Lacey Girl takes her first jump onto a bed!!

Lacey Princess took her very first jump at 23 1/2 months old 2 weeks and one day old,onto Mom’s bed all by herself after working with her to walk on her hind legs in short distances inside the house to get a treat.It must have helped because after her bath she did the usual run around to dry off then she went into Mom/Dad’s room went to Mom’s bed on her hind legs motioning “up,please” so I was going to ask her “Lacey,you want up??”but before I could ask the question next thing I knew in her “up,please” position she pushed off her hind legs & pushed up with her front legs and took a good jump on the bed!It was amazing!!I couldn’t believe she could actually jump on the bed!

She also got a new Ziwi Peak Oral Health Bone Deer Hooves for $5.00,Bravo!Turkey training treats $10.50,Dogswell Happy Hips Chicken & Sweet Potato,Lamb & Sweet Potato,Can Food,Ziwi Peak Lamb & a Vension Can Food,a Wellness Core Turkey Formula Can Food and a Merricks Grammy’s Pot Pie Can Food today at Naturally Pet.

Dry Dog Food by Brands

***Please note that all the dry dog foods listed here are mostly 2 grains,1 grain or grain free.On occasion you might find one that is similar to three grains but not exclusively three grains.If you are looking for three grains or higher such as Wellness Super5Mix for an example I don’t have it posted but if your dog is sensitive to grains like Lacey you will probably find a decent food on this list that might work but remember what works for one dog might not work for another.You just have to keep trying!***
There are so many to list that I’ve made a copy for myself so if you want the nutrition facts email me or leave a comment on this particular blog and I will send it to you.
Acana
Acana Wild Prairie(Mostly Chicken & Whitefish)
Acana Pacifica(Mostly Salmon,whitefish & Herring)
Acana Grasslands(Mostly Lamb)
Acana Ranchlands(To be in stores in early Spring)
Addiction
Addiction Viva La Vension(Mostly Vension)
Addiction Salmon Bleu(Mostly Salmon)
Addiction Wild Kanagaroo & Apples(Mostly Kanagaroo with two grains)
Addiction La Porchetta(Mostly Pork with about 3 grains)
Artemis
Artemis Weight Management(Mostly Chicken & Salmon with about 3 grains)
Artemis Maximal Dog(Mostly Chicken)
Blue Buffalo
Blue Buffalo Small Breed Puppy(Mostly Chicken with two grains)
Blue Buffalo Large Breed Natural Fish & Oatmeal(Mostly Menhaden Fish with two grains)
Blue Buffalo Basics Turkey & Potato(Mostly Turkey with two grains)
Blue Buffalo Basics Salmon & Potato(Mostly Salmon with two grains)
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon(Mostly Menhaden Fish & Chicken)
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Back2Basics(expected out in March 2011,website hasn’t been updated with info)
ByNature
ByNature Puppy(Mostly Chicken & Lamb with about 3 grains)
ByNature Pork & Sweet Potato(Mostly Pork with one grain)
California Natural
California Natural Chicken Meal & Rice Puppy(Mostly Chicken & Rice..about 2 grains)
California Natural Low Fat Rice & Lamb Adult(Mostly Lamb & Rice…about 2 grains)
California Natural Lamb Meal & Rice Small Bites(Mostly Lamb & Rice…about 2 grains)
California Natural Grain Free Vension Meal Adult (Mostly Vension with potatoes & peas)
California Natural Grain Free Lamb Mea Adult l(Mostly Lamb with potatoes & peas)
California Natural Grain Free Chicken Meal Formula Adult(Mostly Chicken with potatoes & peas)
California Natural Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Senior(Mostly Chicken with brown rice)
Canidae
Canidae Pure Elements(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Canidae Pure Sea(Mostly Salmon & Menhaden)
Canidae Pure Land(Mostly Lamb with some Bison..If you want Bison primarily I’d suggest Earthborn’s Great Plains instead)
Canidae Pure Sky(Mostly Turkey)
Caindae Single Grain Protein Plus(A mixture of turkey,lamb,chicken and whitefish with two grains)
(Note:If your dog can’t handle pineapple I wouldn’t advise feeding Canidae.That’s my personal opinion though)
Earthborn Holistic
Earthborn Holistic Great Plains(Mostly Bison with good amount of lamb)
Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch(Mostly Herring/Salmon/Whitefish)
Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural(Mostly Turkey & Chicken & Whitefish)
Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fusion(Mostly Whitefish/Menhaden with 2 grains)
Evo
Evo Turkey & Chicken Senior(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Evo Turkey & Chicken(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Evo Turkey & Chicken Formula Small Bites (Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Evo Red Meat Formula (Mostly lamb with some Buffalo/Vension/Beef)
Evo Herring & Salmon Formula(Mostly Salmon & Herring)
Evo Weight Control Formula(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Healthwise
Healthwise Chicken & Oatmeal(Mostly Chicken with two grains)
Healthwise Chicken & Brown Rice Puppy(Mostly Chicken with two grains)
Life4K9
Life4K9 Chicken & Barley(Mostly Chicken with two grains)
Life4K9 Lamb & Barley(Mostly Lamb with two grains)
Merricks Before Grain
Merricks Before Grain Buffalo(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Merricks Before Grain Salmon(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Merricks Before Grain Chicken(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Natural Balance
Natural Balance Alpha Dog : Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula(Mostly Salmon & Chicken)
Natural Balance Alpha Dog: Chicken, Turkey Meal & Duck Formula(Mostly Chicken & Turkey)
Natural Balance Alpha Dog: Lamb, Chicken Meal and Rabbit Formula(Mostly Chicken)
Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato & Bison(Sweet Potato & Bison)
Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato & Chicken(Sweet Potato & Chicken)
Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato & Vension(Sweet Potato & Vension)
Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato & Fish(Sweet Potato & Fish)
Natural Balance Potato & Duck(Potato & Duck)
Nature’s Variety Instinct
Nature’s Variety Instinct Chicken Meal(Mostly Chicken & Menhaden)
Nature’sVariety Instinct Beef & Lamb(Mostly Beef,Lamb & Salmon..Majority is Beef)
Nature’s Variety Instinct Duck & Turkey(Mostly Duck,Turkey & Salmon)
Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit(Mostly Rabbit & Salmon)
Nature’s Variety Instinct Salmon(Mostly Salmon,Menhaden& Herring)
Nutrisource
Nutrisource Chicken(Mostly Chicken)
Nutrisource Lamb(Mostly Lamb & Salmon)
Orijen(These are the newest formulas 80-20)
Orijen Puppy
Orijen 6 Fish
Orijen Adult(Mostly Chicken/Turkey with Herring)
Orijen Senior
Orijen Regional Red(Mostly Wild Boar mixed with some pork & beef)
PureVita
PureVita Salmon & Potato(Mostly Salmon with two grains)
PureVita Duck & Oatmeal(Mostly Duck with two grains)
Petcurean Go Natural
Petcurean Go Natural Salmon(Mostly Salmon with two grains)
Petcurean Go Natural Duck(Mostly Duck with two grains)
Premium Edge
Premium Edge Skin and Coat Salmon, Potatoes & Vegetables Formula(Mostly fish with two grains)
Premium Edge Healthy Weight I Weight Reduction Formula(Mostly Chicken & Fish)
Solid Gold
Solid Gold Barking At The Moon(Mostly Ocean Fish with a bit of Beef & mix of herbs..Ingredients are fairly limited)
Solid Gold Sun Dancer(Mostly Chicken with Whitefish)
Taste of the wild
TOTW Wetlands(Mostly Duck & Chicken with some quail,turkey)
TOTW High Prairie(Mostly Lamb & Chicken with some vension & fish)
TOTW Pacific Stream(Mostly ocean fish & salmon)
TOTW Sierra Mountain(Mostly Lamb)
Timberwolf Organics
TImberwolf Organics Wilderness Canid(Mostly Salmon with one grain)
Timberwolf Organics Dakota Bison(Mostly Salmon with two grains)
Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue(Mostly Whitefish & Salmon)
Timberwolf Organics Lamb & Barley with Apples(Mostly Lamb & Salmon with one grain)
Timberwolf ORganics Wild & NAtural Dry(Mostly Chicken & Herring)
Timberwolf Organics Gaea All Life Stages(Mostly Chicken & Turkey and some Lamb with one grain)
Wellness Core/Simple Solutions
Wellness Core Original Recipe(Chicken & Turkey based)
Wellness Core Ocean Recipie(Mostly Whitefish/Salmon & Menhaden)
Wellness Core Reduced Fat(Mostly Turkey & Chicken)
Wellness SIS Rice & Duck(Duck & Rice)
Wellness SIS Rice & Salmon(Mostly Salmon & Rice)
Wellness SIS Rice & Lamb(Mostly Lamb & Rice)
Wysong(formulas still being worked on by company)

We are very excited to say that Orijen & Acana has finally came to Oahu!

