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Aon’s Happy Tales: Bailey_japspitz

It goes without saying that a pawrent’s biggest wish is to provide a healthy and comfortable life for their fur kid. It can be difficult at times, but to Joanne, pawmom to her two-years-old Japanese Spitz Bailey, it’s all worth it!

Working as a real estate agent, Joanne’s flexible working schedule allows her to spend more time with her loved ones, especially Bailey.

Forever floofy

Japanese Spitz are known to be energetic fur balls who are faithful, affectionate, and well-behaved — with Bailey checking all the boxes. Bailey can always be seen with a smile on his face. He is super friendly with other dogs and even strangers!

And that’s not all! Bailey is also the master of peace; small baby hoomans could be picking at him, and smaller fur friends could be barking incessantly in his face, and he will remain unfazed, waiting patiently for his hoomans to save him.

Another interesting fact about Bailey is that he treasures cleanliness the most! He does not dirty the house even with the worst tummy aches, “the sweetest boy,” says pawmom Joanne.

“Can we eat now?”

The perfect Spitz

Joanne had been searching for a new dog from Australian and New Zealand breeders for a long time, but it took a pause when her previous dog of 14 years had passed on. 8 years later, with the intention of getting a new fur kid, Joanne was recommended by fellow dog owners to search for breeders under Dogz Online.

One of the breeders reached out, with the intention of rehoming seven-month-old Bailey within New Zealand, and with much assurance and convincing, Bailey eventually became the breeder’s first and only export out of New Zealand!

Bailey came from a niche kennel in South New Zealand that breeds Japanese Spitz to perfection mainly for dog shows. The breeders do it out of passion, with the aim of achieving pristine breed standards — not for mass breeding and sale.

As Bailey has a lower confidence level and a larger build that exceeds maximum entry size, he was put for adoption. But, he still makes a perfect house pet!

Bailey wandering around dreamland.

Preparations for the future

Japanese Spitz are known to be prone to Luxating Patella. However, by choosing to import Bailey from an ethical breeder, it allows Joanne to be at ease knowing Bailey was bred to perfection in terms of looks and health. That’s why it was important to Joanne not to get a new dog from backyard breeders.

“Dogs are paired ethically to avoid health issues inherent to the breed as much as possible,” added Joanne.

That said, the best preparation for the worst is always assurance. As a pawrent to a silky terrier before Bailey, Joanne had to spend a bomb to fly in a specialist that manages canine cataracts. In times of emergencies, she hopes to reduce her worry about medical bills and focus more on Bailey’s recovery.

Joanne was introduced to Aon Happy Tails through a recommendation from other pet owners. With a couple Google searches and reviews, Joanna was enticed by their comprehensive coverage and benefits

“We are on the Furball plan because my take is to either do it or not do it. Once decided and committed to do so, then it is nothing short of the best within the category!”

Bailey looks trendy as ever.

*Bonus Content*

If Bailey could speak hooman for 7 days, what would you say to him, or do with him?

“If Bailey could speak hooman for 7 days… then he better use that 7 days to tell us all his likes and dislikes across all categories that will affect his life!”

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Community Stories

All About Spitzes – Diet

Continuing on our series of Stories From The Community: All About Spitzes, this second article will be discussing the topic of diets – what are common foods they avoid as well as recommendations by our very own Spitz owners.

This article will feature the experiences & insights from the hoomans of Orithespitz, legendthespitz and hweeventures!

Q: What diet are your Spitzes on?

H: Hwee is currently on a 50% HCF & 50% Kibbles diet. She used to be really picky with her Kibbles so we introduced HCF to encourage her to eat more.

O: Ori is on an 80% HCF & 20% Kibbles. 

L: Legend is also currently on an 80% HCF & 20% Kibbles.

Q: Is there anything you avoid feeding them? Alternatively, what do you encourage them to eat?

H: We are very cautious and picky with what we feed Hwee. She is allergic to chicken so we naturally avoid that though it was pretty hard to find kibbles with no chicken by-products. Moreover, due to her previous pancreatitis flare up, we now have to keep her on a low fat diet. 

Hwee’s meals always consist of a good balance of lean meat/fish & veggies! We were advised to keep her meals within 20% of fat content, so we will always calculate the fat percentage for each of her meals. To keep the range within 20%, we will request for lean cuts from the butcher when preparing her meals. 

O: Ori is not picky or allergic to anything so I generally let him eat anything. But I avoid lamb because I don’t like the gamey smell. I’m also watchful of the amount of treats he eats, I definitely try to ensure he doesn’t eat too much.

L: We will avoid beef because Legend started to develop brown patches after we fed him canned beef in the past. We suspect it’s due to an allergic reaction. 

We would add salmon to his meals as it is a good source of protein and it helps to keep his skin healthy & shiny. We also feed him pumpkin as pumpkin helps to boost his immune system. On top of that, we try our best to incorporate fruits and veg into this diet. 

Q: Is there anything in particular that Spitzes should eat?

H: For Spitzes, coat care is very important so adding fur & coat supplements like fish oiI and coconut oil helps a lot with that!

And since they’re double coated, the Singapore weather may be too humid for them. Often, it leads to itching, scratching & hot spots! So I firmly believe in skin and coat supplements to help maintain a healthy coat condition. 

O: I would also recommend supplements for coat care. I usually add coconut oil, fish oil and other similar supplements to Ori’s diet whenever necessary. 

L: Spitz are prone to luxating patellas so it’s important to take preventive measures. We feed Legend Arthrix Plus as a joint supplement, Augustine Superboost, fish collagen and salmon oil supplements. Salmon oil helps with shedding and also promotes a shiny and healthy coat. This is especially good for them since they are a double coated breed.

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THE WOOF AGENCY would like to thank Orithespitz, legendthespitz and hweeventures for sharing about their experiences!

Stay tuned to next Stories from the Community, where we talk to owners of long-back dogs to learn more about how to care for them!