#FROMM Low Fat, High Quality Dog Food + GIVEAWAY!

Disclosure: Fromm Family Foods sent dog treats and coupons for 2 free bags of dog food to Lapdog Creations, free of charge for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I may receive a few pennies to assist in maintaining this blog.  

You may recall that Teutul was diagnosed with pancreatitis at the beginning of October. When we received the official diagnosis, I had many questions for our vet. Most importantly, I wanted to know what I could do to help prevent future pancreatic attacks.

 

I learned that a low fat diet was key, and Teutul's humans had to rethink everything he eats - including treats.  Gone were my boy's happy-go-lucky days of enjoying a bite of cheese while Daddy was making his lunch, giving our dinner dishes a pre-wash, and licking out ice cream bowls.  Fortunately Tut enjoys most fruits and veggies, so we can still share some of our "treats" with him.  He's none the wiser that instead of a piece of ham or steak, he's enjoying a healthy strawberry or green bean instead.  My boy is just happy his humans are "sharing." 

The other big change was, of course, kibble. If you've ever been tasked with having to switch your pet's food for health or allergy reasons, you already know what a daunting task it is.  Options are endless, and all brands are not created equal. 

I learned quickly that good quality and low fat were nearly impossible to find in the same bag. It seemed as though when most companies cut back on fat, they also cut way back on the protein source.  This often results in low fat food that has next to no protein, yet is high in carbs.... low fat junk food anyone?  Not for my dog.

My endless hours of researching and reading countless ingredient labels resulted in what has become the perfect kibble for Teutul - Fromm Gold Coast Grain Free Weight Management 4lb

I decided that Fromm Family Foods was the company we would go with, but I wasn't certain which formula would be the best fit. There were two that I was considering when I reached out to the company in hopes of finding some guidance, and possibly a sample or two. I was blown away by the customer service I received. Not only did they answer my endless questions and help guide me in finding just the right formula, but they offered to send us some coupons for a couple of free bags for review (as well as some treats and other goodies)!

Did You Know?

• Fromm is a fifth generation family-owned and operated artisan pet food company based in Wisconsin.  All products are made in the USA, in their own manufacturing plants.
• Fromm built their first manufacturing plant in Mequon, Wisconsin in 1925.  The plant is still in operation today and serves as the primary research & development area for new foods and treats.
• In the 1940's, Fromm pioneered the process of cooking meat and grain together to produce the first all-granular pet food.  The first bag of "Fromm Complete Dog Meal" was sold in 1949.
• Fromm pioneered the use of mixed tocopherols as a natural preservative in pet foods in the 1980's. Mixed tocopherols remain the most popular natural preservative in pet food today.
• You can read the entire history of Fromm Family Foods here (spoiler alert: it's very interesting and includes some rather significant accomplishments in the pet world)

The Gold Coast Weight Management formula that we ultimately settled on wasn't even on my radar, as it is one of Fromm's newer additions. At just 10% fat, it still has 25% protein and 7% fiber! Plus, the protein source is fish, which I thought would make Tut's switch a little easier given that his previous kibble was also fish based.

Fromm Gold - A holistic approach to complete and balanced nutrition for each life stage and lifestyle. 

 

Gold Coast Weight Management is a grain-free ocean fish recipe formulated for weight reduction or maintenance... or, as in Tut's case, we've found it to be a perfect solution for a dog with pancreatitis (you should consult with your vet for your specific dog's needs).

Wild caught whitefish and salmon are combined with lentils, peas, chickpeas, sweet potatoes and more. If your dog is in need of a low fat food, but fish isn't their thing, take a look at Fromm's original Weight Management Gold which is a special blend of turkey liver, duck, chicken and lamb.

We began the great kibble switch (that should be a new reality show on Animal Planet!) in mid-October and I'm happy to report, it was a painless process for Tut and his humans. He immediately gobbled it up and after two full months, I can attest to the fact that my boy loves Gold Coast Weight Management! If I had to put money on it, I'd say he even loves it more than his old kibble.

With that being said, let's keep the whole "low fat" thing between us humans. Just as Tut thinks blueberries and carrots are awesome human treats, my happy old hound has absolutely no idea that he's eating "diet" food! After all, we simply refer to it as "Fromm Yummies" in our house... no need to use those W and M words!

