Monthly Expenses: January - March 2014

Starting this year I decided to make some changes to my expenses report. Since I've already been tracking my spending in a spreadsheet, copying out the data directly would be a much easier task than re-typing everything. Presenting the numbers in a table format also helps with viewing and comparison. Hopefully, this will be informative to my readers as well.

	JAN	FEB	MAR	2014 TOTAL
Food		$124	$163	$287
Vet & Medical			$133	$133
Supplements	$26		$34	$60
Treats & Chews	$30	$14	$17	$61
Grooming		$13	$11	$24
Accessories				$0
Toys				$0
Daycare & Boarding	$35	$450		$485
Travel				$0
Training			$203	$203
Miscellaneous			$4	$4
Total	$91	$601	$565	$1,257
YTD Total	$91	$692	$1,257

Food

In the food category, most of the expenses went to the Honest Kitchen, including 2 boxes of 10 lbs Zeal and 1 box of 3 lbs Preference. We also got some frozen fish fillets, fresh vegetables, juice, beans, and a can of fermented veggies. 

I wasn't really planning to purchase from the Honest Kitchen in March, but because I left a few items in my shopping cart, they started to send me coupons. At first it was 5% off, then they offered 10% off. I was a sucker and fell for it. 

Vet & Medical

Despite her face healed up nicely, Maya still continued to chew on her feet, lick her vulva, and was troubled by ear infection through winter. As spring approaches, we noticed that she started to scratch her face more often as well, so we had another appointment with Dr. M.

Besides the vet visit, we also purchased a bottle of Zymox Otic ear solution and a tube of Zymox topical cream. So far, I've been pleased with the result. She stopped shaking her head in a day, and it smells/looks much better in a few days. The frequency of her licking her feet and vulva has greatly reduced as well. (Read more about them in the Ear Infection and Itchiness posts.)

Supplements

For supplements, we got Maya a few different types of probiotics and digestive enzymes, as well as a bottle of THK Perfect Form. Keeping her digestive system healthy has been an important part of combating her infections, and the supplements definitely helped.

Treats & Chews

I got Maya a box of Salmon Skin Bones. I wish I have known about this sooner! It lasts much longer than a bully stick, and is made from Maya's very few "safe" ingredients. I do have to be careful and leave her alone (while supervising in range). One time I was brushing her when she was chewing on it, and my hand got too close to her mouth. She was afraid I would take it from her and chocked herself by swallowing the whole end piece. Luckily I remembered the first aid video I watched and helped her puke it out, but it was really really scary! 

I noticed Maya's teeth starting to have tartar built up since we switched her off raw. I got a bag of C.E.T. Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews in hope that it can help with the situation. However, I still haven't been giving it to her as frequent enough to tell the difference. 

Besides the chews, we also got a bag of Wellness Pure Rewards and a bag of Real Meat treats.

Grooming

For grooming, because Maya's "little white skirt" was touching the floor and getting in the way of her poop, I had to trim it down again. Last time I used regular scissors and was bothered how there seems to be a straight line through her butt. For my own satisfaction, I got a pair of thinning scissors. Looks better?

I also took Maya to the groomer for a nail trim. I used to take her to Petsmart for nail trims when she was a puppy, but after a few visits, she got so scared of the place and even peed out of fear when I tried to get her into the room. Ever since then, I've been doing her nails myself. However, I am afraid to hit her quick, so I always only cut off a little bit, and trimming her dew claws is super hard. After hearing good reviews of this place, I decided to take her in for some professional help. Well, the groomer said her nails were short, so she didn't take much off, so I guess I was doing it right and probably won't need to come back for another few years. Since I heard her whining and crying and being a drama queen while I waited outside, I gave an extra dollar tip to the groomer for not complaining. (After being in the US for so long, I'm still not sure when tipping is necessary... Is it for this type of service? Is one dollar enough?)

Daycare & Boarding

The biggest expense thus far is for the 8 nights Maya stayed with the doggie daycare while we were in Asia for Chinese New Year. We paid for a 10 nights package, so we still have 2 more remaining for future use.

Training 

While we faced some challenges with agility training, we are not giving up. We went back to Agility 2 and worked our way back to Agility 4 again. She is doing much better after I decided to take it easy. She still walks "elegantly" through the courses and occasionally embarrasses me in front of the whole class (such as refusing to move till another owner offered a different treat), but I still enjoy going to class once a week to have some bonding time with her. A gift card I got helped reduce some of the cost for the classes.

Miscellaneous 

As for the Misc category, I got two Squeeze Dispensing Bottles to bring aloe gel with me on the go for Maya's hotspots. I had been using small travel jars, but often found myself contaminating the remainder by my dirty fingers. Squeeze bottles work much better.

