Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Thank you to the Haight family for sharing this Christmas greeting!
Our wish for you, is a happy, healthy, New Year.
Merry Christmas, from
The Haight's, Jeanne and Dave plus
The Fearsome Twosome, Morgen and Cole

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Beginning to Love Those Tails!

I confess, it took me awhile to get used to the look of Standard Poodles with undocked tails. But my friend Charlene Dunlap kept sending me gorgeous photos of her parti-colored Poodles Joey and Scotty, and especially right after they are groomed, those tails are actually quite pretty and seem to add to the dog's character!

And how nice that breeders are beginning to realize it is not necessary to cut off a tail, which is actually an extension of the dog's spinal cord, in order to have a handsome dog.

Deb Pope got her lovely Poos from Crabapple Downs, and was kind enough to share these photos. Look at her lovely blue girl Dolly (born 2009)taken just recently after a bath, thus her tail is nice and fluffy!

And who can resist Deb's handsome two year old red boy Leo? You can certainly see his personality in this shot!

Thanks so much Deb, for sharing these photos so we can all enjoy!

by guest blogger Melanie Schlaginhaufen. All photos in this post remain the property of their owners and may not be reproduced in any fashion.

Friday, November 2, 2012

The Perfect Parti Four


Guess who? If you read the blog, I bet you'll know the names of at least three!

Many thanks to Charlene Dunlap of Canine Horizons for sharing this photo of her movie stars for our enjoyment.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Happy Birthday to Smartest Poodle I've Ever Met!

Happy Birthday to Charlene and Glenn Dunlap's special boy "Jyah", who turned 12 this week, on October 15th!

Jyah is pictured above enjoying his birthday toy (Jyah loves dragons, I guess that happened when he was working on one of his movies which featured a dragon as a co-star!) Seriously, although I had met dogs who had small parts in commercials and even a TV Movie, Jyah is the first Poodle movie star I ever met, back when he was just a youngster. I was drawn to him the second I saw him when I went to Canine Horizons for a seminar.

But as I got to know his owner and was able to watch her work her dogs, I fell in love with Jyah's intelligence, and with the amazing training techniques that Charlene Dunlap has developed as she has pursued her hobby of making movies with her dogs. You can see all four of the Dunlap Poodles, including the up and coming teenage stars, on her website:

www.caninehorizons.com

From that site, there is a link that will take you to pages that chronicle the training, including videos, of the newest members of the Dunlap family, Joey and Scotty (who are also gorgeous parti-colored Standard Poodles).

On the original Canine Horizons website, you can read about the history of this color in our breed. The parti-colors, in fact, all colors and markings have become more popular since the United Kennel Club voted to allow them to compete towards UKC conformation championships. In AKC shows, partis can be shown in performance events, such as agility, rally and obedience, but not yet in conformation.

Below is a recent photo of Jyah with his best friend Sydney (isn't she lovely?) I was privileged, many years ago, to have these two special dogs come for CGC training classes back when I owned Bed & Biscuit, before I moved to Virginia. They were also stars at our Poodle parties, as well as our weekly fun Poodle socialization classes. I miss those days, not just B&B and dog training, but I miss being close enough to jump in the car and go down and visit the Dunlaps and their Poodles (who then lived only about an hour away from us). All to say, if you have special friends, both human and canine, love them with all your heart while they are close to you, in case some day life circumstances change and you aren't able to see them as often.



But I digress...HAPPY BIRTHDAY JYAH, and best wishes for many, many more!

Love, Aunt Mellie

Friday, September 14, 2012

Running Towards the Party!

The New Hampshire "Poodle Mountain party" is this weekend--have fun guys!

Many thanks to Rick Miles for sharing this photo of some Crabapple Downs Poodles running on Poodle mountain in the past.

This is about it guys, re the photo caption contest. So get your entries in, as a winner will be chosen next week! Each comment or caption you post will count as one entry, then alll will be put in a hat and the winner will receive a $30 Amazon gift certificate!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Fun in the Mud Puddle & Link to More Fun!

