Archive for February, 2008
February 16, 2008 at 10:42 pm · Show more about: dog food, tripe, tripett
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Several weeks ago, Tricia’s Dad sent us a case of the dog food he’s been feeding his Pugs. Since then, we’ve tried it out with Gizmo and Gadget to success. The food is from a company called Tripett, and it’s rather unusual as far as dog foods go. Usually, you hear about dog food containing chicken, lamb, beef, rice, and the like. However, the premise behind Tripett is that it’s made primarily from tripe.
“What is tripe?” you ask. It’s cow stomach. And to make it a little bit more gross, Tripett uses Green Tripe (green just means that the tripe is pure and unbleached) and they include the contents of the stomach. It’s just like the tripe you’d see in the grocery store (tripe is used to make the Mexican soup, Menudo) except it hasn’t been bleached or processed.Yes, it’s kinda disgusting when you think about it. However, there’s a reason for using it as dog food — dogs love it and it is very nutritional. The stomach and partially digested grass are rich in digestive enymes, gastric juices, amino acids, and essential fatty acids — all things which are very important. What’s more is that dogs are natural hunters (although I have trouble seeing either Gizmo or Gadget on a hunt!) and as hunters, have a natural instinct to eat that part of their prey because it is so nutritional. Therefore, they go bonkers for the stuff.
Because of this, Tripett is great for dogs who are picky eaters. From our perspective, Gizmo and Gadget both really, really like it and we have not had any diarrhea or vomiting with this food. Tripett is extremely gentle on Gizmo’s sensitive stomach.
Ok, so what are the downsides? There are two. First, the food smells kinda funny. This probably has something to do with the fact that it hasn’t been processed and it’s only been minimally cooked. The only cooking they do is in the canning process to prevent spoilage. We heard it smelled funny, so we were expecting “bad” — but, it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. It’s by no means “pleasant” in the sense of “pine forest fresh,” but it’s not vile, either. The second downside is the price. It’s a tad expensive. However, this is limited by the fact that Tripett is not meant to be the only source of your dog’s food. It’s meant to be a supplement. We mix a few tablespoons in with each dog’s dry food, making the dry food much more appetizing to them. So, if you look at Tripett more as a supplement for good health rather than a dog food, it’s reasonably priced.
What are the positives? Well, I’ll tell you. We have had a hard time finding food that is both good for the boys, is good tasting, and doesn’t irritate Gizmo’s stomach and doesn’t give either one of them diarrhea. That alone is enough for me. However, we are also seeing other benefits. After eating Tripett for two months, G&G’s coats look really good. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but they’re just prettier, somehow, and they shed less.
Yes, they shed less. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still monsters of shedding, but it’s one of those things where you realize you’re cleaning up slightly less hair than you used to.
Tripett sells a few different varieties of their product.
Gizmo and Gadget have been eating the Advanced Skin & Coat Formula, which includes omega 3 and 6, and is 100% pure meat, no fillers and no preservatives or artificial ingredients. They love it, and from all I can tell, it’s done a good job with their coat.
Tricia’s Dad has also told us that the food is good for their joints, which will help keep them feeling good and being more active for longer, which is a definite plus in my book.
Finally, I’d like to say that while the idea of shipping dog food might seem a little bit ridiculous, especially because big cans of dog food are heavy, Amazon really does have a good price on the food. The price makes up for the fact that you’re paying for shipping. Also, if you order larger quantities, the shipping cost comes down relative to the price of the food itself, making it not so bad. And, if you just want to “test it out,” they sell small 5.5 oz cans for under 2 dollars, so you can try it out without spending too much money.
Have you tried Tripett? Or, have you found another really good alternative dog food? Please, let everyone know and leave a comment!
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February 12, 2008 at 1:14 am · Show more about: gadget, gizmo, lick, martine, sofa
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Here’s a picture I took the other day of Gizmo watching over Martine. I had her in her car seat / stroller, sitting right next to the sofa where Gizmo likes to sit when we let him. (though we do try to keep them off the sofas in the front of the house as that’s where visitors will sit)
Gizmo hopped up there and it looked as though he was watching over Martine. I’m not sure whether to think “protective” lookout or more like… “royalty looking over his subjects.” Somehow I think it’s more the latter.
Anyway, one more interesting thing. The Pugs go from being entirely indifferent to the baby to being intensely curious. Today, Tricia was in bed, and Martine was in her car seat / stroller right next to the bed. Now, Gadget’s usually laid back except under certain circumstances, he will just get really happy or excited and roll around and play for a few minutes, then go back to normal. Well, tonight that happened, except I think something inside his noggin “clicked” and he realized what exactly this little thing was, because he just wanted nothing else but to look at her.
