cody bear’s friends

no bones here!  because of cody bear’s gastroparesis he isn’t allowed to eat bones or rawhides or anything savory, really.

so, every now and then i buy him a new rubber bone…

he never eats them, just gnaws for a while.  and every now and then i buy him a new one, even though he doesn’t need it….

but it is fun to see him excited about something new….that he can gum on.

whatever…he’s safe….

to learn about gastroparesis…click on “gastroparesis” in the tag cloud to the left.

 cody bear went visiting today!  (it being easter, and all)  poor dog:  5 hours in a car!  because of his gastroparesis, he is super-sensitive to queasiness and hates hates HATES the car!

but he had fun once he arrived, (more pix later) except for this scary thing….the pool!

“now i LOVE my water bowl, but i’m not sure about that….”

“no…i’m NOT going in there…”

we played a tiiiiny bit of fetch at first, but then….his tennis ball bounced into the pool and it was “GAME OVER.”

he just spit it out. “this thing has been in the pool.  it’s DEAD to me now!”

oh, cody bear, water isn’t for everyone.

hiiii.

ok, here is the other part of the story: (begin dragnet theme. or…would perry mason theme be better? you decide…) click here for part one

having lived here for 3 years, cody bear has never escaped the back yard. until recently. twice in just over a week. (note: my little guy is in doors when i am gone) the task force assembled immediately following fence break number two. task force’s objective? to fix fence if needed and to determine WHY these breakouts were occurring. breakouts were from an area in the wire fencing off the alley; fence between my large back yard and a vacant lot of scrub.

the cody bear safety task force fixed the fence and determined the following: (note: evidence verified by local police force!)

1. original chicken wire reinforcing fence had been pulled back not by a dog paw or muzzle, but something that left a kink or two in the wire.

2. someone had been tempting cody from other side of fence with rawhide chew bone (this is most certainly not cody bear’s bone. because of his gastroparesis he is not allowed under any circumstances to eat chews of any kind)

3. recently (between first and second breakout) an individual had been parking it in that spot and smoking numerous cherry flavored cigarillos.

4. earlier incident of cody bear throwing up chicken bones when no garbage was found in back yard and i do not eat meat could be related.

etc.

the evidence:

and not that this is evidence, but……

look at how cute my little guy is! naturally i want to keep him safe!

local law enforcement (mind you i have an innate and irrational fear of cops) were SUPER helpful, nice, and COMEDIC. i have never met a wise-ass like this one! i think it helped assuage my fear having a stand up comic in a cop suit. we will never know what this person was up to, only that he will be unable to continue doing it. could have just been feeding my dear sweet dog to keep him from barking while he does some shady business. could be an innocent animal lover trying to befriend my dog but may end up with a tobacco related illness.

the police believes creepy neighbor (CN) is, in fact, creepy, but that he probably isn’t the droid we’re looking for. oops, i mean the guy we’re looking for….

the task force, along with helpful officer and caring landlord, have already begun deterrents and we’re feeling very, very safe now…..(add twilight theme music….JUST KIDDING)

so that, dear blog friends, is the story.

 ”good morning cody bear!”  every meal has to be 30 minutes after medicine because of his gastroparesis…

he knows its coming….

he’s just starving after his morning run!

countdown:  t minus 20 minutes to a molecuball full of kibble!!!!

so, i’m at a tiny stand still at work, so i thought i would take a couple minutes while i’m waiting to tell post about canine gastroparesis. for the last couple days i have noticed that people are searching for what is easily digestible for dogs (and cats) with this illness. can’t help ya with the cat diet, but here are some things that work well for cody bear and his gastroparesis:

note: he takes 5mg metoclopramide 15-30 mins before each meal

his staple food is wellness kibble

foods we supplement that are easiest for him to digest are canned salmon wellness core dog food, wiley’s reserve salmon food, home cooked chicken breasts, pumpkin, sweet potato, turkey, quinoa based foods, and scrambled eggs.

treats that are easily digested include dry crunchy peanut butter biscuits (wellness & mr. pugsleys/mr. barkys), dehydrated beef livers, zuke’s mini naturals (chicken or peanut butter), little bites of home cooked chicken or turkey.

things that don’t sit well in his belly are: rubbery treats like snausages or jerky strips, rice, ice cubes, dehydrated foods with oats in them, oats in general, breads, crackers, potato, any type of chew at all including the ones that are supposed to be all natural and healthy. (his stomach just can’t work them out)

basically, it looks like the fewer ingredients, the better. you will note that some of these are people foods. that is because for the last 3 years it has been a struggle to keep weight on him and to find foods that were digestible. i’m happy to say he has not had a gastroparesis flare up in a couple months!

good luck finding the right foods that work for you and your pet!

