Dinner For Two

If you're expecting a post about a romantic candle light dinner for the humans, you're on the wrong blog.

This is about dog dinner, of course. What else would I be writing about. My life has  become a daily experience of dealing with special diets and treats and I'm going to inflict it on you, too.

It all began two years ago when we got hit with Crypto. Everyone was sick, but some did a better job at recovering than others. My girls are tough and they all got thru it and are eating whatever I put in front of them. The four Portie girls eat kibble, sometimes with a little something on top, usually veggies.  Morgan gets bored with her kibble about every two or three months and we switch brands. That satisfies her for a while. She also gets a topping, usually chicken or fish.

The two little girls are good eaters. Mac may be a little too good and is looking a little pudgy. They both eat their kibble plain or with a veggie.

Then there are the boys. They are the problem. Sebastian has pancreatitis and is trying to drop some weight. He eats low cal kibble with lots of green beans. He also eats low cal treats. He's easy to please and eats whatever I set in front of him and recently he seems to have dropped a few pounds. I'll take him by the clinic later this week and put him on the scales.

After the Crypto was gone, Noah and Fudge both tested positive for Corona Virus.  Since then neither of them have been able to eat normally. Noah was very sick and was dropping way too much weight. His backbone was standing out and I could put my fingers between his ribs. His stool was a disaster.  In February, after running tests to rule out any other hidden illnesses, we started him on a homemade diet for colitis. Within a month of strictly feeding his special food and treats, his stool became normal and he started gaining weight. Now he's back up to 54 pounds from a low of 38. He's doing great now.

Then there was Fudge. He had runny stool and though he wasn't losing lots of weight, he was acting sick and his coat was looking thin and dull. Again we ran tests and this time Dr B felt that Fudge had leaky gut syndrome. We changed him to a duck based kibble and at first I thought it was going to work for him. He is acting happier but his other issues are continuing.

Last week Rob and I discussed it and decided to try feeding Fudge the same diet that worked for Noah. This isn't as easy as just opening a can or bag. This involves lots of kitchen time for us. First we had to buy a bigger pot. Three days of food for Noah completely filled the largest pot I had, so we found this one. It holds a three day supply for both boys.

Rob and I chop lots of sweet potatoes and carrots to add to the peas, ground turkey and water. Add in some barley and we have a special diet for sensitive intestines. After I bring this to a boil, I turn the burner low and let it simmer for a couple hours. Then it sits there and steams itself till it's ready.

Finally I fill lots of little containers with a serving each. My boys each get two cups of this three times a day. They also get some supplements such as calcium, vitamin B, fish oil and a multi-vitamin.

What about treats, you ask?  To a dog treats make life worth living. They get sweet potato chips. We look for the biggest, fattest sweet potatoes we can find, slice them thin, then place them on a no stick cookie sheet. They go into a 300 degree oven for a very long time, till they turn brown and crunchy. Yum.

Noah has been eating this way for several months and is thriving. Fudge started on this diet last night. When I set his bowl in front of him, he looked at it, then looked at me as if checking to see if it was really OK to eat it.  At breakfast this morning, he dove right in, finished, then went back to lick the bowl again. It's too soon to know if this will help him, but I have my fingers crossed that this will make him better.

I spend more time cooking for my boys than I do for us. Last night I had a frozen pot pie and Rob heated up a pizza. My life really has gone to the dogs.