Diane & Emma's Page

Hi Diane,

I hate having food discussions in the main forum,  because everyone comes crawling out of the woodwork recommending various kinds of food, many of which are not recommended and contain ingredients which can be harmful. I prefer talking about food in the Food Group, and as I mentioned, there are lots of discussions there about picky eaters and the way we create them ourselves due to our own attitudes about food.  But I wanted to ask what kind of dog food you are feeding, and what you have already tried. If you want to start a discussion about this in TFG, you might get more educated suggestions than in the open forum.

Bless you and thank you for the Emma update. You both sound wonderful. Welcome back to Maine. A new owner picked up her puppy this morning and said, "Now I know why they say Maine is God's country."
Ah, yes! Hugs to you. Patty

Hi Dianne,
Good to hear from you and Lil Emma again. I enjoyed the new photos and can see why people are drawn to her. The man you met in the parking lot that loved Emma, ordered two puppies from us. They are two weeks old and perfect little rag dolls. Thank you once again for sending the referral.

Hi Diane, sorry for that long delay ~ one of my human children has been ill and the juggling has left very little 'puter time to visit with my friends here. I am not sure if I can provide any help or not but lets try. I assume that Emma is eating the dry EVO? It is not unusual for appetites to wax and wane, especially about 9 months. During the 5-9 mo period they grow very rapidly and consume much (breeders generally avoid testing hips during this stage because of the rapid growth), following that they tend to slow down which would seem to indicate their appetite levels as well. Is she just not interested or refusing? I am a strong advocate of maintaining knowledge of several acceptable foods and changing them up. We change EVERY bag, even if only in flavor or formula (sometimes our dogs eat puppy and puppies eat adult). We use digestive enzymes and have almost never had tummy issues. We began to do that because when I changed they always picked out the new and left the old anyway, so a gradual change seemed pointless. Around our place we put down kibble only in the morning. At night the daily special changes frequently. I have found that rather than trying to appease upturned noses with a constant flow of new kibbles it is far easier to offer variety in the form of those extras that make up the daily special. We have several canned brands we like and when we open a can we immediately mix with one can of water to form a 'gravy'. We pour off what we need and refrigerate the rest, which makes it far easier to use later than the very cold, solid canned ~ it also extends it, makes it harder for them to pick it out leaving the kibble behind and lessens the richness by volume offering an easier solution on the tummy. To this we often add many other ingredients, but again change a lot. In doing so I *think* you offer a greater chance at completely meeting their needs nutrient wise. Some examples we may choose to add might be Sojos or Honest Kitchen, supplements, eggs, cheese, meat, cottage cheese, yogurt, acceptable vegies or fruit and so much more (sorry having a caffeine deficient moment). I have even gone as far as running some kibble through the blender and mixing with liquid (almost canned consistency) and mixing in with some regular kibble, sounds nuts but it has worked for us. You may want to try that with the Wysong you just picked up, that way you can continue with the EVO ~ remember that being a picky eater is usually a learned behavior, if they get the response they want they will repeat it. Your precious girl will not starve herself. Make sure she is getting plenty of water also on that EVO. I hope this helps and would love to hear back from you about this. Good luck!

Emma is sure adorable. How old is she now? How big?

Hi Diane, Emma is adorable especially with those little pink beaded ribbons-- that is too much!!!!!!!!!! I see there are a number of doodles in the area and a Quincy romp last spring. I would love to chat about setting up a romp in this area or doing play time. I get to the Newton area regulary and we were just cross country skiing yesterday at Brae Burn Country Club with our trainer. Chezzy loved it. It was great fun. I look forward to hearing from you..... We travel to many parks in the area for play. On Sunday we stopped at Stonehurst in Waltham, go to Blue Hills Reservations, Sheeps fold at Middlesex Park, etc. Karen

Hi Diane, Just wanted to say thanks for the e-bay bully stick info. We found a source in Cleveland that had the Moo brand and shipping was free. Emma is adorable ! Linda

I think it would be great to get together. I just joined this group and need to learn how it works better before I can start to organize something. I will check it out next week and get back to you then. Hope that works for you. Karen

Hi Diane,
Thanks for the recommendations! I grew up in Newton and am very familiar with both of those places. Once this yucky winter weather ends, we should defintely meet up. I have a feeling our doggies would love to play together! What times of the day/days of the week do you generally go there?
So funny- i live in Walpole too and go to Bird Park with Lucy almost every day. I have never seen another doodle there but I will keep my eyes open from now on!
- Becky