Helping a Boxer with a Sensitive Stomach

Through the years I have written articles about Lucy’s sensitive stomach issues. I’ve informed you of how Lucy actually eats three meals a day and how this manages to keep her tummy issues at bay. Some may be thinking that I’m overfeeding her. The truth is, she rarely gets more than one cup per serving of her favorite dog food. In addition, she gets no more 1 to 3 treats on any given day but this is another story to tell later. This method of multiple feeding works only because of the quality of the food she receives.

Over time her dog food has changed. When we first brought Lucy home we were sold on Science Diet products. She did well with this food as far as the sensitivity goes but she put on weight. So we went exploring and experimenting with different foods. We tried all-natural foods from the health food store and several others as well. Some would cause weight gain, some would cause weight loss and some an excessive need to go poo. Some foods had too much filler and others perhaps not enough. Some so-called sensitive stomach foods actually magnified the sensitivity problem.

One day she got sick and kept getting sick on a regular basis. We took her to the Vet and had her checked out. She was healthy but had a sensitive stomach issued said the vet. The Vet recommended we feed her nothing but rice for a few days. The problem remedied itself very quickly. We asked the Vet to recommend dog food that would help us with our problem. I was expecting to have to spend a great deal of money on this recommended dog food but was pleasantly surprised with his recommendation, He recommended Purina One Rice and Lamb (Sensitive Stomach) dry dog food. Don’t worry, I don’t own stock in Purina nor am I advertising the product for any type of profit. I’m simply offering up a solution to a problem many dog owners run into.  Besides, the food has been fantastic for Lucy. No more sensitive stomach and she possesses abundant energy and displays all the signs of a healthy dog.

Lucy is eight years old now and has a lean body, strong bones, and strong muscles. She is rarely ill so her immune system must be strong as well. Her digestion is excellent and she rarely has a problem of throwing up like she used to do. I might add that she is quite regular as well.  Her skin coat and eyes are still as stunning as when she was a puppy. And her teeth are in good shape but like many dogs, she probably could use good teeth cleaning and perhaps something for doggie breath on occasion. With all this said, I would have to conclude that the food she is on now is a good one.

For those of you who have a boxer with a sensitive stomach, you might want to check this dog food out. Listed below are the ingredients along with the guaranteed analysis that Purina states concerning the product.  All I can say is that it has worked for Lucy and it may work for your boxer as well.

Ingredients:

Lamb (natural source of glucosamine), brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), oatmeal, animal fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of vitamin E), lamb meal, animal digest, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, salt, caramel color, L-Lysine monochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, ferrous sulfate, vitamin E supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, vitamin A supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), sodium selenite

Purina’s Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude protein (min.) 26%, crude fat (min.) 16%, crude fiber (max.) 3%, moisture (max.) 12%, linoleic acid (min.) 1.4%, calcium (Ca) (min.) 1%, phosphorus (P) (min.) 0.8%, selenium (Se) (min.) 0.35 mg/kg, vitamin A (min.) 13,000 iu/kg, vitamin E (min.) 250 iu/kg, glucosamine* (min.) 400 ppm, Omega 6 fatty acids* (min.) 1.6%. *Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Nutrients Profile.

If you know of a better dog food that works as well as this one does for Lucy, I would appreciate it if you write a short response to this post for more options in helping a boxer with a sensitive stomach.

Thanks and Ciao for now…

Beer and Its Contribution to Humanity and the Creation of Modern Society

Beer has been around for quite some time. Some think that the production of beer and bread derived from grain cereals containing certain sugars are directly responsible for the development of civilization. Here’s my view of history, beer and civilization and how they have contributed to the development of modern society.

History records that beer has been around for about 7,000 thousand years now. Scientists have uncovered ancient stone tablets with depictions of beer brewers from Samaria dating to as far back as 6,000 years. There are also many depictions of people drinking beer from a bowl with straws (This is an interesting concept and one in which I have tried to emulate on many occasions while attempting the ancient Scottish tradition of playing golf. You need to try this some time.)

