The Pet Meds, Food and Products Our Own Pets Use

Emily's Meds: Emily is our beautiful, 10 1/2 year old female standard poodle. A lovely, lively dog that is an active Visiting Therapy Pet. Actually, Therapy Pet work can be a little strenuous at times because the dogs often spend an hour or more walking from room to room at large hospitals and nursing homes. As do many pure breeds, Emily has some health issues including allergies, ear problems and mild colitis. Working with our vet' we've found some meds that work well for Emily.

Dry Dog Food (No Beef Or Lamb Products):   Merrick Turducken Dry Dog Food
Dogs respond to allergy issues differently than people do, where we get runny eyes, sneezing and congestion, they usually get ear, itching and skin problems instead. Consequently our veterinarian suggested some food allergy testing for Emily to see if that would help with her chronic ear issues. Testing showed that Emily was allergic to beef and lamb, so we chose Merrick's Turducken dry dog food for her. Merrick foods are made with only high quality holistic ingredients. Turducken contains organic chicken, turkey, duck, and, freeze dried fruits & vegetables. Also, brown rice, oatmeal & barley.

Canned Dog Food (No Beef Or Lamb Products):   Canidae Canned Dog Food
Emily has a tendency to eat so fast that she inhales her food to the point of making her choke. We resolved this problem by mixing together a 1/2 dry, 1/2 canned combination. Canidae pet foods are naturally preserved and contain no corn, wheat, soy, fillers or by products. Emily gets the Chicken and Brown Rice variety which is also rich in healthy Omega Fatty Acids, Antioxidant Vitamins and easy to assimilate Chelated Minerals. Emily loves her Canidae-Merrick dinner mix. Canned Pumpkin Constipation Home Remedy:
Canned pumpkin is actually an old home remedy for constipation but you'll want to be careful not to overdo it. We've found that just a touch, about 1 teaspoon on top of her food in the morning helps keep her regular. But remember to use the "pure" canned pumpkin, not the spiced Pumpkin Pie Filling Mix and ask your veterinarian how much your pet should have. Diarrhea/Colitis Pet Medication:   Flagyl (Metronidazole)
An antibiotic pet medication often prescribed to treat protozoal infections including Giardia. It also has anti-inflammatory properties in the large intestine, consequently it is often prescribed to treat colitis and/or inflammatory bowel disease. Metronidazole has proven itself to be very effective in treating Emily's mild colitis and other occasional bowel discomforts. Pill Administration:   Chicken Flavor Pill Pockets
Were crazy about Pill Pockets, they're a soft malleable treat designed to wrap around a pill for easier administration. Emily is allergic to beef so we give her the new chicken flavor variety. They also have tuna and salmon flavors for cats. Ear And Allergy Meds:   Conofite - Baytril Prescription Ear Drops       Advanced PH Ear Formula       Clemastine
Our veterinarian suspected Emily's chronic ear problems were most likely related to allergies. Food allergy testing showed that she was allergic to beef and lamb, so we immediately took her off all beef products including treats and it has helped tremendously. We've also found it helps to put a few drops of a conofite/baytril mix in her ears every two to three days and some Advanced PH Ear drops on the other days. Emily also gets Clemastine, an antihistamine that helps control itching due to allergies. These three combined seem to have taken care of Emily's previously chronic ear issues completely. Health Supplements:   Select Antioxidant       Denosyl       Cosequin
As Emily got older we noticed her slowing down a bit. Her liver enzymes were just a little elevated so the veterinarian recommended SAMe, a non-prescription supplement for better liver health. Emily was also starting to get a little stiff from time to time. In the past, Cosequin had worked really well for our older Pyrenees' joint issues. Around that same time a dog trainer we knew told us how much Select Antioxidant had helped her dogs general health and energy levels. Since each product has its own unique purpose, we decided to giver her all three supplements on a regular basis. The combination of ingredients has done wonders for Emily, increasing her energy, stamina, liveliness and general vitality. Flea, Tick and Heartworm Prevention:   Frontline Plus     Iverhart Plus
Emily is an inside dog, however, she does go outside to go to the bathroom, and, mosquitoes often make it into the house. Consequently, we've always been big believers in applying preventatives as seriously for our inside dogs as our outside ones. Frontline Plus is what all of our dogs use and we have always had good results with it. Regarding heartworm protection pet meds, Emily is allergic to beef so she cannot have the popular Heartgard Chewables. Heartgard makes a little heartworm pill without the beef ingredients but it does not have Pyrantel, which provides added protection against hookworms and roundworms. We've found Iverhart Plus to be a great solution to this problem. Iverhart Plus has pyrantel to control hookworms and roundworms, ivermectin for heartworms, and, it is made with pork ingredients rather than beef.

