After a long sleep...

We're back to training. Finally.

But, first, a miracle supplement.

No, really.

Ella and the other shelties eat grass like, well, sheep. And, they never throw it up. I mean, Bear will be running along playing, put his head down and grab a mouthful as he is running. Really. And, they never had stinky-bile-sulfur breath, either.

Until the snow and cold killed off all the green grass. Yep, Ella actually has a scab on her nose from rooting around in the crusty snow trying to find some green stuff. To no avail, poor thing.

I tried adding green veggies to their meals: broccoli, spinach, kale, swiss chard (which they love). They liked the veggies, but got a lot more gas (which make sense, since these are rather gassy-causing veggies).

So, I was cleaning out the dog shelf and found that I has purchased The Honest Kitchen's Perfect Form supplement. Two jars, actually. That's a lot of Perfect Form.

It contains fennel, papain, papaya, pumpkin seed, plantain, pectin and slippery elm. And, is developed to "support the normal healthy functioning of your pet's digestive tract." Well, slippery elm has been used for ages as a digestive supplement - settlers crossing the US used to make a tea out of its bark and some of them ate it to survive the winter! The rest of the stuff in there is also used as stomach and digestive support.

When I first tried it, I tried it when Bear was having a great bout of diarrhea, which wasn't my smartest move ever. Note to self: Do not introduce new supplement if dog is ill - duh. So I put it away on the shelf.

I started the dogs on this Sunday night (note: no one was ill when I started this time). Each dog is receiving 1/8 tsp per meal this week. Next week, I will up this to 1/4 tsp.

The results in just three additions? No bad breath, no more gas, Ella's nose is healing up (but, due to her not rooting for grass, rather than the supplement itself). Robbie slept the sleep of the just and didn't toss and turn.

And, even Possum, with her sensitive (and I mean sensitive - if there are any dyes in the food she eats, you will know exactly what colors were in there when she poops!) stomach can tolerate it.

Great stuff. GREAT stuff and you can get it at Planet Dog in Portland.

Frisbee!

Robbie says that Ella has been taking up too much time in this blog and that he is getting a little miffed about it. So, he decided to run so fast that Ella couldn't keep up and he could get a picture all to himself.

He wants to show you his new sheltie-sized frisbee. It is a Puppy Kong Frisbee and it is just the right size for little shelties and just the right softness for tug!

He is actually thinking in the above photo: "If I drop this frisbee, how long before you throw it again?"

Portland Head Light/Fort Williams

I recently had a meeting in Portland and took Ella with me. During my lunch break, she and I stopped at Fort Williams to take in the sites.

Even though the day was gray and the surf was very loud (Ella says: SCARY), we had a nice walk. The Princess LMNOP even deigned to pose so you can see the lighthouse in the background. She is lying by a plaque for a part of Fort Williams. It is a short walk down to the lighthouse.

Dogs are allowed on leash (Ella says to remember to bring your poop bags!). A lot of people were smiling at her and we overheard one lady say to her husband that it must be nice to have a dog that poses!