He climbed through the covers and over Tricia to try to reach where Martine was sitting, and once he got there, he just wanted to lick her head. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with a lick or two, but this is Gadget we’re talking about, he’s a licking machine and she was sleepy. So, we had to keep him back a little bit, but he just had this HUGELY happy expression on his face, and he wanted nothing else but to watch her!
None of his behavior was at ALL aggressive, he was just happy as could be. It’s as if just then he realized, “wait a second, this is a new PERSON!!!! I LOVE PEOPLE!!!!”
And yes, he loves people (when he’s not too shy to show it).
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February 10, 2008 at 4:15 am · Show more about: gadget, martine, play, Pug
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One of the baby things recommended to us was a product from a company called Tiny Love called the Gymini. Martine’s a bit too young for it right now, but we decided to put her down on it and see what she would do.
Result?
She liked the music, but didn’t really understand how to play with any of the rest of it. However, Gadget was just fascinated with watching her wiggle around, and seeing him creep up to the edge of the mat and just peek at her was just too cute of a photo opportunity to pass up.
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February 8, 2008 at 10:39 pm · Show more about: gizmo, martine
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I know what you’re thinking: “Oh no, Urban Pug has become Urban Baby w/ Pug Accessories!”
Come on! Babies are cute! Pugs are Cute! And, you can’t forget that the Fourth Rule of Cuteness is “More than one species of baby flopping around is cute.” The cuteness is multiplicative, not additive.
I promise to get back to talking more “pug” when things get settled down, but right now, the photo opportunities are endless and the results are very cute. I’ve got a series of pug + baby posts lined up, and well … maybe the theme will be out of my system, by then.
Or, maybe not?
P.S., the picture is of Gizmo and Martine lying on their backs on our bed, and I’m standing on the bed, pointing the camera down.
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February 6, 2008 at 2:35 pm · Show more about: gizmo, martine
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Gizmo and Gadget seem to be adjusting just fine to their baby sister. We’re trying our best to give them as much attention as we can, but it’s one thing after another all day and night right now. I think the best approach is to lie down hugging them — that way we get some rest and they get some attention.
Today is my first day back in school after missing a few days for the birth plus the Mardi Gras holiday (monday and tuesday). I’m trying to get my focus back, but it’s just going to take a few days to get into the routine again. Some things are staying the same. I get up, I take a shower, I walk the boys, we come in, they eat, I eat, I pack my books and drive to school. Other things are changing, of course.
I think the biggest change is that I used to be able to go lock myself in a room and work. Now my attention is split when I’m trying to do that. I’ll try to read, but I’ve got this little thing sitting next to me moving around asking for [food / pacifier / diaper / etc].
This semester’s going to be really tough. On the bright side, though, Martine is healthy and Gizmo and Gadget are starting to really like her!
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February 5, 2008 at 12:15 pm · Show more about: martine, Pug
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Happy Mardi Gras 2008 everyone! Or, should I say, happy Marty Gras? Her Mimi (Tricia’s mother) has taken to calling her Marty.
This year, we’re laying low because of the baby business, plus Tricia’s trying to finish preparing for the Bar Exam next week. (That’s going to be rough!) Even though we’re missing out on the Mardi Gras party, we’re not really missing out because tonight there’s a party in Martine’s crib.
3:00 A.M. We’ll be there.
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February 4, 2008 at 6:20 am · Show more about: gadget, Pug, puppies
2009
Speaking of babies, about 2 years ago, Gadget sired a litter of puppies. Because we were displaced by Katrina at the time, those puppies were named Katrina, Rita, and Ivan. Now, it’s Rita’s turn to have her own puppies, thus Gadget is a Grandpugger.
Here are a few pictures of Gadget’s Grand-Pugs. As you’ll see, they look A LOT like Gadget, except one of them is Black Pug
They’re so cute!
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February 2, 2008 at 10:12 pm · Show more about: martine, Pug
2003
Today we brought Martine home from the hospital. We were careful introducing her to Gizmo and Gadget, and so far they seem to be totally fine with her.
At first, Gizmo was super interested but Gadget not at all. However, that was probably because Gadget just didn’t realize what She was because later, Gadget became EXTREMELY interested. At the very beginning, Gadget got up close to her, and she moved.
He was totally shocked that it moved! So what did he do? He barked at her a few times. After he got used to the idea that this new thing can move, he got really curious. “What is this thing? What is it? What is it? I want to smell it! I want to check it out!”
Overall, G&G have been curious, but not aggressive at all. On only a few occasions have I had to give them a tiny nudge to not let them walk on her. (Gizmo wanted to get in the baby papasan chair with her, just like he would share a bed with us or with Gadget)
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. They work great!
are great for cleaning up messes, and are reusable.