Fort Funston Sunday

We were planning to join a mini Shiba Inu meetup at Fort Funston today, but someone failed to get out of bed... Since the weather was so nice and Maya really needed a bath, we still decided to head to the beach. Though we didn't get to meet any Shibas, Maya still had a lot of fun chasing other dogs down the coast.

After the trip, we went to Pet Food Express for a bath. I'm glad we didn't bathe her at home, cause she covered the whole sink with fur. We still weren't able to get all the fur out at the store, so she got a good brush after we got home and I ended up having to vacuum the entire living room.

"Please let me off leash!"

Queen of the beach

We are getting better at taking action shots

And she's getting better at posing

Testing out her new travel bowl

"DO NOT LIKE!"

How can such a little thing produce that much fur?

Ready for Vacation!

Yesterday was Tachi's last day at our house. Overall, it's been a great experience. The girls get alone really well and had spent most of the time together during the two weeks. (For more photos of Tachi and Maya, please see Maya's Facebook album.)

The house feels a lot emptier with one less dog, and we all miss her dearly. But don't worry, because we are meeting her again tomorrow! This time, Maya will be staying at Tachi's for another TWO WEEKS while we travel to Asia. 

This is our first time leaving her at a friend's place instead of a doggie daycare, as well as leaving her for such a long time. Since Tachi behaved so well at our house, it actually made us more nervous whether Maya will be a good girl or not. 

I gave her a bath today, in hope that all the loose hair had came out and that she'll have less fur to spread around. I also pre-mixed her supplements in her dehydrated pet food to make it a bit easier to prepare her meals. So far, she's the only one done packing and ready to go!

Maya's personal grooming station

Ready to go!

Monthly Expenses: October 2012

October 2012

• Food: $5
• Treats & Chews: $8
• Vet & Medical: $16
• Grooming: $45

TOTAL: $74
YTD TOTAL: $6,119


Food

Since we have a lot stocked up, we didn't spend much on food this month. Maya got some duck wings, a can of sardine, and some plain yogurt.

Treats & Chews

I got Maya two bags of "Veggie Rawhide" made with sweet potato because almost all her chews were made of beef, which we were limiting her access to. I was hoping it's as long lasting as a real rawhide or at least last a few minutes like a bully stick, but sadly it wouldn't even last a minute. Nevertheless, it's still very tasty and Maya loves it.

Vet & Medical

Even though we stopped giving Maya Claritin, we still want to keep a bottle in hand in cases like the failed hiking trip. I found a bottle in the drug store with a $4 coupon attached to it, and was lucky to be able to use it right away.

Grooming

We told ourselves its the last time to go to the self service pet wash when we used up our last package, since it's kind of expensive. Well, Maya started to shed like crazy and we couldn't agree on who's turn to give her at bath, so we ended up getting another "buy 3 get 1 free" deal. Sometimes spending an extra few dollars can save us from a clogged drain and lots of arguments...

Gangnam style?

Accessories

I came close to get Maya a Giants bandanna, but the only one left in the store was too small. Good thing that the Giants are in orange and black, so Maya wore her Halloween t-shirt to celebrate both the holiday and Giants' victory! $10 saved.

Cheering when Posey made the grand slam

Happy Halloween and Go Giants!

Butt Fluff

Maya has a little white "skirt" on her butt. During winter time, it's thick and fluffy, but as she started to shed, it got thinner and thinner. For whatever reason, there's always some hair that refuse to shed and would just keep growing longer. It got to a point that the fur would be dragging on the ground while she poops, and sometimes her poop would just land right on top of it. Eww...

I tried using a furminator daily on that area to help speed up the shedding, but it didn't help much. Yesterday, I got so tired of cleaning her butt, I grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped off the excess hair (despite being against ever trimming a Shiba). Ideally, I should have used those hair thinning scissors, so it would look more natural, but I don't have one and don't plan on getting one. Anyways, I think it looks okey. At least Maya's daddy didn't even notice till I told him and Maya can't complain.

Fluffy butt before shedding (taken on 4/14/2012)

Long hair in the way when pooping

Better?

Self Service Dog Wash

This past Sunday, we took Maya to the beach for a playdate with Tachi (another Shiba Inu) and DonDon (our relative's Westie). Maya got super dirty running in and out of the water, so it's time for a bath.

Maya and Tachi

Super dirty Maya and DonDon in the background

We usually bathe Maya at home in our shower room, which usually involves a pup running around desperately and a human getting all wet. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, we decided to give ourselves a treat and took Maya to Pet Food Express to use their self service dog wash.

Overall, it's a pleasant experience for the humans. The raised tub, tie-downs, and aprons made it a lot easier for us. The choice of three different Earthbath's all natural shampoos are really nice too. We ended up getting the "buy 3 get 1 free" deal for $45 instead of just paying the $15 one time fee. It's a bit pricy, so we'll probably still bathe her at home, but it's nice to enjoy this luxury once in a while. 

As for Maya, of course she hated every moment of it...

