Romeo

     Phoenix has a new friend! I use the term "friend" loosely, as Romeo is not yet a fan of puppies. Romeo is a feral kitten that I am fostering for socialization. This little black and white tuxedo kitten grabbed our hearts for sure.

Romeo

He is coming along nicely with his socialization and I feel like he is ready for a nice, calm home. He does have a bad case of ringworm, though. We are treating him for that and it is showing improvement. We are no strangers to ringworm here, so I'm not worried about introducing him to the rest of the population. We were already dealing with it here before Romeo came with his own case of it.

Romeo

Romeo

And, how about those mismatched floral pillow covers? LOL! I definitely need to get my hands on more fabric so i can make some coordinating sets.

Phoenix Health Update

     Phoenix seems to FINALLY have turned the corner with his itchy dermatitis. After a couple of visits to the veterinarian, and some more consults, and a very rough evening, I did some research on skin disorders. The records from Phoenix's previous owner show that the skin problem began soon after his second vaccine. This leads me to the possibility that Phoenix's immune system went into overdrive after his vaccine and it manifested in his skin problems. I started Phoenix on a raw food, zero carbohydrate diet last Monday. He went through the expected detox and became even itchier, and even his healthy skin appeared pink and inflamed. I am relieved to report that we seem to be on the upside now. Today was Phoenix's first day without pain meds or xanax. He did quite well and even socialized quite a bit with me and the other dogs. He did scratch a little bit today (he did not scratch at all yesterday!) when he was stressed out by the other dogs. Some quiet time in his crate made him feel secure and the scratching stopped.

     Here is Phoenix a few days ago. You can see the extremely angry patch of skin under his neck.

Severe dermatitis in a puppy

     Included in Phoenix's raw diet are bones. Beef bones as well as chicken bones.

Raw food diet

     Beef and chicken bones are safe for a pet as long as they have NOT been cooked. I freeze the bones first to reduce the risk of food poisoning.

Raw food diet

     Phoenix thinks he is a cat! He climbed everything he could, including the firewood pile.

Phoenix climbing firewood

     Phoenix tried to eat the firewood. Silly dog does not understand splinters and he was not allowed to go here anymore.

Phoenix climbing firewood

     Phoenix tried to "bury" his stuffed bone toy in my loveseat. He ran up the back of the loveseat and "dug" this hole and dropped his toy in. This was too cute!

Phoenix "buried" his stuffed bone toy!

     Has anyone else ever dealt with skin conditions such as this in their pet? I was at my wit's end a week ago, and tonight I am much more hopeful.

Decorating Around Pets

     Do you love your furbabies, but hate the mess? I have one fun tip for you:

Thrift stores!

Seriously, though. If you can find something cheap, AND pretty, use it! I fell in love with this beautiful white chenille bedspread that I found at Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for $5.

Shasta the Australian Kelpie

     I love chenille and I told myself that I would purchase it if I ever came across it. Five bucks can't be beat! It protects my "good" bedding underneath and I just fold the chenille down at night to keep any pet hair contained and off of us at night. If the dogs and cats ruin it, it was only five bucks.

     I have other decorating around pets projects in the works that I will share as I finish them :)

   

     What do you do to protect your furniture? Let me know in the comments!

Phoenix the Rough Coat Jack Russel Terrier!

     So, I had originally thought that Phoenix was a white schnauzer. I'll admit, these little wire haired puppies kind of look the same. But, as Phoenix's personality comes out, and he has a hint of color appearing on his ears, he is turning into a rough coat Jack Russell Terrier! Somehow, in my house, I don't end up with easy dogs, like golden retrievers. I get the tough ones, lol! We now have: Phoenix, the JRT, Shasta, a Kelpie, Dixon, a Keeshond, Sandy, a sighthound mix, and my old guy, Rusty, a cocker-terri-poo. What a houseful, right? And, we aren't even talking cats yet :)

Phoenix, the rough coat Jack Russell Terrier puppy

   

  I started him on a raw meat diet yesterday. I have supplements coming in the mail next week to supply the nutrients that he will be missing from this diet. You can see his beef bone in these photos. He LOVES his new diet!

Phoenix and his severe dermatitis

     You can really see the angry patch on his neck. He becomes highly aggressive if we try to treat it externally. A real seven pound tasmanian devil. We can't bathe him, can't medicate, can't cover (I've tried a bandanna and boot socks. NOPE, says Phoenix!)

Phoenix, the rough coat Jack Russell Terrier puppy

     The only option I have left, and honestly, probably the most sound one, is to treat internally. Food sensitivities and immune reactions are not a new thing in this house. I, myself, have been actively dealing with this for nearly 10 years. Besides myself, big brother, Dixon, has food sensitivities and was inadvertently fed something that he cannot tolerate and the poor guy is so red and itchy. 

Dixon the Keeshond

     Here is our Dixon. With all of that fur, problems are easy to miss at first glance. Luckily, he tells us when he is not feeling well. 

     Who else has dealt with stubborn skin issues? Dixon is easy enough - he gets better when we remove the offending food from his diet. Little Phoenix is another story. Please tell me your story in the comments! Or, leave a link to your own site in the comments.