Winter is gone and spring is here. The arrival of the warm weather also marks the beginning of an annual tradition at our house that we call Shedapalooza. It’s the time of year when Tug loses his hair faster than the Detroit Lions lost football games last year. (For those with short memories, the Lions were the first-ever NFL team to finish the season 0-16.)

It is absolutely “mind bottling,” to quote Chazz Michael Michaels, to try to grasp how much fur this long-haired St. Bernard has and doesn’t have on his body. Tug gets brushed pretty regularly, but this time of year is absolutely amazing to watch –and endure. The floor gets vacuumed twice daily, and the collection canister on the vacuumed gets emptied twice per cycle. It also should be noted that vacuum cleaners meet their demise at my house this time of year. And no matter how much of an accomplishment I feel after taking the vacuum for a spin around the fur field, the feeling is always quickly unraveled as I plop down on the couch and watch a Tuggleweed (think great big ball of fur) casually rolls across the floor to spawn yet another crop of vacuum busters.

The ultimate encore of Shedapalooza is when Tug stops in the middle of the room, and in slow motion—really slow motion, just like the movie Beethoven—Tug steadies himself and begins one of his earth-rattling shakes that sends fur and drool flying from floor to ceiling in every direction imaginable. I call this “little” maneuver the Tugnado. It’s eye watering on so many levels. It’s all I can do put myself between him and the 60-inch TV. I will sacrifice my body for the TV—especially with the NCAA Tournament underway right now.

This year’s Shedapalooza may have a different ending. This week, which seems to be the height of the season, I took Tug to our local groomer. I expected them to give him a good bath and spend a lot of time brushing out his undercoat, which they did. They also bathed him what I can only call some sort of Wonder Tonic. They bathed him twice with a couple of cycles of FURminator. It’s really called that, no kidding. It is pretty amazing stuff, and has practically eliminated the need for vacuuming since his trip to the groomer three days ago. And no Tugnadoes yet this year! Though they are sort of special, I don’t think I’ll be heartbroken if I don’t get to witness one this year.

The reduced shedding combined with the Merrick Elements diet, Tug is enjoying his best spring ever as an adult. He is more active and playful—almost puppy-like—since he started eating Merrick dog food. The Elements additives also seem to be having a significant influence on his joints and breath. The breath is the most obvious improvement. I don’t flinch or wince when he wants to get face-to-face with me. The improvements on his joints, though, have been really noticeable. Tug seems more spryly and playful and is engaging other dogs in play rather than other dogs trying to engage him.

Tug Merrick dog food, Merrick Elements, Tug

Tug and I opened a bag of Merrick Elements Turducken yesterday.  So far so good, except Tug now has a preference for Grammy’s Homestyle Chicken Gravy. Check out the review, and the Grammy’s Pot Pie review here. We also sampled the 32-inch Mondo Stix, a natural beef tendon treat from Merrick. Tug disappeared into another room in the house for about an hour-and-a-half and didn’t come out until the Mondo Stix was gone. I think he liked it. Be sure to let us know if your dog has tried any of Merrick’s 5-Star Entrees or other produts.

Be sure to follow Tug’s adventures on Twitter. You can click on the Twitter widget to the right or go here. More pictures soon.

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Tug and I have been watching ESPN and the NFL Network most of the day staying abreast of the news coming from Tampa. We’re gearing up for the big day, though Tug may be disappointed when he discovers the Super Bowl is not his food dish filled with Merrick Elements Cowboy Cookout or Turducken and is instead a football game. I reckon I’ll cross that bridge on Sunday.

Don’t get me wrong. Tug is indeed a football fan. His mouth is too large for a tennis ball–he has been know to hide one in each jowl and a third somewhere in between–so we play fetch with a football.  It’s actually more like Tug plays “Bo Jackson” to my “Brian Bosworth” when he has the ball. When I have it, it’s more or less the same result, except Tug resembles Troy Polamalu of the Steelers. For a big dog he is quick and nimble, though to see him in action is a lot like waiting for an eclipse.

Come Super Bowl Sunday, we’ll fire up the grill, watch the pre-game shows (which if you’ve been watching ESPN, they’ve already started), and settle in to watch the Cardinals take on the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. No matter the outcome, history will be made Sunday. Pittsburgh will win an unprecedented sixth Lombardi Trophy or Arizona will end the second largest championship drought in professional sports. Sorry Cubs. Neither Tug nor I have a dog in the fight since we both root for teams in the NFC East. Like everyone else though, we hope to enjoy a great game and awesome commercials.  Our pick is Arizona to win the game, 31-17.

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