RANT ~ Dog Wars ... Let's make little Vicks!

Still trying to keep my head above water over here ... the puppies (or should I call them "Poopies"?) are 6.5 weeks old and trouble...makers! My goodness. It's a good thing they are cute because they take all my free time and all my patience.



I read an email a few hours ago and I've been sputtering mad ever since. It took me a few hours to calm down enough to even begin to consider posting a comprehensive blog entry about this. After reading this, I hope you CROSS POST this to as many blogs as we can and I hope that you report this as an inappropriate app to the Android Market ... here goes ...



A new Application has been released for the Android cellular phone OS ... it's called "Dog Wars". See the picture below ...

In this game, players train Pit Bulls to fight. The dogs are forced to drag tires and can be injected with steroids as their owners shoot at cops coming in to bust the ring.




Why does it feel like we are going backwards all of a sudden?




Although it looks as though Google has pulled "Dog Wars" off the marketplace, I strongly encourage everyone to let Google know just what they think of this application! Find the website below that will link you directly to a form you can fill in and send to Google.
 
 
 
http://www.google.com/support/androidmarket/bin/request.py?contact_type=takedown

Shadow's 28-Day Eukanuba Challenge ~ Recap

Well I'm a little late with my final post for the 28-day challenge ... today is day 44! Sometimes life gets busy. That's ok though because my review of the product doesn't change much from day 28 to day 44. Eukanuba remains a good product, if you ask me, but then again - I was already sold on it ...



Eukanuba is the only food that my allergy ridden dog can eat without a reaction. We tried many different brands on the market (nearly all of them - including the imported one made from kangaroo meat!) - when we were trying to find a resolution to Shadow's allergies, cost was not a factor. Ultimately, our veterinarian recommended Eukanuba (since it is what she feeds!) and after a week, Shadow had noted improvements in her condition - she's been eating it ever since that time. The food that was sent to me for this challenge was actually a different type of Eukanuba than she normally is fed. That meant that we had to watch her like a hawk for any allergic reactions she might have.



I was impressed to note that this "Naturals" food gave Shadow more energy than the normal Eukanuba. Whenever a high-energy dog starts to slow down with old age, it is wonderful to find something that gives them that spark of life again. It's great to see the sparkle in her eyes and hear the mischievous "RAWR" in her growly-play-bark.



The dogs were excited to eat it (ok, they are always excited to eat food BUT they were more excited than normal with this food) AND it did not smell like Play-Doh! (I hate that IAMS Play-Doh smell!). To me, the lack of Play-Doh smell remains an enormous plus!



Whenever we have really sick animals come into the shelter or old animals, we put them on Eukanuba. The reason for that is because there is something special about the Eukanuba formula that helps the sick guys get back on track. I don't know what it is in there that does it but Eukanuba firms up their BM's, allows them to either put on weight or keep weight on and will often give an animal that would otherwise be too sick/old to live another lease on life. If the shelter could afford to feed Eukanuba to every dog/cat there, we would.



Shadow will continue to eat Eukanuba; probably for the rest of her life. While I would absolutely love to put all my dogs on a RAW food diet, Eukanuba is simply the right choice for Shadow at this stage in her life. No matter my personal opinions about the product, the right decision will always lie in the decision that does right by the dog. It puts a dent in my wallet but it's worth it to see her happy.

News Reel ~ When dogs are the audience ...

This is not new news but it's important and I feel that the more people who know about these programs, the better. In Granite Falls, there is a reading program called  Reading with Rover . In this program, dog owners bring their dogs to elementary schools and libraries so the children can read to them.



This program is an initiative that is designed to encourage reluctant readers to polish their skills and build some self - confidence. "A child who may be hesitant to read aloud to his peers is typically less stressed when reading to a dog and the dog never judges the child's reading ability."



Check out the article on heraldnet.com about this program When dogs are the audience, youngsters improve reading skills



If you are interested in joining a program such as this look around in your local community or contact your local literacy council for more information.

Low Cost Spay / Neuter Clinics ~ Minnesota

I am posting a list of Low Cost Spay / Neuter Clinics that I have run across in my internet travels. I've never tried these clinics out but if you have, PLEASE post your experience about them!! For a complete list of the states/provinces, see the contents page here.

