Anda

Sorry for your loss, Mary...

Happy Birthday, Twist!!!

I recently ordered some moose antlers from a great company - Arcadia Antlers- http://www.acadiaantlers.com/ - their shipping is free and fast, so it's worth trying. Unfortunately Ouzo's reaction to the moose taster slices ($5/each only) was just as expected - a bit of chewing and then forgetting about them. He's just not a big chewer. Bully sticks, yes, he likes those, but anything harder, beah... I saw they have some huge ones as well that look like they'd last for a while

Hi Amanda! *waves!* Recognize me? Leo is such a handsome boy, hope he finds a proper home!

Oops - hit reply instead of edit

Ouzo will be 7 at the end of October, and he's intact. He's never ever tried to mount another dog. He's actually more interested in insistingly sniffing male dogs than females I've never had any issues with him but he's walked on leash every day except the time we go to dog parks and other parks when he's off leash and doesn't show any interest in any other dogs.

We had to get this vaccine when we boarded Ouzo in May at a veterinary hospital. I had no idea canine influenza even existed.

Kristen - many people fed Taste of the Wild (me included) until their recent recalls, which is what I think generated this thread. BTW, we've been successful with Pulsar -which contains pulses (peas + lentils) and salmon - for almost a month! YAY!!! Happy Ouzo, happy Anda! http://www.horizonpetfood.com/pulsar

She is so intense! I was about to comment on the resemblance to Laura's Meg, the other slick speed demon

LOL - thanks Laura Yes, lived in Bucharest till I was 24.

Yes, I rent and I've paid $35/month pet rent for the last 6.5 years. Plus aprox. $400 deposit. My rent is about 40% higher than the quote above as well. Not a big deal. Certain countries in Europe are more permissive when it comes to allowing dogs in public transportation and terraces outside restaurants. Not everywhere in Europe is like that. Plus there are not very many dogs you encounter on European city streets - people rarely have more than one dog, many times due to space restrictions in an urban environment. I was shocked to see how many American dog lovers have multiple dogs. I've met a few people who had two dogs when I was growing up in Romania, but those were the exceptions. My husband actually had two dogs when I first met him and it was a bit strange, but I didn't mind it Here it's almost the norm to have more than one dog. Oh, and American dog owners are probably a lot more knowledgeable than European ones, I don't agree with Pam's statement saying that Europeans are more educated in dog manners. But it's true that European dogs seem to be less hyper than American ones. Dogs are not raised to have such a high toy/ball drive and are a lot mellower in general.

Laura, we tried that a couple of years ago, unfortunately it didn't end up well. Liz - Thanks, I will give it a try if things don't continue to stay positive on Blue Buffalo. He really enjoyed the Salmon formula of TOTW a while back... Must be the super stinky smell of fish kibble!

Update - there goes my grain theory down the drain. Innova (red meat) resulted in runny stools - grrr.... However the Blue Buffalo Wilderness salmon (grain free) seems to be working wonders - started him on Sunday and so far "things" look very firm I might just need to stick to salmon/fish in general foods. Now back to your regular scheduled programming.

Congrats on the new puppy, Jo!!! You can tell from her pictures what a serious little puppy she is! And how beautiful! You better not slack with documenting her transformation to a grown up dog - we need at least monthly pictures! BTW Krisk, this applies to you as well!

After 2 months on Purina One (after my husband switched him to that from Acana while i was traveling), the constant runny poop issue has been brilliantly resolved - probably due to the grains in the food - but his coat became kinda stinky and lacking luster. My odor free dog became smelly. Yuck! So last evening we stopped at Petsmart and grabbed two expensive small bags (about $18 for 6 lbs or so!!!) - one of Innova Adult Small Bites and one of Blue Buffalo Wilderness - this one is grain free but I'm thinking of mixing it with the Innova. I'll see how he does on these, he liked the Innova last night... Everyone rushes to recommend grain free brands. How about a GRAIN including food that can be trusted? Care to share? He had been on California Natural Lamb & Rice for the first 3 years of his life and he absolutely hated the taste.

Is a bread knife considered a food item? Because that's what Ouzo stole from the counter the first time we left him home alone one evening when he was around 5 months old and we decided we need to still have a social life among humans. He was alone for a couple of hours - we didn't dare stay out longer. Upon our return we found a massive bread knife in the middle of our bed, handle meticulously chewed - we still have the same knife and it makes me roll my eyes every time I grab it by the handle...), no cuts or blood anywhere - first thing we checked. Plus a 12-pack of ramen noodle cups dragged in the bedroom, some corners chewed until he decided he wasn't into unhealthy crappy cheap food. And his entire basket of toys turned upside down, covering the noodles. Nice work for a pup in two hours.

