My Roller Coaster Ride

The last couple weeks have been filled with highs and lows. When Samba has a good day I get my hopes up that we've turned a corner and have the illness under control. Then she'll have a very bad day that sets us back to the starting line all over again. I can't tell you how many of these sudden changes we've been through. This morning we had another vet visit and I wanted to let you know where we stand going into the weekend.

Yesterday Samba ate almost a cup of kibble, the most she's eaten in weeks. She kept it down and slept though the night. This morning she wanted Morgan's breakfast, so Morgan shared some of her dog food with her sick friend. Her stool was about the same as the last two days.

We headed for the vet's office for her Cerenia injection for nausea. When we arrived we had to face the dreaded scales. She had already dropped from her normal 52 pounds to 33.  But the news was great. She has gained half a pound since Tuesday. The vet checked her over  and we discussed her diet and meds for the weekend. He and I were both pleased that she's actually gained instead of losing more weight.

Getting Samba to eat is a full time job. Because she's been so sick and had a constant stomach ache for weeks, my girl who would eat anything, now has become super picky. She equates food with feeling bad and if she eats something and then feels sick, she won't eat that food again. She won't touch certain dog foods nor hamburg and rice or chicken  and potatoes. Those are all things that she's tried in the past couple weeks but she then felt sick, so she won't try them again.

Fortunately, when I was a little girl I had a Cocker Spaniel and I decided I was going to train her to do tricks. I asked my Grandfather how to train her and he gave me some great advice. He said to be a successful dog trainer, you have to be smarter than the dog.

I made a great discovery the other day. I moved a bag of dog treats to reach something else and I saw Samba's head come up and she looked excited. Samba can't have treats, we have to be careful about what she eats, but I knew she wanted them.


If you remember, last week we received a surprise package from the Science Diet people. In  the box were two bags of treats, but there were also two sample bags of their new dog food. My dogs think that treats come in small bags and the dog food samples were sitting on the counter next to the treats. I picked up the small bag of dog food, opened it and offered each of the dogs a piece. They all thought it was excellent, including Samba.

The next time Samba came in from outside I offered her a couple pieces of the new dog food treat and she happily chewed them up. I started rewarding everyone with the dog food samples. I'd give Samba three pieces for each piece the others ate. Sometimes I'd give her a handful after going out or waking from a nap. She didn't realize it, but she was eating more and more dog food disguised as a treat.

This morning I realized we were running out of the samples, so we made a quick trip to buy a larger bag of this new food. In the privacy of the laundry room, I refilled the little sample bags and the next time I offered a treat they all got some of the new dog food. Samba doesn't know that I'm refilling the sample bags from a large bag of dog food. As far as she's concerned she's been rewarded with a yummy new treat. I just hope I can continue to fool her until her stomach ache is gone and her appetite returns.