Friday 25 July 2008

Rescue.. puppies.. everything in between!

Now isn't this a face only a mummy could love??

This was taken the other day on the sofa, when Mr Scoobs was having a bit of a nap.. (mm.. as usual!). He is soooo laid back he's virtually horizontal! Isn't he just the best!??



I just love this photo of these two babies.. Holly and Scooby out in the garden. Now, for those of you who know Holly, you will realise that to get a good photo of her is near on impossible! She hates her photo taken, and usually very quickly runs from the camera and hides behind a tree or something. So, this one is so lovely, to have them both together looking gorgeous! Notice the lack of grass?? Springers! Tut! Who'd have em??!!
A little piccy of the crazy duo. Holly has a ball, and Scooby was trying to catch something - most probably a fly! Another photo of my little Beefcake - now if you saw the size of him, you'd know why he's a beefcake.. he's a stocky lad who's quite large for a springer.. but as gentle as a giant.. he's so cute!



Honestly, if you have chance to take on a Rescue springer, I'd go for it.. they pay you back ten fold for the love and affection you give them.. I can't thank Cynthia and Lizzie enough for pointing Scooby out in our direction, he's worth a million! Everyone who meets him falls in love..



And here we have my other two babes.. typical Holly thinking "will you bog off with that camera" and little Truly, a golden cocker, being very ladylike.. There will be many more photos of her I would imagine.. She is a little cutie. She again is rescue, who came to us in a bit of a state, matted up, not quite sure of other dogs, or how to play, or even how to interact with us, she wasn't toilet trained, and definately didn't like walking in the woods..

Now.. my what a difference. I am sure Nikki will vouch for the fact that a few weeks later she was just starting to come out of herself, when she met her. She is totally different now to that little worried thing we bought home. She is so self confident (sometimes a little too much), looking fantastic now she's on a good food (more about this later!), she is completly toilet trained at home, although still has accidents when she goes anywhere new and she panics, she is so cuddly, plays with Holly and Scooby quite happily..and literally howls all the way to the woods with excitement!! What a difference four months make.

It is so fantastic to think what her long term future would have held for her if she hadn't been taken into Rescue, I would imagine it would have been quite bleak for her being left out in a kennel and small run since she was a puppy.

Now...
Everyone who sees our doggies always say how fantastic they look. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact they have a cooked breakfast every Sunday (!!), and steamed veg and rice most nights, but I do think it has to do with the food they are on..

The subject of feeding springers came up last night with a family who have just taken their first Springer puppy to their hearts. Not suprising really - eight weeks old, fluffy cuddly little snuggles! And I did say to them - 'please, whatever you do, don't feed her Bakers!!'.



When I say this to folks, they look at me a bit gobsmacked,because it is supposed to be a good food - - but did you know that two of the ingrediants they have in there are not permitted in human food, and are likely to cause cancer?? Funnily enough, Asti, our GSD who died last year from cancer, nearly always had Bakers in her earlier life because we knew nothing different!! And a box never lasted more than a couple of days because she was having to eat so much of it for her weight. Had we have known about Bakers before, then she wouldn't have had it!


Now.. our Springers and cockers are all fed on James Wellbeloved or Wainwrights from Pets at Home. Both are the same quality - depends which is on special offer.

There are other foods out there equally as good, Royal Canin, Eukaneuba, Hills (which Holly was on for a year) amongst others. But price is nearly always a deciding factor on what to feed!
When we had Scooby he came to us with colitis, and frequently had loose poo and bad tummies. He was on Bakers. His fur was shot - looked like a burst cushion, no shine. He was always hungry and ate like there was no tomorrow. He also drank a tremendous amount, which at first made us think that he was diabetic! But then I remembered about the Bakers!
..........So, we changed them both over onto James Wellbeloved. It's hypo-allergenic with no additives, preservatives etc, 100% totally natural. Now you can see the change. We haven't had a bad tummy for a few months, poo is fantastic (...never mind .. it's a dog thing.. it always come round to poo!). Within four weeks his fur had started to change - it was shiny not dull. And the burst cushion effect was starting to go with his grooming. He doesn't drink so much, (mainly due to the lack of added salt in JWB compared to Bakers!) and his food intake is alot less! He is eating half as much as he was when on Bakers, and has actually put on weight!He is now more toned, his movements are alot more supple too. Even his foster mummy saw a big difference in him when she last saw him a few months ago.
We also feed pilchards, chicken breast and steak on occasions. (cut off of fillet steak, £10 per massive bag which lasts weeks!)
So.. be careful what you're feeding - would you like to feed something that isn't permitted in our food?
Just one last thing - look for the protein value!
When deciding what food to feed your doggie, check out the protein value of it. Now Bakers is quie high in protein, which for a springer - or more importantly - it's owner, is definately not a good thing! The higher the protein, the more crazy they are! Ours are all on a lower protein fish based James Wellbeloved (which they love) and they are quite laid back, un-typical type springers.. not bombing about at 100mph.. and this is due mainly to the food.
We also feed Wellbeloved to the cats too. We have a persian called Senna, who's fur is just amazing after being taken off Iams and fed this, and also Kiara, who has skin problems mainly due to her age (she is 10, Senna is 12) and we have had no problems with her either recently. They are also fed tuna, not cat food, as this can also have preservatives in.
You think my pets are spoiled?? Maybe so, but they look fantastic!

1 comment:

  1. What a lovely post Jo - so nice to see your little Springers. They are the best breed of dog - I have two and if I won the lottery I would buy a house with enough grounds to rescue dozens!!

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