monthly review: April Pawalla Mini!

Our Pawalla Mini box came so late this month! It was shipped out on April 20th and didn't arrive until today. It was very hard on me because I'm very impatient. I contacted Pawalla about the delay yesterday and apparently it was a problem throughout the east coast with Pawalla. Something about storms? It's been sunny here but I haven't paid attention to what's been going on in the rest of the country weather-wise so I'll trust what they say.

How Pawalla works: You can get a standard box or a mini box. Standard boxes come 6-10 full sized products that include wet food, treats, supplements or vitamins, essentials and a toy. Standard boxes range from $21-29 a month depending on your subscription plan. Mini boxes come with 3-5 products that include treats, a toy and surprise item(s) but NO wet food. Mini boxes range from $12-17 a month depending on your subscription plan.
We get a mini box simply because we also get BarkBox and because I don't want them to get picky and only eat wet food :) You fill out information about your dog's age, size, and such so that they can tailor it to your needs.

Ginger and Luna knew what was up. Ares was trying to be dignified for the picture. Basically, all of my pictures were a mess because they all forgot what "sit" means. (Ginger doesn't know her own name, much less any commands. It's hard to get her to do anything and Luna follows her lead.)

 Ares loves getting the first glimpse of our haul!

First up: In Clover - Grin Dental Chews. Pawalla says "Grin is a licorice dog treat (one of the first I have ever seen), with a flavor/taste that dogs tend to like. Along with the flavor, this is a grain free product that contains the anti-oxidant green tea. It also contains inulin, a prebiotic that works to feed the good bacteria in the intestinal tract. Dried seaweed meal contains chlorophyll which helps to freshen breath. These clover-shaped treats contain 16 calories each. The chewy texture of the treat encourages chewing to clean teeth." They're roughly $4.99 and can be found here.

The shapes are super cute!

Silly puppies didn't want pictures, just treats.

Next up was their favorite treat: Locomotion Pet Treats (cheesy flavor). Pawalla says "Quick production and delivery to store shelves allows this company to use no preservatives in the making of their treats. Their products are so fresh that they don't need any. Oats are great for GI health, cheese powder, nonfat powdered milk and egg powder all provide healthy Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium and all of the B vitamins. The garlic powder will make the treats a hit with all dogs." We got a 6 oz box but a 1 pound box costs $5.99 and can be found here.

Now here's a potential dilemma for some people: garlic powder. It's kind of controversial in the dog world, some people think it's just fine in small amounts for dogs, some people think it's something dogs shouldn't have at all. I'm actually quite surprised that the Pawalla nutritionist approved the treats to go in our monthly box for this reason. My dogs have never had treats with garlic in them but I figure that in small amounts, they'll be fine.
For real, here's what happened when I opened the box. I tried to take a picture of one treat on the blue chair that all of the product pictures are taken on. Luna snagged that treat as soon as I put it down and hauled ass to find a spot to eat it. After she ate it, this picture happened:

We also got Grizzly - Pollock Oil. Pawalla says "Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are part of the daily nutrient recommendations for cats. The omega 3s keep the heart and kidneys healthy for cats. We think of omega 6 fatty acids when we think about coat quality in cats. However, you will find that great contributions come from omega 3 fatty acids like those found in Grizzly Pollock oil. Pollock fish is a great source of the omega 3 fatty acids we commonly associate with salmon oil. There is a good ratio of 1.3:1 of DHA to EPA. Because of the high level of polyunsaturation in the product, it is preserved with rosemary extract." I can't read what size my bottle is, but an 8 oz bottle is about $8 and can be found here.

You guys, I didn't write the above wrong - the whole paragraph was written by Pawalla about how good Pollock Oil is for CATS, not dogs. Rest assured, with a little research I found that Pollock Oil has the same benefits for dogs that it does for cats. I think they might have forgotten to switch "cat" to "dog." :)

You may or may not remember that we got items from Grizzly in our February Pawalla Mini. They loved those Salmon treats they got then and they loved the stuff they got now! Luna got about 1 pump because she's about 10 pounds in her food and I put 2 pumps in Ares' dish because he's about 20 pounds. The wet spot on Ares' food is the Pollock Oil. They LOVED it and licked their bowls completely clean (although they do that every night anyway!)

