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Well, its that time again where I've accumulated more dog stuff than I need and it's going to a good home. 

Indy didn't do too well on dr tims or merrick puppy food (too many calories for the little guy), so the rest will be donated to the rescue. I also found a bunch of samples of petcurean food at work, since we no longer sell it, the samples would have been thrown out, at least these will feed some needy pups. All together, about 85 lbs of food, yay! 
I normally donate to couple local rescues that I volunteer with. This time, I wanted to see if there's a new one I could help out. I found a rescue that focuses on saving pitbulls from high risk situations and finding them good homes. They are going through some financial difficulties right now due to couple dogs needing surgeries and it looks like they have several puppies now, I figured they could really use the food. 

In other news, I ordered Jean Dodds' book called The Canine Thyroid Epidemic. I'm interested in her research when it comes to vaccines and the role it plays in dogs health as well as her take on nutrition. It seems to have gotten a lot of positive feedback on amazon, so I look forward to reading it this week. I also wanted to get Pukka's promise, but it's on backorder right now.  

Uno's anxiety and supplement trials

Uno has some reactivity issues, especially being approached by off leash dogs when we're out walking. So I've been trying various supplements and herbs to see what works. This is what I got from work and using the combination of the greendog and petnaturals. It seems to to take the edge off a little, but its only been about 3 days since I started. The calmshen doesn't seem to help much.  Even with the discount I get, both of the supplements are kinda pricey. What I will do most likely is look up the active ingredients and find an equivalent human version of it for less. The main issue with those is that they are not flavored and I either have to crumble it into the food or put it in peanut butter which I don't like due to extra calories. 

Do you use any anxiety supplements/drugs with your dogs, what has worked for you?

Just some pupdates (get it pups.. updates..lol).

So I dont have anything nutritionally constructive to deliver today because it's been little hectic the last few weeks with a new job and studying for finals. I have couple weeks of break before summer classes, so it was nice to have a day off yesterday and hang out with a friend instead of working, overdosing on caffeine and then racing to school and staying there until 10 pm.
Work is going pretty well, I'm getting more used to the routine and my boss is super happy with the changes I've implemented since the business has been steadily improving since I showed up.
I feel like I've been neglecting the dogs a little since I dont have as much time to walk them as I used to. They are staying with my parents during the day and then I take them for 2 walks after I get home.
I've incorporated more raw food into Indy's diet and his stomach seems to be handling it just fine right now. I got a bunch more expired raw from the store, mostly pre made instinct patties like organic chicken and buffalo, so I'm not complaining. The freezer is kind of stuffed right now, so I need to find a day to thaw out the bulk orders and portion them out to make more room.

We also got a big order of blue ridge beef today, half of it was special orders. I'm still on the fence about this company. I've heard some bad things (that they use 4-d meats), but so far I havent been able to find conclusive evidence to support it other than online rumors. This is what their website states:

1.       Blue Ridge Beef™ 100% pure natural meats and bones

2.       Fresh and flash frozen preserving amino acids and live digestive enzymes essential for healthy pets.

3.       No artificial ingredients.

4.       No gluten, grain or imported materials

5.       No preservatives or additives.

6.       No by-products, meals, organ fillers, color or taste additives.

7.       Protecting against bacteria, all of our facilities Utilize stainless steel equipment that is cleaned and sterilized between each product run and at the end of each day.

I do sincerely hope that they are not lying, but you just never know. The venison was super cheap, so I ordered a case for myself, along with duck and some natural mix (beef based grind with organ, tripe and bone). 

I rarely post pictures of the guys, so here are a few from tonight. They were trying to be cute because I had some turkey jerky. 

My white bearded wise beast

You know you have a problem when..

Your dog has more name tags than you have shoes. I went through some dog stuff this evening and didnt even realize how much I hoard when it comes to pet supplies. I absolutely loathe shoe/clothes shopping for myself, but when it comes to pet related stuff, sign me up!
Also found a bunch of collars, some of which I'll be donating since they are never even used, hopefully if I can foster in the near future, they will all be shared.

Work updates and some goodies

So it's been 2 weeks since I started my new job and I love it! Overall, its not as difficult as I anticipated, just keeping track of multiple things at once takes some getting used to. My favorite part is talking to customers about nutrition and meeting all the pups that come in. 
Hardest part is staying within store budget when ordering products weekly. There are so many cool things that I want to get, but right now, I have to mostly stick with the essentials like food and treats. 