Need a smile today?

I promise, I mean I really PROMISE that you will get a smile and happy feeling from the web page link underneath this cartoon by Charlene Dunlap, which links to the limericks for this and a few more adorable drawings!

Click here for the page that will make you smile!
Poodle Cartoons and Limericks by Charlene Dunlap of Canine Horizons

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Mine!


Anyone recognize these Frisbee fighters? I believe this photo is from Rick Miles' collection from the Poodle party up in New Hampshire.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Someone is SUCH a good boy....

Anyone know who this sweet boy is who behaves so well for his daily teeth brushing?

The "Identify Me" or "Give Me a Caption" contest is ending after just a few more photos, so please be sure to go back through older posts and get your comments in! Each comment gives you one entry, and then we will pull from the hat, very soon!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Abby & Murray on Great Pond


Don't forget the Caption Contest! Thank you Chris for sharing this photo of your daughter and Poodle! Wow, it's August already, go swimming while you still can!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Flying Poodles

Can anyone identify these sweeties who look soooo happy that the heat wave is breaking a bit this weekend in some areas?
Don't you just love it when Poodles fly and ears seem to be helping them take off?
Many thanks to Rick Miles, photographer, who sent these photos, along with many others, from the Crabapple Downs Poodle party. Don't forget the caption contest! ONly a couple more weeks left at a chance to win $30 Amazon Gift Certificate!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Did this little man catch a fish?

Did this little man catch a fish? We're jealous!
Don't worry little man, if there is a sea monster out in this pond, I'll find it!
You little booger, that's not a fish! But we enjoyed the swim anyway!





Sunday, August 5, 2012

Scotty and Charlene Making Us Smile

Do you ever get a photo or an inspiriational story and you were busy that day or something, then you suddenly rediscover it months later and it is like getting a present?

That's how I felt when I found this cute photo this morning! Those of us with Poodles will recognize the grooming equipment--help think up a cute caption for this one!

Need details on how to win in our easy contest for the $30 Amazon gift certificate?
Click here for original post on how to win!:
http://poodlepalooza.blogspot.com/2012/07/identify-these-poodles-and-win-win-win.html

I apologize that some have had trouble with the blog's comment section. You can even comment as "annomymous" and then just put your name within the comment, so that I know you have made a contest entry, and that entry will go in the pot to win!

Stay cool.....

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Meet some of my Favorite Poodle friends!


I love this lady! Folks who attend Poodle parties in New Hampshire will immediately know her and probably be able to name both Poodles as well. Thanks to the internet, it is possible to meet wonderful dog people even though they live many states away.

Also, I want to introduce readers to another Poodle friend, this one much closer, the breeder of my sweet girl Kate (our curent Standard Poodle) as well as Lizzie, a Poodle of ours from the past who was one of our all time favorites. We won't make Judy a part of the caption contest yet since I know many of my readers are from up north and Judy Butler is in North Carolina, my old stomping grounds. But I hope one of these days soon I can get her to agree to a breeder interview that I can post here so you can really "meet" her. She was the president for many years of the Central Carolina Poodle Club, and she is a breeder who checks her breeding stock for hereditary defects, and she has many years of Poodle knowledge.

Here is a photo of Judy taking a Best in Specialty Match with her gorgeous show pup Quigley (be sure you see her website to be able to see more photos of her dogs in a bigger format):


Judy is a breeder of show quality Standards, but she always has some sweet dogs available to companion dog homes. i know that she has two beautiful adolescent girls looking for forever pet homes, so if you have interest in knowing more about her and her Poodles, take a look at the Wildgayle Poodles website:

www.wildgaylestandardpoodles.com


As always, a reminder about the Caption/or Identify me contest, see links below if you aren't familar with this very, very easy way to win a $30 Amazon gift certificate!

