Jake's Nose is Reborn

Nineteen days ago we began Jake on Canine GP. We had a couple of goals in mind when starting this canine supplement. Jake's always had an oversensitive stomach, he doesn't seem to be able to smell even the stinkiest treats, and his ability to focus is random at best. We chose Canine GP after hearing wonderful stories of recovery for horses and dogs in much worse shape than our young Jake. With Jake being an active dog we wanted to have around a long time, Canine GP seemed to be the perfect solution to all of Jake's physical problems. I began keeping a journal to keep track of Jake's progress as well as photos since it's hard to see changes yourself when you see your dog every day. Jake's tummy has improved to the point where he can eat cooked chicken and hamburger without dire results in the bathroom department. Jake has not thrown up his ritual morning bile but once at the beginning of the month. Jake has gone from not being able to smell sharp cheddar cheese right in front of his nose on the white kitchen floor to running into the kitchen with his nose in the air when I start cooking. Taking him out to use the bathroom and going for walks have become much longer processes since he wants to stop and smell everything but I'm just happy he can smell again.

Our first photo session was the previously listed "Jake the Uber Goober" pictures at the first of this month. On the 15th I set about to take Jake's picture again. Jake allowed me to take one head-on photo before he got totally preoccupied with sniffing our backyard. Our backyard is a protected wildlife habitat so it's full of lots of smells, including our landlady's many outdoor cats. I could not distract Jake from sniffing even with mini marshmellows:



Another side issue with Jake that we didn't expect to improve is the "feathering" on Jake's front pads. Feathering can be caused by a mineral deficiency (which we had ruled out at the vet's) or is purely genetic. While the feathering doesn't seem to bother Jake, the feathering is sharper than his claws and makes horrible gauges when it meets human skin. We were amazed to find that although the feathering is still there for the moment that Jake's pads have gotten softer and the feathering is no longer scratchy. Here's an example of the feathering:



Canine GP is also helping with Jake's focus. I have noticed he is calmer when we do our daily training sessions. Jake meets my eyes with a steady gaze and doesn't even notice when the cats saunter by begging for Jake's training treats. I can't wait for agility class tonight (we haven't had the classes the last two weeks due to rain) to see how Jake has improved in that area.

We are looking forward to what continued usage of Canine GP will do for Jake. I have a link to the Canine GP and Equine GP website to the right on this page if you are interested in learning more about these products.