For a while we’ve been wanting to try Orijen & Acana by Champion Pet Food.While I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback from many dog owners it was one that was not yet on our island to try so we couldn’t try it.Lucky for us when we went today to pick up more can food for Lacey I looked around Naturally Pet like always to see what’s new.One thing I found was there was no more samples to try and pick up but I also found Orijen & Acana.There were big bags not sure of the size in weight going for close to $20 and small bag less than a pound going for $2.90.With the excitement I felt I just had to pick up a bag of Orijen.There was one for Acana too but we didn’t get it this time.Still I looked online at every single flavor of Orijen & Acana and both brands are very promising for Lacey.There is about average of 2 grains in majority of the formulas,1 grain in some and grain free for the rest.Some are “quite” fishy which means Lacey would take an average of 1/8 cup at a time vs 1/4 cup if she’s eating chicken,bison etc.We’ll have an update later on how she does on Orijen and her current ranking of foods.Check back for an update.
Update October 23 2010:There is no doubt in my mind or Lacey’s mind that she prefers Orijen to Halo’s!I placed one piece of Orijen & 1 piece of Halo’s side by side.She took a sniff at Orijen then a sniff at Halo’s.Another sniff at Orijen,quick sniff at Halo’s.A few more sniffs back and forth and she ate it(Orijen)without hesitation.There is no doubt that Orijen/Acana will be one of our main brands.
Updated brands for Lacey
Orijen/Acana(Both are fairly grain free 2,1 and none in all formulas from both brands)
Taste of the Wild
Wellness Simple Solutions
If there are ever issues with these above we’d go in this order
Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural
Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fusion
Solid Gold Barking At The Moon
Merricks Before Grain
Blue Buffalo Wilderness/Blue Buffalo Basics
Nature’s Variety Instinct
Natural Balance LID
NOW! from Pet Curean Pets is finally available at Natually Pet..Not that Lacey needs to try it anytime soon but it’s on our list to try if we ever need to
Lacey is eating Orijen as I type.

Types of Dry Food and Lacey’s reactions

So so far we know Lace can’t have 3 grains or higher,can’t have a lot of duck/lamb and fish though some fish based food(dry) is okay as long as it’s not heavily based ex are Wellness Simple Solutions Rice & Salmon,Halo’s Wild Salmon..Earthborn Ocean Fusion…
Meat based food seems more appealing and she does best on.Grain Free is also good but we have to watch the fish/lamb/duck based foods.She likes chicken,beef,bison,vension,turkey the best.We will be selling the Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish and TOTW Pacific Stream.Next time we buy Halo’s we are defiantly keeping the receipt in case the change of ingredients DOES affect her otherwise we NEED to hunt down another dry food that’s high quality which she will eat fairly regularly.

wellness simple solutions might work for Lacey,meanwhile sampling Barking At the Moon

It is still hard to say but IT might work for her.She does need to try it at least one more time to be sure…..IF it does we’re asking for samples of the other 2 Simple Solutions & samples of all three flavors of Wellness Core.Meanwhile,we’ll be getting a sample of Solid Gold Barking at the moon which is grain free.The only thing I don’t like about Solid Gold is that there’s no L.Acid but I do want her to get as many different flavors that she can tolerate from various brands.Since she is eating more on a daily basis(anywhere from 1/8 cup-1/2 cup)her food goes down a lot quicker than when she was eating about 4 times a week. June 13 2010-Update on Wellness Simple Solutions:Lacey has tried the Wellness Simple Solutions for the second time tonight since we got the sample from Hawaii Pet Expo 2010 in May 2010.Oddly she can’t handle the Super5Mix but seems to handle the Simple Solutions a lot better.Bowels were still slightly soft but not close to diarrhea like on the Super5Mix.We’ve not tried Core yet but it might be worth checking into with a sample.Wellness Simple Solutions might be an option we can look into after the sample is gone.

