My Heart's on Fire for Elvira

[whitelop]

Ellie has a HUGE scrape on her nose! I don't know how she managed it, but I think it was when she freaked out yesterday because of Woody.
He's been in the kitchen since I let her out and she's scared of him. She runs back into her cabinet to get away and out of sight. I haven't seen her this scared in a while!
But she likes the new rug! This is the first time she's had free run of the kitchen in a while!

Here are some pictures of her.

She was a little wedged and turning around. haha. But you can see her scrape on her face.

And here is a clear shot of her scrape. It looks okay, just like the fur was pulled out. She doesn't seem to be in pain or anything, shes just acting a little weird.

But she just busted out a binky, so I think she's okay!

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

Aww, poor Ellie. Good thing its nothing serious. She's a pretty girl. I hope she'll adjust to having Woody there soon.

 

[Katielovesleo3]

Pedigree is totally crap in a bag yes. And the skippys, probably horse but I saw undercover videos of the process behind dog food companies. They got to the vet. But the dead cats and dogs out of their freezer, don't even bother to take off flea collars or collars, take em out the bag, throw them into the "pit" then they grind em up, turn em into meat and cook it down real real good add all the other BS and fillers and crap. Put it in a bag that says Ol Roy and sells it to you for a mere $12. Every time I go through Walmart and see a person with a gravy train bag or old yeller or old roy bag I am just sickened that people don't care at all about their pets health. It's like feeding your child dog poop and garbage from the dumpster.

Omgosh Ellie! She is so cute! Her poor little nosey nose haha Feebs is in there doing binkies too.

 

[whitelop]

I know! Every time I see someone with a huge 50 lb bag of Ol Roy I just say to myself "just go put your dog to sleep right now! Its probably tied to your porch where you just cut open the bag of food for the poor flea infested dog." Thats what I think about. LOL
What food do you feed Katie? I used to feed Woody Precise, its from this funky named town in Texas. It was great! But super expensive. So I think I'll find something else comparable.

I just feel bad that he hasn't eaten and doesn't want to eat. I wouldn't want to eat it though either.
I'll go to petsmart tonight and get some better food. I just need to look up some other foods that are higher stars.
I just couldn't imagine feeding him Skippy, its terrible. It grosses me out. One time we got him back, my FIL sent a CASE of Skippy cans with him and I put them in the cabinet I never use and forgot about them. For years. I just found them yesterday. I was originally going to donate it, but then I thought, even a stray dog or a rescued dog shouldn't be subjected to that crap! haha. So I put them away and now I'm throwing them away!

Ellie is loving being behind her folded up pen. She's been flopped out there for a while. I think her nose is okay, but poor baby!
And she's totally loving on a pile of dirty towels that I'm about to put in the wash. haha. I guess she likes them a lot!

Okay y'all. I broke down and turned the AC on. We don't have central air, just window units (thanks old *** house!). But they do a great job! I swear, you've never felt joy until you've lifted your shirt up and put it over the AC and have the cool air blow on your stomach. haha. Its amazing. Best. Feeling. Ever.

 

[JBun]

Sorry the last few days have been so stressful. Your FIL sounds a bit strange. I'm sure it's really hard to deal with him. I would be very nervous about him being allowed to drive in such a confused state. Couldn't you call the police or some sort of state agency, and tell them about your concerns about him driving and being a danger to others?

At least you got your dog back safely. Poor little Ellie sounds like she was scared to death when first seeing him. Zeus had a similar reaction when I was holding him and went on the porch to feed a neighborhood cat. He totally freaked out and was so scared. That's one good thing about rabbits growing up around cats and dogs. Then they don't develop that fear of them.

Hopefully Ellie's little cut heals ok. It wouldn't be too surprising if it happened during her freakout mode.

I don't really know anything about dog food, but I did read a discussion once about it, and someone mentioned Orijen dog food being really good. It is expensive though.

 

[whitelop]

Jenny, yes Orijen is really good and expensive! I've been on dogfoodadvisor.com for like an hour trying to find a good food that isn't too too expensive. The stuff we were buying, Precise, was $60 for 40 lbs I think. And before that we were getting Apex that was $40 for 40, but then it got recalled and the company its made by kept recalling foods and I said screw that and stopped feeding it.
I'm going to get him some senior food since he's 8 and he's still pretty active, so I want to make sure his joints are taken care of to preserve him for as long as possible.
I just have to write down the ones that sounded good to me and then go to petsmart to make sure that they're in my price range. I'm trying not to totally cheap out, but its been nice to not have to buy dog food! haha. So I'm just got to get the best that I can find for not too much money.
But chances are, I'll end up with Orijen or something crazy like that, because its a 5 star best food ever type thing. LOL

Well, I'm a little upset with myself right now. I finished How I Met Your Mother and I'm upset. I finished all 7 seasons on netflix in like 2 weeks. Whats wrong with me? haha. Thats a lot of episodes, but it was worth every single minute.
Sometimes netflix is a blessing and a curse all rolled into one.

