homemade dog food

Not only does my dog have a very sensitive tummy, he is, according to our veterinarian, one of the most hyper dogs she has ever seen. This is to be expected from Chocolate labs apparently. When I was researching the breed, I was told that the colour of the lab made no difference. Now a veterinarian tells me this is not true.

Well, hell. If I can deal with this dog and all his maladies, I’m pretty sure I can handle a baby. Can I handle the two together is the question.

While I was up with Charlie all night last night as he threw up, I realized that regardless of how much work he is, we picked him and he is our responsibility. To turn our backs on him now would be irresponsible and cruel. As much as he is a lot of work, I truly love the little guy. I think that he has taught me the true meaning of patience. The fact that I can now wipe the diarrhea off of his bum after he dribbles it on the carpet and then go right back to finishing my lunch (after a thorough hand scrubbing mind you) has shown me how much I have grown as his mummy over the last few months.

The vet has recommended that we start making his food. I used to do this for my old dogs and it consists of buying bulk amounts of brown rice, oatmeal, ground turkey and vegetables and vitamin supplements, and cooking a whole bunch of the food on a Sunday afternoon then freezing the food in meal sized portions for the week ahead. I already do this for our food so I might as well. The vet office has even said they will supply the vitamin supplements free of charge. Did I mention how much I love that clinic? They are the only one so far that has promoted healthy, holistic diets for animals. I have learned a lot about dog and cat food over the last few years and I can tell you that most of it is complete garbage. It’s scary what these companies are allowed to dump in the food.

We had Charlie on one of the recommended holistic brands, but apparently it is too rich for him and it makes his poo taste too good to resist. So tonight, we cook. He’s also taking Zantac for his tummy and some other anti-bacterial for his diarrhea. Hopefully, we can resolve the poop problems once and for all.

In other news: ice storm! Yay! So much fun to drive in. Also causing power outages. Also caused the van containing my brand new king-sized mattress set which I was looking forward to sleeping on tonight to go careening into a ditch. No bed for us. This after we disassembled our old bed already and now the frame, headboard and footboard are set up in its place. We’re sleeping on the floor again. Which I guess is fine considering that we don’t sleep anyway because we’re up with the puppy all night.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to vent a little. I am tired of people telling me that it is not the baby moving around that I am feeling, that what I am feeling is probably gas. To these people I say: my body, my baby. I know what gas feels like. Gas does not feel like soft fluttering butterflies in my womb. Gas feels like gas in my intestines. I know the difference. I’m not an idiot.

To my baby I say: It’s nice to finally feel you in there. Every day I feel we are more connected. I hope you enjoy your stay and that everything is to your liking in there.