Here We Go Again

I really do try to be a good person, so why are the Poop Gods so angry with me? I must have done something to annoy them because the past two years have been filled with poop events. Let's recap.

It all started two years ago when my entire pack had the Cryptosperidium experience. It lasted for months and ended tragically with the loss of Samba and Sky. I was spending most of every day and night dealing with explosive diarrhea.

Once we got thru that horrible experience, last year Fudge and Noah started having bright orange diarrhea that we couldn't control. They both lost a lot of weight and were pretty sick. The university tested them and found it to be Corona Virus which is normally a puppy illness. After being re- vaccinated and having meds prescribed, they both got better, but again it was a couple months of poop.

Then Lola started having diarrhea and all three of her sisters caught the bug from her. The three sisters got over it fairly quickly but Lola had a harder time and we treated her for several weeks. She's fine now.

Now it's Noah who has a problem. This time is a little different. Noah has a poop problem, too much and too soft, but he has some other things going on, too. You see, Noah has always had an anxiety issue. Noah was the littlest pup in our litter. The others were all between 8 and 10 ounces at birth, but he was only 5 ounces.

He was developmentally behind the others by about a month. When the others started racing up and down the stairs on the way to the back yard, he couldn't do stairs and would whimper till one of us carried him. Once outside the others loved climbing the rock pile, but he was too little and couldn't negotiate the big rocks. He couldn't jump into the wading pool with the others and so forth.  His anxiety seemed to start there.

Then there's the Fudge problem. Fudge is a bully and like most bullies there's not much behind the facade. He likes to get in the other dog's faces and he likes to sneak up on them and bark to startle them or steal whatever they're playing with. The girls all know that Fudge is all bluster and they either ignore him or chase him away, but Noah overreacts. He either attacks or runs away and hides.

Last week Noah's poop problem became a crisis and we met with Dr B on Tuesday. We did an exam and some blood work. The blood report was good but from the weight loss and straining and loose stool, we're convinced that he has colitis. Last nigh we had a long conversation about how to deal with the problem and came up with a plan.

Noah will no longer eat dog food. I'll be making him a stew from ground turkey, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes and barley. He'll eat only that. For treats he'll get sweet potato chips. He'll take supplements of calcium, B complex and fish oil plus a multi-vitamin.  For the stress that's contributing to his intestinal issue, he'll have time away from Fudge to play with his sisters, plus some obedience training to help build his confidence. He's also wearing a bandana sprayed with a calming pheromone.

Unfortunately, this is a plan that Noah and I will be living with for the rest of his life as there is no cure, only maintenance.

So obviously I  have done something to get myself on a major 's**t list' and I'd really like to get off now. I promise to be good.