…for more tid bits on gastroparesis in dogs…click on the “gastroparesis” word in the “tag cloud” at the left of this blog.

tonight’s blog is not for the weak of stomach. oh wait! yes it is! that’s EXACTLY who it is for!

for dogs with a weak stomach because of a motility problem called gastroparesis.

as i write this, here is my view when i look down:

cody bear from my left:

cody bear from my right:

ok, back to the g.p. scoop: VOM. veterinary orthopedic manipulation.

first i will tell you what our experience was, then tell you what it is, then, if you want, you can ask your vet about it.

OK HERE GOES:

while cody’s g.p. is pretty manageable, it rears its ugly intestinal head every now and then. about a year ago his belly was really acting up, so we went to our beloved vet and she did xrays(we do this more than the average dog gets it done to monitor he is not getting lesions, ulcers, or hasn’t just decided to eat something irresistible) and she also recommended we try a vom session.

she explained VOM and here’s what i heard:

BLAH BLAH BLAH V.O.M.. BLAH BLAH ALLEVIATE GAS. BLAH BLAH BLAH. ADJUSTMENT. BLAH.

here’s what i thought:

“OH DEAR GOD… HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST? AND IT WILL BE TOTALLY IMMEASURABLE I JUST HAVE TO SMILE AND HOPE IT WORKS AND I PROBABLY WILL NEVER KNOW IF IT MADE A DIFFERENCE”

….but of course i said:

“SURE! LET’S DO IT. ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP.”

she went and got some crazy thumping device. when she returned she explained what they were doing and that ultimately it would relieve some of the gas that had formed in his belly because of his condition. she said it would help make him more comfortable and help his tummy by …getting rid of the gas. ok, doc,…what ever you say.

she was going to do this odd thumping on both sides of the neck, then down the spine. she was going to do this three times.

again i think, “ok, well, i love the doc, but i’m giving her money for nothing. “

she did the first line and right as she put the thumper up to start again….cody bear lets out a burp that even al bundy himself couldn’t replicate. in fact, this was a “barny from the simpsons” type belch…..and it was beautiful.

i’m not saying it will work for everyone, but its not like you can tell your dog to burp on command. it did what she said, and i do think it helps.

this is something i can do at home. you don’t need your own thumping device. i do it sometimes and once he actually burped for me, too.

ok, what is it? in simple “here’s what i’ve seen terms” the procedure looks like chiropractic work, but isn’t. it works with the nervous system to repair communication. it didn’t hurt cody bear at all. he didn’t know what was going on, but it didn’t hurt.

if you’re interested in learning more about this, visit heeeeere.

…for more tid bits on gastroparesis in dogs…click on the “gastroparesis” word in the “tag cloud” at the left of this blog.

 cody bear got to try some really exotic dog treats yesterday….

but, they didn’t sit well. he woke up very queazy and had a really grumbly belly. one of the treats was kangaroo dog snacks, but i thought they would be fine, with limited ingredients and all. but oh man….did he get the toots last night. he NEVER toots!

he is going to relax today while i work.

after he barfed this morning, the cat walked up to him and sniffed him to see if he was alright. (she always knows when he’s sick.) he just turned his head away. so dramatic!

…for more tid bits on gastroparesis in dogs…click on the “gastroparesis” word in the “tag cloud” at the left of this blog.

 yep, dogs have bad days, too…

i got out from work early today, so naturally i went home, grabbed cody bear and a gift certificate he got for the holidays and went to a local pet boutique. we were there for half an hour trying to find some stuff, and the entire time, this dog sat on the counter top and growled and growled at cody bear.

she should get a pay decrease, as her customer service skill need some polish.

to cheer him up, i took him to our regular establishment, one that caters more to big dogs. cody bear loves it there. he loves the owner, loves the smells, loves the merchandise.

well, there was an angry st. bernard in there that, to put it gently,….wanted to eat my dog. as some of you know, cody bear is actually scared of dogs. we had to leave. here he is, questioning me with a look about why in HELL i would expose him to such negative energy.

so, as you can guess, i am going to take him for a walk no, to cheer him up. wish us luck!

breath in deeply cody bear…now exhale.

cody doesn’t get along with all dogs, but that’s ok. no one is perfect cody bear. you don’t have to love everyone, and don’t be sad if everyone doesn’t love you. (why they wouldn’t i can’t see. love is, after all, blind….)

his gastroparesis has something to do with this. dogs make him nervous and it upsets the stomach even more. so he has, for a long time, associated that queazy feeling or stomach pain with barking or staring dogs. after super negative experiences, we need to take great care to keep his diet simple and free of things that might be hard for him to digest because that is when he is most prone to a flair up. but all looks good now!

sometimes we all have bad days, but he’ll be wagging right after i hit “publish.”