Other significant evidence of beer contributing to civilization as a whole comes from the likes of the Egyptians, and central Europe, dating back as far as 3000 B.C. and many argue that beer and bread production directly led to the development of technology and civilization. In fact, ancient prayers have been uncovered concerning beer, bread and onions. Why the inclusion of onions is present is a mystery to me, but I do like them on hamburgers from time to time.

It is a widely held understanding that in ancient times, the best and probably only brewers of beer were women. I have some thoughts on why this is probably true. Women are crafty and never do anything without a purpose. The purpose for brewing brew is straightforward; women were tired of following all those crazy male hunters around looking for game. It was time to settle down and what better way to get a man’s attention than to brew up a batch of beer. Instant success on the woman’s part I would say! The women’s influence on technology can’t be over stated either, they needed better pots to brew the beer in and men were happy to oblige!

History indicates that people overall were not always monogamous in their relationships. The concept of marriage came about because of beer. Let me explain. Since women were brewers of beer and men like beer and most prefer to drink the finest of the delicious nectar, two things had to happen. First, the man needed to establish a permanent domicile and second they had to capture the best brewers of beer and keep them. This led to what we know of today as the family domicile and the invention of marriage. The line in the marriage vow “until death doeth part” can be directly attributed to the production of beer. You see men of the time were quite selfish and didn’t want to share their best beer or lose their best brewers of beer, so they came up with the idea of marriage and thus the institution we have today. I told you women were crafty, brew some beer and capture the hunter of her dreams!

Now with all this said, you may be thinking "Isn't this blog about Lucy the White Boxer"? Yes, but sometime I just have to lighten things up a bit and discuss more important topics such as beer and its contribution to humanity. Until next time, Cheers!

Lucy's Leisure Time

Now this is one spoiled critter! Lucy loves her leisure time, this picture depicts the comforts that she has come to expect. I shot this photo with some old black and white film in my Nikon F4. We had such nice, defused light coming through the window in the front living room window. This was a moment in time with a great friend. Her expression is priceless... I wish everyday were like this!

Nikon F4 Kodak 400 B&W film, ISO 400, 1/15sec, f4.5 @70mm

Just an update!

Well it's been a while since I last posted to tell everyone how Lucy and the family are doing. The picture you see here was taken this weekend during a snow fall in our back yard here in Colorado. Terri took the picture and it happened quite by accident, or did it? But that's another story and you'll have to wait for just a bit for the rest of that one. To sum it up, Lucy is doing great. She's still funny as ever and very high spirited at times. She loves her new home and has settled into a great routine.

We have Mule Deer here in Colorado Springs that reside in the 800 acre natural park which our property is adjacent. They wander through the yard, cleaning out Terri's bird feeder in the front yard on an almost a daily basis. Lucy loves to watch them roam through the yard. She has a silent bark she uses to let us know that they are around. Checkout the picture of the bird feeder bandits. My sister-in-law suggested we get a deer feeder for the birds! And yes, it was a snowy day when the picture was made!

I don't let Lucy out by herself here. I spotted a mountain lion up on the ridge in the park the other day and also saw him again running through the hillside above our house on another occasion. Mountain lions have been know to attack and kill dogs as prey. I guess mountain lions have to eat too, but I don't want this one enjoying a Lucy steak any time soon, so I monitor her outdoor activity fairly closely. Just one more reason not to have a deer feeder, they attract mountain lions! I don't want the deer hanging around more than they do now.

As for me, I'm doing fine. I managed to lose a little weight. Terri has me on this supplement drink that is helping me out in that department. It's working, I've lost 10 pounds in two weeks. If this continues, I could be back below 200 pounds in a couple weeks, which would make everyone I know and love very happy. If you know someone who's looking to lose weight, drop me a line and I'll let you know what I'm doing. It may help... I'm also very busy these days with work and my hobbies. I would rather talk about my hobbies than work, but that's another story!

Well that's about it for now. Oh yeah, I was going to tell you about the picture of Lucy. The picture was taken with Terri's I-phone! Here's the story... We went and picked up fire wood on Saturday and found a piece of wood with a hole in it. Terri came up with the idea that we should try to take a picture through the whole. We used every digital camera we have to take the picture (photography - one of my hobbies).

