Cayman Update

I can't believe how big Cayman is getting! He is such an awesome little guy too and has just one more puppy education class at Petco before his big graduation. I plan on looking for some material with little graduation caps or something like that to make a little bandanna for him to wear for his graduation pictures getting his diploma. Be sure to check back, especially in about two weeks, for pictures!

So far in class he has learned "sit", "down", "stay", "front" (which is to sit front and center so you can put a leash on him or something like that), "leave it", "wait", "off", and how to loose leash walk without pulling or walking ahead of you. He's a good learner and is catching onto most of the commands really, really well. And he has proven he is an old pro at loose leash walking when we went on our first real walk, a whole block!

Recently I moved a chair into our bedroom in front of our bed so now Cayman has a perfect advantage to getting up into our bed. Last night he slept in our bed with us for the first time.

Another recent "goodie" is that Cayman has his very own booster seat in the car so he is level with the window and can see outside plus it has a hook where you can attach his harness so it adds a level of protection in the event we were ever to get into an accident. Alicia, our dog trainer and my friend put it aside for me when it went on clearance from $40 to $10 at Petco.

The research for making Cayman a therapy dog continues. It looks as though we will have to wait sometime and just keep working at the requirements, which are that of the Canine Good Citizen certification, or CGC, since we can not test time till he is a year old anyhow. So we have until April 19th, 2009 to master the CGC requirements.

Just For Fun!

Homemade "Frosty Paws" Recipe- Healthier Alternative!

I remember back in the day when I used to buy Purina's Frosty Paws for my very first dachshund, Ciji, during the summer months. Knowing what I do now about dog nutrition and what is actually in these and dog food in general, I would have made the healthy alternative versions of these cool treats back then too. Here's what they have in them followed by a healthier version you can make at home.

FROSTY PAWS® Original Frozen Treats for Dogs Nutritional Information Ingredients: WATER, DRIED WHEY, SOY FLOUR, ANIMAL FAT (PRESERVED WITH BHA AND BHT), DRIED WHEY PRODUCT, DRIED WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, VEGETABLE FAT, SOY LECITHIN, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, MONO-DIGLYCERIDES, CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE, POLYSORBATE 80, POLYSORBATE 60, CALCIUM CARBONATE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, FERROUS SULFATE, ZINC SULFATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, SILICON DIOXIDE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, COPPER SULFATE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT, POTASSIUM IODIDE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, AND FOLIC ACID. FROSTY PAWS® Frozen Treats for Dogs with Peanut Butter Nutritional Information Ingredients: WATER, DRIED WHEY, SOY FLOUR, ANIMAL FAT (PRESERVED WITH BHA AND BHT), DRIED WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, VEGETABLE FAT, SOY LECITHIN, PEANUT BUTTER SYRUP (PEANUTS, CORN OIL, SALT), MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, MONO-DIGLYCERIDES, CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE, POLYSORBATE 80, POLYSORBATE 60, CALCIUM CARBONATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, FERROUS SULFATE, ZINC SULFATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, SILICON DIOXIDE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, COPPER SULFATE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT, POTASSIUM IODIDE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID.

What makes Frosty Paws unhealthy? Well...
1. Animal Fat: since no specific animal was mentioned, these could be any kind of animal including "4D's- dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter"....eww.
2. BHA and BHT: banned from human use in most countries but still permitted in the US, possible human carcinogen, apparently carcinogenic in animal experiments...doesn't sound like something I want to feed my dogs.
3. Corn- anything. Corn is a high allergenic food in dogs. I try not to get anything that contains the word "corn" in the label.

So they are not that bad really, but if you could chose something healthier, wouldn't you?

Here's the recipe....

Ingredients:
 32 oz. vanilla yogurt, organic if possible- plain yogurt even better for dogs with a weight issue
 1 mashed banana or large jar of banana baby food, good source of fiber and potassium
 2 T. peanut butter, organic if possible- low sodium even better
 2 T. honey, organic if possible


Directions:
Blend all together and freeze in either 3 ounce paper cups or ice cube trays. Microwave just a few seconds before serving.

