Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Fixing Rascal...

So, I have a full figured Pembroke Welsh Corgi. He will be 3 on January 4th {I can't believe we have had this rodent without a tail for that long...seems like longer} and has always loved everything to do with food and has been nursing a year long heartache from losing his best friend Webster. (R.I.P Webbie)

My big boy...Rascal Roni


On the ride home, when he pooped in my car.


He still sleeps like this sometimes....

What a sweet face :)



Growing up some..still pint size!
Halloween 2010

With his best buddy Webster...Kings for Halloween!



So with his depression, adding Lilli, then Bella his world has been a crazy road of twists and turns. He has adapted pretty well. He has never had any problems with Lilli. He often tries to herd her when she runs through the house, which either stops her or encourages her to run faster. He herds all of us, it is in his blood and it's something he has always done. He was okay with Bella when she first came home too. Everything was great until Bella started crawling.

Bella is the animal lover. She is drawn to any animal that is around her and she is very interested in animals in general. When she started crawling she would often go under the table and get into the dog food. Now, Lilli did this but she was redirected very easily, Bells not so much. She started eating the dog food one day and I think that was Rascal's last straw. From that point on he would growl, show is teeth, and pace around like he was guarding the crown jewels.

A couple weeks of this and I moved his food into our bedroom and it got better. He wouldn't do it so much anymore and I thought - how easy of a fix! Well, at the same time of moving his food, we put him on diet dog food and slowly stopped feeding him table scraps. He's about 20 pounds over weight and I really want him to live a long time. At the point when I thought I had cured everything with food placement he started up again. Only this time was anytime the kids (both of them, not just Bella anymore) where walking/crawling around him. If he was laying in the middle of the kitchen and they walked through he would growl..most the time not even lifting his head. He was giving them warning to get away from him, but for what reason?!

I thought about all the changes that have happened for him. I also noticed that he wasn't eating as much as he used to. I switched his food to Chef Michaels because he has always LOVED that food. He started eating again and was happy and left the girls alone. I was so happy for 2 days thinking, I again fixed things. However, then the runs and vomiting started. He was sick for a full week. I was pulling my hair out running after him wiping his butt along with Lilli's, Bella's, and my own butt! He would vomit mostly at night, which I thought was weird. I know that changing your dogs diet can weird their system out but he had NEVER had this. On top of it...he got an ear infection!

So, I switched his food once again to a lamb and rice formula because I know that is gentle on dogs stomachs. He stopped the vomiting and only had the runs every now and then. He was still crabby sometime and his ear infection was going away. My mom's dog has had issues with her bum for quite awhile....she has her on a grain-free food. It has firmed up her poo and her bum is better. So I once again (this will be the last time - for a while if it doesn't work out) changed his food. This is 4 times in about 3 - 4 months. I know that's a lot for his system to take but I want him to eat a really good quality food. AND to not be hungry!

So now he is on Simple food...it is grain free, dairy free, soy free, all kinds of free stuff. It's basically just turkey, potato, and some vitamins. I hope that he can start eating this and become a healthy happy pup. I am going to start taking him on daily walks. It's good for him and the girls to get out and exercise together. This morning was our first morning...it took 15 minutes to prepare for the walk and a walk down the block took 18 minutes - but it was worth it. I gave him some extra snuggles when both girls were down resting. He is shedding MAJORILY right now....and will be groomed either this week or next. Does anyone else have any advice out there about this? I know that some dogs aren't made to be super kid friendly and I don't let them hang on him or hurt him, but I need him to be okay with them being around him.....what to do...what to do?!


2 comments:

  1. all those symptoms combined sound pretty scary especially if they have been going on for a while! i would take him to the vet right away if you haven't already!! poor baby, i hope he gets better! it's so hard when a pet is sick!

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  2. Update...he is all better now...still crabby with the girls (esp. Bella) when he is resting somewhere or if they are playing with his food. I did some more research and this is pretty common with Corgi's. I guess he has food issues. He has been on a new grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, super expensive food for the past week and his belly is 100% better! Just got to get working on teaching the girls to leave him alone when he's resting!

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