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Our very first guest writer on briopets is Cassandra, a distinguished guide dog handler with her trusty companion - Elke the Global Guide Dog. Elke arrived in Singapore back in 2019 after graduating from guide dog school in Australia. Before returning to Singapore, Cassandra was informed of Elke’s allergies to chicken & common meat sources.
Read on as Cassandra shares how bosch dog food helps to ease Elke’s food intolerances despite being made of chicken (the very ingredient Elke is allergic to).
My current Guide Dog Elke, and previously #EsmeTheRetiredGuideDog are Citizens of briopets, and have been on bosch’s dry dog food for a long, long time.
Many people have looked at me strangely when they hear I’ve put Elke, a young dog of 4 years old on dry dog food for elderly dogs, but I’m confident of what bosch HPC Senior can do for my precious furbaby who also happens to play the role of my eyes as I’m blind.
Just before I received Elke, I was advised by her guide dog school in Australia that Elke has allergies, and that there are many types of protein including chicken and all the common meat sources in dog food that will trigger an allergic reaction. I was advised to keep Elke on a strict novel protein diet. However, after talking to briopets, and consulting bosch’s vet in Germany, I was assured that we will be able to manage Elke’s allergies.
Upon returning to Singapore, I put Elke on bosch Plus Ostrich & Potato, and then the HPC Fish & Potato as these are the novel and most hypoallergenic options of protein in dry dog food.
Elke enjoyed both the types of bosch dry food, but what was I expecting? Anyone that has a Labrador knows that their actual breed is that of a vacuum cleaner and will eat almost anything. But there was a problem not a pleasant one at all; very often Elke had runny poop or slimy mucus in her poop. Her vet prescribed pre and probiotics but nothing changed over the year.
As my previous guide dog Esme was on bosch LPC age & weight for almost all her life, I thought we could give it a shot to see if it will help poor Elke and her allergies and sensitive tummy. Alas, murphy’s law prevails and there was a shortage of that particular food in Singapore, so I went for the next closest thing; bosch HPC Senior without being very hopeful. This was at the start of 2020, when COVID-19 was starting to sweep across the world, Singapore’s circuit breaker period and the uncertainty of global shipment. Who would have thought that the delivery restrictions for pet products turned out to be our saviour. I’m shy to admit that I hoarded dry dog food! In April I had almost 60kg of bosch HPC Senior sitting in my storeroom!
Low and behold, by phase 2 in June, Elke’s runny, slimy, jelly poop was gone! I know it sounds gross, but any respectable dog owner will rejoice in firm, hard dog poop that is easy to pick up, and does not leave traces where it should not be! The added benefit of “stabilising intestinal flora and immune defences” in bosch’s HPC Senior really worked magic for Elke’s tummy.
Whilst bosch HPC Senior is recommended for older dogs as it works to delay the ageing process by protecting your dog’s cells against metabolic degradation that occurs with age, the reduced calories also help to maintain Elke’s weight at an optimal level without compromising her energy levels which she needs as a working dog.
The most unbelievable part is that this particular dry dog food is actually made of chicken! What Elke is supposed to be allergic to! And Elke had no allergy flare-up, no red itchy skin, no scratching, upset tummy …. What so ever. I can’t say the same when she sneakily picked up a discarded chicken bone the other day on the grass …. I could hear her scratching away for the next day or two. Don’t ask me the science behind it, but all I can say is bosch “makes really good dog food”. It is not a sales gimmick or a fancy jingle. For Elke and her allergies, bosch is the real deal!
Thank you briopets for bringing such an amazing range of quality dry dog food to our little red dot. If you’re reading this, and are considering a different dog food that will enhance your dog’s health, ease their allergies, manage their weight, delay their bodies from ageing quickly, give bosch HPC Senior a shot. My guide dog Elke and I give it 2 paws up!
Find Cassandra & Elke’s Social Media here-
