I’ve converted the pups over to a new dog food last week. Because a new Petco opened close to home, I’ve taken the opportunity to put the pups on a premium food. On the menu is Wellness Super5Mix White Fish & Sweet Potato. I’m hoping the fish formula will improve the pups’ coat condition. They’ve been scratching up a storm ever since the advent of spring and I was hoping it wasn’t a serious health issue at the root of the problem.
Turns out, after I told the man that a complete stranger had accosted us at the dog park and asked if Dandy was pregnant, he confessed that he had been tripling the dog food portions at meal times. Oy! And here I was worrying desperately that the pups didn’t have worms after looking so ROTUND for the past few months. With Dandy’s history of back problems, weight gain could greatly exacerbate her condition. And all the overfeeding could explain their skin irritations (increased carb intake).
I’ve picked up Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, a completely grainless formula that nearly rivals the Innova Evo formula I fed the pups some years ago. At 42% protein content, it comes in second place to the Evo. Unfortunately I have to watch the pups’ intake very carefully because the fat content is also very high. I’ve begun to mix it in with the Super5Mix and the pups should hopefully be fully transition to Solid Gold next week.
I had an almost perfect shot…of Flash sitting serenely in the midst of the purple bed. But he wouldn’t sit in place long enough for me to capture it on film. So instead, I posed the dynamic duo to snap up a few wonderful spring pictures.
It was nearly 2 weeks ago that Dandy displayed difficulty pain in her back and difficulty walking. After a strict regimen of crate rest and medication, she appears her normal self. She tears out of the crate every day for meal times, bouncing out the door to chase after some imaginary critter. She is even challenging Doogie to bouts of play. Of course this goes against doctor’s orders, since it hasn’t been a solid 4 weeks yet. I am looking to improve her back health with supplements (now that the meds have run out circa last weekend) which will hopefully maintain her. It is an unfortunate consequence of her breed to suffer the same condition repeatedly, especially since she has experienced 2 recurrences of disk problems and is squarely in her middle years.
It is 5 days now since I took Dandy to the emergency clinic. She is in constant back pain, and it appears she is losing more of her back leg function. I have upped the number of dosages on her meds to help with the pain, but it doesn’t seem to keep her from crying all the time. Of course, the humans in the house don’t get much sleep either.
I am interested in acupuncture therapy but not sure where to start. I’m also considering natural supplements to ease the pain…however, such things don’t take effect until 3 weeks later. The doc left a check-up message on the answering machine, I may have to ask him if she can have stronger doses of painkillers. Although the pain reminds her that she isn’t allowed to walk.
