Wet Food, Dry Food and Recalls, Oh My!

What do you feed your dog, wet food, dry food, or both? Awhile back, we decided to start supplementing his food with wet food. Here's how it goes: Louie has never refused any food (he even likes to lick lemons & limes!) so the interest in switching foods wasn't an issue of him not eating or not eating enough for nutritional reasons. I am more interested in giving him the best quality ingredients and nutrition without breaking the bank or giving him anything unneccesarily. His poop can be rather dry which I'm still not certain as to why. I've never asked the vet about it as it has been that way his whole life and his stool has been bio-tested and they've never mentioned anything about its consistency (yuck, sorry!). From what I gather, it really comes down to the personal preference of the human and the nutritional needs of the dog. Dogs can have just as many health issues as humans do so getting to the root problem is key to living a normal life. Knowing and understanding if your dog has allergies or health problems is probably the best way to determine if you should be feeding them wet or dry food. There are health benefits to both dry and wet food along with and pros and cons. I suggest doing some research of your own and talking to your vet if you have more questions. While I don't intend to sway you in either way, I think it's a good idea to get nutrition from all kinds of natural sources so this is just another way for me to do so. Sometime in November, after looking into the 'best', most natural foods, we decided to supplement Louie's dinner kibble with wet food. He would get about 3/4 of a scoop dry food mixed with a 1/2 can of wet food. I started doing it only at night because I didn't know if he'd get sick from it at first and I'd rather not come home to a mess if he did end up having any tummy troubles! He loved it! He ate slower (which is a good thing) as it was a bit more difficult for him to eat something soft since he has such a flat face (poor guy!). The food I found is all natural and grain free. While it is not the most cost efficient way to feed him, it sees to make him the happiest and keeps his weight in a good place. Around April, the dog food that Louie has been on since he was about 1 year old, was voluntarily recalled due to possible salmonella contamination. I did not know about the recall until I went to pick up a bag at our local pet shop and the clerk told me "You can be assured that all products that were recalled have been replaced with new stock so this bag is not part of that recall." Ok, thanks for the info & reassurance! Fast forward to June when I went to get another bag for him at a different pet food store once I lugged the 35lb bag to the register, the clerk told me "that food is part of a recall". Surely it was the same recall from a month ago, right? Nope!! It had been recalled again, that same day and they had just been notified so there hadn't been enough time to even label the shelves or remove the products. Sigh... So we have switched him to another brand of all natural food and I am very pleased with it. His weight is steady, he had no issues transitioning to the new food, and his poop seems to be more natural and normal. We don't supplement his dry food regularly any more because the brand we were using was the brand that had the recalls. While only the dry food was recalled, I just don't feel like running the risk of having a problem and I don't think the wet food mix is necessary anymore. Here are some links to the websites I did research on about the wet vs dry food. There's also a link to subscribe to recall emails so you are notified when there is a notice. Wet Food vs. Dry Food for Dogs: http://www.doghealth.com/nutrition/wet-food-vs-dry-food-for-dogs Pet Food Safety Recalls and Alerts: https://www.avma.org/news/issues/recalls-alerts/pages/pet-food-safety-recalls-alerts.aspx Dry vs Wet Foods: Which is the Best for your Pet: http://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_multi_dry_versus_wet_food#.Ug1jBOA5u-8

We're Baaaaaaaackk!!!

Hello dogs & dog lovers! We are back...again! It's been a whirlwind last few months but we are ready to get this up & going...again! We moved in to a new place with LOTS of yard space for Louie to run wild and free! He is thoroughly enjoying his "park" in the backyard. With a new yard, comes new adventure and more space to test out dog toys, right? Right! We are always looking for new products, toys, ideas, etc to help us keep this blog going. If you have anything you'd like Louie to test or check out, please send me an email or leave a comment with the information! Stay tuned... We have quite a few new toys and stories to share with you all. I'll be updating this page WEEKLY! Cheers!

JW Pet Hol-ee Roller Dog Toy

Have you seen this toy in the store and thought, "with all those holes & stretchy rubber, there's no way that'll last"? Think again! We tried this toy out as an alternative lake toy during the summer. It floats (yay!), it's stretchy (woo hoo!) & the best part - it's durable!! He JUST broke one of the connectors but it is still in one piece.

It's one of his favorite toys and has access to it at all times. He likes to chew on it and loves to chase it down the hall. It bounces and rolls really well considering it's full of holes.

PetSmart sells a range of sizes from $7.99-$15.99. I suggest getting the medium size as the large is really big. I didn't see it as necessary to get the largest ball since it did have a lot of give and could squish down when bitten. Try it out & let me know what you (and your dog) thinks!

We're back!

Looks like it has been quite some time since I had posted anything... Like over 2 years!! Oops! Anyways... We are back & have lots to catch-up on (if we can remember everything!). I will be posting something new every week & reviewing at least one toy or item a month. Thanks for your patience as I get things back on track. Keep your eyes peeled for a new post in the coming week. ;) PS If you have any ideas, products, links, toys, etc. you'd like Louie to pay attention to, let me know!