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Dusty's Meds: Dusty is a 9 year old Pyrenees and a hard working ranch dog. 9 is actually well into the Senior category for a Pyrenees, as their life span is usually just 8 to 10 years of age. However, Dusty is far from ready to slow down, she lives to work. Retirement is not a word in Dusty's vocabulary. Dusty spends the nights inside with the family but once the sun comes up she begs to go outside and patrol. Pyrenees are bred to protect livestock and Dusty is dedicated to patrolling the 4 acre fence line, chasing away unwelcome stray cats, scaring off coyotes and protecting her buddy Daisy, a little Pygmy Goat. For an elderly dog, Dusty is in great health, but, she's had occasional joint stiffness in the past. A working dog, her health regimen needs to promote energy, joint health and stamina. Flea, tick and heartworm control is vital as well.

Dog Food:   Merrick Wilderness Blend Dry Dog Food
Dusty has no food allergies and can eat just about whatever she wants. We chose to feed Dusty Merrick's Wilderness Blend because we love the well rounded list of ingredients it adds to her diet, including veggies, buffalo, venison and salmon. We like the nutrition it provides and she loves the taste. Merrick dry foods are made with healthy ingredients like canola oil, organic chicken, freeze dried fruits and veggies. Many Merrick dog foods are considered low glycemic and often recommended for dogs with diabetes. We feed Merrick's Turducken and Thanksgiving Dinner varieties to our other dogs too.

Health Supplements:   Select Antioxidant   Cosequin DS
Dusty showed signs of potential joint problems at a very early age. Our veterinarian recommended the joint supplement glycoflex be given to her on a regular basis. Glycoflex worked great for several years but around the age of 6 dusty began to show signs of joint stress again, we switched over to Cosequin DS, a slightly stronger product and she's still doing great on it. We also give her Select Antioxidant to help retard the aging process and for better health and general well being. Flea, Tick and Heartworm Prevention:   Frontline Plus   Heartgard Plus
Frontline Plus for flea and tick prevention, and, Heartgard Plus for heartworms, has worked great for Dusty for the last eight years, so were happy to continue giving it to her today. Frontline Plus helps prevent fleas and ticks and is water resistant, a must for an active outside country dog. Heartgard Plus protects against heartworms, hookworms and roundworms.

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Sammie's Meds: Sammie is an active 2 year old Pyrenees. Sammie spends a lot of time outside exploring the four acres and chasing the cats. Sammie is also a Visiting Therapy Pet often going to Nursing Homes and Hospitals to bring a little love and joy into the lives of others. Sammie is a particularly large Pyrenees so her life span will tend to be a little shorter and joint issues are more likely to develop. Consequently, we are doing everything we can to be proactive with Sammie, making sure she has the best of food, supplements and joint care possible now before she develops any problems.

Dog Food:   Potato & Duck Dry Dog Food   Grammy's Pot Pie Canned   Thanksgiving Dinner Canned
Since our allergy testing was so successful with Emily we tried it with Sammie too, and found out she was allergic to rice and somewhat allergic to chicken. A picky eater, we had previously searched hard for something Sammy really liked and had recently settled on Merrick's Grammy's Pot Pie canned mixed with the Turducken Dry. Once we knew what her allergies were we had to switch from chicken and rice. Merrick's dry foods all had rice so we switched to the Potato and Duck from Natural choice and replaced the canned Grammy's with Merrick's canned Thanksgiving Dinner. She loves this combination and is eating better than ever!

Health Supplements:   Select Antioxidant   Joint Treats
Sammie's Merrick Food mix is loaded with a variety of nutrients, vitamins and ingredients including salmon, venison, bison, turkey, duck, chicken, brown rice, oatmeal, barley, fruits and veggies. However, we want to be sure she gets all the vitamins and antioxidants she needs so we also give her Select Antioxidant. Select also helps battle those harmful free radicals. Merrick is highly nutritious, however, it doesn't have quite as much glucosamine as joint health specific dog food varieties so we also give her Joint Treats to make sure she gets the glucosamine she needs for optimal joint health. Flea, Tick and Heartworm Prevention:   Frontline Plus   K9 Advantix   Heartgard Plus
We've tried two different flea and tick prevention pet meds on Sammie, Frontline Plus and K9 Advantix. Both products worked well, however, we found that Frontline remained effective for just about a week or two longer than the Advantix so that is the one we decided to use. However, if your concerned about Mosquitoes you'll probably want to use Advantix instead. For Heartworm prevention we use Heartgard Plus, we've always done well with it and she loves the chewable tabs.

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A Very Special Pet Shelter:   Dog House Air Conditioner & Heater     Dog House Design
Our beloved little pygmy goat is getting on in years and we wanted to build her a shelter that would be provide a break from the extreme heat of summer (up to 110º sometimes), as well as, the cold blowing winds of winter where wind chills can reach -10º. Learn more about the heated and air conditioned dog house we built, it's a great idea for dogs too! Left: A picture of Daisy the goat in front of her heated and insulated air conditioned dog house.

Meds, Medication, Food and Products We Give Our Cats         Dog House Heater And Winter Shelter Plan