You can't pick your friends' noses.

Is that apostrophe correct up there in the title? I pretty much don't think so, but oh well!

My great friend Lisa over at The Pursuit of Pregnancy nominated me for this cute award:

Lisa has an amazing IVF protocol upcoming for January, and I know she would appreciate any support! She has had a tough TTC road, and there is no one else I'd rather see pregnant!

Now I get to pass this on to 5 of my favorite blogs!
Alex's Adventures
Blue.Bell.Beat
Adventures in Infertility-Land
TTC Fatty
Removing Roadblocks

Here are the rules: Link back to the person who awarded you, and then pick five blogs to pass on the award too. Make sure to comment on the awarded blogs so they know they've been picked. 

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Now on to other things! My OBGYN (the new one, who I switched to after my wonderful doc all of the sudden up and left the practice...) wanted me to call him after the two Clomid cycles and let him know how they turned out. Well, I called yesterday and let him know that they were failures. He returned my call today and we had a nice chat. I'm really not sure why he called. He asked where I wanted to go from here, and I told him that we are going to go back to the RE in January and go from there. He was supportive, and also mentioned a clinic in Pittsburgh and another in D.C. that are great. I hope to not have to travel, but I will if necessary.

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Also, if you recall, I had to take my poor, sweet little Kelsey to the vet a couple weeks ago, and that they diagnosed her with having struvite crystals in her urine, and a mild UTI. Well, Buster was doing some research and apparently the dog food I recently switched her to, Nutro, is notorious for causing these crystals, among other problems. I picked the food because it seemed to be a good one at Petco. Boy, I could not have been more wrong. You can read some horror stories here, if you want (there are only 109 pages of complaints...). I feel too guilty to read them, but Buster relayed some of the information to me. Seizures, pancreatic cancer... oh lovely.

So, I am currently doing some research online, but I think I may switch her to a raw food diet! I'm just so leery of commercial dog food, and it seems like this is a healthier approach, and one that is more suited to an animal. If anyone out there has any experience with homemade dog food or the raw diet for dogs, please let me know! :)

ETA: Here is a photo of the food Kelsey was eating. It is Nutro Max, not the other kind of Nutro (the more expensive one). I'm not sure that all varieties of Nutro are causing problems, but this kind definitely did:

Comments

  1. Thanks so much for the nomination - I love it! So honored...

    That's so nice that the OBGYN called to follow up - never heard of someone doing that!

    I've heard great things about a raw food diet for dogs, but I know I would never be motivated enough to keep it up. And how expensive it has to be! That's crazy about Nutro. My pups are 4 years old, and they've been eating Nutro their entire lives - never had a problem. May be worth some research, but oh I might learn too much...

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  2. Good luck with the RE! I have never heard that about Nutro! That is crazy. We like Eukanuba and have never had any trouble with it. We have used Iams too, but we have had way fewer tummy problems with the Eukanuba, We use the boxer-specific formula for Sammy and Daisy, which has lots of good stuff for their hips and joints. Thanks for the award by the way ;)

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  3. Oh no! I have never heard about Nutro, but my mom makes my puppy some kind of healthy treats. They smell like peanut butter and I accidentally tried one once...

    I love that your hubby chats about IUIs at work!

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  4. I've been a lurker here for a while now. Your asking about dog food is making me out myself. :)

    I have two dogs and they eat Nature's Variety. They have kibble as well as frozen raw food. Basically no matter what food you choose look at the ingredients. You don't want by-products. You want meat to be the first ingredient. Many of the so-called good brands aren't really that good. Good luck with your search for food.

    I wish you well in your TTC journey. It's wonderful that Buster is so involved. Maybe now that I've commented once I'll do it more often. :)

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  5. I've lived in both DC and Pittsburgh - would love to hear about the clinics your doc recommended, or if you ever want to pick my brain - send me a PM on TWW! That's great that your doc called and chatted with you. It's so nice when they'll actually take time to talk to you about things.

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  6. I'm not surprised at all that you were nominated. I love your blog! :)

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  7. My black lab had crystals in his urine a year ago. The Vet recommended a "prescription" dog food they had at petsmart. It was for "urinary health" and was pretty expensive.
    After six months, he resovled his symptoms (he was actually dribbling pee when he slept & was only 10 months at the time).

    We then changed him back to less expensive dog food and he has been fine. Sometimes it is a phase. My yellow lab has a lot of allergies and we get his food online from Flint River Ranch. He eats the trout and potato food and has done really well with it. It isn't too expensive and it doesn't have all the crummy fillers in it that a lot of dog food has.

    I have a friend who does the raw food with her labs and she swears by it. It's just expensive to do! And mama has to save money to pay for her ferility treatments!!!

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  8. Wow, I wish MY doctor would call every once in a while instead of just communicating through mail...oh, wait...those are just bills. Glad you've found the root of the problem with your pup!

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  9. Thank you :) Totally made my day!
    That's very sweet of your doc... you need their support, as well as their advice.
    BTW, my cat had crystals and it was related to eating too much dry food and the imbalance of minerals/vitamins (too much magnesium, often) they contain, and the lack of moisture. He was so sick and the stupid vet ended up performing surgery on him to - agh - remove his manly bits so that the urethra would be more open. We were panicked and took his advice, only to find out right after that this is an anitquated and unnecessary surgery. Grrr. So, basically making sure he has lots of liquids and doesn't have a dry food diet should help immensely. We cook for our cat and dog now (it's scary what goes into pet food - basically an unregulated industry), just brown rice, meat/fish, veges (sweet potato, zucchini, peas) and give them vitamin supplements.

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