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Yesterday was an annual exam day at the veterinarian for Typhoon, but will he follow doctor’s orders?
Wait a minute. This isn’t the park.
Bright and early yesterday morning, Typhoon had his vet appointment for his annual exam. The first order of business was his weigh-in and he passed with flying colors – 44.2 lbs (20 kg). Our goal has been to bulk him up to all of 45 pounds, so he is certainly within range. Thanks to our current combination of food for him, he is eating every meal – quite an accomplishment for a very picky eater.
Which brings us to . . .
I might smell it, but not sure I will taste it.
Typhoon has a little tartar build up on his back molars. The rest of the herd regularly chews bully sticks to help clean their teeth, but Typhoon doesn’t like the taste of those. Sort of like the first treat he was given when he walked into the vet’s office – he spit it out on the floor. Notice the jar of liver treats in the picture – a treat he does like.
So we were discussing different things for him to chew and the vet wanted to try the dental chews. He was given one which he carried around quite proudly. However, not once – not a single time – did he bite down on it or chew at all. Yes, he carried it in the car on the way home, but it now sits on the kitchen counter without a single bite mark.
What do you mean I am supposed to chew it? I just want to carry it.
Sigh. We finally figured out the magic combination to get him to eat. Now we need to figure out the magic combination to get him to chew.
We are nearing the time for our very first update on the fundraising for Valentine’s Hearts for the Herd. Remember that you can participate by mailing a Valentine card to any member of the Herd (or Herd Annex) at Dog’s Name, c/o The Thundering Herd, PO Box 1835, Maggie Valley, NC 28751. If you want, you may also include a check made out to Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation and we will see that they get 100% of your donation.
We will continue to feature an adoptable dog or cat from Sarge’s every day during the Valentine’s Hearts for the Herd. Today, we want to tell you about Chunky.
Chunky
Chunky is a young Border Collie mix boy, about one year old. He is very smart, active, playful and will be a joy to train. He’ll do best with people who have time to spend on training, mental and physical activity, and knowledge of the breed would be a big bonus.
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Good luck finding a chew that he likes. I only like bully sticks and fish skin chews (maybe Typhoon will take to those? They sure are stinky and so much fun to leave on humom’s head when she has a headache!)
Glad to hear he is at a weight you are happy with!
Can Typhoon have knuckle bones for his teeth? I’m no expert but that worked wonders for Gatsby, and I expect a raw bone would be hard to resist.
Oh Typhoon you silly boy. I was going to suggest (only joking) putting the treat in an envelope since he likes envelopes, but then remembered he only likes to stash envelopes not shred them like Koda. Haha.
Oh and YAY!! On the 44.2!!!!
My girl will not chew on bully sticks, antlers, greenies or Himalayan chews to help with dental plaque. Dental cleaning can only be sedated (which is costly). Our vet gave us a sample of Royal Canin dog dental food to try. She will not eat them out of her bowl as a meal or as treats during the day . She will only eat them as a treat after dinner! I hand feed her about 12 nuggets and she just sits and waits for them. She will not get up to leave until she has 12 of them, we can’t even short her one. = ) It has helped to keep her back teeth a lot cleaner. I will be happy to send you some to try with Typhoon.
I used to feed the foster dogs beef shanks with a little meat left on them (raw) from a butcher shop, kept their teeth clean… and also frozen whiting fillets, they loved their fish-cicles, outside for both treats, had one sneak a fishcicle into their crate, NOT good when I found it the next day!
I am glad that you have figured out how to get your finicky eater to eat. I adore Typhoon.
Maddox also is bad about this, and drives me nuts. Even regular biscuits get carried around rather than eaten. Turkey necks he will eat but I can’t be buying them all the time. Argh. Glad typhoon got some weight on at least!
Have you tried deer antlers?
Our elkhounds love them
Have not and have heard good things about them. The funny thing is the others will chew anything – and insist on having whatever everybody else is having – so experimentation can be expensive. 🙂
My Sibe Nacho is also fussy and doesn’t chew the dental chew unless he sees his big sister with one and then he steals it! Anything she has he grabs and runs away. A naughty boy.