This is a sponsored review by BlogHer and Purina.
Every morning, some days even before the sun has fully risen, I take a walk down our dirt road with Max and Belle, my "puppies".
We have few neighbors, and virtually no traffic, situated as we are on 5 1/2 acres a mile from a highway, so no leashes are involved. Max and Belle are free to follow their noses into the woods, chasing rabbits or deer or their imaginations at times, but they never venture far, always returning within a few minutes.
When I stop to take photo after photo of a tiny flower beside the road, or a butterfly, or a beam of sunlight, they often just sit on their haunches, waiting patiently for me to stop clicking and continue walking.
Back at the house, I relax in my rocking chair on the back deck while they eat.
I love this quiet time in the morning, just the three of us. What a wonderful way to start a day!
Max, our German Shepherd/Great Dane (we think) mix, is actually a 7 year old. He's only mentally a puppy. A huge dog, he's physically approaching 'old man' status, suffering from arthritis which is exacerbated by elbow dysplasia, diagnosed when he was just a puppy; he has been on a special, prescription diet plus supplements ever since.
Belle, now just over a year old, is actually Max's puppy, not ours. When our old yellow Lab, Charly, died last year, we swore we weren't getting any more dogs. But Max was so lonely. It depressed us just to look at him, he was so despondent! Oh, those big brown, sad eyes!
What else could we do but re-consider the puppy question?
Belle, a Rottweiler mix, was a wanderer, as well, only she wandered up to a home four hours away from us. We found out about her through our college age daughter's network of friends. After taking a look at a photograph, and talking to the foster mom who couldn't afford to keep Belle herself because of the extensive menagerie she already cared for on a single income, we caved in and drove two hours to meet the woman and take Belle as our own.
We knew right away it was the right decision. Max loves her. She adores him.
I love happy stories.
And now we've celebrated her first birthday and the first anniversary of her homecoming. She's grown into a beautiful, energetic little tomboy, too old for puppy chow.
We've tried several types of adult dog food, but she hasn't been that keen on any of them. And it seems every one we've tried doesn't sit well on her tummy, either. To put it bluntly, she farts a lot!
So when BlogHer contacted me about being part of the Purina Pro Plan Selects review program, I jumped on the chance. It's a higher end dog food and I appreciated the chance to try it out for free, in case she didn't like it or she was still gassy.
I have to admit, my first impression with the food wasn't that great. Well, actually it just had to do with the packaging. Most of the food I've bought lately has a ziplock closure on the bag to keep it fresh (and keep insects out!); Pro Plan Selects doesn't. Or at least, the bag I received didn't.
Next, I had to find a magnifying glass so I could read the feeding instructions with my 52-year-old eyes. Tons of other marketing info cover the bag - a 33 pound bag - BIG! but the instructions are teeny tiny, way down at the very bottom on the back.
To read it, I either had to crouch down on the floor or lift the bag up on top of the washing machine. I decided to lift.
Mistake.
I had already opened the bag (silly me!), and while I reached for the magnifying glass, the bag tipped and spilled quite a bit of food on the ground ... behind the refrigerator ... under the wire shelves...
Thank goodness I heard it start to fall and righted it before it tipped all the way over.
Not a good start to my morning.
But now, after using the food for two weeks, those are the only complaints I can think of: no ziplock closure and feeding instructions in microscopic lettering.
And obviously ziplock closures don't equal quality food.
Because by day 2, we noticed Belle was more energetic than usual. Now, she was already a high energy dog (we suspect she's got at least a little bit of Jack Russell in her blood), but after just one day on Purina Pro Plan Selects, my husband and I both noticed a difference. She was practically flying down the road on our walks!
She still zonked out for her naps and slept soundly at night; I think she just felt better overall. And best of all, no more gas!
There are no artificial ingredients in Purina Pro Plan Selects and no corn, soy or other fillers. I can pronounce and even identify most of the ingredients. Beef is number one. Until now, I didn't realize what a difference that made in dog food. It will go a long way in convincing me to continue feeding it to Belle, despite the higher cost and inconvenience of having to purchase it in specialty pet stores.
Now I'll get to the fun part...
You have a chance to win $100 Visa gift card, thanks to Purina and BlogHer, by telling me in the comments section below about a special moment you share with your dog or dogs each day. The giveaway dates are May 2nd through May 31st.
Here are the official Rules (important to read, plus you find out how to get more chances to win!)
Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post. (Be sure and include your email address so you can be contacted!)
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