In addition to his delicious new kibble, Tut has also become a huge fan of Fromm Four Star Nutritionals treats.  He's even sharing them with his sisters. 

With recipes like Chicken with Carrots & Peas (Tut's favorite), Salmon with Sweet Potato and Lamb with Cranberry, there's something to please every dog's palate.  And with a crude fat level of just 5%, they are all suitable for Tut's new diet.  The Fromm line also includes a couple of even lower fat treats, including Low Fat Cranberry Liver and Low Fat Liver, both having a crude fat level of just 2%.

Tut thinks every dog should have a bag (or two) of Fromm treats in their stocking this year and who could argue with this face?

 

Fromm Family Foods gets all paws and

thumbs up from the Lapdog household! 

Before Teutul's low fat journey even began, I had heard nothing but amazing things about the company and its products. Their reputation is amazing in an industry that has been riddled with recalls in recent years (to my knowledge Fromm has never had a recall).

Their amazing customer service has left me wanting to shout the Fromm name from rooftops and tell everyone I know that not only is their product amazing, but the people that work for them are too (it's a good thing I have a blog to help me do that)! They truly went above and beyond to help us in Tut's journey and I can't thank them enough.  

If you are looking to switch your pet's current food, definitely take a look at Fromm Family Foods.  You will not be disappointed.   

Connect With Fromm Family Foods: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to the wonderful folks at Fromm Family Foods, one lucky winner will get a free large bag of Fromm dog or cat food of their choice (Classic, Gold or Four-Star)! 

Winner must be in the USA or Canada.  Fromm will send a voucher to the winner, which can be redeemed at any brick and mortar pet food retailer who carries Fromm (use the store locator to find one near you).

To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below.  The first method of entry is to answer a question in the comments on this post - click on the Rafflecopter first to find out what that question is before leaving your comment.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Learn about #FROMM Low Fat High Quality Dog Food + enter to win #dogfood or #catfood #GIVEAWAY https://t.co/2AQE3rc0Wc @frommfamily #petfood

— Nichole Burke (@LapdogCreations) December 17, 2015

Did Someone Say Low-Fat Cake?

In case you missed it, Teutul celebrated birthday #12 on Sunday!

With my boy's recent pancreatitis diagnosis, we had to ensure his cake was low-fat, which meant I needed to contact the bakery we use to get information on the fat content of their recipes.  As I had suspected, the Apple Oatmeal was very low in fat (sorry Tut, no more Cheeseburger cakes).  We rounded it out with the yogurt icing and wahla...

Tut certainly doesn't seem to notice anything "low fat" about his cake (or his new Fromm kibble for that matter, which we'll be telling you all about soon).

He got a Knottie Moose HuggleHounds toy as well, but was clearly more interested in the cake than some squeaky orange herbivore.

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is now the senior Lapdog... and he's 12 years old!  Time flies by much too quickly when it comes to our furkids already short lives.

Tut goes to see Dr. C for his annual check-up next week and I look forward to speaking with her more in depth about his pancreatitis diagnosis. I have some questions, and while I can research the disease online until I drive myself crazy, I'd much prefer to get some clear, concise answers first. After all the dog issues we've faced within our pack over the past few years (including megaesophagus, autoimmune issues, vestibular disease, soft tissue sarcoma, allergies, skin issues, and bone cancer), I suppose I will become well-informed on yet another.

Here's to many, many more birthdays - and many more years of being annoyed by his pesky little sisters - for my boy!

Can you spot them both lined up waiting for cake photo bombing their brother in this shot?

Do any of your dogs have a birthday celebration coming up, and will there be cake?  The Lapdogs' next cake will be for Sophie's nifty-number-nine in early December!

Check In On Tut's FortiFlora Challenge #Chewy

Disclosure: Chewy sent a 30 day supply of FortiFlora to Lapdog Creations, free of charge, for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Teutul is just over half way through the FortiFlora challenge!

To refresh your memory, our friends at Chewy asked us to participate in a 30-day challenge with Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets FortiFlora. We began our challenge at the beginning of the month - ironically timed with Tut's pancreatitis diagnosis.