Note to self: things I should bring with me next time, 1) a worn collar, 2) a Zoom Groom brush, 3) some yummy treats.

(Sorry for the blurry pictures. Cell phone cameras are not meant for this type of chaos.)

Not happy

Shampoo water

Blow drying after the bath

April Updates

Aloha! It's been a while since my last update, because we've been busy traveling to Hawaii. There are lots of things I want to write about, but just didn't have the time. Hopefully I can cover most of it at once.

Boarding

While we were on our vacation, Maya stayed at a doggie daycare. We were really glad that they provided webcam and an iphone app for owners to check on their dog. We've been constantly spying on her wherever we go, even when sunbathing on the beach. We missed her so much! Special thanks to our friend who picked her up, so we didn't have to pay for an extra day and we get to see her right at the airport.

Picture sent by the daycare center

Swollen Paw

About a week before we left town, Maya started to yelp on our way back from a hike. I know something's wrong, but she just sat there and cry, giving us no clue to figure out the cause. She stopped after a minute, so I thought she might just want to get out to play or that she's hungry. Over the next few days, I started to notice her lifting a leg after jumping off furnitures or growling when I wipe her paws. It took me longer than I should to realize what might be wrong and checked her paws. And there I found her front right paw pad swollen and pinkish. When I press on it, she'll give me an "angry face" and would want to bite me if I held on longer. (She did stop once her teeth touched my skin.)

For the following few days, I put some antibiotics over the paw and wrapped it with a doggie sock. When we go out for walks, I also put a plastic bag over the sock so it doesn't get wet. I believe it should just go away on it's own, but as our vacation got closer and with no improvements, we started to panic. Maya's daddy then insisted on taking her to the vet. I kind of lost the argument, so off we went to yet another vet visit. It was on a weekend, and our regular vet and all other "better" ones around us were all closed, so we ended up taking her to a chain clinic located in a pet supply store.

To be honest, it was probably a total waste of money. The doctor trimmed the hair around her paw pad, which I should have done so myself, cleaned the area and checked if anything's stucked in there, which I already did so myself. We also got some antibiotics and pain killer for Maya to take orally. Then she asked us to come back again in a week. I ended up not even giving her the pain killer and canceled the follow up visit.

I did some research online, and found that many people recommended soaking the paw in epsom salt water, so I started doing that 2-3 times per day (while shoving lots of treats in her mouth). By the time we left for Hawaii, it seems to be better. She was able to walk normally, but would still whine if I press against the paw pad. We asked the daycare to continue with the meds and took off worried. Fortunately, by the time we picked her up, it all cleared up. I'm not sure if it's the meds, or the epsom salt, or because she stayed in doors for five straight days, or simply just because of it's time to heal, I'm just grateful that it all went away. We were even thinking that it may require surgery to remove. Whew...

SPA and food therapy

Allergies

Since my last post about Maya got bitten by fleas, there has been some ups and downs in her situation. Some days she's fine, some days she'll scratch like there's no tomorrow. One day I came back home finding her nearly destroyed half of her face as well as blood all over the wall. Apparently, she was rubbing her self against it. Ah, poor girl. :(

Blood on the wall

Huge wound on her face

After that big outbreak, things did get better. She was itching much less and by the time we send her to the daycare, we lowered her meds back to once every three days. Staying indoors at the daycare seems to help as well. Her wounds pretty much cleared up and her black eye was gone. It's been five days since she took her meds and she's been doing good. 

Looking much better today

Food Trial

After finishing off the 4 lbs box of THK Zeal, I switched her to Verve to save some cost. She's been doing well on it, but doesn't like the taste as much as Zeal. Since she got her tooth crown put in, I've been starting to give her some raw meaty bones as well. So far nothing gave her any bag reactions and the tooth seems to be holding up well. Chicken did give her some loose stools, so I'll probably avoid that it for a while. Since we're back home and most of her health issues are under control, I'll be switching back to home prepared raw soon. 

10 lbs box of THK Verve

Shedding

Yep! It's that time of the year again. Everything and everyone is covered in fur. Every time I brush her, I can collect a mini-Maya. When she came home from boarding, we felt like she seemed much smaller. Thank you for leaving all the fur at the daycare!

Maya and mini-Maya

A Flower in the Greenhouse

There's a Chinese saying that calls someone who's so delicate and vulnerable to survive in the wild a "flower in the greenhouse" (溫室裡的花朵). I guess we got a precious little flower. It seems like staying indoors for five days at the daycare fixed everything that was bothering us. Maybe next time we should just send her there when she's sick... sigh. I seriously think we should all go "pacify Taisui" (安太歲), a prayer session with a Taoist Priest to ask for blessings and avoid misfortune, as we really had some bad luck over the past months. It's been normal and peaceful after the vacation so far, and we are enjoying it.

Cuddling with daddy