And finally, their toy. They got the Amazing Pet Rope Ball. Pawalla says "This ultra-durable, rope ball promotes healthy play while also helping keep your pup's teeth clean." I can't find this toy online ANYWHERE. I would low-ball estimate it to be about $3.00. It will probably be on the Pawalla shop page in the next month or so.

Luna was still licking her lips from her amazing dinner but she wanted that ball!

I love this picture. See Ares' hind leg flying up? I managed to take the picture right as he was slipping on the hardwood floor!

And a more dignified picture of him playing fetch.

Want your own Pawalla or Pawalla Mini? Clickity-click this link for $5 off your first subscription!

pollen allergy part 2

Ever since Ginger visited the vet a week ago, I realized that Ares and Luna have been very sneeze-y and had a sudden increase in reverse sneezing. There was no doubt in my mind that they were suffering from mild pollen allergies. At the time, I knew that Ares had two weeks before he was going to go back to the vet for his mange recheck (which, by the way, he doesn't seem to have lost more hair but I haven't noticed the hair growing back so I'm curious as to what the vet will say), so I really wanted to wait until that visit to discuss allergy treatment options for Ares and Luna.

Benadryl is always an option for allergic reactions but never give animals medication without discussing it with your vet first. You don't want to give your dogs too much! (For reference, my vet said that in a pinch, Ares at 19 pounds can have one pill and Luna at 10 pounds can have half a pill.)

Unfortunately for Ares and Luna, as each day passed, they were sneezing and reverse sneezing more and more. By last night, I could hear the Ares' congestion as he was laying on me, breathing, and poor Luna would have reverse sneezing fits that would leave her literally gasping for air.

My amazing vet managed to get me in before I had to work today to see someone today to give them relief. It will take 24-48 hours for the medicine to work its magic on them but at least we've started the clock on it.

A quick note on reverse sneezing: 

it's mostly a squishy faced dog thing. One video I saw on YouTube said that it is a result of an allergic reaction to something (in Ares' and Luna's case, they were having respiratory problems from the pollen). There isn't really anything you can do to stop your dog from reverse sneezing but there are a couple of things that can help. One is to rub their throat and the other is to hold their nostrils closed. The idea behind these techniques is to make them swallow and calm down. I took a video this morning of Luna's reverse sneezing fit. She usually does it for quite awhile and like I said above, she is gasping for air when it is over. It's a scary thing to see but don't be worried if it happens.

pollen allergy

On Tuesday morning, I noticed that Ginger had been very itchy. She has the funny ability to stay standing and still use her back legs to scratch her ribs. Her owner had told me that the last time she went to the vet, the doctor wanted to test her for allergies because of her scratching but he had declined at the time. I made a mental note to tell him to get her checked out.

Early afternoon, I caught a glimpse of her side where she had been scratching and saw this:

My first thought was that she was going to scratch herself raw so I called her vet (which is also my amazing vet and got her squeezed in to see the doctor. I made sure to mention what the other vet had told her owner and that I thought that she needed to be tested for allergies.

By the time we got to the vet a few hours later, her entire body was red. The poor girl wasn't spared - her ears, face, armpits, belly - everything was even redder than the above picture. 

The vet took one look at her and declared it a pollen allergy. (She was a year old as of Wednesday, April 17 which is why it wasn't caught last year.) Ginger needed what was essentially a cortisone shot and doggie prescription benadryl. The shot worked to give her immediate relief while the pills will be part of her daily preventative to keep it from happening again. The vet said that in the future to keep an eye on the redness returning - the red splotchy skin can easily turn into raised lesions that can ooze and need antibiotics to treat.

The vet was right and within an hour or two of us being home, Ginger's redness was almost completely gone. The pills have also worked wonders at keeping the redness and scratching at bay.

Yesterday, I went to my local pet store and told the owner about my adventure with Ginger. She gave me another quick and easy way to help wirh pollen allergies: baby wipes. I now keep cheap, unscented, hypoallergenic baby wipes by the door and wipe off everyone's feet when we come inside (and faces and backs because Luna is short and Ares and Luna love smelling all of the buttercups growing in the yard.)

Anyway, the idea behind the wipes is to keep the pollen from being tracked inside on their bodies for them to inhale or ingest all day long. Surprisingly, all three pups have been very willing to let me wipe them off when they come inside. I'm hoping that this also helps with Ares and Luna's constant sneezing.

Fingers crossed that everyone's pollen allergies remain under control so that we don't have to give up the dog park for the time being!

monthly review: April BarkBox!

