Salmonella threat leads to massive recall

Pretty scary stuff here.

Diamond Pet Foods has recalled eleven brands of pet food, as have several companies who co-manufacture with Diamond. So far, fourteen people are reported to have grown sick after handling the products, and many dogs have died. I have been told that some breeders lost entire litters due to the contaminated food.

Wellness in particular has voluntarily recalled Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy with certain "best by" dates. (Check their website for the latest updated information.) This is the exact food that Shadow enjoyed until he reached the one-year mark and that I wrote about many posts back. He now eats Super5Mix Large Breed Adult.

If you have a pet, please continue to check the official website for the recall (diamondpetrecall.com) and give some thought to making any necessary changes.

Although Shadow's food seems to be safe for the moment, this is a wake-up call for my family. I am considering switching to something more natural. Blue Diamond Breeding recommends Life's Abundance, which has no (possibly cancer-causing) preservatives, but only gets three stars on dogfoodanalysis.com. I will continue to research the best food for dogs like Shadow, and keep everyone updated. 

Being a parent of any kind isn't easy. That's why I started this blog to begin with. So often it's just an exercise in trial and error. All we can do -- while raising dogs, humans, or the snail your kid picked up from the back yard -- is make the best decision we can with the information at hand, and pray the "errors" are always rectifiable.

They are what they eat

Shadow is just one bag away from graduating to adult dog food. Before choosing his newest culinary experience, however, I wanted to share a tool that was invaluable in choosing his current brand (Wellness Super5 Mix for large breed puppies).

For the first few months, we were feeding him something that sounded great but, upon further inspection, was providing him with almost no real meat. His digestion was iffy (I won't go into detail), but we weren't sure what to change.

Then I stumbled upon DogFoodAnalysis.com. The site breaks hundreds of brands down by ingredient, providing reviews and analysis. It's amazing how many of the big brands I found out are... well... neither very good nor very honest.

Dog owners can't completely control the health of their pets, but being diligent about what they eat is probably as close as any of us are going to get. So check it out. You might discover something critical.

One Day After Surgery

Poor little guy!

Things he can't do:

- Scratch behind his ears

- Walk in a straight line

- Turn corners without banging into things

- Play with his toys because he can't chew on something and reach his hands around it at the same time
- Until late this afternoon, walk up stairs
- Creep around the house anymore (now it's all "bang! bang! bang!")

Things he can do:

- Make it up the stairs, after 24 hours of being unable to do so

- Look adorable and even more helpless than he was five months ago

- Take up almost as much of my time as he did while still using puppy pads

Hats and The Big Day

Shadow is being neutered today. I know it's the right thing to do. Animal shelters are the result of overpopulation and are horrible places to end up. But making such a monumental decision for someone who trusts you and who you care about (even if he has no idea what's going on) is pretty tough.

Our veterinarian suggested he have it done when he was six months old. Other dogs we know had it done when they were 10 months or eight weeks. There doesn't seem to be a right or wrong time, but for us just-about-seven months was perfect. Shadow only exhibited the bad (hump much?) unneutered dog behavior a couple times, and he got to mature normally almost to the tail end of his puppyhood.

As a non-professional, that's all I have to say on the matter, though I'll keep you up-to-date on his post-surgery progress. Dr. Lisa Miller offers details on the benefits of neutering or spaying your pet here.

The surgery is an all-day event, so rather than sit here and worry, I put together some silly photos of Shadow that Chris and I took this past weekend.

The thing you need to know is that we live in a household that was divided by Babe Ruth decades ago.

But we're always eager to recruit newcomers to our respective sides.

The big question has been on which side of the stadium our family will sit someday.

But if Shadow's any indicator, I'd better start preparing my concession speech now.

(Isn't that just like a Sox fan, already shooting off his anti-Yankee mouth before the game even starts...)

 But we can always compromise.

(He looks better in maroon than blue anyway!)

How to save a little $$

How would you feel if, after paying for a cart-load of stuff and heading for the door, you found out everyone else in the store got a 50% discount just because they asked for it?

It happens each day by the hundreds when pets undergo that special surgery no one wants to talk about. It can have a pretty hefty price tag. But Friends of Animals, an animal advocacy group based in the Northeast, has a low-cost spay/neutering program that allows pet owners to use their own vets (if participating) and get the same exact surgery at a fraction of the price.

