Bad Taste

Westies are notorious for having stomach problems. When Mikenna was very little, we put her on Nutro Oatmeal and Rice, because that was supposed to be really good for her little stomach. She would go through bouts where she would puke bile every day for a few weeks, and then she might quit for a week or two. But, more often than not, she'd puke bile. She also had diarhhea more than what I think you'd expect from your average, healthy dog. But she's got the 'sensitive stomach' right? We took her to the vet for it, and they gave us this medicine that we were to give her once a day. It didn't help. So that's how it was for four years.

Then Mikenna got fleas last summer, and I thought we might never get rid of them. Even after we did get rid of them, Mikenna continued to itch and gnaw off her fur. Her bile episodes became more frequent, as did the days where you could just tell she "didn't feel good". Her poop got really soft and mushy more often. (Hey, when you have to pick it up, you notice) I didn't know what to do with her. She was on heartworm medicine, flea medicine, and we didn't feed her table scraps. She would lay in bed at night, chewing and itching (despite having no fleas!) for hours. Finally, I got the idea that maybe her skin was dry and needed to be 'improved'. So I started searching for alternatives. In the morning, I started giving her an egg.

Now, to me, this is important. For four years, you'd fill up Mikenna's bowl, and she'd go and pick at it throughout the day as she felt the need. A nibble here, a nibble there. Sometimes, a bowl of food would last her 3-4 days. Well, when I gave her the eggs, the girl wouldn't even let them get cold before she had them gone. There was no nibbling what-so-ever. I found that if I coaxed her and gave her eggs with some food, she might eat the food too. I was a bit shocked.

So, long story short, we switched her to Avoderm, and there was an immediate change. She's only puked bile a handful of times since October, and she really hasn't had many days where she doesn't feel good. Her poop is better (oh, yay), and she's got four full paws of fur because she no longer itches and bites. I thought Avoderm was this miracle food. Maybe it is ...

But look at this. The posts go back as far as March 2007 and are as recent as May 31 2008, though some of the stories talk about dogs being sick in 2006. I noticed a trend in the stories. Lethargy. Bile. Diarhhea. Itchy skin. I recommend the link, but, boy, is it heartbreaking.

So I'm looking at the sleeping puppy behind me, and I wonder that if this whole time, it was her food. Did I inadvertently poison my girl while trying to give her something that was good for her? Did I stop feeding it to her just in the knick of time?

Boy, those are questions that I really never wanted to ask. That little girl means so much to me.
All for the "bottom line", isn't it?