Melanie

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Bad Hair Day?


I think on a hot day like today, it might be worth getting your hair a little mussed up! Remember...don't forget the caption contest!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Lovely Redheads!

Who are these pretty red-headed strangers? i think they are both lovely! Surely some of my Poodle friends who go up to the Poodle parties in New Hampshire at Poodle mountain will recognize them!

Remember, letting us know who is in the photo, or simply giving it a cute caption will give you an entry in the contest! See this post below for the easy rules of how to win a $30 Amazon gift certificate: Identify these Poodles and Win, Win, Win!!!


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Gorgeous Movie Stars!

We have a fun contest going on right now...daily photos will be posted on the Poodle Blog for the next few weeks. A prize of a $30 Amazon gift certificate (you can literally buy ANYTHING on Amazon!) will be given to the person who has the most daily comments of either 1) identifying the dog who is pictured in the photo, or 2) giving the photo a cute caption. That's all there is to it, easy to win!
This family of Poodles are wonderful ambassadors for the breed, because of their training for the movies they star in! You will find an article or two on this blog about this unusual color pattern, which was actually present in Poodles when the breed was first developed.
i think most Poodle blog readers will have an easy time guessing whose these lovely dogs are, since I am including this photo with a BIG clue--their beautiful owner sitting with them! One of the stars was just a young pup this photo was taken a few months back.

No, she is a not a breeder...the owner of these dogs is just one of the most dedicated Poodle owners I have ever met. She truly loves Standard Poodles, and is about the most amazing dog trainer (of any breed) that I have ever met, plus she is a very talented writer, movie producer, photographer...I could go on and on.

Name the lovely lady in the picture plus name all 4 of her Poodles and your contest entry for this post will go in as 5 entries--so when you read this post, as long as the contest is still going on, take advantage of getting 5 chances to win instead of just one!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Flying Attack Dog Poodles?

A little late but Happy Independence Day to my US friends!

And now for some fun!!! Surely those of you who are creative with captions will appreciate 8 year old Scout L'Abbe, who is obsessive about chasing butterflies, snowballs and anything that flies!

Don't forget the contest, see info below---easiest way ever to win a $30 Amazon gift certificate!

Who are these handsome landscapers?


Don't forget the contest! You can scroll down and find out whose Poodles are on the tractor by looking at older posts on the blog, or just post a cute caption (this photo is just begging for an adorable caption!)


Thursday, July 26, 2012

It's Beach Time---Go Crazy!


Thank you Chris L'Abbe, for this photo reminding us how much Poodles love to run on the beach!

Readers, don't forget the contest! Any caption ideas, or do you know who the flying Poodle in this picture happens to be?

Wednesday, July 25, 2012


Who is the absolutely gorgeous girl? Name her or caption her & you may win a $30 Amazon gift certificate! See this link for easy contest rules:
Poodle Blogger Photo Fun Contest

You don't have to submit a picture, just your comment! Thank you Rick Miles for this lovely photo of white fluffy Poodle joy with a mountain in the background--heavenly!

Identify these Poodles and Win, Win, Win!!!

A wonderful surprise came in the mail this week--an entire CD of Poodle photos taken at a recent Poodle party up at Poodle Mountain in New Hampshire. I call this one "the real reason lots of folks call them "french Poodles"!

But I desperately need your help, as i don't know the names of the Poodles or the people in most of the photos. So let's have a contest!

OK, OK, I know...you're thinking....not fair, because perhaps you were not fortunate enough to be up at the Poodle party because maybe, like me, you are down south and cannot travel all the way to New Hampshire at the drop of a hat. So if you want to enter and don't know the dog's name, then just submit a cute caption instead.

To make things a bit more fair, I'll throw in a photo every now and then that you should be able to identify just from reading this blog, Poodles who are "regulars" here (but were not at the poodle party, such as the Poodle actors from Canine Horizons, or one of those featured in photographer Chris L'Abbe's work which she often shares on the Poodle blog, or photos shared by my Poodle friends Jeanne Haight and Donna Trebert).