Switching to Blue Buffalo

So I have been doing a little thinking on Lacey’s dry food.And I came across the thought that Lacey could not have fishy food so I searched back on her site & found that it was on of one of the WellnessSuper5Mix Dry Food I had given her that caused soft stools.I checked the ingredients in it and did seems to have a “good” amount of fish but I didn’t try her on any other brand for fish.On the Wellness Dry Food she’d always gets soft stools so I am not even going to try her on the Wellness Core or the Simple Solutions.I might try her on another fishy food with a different brand such as TOTW Pacific or something similar to that.

On Blue Buffalo,doing some research I have found that a lot of poodles do good on the Small Breed which most of the Blue Buffalo dog food that does have grains,usually have 3,being which MOST poodles are doing good on.I am going to slowly transition her over to Blue Buffalo and see how she is medically in the upcoming months.Otherwise it’s going to be mostly grain free for her.So far for her diet,we will be using Blue Buffalo as the primary diet(even if it’s only grain free),TOTW & possibly Earthborn.Can Food:Merricks,Party Animal.Raw:Stella & Chewy Freeze Dried Chicken or Duck(alternating)When the NOW!dog food comes to Hawaii we’ll probably stop the Earthborn if not before that and try the NOW! dog food by PetCurean.So far I am pleased with their customer service on facebook & looking forward to try their products for Lacey..Still looking at other options but that’s where we are for now…

Update May 11 2010:It seems that Lacey can’t handle Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried raw food.She can handle the chicken & beef with good bowels but can not handle the lamb,duck/goose both resulting in soft stools.The beef she doesn’t care for it too much so we will discontinue that…If sometime later a new brand comes out for freeze dried or she will accept ACV in treats if it’s ever used in treats we may get her to eat Primal Frozen but right now it will be the raw treats from Stella & Chewy & Primal for raw treats…
As far as dry food goes Lacey is obviously giving us a very difficult time on transitioning to new food whether it be Blue Buffalo,Earthborn,Taste of the Wild,Nature’s Variety or whatever she’s just not eating…In turn I have cut out most of her treats & table food until she does eat something.I have been giving her an 1/8 cup of Merricks or Party Animal daily(can food) so she’s got something in her tummy.I doubt 1/8 cup of can food will fill her up though.I am waiting for her to eat a few kibble before she gets treats/table food and see what she responds to first..At this point as much as I’d LOVE to feed her high quality dry food I am just trying to get her to eat something whether it’s high quality or cheap.Yes,cheap will cut her years earlier but at least she will be eating.If we try most brands and she won’t respond after sometime I guess we MAY be forced to go back to Halo’s….We will try different brands for the time being ranging from high quality to medium quality to the absolute worst of dry food brands.If she responds to none….back to Halo’s we’ll go..IF ALL ELSE FAILS!

Canidae ALS

We got Lace some samples from naturally pet but she didn’t eat it.like w/natural balance dry/can food & any dry/can food w/limited ingredients.i’d switch her over to 100% grain free if she ate it as well as her Halo’s!Her stool is excellent on TOTW even w/can food.Halo’s is low in grains…eats it close to a daily basis..medically it helps a lot…both Halo/s & TOTW has good variety ingredients which she’s faithful to…So far we tried Science Diet,IAMS,Beneful,Chicken Soup for the pet lover’s soul,prarie,instinct,stella & chewy,solid gold just a wee bit,wellness,canidae,halo’s(current),earthborn(current),totw(current),nature’s best(refused after once),natural balance(refuses can/dry),merricks(will eat sometimes,loves the can food),primal raw,thk ..when we are in pearl city i plan on trying a few different flavors from blue buffalo to see if she’ll eat it..

