This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of IAMS™ for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
I’ll be perfectly honest with you. When I signed Ernie up for the IAMS™ Visible Differences challenge I was skeptical.
I can’t help it. I’m just built that way.
But I signed us up anyway. Because the health and wellness of our furriest family member is a top priority.
The first round of skepticism crept in when I picked up my first bag of IAMS™ quality dog food. I worried Ernie wouldn’t play along from the get go. We had a bit of a Mexican stand-off when we first brought him home from the shelter. Ernie’s a fussy puppy and he adamantly refused to eat the chow we put out for him. Two days into his hunger strike, we broke down and bought a different brand. So you can imagine my surprise when he took to the IAMS™ food right away.
Take that, skeptical Linda.
But my true skepticism was related the three visible differences IAMS™ promised.
Let’s start with the first: his appearance.
Now, Ernie’s a handsome dude. And I’m not just saying that. People have actually stopped me in the street to compliment his good looks. But I have to admit, his coat does look shinier. Sleeker. And his fur is much softer and more pet-able. That is, when he deems it okay to give him a pet. He’s a bit of a prima dona when it comes to pets.
Ernie shaking off a pet.
Take that, skeptical Linda.
The next IAMS visible difference is … well … his output. You know, the stuff I have to bend down and pick up with a plastic bag. Because Ernie’s a city dog and it’s the law …
No, I won’t show you what it looks like. But I will show you where we dispose of it: the trash cans in the alley.
… and the right and neighborly thing to do. 🙂
The difference here is not only visible, it’s smell-able too. I know, eew. All I’ll say is this less-than-pleasant task has been a little less unpleasant since the IAMS™ switch. And easier to pick up too. Enough said.
Take that again, skeptical Linda.
The final visible difference is energy level. And this has been the biggest change of all. In the first month, he reverted to his stealing sock puppy ways. In the second month, he got a daily burst of crazy pup energy that found him running circles around the dining room table.
And in the third month? Well, in the third month he started doing something he hasn’t done sine before his double knee surgeries last year: jumping up on our bed.
Needless to say, baby gates are in use again. Mostly because I worry his jumping on and off the bed will lead to future knee problems and (gulp) more expensive surgeries.
Take that again and again, skeptical Linda.
Now I would love to show you an action shot of Ernie jumping and running. But (again) we worry about stress on his knees. So you’ll just have to settle for his favorite activity of the day: Taking a walk with dad …
Thanks IAMS™ for putting the puppy back in our pup … and for showing this skeptic up. 🙂
I love that video! I am going to get another dog when I retire, I think. Ernie is a great looking guy!
Funny how dogs can be. I have 5. Three of these are rescue dogs. My dogs will not eat Iams. Would starve to death. I tried it 2 times because our vet told us it was good. He told us to try the Purina One brand then. So we did. All of them love it and look great. Also like you said, the ‘out put’ is different. I also find it on sale at Target very often, last time even got a gift card for buying it.
Dog foods are so different, it’s hard to know which one will be “right” for your fur baby. We gave Tommy Purina dog chow for long time til recently. He’s 7 now and was bit too chubby so we got him the light and healthy Purina. He seems to love it and don’t see him eating grass as much but still does some. I would love to give him Purina One but hubs won’t spring for it, I’m not going to pay for his dog food also. Our vet seems to think he’s pretty healthy so will watch to see how he does.
What makes a dog eat one food and not the other? Hard to say. Glad Ernie is eating Iams and his health has improved. Tommy is country dog so gets plenty of exercise chasing cars along fence. Believe me nobody would want to be in his way when he starts to run, he’s one power house that would knock over whatever is in his way, 75lbs of muscle. when we walk him have to put harness on him or he’ll drag us all over.
Ernie is quite a handsome fella. How old is he? How long have you had him? Is your whole family devoted to his happiness by spoiling him rotten? Tommy has two faithful slaves, hubs and I. He loves his chickens too. Those are his girls. If our cat even looks at them cross eyed Tommy is right there to let him know not to even get close. Border collies (part of what Tommy is) are herders and he sure is one.
Brutus (named by previous owner) loves everybody, including his grand dog parents and Tommy. He loves being mushed over.and held. We had him for few days this summer and spoiled him shamelessly. Our son in law let us know right away what he thought about Brutie crying over missing us. Too bad buddy. Isn’t that what grand dog parents are for?
Getting ready for Thanksgiving? Looks like we’ll be spending it alone but that’s ok, it’s peaceful and easy that way. Daughter said they like to hang out in jammies all day, eat when they want, what they want, no big. Hey I spent many a holiday on my own in MT when hubs on road so that’s life. You get used to what you have to in life. I would craft, watch tv, read and the day passed as any others.
Hope your Thanksgiving is best of all you’ve had. Happy weekend
Who can tell about dogs? I think sometimes even the vet wonders.. Our Bassett hound, a rescue, weighs 80 pounds. She thinks when we are at the vet’s office all she has to do is turn her face to the corner and then Dr. B can not see her any more and will not be sticking that probe in her butt to take her temp. She is so funny. Her name is Belle and she is just beautiful. I really don’t know for sure how old she is. We have had her 9 years. She was full grown when we took her in. Some people had brought her as a Christmas gift for a little girl. Belle grew so big she would accidently knock the little girl over. So she was offered to us as it is known around our area that we are ‘dog people’ and will take a stray.
One dog, I risked my very life to save. She was running loose on IH 35. The biggest, baddest highway in Austin TX. I jumped out of our van and gave chase till I caught her. Not an easy feat. My mother was with us at the time. When I caught her and got into the van my mother said “you have got to name that dog Lucky, she is the most lucky dog alive” so we have Lucky. Only God knows what Lucky is. She is little, about 8 pounds. We have had her 9 years too. She is still afraid of people. She acts like we are not in the room. Funny, but the only time she has anything to do with us is meal time. Don’t be late with her dinner.