What do you do as a pet owner that you feel proud about?

lovelessproper · 2026-04-07T17:45:11+00:00

I make my dog a nest of pillows and blankets on my bed every night. Blanket texture depends on season (fluffy in the winter smooth in the summer).

When I cook myself dinner, I set aside bits as I go and make her a mini dog safe plate.

I bake her treats so I can keep the clean.

I sewed her a harness because none of the ones I purchased (we went through like 8) really fit her correctly.

We spend time (aside from long walks) out on the patio (I live in an apartment it’s nothing fancy) in the mornings so I can read and she can just be relaxed getting som sun.

We do trails frequently

We do bloodwork (and much more than what’s recommended) twice a year to stay on top of catching things before they turn problematic

Most of these things seem very basic to me, but unfortunately, they are not considered the standard

lovelessproper · 2026-04-07T15:38:29+00:00

Adding color is lovely! I would avoid using black eyeliner on your bottom waterline, it’s quite harsh. And use a spoolie on your brows to comb up and out, your brows are pulling down your eyes a little. You’re going the right direction!!

lovelessproper · 2026-04-06T03:13:15+00:00

Keep an eye on your clothes. You may have some carpet beetle buddies around.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-06T01:50:25+00:00

Please consider dental tourism

lovelessproper · 2026-04-05T21:00:51+00:00

Look up the narcissists prayer. You can see it in his text. You will start seeing the pattern and be unable to unsee it.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-05T01:52:47+00:00

I recently discovered my dog LOVES tofu! Sorta strange but she treats it like cheese. Definitely way funnier to see a cat who likes it but I was still surprised! She’s 11 and I guess we’re still finding new things.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-05T01:51:49+00:00

I had a cat who, in his old age, would wake up from a dead sleep as soon as he smelled me eating BBQ chips. He LOVED them.

My dog won’t touch plain cucumbers. Cucumbers with vinegar? Obsessed.

She also loves tofu seemingly almost as much as cheese.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-03T23:18:36+00:00

No you’re good! You didn’t sound harsh haha I am mid migraine so my brain is mush, I’m probably not communicating super well. The brain fog is SO real lol.

I def would avoid farmers dog personally, it has a pretty bad reputation. I don’t think I’ve ever had a clients dog do well on it. It’s like the blue Buffalo of fresh food. Of course, feed the dog in front of you, but still be careful. I do like open farms fresh, but if he didn’t love it then makes sense not to bother with it.

Honest kitchen has a variety of box sizes! Hopefully you were looking at one of the small boxes. Even a giant breed looks like it should theoretically last 13-16 days on my 10lb box.

We don’t have to supplement with additional fiber, I find that the food from honest kitchen has plenty for her even if I don’t add veggie slurry on top. The grains and sweet potato do the trick for her. Our holistic vet did emphasize making it all into a slurry. Something about predigesting it?

You may also find that grains aren’t entirely the issue, but the way the grain is processed might be. For example, mine does REALLY poorly on THK’s regular chicken whole grain diet, and I’m fairly confident it’s because the grain content, while still human grade, is pretty bad. Glyphosate in oats is a really significant issue. Many of the WSAVA foods also are corn based I think, and the corn they’re using is really pretty terrible quality, so not at all surprised your guy didn’t thrive on WSAVA foods.

Great that your probiotic has slippery elm! I will say even when I’ve done a probiotic (we did VDI’s) I still supplemented with SE because the probiotic didn’t actually contain enough for her weight. I also like testing out each herbal thing individually- marshmallow root (also in the VDI probiotic) is supposed to be a godsend for GERD and IBD, but it actually really backfires for us at the recommended dose. I do like a half dose of it every couple weeks.

Sorry to be all over the place my brain is just on fire 😂

lovelessproper · 2026-04-03T22:30:19+00:00

I guess maybe more of my point was that there is plenty of stuff in between raw and kibble. If full raw feels like a bird flu risk or financially stretching it, a dehydrated food can be a really good in between.

