Sorry to hear about the sickness in your house. What a stress! I know what that is like...my little guy has been sick almost constantly since we adopted him. Took a lot of time and money and finally going to UT to finally figure out what was going on. The emotional stress is soooo hard. Everytime I think it might be nice to have companion for Snickers to play with (so he'll stop harassing me to constantly play 95% of the day...we do have to get some work done around here! haha) I don't know if I could possibly deal with having another dog who might end up with the kind of health problems...or even half of the kind health problems he has! I really feel your pain!
I have two suggestions: First, if your dogs are gulping down their food...I think getting a puzzle or interactive toy for them to feed out of is a great answer. Slows them down and gives them something to do! Stimulates their mind, which is great. I feed at least 2 of 4 meals in a Kong every day...my dog loves the challenge and NEEDS it, because he's constantly bored (even though I'm home and playing with him all day long...he's a troublemaker!) If it's kibble, maybe getting something like a ball that dispenses kibble would be good.
As far as GI problems, if you haven't been to a specialist, you might want to consider it...or at least ask your vet about tests that might not be routine. Like I said, my dog has been sick constantly, and it wasn't until we took him to UT that they did a test that determined he had a colostrium overgrowth producing endotoxins. He's got MVD too, adding to his problems, but finding out about the colostrium overgrowth was something new to me that I had never heard of and was not something normally tested for, according to my local vet. |