The Big 'D'

It's pretty common for a dog's intestinal system to be a little out of whack after a change of home or a change in food, or sometimes just because they get excited. We had a few days to transition John Lee to the food that we had been feeding (Benchmark, available at Costco), but even after a few weeks he was still...squishy.

I'd heard about a new line from Iams called Sensitive Naturals. I'm cautious about feeding something like Iams because I have the perception that since it's sold in supermarkets it's designed to hit a certain price point rather than be an ideal diet. That's not to say I think dog food must be expensive to be good. The primary reason I bought a Costco membership was because it carries quality dog food that's also reasonably priced.

I'd been eying a food Costco recently started carrying - Nature's Domain Salmon Meal & Sweet Potato. It was pricier than the Benchmark I'd been buying; that was pricier than the Kirkland Signature that originally provided the impetus to buy a Costco membership (somehow, Costco keeps getting more of my money!). If a food is working for all dogs in the house, I have been through enough of an ordeal with their diets that I leave well enough alone. With three dogs in the house - not to mention two teenagers - cost is necessarily a factor. But if a food isn't working, something has to give. Even before John Lee came to stay with us I'd thought about trying the Nature's Domain, though - the dogs go crazy over anything fishy, and it is grain-free (a plus, because I recently found out the hard way that wheat does not agree with Grayson).

One day about a week and a half ago when I began running low on food and it was late (plus Costco was 20 miles away) I thought I'd try the Iams Sensitive Naturals while I had enough of the Benchmark left to make a transition. The bottom line is that the dogs all love it, and John Lee's intestinal system has finally calmed down. But the downside is that it's actually not supermarket food, nor is it all that inexpensive. I had to buy it at Petsmart, and it was more expensive (~$28 for 25 lbs) than the Nature's Domain I kept passing on due to cost. Some Walmarts carry it, and I would guess that their pricing would be better. But none of the locations near me had it.

Due to the cost and inconvenience of buying Iams Sensitive Naturals, the Nature's Domain now seems like a better option. We'll start transitioning over to that in a few days, and hopefully it'll agree with everyone's intestinal tracts. Lord knows I don't need three dogs with The Big 'D'.

Happy Halloween

Party Animal*

*No animals were harmed in the taking of this photo (nor was any Jack Daniel's supply actually diminished).

If you snooze...

...*I* lose - so WAKE UP! Pretty sure John Lee was thinking something along those lines this morning. We set the alarm for 5:30 AM every day but Sunday. Wednesdays are long days for my husband, Brian, inevitably resulting in him getting to bed late. This morning he didn't even hear the alarm. I turned it off, let John Lee out of his crate, and we came out to the living room. Everyone else was still asleep.

Shhhh...I'm resting.

Fifteen minutes or so of morning solitude is apparently John Lee's limit. When he hit that point, he got up and trotted into the master bedroom, then barked until I yelled "ENOUGH!" He got in several barks because I was first startled, then I was laughing at his audacity.

Everyone got up, so John Lee got the reaction he wanted. Which of course means he'll try it again!

And today we learned...

... that it's not OK to chew on wicker baskets.

John Lee is no dummy. Pretty sure he remembered the lesson about the wicker basket in the bathroom. While I was brushing my teeth, he was lounging in the master bedroom, just out of my sight. But not out of earshot.

I heard "crunch" - and immediately and loudly gave the signal that it was NOT OK. Not sure how I'd spell out this sound, but it attempts to replicate the game show buzzer that tells contestants: "WRONG!" When I popped my head around the corner, John Lee was laying next to the toy basket with his mouth poised inches from the newly-moistened rim.

He looked guilty (or maybe he just looked like a Greyhound - hard to tell). Maybe he thought that since this was a different basket from the one that he'd learned was off limits, it was OK to bite it. I let him know otherwise, and then he leaves it alone, right?

Except he seems to have figured that perhaps the problem is not in biting wicker baskets, but in doing it when I am looking. I watch him for a moment, waiting for another opportunity to correct him if needed. He looks at me like, "What - me? I'm not even thinking about biting that nice crunchy basket that is just inches from my mouth." So I go back to what I'm doing, and a couple minutes later I hear "crunch."

I correct him again...watch him for a few moments for another opportunity...and he restrains himself. But I'm not buying it.

I walk back into the bathroom and sit on the edge of the tub, positioned so that I can see the basket but he can't see me. It's not long at all before he makes his move and I yell out my awful-sounding correction signal. He stops. I wait - longer this time. He tries it again - just to make sure - and immediately gets the "WRONG!" sound from me again. I wait...I hear nothing. I wait some more, then pop my head around the corner to find him lying down next to the basket looking dejected (or perhaps just looking like a Greyhound).

More freedom means more opportunities to get into trouble. I realize that catching and correcting unacceptable behavior is an important part of shaping John Lee into a good pet, and that as curious, energetic and enthusiastic as he is, he will test the limits more than some dogs. But then he has a lot more spunk than almost every dog I've fostered, and that is downright endearing.

I like this thing they call "lawn"

This is my serious face...

About the vacuum cleaner...

The good news is that John Lee is not afraid of it.

The bad news is that vacuum cleaners have electrical cords, and John Lee is fascinated by them. He tried to run away with the cord while I was vacuuming. Yikes.