Looking back at Lacey’s first year:Health and all

Name:Lacey Princess Maltipoo Akamine
Current Weight at one year old:7.11 pounds according to vet records,7.6 according to home weight
Birth Date:March 13 2009
Born:Kailua,HI
Breed:Maltese/Toy Poodle
Mom:Poodle
Dad:Maltese
Adopted:july 17 2009
Age of adoption:16 weeks old
Found on:Kijiji.com
Price:$600
Name of Vet:Dr John Kaya
Vet Hospital:VCA Animal Hospital aka VCA University Hospital
Weight at first vet visit:4.5 pounds
Dog Food:Science Diet & IAMS,Beneful Prepared Meals till December 2009
Puppy Pad Training:9 weeks
Health Issues:Yeast infection in ear,worms,UTI,Spaying(February 2010)
First Heat:November 2009
First Treats:Nutro Dog Biscuits,Pupperoni,The Goodlife Recipe treats
First Walk:November 2009
Shortest Walk:<<<than 5 minutes
Longest Walk:62 minutes on her birthday
First Time Out: December 2009
First Thanksgiving:Thanksgiving 2009:Family Dinner
First Christmas:Christmas 2009:A new top,Waggin Train
Brands of dog food we tried:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Chicken Soup for the Pet lover's Soul,Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed/Super5Mix Complete Health Chicken,Halo's Spot's Stew
Current Dry Food Brands:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Halo's Spot's Stew(Wholesome Chicken & Wild Salmon flavors),Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural
Brands of Can Food we tried:Natural Balance,NV Instinct & Prairie can food,Wellness Can Food then lost interest,Halo's Spot's Stew Can Food,Merricks
Current Brands of Can Food:Merricks
First introduced to Raw(Freeze Dried):January 2010
Started accepting Freeze Dried Raw:Feburary 2010
Brands we tried:Stella & Chewy till APril 2010 then we'll be switching to Nature's variety Freeze Dried
First Freeze Dried Raw Treat:Primal Pet Turkey Liver(A birthday present)
Organic Treats she's tried:Trader Joe's,Waggin' Train,No Grainers
First Boarding Facilities we considered:Di Ventus Dog Hotel & Spa
First Boarding Facilities we looked at:The Ohana Doggie Day Care,Pets in the city
First Starts understanding people conversations:7-8 months old
First Command:SIT
Commands she knows:sit,stay,don't move,time out,sit & stay,shake paw/hand,"eat",hi5,shake your tail,down aka sit,lay down,kiss,learning roll over,"wait",inside,outside,table manners at the table
Uses Common Sense while walking:About 8-9 months old
Checks for cars like a human(right,left,right,left,center,then walk)about 10 months-1 year old
Goes outside for afternoon poop:December 2009-learned by example of aunty's dogs
Vaccinations:Distemper,Parvo,Lepto
First Carrier:casual Canine
First Crate:Pet Mate Kennel Cab
Characteristics:A definite mix of Maltese/Toy Poodle.Brains of the poodle.Looks of a maltese.eyes are poodle.Loves to play.Loves to sample food
Types of food she tried:Mexican,Italian,Japanese,Chinese
Favorite Fast Food:KFC chicken skin
Shops we shop at:Naturally Pet,Halo’s Purely for Pets,The Pet Spot,Kalihi Pet Store
Misc:Also tried Hartz Oinkies
Able to climb steps:10-11 months old
First Shampoo;Sergent’s Puppy Shampoo
Current Shampoo:Halo’s Cloud Nine Herbal Shampoo/Earthbath Shampoo
Grooming:Cardinal Pet Gold Metal Pets Unicoat Professional Spray

“When do you think the Wild Salmon will come for Lacey?”

My response was to my parents”Well,it took them a while {before they got the sample out last year back when they did samples}but it wouldn’t surprise me if it takes a few weeks.It’s coming from Florida but my guesses for the delays are they only do so many shipments per week even for samples{when they used to} & possibly they have less worker than WellPet(Wellness).But it will come eventually.They always do send it out eventually.Maybe not in a timely manner but they get it done either way so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t come this week.”

However,that is one reason we bought Lacey another 4 pound package of Wholesome chicken.Meanwhile I am also giving her SG Just a Wee Bit mixed with Earthborn which she’s doing okay eating it but as for poop unlike last year when I switched her to SG Just a wee bit she did good eating it & her poop was good,firm but since I have placed her on Halo’s & supplementing proteins(Bison)her bowels are soft.We don’t really have other options at the moment.I am looking into other kibble but again what’s on the mainland isn’t always down in HI.We may end up doing more raw but we may look at other kibbles too.

Neighbor’s dog would rather have Halo’s can food over Wellness

My neighbor’s dog would rather have Halo’s can food over Wellness.It will eat Wellness but if the dog has an option it would rather have Halo’s over Wellness can food.Even the Wellness dry food it doesn’t care for it a lot but will eat it.However,the dog would rather have raw over dry and maybe even Halo’s can.One thing it will not get is Lacey’s Halo’s dry food.That is reserved for Lacey only & only her mouth should be hungry for Halo’s!