Or you could get really lazy like I have done and just stick a regular 6 or 8 oz cup of yogurt in the freezer and let them go town licking it out of the cup after it has been frozen solid.

So Long Canidae, Hello Wellness

We have recently decided to switch Cayman from Canidae Life Stages dry dog food to Wellness brand since it is becoming more and more difficult to make it down to the only local pet boutique, which is still over 30 minutes away, that sells it whereas Petco sells Wellness, is closer to our house and is on my way to and from work. My timing could not have been better. Apparently Canidae changed its formula and its making lots of dogs really sick. All the complaints I have read about Canidae all occur around the same time as the new formula change and all consist of the same issues- diarrhea and vomiting (see the reports for yourself at http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html ).

I don’t know exactly when the change in the formula was made ( I do know I purchased my last bag of Canidae around July 22) as part of the complaint is that Canidae did not announce it was changing its formula which could have added to the issue of digestive upset. I personally have not had any issue and I am down to maybe a week or so of Canidae left out of a 15 pound bag. Most pet food companies will tell you to go into a transition period of mixing your old food with the new food and usually that’s if you are switching brands but its just as important to do the transition when your current brand changes its formula. I can’t blame Canidae completely. It’s done amazing things for my parent’s beagle mix, Roxy’s coat. But I do find it a bit upsetting that such a reputable company would overlook such an important subject. Had these customer’s that have filed complaints been made aware of the change, they could have purchased a bag of the “new and improved” formula and mixed it with what they had left of the older formula. But the severity of the issues described in the complaints are enough to make me firm in my decision to switch and switch for good. As I said before, I still have some of the Canidae left over so I will be purchasing some Wellness brand tonight and doing the transition period properly.

Other than the recent complaints about the new formula, Canidae and Wellness are considered Five Star Premium dog foods (out of a six star rating), both are holistic; all natural; human grade; without by-products, wheat, corn, soy, artificial colors, or preservatives. The only negative aspects of Wellness is that it contains canola oil as a source of linoleic acid in which manufactures argue whether or not its is a high quality ingredient and that it has some fillers such as rice bran and rye flour which are not necessarily bad, but considered much, much better than some of the fillers used by lower quality commercial dog foods. According to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ that is the only “con” to the dog food. They also state that they “do retain some concerns with the overall meat content of the food” since it does not have as many meat sources as some other foods, making it a Five Star grade rather than a Six Star rated premium food which is fine since I already supplement my food with canned dog food and fresh boiled organ meats.

Wellness also carries a line of canned dog foods, treats, and biscuits under the name Old Mother Hubbard as well.

Cayman's New Collar

Cayman finally out grew his first collar. This evening, after our second puppy training class with Alicia at Petco, I purchased this cool collar. Its kinda hard to tell from the pictures- but its aqua (my favorite and Cayman's signature color), blue, grey, tan, brown and navy striped (the brown looks a bit like violet doesn't it?) I think it looks quite stunning on him and still matches his harness and leash which are the same color aqua. The flash (and a wiggly puppy) made it tough to get a decent picture so hopefully I will be able to get a better one later on. Hey, I just noticed how incredibly shiny Cayman's coat is in these pictures- glossy!

Vaccination and Other Paperwork Keeper

Having a dog means having more paperwork than you probably know what to do with. In my case, it meant trying to cram all of it in one of those paper envelopes that has a flap where you record vaccination and other medical history. With all the papers and brochures I had, I was tearing mine at the seams. So I got this great idea of using one of those filing folders for checks. I then was able to label each of the pockets for things like "vaccinations", "training", "meds" and "vet receipts". I even got a different color for each of my pets- Cayman got aqua, Zoey got pink, and our cat got purple. Now when I take any of my pets to the vet or something, all their paperwork is not only together, but also organized. I got these file folders at Walmart for about $5 a piece. Its cool because it even has two business card sized pockets of the back where I put their vet's business card. I suggest everyone with a pet- dog or cat- try this out!

We Got Featured!

Look at who got featured AGAIN! Check out those checking out Cayman!
http://whosyourdachshund.blogspot.com/2008/08/reader-feature-august.html#links