doggy detox

the sweet peas in my back garden last night as the sun was setting

Yawn! Here we are Friday again ... and amazingly for a week that felt so much like a slump week, nearing the end, it actually feels like it's been quite a successful week. A satisfying week in many ways. The last two days here in Nova Scotia the weather has been absolutely beautiful, warm and sunny by noon and our 4pm walks at the beach reminiscent of summer afternoons. Such glorious weather does, I think, help chase the slumps away. We had a very successful & fun trip to town, lots of giggles and animated discussions, while picking up a months worth of household provisions.

I've decided to put the boy on a bit of a detox - no wheat, corn, soya (fillers) as he suffers from extreme itchiness, a fairly common ailment, especially in retrievers and one that often gets progressively worse with age. I do make homemade dog food (hamburger, broth, carrots, brown rice, lentils) but I do also add a cup of high end lamb & rice kibble mixed in with the homemade stuff twice a day. He also has many of my homemade cookies (whole wheat flour), as well as loads of store bought cookies (god knows what the ingredients are) he gets from my morning gang of dog walkers.

It's heartbreaking to see him so itchy and I'm determined to help him at least be less itchy. I have millet flour to substitute for their homemade cookies. He won't be allowed any other cookies (I'll just make sure that I have a pocketful each morning) and I bought a holistic all natural brand of filler-free kibble in the natural food section of the Superstore yesterday to add to our homemade dog food. I've done a lot of research online and itchy skin allergies are really common in dogs and it's often difficult to figure out what exactly is the problem. But for 21 days, Jake is on a detox program and we'll see if it helps.

When I return from one of my big shops and I'm unloading the car I usually bring an arms load in first just to say hello and enjoy the "OMG you're back, we thought you were gone forever" greeting from les chiens - Winnie giving out lots of kisses and spinning around and Jake must go to the toy box and retrieve a big stuffed creature, bringing it to me smiling, wagging & wriggling. We have our happy reunion and then I let them out into their yard to pee and I continue with the unloading of the wagon - which is always filled to the hilt (I guess I don't go to town often enough). My usual habit is to just schlep, drag or carry everything just inside the door and plop it down on the kitchen floor and then in good time every bag, box or item eventually makes it up to the kitchen table or counter where it is dealt with. (I like to pour my dried peas and lentils into glass jars, some things for the freezer get divided into smaller portions first, etc) I take my time and try to put things away thoughtfully. I did bring Jake & Winnie each home a retriever roll, a coiled stick of rawhide, which they were now chewing happily on their beds in the living room while I continued on. Midway I thought I should just go upstairs to my office, check my email, check my blog, see if I have any phone messages. 15 minutes or so and I'm back in the kitchen dealing with my mountain of provisions and I happened to glance into the living room area and spied a tattered piece of clear plastic bag on the floor. Hhhhmmm? Closer inspection revealed the telltale signs of a few remaining sesame & poppy seeds - the bagels. Jake had devoured 4 of those huge Everything bagels and probably a bit of plastic bag along with them. My fault, he rooted them out of a grocery bag which was still on the floor.

Later in the afternoon as we walked up the grass lane, Jake happily carrying a stick back to the car I told him "so much for your detox there Buck". Last evening he was practically comatose he was so sleepy, which is unusual - he's a very high energy, busy dog even at nearly 13 - it's true, I guess, what those carbs will do to you. Well today is officially day 1/21 of the boys detox - we'll keep you posted.