Just tell your vet the magical phrase, "Friends of Animals rate," and wait for the certificate to arrive before planning the surgery.

Here's the link: http://www.friendsofanimals.org/sncert/instructions.html

Back to the Vet

When you have to shout the date of your next appointment at the woman behind the counter as your suddenly 58-pound dog yanks you, flailing, out the front door of the vet's office... he may no longer be a puppy.

Shadow returned to the vet today after a nearly two-month hiatus. His first call of action was to attempt climbing a woman in the waiting area. Then he moved on to the secretary, all the while skating along the tile floor like a berserk spider wearing roller skates.

My favorite part of the checkup, however, was when Shadow embarked upon his first (to my knowledge) feline encounter. It was a quartet of newborn kittens, to be exact, and both species were captivated by each other.

One particularly gutsy black kitten engaged in a sort of staring contest with the six-month-old silver Lab until (I hate to admit it) Shadow let out a whine. (I apologize for the picture quality, but I was armed only with my iPhone, and dogs move super fast.)

Finally past the waiting area, Shadow was so strong and rambunctious that the attendant had to call in backup to get him on the scale. And when I say scale, I mean a steel trough with no sides that rises a good three feet off the ground with the flick of a switch.

But what else can I expect from a new-to-this-world puppy in the body of a 58-pound adolescent dog? He sleeps through the night, he doesn't launch into a barking frenzy the moment I walk in or out of the door, he can be left outside his crate while I'm not paying him any attention, he's about 90 percent housebroken, and he can actually walk tolerably on a lead.

The jumping on people is the biggest issue left, but just like all the others, it will one day be history. And one day I'll miss his rambunctious, I-want-to-play-with-

everything-and-sniff-everything-and-jump-on-everything crazy phase.

I Shall Call Him Fang

Just found Shadow's second-to-last canine fang in his bed. Poor little guy's only got one left!

Teething blues

Poor little guy's just losing his teeth left and right -- wrestling with his neighborhood girlfriend Sunday, playing catch in the front yard yesterday, chewing on acorns (I tried to stop him) this afternoon. His mouth needs a superstrength doggie breath mint and he needs a major boost in morale.

But on the bright side, he didn't attack the blanket when I made the bed this morning. Just sat there and watched like a perfectly well-behaved puppy. At least there's progress.

Teething Time

Sleep can't come too often for a puppy struggling with the confusion and pain of teething.

Shadow is teething... and suddenly I see why “Has he started teething?” was been such a frequent question over the last few months.

Now nearly five months old, Shadow has mastered the no-nipping rule and has yet to exhibit any great tendency towards chewing non-toys items like furniture, clothing or pillows. (Though I’ve got several shirts with tiny vampire fang marks due to jumping, and one pair of crappy Syrofoam flip flops with a shark-like chomp in the heel.)

But now that the teething stage has arrived, from what I’ve heard, all bets are off.

This morning he can racing into the bedroom, jaw flapping, body jerking around like a mad dog... or a person in so much pain he thinks flailing about will relieve it. That’s what my little guy is going through, and watching it compels my top lip to retreat below the lower and create my own puppy face.

More than usual, Shadow needs to be near me or Chris. He needs to touch one of us, maybe because he thinks we’ll comfort him, maybe because he thinks we have some sort of magic treat that will stop his gums from bleeding and throbbing. Sure, I went through this too, but that was at least 26 years ago and I didn’t take very copious notes at the time.

A gigantic bowl full of ice seems to work well, as does this ChillyBone product we bought (although he does seem keen on tearing off the casing in addition to letting the cold soak into his gums).

Other than that, getting through this stage is a matter of making sure he always has something dog-specific (not the leg of our ottoman) to chew on, comforting him when he needs it, and brushing his teeth because his heartwarming puppy breath now smells like rotting tissue and blood. (If anyone has a remedy for the latter, please please please let me know at LauraShadow219@gmail.com; it’s fairly nasty.)

Check back later this week for photos from Shadow’s Fourth of July trip up to Maine. Highlights include his first swim, glamour shots in the mountains, and a rematch with Cousin Moose and Uncle Artie.