I think that this BarkBox is my favorite so far. In the letter I got with my product descriptions, the team at BarkBox stated that for our April showers, they wanted to make sure that our pups got fun indoor things to keep them occupied, which is great because my pups and I hate the rain! Ginger is visiting us again and this time, she has learned to join in our box opening fun!

Now first, about BarkBox: it's a company that sends you four or more products every month to try out with your pups. A portion of each months proceeds help doggies-in-need (a different cause every month). The price of the boxes range from $19-$29 a month, depending on the plan you choose (a 6 month subscription is $19 a month, a month to month subscription is $29 a month).

Only my boy is sweet enough to pose for pictures for his mama.

 Ginger and Luna were so excited to get the box open.

Their lovely haul. So many fun goodies to explore!

First things first: They got Licks liquid vitamin. Strangely enough, it's not on the sheet of goodies to explain what they are and why I should give them to my pups. Licks is a canine health supplement and treat. There are 3 super easy ways to administer the vitamins from these packets: 1) feed to dog directly from packet 2) pour over food and 3) pour into their water dish. The joint and heart formula we received is packed with Omega 3 fatty acids, vegetarian Glucosamine, and Vitamin E. They also have formulas for athletes (to maximize energy) and zen (to calm down anxiety-ridden pups). You can find them here.
If you remember, I got a couple of these in their Bugsy's Box back in January. I haven't used those and still haven't used these so I don't have an opinion on them. I am very intrigued by them and will probably add them to Ares and Luna's water dishes in the next few days to see how they react to it.

The next thing is my absolute favorite from the box: The grooming mitt. This is by ABO Gear. BarkBox says "The GroomMitt is handy for times when your pup could use a bath, but you don't feel like dragging sad puppies to the sink, or enduring a wrestling match in the tub (advantage: dog.) You stay dry, they stay happy and clean." They are sold for $6.99 and you can find them here.

I naturally had to pull one out to try it. They have the same cloth feel that baby wipes do but it's something that you can just stick your hand in. Ares and Luna were both pretty clean but it didn't stop me from wiping them down! The best parts about it: it smells yummy and it's amazing for cleaning those pesky pug wrinkles! I am a happy mama!

The lovely Etta Says also sent us a few things. BarkBox says "Etta says makes treats with the highest quality, USA sourced duck. They're all natural - no fillers, coloring, preservatives, grain, gluten, or by-products - and come enthusiastically recommended by our R&D team." The duck jerky retails for $9.50 and can be found here.

They got a crunchy duck chew which I haven't given to them yet because I'd rather that World War III didn't start in my apartment and they got duck jerky treats.

One piece easily broke apart for me to share among the three of them. They barely sat still for the pictures and they more or less inhaled them when I finally let them have their piece of jerky.

We also got a Barkworthies bone. BarkBox says "Nothing sates a four-legged chewer quite like a bone. These stuffed shins are filled with brown rice and ground bully sticks, which makes them doubly appetizing and entertaining - it takes skill to get all of the filling out!" They retail for about $6.50 and can be found here.
I thought Ares was going to go nuts, trying to get the bone before I was done taking pictures of it! Unfortunately, due to my dog's inability to share, they aren't getting it until I can get something comparable to keep everyone happy.

And finally, their toy. BarkBox says "Whether your best friend is a chewer, a retriever, or an avid tug-of-war enthusiast, this rope toy is made for all types of play. Best of all: you can partake in puppy playtime! Rough-housing pups, rejoice! It retails for about $7 and can be found here.

Ares usually LOVES ropes but tonight he happily let Ginger play with it by herself. This is the perfect toy to take to the dog park though - they'll have so much fun with it!

Want your own BarkBox? Clickity-click this link for $5 off your first subscription!