If anyone knows anything about photography, there's this little thing called depth of field, that preclude you from having two objects in perfect focus at the same time. You almost have to settled for one object or the other unless you can shoot in a fairly narrow f-stop from the right distance and that is completely experimental. Well, the piece of wood was only about 4 inches wide. I could do it from a distance but when I blew up the photo it would blur. To make a long story short, while Terri and I were conducting
our experiment Lucy just happened to come in view in the background. The picture is the result. Fun stuff! I really like the picture for a couple of reasons technically but yet again that's another story...

Hope you enjoy the pictures and I wish you peace. Thanks for stopping by.

Where do boxers come from?

Lucy, my 6 year old boxer came to my family as a rescue animal. She has been a blessing to us in many ways. First of all she has become my wife's and I, constant companion! There is no car ride to great or to short for her to enjoy. She loves the outdoors and is a great hiker and camper! Her adventures almost over-whelm her sometimes and she has to be throttled back because she's full of energy and she will go until she drops.

I plan on placing links and articles on training and caring for dogs. In Lucy's case she is truly man's best friend...I would like to share thoughts and opinions on the subject of the White Boxer and other dogs as well. I look forward to hearing from you...

Let's now examine where the "white boxer" comes from. Did you know that the original boxers were white. That they are presumed to be a cross between a Bulldog and a large dog such as a massif! Color did not come into the breed until around the 1920's. The breed comes from the western regions of Germany. They are known as a working breed of dog. The boxer's temper is gentle. Although they look mean and rough they're actually very playful, stubborn at times, and loyal to a fault. They make excellent pets to have with children!

The boxer can cause problems if it gets bored. When Lucy was a pup she got bored often. She ate two of our wingback chairs that we've had forever. Obedience training can be a challenge if ground rules are not established and enforced at an early stage of development. Boxers, however, love to learn new things. Lucy loves exploring new environments as long as one of us reassures her everything is going to be ok!

Our Lucy is almost like having another person around at times. She likes to keep a schedule and lets you know about it when it is not being kept. Since my wife and I both work outside the home Lucy gets to go to "doggy day camp" twice a week to keep her healthy and happy.

When the day is done...

I just had to post this picture of Lucy at the end of a long day. It's one of a series of pictures that I took. She really loves to lounge by that chair at the end of a long day. She was actually after me to hurry up with what I was doing in order for her to get bed. This dog loves her comforts and sleep, when it's time to do so. Hope you enjoy the picture as much as I did taking it!

I'll post more pictures in the near future, promise. It is supper late here in Colorado and I'm off to bed. Later!

Lucy has an allergy problem…

Wow, since we moved to Colorado this past spring, Lucy has been experiencing some allergy-related issues.  The symptoms include tearing of the eyes accompanied by occasional episodes of the sensitive stomach because of drainage.  We’ve tried to identify what is causing the episodes but we have not found the culprit yet.  So what do we do to treat the issues that she is experiencing?

What we have found that works to stave off the symptoms, is a common household allergy medication, e.g., Benadryl or a generic product containing diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl.  We find that this works very nicely.  After speaking with the Vet, she suggested that we give Lucy two tablets once in the morning and then two more tablets in the evening to ensure that drainage is reduced and her stomach is relieved of mucus which causes stomach issues.  So far this has been an effective treatment. 

In addition to the Benadryl, we monitor Lucy’s diet extremely closely.  We actually have her on a more humanlike schedule with meals, feeding her breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  She gets about one and a third cups of sensitive stomach dog food that she loves at each meal.  As long as we don’t expose her to a treatment involving human food she does well, i.e., no throwing up and no grazing on grass.  I’ve actually seen her eat grass like a cow to either settle her stomach or produce vomit to relieve stomach pressure.

To sum things up, Lucy is enjoying her new home here in Colorado.  She is having a great time hiking and roaming around her new environment.  She’s even made friends with a couple Mule Deer that hang around the property.  They have great starring competitions.  Allergies are a fact of life for her here but she responds to the medication that we provide her and she seems to take the issues in stride.  Not much slows her down.  