Some articles I found helpful:
"Puppy Teething Training Tips"
"Teething Remedies for Puppies" by Glyn Sheridan
"Is Your Puppy Teething?" by Joy Butler
"Puppy Teething Symptoms" by Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson

The Calm After the Storm

Oh my God, I feel like I've just run a marathon... or emerged from a week stranded in the woods.

After an hour of grocery shopping and other errands, I came home to find that Shadow wet his bed. Not his fault. But then he went puppy crazy for the next 90 minutes, biting, scratching, running and flipping all over the place on the leash, and acting in such a way that I couldn't allow him near our neighbors' kids because he was too hyper.

Figuring I'd exhaust some of his pent up energy, I took him outside for a game of fetch and chase-your-owner-all-around-the-yard. I was having a blast. He was having a blast. Then he stumbled upon some more interesting feces left by the neighbor's dog (who should not even be in our yard, let alone defecating there), and decided it might make a tasty treat.

Within two minutes he was whisked inside his play pen and a call frantic phone call was placed to his vet. "Just watch him," she said, adding that it's gross but all dogs do it. Phew, okay.

After a first-time tooth brushing (all he wanted to do was eat the brush),  it was time to clean his bed. During this time he had another accident in the pen and cried for the better part of the next half hour.

When I looked like the novice mother of triplet toddlers (hair frizzy in all directions, body sagging, raccoon eyes), it was finally time for dinner. When finished, he conked out under the coffee table, enabling me to pop a beer and regain my sanity (or at least take the edge off a bit).

Now the former devil is chewing quietly on his bully stick and leaning his adorable little face into my feet. And I once again become a sucker...

(Sorry for the glorified Twitter post... but if you want to know what it's like to raise a brand new puppy, this is as real as it gets!)

Ten Weeks

Celebrating with a birthday cigar (bully stick)

In honor of his 10-week birthday (in other words, because I was too chicken to do it myself), Shadow visited a groomer today to have his nails clipped. The whole procedure took about five minutes, and he spent the whole time in my arms because he's still in that low-immunity puppy phase.

Yesterday afternoon, he enjoyed a visit from another puppy momma, who told me to give him a small treat immediately after he "eliminates" (by all means, if you have a better phrase for this let me know at laurashadow219@gmail.com) to cure his hatred of going outside when it's time. So far, it seems to be catching on!

Like "mother," like "son," we learned this week that Shadow despises the rain and cold, but the whole family is looking forward to a warm, beautiful weekend. And because the sun brings out the amazing blue-ness of his eyes, the forecast calls for lots of photos  :)

If dogs could roll their eyes and say, "Really? Do you really need another picture of me, mom?"

Get the latest immediately by following LauraShadow on Twitter.

Did you miss something fun?

Video: Singin' in Shadow's Room

Photos: Shadow Gets Pretty

Video: Silver Lab Puppy Meets Kong

Video: Shadow the Silver Lab Comes Home

Shadow Gets Pretty

Despite an initial attempt to flee (above), Shadow grumpily but obediently resigned himself to getting a bath on Sunday. After drying beneath a snuggly blanket in his crate (below), he greeted some extended family members with super soft fur and a powder fresh scent. Needless to say, he was welcomed right into the pack.

Did you miss something?

Video: Silver Lab Puppy Meets Kong

Video: Shadow the Silver Lab Comes Home

Progress Report: Day Five

Crate Training Saves the Day

Monday, April 19, 2010

Shadow was the man of the hour today during his debut visit to our local vet, where he received a DHPP booster, a standard office exam, and medications to prevent heartworms, fleas and Lyme disease.

In addition to being a quiet but slightly fiesty big guy for the doc (Don't you just love the strong, silent type?), Shadow stole the hearts of all the women (who'd never seen a "silver" Lab before) and posed for a photo shoot welcoming him to the new veterinary community.

Despite seeing only Chris and I for two days, Shadow didn't show any fear meeting four new people all at once or being fussed with on a metal table. Truth be told, between the two of us, the award for most nervous vet visitor would probably go to me -- the woman who never owned a puppy before and who went to the appointment with a half dozen questions prepared on pink and white stationary.

For the record:
Getting a new puppy to the vet as soon as possible after he/she comes home is extremely important for the sake of both the pup and your purchase agreement with the breeder. As is the case of most pups from reputable breeders, Shadow was dewormed and had received the first in a series of DHPP vaccines by eight weeks of age. But the rest is up to the new owner.