 

[Minerva]

For dog foods, Taste of the Wild is quite good and reasonable. It is grain-free and comes in five different flavors which is good for pickier dogs. The main thing to check with those is the protein level. You should probably start him out on something a bit lower (like their lamb or salmon formulas) rather than something a lot higher (like their game bird, venison/bison, or boar formulas). If he has been eating Pedigree his poor tummy won't be used to a decent protein source. Merrick, Evanger's and Evo are all great as well, though more pricey. Just avoid Blue Buffalo; it's the most overpriced, hyped-up nonsense I've ever seen. Solid Gold isn't much better.

Most of the good dog food brands (like the four I mentioned) will not sell to chain stores like Petsmart or Petco, so you have to go to a local pet store to find them. You may also want to start with a small bag to make sure he likes it.

Poor Ellie! That's what she gets for being a silly buns and rocketing around her cage over Woody. I'm glad that it doesn't seem to be hurting her, though I'm sure it smarted when she bumped it! I love the pictures of her wedged and under AJ's car. I'm sure she loves having free-roam time in the kitchen again. Do you have any videos of her? I couldn't remember if I had seen any or not.

I've also been meaning to ask, how old is Ellie now?

 

[Chrisdoc]

That first pic is so cute...that lickle mouth. My poor Miss Ellie with her little cut. Looks OK and I´m sure the fur will grow back.

I´m sure you´ll find just the right food for him. Decent dog food is expensive as is decent bunny food but they are so worth it and I am certain it gives them a longer and healthier life. My little dog used to be on a special diet and the food was so expensive but she was so worth it....I used to laugh and say it was a good job she was only small or I´d be spending more on her food than mine lol.

I hate it as well when you find a great series and get to the end...bit like all of us waiting for the next series of Downton haha.

 

[whitelop]

For dog foods, Taste of the Wild is quite good and reasonable. It is grain-free and comes in five different flavors which is good for pickier dogs. The main thing to check with those is the protein level. You should probably start him out on something a bit lower (like their lamb or salmon formulas) rather than something a lot higher (like their game bird, venison/bison, or boar formulas). If he has been eating Pedigree his poor tummy won't be used to a decent protein source. Merrick, Evanger's and Evo are all great as well, though more pricey. Just avoid Blue Buffalo; it's the most overpriced, hyped-up nonsense I've ever seen. Solid Gold isn't much better.

Most of the good dog food brands (like the four I mentioned) will not sell to chain stores like Petsmart or Petco, so you have to go to a local pet store to find them. You may also want to start with a small bag to make sure he likes it.

Poor Ellie! That's what she gets for being a silly buns and rocketing around her cage over Woody. I'm glad that it doesn't seem to be hurting her, though I'm sure it smarted when she bumped it! I love the pictures of her wedged and under AJ's car. I'm sure she loves having free-roam time in the kitchen again. Do you have any videos of her? I couldn't remember if I had seen any or not.

I've also been meaning to ask, how old is Ellie now?

Taste of the Wild is made by Diamond dog food company and they're the ones who make Apex, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul, 4Health and many others. They got recalled last year for a salmonella outbreak. Thats why I stopped feeding Apex.

Evo got recalled in March of this year. For a salmonella outbreak. There are others, I guess the company is Natura Pet that makes Evo and other foods including cat foods.

I totally understand that all companies at one point or another have an issue and something gets recalled. But I would rather not buy something that is in the process of being recalled right now! haha. You know?!

BB is WAY to over priced and there is too much hype for it, I totally agree. I was thinking about Innova but it got recalled with Evo, so thats a no.
I'm just having a hard time. I think I might actually just go with Authority, its like the petsmart brand of food. Its got a 3 star rating and my mom feeds it to her dogs and they've done well. Woody ate it a few years ago before I got Apex and he liked it.
If it turns out that he doesn't like the Authority, I'll go back to getting Precise. I should probably just buy Precise anyway. I don't know!

Ellie is like 7 months old. I have videos of her outside, but thats it. My actual camera doesn't take good videos and my phone takes better ones. But I JUST figured out how to get my videos from my phone to my computer because apparently I'm ********. haha. So I'll have to find them on my phone and then put them on here.

 

[Minerva]

Ah, recalls. Having worked in the pet industry, I know all about recalls. Including the fact that they happen constantly especially with the better brands.