Remember these guys pictured above? If you don't know their names, remember you can enter just by submitting a caption!

So expect some very cute Poodle photos coming through soon....we'll post about 25 and see which reader has correctly guessed names or added an adorable caption the most often. Future photos will come through with a quick link to this post, so we won't have to repeat the "rules" every time. All entries must be as comments on the blog, so encourage your dog friends to become blog followers and commenters! The winner will receive a $30 gift certificate to Amazon, where you can find just about anything, from Poodle toys to people toys!

Many thanks to our blog photo contributors--Rick Miles, Chris L'Abbe, Jeanne Haight,Donna Trebert, Charlene Dunlap of Canine Horizons and more!

Contest ends on or about the end of August, or whenever at least 25 adorable photos full of Poodle fun have been posted! So have all your friends start following the Poodle Blogger and entering today by identifying the models, or giving them a great caption! Remember the prize is something anyone can use, you can always pass it along to your favorite dog rescue group if you are not an Amazon shopper yourself. Enjoy!

Friday, June 29, 2012

Bistro Bites Are Truly the Perfect Treat!

Although of course i enjoy getting sample products, I am so picky that few of them actually are written about on my blogs. For example, some nice folks sent samples of "Poodle shampoo" recently. But since it did not lather well and did not make the dogs' coats shine, you won't be reading about it here!

But...this week the peanut butter/applesauce variety of the all-natural, healthy Bistro Bites treats arrived and I am thrilled to tell you all about them!

Your Poodle will LOVE these treats, and you will love the company which makes them in such a healthy fashion that they are perfect for small dogs, or larger dogs which need tiny treats to keep their weight down. "So many dogs are suffering from severe obesity because the treats they're eating are simply too big" said Valerie Perlowitz, CEO and founder of Bistro Bites. "I wanted a product that was designed to meet the nutritional needs of small dogs, not just a broken up treat created for a larger dog. By making sure the treats are all-natural and made from wholessome ingredients, we've created right sized treats owners can give their dogs without feeling guilty."

Bistro Bites are gluten-free and do not have any added sugars or salt, reducing the number of potential allergens (which is great news for Poodles!) Free of preservatives and fillers, each treat is high in both protein and fiber in order to create a healthy indulgence for dogs.

As a dog trainer, I am constantly searching for very small treats to use for training. These treats are specifically designed to be perfect for training because in addition to being very small, they are also not crumbly, perfect for your pocket.

Bistro Bites come in two sizes: small, for dogs less than ten pounds, and medium, for dogs between 11 and 20 pounds. However, the medium size is a perfect "tiny bite" training treat for my Standard Poodle and even my sister's Lab that is currently visiting with us. Our elderly Dachie is thrilled that she can have several of the small size treats at a time, instead of just half a cookie like she usually gets (since due to her age and breed, we have to watch her weight closely).

Bistro Bites are currently available for purchase online at www.bistro-bites.com
and at Uptown Pet Bistro and Boutique in Fairfax, Virginia. They are made in the United States and crafted on a made-to-order basis with ingredients sourced from local farms whenever possible. What more could you ask for in a healthy small dog treat?

Bistro Bites come in 5 flavors chicken livers, berries & almonds, peanut butter & carob and sweet potato and vegetable. My vegetarian friends will love knowing that some of the varieties are meat-free--for example, the Bistro Bites samples my dogs are enjoying are the Peanut Butter & Applesauce variety. The ingredients listed are simply applesauce, peanut butter and buckwheat flour. All varieties are grain, oil and gluten-free! They also offer several seasonal flavors, including pumpkin treats in the fall.

If you give them a try, leave a comment or send us a photo of your dog and let us know what they think about Bisto Bites. They smell so good, I am tempted to try them myself!

by guest blogger Melanie Schlaginhaufen, photo of Melanie's miniature Poodle "Nini" is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.


