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
Category Archives: Solid Gold:Just a wee bit
The cost of all of Lacey’s dry foods
1)Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken
Whole Foods in Kahala $13.69 w/tax
2)Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon
Halo’s Purely For Pets Online Special Order $11.99+ shipping+coupon if we have from the website
3)Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit
Naturally Pet $14-17?
4)Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural Sample 1 pound bag
Kalihi Pet Store ~$5.00 with tax
We usually buy the first 3 at least once a year & the Earthborn a few times a year just to add to her Solid Gold
Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon
Lacey has just given Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon her maltipoo approval on how she likes the “new” food!We just got it in the mail this morning and when I took it out of the box for her to try she wouldn’t take it but when my dad tried she did eat one kibble.I tried to hand feed it to her but she wouldn’t have it.So,I did it the other way where I place her food in her bottle to introduce her to the “new” food.After I did that she ate one whole 1/8 cup of Wild Salmon!She also took a bit of it in her crate tray too!At least we know that Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon has gotten her approval!A few more flavors if Halo’s should ever introduce you can bet that we will defiantly give it a try for Lacey!Whatever flavor it is Wholesome Chicken or Wild Salmon she will most likely eat it!Thank Goodness we found Halo’s!Now we switch up her proteins almost every meal every day.We start out with Halo’s Wholesome Chicken,then SG Just a Wee Bit (Bison)MIXED with Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural(Turkey),then we give her Halo’s Wild Salmon.Once a week she gets Merricks Can Food(any flavor)on Saturdays.Mean while,we also use Stella & Chewy as a supplement with any of her dry foods.I break up a small amount into her kibble and she will usually eat that as well.Lacey’s review on Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon for finicky eaters…Give it a try!Your dog(if finicky) might thank you!
The Pet Spot & Kalihi Pet Store shopping on a Sunday!
On Sunday we stopped by the pet spot to find her a crate & carrier.We picked up a Primal Pet Treat & a carrier,doggie poop bags, &water bottle for dogs for her.At Kalihi Pet she came inside w/us and got a new bag of Earthborn to mix.So far,no new health problems with SG Just a Wee Bit.Seems to be helping switching proteins every meal.Her itching has decreased by half if not more.I am almost certain she was showing a reaction to “Chicken” since she mostly had “Chicken” as a protein source from the time she was 4 months old.I have no clue what her breeder gave her.
L.Acid in dog food
The L.Acid in dog food seems to be benefiting Lacey a lot.She’s been on Halo’s since December 2009 and already heals quicker than before.Some dog owners mention along with the L.Acid in dog food that’s not enough but for Lacey it seems like it’s enough for her.Later as she enters the elderly years we will look into additional vitamins for her.Meanwhile,she’s doing great on the dry food & raw food that has L.Acid in it.She’s also eating Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural that has L.Acid in it too mixed with her Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit.At first,I thought it was a mistake to reintroduce her to SG Just a Wee Bit since her bowels were soft but over the days as I switched protein sources every time she eats which is about 12-12 1/2 hours & getting treats every 4-6 hours along with minimal table food,her bowels are getting firmer.
Taking up some of Lacey’s food
Yesterday morning(Midnight or slightly after midnight HST)Lacey has told me she was hungry–roaming around the kitchen,looking for anything she can find that eatable–so I opened her up some Merricks’ Turducken and she ended up eating about 3/8 cups of Turducken which is about 2 times the normal amount.If she didn’t stop on her own after the 3//8 cup I was going to put away the Turducken anyways since she can’t have more than half cup per day + she had some for dinner the night before(Monday night) so already that was about 1/2 cup right there(altogether).Yesterday(Tuesday)we limited the amount of table food she had to very little compared to normally.This evening(Tuesday evening)I gave her 3 (2-3 inch pieces cut into three slices).Then later in the evening(about 7pm)she was asking for more FOOD!It was then I decided to take her weight to see what she weighed.She weight about 8.4 pounds which is more than she should.She was not however overweight for her size but still more than we’d like to see(anywhere from 7.0 at the lowest, though usually 7.4 to 8.0 is ideal for her)so she was begging for table food but we stood our ground.I think part of it could be that up where we live it’s been cold so she’s not been very active.I didn’t think it would affect her weight but apparently it has since she’s not as active compared to when it’s nice & sunny.So,I have taken up most of her bottles that contain her halo’s and stella & chewy.I always know how much is in each one since I always measure it out before putting them into her bottles.We are also not going to give her can food for at least the next week when I retake her weight.Providing it’s sunny out I will allow her to have more can & table food but meanwhile she will have to get used to less table food,less treats(3 per day so every 8 hours)and more dry food.I will switch it out with her Solid Gold that she does eat sometimes I’ve found & her Halo’s.Whenever I feed Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit since it does not have L.Acid I always end up mixing some Earthborn Primitive Natural in it together since it has L.Acid in the ingredients.She’s not a fan of Earthborn but she will eat it.Also Earthborn Primitive Natural is Turkey,Whitefish & Chicken.Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit is Bison & Whitefish mostly.We would try the other flavors of earthborn but it is mostly chicken & chicken is one of the main ingredients in her Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken & one of the primary ingredients in Earthborn Primitive Natural.
