Need To Stop Dog Chewing? Find Out What Prince Alvin Got For His 2nd Birthday

Did he get a birthday cake?

NOPE!

Did he get a gourmet dinner? Yes!

But what toy did we get the cute ex-puppy for his 2nd birthday?

The cute former puppy Prince Alvin His Cuteness is a chewer - a real bad chewer. He works with younger brother Simon.

Simon steals and Alvin chews the stolen items. Their last target was a pair of boots left in the kitchen after a hard afternoon shoveling snow. One disappeared and showed up pretty well torn to shreds.

Mistake #1 - You think we'd know better than to leave the boots where the thief would find them!

Mistake #2 - The Prince's favorite chew toy - a green goughuts for small dogs - was buried in a snow bank where he left it. The boot was an inconvenient substitute!

We decided it was time for another Goughnuts indestructible chew toy for his birthday. We ordered a Goughnuts stick to suplement his original goughnuts (in the shape of guess what - a doughnut!). He just cannot destroy the goughnuts because it was designed to stop dog chewing (your stuff to shreds).

Ain't the Goughnuts Stick just the perfect gift for the Prince!

BUY the GoughNuts Stick Green

By the way - you probably think the goughnuts stick is a little pricey! Guess how much the boots cost! What price to STOP dog chewing!!

Sir Alvin The Reluctant Snow Puppy

This is a rare picture of Sir Alvin romping in the CT snow before so much fell that it's now over his head. Now he just pokes his head out the doggie door and backs back into the house.

Another Opinion On Canine Luxating Patella (Trick Knee Or Floating Kneecap) Surgery

Wish I had access to Dr. Karen Becker's opinion on canine luxating patella surgery BEFORE Simon went under the knife!

A little background - Simon had the surgery for luxating patella last summer. His recovery period (the most critical time frame for successful surgery) was 10 weeks. You can read about Simon's surgery and recovery by clicking this link: http://vmills.hubpages.com/hub/Luxating-Patella-In-Dogs-Diagnosis-Surgery-and-Recovery.

Simon's condition was diagnosed as grade 1 - the mildest form. The surgeon did say we could wait, but the prognosis included arthritis and possible Anterior Cruxiate Ligament tear. We opted for the expensive surgery and the L-O-N-G recovery period.

Dr. Becker, a holistic veterinarian, is clearly conservative. She recommends the following:
"If your dog can’t walk or run normally without having intense pain, you need to consider surgery in correcting the knee cap issue."

In other words, if the dog has grade 3 or 4 luxating patella, then surgery is called for. If not, these are some of the the treatments Dr. Becker recommends:

1. Maintain the dog's optimal body weight. See this post: How Do I Know If My Dog Is Overweight?


2. Promote good muscle tone by keeping the dog moving.


3. Give the dog oral medications to "rebuild and keep the cartilage resilient and strong, as well as to improve joint fluid." See your vet for the medications.


4. Feed the dog a "species-appropriate, carb-free diet. This can actually help reduce the amount of canine inflammation associated with a luxating patella."

According the the vets taking care of Simon, his issue - a congenital misplaced ligament attachment on the lower leg bone - was correctible only with surgery.

But should we have waited until the condition worsened?