the dreaded mange

Ares got to visit the vet on Wednesday, April 3 to get his physical, heartworm check, fecal sample results, and all of his shots (rabies, DHPP, and bordetella vaccination). We also needed to discuss tick protection because I just realized that contrary to what I believed, trifexa doesn't cover ticks. OOPS! (They're now both on frontline+.) As I've discussed before, he looooves the vet so I was actually looking forward to taking him (and Luna since I wanted to get her nose looked at one last time - she had severe swelling after the stenotic nares surgery - and because she goes where Ares goes). Normally, I would have had the fun task of trying to get a fecal sample from Ares the day of the appointment, but last week when we were in to get Luna's stitches out, he pooped in the office and the nice ladies took a fecal sample for me.
We always have a 2pm appointment because I'm not a morning person and 2pm is when the doctors come back from lunch so the wait is usually minimal so on Wednesday morning, I was laying in bed with my Ares snuggle bug when I noticed that Ares had lost a fair amount of hair under his left eye. Not enough to see it from far away, but up close, it was slightly alarming to just see skin. I couldn't tell if it was swollen or anything but my first thought was an allergy and I was glad we already had a vet appointment!
I ended up getting ready early and hauling Ares and Luna to the dog park for 30 minutes before we had to go to the appointment to get some energy out. They had the park all to themselves and they LOVED it.

Note: Ares body slammed Luna out of the way so he could roll all over that delicious smell.

As usual, they completely ignored me once we got to the vet so that they could stare at and bark at all of the other dogs that were there. They weren't done playing!

My vet was amazing (as always) and was immediately just as concerned as I was about the hair loss. But he said that his concern wasn't the hair loss under the eye (he thinks Ares might have been rubbing it), but that there was hair loss above the same eye that I hadn't noticed. He took Ares back and did a skin scraping. It looked exactly like it sounds - like Ares had fallen and scraped part of his face. My poor baby. I wanted to cry when they brought him back out to me (although, I always want to cry whenever there might be something wrong with my babes).

Look at that sad face! You can see the scrape above his eye , right at the corner. You can also see the hair loss above his eye. The stuff on his nose was from the Bordetella vaccine.

He has demodex mites. You guys, I could have curled up in a ball, sobbing at the vet when the vet tech said those words. Mostly because I had NO IDEA what it was. It's mange. Which didn't make it any better. I have a poor little mange-y puppy. The good news? It's not contagious. We don't have to treat two dogs, keep them from the dog park, and none of the dogs he came in contact with lately have to worry. (Good considering we just went to Bark for Life!) Also good? Nothing I did could have caused or prevented it from happening. I'm pretty sure I asked the vet that about 3 times before I was convinced that it wasn't my fault. 

There's two different types of treatment: one is a sulfurated lime dip, which is not fun or ideal. The other is a liquid medicine called ivermectin. Because Ares is a tiny dog, he is getting 0.2 ml a day for 30(!) days. In 30 days, we will be back at the vet for a recheck. If all is well, we're good to go. If he still has it, then we're in for another 30 days of treatment at 0.3 ml a day. Like human antibiotics, it's important not to stop the treatment early. It's important to note though that some herding dogs can't have ivermectin (a foster doggie mom I know currently has a collie who has to have the dips because he can't have the ivermectin).

And because I wasn't freaked out enough that my Ares has mange, the vet warned me to watch out for possible neurological side effects. Because of the side effects, Ares is only taking 0.1 ml for the first 4 days of treatment and if all goes well, he'll have 0.2 ml for 26 days. If at any point he gets wobbly, or starts acting strange, I have to discontinue use and call the vet immediately. Great.

I've realized that mange is pretty common. My cousin, Melanie, just adopted a beautiful Great Dane named Otis (follow him on instagram at @otis_thegreatdane). When she adopted him 10 weeks ago, he had mange which was so bad, he looked like this (note: his tail wasn't docked, he lost it due to an infection from Happy Tail Syndrome and a broken blood vessel).

Here's her story: 

"We adopted Otis from Companion Animal Alliance (he was with foster owners) on February 9, 2013. He had been with his foster mommy for about 3 weeks before we took him home. The shelter gave her ivermectin for his mange, when she ran out of that the shelter could not supply her with more. Otis was off the ivermectic for a few weeks, until we took him home. The day we brought him home, we took him to the vet who put him back on the ivermectin. Two months later, he is still on the ivermectin (2.4 ml). His fur has almost completely grown back, some of his black fur still has some bare spots. About a month ago, Otis got acne around his mouth and on his elbows which the vet said was normal, it was from the fur growing back. The acne only lasted for a few weeks. We are now going to the vet every other week for skin scrapings. He currently still has mites but each time we go it's less and less. We were told by the vet that when Otis gets two mite-free scrapings in a row, he will continue to stay on the ivermectin for a month just to be sure the mites are completely gone."

Otis' acne.

Otis: Then and Now. 