Lacey tries Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit…one last & final attempt….
We still had the bag of Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit & decided to give it one more try to see if medical issues still comes up.If it does,we’ll take her off of it completely and toss the rest out in the garbage.Dr Kaya said it could’ve been hormones that was causing the medical issues.Sometimes in some dogs spaying could help.She did get spayed so I am willing to give it one more attempt.One good thing I remember last year when we first started organic dog food,Solid Gold was one of the first ones we tried that she ate..During that one month we tried it,the protein was Bison & her itching was less than on Science Diet & IAMS.Not sure but she may be allergic to chicken.We’ll be trying SG Just a Wee Bit for a few months in addition to her Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken & Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon to see if any medical issues come up while on SG just a wee bit.See next post for more info.
Lacey’s results on raw food so far…
of canned & about half a patty of Stella & Chewy’s so far her results are amazing!!compared to last week when I had her on Halo’s,Merricks canned…Halo’s defiantly gives her more energy than SG Just a Wee Bit but she even wants to play at night about 9,10:00pm(HST)at night.Before only on Halo’s dry food and Merricks Canned Food she didn’t have this much energy.Not only that her stool is definatly more firm & dry opposed to being on only Halo & canned food(Merricks)was firm & slightly soft but despite still getting Halo’s,Merricks Canned Food & Raw her stool is STILL firm,good color & a lot more dry looking.Results are amazing so far & can’t wait to see how she does within months ahead of her health status…Should be a interesting journey….She’ll be getting dry food(Halo’s),various canned food,homemade food every so often,table/people food & various forms of raw(dehydrated & freeze dried raw) of various brands(Stella & Chewy’s-since it’s close by,Primal Pet-when we go to Whole Food to pick up Halo’s and possibly Sojo or Addiction for dehydrated)
Lacey’s medical update:Stool update & yeast infection update
A few weeks ago,we took Lacey to see Dr Kaya for an update on her UTI presumably from Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit(Lots of grains)and we were told she now has a yeast infection.We just got her off the Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed which had too much fish and caused soft stools.around the same time we took her back to Dr Kaya and he prescribed her Ketoconazole 1/8 tablet for 32 days.Meanwhile while she was taking it every day(with a struggle)she was also having soft stools for about a week.After a week of this we called up Dr Kaya to see if it could be the medicine and we switched it to every other day.The days she didn’t take her medicine her stools were better:More firm,consistent,good color.The days she did take it her stools became more soft but a little more firm with rice per Dr Kaya.
When we did call up Dr Kaya today(February 8)he said it is possible if the yeast infection is gone we could stop her medicine rather than continue for the rest of the days.We do have an appt with Dr Kaya on Wednesday February 10 2010 at 830am(HST) to see how she is doing with her yeast infection.Meanwhile,so far on Halo’s there has been no medical complications YET and we are hoping that there will be none!
Lacey’s update on taking Berry Balance
As many know when we first started Lacey on Berry Balance she was on Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,which may have played a factor in her UTI along with being part toy poodle..She also took 1/8 t with every meal using canned food but her bowels were still very soft..I emailed another pup’s owner who dealt with UTI with their dog who suggested I keep Lacey on Berry Balance for another week and could be adjusting to it.Otherwise to discontinue using it..Along with that,I’ve been watching her bowels very closely by noticing when she goes to make her poop and look at the texture,size,color,softness then I give her some Wagging’ Train treats(it’s very easy to break apart)in small portions after she makes her poop.Then I give her some food with Berry Balance.Along with that I also give her another piece of waggin’ train with her meal.It seems to be helping because I’ve been doing it this way for the past day to day and a half and her bowels are getting better.I don’t have a set schedule as for the time she gets Berry Balance but typically after she goes and does her bowels I give her a Waggin’ Train followed by food with Berry Balance and another slice of Waggin’ Train wit her meal.I tried to give it to her with dry food but she won’t touch it.
A interesting thought about Lacey:She’ll take water from a doggie bowl but when you put her food in a bowl she won’t touch it.She’ll only take it on a plate.even fish,she won’t eat it in her dry or canned food if it’s listed first but if there’s fish listed further along ie salmon,whitefish,salmon oil etc(not exactly in that order but if some type of fish is listed after something like Beef Tripe,Beef Broth,Turkey,Salmon,Salmon oil…is ok)she’ll eat it.BUT she will eat cooked Salmon,Ahi(especially Ahi we found to be her favorite over Salmon).
