I am trying to feed up Pepper and get some weight on her.
Due to her one day on/one day off meal regime, Pepper is losing weight and I don’t like that. The problem is that she is always on the look out for a delicious-to-her rotting corpses and then she gets a tummy-ache and won’t eat for 24 hours while doing room-clearing farts. Prepared for this regular outcome, I dose up with pre/pro biotics, kaolin (if required) and slippery elm to try and get her tummy working again. So I have decided to double Pepper’s food on the days she does eat, so she is not missing out. I am also adding salmon oil for weight gain. I can’t think of anything else to do that would help her. All suggestions welcome.
The others are disgusted with Pepper and can only see total injustice in this set up.
Haakon is going along but I would not say anything is better. He spent this morning lying down in the sunshine and I hope he got a good deep sleep.
I have deliberated to just about anyone who will listen whether to bring him inside or around the house but I have to consider the following:
The Pros:
He would be inside, warm and dry.
Cons:
He would be unhappy and stressed = potential colic.
He would need a stable companion.
Haakon doesn’t like hay much and struggles (old age/teeth) eating it and I really want to keep him eating. He gets two feeds from me each day even in his field just to keep all things going along.
He is doing ok at the moment pottering where he feels he can, eating and drinking. I leave a strategically placed bucket of water for him close by. I also scatter little carrots around his field so he can find nice surprises. He only goes as far as feels he wants to.
His friends are close by and join him during the day.
If it gets colder then he can wear a heavier rug.
As it is going to rain overnight, I put a light rainsheet on.
And he is such a helpful old thing.
To town tomorrow to get Farriers Formula and biotin for feet and maybe some nummy food too.
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I’m not sure if it would help Hakon but we found soft ride boots made Nels much more comfortable when he had laminitis. He had winter laminits and he had to be put down last summer because he wasn’t able to come back from the laminits from the previous winter. Nels had multiple bouts of laminitis over the years and the boots made him more comfortable. There’s a cushion inside each boot. I was able to put ice packs inside as well.
Haakon doesn’t have laminitis. He has a hole in his hoof (toe). I think if I put a boot on, then it would create the perfect environment for an infection.
When my King Charles Spaniel had constant stomach issues, my vet recommended a horrendously expensive prescription canned dog food plus plain old cheap cooked white rice. The purpose of the rice was just easily digested calories, nothing more. So I made big batches and offered it several times a day. Warmed plain or with a little broth or veg oil and she would usually eat it even if she wasn’t at 100%. I would also stand at the sink where she could see me and just sprinkle on a little water and she thought that was a big treat.
I like that idea. Bulk it and her out a bit.
I would not want to do this myself, BUT, sometimes we have to be Mother with a capital M . . .
To give Pepper’s digestive system a proper break from rotting corpses and allow her insides to recover/rebuild her gut microbiome, would it be practical or possible for you to make her wear a soft basket muzzle for a month? She would be able to drink and bark, but hopefully not tear into whatever carrion she finds in the fields?
Drastic yes, but I am wondering if at present there is a risk that however much you can get her to eat she might not be properly absorbing all nutrients because of the regular “unofficial additions to her diet”.
It is certainly something to consider. She would hate it. With a capital H.
My first dog, who I adopted from living wild in the woods by my house, had severe digestive problems. The vet surmised that she had either been hit by a car or beaten due to her broken tail and large scar on her hip (and fear and hatred of most men). She couldn’t tolerate “dog food” so her diet consisted solely of boiled hamburger meat and rice. She lived quite well for 8 more years.