Winter Wellness Infographics from Just Right by Purina

Elka  appears to have decided Just Right by Purina is not to her taste, and so will not be continuing on the Just Right by Purina food. She continued to be perfectly fine on it and then there was just a point at which she stopped eating it. Not a huge deal, though I do feel bad abandoning the nice Purina people!

As a farewell for now, they've kindly provided two Winter Wellness Infographics for me to share. I'm a sucker for Infographics, as we well know!

Just Right by Purina product first thoughts

At the end of October, I posed this shot as a "teaser":

Well, it's because we'd just gotten our box of customized Just Right by Purina food. I was approached by a rep to see if we were interested in trying out Purina's new customizable food. I did a test run to see what the ingredients ended up as, and then said yes.

(these offers also always seem to come at a time when Elka has become bored with her current food)

Treat Review: Orijen Freeze-Dried Food

Courtesy of Chewy.com, we have sampled Orijen's new(ish) freeze-dried food offering and would like to tell you about it!

First of all, for a dog of Elka's size, the amount of Orijen's freeze-dried food would not be feasible to feed her regularly. She would need 6 or 7 (I think) of the little "food pucks", and there are only so many per bag. As a travel food, or something to keep in an emergency "go bag", it would be a great solution. However, since I wasn't planning to get Princess accustomed to food gravy of this quality, I confess I just broke it up and used it for treats.

Why We Give Elka People Food

Last week, in North Carolina, my family was on vacation as well. At dinnertime, Elka was very attentive of what was going on with regards to peoples' plates (at at non-nose touching distance, but close sometimes), and I did confirm that yes, she will eat a baked potato (she loves them, even plain!)

Doberman Assistance Network: video of 2012 dogs

I can't toot the Doberman Assistance Network's horn enough. They deserve it. They work tirelessly for this breed.

Below is their video from Youtube, reviewing the rescue dogs of 2012. Tearjerker alert: it is to the song "I will remember you".





Of course, they're also well on their way to helping lots of Dobermans in 2013.

Show off your dog's waistline!

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of hearing about health and obesity. Mostly because I could stand to lose a few myself, but hush now. I'm working on it.

Elka's weight, to date, has not been a problem for us to maintain, and well. The fact that she's oversized (i.e., taller than she should be) is added incentive, as I don't want undue stress on her joints. Those need to last her a good long while, you know!

Pet obesity can be a problem, though, especially because dogs and cats are ultimately at our mercy for food. We can feed them adequately, or too much, or not enough. Adequate is the goal, obviously. A dog (or cat) in a home setting isn't necessarily hardwired to stop eating when "full". What does "full" mean to a dog, anyway?

So:

Name: Elka
Sex: Female
Breed: Doberman
Age: 3

Nature's Logic, Sardine oil and food review

So, waaaaay back in October, I won a giveaway from CindyLu's Muse for a 16 oz bottle of Nature's Logic Sardine Oil. I thought "Awesome!" because we give Elka olive oil or coconut oil on her kibble about once a day, especially in the winter, because she'll frequently end up with slightly dry and flaky skin.

Well, when the rep contacted me for my address, CindyLu's Muse had mentioned that I was a blogger as well. So, I was offered a bag of Nature's Logic kibble, my flavor choice (well, I had the choice of canned as well, but kibble works out better for us)! Good deal, right?

Elka was pretty excited when I told her...primed at the food bowl, in fact.

Dishwasher Safe

Every once in awhile, like a mother pulling a security blanket (or security stuffed animal) from a child, I'll run Elka's puzzle toys through the dishwasher. I should probably do it more often, but really, she licks her butt. How concerned can I be?

The little Kong looks about good as new

Thanksgiving is coming!

This happens to me every year, perhaps because of National Novel Writing Month, but Thanksgiving has snuck right up on me!

Last year I posted about this lovely holiday play set that Target had. I don't think Target has brought it back, unfortunately, but because I've carefully guarded it, we've still got it! But, I also talked about food safety, and things like that bear repeating.

One thing that we've noticed at holiday time with Elka is that sometimes, when somebody *coughnotmecough* feeds her things like turkey skin, she has the runs after. I guess this is a good indicator that she has just enough fat in her diet, and doesn't need more of it in "lump sum" quantities. We've never given her what seems to be a massive amount of turkey skin, but we won't be doing any of that this year. Pancreatitis is one of those things you have to watch out for, and I've seen other blogs and web sites caution against loading your dog up on high fat things at any time. There are other ways to give them treats, they don't need to be greasy and fatty!

I've discovered this year that Elka really loves sweet potatoes. Mostly because every time I have sweet potato, she sings at my plate until I give her some. I tend to just bake them, with some butter or some olive oil, and find they don't really need much more than that. I didn't used to like sweet potatoes; add it to the list, I guess.

So, safe and happy holidays, folks!

Am I dreaming? Decent dog food at the grocery store?

Somebody pinch me.

I was at the grocery store (Hannaford) the other day, and wandered down the dog aisle, as one does. An unfamiliar bag of food caught my eye. Oh, Nutrisca? What are you? Grain free? Potato free? At my grocery store?!

Are You Gonna Eat That?

Elka wants your food.

It doesn't matter what you've got, or whether her food bowl was just filled (or emptied). She wants it.