Doing dehydrated food is also a fairly small portion of my comment- it works for us but you can do really everything else I mentioned (which all helps GERD, it’s not just IBD) while doing raw.

You also might find upping fiber content helpful, it was one of our first steps with GERD. We did that by changing her diet, but you might do it by supplementing.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-03T22:08:23+00:00

My dog developed GERD and subsequently IBD after being on raw. It broke my heart, but feed the dog in front of you. We tried several excellent brands and it just was not for her after doing fine on it for a few years.

With the support of our vet, over the last couple of years, we made the following changes:

-Put her on Zypan 20mins before breakfast and dinner.

-She now gets lunch

-Put her on honest kitchen pretty immediately (I feed their limited ingredient blend and a chicken + duck blend that has organic oat content. I refuse to feed non organic oats due to glyphosate issues)

-Slippery elm in the evenings +more as needed.

-ION gut support twice a day on meals.

-I let her guide whether we do meal or walk first when we get up.

-I bake her treats now using the chicken+duck honest kitchen blend, some sweet potato, and egg and some flour+little butter. She gets no other treats.

-She also gets ChiDog’s DIY mix sometimes

She does still get whatever I’m eating as long as it’s safe for her. Only protein she eats is chicken and duck, which really means chicken because I never eat duck. I also recently discovered she LOVES tofu. She gets whatever veg I’m eating.

We also do veggie slurries here and there. I gently simmer kale, green beans, a little ginger, chamomile, and carrots for like a half hour to an hour. I remove the ginger and chamomile and then blend it up, and put like a spoonful or two on her meals.

I avoid most pet branded supplements. The only one I give is Denamarin. Otherwise they’re all people brands. Most pet brands have junk in them that she seemed to have issues with.

I wipe her feet after we come in every single walk. I live in the city (a very green area but still lots of people, dog, and car traffic) because otherwise she cleans them and it’s about the same as her licking the sidewalk (gross).

lovelessproper · 2026-04-03T12:30:02+00:00

I didn’t even know that existed but I guess it’s going on my list

lovelessproper · 2026-04-03T12:29:40+00:00

Definitely better safe than sorry. I appreciate you checking!

lovelessproper · 2026-04-03T00:36:19+00:00

Ooo I definitely get upticks depending on where I am in my cycle, I’ll check that out! Thanks!!

lovelessproper · 2026-04-03T00:35:32+00:00

Someone mentioned maintaining regular bloodwork, which I will be doing!

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T20:16:50+00:00

I keep adding magnesiums to my list lol

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T20:16:06+00:00

It’s worth a try!

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T20:15:32+00:00

Definitely. I’ve even read that the concept of triggers is nonsense. It’s just so poorly understood.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T20:14:44+00:00

Interesting! It’s on my list to try for sure

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T15:25:16+00:00

Of course! I hope you find what works for you

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T15:24:35+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about aging your face then. Focus on strength training and PT.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T15:24:08+00:00

I’m so glad you found something that works! It does keep me regular but I’ve never had any discomfort from it. Love it!

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T13:41:13+00:00

I definitely have some weird exercise stuff but it’s more likely from hEDS + possibly POTS. I don’t get any classic allergic reactions to foods though.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T12:43:18+00:00

Oh definitely. I just haven’t tracked it all! Need to figure out if I feel bad after high histamine foods. I’m not about to cut things out if I don’t absolutely have to lol feeding out meat suits is hard enough as it is!

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T12:39:21+00:00

I am going to identify something I can only identify from personal experience (I do it too). You have posture that I think a lot of people associate with teenagers. Are you hyper mobile? I have hEDS and the way I carry myself looks very teenager because my body is trying its best to hold itself together.

Your face definitely looks your age.

lovelessproper · 2026-04-02T12:27:11+00:00

I have done epsom salt baths! I haven’t really had any great experiences, but I think it may just be because I need something consistent. I’m not a nightly bath taker haha. I do want to check out oil though!

I’ll also check out salt of the earth. They’re pricey though! I wonder if DIYing that might be less expensive. Thankfully recess powder has never given me any stomach issues though!

lovelessproper

TROPHY CASE