What's FOOD got to do with it?

   Two weeks ago Allie was riding "shotgun" in the car with me, and I smelled a terrible odor.  I had smelled that odor before and I knew that it meant that Miss Allie Mae had an ear infection.  I had a sinking feeling.  Allie has had so many health issues this past year, and I thought to myself, "Not this too!"  Thankfully I have a really great vet who looked at her ear and declared that she thought she had a yeast infection.  The ear swab came back a few minutes later and revealed that Allie had a humdinger of an yeast infection.  The first question my vet asked, which is why I love her, was "What is your dog eating?"  My pups all get super good food that is grain free and potato free and is loaded with human grade protein.  However, this question made my ticker start ticking.  What if there was something in her food that was causing this nasty ear infection?
     I started to research, and I found out that tapioca, which is in many grain free foods, can cause a yeasty reaction in SOME dogs.  I think it is safe to say that tapioca causes a horrendous yeast reaction in Allie Mae. I won't name the food that we were on, because I don't want people to think that it is a bad food.  It is not, and interestlying enough we had already switched to Acana Singles because of one of my other dog's skin issues.  But... that's another blog post.  In the meantime, enjoy this video I found of Dr. Karen Becker talking about yeast issues in dogs.  Happy Training!

These are a few MORE of my favorite things....

     Food stuffable toys should be part of all Pet Parents' training regimen.  Even though my own dogs are 6, 3 and 19 months I still use food stuffable toys in place of their food bowl.  Whenever our life changes or energy requirements increase, I start using my food stuffable toys religiously.  They help burn mental energy, which in turn keeps my pups from "going off the reservation".  Here are a few new food stuffable toys that I have found.

 JW's  caterpillar toy is a most excellent invention.  I use it for my "Brainiacs" when I need to keep them extra busy.  You can cut one of the teeth to make it easier for the dogs to get to their kibble. 

The Everlasting Chew Toy line by StarMark is a sweet diversion for any dog. I mainly use the groovy ball, because it hold the most kibble. I will occasionally put an everlasting "chew" in it.  However,don't be fooled... the chew is not "everlasting", but the toy is pretty sturdy and will survive many chewings. 

The Kong Wobbler is a fun toy.  Dogs have to figure out which way to whack the wobbler to make food appear.  However, this is NOT a chew toy and should NOT be left out when owners are not supervising.