Saturday, June 2, 2012

Zoey the Fun Loving Multi-Purpose Poodle

When photographer Rick Miles sent me the above oh-so-appealing photo of "Zoey", taken recently at a New Hampshire Poodle Party, I asked him if I could write to her owners to find out more about Zoey. Not only were Conde & Geoff kind enough to tell me a little about Zoey but also they sent a few more pictures, so Poodle Blog readers could catch a glimpse of Zoey in action!

Conde writes:

Miss Zoey is our first poodle.

If I could sum her up it is that she loves life, loves people and loves food although not necessarily in that order.
I think part of the reason she loves life is that she thinks everyone was placed on the planet to take care of her needs!
She almost always has a smile, an effervescent, irrepressible personality.
Zoey loves kids, loves to retrieve and play frisbee. She has competed in Dock Dogs, competes as part of my skijor team, and has modeled regularly for Fetchdog, including being the cover girl August 2009.

Thank you Conde, for sending photos that help us understand Zoey's amazing zest for life. You are very fortunate to have such a special Poodle, and Zoey is very fortunate to have owners who allow her to participate in so many fun activites! Since I own both Siberians and Poodles, I especially loved the skijor team photo. In Siberians, we call dogs who are able to participate in various dog sports, "multi-purpose" and they are greatly admired.

It is certainly easy to see how Zoey became a "cover girl", as these photos of her are incredibly entertaining! What an athletic, amazing Standard Poodle, you must be very proud.

Thanks Rick, Conde and Geoff, for sharing Zoey with my readers!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Poodle Joy After Pond Swimming!

I love to receive emails like this one I received tonight from my friend and Poodle photographer Rick Miles, who said:

Sadie was very very happy after her swim. Jeanne commented on the e-mail list that this was a great poodle joy picture and I just had to send it on to you.


Thank you soooo much Rick for sharing this photo (and a note to Jeanne Haight--you know me so well Jeanne, I do indeed love this joyful photo!)

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Lake Days Are Here Again!

I love this picture of the L'Abbe boys going over the driftwood jump! I bet they are so glad that warm weather has arrived and Chris will be taking them to the lake for swimming and playing.

As always, thank you Chris for sharing photos of your boys.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Wysong Versus Popular Industry Publication


Some time ago I obtained permission from Wysong to post their series about dog food myths and truths. I found today's post particularly interesting, because of the links provided to the Whole Food Journal, a publication that I unsubscribed to years ago, due to the biased nonsense I read in the pages. It seems Dr. Wysong recommended this publication for many years, but his company has been a recent victim of their unscientific "evaluations". Wysong is a company whose reputation is above reproach, which is very unusual for any dog company in this day and age. I hope my readers will take time to read this short article by Dr. Wysong and follow the links at the end. Wysong is the only dog food company I know of that also advocates feeding your dog fresh, natural foods as the healthiest alternative. My favorite product of Wysong's is their dehydrated meat and no, I do not sell Wysong or any other dog food, but I do often recommend their products because my experience with Wysong through the years has been wonderful. Excellent service and excellent products. I wish they were a little less expensive but if I owned only one dog, Wysong is probably the only commercial dog food I would ever feed, simply because all the other options I have tried have had various negative that I never encountered with Wysong.
Also, I have recommended their products to various clients through the years and have heard only good reports. As my readers know, I am open minded about dog food, having fed everything from raw diets to dry food, primarily due to the number of dogs I feed. Here is today's "truth" from Wysong.

TRUTH 87: BOGUS PET FOOD EVALUATIONS - by Dr. Randy Wysong

The Internet has exciting potential for erasing barriers of ignorance and prejudice and bringing the world together. A universe of information is available with the click of a mouse and people around the globe can communicate instantaneously. This technology has kind of crept up on us and we now even take it for granted, but it is truly mind staggering.

