One Mystery Solved (We Think)
We THINK (and I emphasize think) we may have solved one of June’s medical mysteries. Not her swollen saliva glands. I hope those get to remain a mystery for her entire life, because that means we’ll never have to do surgery on them. No, I’m talking about her random tummy troubles. We had been blaming them on the fact that she’s a Beagle and randomly eats things she shouldn’t, but there might actually be more to it, and even a way for us to prevent them from happening again.
Let me start by saying that these tummy troubles are SCARY. The first time it happened, I rushed her to the vet and she spent the night there on IV fluids. She becomes ultra lethargic (I know, she’s a Beagle, that’s why I use the “ultra” modifier), shakes uncontrollably, and loses all interest in food. Trust me, if you had a Beagle who wasn’t interested in eating, you’d be rushing to the vet, too.
Since that first attack, she’s been getting one every 4-6 weeks or so. Not really regular, but they happen often enough that we no longer rush her to the vet. We do a quick skin inch test to make sure she doesn’t seem dehydrated and otherwise let her curl up by herself. (First choice is on roommate J’s bed, followed by her crate and the dog bed under my desk.)
Each attack lasts roughly 24 hours. They are still scary, we’re just more used to them.
While researching the new diet for Howie, C came across some information that he thinks may explain her tummy troubles. And makes them our fault, not hers. We think she has doggie pancreatitis and the attacks are caused by spikes in the fat in her diet. Meaning that the attacks are brought on by us giving her a little extra chicken fat or skin in her dinner, not by her eating something she found in the dirt at the dog park.
What does this mean? It means that Howie is not the only one now getting a homemade diet. We’ve switched June and Larry, too. (Because really, if you’re going to make homemade food for one dog, why not for all three of them.) Their food mix needs to be a little different. They need their calories to come from protein, and most definitely not fat, and we don’t have to worry about phosphorous levels.
The proof will be in the pudding, as they say, and we’ll see if we can prevent June from getting any more of her attacks.