Umm...what?

OMG LOOOOVED the sound track - Apocaliptica covering One by Metallica, right? How appropriate for Wick's theme song?! Go Wick GO!!!

After years of feeding TOTW I switched to Acana at the beginning of May. Soft stools, to the point that when Ouzo was boarded for 4 days at the animal hospital they treated him with metronidazole and switched his food to something else. I've just returned from 3 weeks of vacation and found out my husband switched him to Purina One in my absence - before I had a chance to blast him for giving him crappy supermarket food I found out his running stools have been solved. Hmmm.... I think the grain free foods are not agreeing with him, must continue the quest for the perfect food for a picky eater and serial soft stooler

Oh SHUTUP SHUTUP SHUTUP Paula! He is so handsome. But I do rent an apartment as well and don't have a yard - can't commit to more than one nutjob at a time. Wait. Two if I count Chris. Hope he finds a good home soon! (or that his owner would actually look for one of the many many apartment complexes that allow dogs....)

Ouch, hope your vet confirms it's nothing to worry about. Ouzo's lower gums are spotted, pink and brown, always have been, as is the roof of his mouth - mostly brown but with some pink spots. Could it be just some coloring you haven't noticed before?

Hi lmaautrta. For dry paw pads I swear by Bag Balm or Vet Balm - you can find it at Wal-Mart for about $8 for a big box of lanolin based ointment. It made a big difference in avoiding having Ouzo's paw pad ripped open on rough surfaces. No idea of the dry nose - we live in Colorado, pretty dry, but my dog has never had a dry nose problem, despite the horrific images I posted above six month ago. BTW - by religiously applying SPF 100 on his nose we avoided any kind of drama after this incident.

OMG, poor Noah, do those incidents pass and he heals up? Please tell me yes! Sweet baby, it's so painful to look at their sores, hope it passes soon!

Not that many people cared about this particular thread, but in case someone happens to search the database for nose peeling or sunburn, I wanted to follow up on my original post and confirm it was just a bad sunburn. His nose improved every consequent day, and he's now wearing Water Babies sunscreen with SPF 100 every time I take him out in full sun. Four days later it looked almost as good as new. The black pigment started to fill in again later as well. You can see it in this image, another week later. Believe me, I don't wish this kind of scare to anyone. Glad it ended up with a lesson learned and a more hydrated nose

This is how Ouzo's nose looked yesterday at the vet's office. Monday afternoon I noticed a small scratch on top of the nose, it was showing a bit of red, but I blamed it on a potential missed fetch move or who knows what. Put a bit of antibiotic ointment and forgot about it. Until Tuesday morning, when his nose was looking a lot worse. In addition to the scratch in the middle, the black skin on the sides of his nose was starting to curve up, almost peeling. I put more oinment, some Bag Balm, and hoped this would fix it. Well, Wednsday morning it was even worse. So of course I went online and started to research "dog's nose peeling". OMG, the causes were varied, from "Collie Nose" (a bacterial infection with horrible images attached), to autoimune diseases, Lupus, skin cancer or maybe simply dryness or sunburn. You can imagine my horror when I came home earlier from work to load Ouzo in the car and head for the vet and found that two big pieces of his black skin were actually sticking up, ready to peel at the slightest touch. Long story short (oh, what a long 20 min drive that was!), the vet thinks it's nothing but sunburn, since the skin under looks pink and healthy, he doesn't have any other scabs on his ears, mouth or paw pads (signs of autoimune disease). She told me put sunscreen on his nose from now on, dab some vaseline or Bag Balm for the next few days, and, if nothing changes, then it was sunburn. This is how it looked after the vet gently peeled off the dry skin sticking out IF it gets worse, they might have to do a biopsy which you can imagine is horrible on the nose and see if there's somehting else. GOOD NEWS - his nose hasn't peeled since yesterday, looks good, and given the fact that I am peeling on my back too )) due to our wonderful Friday outing at the dog park, I think we can both blame it on the sun. When he was much younger his nose had a lot more pink above and I used to put sunscreen on it. I know he's got a white face so I was aware he's sensitive to sun. As am I, as a matter of fact