MINNESOTA

Pupdates ~ Xena

Well I was going to blog about one of the other dogs at the shelter today but I found I don't have any pictures of them! I guess I'll have to get a bunch more while I'm there tonight so I can Pupdate! Due to a serious case of slacking on my part, there are no pictures of Maggie the senior Beagle. She was adopted yesterday after being with us for 2 weeks. She is a super sweet dog and I'm glad she's got a new forever home.



Xena

The only other dog I have pictures of is Xena and they are all similar to the one posted. Xena came in with her brother Zeus. (She used to live with a dog named Hercules ... are we seeing a common theme?) Xena is approximately 13 months old and has spent the last 6 months of her life in a shed with very little light. The first 3 days she was at the shelter she was so photosensitive that we were working off the emergency lighting to get her accustumed to brightness.



As I'm sure you guessed by now, she is the pregnant dog who came to us with 10 days' left of her pregnancy! Too far along in her pregnancy for an abortive spay; therefore we knew we were going to have puppies! After some trials and tribulations, a decision was made that the best place for Xena was a foster home. Can you guess whose home she went to?? Come on ... guess! I'll give you 3 chances but the first 2 don't count.



In the picture above, the puppies are 2 days old. There are 3 white, 1 black and 4 tan. Of the 8 puppies, there are 6 males and 2 females. What you see in the pic is what they do most of the time ... sleep ... that is, unless they are eating or squeaking. They squeak a lot. Xena doesn't seem to know not to sit on their little heads. She also tends to lie down on top of them. She's learning but it's obvious she's never done this before.



You can see the whelping box my husband made ... he found the designs on the internet ... it's designed for a Great Dane ... his theory for most things is "go big or go home". It's a little large but it will do. They'll need the room as they get bigger.



I am putting together an action plan for "Early Neurological Stimulation" for puppies. I've been looking into what they do when prepping puppies for therapy dog work and also what other exercises are recommended. I figure if it works for dogs who will be therapy dogs, then why wouldn't it be a good idea to do the exercises with these puppies? In the coming weeks we are going to be going crazy with puppies and puppy exercises ... what is it they say ... It takes a village to raise a child? How about 8 puppies? Think I can haul in the village?? I'll try to keep this blog updated with not only other DDF related topics but also with puppy pictures for your reading pleasure.

Know anyone who is going to be looking for a Husky mix puppy in about 8 weeks' time??

Shadow's 28 Day Eukanuba Challenge ~ Day 14

We are at the end of the second week for Shadow's 28 Day Eukanuba Challenge. Day 14.



I would like to let you all know that feeding Shadow a different dog food than the other dogs in the house is impossible! We have Shadow, then two of our own dogs, then a dog sitting dog, then a prego foster dog ... that makes 5 dogs! THEY ALL WANT TO EAT THIS FOOD. Normally when we have different food for a different dog, they don't care but for some reason they all want this food. It must taste good (to dogs ... it smells like dog food to me!).



Even the damn cats are stealing the food from the food bin!!



Our other 2 dogs have their own Eukanuba food ... but you know ... it's not as good as the "other" stuff that Shadow is eating!



The dog sitting dog came with her own food ... but you know ... it's not as good as the "other" stuff that Shadow is eating!



The prego foster dog came with some super-food that was prescribed by the veterinarian since she's nearly ready to pop (MediCal Development). It's jam packed with all sorts of vitamins and nutrients ... but you know ... it's not as good as the "other" stuff that Shadow is eating!!



Of course, if Shadow has something different then they all have to have it!



So ... what is the solution ... the easiest thing I could think of is to go out, buy more bags of the same food we were sent for Shadow and feed the others the same food! That is exactly what I have had to do. So much for free food and a fun product review! This has turned into a very expensive opinion article.



So I'm supposed to make note of any changes that my dog is going through while on this food ... the only change I've noticed is that she has more energy. (Which, for a 10 year old dog is saying a lot) She is rambunctious and playful now when she would have otherwise been grumpy and sullen with the other dogs. I don't know if this change in her demeanor is due to the change in weather (it IS springtime now) or if it is from the change in food.



Everything else seems the same for Shadow. Of course, the other dogs are all much more excited at meal times now. Since they get the same "new" stuff as Shadow, they are more bouncy and excited (I didn't actually think that was possible since they are always excited to eat but I stand corrected!).