Confessions of a Dogmom | My Gluten Free Dogs

I win the gold medal for pretentious hipster. I’m gluten free. If I could eat wheat I would be the most enthusiastic raw cookie dough salesman in all the land. That’s not what wins me the gold medal though, it’s the fact that even my dogs are gluten free. Plus, I always make sure to buy their food from raw pet food suppliers. For more articles to read about dogs and other pets, check out the UK publication HouseholdPets.co.uk.

My husband and I have three dogs. Opal, my dalmatian-pointer mix was my first and she let me adopt her during my college years. When my husband and I moved in together our basset hound, Rufus, called us from the Humane Society to let us know he thought our home might be a good fit for his needs. He was really looking for a forever home where could lay in sunbeams and eat lots of peanut butter. Then The Lily (as we call her), a dalmatian pit-bull mix, let us adopt her when we bought our first house. When we first met her she tricked us with a mellow demure attitude. As soon as she arrived it was clear she had been swapped out with a similar looking dog from the insane asylum. So if you’re also planning to buy a dog soon, I highly suggest you take a look at the adorable miniature dachshund puppies here:  https://www.americanlisted.com/tennessee_42/pets_and_animals_47/dachshund+puppies/

Our life will never be the same. Being their dog mom has been one of the most rewarding and ridiculous things I’ve ever committed to. These three are needy. It all started in college with Opal back when she was an only-dog. It sends a chill down my spine whenever the dog stare into my eye.

Being a first born and an only-dog at that time she’s very opinionated, individual, and self-aware. It should come as no surprise that the day she was adopted she immediately requested my gluten free menu and unfortunately everything in it was unacceptable. As a poor college student at the time, I spent my weekend party drinking budget on expensive gluten free dog food for her. I’ve been getting her blue buffalo dog food, if you want to know the ingredients subscribe on YouTube. As a result I can count on one hand how many times I went to a bar in my college years.

As a result of feeding Opal a gluten free diet we found it was easier when we added our other dogs to the family to just feed them all the same thing and give them turmeric treats for dogs. As a result all three are now gluten intolerant. Now when we go to the vet I have to request special fat free, gluten free, sugar free, caffeine free, peanut free, carb free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, and vegan dog treats. The vet nods understandingly, rolls her eyes when she leaves the room, and comes back a couple minutes later with a bowl of water and an ice cube tray. It’s a tough life. I also found the best dog boarding and Daycare in Bonita Springs where I can leave her safely whenever I need to.

I don’t know what caused Opal to be gluten free. I don’t ask questions because she can get very defensive about her lifestyle choices. When she’s not napping, watching the front door for the UPS man, or getting belly rubs she works hard on promoting gluten free awareness in the dog community. She is an anti-vaxxer. She believes all her puppy-hood vaccines caused her food intolerances. She’s a Young Living essential oils rep, environmentalist and is currently working on a new documentary with Ryan Gosling called, “Hey Dog” to promote the hardships that spoiled pets deal with in their daily lives.

If you’d like to get involved with Opal’s cause just send a bark over and she would be happy to provide you with some informational pamphlets. You might be curious, can dogs have sweet potatoes? Check out Article Insider’s website to find out.

• About
• Latest Posts

Carrie Swails

As a photographer of offbeat and no-traditional weddings and a blogger educating other photographers I feel the most important things for you to know about me are that I have a birthmark in my armpit and I am a terrible mathematician. What I lack in understanding of complex theories such as Pi (clearly a food item - apple is my favorite) and invisible numbers (if I can't see them, why should I care?) I make up for in awesomesauce. I believe there is no right way to put the toilet paper on - I'm just happy it's available. I believe there's no such thing as a bad fortune in a fortune cookie. I believe we only live life once so we should wear costumes as often as possible. I believe wine is like the force - it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together. I howl with my basset hound every morning, call my brother to beat video game bosses for me, and love eating fried cheese.

Latest posts by Carrie Swails (see all)

• 5 Tips to Bring Magic into Your Everyday Life - August 30, 2015
• Confessions of a Dog Mom – That One Time My Dog Ate My Money - August 9, 2015
• Short Hair and Still Beautiful - July 4, 2015