If dogs were teachers...

If a dog were the teacher we would learn things
like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet
them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in
your face to be pure ecstasy.

When it's in your best interest, practice
obedience.

Let others know when they've invaded your
territory.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the
grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a
shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your
entire body.

No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into
the guilt thing and pout..! run right back and
make friends.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have
had enough.

Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're
not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find
it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit
close by and nuzzle them gently.

Dog Food Grades

something that gets passed around Dogster quite a bit, and a good resource about food.

Whole Dog Journal - a monthly publication about dogs and often releases great information about dog food!

Dog Food Project Website - a pretty comprehensive website about dog food.

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Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

A = 94-100
B= 86-93
C = 78-85
D= 70-77
F= 70 or lower

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Dog Food scores:
Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C
Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B
Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C
Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+
Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Diamond Performance / Score 85 C
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+
Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C
Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C
Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables /Score 110 A+
Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C
Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+
Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A
Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+
Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+
Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice /Score 81 C
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B
Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A
Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+
Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A
Purina Ben ful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F
Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Solid Gold / Score 99 A
Summit / Score 99 A
Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Purpose

So what is the purpose of this blog? Merely to provide information about different dog related topics.

Whil I had Griffen I learned a lot about dogs - especially in relation to his issues and breed. I looked up eskie groups, deaf groups, and when he got sick, someone suggested a K9Kidney's group that I wish I had found earlier.

I read dog book after dog book and even joined discussion groups and dog websites to learn more. My favorite one of the biggest means of support and advice is Dogster.com. You might think we're a bit off our rocker, you post on the website from your dog's point of view, but when your fur baby is sick, these are the people that will understand your pain and bring comfort and solace when you need to make that hard decision.

So this blog is for information and suggestions. I do not claim to be a vet, behaviorist, or psychologist. This is merely a dog lover's blog for information I'd like to hang on too and share with others.

For Love of Dog

I have always been a dog lover since I was a kid, not sure how it developed since I never really grew up around animals except for fish. We first got dogs when I was 13 years old, two of them because my mom figured one for each kid (while that works with boxes of cereal really well, it doesn't with dogs). My mom was a smart lady, but she didn't know much about dogs, so hence the two.. sisters from the same litter. Since our family didn't know much about dogs, we didn't walk them as much as we should, clean up after them as well as we could have, and train them properly. They started to fight after a few years, not just play fight.. these were I'm jealous of you and going to rip into you type of fights. We had them for 5 years and then had to split them apart and send them to different homes. After that I learned more about dogs and realized all the thousands of mistakes we made and vowed that when I got another dog I wouldn't make the same mistakes.

So after I graduated college, I moved home and started to work. Things in my life got a bit crazy, my mom passed away and I was devastated, trying to figure out how to feel "normal" again and live with her being gone. In that same year, I had lost my grandfather 10 months before her and my grandmother 2 weeks after, it was an insane time. I was finally feeling more stable and also in a relationship for awhile after then. Then the relationship ended and I was single again. My friend suggested I get a dog, I dismissed the idea only because for so long I kept saying, it's not time yet, it's not time yet that it became an automatic answer. But the more I thought about it, why not? I was working, living at home and had a steady income.

So I started my search. I was going to take my time and make sure I met the right match (because I work full-time), I started looking online and 2 weeks later started visiting shelters and submitting applications. Two weeks after that, the president of Furry Friends Rescue suggested Griffen. I had originally put in applications for two other pups, but she said they wouldn't do well in my home, but that Griffen seemed like a good match. So one sunny Saturday, I took two friends and went to see him. Love at first sight!

He had a spunk in his step despite being 10 years old. When I kneeled down in front of him, he stuck two paws on my legs and grinned up at me. He was so adorable I didn't even noticed his lack of teeth until my friend pointed it out. They told me he was hard of hearing, which didn't bother me one bit.. later I realized he was completely deaf and only responded to vibrations. That was okay, he was really good at paying attention to where I was. I was lucky enough to take him home that day, paid his adoption fee, had the home check done and he was mine! I kept his name since I figured that's what the rescue had been calling him for the year he was with them, but usually I just called him Griffy or Dog.

We bonded really quickly and he became totally devoted to me as I was to him. He was my heart and soul and made me realize how much I could love again. This was difficult after everything I had gone through and before that I was always happy-go-lucky, always trusting and loving and had infinite patience. Not always true now, but he brought a lot of it back. Then I was hit with another punchinthegutheartbreakinglifefeelsincrediblyunfair incident. I was the first to receive a call that my best friend had been shot and killed for no apparent reason. She was in a great part of town and it was so completely random that 6 months later.. the police still have no real leads. I broke apart that day, sank down on my couch and pulled Griffy into my lap and just wept. He sat completely still in my lap for hours (and he doesn't like doing that). I couldn't have gone through the next 4 months without him and I didn't realize how much he was helping me until he got sick...

Unfortunately, Griffy had kidney problems when I first got him. The vet explained how he'd have to be on a prescription diet, but didn't explain just how serious this could get. I didn't know and didn't recognize the signs right away that something was wrong. And since he was already older, the problems advanced too quickly. I got back from vacation and he had gotten skinnier, I thought it was due to me being gone. But one day he didn't want to get up or move or eat. I rushed him to ER and they ran a blood test, they didn't call me the next day, but I took him in the day after that... bad news, his kidney levels were sky high. He was hospitalized Christmas Eve and they started running flushes. It only got worse and he seizured once. Then a few more times, I received the phone call the day after Christmas that his quality of life was nothing.. there was only one decision to make. He had given me an amazing and life changing 7 months and at 11:15 am on December 26th, Griffy passed to the bridge in my arms.

He will always be my first love and it is to him that I dedicate this Blog.. For Love of Dog.