While looking up natural remedies for Lucy's issues we did come across one author that seems to be based on natural treatments for ailments such as Lucy's. I'd like to get someone else's opinion on this. We purchased the book and seems to be straight forward. Click here to examine it yourself.

Thanks

Just got back...

Well these are sad times... My mother passed away this week.  I had to go back to North Carolina for the funeral.  As prepared as we think we may be for things like this, you really are never prepared to say goodbye to a parent.

My mother and I we not close over the last couple of years and this saddens me.  Our differences were due to things that happened a long time ago and the haunting memories that lingered up until right before her death.  But you know, even with the differences and the separation of time and distance, I still miss her!  If I could make any one wish come true, it would be to talk with her just one more time.  I did get a chance to go back and visit with her a week or so before her death.  It was the best thing that I could have done and it did ease the pain a bit, but there were so many wasted years.

I don't know what your relationship is with your parents but if I may offer you one piece of advice, call your folks and say hi just a bit more often.  It will pay big dividends in the long run!

When I returned home from the funeral I found what a great support group I have.  My wife and  my dog Lucy have been a big part of my recovery from the sadness that I feel.  I know that I've written about this before but I have to say it again.  Dogs have a special sense of when something isn't right.  Lucy has been at my side ever since I got back.  When I'm really sad she comes over to me as if to say "everything is going to be all right! Pet me and you'll feel better..."  And you know, after petting her I do feel better.

Don’t let your boxer get too much sun!

I just read an interesting article discussing the fact that boxers are particularly prone to the development of mast cell tumors, lymphoma and brain tumors. The white boxer and colored boxers with white markings should be protected from the sun as they are liable to develop skin cancer if allowed to burn. This hit me like a ton of bricks!


Lucy is an incredibly active boxer. We’ve known about the sun burn issue for some time but never knew that she was predisposed to skin cancer until recently. We try to monitor the amount of outdoors activity that she receives but it is difficult at times. We actively try to protect and guard against sunburn. One safeguard we’ve used in the past and still use when available is spray on sunblock, especially when we’re going to have her outdoors on trips or hikes. This seems to be working thus far.

Our daughter’s boxer Matty, has had some issues with mast cell tumors. She possesses a splash of white but not to the extent of being what is known as a bright boxer (boxers possessing a white splash covering more than 20% of their body mass). Matty is screened regularly and is currently undergoing treatment for the decease and is responding quite well as of this posting.

The bottom line of this post, I guess, is to make folks aware of the predisposition of boxer to the decease of cancer. Boxers should be screened for all types of cancer on a regular basis. There are tests that can be performed on boxers for all types of congenital predispositions. Breeders should perform these tests on all dogs that they are considering breeding. Regardless, get your boxer screened for cancer on regular intervals.

Lucy - a stranger in a newland...

High everyone, just wanted to give you an update on Lucy.  Lucy is now six years old and is doing well.  We recently relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado due my changing jobs.  Lucy is adapting well to her new environment here in Colorado.  She no longer has the big yard in Memphis to run around in but she's getting plenty of exercise due to hikes and long walks that we take to keep her fit.

Lucy is fully mature now and doesn't seem to be slowing down much.  We keep a keen eye out for any signs of illness or decease that boxer's are prone to have.  She still has the occational ear infection but we try to keep her ears clean.  We do a thorough cleaning about two to three times a month, which seems to keep the ear problems at bay.  I'll keep you updated on any future issues with Lucy's ears. 

Well that's about it for now.  We should be closing on a new dog house for Lucy sometime in the near future.  I'll post some pictures once we get settled in.  If you have any questions about Lucy or boxer dog issues, feel free to make a post.  I'd really like to hear from you and perhaps have a discussion or two on the blog.   

It is now one hour and 30 till 2011!!!!

I can't believe how time flies.  It's only an hour and a half from 2011!  My, how time flies when you are busy getting on with life.  Lucy is resting on the couch sleeping right now.  I can't believe she is five already!  It seems like yesterday that I walked into my old house down in Texas and was presented with one of the homeliest dogs that I had ever seen by my life.  My daughter Lauren is the responsible party... but you've probably read that already in another post.