For the past few weeks, we have been adding a packet of FortiFlora to Tut's dinner every night. I'm not sure if he can taste the FortiFlora or not, but he happily gobbles up his food, then will spend at least an extra 30 seconds licking the bowl clean.

One of the things I love most about FortiFlora is the fact that it is so incredibly easy to use - whether you're at home or traveling. There are no pills to conceal in peanut butter, and no dosages to measure out. FortiFlora is conveniently packaged in single dose packets that you simply open up and sprinkle on your dog's food once a day.

Yes, it is as easy as that! 

Some Key Benefits of FortiFlora

• Helps reduce flatulence in dogs (and let me tell you - just after we received Tut's diagnosis of pancreatitis, he had the most awful gas ever! Not sure exactly what caused it, but I'm happy to report it's gone!)
• Contains guaranteed amounts of live active cultures
• Microencapsulated probiotics, which guarantees that they arrive alive in your pet's digestive tract
• Proven to promote intestinal health & balance
• Contains antioxidant vitamins E, C and beta-carotene which have been shown to support a strong immune system
• Tastes great and has excellent palatability (like I said, he loves it, so who am I to argue with this claim)
• Easy to feed - just sprinkle on your pet's food

In addition to incorporating FortiFlora into Tut's daily diet, we have also been working on a slow switch from a bland diet to a new low-fat kibble, which we will tell you all about in an upcoming post!

The verdict at the half-way point of our 30 day challenge: using FortiFlora on a daily basis has proven to be beneficial! Whether your dog has been diagnosed with digestive issues or not, this is a wonderful product to use regularly. The supplement has been proven to promote intestinal health and balance - a benefit to everyone!

Grab a box for your dog (or cat, as there is a Feline version available as well) at Chewy where 1-2 day shipping is always free on orders of $49 or more! Plus, you can set up an auto-ship of FortiFlora (and thousands of other items, including food and treats) and not only save time, but money as well!

Thank you again to our friends at Chewy for setting us up on this 30-day challenge!  We'll report back with our final thoughts in a couple of weeks.

30 Day FortiFlora Challenge with #Chewy + Teutul Update

Disclosure: Chewy sent a 30 day supply of FortiFlora to Lapdog Creations, free of charge, for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.

We were asked by our friends over at Chewy to participate in a 30-day challenge with Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets FortiFlora. As part of the challenge, will be doing three posts this month: an introduction, mid-way check in, and final thoughts.

FortiFlora, a probiotic supplement for dogs (they also make a cat version), promotes intestinal health and balance, as well as a healthy immune system.  

Purina® Pro Plan® Veterinary Diets FortiFlora® is a nutritional supplement for dogs and has been formulated to achieve the following characteristics:

• Contains guaranteed amounts of live active cultures
• Proven to promote intestinal health & balance
• Nutritional supplement for dietary management of dogs with diarrhea
• Helps reduce flatulence (gas) in dogs

I was familiar with FortiFlora before this challenge, as it was recommended by our vet many years ago. We use it with all of our dogs when they have tummy or digestive issues, so I tend to keep a box on hand at all times for quick access whenever an "issue" pops up.  However, we've never used it on an every day maintenance basis.  That is about to change...

One of the things I love most about FortiFlora is how easy it is to use.  You don't have to shove a pill down your dog's throat or worry about measuring out the proper dose.  FortiFlora is conveniently packaged in 30 individual packets.  You simply tear one open and sprinkle it in your dog's food once a day.  It's as simple as that.  You can add a little water or canned food and mix it up if you prefer.  In the past 12 years or so, I've never had a dog turn his or her nose up to it... so it must be pretty tasty! 

The timing of Chewy's challenge couldn't have been more perfect. 

Teutul had two unscheduled vet visits last week.  At the first, he was diagnosed with double ear infections (which seem to be clearing up quite nicely).  At the second, he was obviously feeling crappy from something else and on Thursday, we received the diagnosis. 

Teutul has pancreatitis. 

No, the ear infections were not related... just bad luck that my boy had to battle both at the same time. 

