Dog food on Amazon Subscribe and Save

If you buy your dog food online (we do!), you already know about the benefits–not having to make a stop at the pet store, not having to lug the 20+ lb bag into the cart, and then from the cart to the car, not having to stand in the aisle comparing ingredients when you need to change brands, and not arriving at the store only to find they’re out of stock of your dog’s regular food.

But, there’s one big drawback of buying dog food online–the shipping! Since Amazon offers free shipping, though, if they carry the dog food you typically buy, you may find theirs is a much better deal than other online pet supply stores.

And, what’s more, Amazon has recently started offering several dog food brands with Subscribe and Save available. Not only does that mean you don’t have to remember to buy dog food before you run out, because it gets shipped to you on the schedule that works for you, but it also means you can save 15% off the Amazon price. Pretty cool, right?

If you’ve been looking for a new, healthy dog food for your best friend, check out Amazon’s selection of dog food that’s eligible for Subscribe & Save.

Have you bought your dog’s food from Amazon yet? What did you like best about it?

How to stop a dog fight

If you have a two-dog (or more-dog) household, chances are, they get into fights from time to time. Fights about who gets to come in the house first, or who gets to eat first, fights about who gets to snuggle nearest you on the floor… Fights that, to us humans, seem pretty darn silly!

But, when you look at it as sibling rivalry, it makes a bit more sense–if you have any brothers or sisters, I bet you got into weird territorial spats for no good reason from time to time (I know I did!).

The most common cause of dog fights is when your dogs are unclear about the boundaries. So, it’s important that you make a firm decision about who the alpha dog will be and treat that dog as the alpha. That dog should be petted first, given a treat first, leashed first, and fed first. Always. It may seem “unfair” to us people, but to dogs, anything else is confusing and can lead to snarls and snaps.

Next, make sure you’re consistent with the rules. If the dogs aren’t allowed on the furniture, never let them on the furniture. If they’re supposed to sleep in their crates, always put them in their crates for bed. Confused dogs are more likely to get into fights.

Finally, make sure each dog has his or her own things–a separate food bowl, a separate leash, a separate sleeping area (or crate, or both), separate Kongs. Some sharing can go on, certainly, but of the most important things, each dog needs his or her own.

If you have a multidog household, how do you avoid fights?

Blue Buffalo Dog Food and Allergies

If your dog has food allergies, it can be really difficult to find a good brand of dog food. Symptoms of allergies include chronic ear infections, licking of the paws or rubbing the nose after eating, hot spots, excessive itchiness, and red eyes. (Of course, all of these can also be symptoms of other, more serious health conditions, so always talk with your vet when you notice symptoms like these.)

Previously, we fed our allergic dog Canidae and he liked it very much. We liked that it was known as a high-quality dog food and the price was still affordable. Sadly, they changed the formula. Fortunately, Vance’s only problems were an upset tummy (other dogs have gotten much sicker), but we were disappointed to have to begin the dog food quest again.

Choosing a new dog food is such a headache–there are so many brands on the market (and not every pet food shop carries every brand), and then within each brand there’s an excessive number of varieties. It’s enough to make me feed the dog nothing but rice and beans! (Don’t worry, I wouldn’t really. But it *is* frustrating.)

So, this last time, we tried a number of premium foods including California Naturals, Flint River, and Evo. He had allergic reactions to all of them (and we fed each for a month, just to be sure it was the new food and not residual allergies).

I was starting to feel very frustrated, and our vet had no specific suggestions (other than to keep trying new foods until we found the right one). Enter Blue Buffalo. Vance is now on his third bag of dog food (he’s 80lbs and the bags typically last about 5-6 weeks, though he’s been eating a bit more lately because it’s been so cold). He loves the stuff and gobbles it down with a vigor he doesn’t usually have for his morning meal. Alone, that wouldn’t be enough–just because I love ice cream doesn’t mean it’s good for me.

But, the ingredients list of Blue Buffalo is really solid, and we did extra research online and with our vet to find out if it would meet all of his nutritional needs.

And, best of all, no allergic reaction to the dog food! His ear infections have cleared up, he’s not itchy, and he doesn’t spend 20 minutes licking his front paws after eating.

We’re feeding the Adult Lamb and are very happy with it so far–Vance’s coat looks great, thick and healthy and shiny, and he’s got plenty of energy. If you’d like to support this site when you pick yours up (and get a discount, to boot), use the link in the sidebar to purchase from our favorite dog food supplier Pet Food Direct.

What do you feed your dog? And have you had any trouble with allergies?