Pretty much all dog foods will be recalled a some point. Unfortunately it is just a fact of the pet food industry and it ends up being impossible to rule them out based on that. It doesn't mean that the food is bad or that it is an indication of overall quality. In fact, the higher quality foods are more prone because they have more protein and less fillers. You wouldn't want to feed Iams or something just based on its record. Anymore, many foods are produced at Diamond facilities even if they are not actually associated with Diamond foods, so that is no longer a guarantee either. You end up having to look at how long ago it was and which states were affected by the recall. In California we don't seem to be affected by recalls as much as other states, but I know there are some states that are always on the list.

Working at a fancy pet store, I can vouch that there was at least one or two recalls each month, sometimes more. Most are in small batches and are not widely publicized. We would simply check to make sure nothing we had was affected and mention it to any customers that bought the specific type of food recalled, IF it was present in our area. We always had the information on hand about which brands, flavors, and batch numbers were affected. They always release the batch numbers for affected food, so even if there was a contaminated batch that you got a bag of you don't have to switch brands if you don't want to. You can simply buy some from an unaffected batch.

As much as it would be nice to eliminate the problem, periodic salmonella recalls are simply what happens in the pet food industry because they do not have (and cannot afford to have) the same standards as for human-grade food. If they did, not many people would be able to afford to feed a dog. It's just that you don't realize how common it is until you work in the pet industry and are briefed on every single one.

Of course, you can always go for a raw diet. I did that with my dog for quite some time and it was wonderful. The only reason I don't anymore is because once it gets up into our normal summer temperatures (105-115) it was just nasty to do and sometimes she would get ill even though she ate the meat immediately. Not having to pick up the yard anymore was heavenly though.

Wow, 7 months! I admire your forbearance greatly. I don't think I could stand a hormonal 7 month unaltered bunny. :rofl: We definitely need a video of Ellie binkying and maybe one of her boxing you as well. Does your phone upload stuff directly to YouTube? That's what I do with mine because I'm waaaay too lazy to pull the cord out of my charger and plug it into my computer to transfer. :biggrin2:

 

[whitelop]

Yeah I think my phone does upload videos to youtube. I haven't ever tried. haha.

I know that stuff gets recalled all time, but I have a serious issue with Diamond. They get stuff recalled A LOT. There is a manufacturing facility near me and a lot of the issues happen in this plant! So I don't trust anything Diamond. Thats just me though, but a lot of people feed Diamond produced foods. Like Call of the Wild, is a great food, I've heard lots of stuff, its got a high star rating, but because of where its from...I think not. haha.

Everything at some point gets recalled. Human food included. Its just something that happens when you process food or have a middle man who deals with the food before it gets to the table. You run the risk of getting sick from anything you eat.

Oh and no raw diet for me! Ain't no body got time for that! I live in the south, where its hot and humid and I'm pretty sure having raw meat out would not be a good thing. Plus my cats are people eatin' SOB's too so they would want to eat the meat too. I know people have different opinions of feeding dogs and all animals, but a raw diet is not for me. I don't know if kibble is the right way to feed either, probably not because its not very natural. But its easier and more time efficient than raw feeding. Plus Woody is a pretty picky dog and he doesn't really like to eat people food because he knows its not good. He got garbage gut a few years ago. Our wiener dog knocked the trash can over and they both got into the week old Thai food that I had thrown away earlier in the day, they were sick for weeks. Like hundreds of dollars later getting antibiotics, anti-poop meds, carpet cleaner rentals and then finally the purchase of a carpet cleaner. It was terrible. So he's a little gun shy of people food now! haha.

Yes, Ellie is a handful sometimes. She's been doing MUCH better though! She hasn't been as box-ey, she hasn't been as grunty, she's been out for the majority of the day and she hasn't had an accident. Shes been much better! I'm so glad too, because when she is being crazy my stress levels go through the roof. I think she knows when my life is being stressful and calms down, but as soon as I can take a deep breath from life she's like "I'M GOING TO LOSE MY MIND TODAY!" haha.

Hopefully, I'll be getting her spayed soon. I've just been sort of putting it off. haha. I haven't made the appointment yet and I don't know if I want to. I'm so nervous about it!

 

[Katielovesleo3]

I feed Nutrisource Grain-free Lamb formula. For him, its great. He has a yeast infection in his toenails and the food is helping but its certainly not gone completely. The problem may be the peas. 4 1/2 to 5 star dog food is so expensive at this time in my life that we are taking it easy and just sticking with this food for now. I always hear amazing things about Orijen and TOTW but it is just too expensive to order. On his old foods he would have HORRID-CLEAR-THE-ROOM-GAS, and now you can hear him fart but it doesn't stink.....usually. Sometimes he will have had ate something (PROBABLY GIVEN TO HIM BY SOOOMMMMEEEEEONEEEEEE!!!!!) and it makes him gassy. He takes after his father and granddad lmao. As long as he stays away from grains, sugar, and gets in some good anti-fungal crap like oregano and I put a teaspoon of coconut oil in his meal as well.