It is becoming harder and harder for the media, politicians, and businesses to pull the wool over the public's eyes. Not that they do not continue to try.

Although the Internet opens a world of knowledge and facts to the public, it also is a platform for every sort of half truth, lie, mythology, yarn, and quackery. Anyone can come out of the woodwork, claim special knowledge, and put themselves forth as an authority. Surfers must be wary and discerning. The best way to do that is to be skeptical of any claim, check the credentials of the source, and do your research on the facts.

I bring this to your attention in the context of these Truths because the pet food arena is chocked full of self proclaimed experts. A favorite format is to dream up a list of good and bad pet food features and then rank products accordingly in a chart.

Such bogus criteria for evaluating pet foods are not only wrong, they are misleading and miss the point of how to feed healthily. They assume that people are feeding a particular product exclusively and therefore need someone to tell them the merits or demerits of every ingredient. This also serves the interests of brands that put themselves forth as saviors because they do or do not have this or that ingredient. Usually the people creating the comparison charts are either in the hip pocket of such companies, or have been brainwashed by them.

You can escape all this nonsense with the sense of the Optimal Health Program™, which has as its central unassailable truth, feeding in rotation, supplementing, and offering fresh whole foods.

Visit the following links to see a couple little wars our company had with some self-proclaimed pet food ranking experts:

Wysong vs. Popular Industry Publication
Wysong vs. "Dog Food Analysis" expert

by Dr. Randy Wysong, reprinted with permission.





Friday, April 20, 2012

Twasn't Me!

No Mom...really, it was not ME who destuffed the tiger! (Kate, you certainly do look guilty!)

Friday, March 30, 2012

Fun Photos from Scotty's Journal

My gorgeous parti Poodle boyfriends Scotty and Joey continue to send me their journal and I know you will LOVE seeing their photos and hearing the latest! Here is a note from Scotty, back from March 19. For more recent updates, please see the boy's personal website, which is always so much fun!
Canine Horizons Website Two Featuring the Parti Boys

Scotty's Journal - March 19, 2012 - Monday

We've had really warm weather here - mid 80s in the daytime so we get up early and get all our activities done in the morning and then we dogs sleep in the afternoon.

This weekend, we all had baths - nice looking bunch, huh?
Here's Joey -- Mom says he has TONS of hair because it is SO thick and plush.
This morning we went for a walk in the park down from our house..
Here's Joey and me at the end or our walk - see how big I'm getting!
A family portrait < bark, bark, bark, bark >
I sent Aunt Mellie lots of photos of us training and playing, we are learning so many new things! Be sure to visit our website to see more. Aunt Mellie wanted to make sure you saw this fun photo taken of Joey when we all practiced catch. We sat in a group and Dad tossed us cookies, what fun!

Thank you Scotty! Love to all of you, Aunt Mellie







Saturday, March 10, 2012

Straight Talk About Dog Food

I love to share great news about products I've tried. But every now and then, I also share things that my dogs have NOT done well on. Today we are suffering with various degrees of tummy ache from a raw dog food product. This experience has made me think about all the misconceptions dog owners now have about dog food. As the tummy upsets here have proven, no matter how expensive, or how wonderfuly rated the ingredients, our dogs don't always do well on food which seems full of "perfect" ingredients.

Before this dog food order arrived, for the last month or so, the housedogs were eating a basic dry food, Eukanuba. It just happened to be what we had here for the kennel dogs (not Poodles) so it was handy, but it is not something I normally feed my Poodles. It was a tight month budget-wise so when we were running low on "Poodle food", we simply brought home some food from the kennel. They were doing great on it, so why in the world did I spend $84 to ship in a small amount of frozen food? Becaue I fell victim to what many people do these days, "ingredient mentality". Now both my pocketbook and my sleep are hurting (no one sleeps well when housedogs have a tummy ache!)

