Wordy Wednesday

We always like to cross our paws for all our friends who need our support.  We think we found a new way to do that.  

TOGETHER!!!

Lightning and Timber

Misty and Lightning

Timber and Misty

Today we are sending our POTP to our friend Fenris.  We hope you are doing much better soon.

And now a wordy update on where things stand with Misty:

We are happy to report that it appears that her undercoat is starting to grow back.  She feels a lot softer and fuller compared to how coarse her fur was after losing all the undercoat and being left with just her guard hairs. The vet was hoping this would happen before the winter but cautioned us that it could take until the spring for the change to happen. We think that all the steroid medications she was on for so long might finally be out of her system.  We are being cautiously optimistic that she will have her full and beautiful coat back by the winter.

Then there is the whole IBD issue.  As we told you the other day, Misty is now trying a new food, and a pricey one at that, even pricier than the one she has been on for quite some time now.  After almost two years on Hill's Prescription Diet z/d with no obvious improvement in her inflammatory bowel disease and her bloody, runny stools, the vet recommended we try a different formula made by Royal Canin called Ultamino.  Per the Royal Canin website, "Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Ultamino Dry Dog Food is an innovative diet formulated as a nutritional solution for pets with severe food sensitivities. Its clinically proven and highly palatable formula contains a protein source that is broken down to an amino acid level, so it can be absorbed in the digestive tract with reduced risk of triggering a food sensitivity. Optimal amounts of B vitamins and amino acids reinforce your dog’s skin barrier. Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA help promote healthy skin and coat. An exclusive blend of fibers helps support healthy digestion in dogs prone to digestive upsets, including diarrhea. And with strict manufacturing procedures to help avoid cross contamination, you can confidently feed Royal Canin Ultamino long-term to dogs with food sensitivities."

We aren't really sure if Misty's problems are due to food sensitivities or just a lousy gut, but at this point with no benefit from any and all of the recommended treatments of medication and diet, why not try something new?

Here is the funny part about this food.  It has "chicken by products", which in this case amounts to CHICKEN FEATHERS!!!!  Yes, you read that correctly.  Per the vet, chicken feathers are very high in protein but the protein in the feathers is too large for the body to utilize as just feathers. So the feathers are processed and broken down into minuscule bits of protein that the body can effectively absorb.

Misty seems to like this food very much, although Mom says it has a very odd odor.  Hard to say what it smells like, but it is definitely distinctive.  Misty has been eating it for about 10 days now, with a very slow switch from the other food.  She is now at about 1/3 z/d and 2/3 Ultamino and should be fully on Ultamino by the end of the week.  The big change we have noticed is that her stools are much firmer for the first time in two years.  Unfortunately there is still substantial blood mixed in.  The vet says the prognosis is that this will likely never change since she doesn't respond to any availabe treatments  We really don't know what to expect long term, but it HAS to be a good sign that she isn't all runny and loose.  She should be absorbing the benefits of the food beter now.   We just hope it lasts and with a miracle the blood will stop.  We can always have hope. 

Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

So Wordless or Wordy, we still enjoy hopping along with the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop sponsored by Comedy Plus.