My peke Diana always gets a thick undercoat during winter and when she sheds it isn’t a few hairs but big tuffs of the undercoat. I have been getting her brushed out and so far I have combed out 2 shopping bags worth of hair. I am amazed every spring by how much hair I can comb out of such a little dog. She is doing a new thing with the dry dog food since I changed over to a new brand I mixed a little bit of the old dry dog food with the new stuff so the pups would not get a big shock or have tummy troubles with the new food. Diana is now picking out the old dog food and setting it on the floor and just eating the new food in her bowl. I think she really likes the new dog food. It also looks like Diana is moving better since I started the new dry dog food. It’s a senior dog formula with some glucosimine and chondrotin for inflammation and a little higher protein at just over 20% and no wheat grains! I won’t blame Tuffy’s death on the dog food. I wish I had got this senior formula started earlier and got him off any food with wheat as an ingredient.
I am using some Zymox on Diana’s ears as she has always had a bit of a problem with her ears like a lot of floppy eared dogs . I just recently found the Zymox at my local farm store and though it is a bit expensive it is doing the job on clearing up her ears. She would often get bad smelling ears and get very dirty looking but that is clearing up and she isn’t shaking her head as much as a few days ago. At $17.00 per small bottle it will take some time but I think it is a good addition to the animal medicine kit.
I sent out some emails on a couple of dogs available for adoption at some private shelters but I haven’t heard anything back yet. I think I’ll do another walk through of the county shelter on Monday as they had a couple of dogs that might work out. I can get a 10% discount on adoption fees as an army vet. so that will help on the cost.
I got another high water bill though I don’t know if the reading is part of the water usage before I got the water main fixed or if there is a leak in the repairs. It’s only ? a couple of hundred dollars instead $600+ but I’m not happy and it really sucks to get this bill now as I’m already bummed out losing Tuffy. What’s worse is I have no control as Dad hired the plumbers and I don’t have receipt or contract for work done, Hell I don’t even know the name of the plumbers that did the work because Dad just ignored me and said he would handle it. Never again! I love my Dad but when it comes to money he’s about as sharp as a bag of wet mice.
I knew 2014 would be a bit of work and cost some money catching up on repairs that I had put off to get a little more prepared but this has been a bit more than I had anticipated in any of my scenarios and plans. I can handle the cash costs with a bit of work and changing priorities, but losing Tuffy is hard. I’m okay mentally and financially so don’t worry folks. It sucks and it means a bit more work but losing a pet to old age/genetic problems is not the worst that can happen.
My Adventures in selfreliance 
Holy cow! Ever think about picking up a spinning wheel?
rat, Actually I have thought about spinning her hair but she sheds the soft undercoat is spring only so there isn’t enough to do much.
I am betting that your dog has a yeast infection in its ears. If the brownish-crud smells badly, it’s a yeast infection.
Your dog will do better with some good ole fashioned Witch Hazel. Just get a bottle (about $2) and take your dog outside, squirt a bit into the ears and your dog will squirm around and shake with the liquid — it will loosen up the crud in the ears. Once it’s loosened up, you can wipe it away. I have used cotton balls to remove the yeast — but doing so, be careful and dont go deeply into the ear.
Witch Hazel acts as a drying agent — that’s important for dogs with long ears because those ears create the moisture that yeast loves to grow in. You can’t over-do the Witch Hazel on a dog that has a yeast infection. Once the infection seems to go away, keep up with the treatments because it will reduce the moisture in their ears. I have had Golden Retrievers and even the vets recommended it (although they will also sell us expensive drops, too). Hope this helps.
Lynne, Thanks I did not know that you could use witch hazel that way and I have some in the doggie 1st aid kit. I will add that to Diana’s routine.