The dry food the dogs were eating was simply Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Small Bites. If I count the kennel dogs, then all 9 dogs, including the picky eaters, were doing well. The ones so prone to be itchy if on the wrong food, were not itching (which surprised me, since I had in my head that they would not do well on a chicken based food). They loved it, and as mentioned, no itchiness, no ear infections or gooky eyes and no tummy aches during the few weeks they were on it.

So this morning, after I evaluated everyone who has a tummy ache and decided they are probably okay without a visit to the vet, I sat down to blog. When my thoughts went to dog food, I realized that the real truth may be what I wrote a couple of years ago on the Knowing Dogs blog....dogs should be fed what THEY do best on, and it IS possible to find food that fits your budget. Sure, when the two Poodles and the elderly Dachie were eating the dry food, they also had a boiled chicken breast every few days, and most days they have small carrots for treats. So there was a little healthy stuff thrown in for good measure. But if you had compared the ingredients of the dry food they were eating with the ingredients of what I normally feed them, you would not have given us a much lower grade than normal the month that I was feeding the Poodles the dry food.

But the bottom line here is...do the dogs do well on the food? Do they have healthy, shiny coats, no eye boogers, no itching and no tummy upsets? Are they in good weight? Do they seem to be gas free (yep, this is important when you live in a small lake cottage with multiple dogs!)

If you have the time to feed a raw or homecooked diet, and you can work with someone to make sure your dogs are getting all the nutrients they need, more power to you. I have done it in the past, and it is not a simple task, at least not if you own multiple dogs who have varying health needs. It's not rocket science, but more and more we are understanding that dogs on raw food diets can have health problems related to a lack of certain nutrients. If you want to feed raw, then it is well worth the time and money to have the dog's diet and health analyzed by a knowledgeable canine nutrition consultant like Monica Segal.

If you prefer to feed primarily a commercial diet, and you want something a bit higher in quality that the food I mention above then I would recommend Wysong. I love keeping their Archetype dehydrated meat on hand, as it is an easy way to add meat to one of my dog's diets who is prone to anemia. Easier for me to add a scoop of Archetype and some water than to prepare meat for her. Found out a few months ago that her system is no longer suited for the type of raw meat she ate as a youngster, and found out this week that this highly rated commercial frozen raw diet is not going to work for her so we will still with Archetype as her meat supplement on the days when I don't feel like boiling a piece of lean chicken or beef.

It really is true that many of the more "holistic" products, whether raw, dry or canned, may have so many ingredients that our dogs are going to be sensitive to something int hem. So what does work? Speaking strictly from experience, Wysong's Anergen is a great dry food for dogs with sensitive systems, and as mentioned, the addition of their Archetype product helps up the protein and iron my special needs older Poodle needs by adding high quality meat without worrying about tummy upset.

But since I do believe variety is healthy for older Poodles, I think I am going to rotate her Wysong with Eukanuba now since I have seen that she has no problems on it. In the past, for the kennel dogs, I've tried various varieties of Eukanuba but this is the one I keep going back to:

Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Small Bite


Can dogs really do well on a diet of just dry dog food, even without supplements? My experience says they can. Thirty years of feeding show dogs and rescue dogs, with Eukanuba being one of the products I have fed quite often during the last twenty years...yes, I can testify that even dogs fed only dry food (the kennel dogs rarely get those chicken breasts and veggies for treats) can live long and healthy lives. My last Siberians lived to be aged 14 1/2, 15 1/2 and almost 15. All three of them were fed Eukanuba Maintenance and ProPlan Sensitive almost exclusively throughout their lives. Here's a photo of me with one of them:

Wasn't he lovely? That was my "Martin", a/k/a Ch. Wintersweet's Synama on Credit, whom I co-owned with his breeders, Patty Powell of Synama Siberians and Betty Mitchell of Wintersweet. Sure do miss him.