Lucy has been my constant companion of late.  Terri is down in Texas helping my daughter with the newest edition to our family, our first grandson Robert Casen Hasenak.  Lucy made the trip to Texas with us to welcome Casen to our family but she and I had to return home due to work.  Terri, being the ever caring parent, just had to stay and help out.  

I don't really know what life would be without Lucy sometimes.  She is the most gentle dog that I've ever met. The way she cares for Terri and myself is beyond comprehension. It's like she has a sixth sense as to what's going on in the family and adjust to the needs of the one that needs her most.  I guess we really are members of her pack.  

I just wish everyone had a pet or special friend such as Lucy for a companion... 

Just a note on Lucy...

Well it is now October 2010 and Lucy is doing fine. It’s time for her annual checkup again and I haven’t had a chance to schedule the visit. I must get to that fairly soon! Boxers, especially White Boxers, have a tendency to develop some nasty problems when they get to be middle-aged. I just can’t believe that Lucy is now six! It feels like just yesterday that our daughter Lauren gave Lucy to us. Or, is it that Lauren gave us to Lucy to take care of?


Some of the experiences I’ve share with this dog will last me a life time. Going to the dog park, backpacking, going for rides in the car (just because she loves it), or just sitting at home enjoying each other’s company are all things I will take with me. What a great friend she has been! I now understand the statement of “Dog, Man’s best friend”. I think I’ll go ahead schedule that checkup while I’m thinking about. I want to keep her around, healthy and happy as long as possible.

I’ll post some new pictures of Lucy sometime in the near future. She has really filled out and is one beautiful creature… Until next time – ciao!

Trip to the Vet

Well, where to start?  Terri and I headed out to do some shopping today. Pick up some bottles for the beer that we have brewing, buy a couple of chairs for the front porch and various other activities.  We were only out for about an hour. When came home, Lucy met us at the door.  Her greeting was a bit odd this time!  She was extremely sheepish and acted as if she wanted me to do something for her.  It was as if she were saying, hey- "I don't feel so great."  She was acting in the manner that she acts when she has been into something that she's not suppose to get into.

My "what have you been up too?" alarm went off in my head!"  Sure enough, when I rounded  the corner I found that she had indeed been into something.  There was bits of plastic all over the living room carpet and she was cowering in the corner as if to say "I didn't mean to do it!", please forgive me!  Well, when Terri saw what it was, she made one statement, and that was, "we have to get to Vet now!"  I immediately asked why?  Terri's answer scared me, "Lucy just ate ant bait!"  We couldn't understand how she got a-hold of it, but it was true... Our family member ingested a poison!

We were off like a flash!  I think I broke every speed limit in the conservative community of Germantown, Tennessee getting my dog to the Vet.  Luckily for us, it had just happened fairly shortly before we came home!  We were at the Vet's in about ten minutes of discovery.

At the Vets, they examined her and said she wasn't showing any symptoms of poisoning but we did the right thing by bringing her in straight away!  They set about their work, inducing vomiting and cleaning out her stomach.  They even examined the contents of the upchucked material.  They found the label on the ant bait and discovered that it was a slow acting ingredient.  They also hooked her up to an I.V. to get fluids into her.  Then they said that they needed to observe her for a couple hours.  These were a couple of long hours!

It turns out that Lucy is okay!  We were able to head off any sort of poisoning problems with our quick reaction to the discovery of the poisoning.  I guess the moral to the story is two-fold. One, be sure to keep any type of poison under lock and key.  And two, if something does happen, get to the Vet as quickly as possible.  Quick reaction time is critical in poisoning cases.

In my last post I wrote about pet insurance.  In this post I have to tell you that we had good cause to use it.  Our Vet bill was minimum due to the fact that we have good pet insurance for our dog.  And Lucy received outstanding care as a result of it!  As I write this post, Lucy is laying at my feet and seemingly in good health and humor.  I trust your pet and best friend is doing the same...