Look at his then and now pictures. Such a huge difference, isn't it?! He's so lucky to get to fosters who loved them and then Melanie and her boyfriend who have taken such good care of him.

Now, about mange. There's two different types of mange - sarcoptic mange, which is canine scabies, and demodectic mange, which is what Ares and Otis have. Sarcoptic mange are burrowing mites and are contagious. It's usually found in dogs in poor condition.

Demodectic mange is passed down from mama pup to baby when they are raised normally. From what I understand, all dogs have some of these mites (my vet explained that if we scraped Luna all over her body, we would eventually find a mite). There can be localized mange, generalized mange, and mange confined to the foot. 

The mange that is confined to the foot is the most resistant form and is accompanied by bacterial infections. 

Generalized mange affects large areas of the skin or a dogs entire body. This is the type of demodectic mange that Otis has.

Localized mange is what Ares has and is usually found in one or two small, confined areas, usually on the face. It's considered a common ailment in puppyhood and 90% of the cases usually resolve themselves on their own. I'm assuming that they treated Ares instead of waiting for it to resolve itself is because he is about 16 months old.

Symptoms of demodectic mange include hair loss, bald spot, scabbing, and sores while sarcoptic mange tends to cause intense itching. It's also important to note that sarcoptic mange can be transferred to humans while demodectic mange cannot. 

It is SO important to get your dog to the vet if you suspect mange and to keep up with treatment and vet visits. 

**All information on mange was found here. I am obviously NOT a vet or expert on mange. If you ever suspect anything wrong with your pet, take them to the vet. Trust me, they've already heard every question you could ask them. I know - I've asked most of them.**

homemade jerky

I recently got re-obsessed with pinterest and have been looking up dog treat recipes on it. On Wednesday, I found a few recipes for different jerkies that seemed easy enough to do since I have a dehydrator and chicken in the fridge that I needed to use.
In a large bowl, I mixed 2 cups of water, 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. I then cut the chicken breast into thin slices (and cut off all of the fat) and threw it in the bowl. Marinate for at least an hour - I'm lazy so I let it marinate in the fridge overnight.
Thursday morning, I put it on the dehydrator racks (cook at the temperature your dehyrator suggests!) and left it running while I ran errands. My chicken took about 8 hours to cook. I'm not a fan of jerky but it didn't taste bad to me and the dogs loved it!

When I was running errands while the dehydrator was doing its thing, I picked up some pre-sliced beef liver. Since it was already cut thin, I sliced it into smaller pieces and put that in the dehydrator when I took the chicken out.

This ran for 6 hours before I shut it off. This is what it looked like after 1 hour.

And when it was done.

I took it out and let each pup try a small piece of it before packing it up. They loved it. Luna loved it so much that when I tried to give her another piece, she bit my fingers that were holding the jerky until I let go which is something she's never done before! I think it's safe to say that she approves of this treat and I can't wait to experiment with different marinades and meats for jerky for them!

Bark for Life

I recently learned that the American Cancer Society has a fundraising event in my area every year called Bark for Life. It's $15 per dog to pre-register and there were different tables and such (raffles, shirts, and our local humane society was there, just to name a few) to visit. There was even a small petting zoo there! Of course, I had to take Ares and Luna there! My sister and @adotlane (Her instagram name) came with me. We had so much fun! Because the event was held the day before Easter, the Easter Bunny came to take pictures with the dogs. Ares and Luna took the most amazing picture!
There were also several contests that took place throughout the event. Poor Ares won the ugliest dog contest! Luckily, he won a frisbee, two bags of treats, and a squeaky fire hydrant toy so he's not at all sad about it. :)
Check your area to see if you have a local Bark for Life event. We had one in a small town and we're going to have one in our local big city so if I'm not working, I'll probably take Ares and Luna to that one as well - I'm sure there will be a lot more stuff to see and do at a bigger event versus our local one and all of the money goes to the American Cancer Society!

This is Ares with his "ugliest dog" prize.

Ares and Luna with the Easter Bunny!

Ares got to meet the baby ducks.

He also met a lamb!

Luna wanted to be best friends with the alpaca. The alpaca wanted to spit on her.

My sister with Luna.

 Ares, Luna, @adotlane, and I with the alpaca.

Luna in her Bark for Life bandana.

Ares and Luna meeting the pig named Blueberry.

My sister with the goat.

If you have a Bark for Life near you, GO GO GO! We had so much fun! I only wish that I had taken more pictures!