#poorlypup

Seb's life started with us the same way many people would expect. We brought him home to a house full of new toys, beds, blankets, food and, for Seb and ourselves, new experiences. We went through all the usual trials and trepidation's of a new puppy. Is he happy? Is he bored? ARE WE LOOKING AFTER HIM PROPERLY?

There is no doubt in my mind of the first two questions, we live in a heavily wooded area with lots of good local walks, he had plenty of toys and, of course, plenty of cuddles and affection from me, my wife and his own, fast-growing fan club. The last question was thrown into doubt about 3 days after his first set of vaccinations. We had done everything we had been told, he had only gone out in the garden, we were careful what he picked up and we were careful of what we fed him as, at this point, puppy food was still his only diet. Cue the vomitting, and the feeling of self doubt. Now this wasn't just a little bit of puppy sick, but all his food and more afterwards. We did what any first-time pet owners would do, we panicked. Straight to the out of hours vets where they assured us he was fine and started him on a course of medication to quell the sickness and ensure all was correct in Sebs tiny, little, 3 month old body.

Since then, some people have questioned the way we have cared for Seb with multiple trips to the vets, endless injections, blood tests, tablets and various other medication, but we were happy doing what we were doing, knowing in our own minds that we were doing everything in our power to look after and care for, our little ball of fluff. Seb is now 1 years old and we have just gotten to the bottom of the problem. FOOD. We have learnt a valuable lesson here, just because the breeder has them on a certain food, it is not necessarily the best food for them. In fact, it is often the cheapest food they can find in fancy packaging to make it look good. Seb was off his food, disinterested and very lethargic, cue another trip to the vets. New suggestion, diet trial.

Now, a diet trial is not as simple as just changing his food. you have to cut out everything! This means no treats, no Dentasticks, no doggy toothpaste. Absolutley nothing apart from the trial food for at least 4 weeks.

The world of dog food can be a scary and intimidating subject, with so many brands claiming their food to be the best of the best. One piece of advice, get advice from those who know best. We had lengthy discussions with both our vet and the local pet shop owner. I cannot stress how much this helped us in our choice, the vets know what the dog needs and the pet shop owner knows what is in all of their foods that they sell. When I say pet shop I mean a proper, local pet shop. It is quite easy to walk into a branch of a large franchise and walk out with a bag of food for £100 that has been sold to you as been perfect for the job at hand. This is not always the case, many large pet franchises do not train their staff on the nutritional factors of different foods, they train to up-sell, to make as much money out of each customer as possible. A genuine local owner just wants what is best for you and the dog, they will take the time to research the best brands and the best type of foods for your dog. Whilst doing some home research I found many examples of expensive food, which, when looked into weren't overly nutritious or healthy for the dog, with low meat contents and extremely high percentages of fillers such as grains and wheats which bloat the dog so they don't need to eat as much, great if your dog has a strong stomach but in this case not suitable at all. There was nothing for it, a trip to my local store with my furry best friend in tow. Here they took the time to explore different options and were happy, and able, to give proper, professional advice. It turns out that expensive food is not always best. For £76 a bag i could get a highly branded food, this food was at its minimal meat level and was packed with grains and fillers. For £45 a bag i got a lower branded food (the shops own) with 50% meat, no grains and only a small percentage of fillers. Guess which one i went for?

Decision made, there was nothing for it. Seb seemed to be struggling with beef and poultry, so a completely different approach was needed. We decided, with help, that we should try a fish based food, in this case salmon. Good for sensitive stomachs as it is quite a bland food and not overly rich. Of course the food would be extremely boring if it had just one ingredient, so the food we went for also contained trout, sweet potato and mint. Basic protein, basic carbohydrate and the mint to peak interest through scent.

The food has to be weaned slowly, as with all diet changes, but after just two days we had a happy, smiley, much healthier puppy who couldn't wait for dinner time. 6 months on, Seb is still excited for his food and continues to grow into a beautiful young dog with bundles of energy and not a bad bone (or bark) in his body, and has now been cleared by the vets and is ready for the next step in his four-legged world. Sen is Celiac, he can't have wheat or cereals. Don’t panic there are hundreds of treats and foods out there with no wheat and cereal. Just check the ingredients, if in doubt, ask.

Note: A change of diet is not always the answer and should only be considered after advice from the professionals as a move in the wrong direction can set your dog back even further. On top of diet issues, it could be an unsuitable wormer or flea treatment (just because the vet recommended it does not mean it is always suitable for your individual dog). Or, god forbid, it could be a health issue which needs to be looked into, and ruled out, before going any further.