As for RAW, I would LOOOVE to put him on a raw diet. Dogs do so amazing on it I don't have the time nor experience.....but like you said,

 

[whitelop]

Thats what I'm saying! hahaha. Thanks Katie! Oh lord Jesus, I don't know anything about raw dog food.

Are yeast infections common in Boxers? We had a boxer/pit mix and she got yeast infections in her ears and stuff often. She was a rescue, so I don't know if it had something to do with the way she was treated before.

I still haven't decided what to get and Woody still hasn't eaten anything. I hope that he'll at least eat when he's hungry. I don't know though. I'll go tomorrow to get some different food for him. We did go for a car ride to get a milkshake so I thought that that would make him hungry but nope. Oh well, I tried. haha.

I tried to get a good video of Ellie, but she wasn't in the binkying or playing mood, just in the destruction mood.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFnbx2dVxqc[/ame]

BAM! It took like a second from my phone! GREATEST. THING. EVER. Uhhh...I had my pandora on on my phone, so there is music and its a little loud. haha. Also, don't look at my kitchen, its a freaking mess. I've had a stress headache for 2 days and I've done the minimum. haha.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

I don't really know much about dogs so I can't really help but I hope Woody starts eating soon.

Love the video of Ellie! She's really cute!

 

[Katielovesleo3]

OMG I love that song I just started singing along! Little Bitty Pretty one!
Yes they are commons in boxers. Awww poor Woody I have no experience in lack of appetite in dogs but it can't be good give him hugs from me and Rosco and nose bonks from the buns.
Ellie is so cute and she is like, the boss of that cat huh?!

 

[whitelop]

I love that song too! All of them!
Thats the Fat Cat, so she doesn't care about anything. Ellie loves to sniff and nibble on the cats. haha. Fat Cat is old and she doesn't do anything.
Ellie loves the cats too. She loves Smokey too, but Smokey isn't as tolerant as Fat Cat is. And Smedley is my old mama cat and she loves every animal and will clean any other dog or cat she finds. She cleans Ellie too, I think to try to put her to sleep. LOL She cleans me too and tries to put me to sleep too. hahaha.

Woody has always been really weird about food. Like when we first got him, he wouldn't eat anything. He would eat like every other day and barely when he did eat. So I got better food and that helped a little bit, but not really. We had our wiener dog at that point, and she was a fat glutton and she would push Woody out of the way and eat all his food, so like 1.5 cups she would eat if I didn't watch her. That went on for a while, I would have to feed them separately and it was such a pain. Then I got our third dog, a foster Boxer and she is the one who made Woody eat. He was trying to show is dominance over her and she was almost his size and she would go for his food, he would growl eat all the food then leave the bowl, I would feed her and he wouldn't mess with the food then.
Then I got the fourth dog, the foster Golden and that made him eat even more. With her, I had to switch the foods because she was allergic to corn, so I had to go up to a better tier of food.
But I think when he gets put under stress like moving houses or being yelled at or whatever. So this time I guess its because he was being moved or whatever was going on while he was at the house with my FIL. I have no idea how he was treated there, but he's really skittish right now.
He ate a little bit last night after I went to bed, but really, barely any food considering he hasn't eaten in like 2 days.

I think he's okay though. I hope so. He's laying on the couch now and I'm trying to gain some kind of control of AJ. He's wild today. Ugh.
I should show you guys a picture of what my living room looks like right now. There is stuff EVERYWHERE. Its unbelievable. Its going to take more than 20 minutes today to clean this room! LOL

 

[Katielovesleo3]

Do yall play "FIVE MINUTE PICKUP"? I used to play that with my Nana or my mom or dad. Sounds like he's depressed. Poor buddy.

 

[whitelop]

Yes we do play that. I tell him to put his toys in the bucket and he does. It doesn't matter though, like 3 minutes after he puts everything away he brings it all back out again. ahaha.

I really have to get off the computer and get some stuff done. Yet again, I have a headache. So its going to be a tough day. LOL

And yes, the poor dog is depressed. Hopefully he'll get over it soon. He's like up my butt right now on the couch, he's pressed most of his body against my leg. ahha. He just LOVES the couch.

 

[Chrisdoc]

I love seeing little Ellie hopping about. She is so funny with the cat like...get out of my space....she´s a brave little girl.

Oh, it´s so sad about Woody, I don´t think it will harm him for a couple of days not eating but not good if it continues. I´m sure he feels better being with you and maybe he´ll be tempted tomorrow, I do hope so.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

Poor Woody! I hope he starts eating soon. Like Chris said, I think it'll be okay if he doesn't eat for a few days but if he keeps not eating that won't be good.