I kept meaning to post sooner...but then I'd get busy with something else and forget about it. :P
Johnny's birthday was at the beginning of the month! Johnny had to work so we had a late dinner. And he taught Ashlyn how to cook barbecue chicken and hamburgers out on the grill! She did a great job and they had fun. :)
Also on Johnny's birthday, Bozley learned how to sit and how to shake! It's so cute...every time you ask him to sit he will automatically put his paw up to shake now. ;) He also does it when he wants attention. It didn't take long at all for him to pick it up! Since then he has also learned down (and it's so cute how he plops on the ground) and we're working on roll over. He's such a smart boy. And I just can't get over how adorable he is.
We took Bozley and Linken to the vet on Friday. Linken had gotten fleas from Aubry's boyfriend's house and had an allergic skin reaction pretty bad. It was kind of a widespread splotchy rash. So he got some antibiotics and an allergy shot. And Boz has started getting some scabs in quite a few places. He got some antibiotics as well. He started itching a lot more Friday night though, so we took him in to get an allergy shot on Saturday as well.
We took Bozley and Linken to the vet on Friday. Linken had gotten fleas from Aubry's boyfriend's house and had an allergic skin reaction pretty bad. It was kind of a widespread splotchy rash. So he got some antibiotics and an allergy shot. And Boz has started getting some scabs in quite a few places. He got some antibiotics as well. He started itching a lot more Friday night though, so we took him in to get an allergy shot on Saturday as well.
Since Boz had fleas really bad when he came home to us, at first we thought that was the cause of his allergic reaction. However, now we're thinking it is actually his food. One of our cats has the same reaction to chicken (especially when she sneaks the dogs' food). So we decided to switch Boz from a chicken-based food to a lamb-based food...we're hoping that will help! We'd been giving him Iam's Smart Puppy Large Breed kibble, but he wasn't really that interested in it. He would eat a few pieces and then walk away...and do that throughout the day and there would be food left in his bowl. We started using a FreshPet food as a topper and that helped a little bit. But since both of those have chicken in it, I started trying to find a good kibble with a different protein source. I spent a lot of time trying to research different foods. I looked at a lot of dog food subscription boxes but they were quite a bit more expensive and most of them either included ingredients we didn't want or didn't have certain ingredients we needed (or didn't have them in the amounts we needed).
During my search, I ran across Purina Just Right* where you can customize a kibble to fit your dog's needs. It asks you a series of questions about your dog. It starts with basics like age, breed, and weight. Then it asks some more specific questions like how active your dog is, how quickly they get to their feet, what their skin and coat are like, and how quickly they eat their bowl of food. They also let you choose whether you want grain-free food or not, if there are ingredients you want to avoid, and what kind of animal protein. For Bozley's blend, I chose lamb as the protein. Since he is a large breed, I made sure to pick the option for optimal joint health. And with his skin and coat issues, I included those as important issues as well. They put it all together and shipped it in a bag with Bozley's picture on it! :)
So far the food is working out great! Bozley will actually sit and eat his bowl of food instead of just picking at it. He even gets excited when it's time to eat now...where he didn't really care that much before. He is gaining weight as he should be and his skin even seems to be clearing up a bit. :) Hopefully we've found a food that is a good fit!
And now I need to get back to work! I'm getting the hang of the new platform. I think I'm really going to enjoy the switch. :)
* This is NOT a compensated post...it was a purchase I made.