Teutul has been on a bland diet, antibiotics and daily doses of Pepcid, Cerenia, and FortiFlora.  Ironic?  Perhaps... but I suppose what better way to truly put FortiFlora to the test, right?

My boy's last bout of vomiting was on Thursday morning. He's gotten his appetite back and is not a fan of "small meals."  He spoke loud and clear about that issue when he did something he's never done before - he stole chicken bones from the trash! Never mind my stress over the pancreatitis... I was horrified, but thankfully I noticed his antics right away and was able to pull the bones out of his mouth (and only suffered one very minor wound in doing so). 

Last night was his last schedule dose of Cerenia and fingers are crossed we don't see any vomiting return.  We will continue a bland diet this week and then began to switch him over to a new, lower fat kibble. 

And, of course, we will be continuing to use FortiFlora every day! I look forward to reporting more mid-month. In the meantime, you can pick up a box of FortiFlora for your dog (or cat), or one of thousands of other fantastic items at Chewy!

Wordless Wednesday + Teutul Update

Happy rainy Hump Day.  Before we get wordless, I wanted to give a quick update on Tut.  He's had some more vomiting, still refuses to eat kibble, and just seems to be a little off.  Although you certainly wouldn't know it from this photo taken of him at the v-e-t just a couple hours ago.

Yes, we returned to the vet's office this morning and had to see yet another doctor, as both Dr. C and the vet we saw on Monday were off (and I show up with the happy, smiling "sick" dog). Fortunately, my vet's office has several great ladies who work there! Dr. B said they've been seeing a lot of GI issues lately and isn't quite sure if it's attributed to weather/allergies or what. She suggested we start with doing some blood work (including adding on the pancreatic test) and giving him subcutaneous fluids. While Tut seemed well hydrated on the outside, she suspected he likely had subclinical dehydration. My boy also got a famotidine injection and was sent home with an antibiotic. We'll be giving him FortiFlora once a day as well (which is rather perfect timing, as we're teaming up with our friends at Chewy to tell you more about this great probiotic in the month of October!). Fingers crossed the fluids do the trick of jump starting his GI track back to normal. Continued Power of the Paw requests, please...

And now, let's get wordless!

Happy National Coffee Day + Power of the Paw Request

Excuse our fly-by post today, but Tut is feeling under the weather and Mama literally has 101 things going on this week (you know what they say, when it rains, it pours).

Tut began shaking his ears on Saturday and upon inspection, both were full of icky goop.  Sophie is our usual ear-issue dog, so fortunately we have a nice prescription cleaner on hand which I used to clean his ears a few times over the weekend.  Yesterday morning it was clear they were still bothering him, so it was off to the vet last night (unfortunately Dr. C was on vacation, but we saw another great staff vet).  Turns out my boy has bacterial infections in both ears and I can only imagine how long this has been going on without him letting us know. 

On top of this, Tut had vomited on Saturday afternoon and has since been very skeptical about eating his usual kibble (Taste of the Wild, fish variety).  It's not like him to refuse any food (even when sick), so this was extremely odd.  But the vet didn't see any issues with his teeth and overall appearance, and since he had only vomited once, we decided to start treating his ear infections and see if he began to accept his usual food again.

Last night I tried soaking his kibble, and did something I really should not have.  I added in a couple packets of a dehydrated food we had on hand, some of our usual canned mix-in, and some of Sophie's kibble to see if that enticed Tut.  He ate quite a bit of it, but did his best to leave behind the kibble.  Then... he vomited this morning. 

I'm really hoping this time was my fault for throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him.  Boiled hamburger and rice will be on the menu tonight, and I have a call into the vet to see what her recommendation is.  I suspect we'll give it another day to wait and see, unless he obviously gets worse tonight.  I'm a bit fearful there may be an issue with his kibble, as they have had a recall in the past.  And, a local friend just informed me there is a dog virus going around our area.  Fantastic...

So, we could really use some Power of the Paw today in hopes that the vomiting ceases and there's nothing major going on.  And that his ear infections clear up fast because he really hates the ear medicine and cleaner. 

And, we wish everyone a Happy National Coffee Day!  I don't know about you, but I can't make it through my day without it.