Having had Destiny for over three weeks now we are all trying to figure out how our pack is going to work. It has been mostly ups and I have only had a few things lightly chewed which for a new dog has been fantastic.

However, we have been having some “tummy issues.” The rescue we got her from sent her home with Acana Ranchlands food. For those of you unfamiliar with it has beef, lamb and bison in it. That is pretty rich! It is also a highly rated dog food across the board. But it is what she was eating at the foster mom’s without a problem for the last 4 weeks so we were excited that the rescue gave us 4 bags of it.

Well, day one she is spitting out her kibble and not eating it. Fine, I chalked it up to being in a new place with new people. So I took it away (we do not free feed) and fed it to her for supper. She ate it without a problem. This on and off song and dance went on for about the first week we had her. Some days she would eat both meals without an issue (we feed her two cups twice daily as she is a) still a puppy and b) weighs 26 pounds. Anyways by Saturday I start noticing she is having bloody diarrhea.

NOT GOOD!

She also stops drinking her water.

ALSO NOT GOOD!

Well I book a vet appointment for Monday and in the mean time get my good, old fashion turkey baster out and give her water that way. I get her to start drinking again on her own. SUCCESS! I also start boiling some chicken and making some rice. Also success, start to get her to eat again.

So Monday rolls around and she is still having blood diarrhea. So I got a vet appointment first thing. This is also the first time meeting our vet. My husband and I’s families have been going to him for years. It is a little hole in the wall, in a strip mall beside the roughest bar in the city, next to the free way.

Don’t let impressions fool you.

While I am in my mid-twenties I look to be about 18/19. Therefore I often have bad experiences in places like dr and vets offices because they think I am a stupid teenage. Well I have never been treated so well in my life. Our vet has hired a new vet to work along side her. She was nothing but kind and gentle to Destiny and myself. She did a full checkup on Destiny and concluded that her stomach was inflamed. She said that it could be a multitude of factors.

1) New environment and routine. Therefore stress.
2) Food intolerance and allergy to kibble.
3) Lack of nutrition from before.

She also recommended after I get her stomach settled I start giving her an omega three supplement. She said it would help if she had an inflamed stomach in the future and with her coat and skin which was quite dry. She recommend I continue feeding her chicken and rice for 5 days, then get her back on to her regular food. She also gave me anti-inflammatory medication for her.

Happy it wasn’t anything serious I took her home and started her out with her medication. Giving dogs any sort of pill is a pain in the ass. I decided to use a little of the wet food I stuff her kong with when we are gone to work and form a little wet food ball around the pill.

She didn’t even notice. yes!

So after running her through her medication I slowly reintroducing her to her food by replacing the chicken with the kibble. That went well so I cut out the rice after 4 days and start feeding her small amounts of kibble, increasing it back up to two cups a day.

Well…she started being picky again. So I double check the lot numbers on the bags, still well within 6 months. I also notice her stools are starting to get softer and a bit of blood. Now after two and a half weeks, I can suspect it is the food.

So we go out and pick up a bag of chicken grain free Pulsar. I am starting to switch her over, because who needs to upset her stomach more. She refused to eat yesterday morning so I gave her breakfast for supper and she ate it gladly. We noticed though last night she will attack the Pulsar first, then the Acana in the bowl.

It is weird. You always want to get the best food for your pet, but sometimes “the best” isn’t the best for your pet. We are hoping once we have her switched over to a less meat heavy food her stomach problems will subside. We have though already noticed a difference.

It is also funny to think about because up until now she has survived off of rotting animals and garbage (we figure this because she prefers gamier treats and meat). You think she could hand a bit of meat. But as my husband mentioned, she is probably use to not knowing when her next meal is. Not use to having food twice daily, and it will take time for her to adjust. Also, once she is a year we will probably bring her feedings down to once a day as that also seems the way she prefers to eat.

Every dog is different. Sometimes you can figure out their eating style right away, and other times it takes some trial and error.