Somehow I managed to completely miss talking about Axel’s sieger show in September. We had a few bad technology moments right around the show date, so there wasn’t much blogging in early September in general. I also wanted to post a photo from the show, as well as talk about his critique. But I still haven’t seen any show photos, and I really wanted to post the photo along with the critique so everything makes more sense.

So what does Axel’s show have to do with the pumpkin shortage? If you have a dog like Axel that is prone to occasional dietary indiscretions, or one like Freya with a mild case of IBS, the pumpkin shortage was a bad thing indeed. Canned pumpkin is one of the best remedies for either diarrhea or constipation in dogs. I know that sounds strange, but it has to do with the fiber in pumpkin helping to regulate things in either direction. And it should go without saying that if you are unsure of the cause, a visit or at least a call to the vet is still the best course of action. If, like us, you can attribute any unpleasant output to overindulgence or a known condition, canned pumpkin is your dog’s good friend.

Even though it was apparently well-covered in the media, I somehow missed the fact that there was a canned pumpkin shortage. So a few days before Axel was to leave for his show, he was suffering from a minor digestive upset, and I went to buy some pumpkin. I went to three different stores and at the last one there was a sign mentioning the shortage and that they expected to have pumpkin back in stock in about a month. Whoa. That would be an eternity when your dog is exploding. Fortunately it was a very mild upset, and one skipped meal and one bland meal got things back on track in time for trouble-free traveling.

So when canned pumpkin returned to the stores last month, I got a couple of big cans. And by most accounts, the shortage is now over. Then I saw yet another source, where CNN was reporting as late as October 24 that the pumpkin shortage was not in fact over.

I don’t really care about pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving or any other time. But I do want to make sure my dogs’ butts are covered. Today, it was Freya’s turn to need some pumpkin love, so there goes some of our stock! What’s the real story… shortage or not… anyone know?

(NaBloPoMo | November ’10: 9 of 30)