But back to dog food...the bottom line may be...perhaps at times we "over-think" the food we choose for our Poodles. At this point in my life, it may be a good choice for me to raise my Poodle youngster on a commercial diet. The wonderful friend who gave him to me has bred and shown Poodles for years, and she is still showing miniatures who are fed Iams Lamb & Rice. She says her minis are living to be over 16 years old. Yet none of my Poodles that were on raw or special expensive "health food" type commercial diets lived anywhere near this age, even though my Siberians have done so. Seems like I would have figured some of this out before now?

But like most of you, I read the articles, used to even subscribe to the magazines, that were constantly rating the ingredients of every brand of dog food. After years of this, my budget and my brain are tired of constantly searching for the perfect canine diet. Because if our dogs look great, feel good, and live to be 15 years old, then probably the food they are being eating is pretty healthy, even if it is not made from all natural ingredients full of fruits and veggies! If you walked into my house today, you wouldn't think that ground raw turkey with veggies was a very healthy diet, despite the fact that this food is rated very highly by the food guru magazine.

Maybe we just need to go back to the basics of common sense. That is one thing I like about Wysong's educational materials. They don't try to convince you that any of their food is "perfect" or that any food fed every single day can possibly be totally nutritionally complete. They advocate feeding fresh food from your kitchen, with dog food more as a back-up. Well, my kitchen is not always full of healthy food and I am not always energetic enough to prepare it even when it is available.

If you are also presently in dog food confusion land, try the things mentioned in this post. Try Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Small Bites (my large dogs like the small bite formulas better than the large breed formulas plus I have dogs of varying sizes). If you have a dog who has an extremely sensitive system and they need limited food ingredients, try Wysong's Anergen. If you want a convenient, easy way to add meat to your dog's diet without tummy upset, then try Wysong's dehydrated meat product, Archetype. Nope, I don't sell dog food. Just trying to share my thoughts in hopes that you won't end up with a freezer full of something your dog's system cannot tolerate!

Wishing you and your dogs a happy weekend!

(c)2012-2014, Melanie Schlaginhaufen, all rights reserved.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Take a Bite of Snow Before It's Too Late!

Wow, it's March already! Take this advice from one of Chris L'Abbe's boys--take a bite of snow before it's too late!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Keeping Up with the Movie Crew

If you are a regular reader, you've seen posts in the past about my amazing friend, Poodle trainer Charlene Dunlap, of Canine Horizons. She trains her Poodles to do all types of fascinating behaviors and makes movies of them to showcase their talents.

Charlene's original Canine Horizons website is a wealth of information about Poodles and dog training, and also has many clips of her dogs in action. Since Poodle actors Sydney and Jyah are getting older, Charlene has added two parti boys to her crew this past year. I have greatly enjoyed keeping up with their exploits and training.

These young actors have their own website now, so you can also enjoy keeping up with them through this link:
http://www2.caninehorizons.com/

Here is an update that the lovely red and white boy Scotty sent to his "Aunt Mellie" earlier this week:

Joey and Scotty's Journal - February 14, 2012 - Tuesday

Here are some pictures of Joey and me playing in the obstacle yard. It's hard to see me coming down the ramp right behind Joey because of his tail.
Mom was really surprised when I went up the yellow tunnel (see below right) to the top (8-feet high) all by myself and then came down it again. This is one of the last obstacles in the yard that has to be refurbished.
Mom sprang her right index finger - see the pink tape? -- so, she couldn't help Dad brush us out today. She wanted to be with us though so she made herself comfortable while Dad brushed all of us dogs. Dad ran and got the camera -- "for posterity" he said.
Now, it's my turn to be brushed
Joey and I lay together like this a lot -- Mom says we look like bookends. < arf >
Love,
Scotty and Joey
with Jyah and Sydney

Thank you Parti boys and friends! I hope Mommy's finger is better now.

Note to readers: Unfortunately, my blog format does not do the photos justice, plus there is so much more to see on their website. You can even preview the boy's first movie--for free--on their website so take a look today: The Parti Boys Website Enjoy!