Paw wax keeps dogs from slipping If your dog has trouble staying upright on those slippery floors (you know, the floors at PetSmart and PetCo, and those floors you just waxed), consider treating those paws with some Paw Wax. I found it at Petsmart (Petco didn't carry it) and raced home to try it on my dog (who cannot afford to slip, because with two total hip replacements, he needs a break from illness). And yes, it works. It looks just like shoe polish, and you apply it pretty much like shoe polish: clean the paw and put a little dab on the foot, and rub it in gently. My dog enjoyed his paw massage while I noticed that his paws were rough little pads, all dried out and uneven. At about $8 a small tin, it seems expensive; but consider the expense of an injury: x-rays can cost hundreds of dollars. 

When we shopped at Trader Joe's, on a lark, I bought some "organic" dog food: Bench & Field Holistic Natural Canine Formula  which contains some interesting ingredients. I didn't expect my dog to like it, but he loved it. He wolfed it down. At 15% fat and 24% protein, it may be too rich for our dog. He packs on weight when he doesn't get low-fat dog food. The ingredients include organic chicken: Certified by national Organic Formers Association, sun-cured alfalfa, organically grown dandelion leaves & kelp, peas, carrots, sweet potato, cranberries, blueberrires & apples, Omega 6 & omega 3 from menhaden oil, flaxseed & chicken fat, Glucosamine, Beta-Carotene, & the 3 Primary Antioxidants (Vitamins A, C & E) Oatmeal & Chicory Extract. 

100 words dot net Fun: a site which values the usage of words and challenges its writers to submit 100 word stories for a solid month. Can you do it? The site is searchable by key word, so a search of over 10,000 entries (edited by Jeff Koyen) brought up a diverse sampling of dog stories:

"I knew Skippy was going to die. I was playing with my friend Brooks in the alley by his house, and his dog, Skippy, a large brown Dachshund, as I recall, and was in the driveway. Brooks’s tall blonde mom came home, driving their yellow station wagon, and a few seconds before she pulled into the driveway, I saw the inevitable in my mind’s eye. A yelp, the car’s sudden lurch to a stop, Mrs. D. jumping out of the car. “Skippy!” She knelt by the front tire, cradling the dead dog in her arms. I couldn’t even warn her..." [Lindel on April 22, 2002 100words.net]