed less shedding, and winter dandruff as well as overall nice shiny coats. I mix this in with the raw food along with seameal and salmon oil.
The price is reasonable, $18 for 1 lb and $30 for 2 lbs. They make a variety of other supplements including joint, digestion, immune support etc. I do like the fact that it's in a powdered form which makes it easy for dogs with dental issues or those who dislike taking pills. It's also easy to mix in with raw food.
I still have about 3 months worth of it to go, so we'll see how the dogs do on it long term.
My second candidate is a product called Olewo. This may seem rather odd to some, but basically it's dehydrated carrots and beets. Sounds kind of like a horse food right? yes and no.
I'm not one of those hardcore raw feeders that believe that dogs should be eating like wolves to a T. While I believe that their diet should be primarily composed of animal proteins, they can also extract nutrients from predigested plant matter.
Olewo makes carrots in pellet form that need to be soaked prior to feeding as well as red beets. Both of these vegetables have a very high vitamin content including beta carotene(converts to vitamin A), vitamins B, C, E, D as well as mineral like calcium, potassium, phosphorus and more. This company is based in Germany and what makes this supplement superior is that it's grown in fertile soil and while the website doesn't mention it, I'm assuming it's not exposed to the same fertilizers/chemicals as it's American counterparts. Overall it seems like a quality product.
The main reason I wanted to use it is because Indy still has bouts of diarrhea. Unlike Uno, he doesn't have an iron gut. I can't switch him cold turkey from one protein to the next. If he has the runs for more than 2 days straight, his anal glands fill out and he's not a happy camper. Since I've been adding the carrots, he's had consistently firm poop and I noticed his coat has become really rich red color.
Uno has done well on raw but as he's gotten older, he's metabolism slowed down quite a bit. I have to watch how much he eats and since I've been cutting back, he's become a major pain in the ass about counter surfing. So I've been adding the carrots to his raw food for extra fiber and it seems to keep him satiated. Both dogs love the taste and gobble it up, even plain with nothing added.
It seems like the supplement is highly praised by breeders for helping to keep their dogs in peak condition. Seems like a lot of people use it for any digestive issues like diarrhea, constipation, colitis, IBS, etc with good results. Since we have a lot of people who's dogs experience these problems, I will most likely bring this in to see how it does.
If you know of any supplements that you used or have used in the past with good results, let me know. I need to learn what's out there and bring some good stuff in!.
Here are couple pics of the lazy dogs from today
Uno with his "babies" (he does this thing every evening where he goes to his toy basked, picks out a toy or 2 and goes to sleep with them).
Indy found a sweet spot under my desk.
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