…for more tid bits on gastroparesis in dogs…click on the “gastroparesis” word in the “tag cloud” at the left of this blog.

we’re responding to dog-blog friend dennis with this post! if you haven’t been to dennis’s diary of destruction yet, you should visit. he always has some great capers going on!

today he posted his “green stuff” so here is cody bear’s green stuff:

it is “the honest kitchen” dehydrated raw food we discussed in cody’s most recent gastroparesis blog.

sometimes he eats it, or canned “wellness core” in his kong:

which he actually enjoys more, but sometimes i haven’t cleaned the kongs yet, so i just use a doggie bowl.

i always have my food on this blog, so now it is his turn. i’ll spare you having to read about what the cat eats. it is where she likes to drink that is REALLY Intriguing!

it has been a while since we talked about cody bear’s canine gastroparesis. (again, if you’re new to this blog and found your way here looking for gastroparesis info, …click the word gastroparesis in the “tag cloud” to the left) and please remember, i’m not a doctor, i just have a three year old dog with gastroparesis. i don’t mean to tell you what to do, i just want you to know what works for us.

today I thought I would mention his diet to you, in case you’re struggling to get something your dog can easily digest, with help from reglan, of course.

it is VERY hard to keep weight on cody bear. between his condition, and the fact that he is always on the go go GO, he is super skinny. i have gotten used to the comments and surprise. he is so fluffy, so he looks like he weighs at least 55 pounds, but really, he is just a 47 pounder. people are surprised at first because he looks chubby from the fluff, then they pet him and are aghast that he is so thin. I have gotten a few judgemental looks from dog people and a few dog professionals.

in addition to his high energy, the stomach condition is often aggravated by stress, so he needs tons of exercise to keep him at a healthy stress level, so he gets nice long walks a couple times a day, attends class so he doesn’t get stressed from boredom…you get the picture?

anyway, i have tried many things and found several that work. i do change his diet every so often so he doesn’t get bored, but i only use tried and true foods that are super high quality. no “bargain hound” dog foods for dogs with gastroparesis! (oops, didn’t mean to sound so bossy! i recommmenddddd no cheapy food for your dog) they need lots of nutrition to make up for what they lose when they’re sick to their tummies. i keep his portions small so his stomach doesn’t have to work too hard.

so, this month cody bear is eating:

breakfast – ¾ cup “wellness” brand dog kibble “chicken super5” flavor (i serve all his kibble meals in a molecuball. it is exercise for him and exercise keeps his stress level low)

lunch – ½ cup the same

dinner – ½ cup the same and a couple table spoons of “wellness core” salmon or chicken canned

night snack, one medium kong with a bit of kibble and ¼ cup canned wellness again.

he has also done great on a few flavors of “the honest kitchen” dehydrated dog food in place of the canned. but he does NOT do well with the flavor with oats. (sorry, can’t remember the name of that one)

many vets & people recommend rice for dogs with a temporary stomach problem. I find that the rice hangs out in his stomach a long time and if he is already having a flare up….he rarely digests that well.

now treats are important. i find the fewer ingredients the better, and he is less likely to barf treats that are “natural”. meaning plastic-y ones like snausages or pupperoni…while all dogs love them….tend to just hang out in his stomach and it takes forever to break them down.

so, he likes crunchy peanut butter biscuits. also, for training, he gets some yummy stuff because its so much fun for him! and training is so important that we want him to be really be into it. so sauteed chicken, dehydrated beef livers, cut into tiny tiny bits. also, he responds great to tiny bits of chesse! he loves it! and it sits well with him. HOWEVER, a compounding pharmacist i spoke with said you should not eat cheese if you’re taking reglan. but my human friend, who is an m.d. and has gastroparesis, loves cheese and has not had an adverse reaction. so like all things….****i super strongly recommend talking to your vet AND your pharmacist. ****

well that’s alot. hope this helps. and if YOU have tips for people who have a dog with reglan, please leave them in the comments below.

thanks for stopping by!

…for more tid bits on gastroparesis in dogs…click on the “gastroparesis” word in the “tag cloud” at the left of this blog.