Health Insurance for Your Dog

The word insurance is one of those words that just makes you cringe. Next to putting gas in your car it seems like insurance is the biggest expense you have.  There is so much that you need! You need to keep insurance on your car (it would have been really nice if somebody would have told how big a financial drain that was going to be), if you own a home you pay homeowners insurance, if you rent an apartment you have renters insurance, you struggle with the ever soaring cost of health care insurance, and if you are a really responsible family member you have life insurance. And now you find you are hearing that you should consider purchasing a health insurance plan for your pet.
  
You love your dog, he/she's more then a pet, she's a valued member of your family and probably your best friend. But health insurance? You can barely afford to put food on your table how are you supposed to be able to afford to insure your pet. Besides he's just a mutt, dog health care insurance is for fancy purebred show dogs, not your rescue pet.
  
The shoestring you’re probably living on is the very reason you might want to consider putting pet health insurance on your pet. The average dog owner takes their pet dog to the veterinarian approximately 2.3 times a year and it will cost you approximately three hundred dollars per year.  My guess is that each time you pay the vet bill your budget is screaming for mercy.
  
What happens if your dog contracts a disease, or gets hurt? It doesn't take much to rack up some pretty serious vet bills. What if you have to leave town and can't take your dog with you? Can you really afford to leave your dog at a boarding kennel? You already know how much you have to pay for your prescriptions, do you really think that a dog prescription is going to be any cheaper. Lucy's last visit was several hundred dollars for a urinary track infection. I'm glad we had pet health-care coverage.

Your dog is your best friend and a treasured member of your family could you really live with yourself if you had to put him to sleep just because you couldn't afford his vet bill.
  
It is possible to get health care insurance for your dog for approximately twenty dollars a month. While it might not cover all of your dogs vet care needs, it could help!  If you shop around and read each plan carefully you should even be able to find a pet health-care plan that will help pay for your routine vet visits. Some pet insurance plans will even cover some boarding expenses.

Some questions you should ask the pet health insurance company you are considering buying a pet health care policy from is whether or not your vet accepts that particular type of insurance, if there is a cap on treatments, how much is your deductible, and how will they handle any pre-existing conditions your dog might have.







If you have taken on the joy of having a pet, why not pony up and be responsible enough to provide the care your pet truly deserves?  Get pet insurance...

“All animals except man know that the ultimate of life is to enjoy it.” –Samuel Butler

Mr. Butler must have been a great observer of nature. Or, he must have understood the nature of dogs. One thing I can honestly say is our dog Lucy does understand the concept of enjoying life.
Currently Terri and I are spending more time outdoors enjoying the pool. Lucy, who is not a great swimmer, makes a game of chasing us while we swim. She’ll run or pace back and forth on the deck as we swim or float from one end to the other. She seems to really enjoy the activity. At other times she’ll just sit and watch from the comfort of some shady spot near the pool in the backyard.

I now must relay a story to you… In my attempt to get Lucy more involved in our activities I have been trying to teach her to swim. Lucy will not enter the pool unless I carry her in and then to remain there, I must assist her by supplying support while she is in the water. She will not attempt to swim on her own! This holds true even when we are out on hiking trips and there is a lake nearby, she simply will not attempt to swim.

Well, the other day Lucy was really interested in getting in the water so I retrieved her and brought her in the pool. I’m trying to make her understand that the steps are safe for her as the water is not above her chest level. The first introduction to the water went fine. I carried her in and then sat her on the steps of the pool. Great, she sat there for a moment and then got out of the pool on her own. A few moments later she was back at the side of the pool as if asking to get back in. So, I got out of pool lifted her up to carry her into the pool. We entered into the pool just fine but once I reach the floor of the pool I lost my footing and slipped. I didn’t drop Lucy put she thought I was going too! Lucy demonstrated to me that she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself in the water. It’s as if she could walk on water with the way she got out of the pool.

So what’s the moral of the story? I guess it’s this, if a dog wants to swim it can… Even though Boxers aren’t necessarily naturally attracted to the water, they can swim when they have to! Don’t force the issue, they’ll swim if they have to and swim with a passion. The best thing you can do for them is be encouraging and perhaps supply them with a floatation device such as a dog specific life preserver… A dog, especially a Boxer knows how to make their own fun, don’t press the issue!