I was cleaning out the store freezer today and found a bunch of pre-made raw that expired 2 months ago. So I got 

- 22 lbs of instinct lamb
-14 lbs instinct beef
- 12 lbs primal buffalo
- 8 lbs primal chicken/salmon mix for cats (but will most likely go to dogs since my parents cat is not a fan of premade). 
For a grand total of 56 lbs! 
Since I havent been able to find any freebies on craigslist, I'm glad I can get from work. The dogs will be eating buffalo tomorrow for the first time, we'll have to see how that goes. 

Some exciting news

Long story short, I had a temp job few months ago at a pet boutique. Even though I enjoyed it, it was only for 6-8 weeks during holidays. The owner recently got in touch with me and asked me if I would be interested in becoming a manager (the current one wasn't working out due to several issues). Since I've been looking for a full time job the last few months, I of course agreed and I started last week.

Even though I'm kind of anti-social at times (social anxiety), I absolutely love working in this environment. It gives me an opportunity to educate pet owners and make significant difference in the lives of their pets. I can probably talk about nutrition for hours given the chance, so this is a great outlet for that.

I love being able to browse hundreds of pet products and select the best ones for the store. I've also given the owner several suggestions on what to do in regard to bringing it more profit and he thinks my ideas are the greatest.

It's also nice to get pet stuff for myself at wholesale prices and some freebies time to time ;)

The owner ordered these barky barks (esophagus) but didnt realize how bad they smelled (kinda resemble road kill) because they came from grass fed animals, so I got a box of 90 treats for free. The pups are in heaven since they think the smellier the better when it comes to food.

Anyways, I'm very excited about the job, hopefully it would be a great way for me to help others while making friends and building connections in the process :)

Merrick bargain shopping and review

So few months ago, I bought a bag of Merrick Beef and Barley formula for Indy. I've been trying to find a food for him that works with his sensitive stomach. He's done well on Instinct, but its very expensive and I was concerned about the ash levels in the food.
I do have a few reservations about Merrick, there have been some quality control issues, like people finding plastic in food (but than again, I'm not sure about the reliability of the source). I mainly got this food because they reformulated their line and increased protein to 30% which to me is far more appealing.

I've tried Indy on several grain inclusive foods, but the ones that tend to be 24-26% protein give him dry coat and make him itch. The high protein grain free foods(except Instinct and Holistic Select), give him the runs. My mindset has shifted over the last few months in regard to grain free foods. So many companies are incorporating potatoes/sweet potatoes into their formulas, I'm starting to wonder whether the dogs are better off eating certain grains over high glycemic starches.

So I was curious to try this food. Ingredient wise it looks good to me:

Deboned Beef, Pork Meal, Barley, Salmon Meal (source of Omega 3 fatty acids), Peas, Brown Rice, Sweet Potato, Pork Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Oats, Pea Protein, Natural Flavor, Flax Seed, Carrots, Apples, Blueberries, Organic Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Minerals (Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Rosemary Extract.


I like the inclusion of salmon meal that lists before pea protein, along with salmon oil further down the list. It still has sweet potatoes in it, but it's not a 2nd ingredient. I also like the fact that it contains probiotoics for digestive health. 

He's been on this food about 3 weeks and I've definitely noticed a huge change in his skin and coat. Previously he was on Dr. Tims Pursuit. While he liked the food, it dried out his coat, made him itchy and he had a yeasty odor to his skin. Since the switch, his itching has subsided and he has the softest and shiniest coat right now. The poops are small and firm and his energy levels are pretty good as well. You can see how his coat looks in this picture taken few days ago:

The Classic line comes in 3 flavors (beef, chicken and lamb) and several life stages including adult, small breed, puppy and senior. It costs around $53-55 for a 30 lb bag. Not cheap, but little less than Instinct. 


Last week I was browsing some deal sites and someone posted a great deal on Merrick puppy food, $5 for 5 lb bag, plus 15% off coupon to first time customers and free shipping on orders over $60. 

I was a bit apprehensive about ordering puppy food since neither of my dogs are puppies, but based on guaranteed analysis, there's very little difference between the 2. 

The puppy formula has 60  more calories per cup and 1% more fat, otherwise it's identical to the adult food. I ended up ordering 12 bags (60 lbs total) which after discount and free shipping cost me only $51. 
I'll be donating some of it to the rescue and give couple bags to my sisters hyper dog, but I want to see how Indy does on it compared to the beef formula. 
The ingredient list for this food:

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, Peas, Barley, Sweet Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Salmon Meal (source of Omega 3 fatty acids), Oats, Natural Chicken Flavor, Carrots, Apples, Blueberries, Organic Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Minerals (Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Rosemary Extract.

30% protein and 16% fat

I still plan on doing more research on Merrick and emailing them with specific questions about the quality of their ingredients. 

Anyways, here's my haul for the day (now I need to figure our where to hide it, so the dogs dont get to it.