Food allergies

So far, we know that Bailey is allergic to corn, wheat, oats, soy, flaxseed, and peas. She is also potentially allergic to green beans, chicken, barley, and rosemary. She did not have the "No Grainers" biscuits at all yesterday and she has not been itching so far this morning. The rice I mixed into her diet does not seem to be causing her any problems. Hopefully we can keep her on her current diet.

Bailey's diet

Bailey's diet right now consists of "Taste of the Wild" Venison and Bison formula dry food. She gets 3 cups a day divided into 2 feedings.
She gets a tablespoon of plain yogurt or cottage cheese mixed into her morning feeding. In the Evening she gets 2 tablespoons of my homemade mixture mixed into the dry food. By mixing a little canned food or other goodies into their dry food your dog won't get bored with their food.
My homemade mixtures are ground turkey or beef, browned and mixed with either rice or mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes. I also mix canned salmon with mashed sweet potatoes. I cook up enough for of these mixtures to last the week and then on Saturday mornings I fix enough for the next week, alternating between the recipes. The mixture is stored in a large covered Tupperware bowl in the refrigerator. It lasts good for a week in the fridge.
Since Bailey is now getting food that does not have all the grain fillers found in most commercial dog foods, she is now dropping some of her weight a little at a time, and starting to slim down. She also has more energy and a shinier coat. She is not getting all the sodium, sugars and preservatives that are found in most canned food and the "Taste of the Wild" Dry food has limited ingredients with high protein and a single carbohydrate source.
We are still watching her treats for any allergic reactions. She seems to like the "Natural Balance" brand venison and sweet potato biscuits, and so far we have not noticed any reactions. I can tell more tomorrow, as Mom slipped her some of the "No Grainers" biscuits yesterday, so she is not completely off of those yet.
I looked into the"Natural Balance" Brand dry food, as an alternative, but it has flaxseed meal, and we already know Bailey is allergic to flaxseed. luckily they do not use flaxseed in their line of treats.

Rosemary extract?

The Beef and Rice didn't seem to cause Bailey any more problems than the Turkey and sweet potato did. Mom neglected to tell me that we were running out of the ground beef mixture, so she cooked up some more of the Turkey mixture. We are leaving the green beans out for now. This week we are taking Bailey off of the "No Grainers" Treats and we have some "Natural Balance" Dog Biscuits from Petco that are Venison and Potato. These are small dog biscuits that look like milkbones. Bailey seems to like them. The only thing I can see in the "No Grainers" that Bailey might be allergic to is the rosemary extract. Since she is allergic to flaxseed, I am almost certain she is having a slight reaction to the rosemary also.

Dogs are people too

A conversation at work yesterday turned into the human like idiosynchrosies of my coworkers dogs. One lady that has 3 dogs, told us that when she gets home and finds something torn up, she looks at her 3 dogs and says "who made this mess?" The 2 innocent dogs then both turn and look at the guilty dog. The guilty dog then tucks tail and slinks out of the room.
My own Jack Russell Terrier "Trixie", is quick to show her displeasure with me by sitting with her back to me and ignoring me, of course she turns her head just enough to make sure I see that she is ignoring me. Trixie also loves to watch television and she will sit on the couch, on her bottom with her legs straight out, just like a little person. She looks like she is waiting to have a bowl of popcorn placed on her lap.
When Bailey is confused, or trying to figure out how to communicate to you what she wants, she curls her lip up on one side in contemplation. We call this her Elvis lip. It's funny to see all the human like qualities these dogs can have. I guess they are all just spoiled children.

Lost dog or lost car?

I saw a sign on the way home today that read "Lost Datsun".... I wonder how you go about losing a small japanese car? Maybe they left the garage door open and it got out.

Here's the beef

So far Bailey's itching seems a little better, but I don't know for sure if it was eliminating the turkey from her diet or the green beans. I am leaning toward the green beans, since we know she is allergic to peas. We are still giving her the No Grainers brand treats but we will discontinue those later this week, so she will only be getting Beef and Rice by the end of the week. Oh, and a banana, as her and my mother share a banana every morning. Watch out Bailey, if you are still itching next week, I'll be taking your banana away.

Cheaper at Walmart

Our Veterinarian has recommende putting Bailey on Glucosomine for her hip problems and Omega 3 Fish Oil for her shedding and dry skin from the winter. Knowing Mom is on a fixed income, she told Mom to purchase the human quality from Walmart in the 1000 mg size as they would be much cheaper than the ones made for Pets. The fish oil capsules, I cut open and drizzle over her food. The glucosomine are large tablets and we have to shove those down her throat. But they seem to help and her shedding has been greatly reuced since she has been taking the fish oil.