It's been a while!

I really got off track a while back! I haven't posted in forever!! But today I noticed something I just had to write about, even if it makes me sound like an ad for Canidae...again! I compared Canidae to the grocery store "value brand" today (I will leave the brand name out we will call it Brand X). I am amazed!! Canidae costs me 42 dollars for a 35 pound bag. Brand X is 20 dollars for a 40 pound bag, way better deal right!?! WRONG!
Right now on Canidae, Toby eats 2.5 cups a day. If I fed him Brand X, he would eat approximately 7 cups a day!!! That "way better deal" just went out the window! And if that's not enough, take a look at just the first 5 ingredients:
Brand X - "Ground Yellow Corn, Soybean Meal, Whole Wheat, Beef Meal, High Fructose Corn Syrup"
Canidae - "Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, brown rice, white rice". 
For those of you who don't know, when it says "meal" after a meat that just means the water has been cooked out already. A meat "meal" is good, "by-product meal" not so good, and those show up later in Brand X's ingredients but not Canidae's.
Moral of the story, compare labels before you decide which food is a better deal, you can usually do this online too, much easier than in the store.

PS I am going to try to start posting at least once a week again.

Todd goes "swimming"

Yeah, we love Todd... but he is not the brightest! Maybe we can turn it into a trick though!

Coats!

As the daily temperature drops many of us start to consider buying coats for our dogs. Toby made it through last winter only shivering one day, so I know he will be fine without a coat. Todd on the other hand, has already shivered this fall! It was about 50 degrees out and  Todd was out for a few minutes, since it often gets much colder around here during winter, we plan on getting Todd a fall sweater and a winter coat. None of us are big fans of dressing up dogs but it's apparent that he would appreciate the warmth! But not all dogs will tolerate or need coats. Toby would tolerate it if I thought he needed it but his undercoat keeps him warm and his top coat keeps him dry. If you have thought about getting your dog a coat put a little research into it, see if his breed (or main breed in the mix) has a good winter coat or not, watch for shivering as the weather cools down. You also don't want to start putting on the coat too early. If your dog was hot during the summer he will be hot in a coat during the early fall.

Technical Difficulties

My computer has been causing lots of trouble for me lately so I got out of the routine of writing for a while, but I am back and hoping to get back in the routine again!
Toby and Todd are pretty much best friends now! Todd seems to have bonded most with my dad, a little odd considering he is home the least, but he is always staring at the last door dad went out. His crate training hasn't gotten much better but his house training has reached the point that I can trust him to sleep in my bed so that I can get a full night's sleep again! Toby has taken the new dog situation very well, only developing one new bad habit; when Todd barks at the door, so must Toby.
As it starts to cool down I plan on posting about cold weather tips, tricks and products I have found and new ones as I discover them. If anyone out there has any requests/ideas for new posts I would be glad to hear them (Mom, I already have your ideas on my list).

Tired!

The past couple days I have been working at a nearby golf course with my dad. Getting up at 5:40 and shoveling dirt for five to seven hours is NOT easy! I have been so exhausted! Luckily, Toby and Todd have been helping me out by playing with each other all the time and wearing themselves out so our walks are easier! It's hard to believe that a couple weeks ago these two could hardly get near each other without getting into trouble! They are playing together very nicely these days. Todd's crate training is making progress...slowly but surely. It is always much easier if he is worn out, but that is usually only at the end of the day. Now that the boys are getting along much better and Todd is house trained I usually don't have to put him in his kennel during the day. If I do it is because I am leaving and then I don't have to listen to him bark so it doesn't stress me out as much as it was. He has started barking a little when people knock or come in but since that is new I should be able to stop it before it gets too bad. Over all things are going great with the boys!

Attention Treasure Valley!

Anyone near Boise thinking about adding a dog to their family? Idaho Humane Society is having a "Fall in Love" adoption event tomorrow through Monday, Sept. 13. Dog adoption fees will be lowered to just 39.95! Their kennels are too full and all these (and so many more) dogs need loving homes! So if you have the room, money and love for a dog (or a foster dog), please consider the Idaho Humane Society! Plus a drawing will be held and one lucky new owner will get a three hundred dollar gift card to the IHS veterinary clinic!

Shout out for BSU!

GO BRONCOS!

Might have to get one of these for each of the boys! Ha ha, if I can find extra money for it! Toby would look amazing in Bronco Blue! That is one advantage to black fur, he looks gorgeous in just about any color :) we put him in one of our old BSU shirts for a little while today (mainly for a facebook picture) and he didn't mind wearing it around the house but he would need one made for dogs if we ever have a game party here!

Update on Todd: We noticed some blood in his urine and took him to the vet. They found a urinary tract infection and an ear infection. He has been on meds for a few days, he is going to the bathroom less (we had assumed that he had been marking everything not that he just had to go that often), and seems to have more energy (again we figured he was just lower energy). We don't know if he had the infections when he got here or what but it wasn't easy to spot the changes in a new dog, if there hadn't been blood we may not have noticed.
Once again I have to say I love Canidae! When Todd got here his fur was stiff and wiry. We switched him to Canidae when he got here (normally I would mix in the old food during a switch but he picked the Canidae out and left his old food) and almost all of his fur is already softer! In just over a week! Love it!