Every Year From Here On Out Will Be A Milestone In The Life Of This Dog.

It feels like it’s been quite awhile since I’ve given a Leroy update.

Probably not but I feel it’s due.

Well no news is good news right?

I hope so!

All seems to be going well and Leroy will be getting a recheck in the next month.

He’s had some small issues that we’ve been monitoring and ONE soft poop incident which scared the living daylights out of me but it quickly resolved without any intervention.

Due to some side effects we took a deep breath and stopped the Prednisone about 3-4 weeks ago. We had been watching this closely and trying to cut back as low as we could on his dose but we were still seeing some unwanted side effects that were hitting Leroy pretty hard so after consulting with the vet we took a leap of faith and stopped the steroids. I’ve been holding my breath since because we had assumed that steroids were in Leroy’s future indefinitely. It’s still too early to say if he can be without them long term.

He’s still maintaining his appetite but we’ve cut back his food because I think he’s kind of becoming a fat ass.

He’s not really fat. I promise. He just looks massive compared to what he’s looked like the past year. I keep thinking he’s filling up with fluid again but he’s not. Last night on our walk some guy pulled up next to us and said he looked small for a Newf.  That’s a first and I would love to know what the guy was using as a comparison. Maybe it was because he was sitting 20 feet above us in his truck with wheels that were just ridiculous. Just a guess.

Anyway……..there’s been some experimenting going on to see what he can tolerate and what he can’t.

His food remains the same prescription food that he was put on when this all began and that is where it will stay until he tells me otherwise. The food is Purina EN and Royal Canin Gastrointestinal canned formula. For some reason this combination is working. We have had a few episodes where he refused to eat but as far as we can tell that was in conjunction to the episodes he was having with the steroids. During those times we let him tell us when he was ready to eat again. We would change up the way we fed the food to see if that helped and sometimes it did. Again, we think this was due to the steroids and not an IBD flare up but I’m hesitant to say anything until  he’s been off of them longer.

That’s the way the episodes go and they seem to work themselves out in a few days.

As far as treats go, they have pretty much remained the same as when we started. I’m very careful what goes in his mouth.

Rice cakes seem to be his all time favorite. I think he digs the crunch of them. Sometimes I spruce them up and add some fat free whipped cream on top and a little dab of honey. He loves it.

Air popped popcorn is another one of his favorites and he gets that once a week or so. I’ve been able to mix a few things in to make him a little popcorn party but he’s happy to eat it plain. I’ll share some fun things I mix in……on another post.

Apple slices were a big hit at first but then we started to have some issues because Leroy likes to swallow things whole instead of chewing them. So a few times he puked up whole apple slices and that was enough for me to stop giving them. It didn’t matter what size I would cut the slices they would still come back up. I don’t need anything irritating his innards even if it’s apples.

As far as actual dog treats go he’s been able to tolerate the ones that I have chosen for him and he gets them in moderation.

The other fun thing I found, that I mentioned in Monday’s post, was the Leanlix. This is great for Leroy because there’s 1 calorie in 40 licks and I got the hot dog flavored one that also contains a probiotic. It’s not a new product but it’s new to me and it’s been a great little treat for Leroy.

He did steal some french fries off the table. I wasn’t home at the time but Bobby accidentally slipped and told me. I guess it was discussed at the time of the incident that I was on a need to know basis and I didn’t need to know this catastrophe…..but lucky for me Bobby sucks at keeping secrets. Leroy’s stomach tolerated the fries and my heart tolerated waiting to see if Leroy’s stomach would tolerate the fries.

As I’ve said before, these are things that are working for Leroy. Every dog with IBD is different. We’re still very new to this game which is why I’ve been hesitant to share his diet. Right now it appears that low fat, low protein foods that are easy to digest are managing his condition well. Obviously that can change as we move forward.

Tuesday we’ll hit a milestone.

Leroy turns 7.

He becomes a senior dog.

A veteran class dog in the show world.

There was a time I didn’t think he was going to see those days.

I remember whispering in his ear last year, please make it to see your next birthday. Please.

Looks like he made it 🙂

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right?

 

 

 

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