Le Pont de L'Europe

Gustave Caillebotte |  Le Pont de L'Europe | 1876

Sweet ZZZs

Obsessive Compulsive Andy

A picture of Andy's injured snout - you can see the pinkish "raw" spot right above his little black nose.

Some of you may recall that Andy had a borderline manic episode of OCD-like behavior last week, where he became so overwhelmed with the desire to bury his new Himalayan Dog Chew he ended up rubbing the top of his snout raw in the process. Well...later that week he did the same thing with a dog biscuit while my husband and I were out. We gave him the biscuit as we left the loft and came home some hours later to find the couch bloodied and the biscuit "buried" between the cushions. Thankfully no permanent damage was done to either Andy's snout or the couch. Sheesh.

I'm totally disturbed and weirded out by this new behavior. It's hard to believe the boy's compulsion to bury things is so overwhelming that he completely disregards any pain or injury he's inflicting on himself...but that's what appears to be happening. The question is, why? And, how can we get him to stop? Our first step to address the issue has been to not give him any treats unless he's under supervision. Second, I think a lot of his behavior issues are tied to boredom. I think the pup needs more exercise and mental stimulation in order to redirect his energy. To that end, we're committing to walking him more. I'm also going to try some light jogging with him once the Fall semester kicks into gear. We may also start taking him to Camp Bow Wow more regularly. Talk about high maintenance. Again: sheesh.

More Synchronized Napping

Wellness Brand Kibble | A Change of Pace

Andy's been in a bit of a dietary funk lately. He's never been a really food driven dog to begin with but he seems even less interested in food as of late. It used to be that he would eat his kibble as soon as it hit the bowl but he's been really inconsistent with his eating habits the last couple of weeks. Sometimes he eats his kibble right away, other times he sniffs the contents of the bowl, then walks away without eating. He'll eat the kibble eventually but he doesn't seemed too thrilled with what he's eating. This pattern is especially worrisome to me because the dog we had before him, Maxwell, died of complications related to irritable bowel disease. Given that Andy's food issues have only surfaced recently, and don't seem to be all that serious, I'm not going to let my mind jump to anything like IBD just yet.

My husband and I have been debating about how we should handle this new situation. At this point we're approaching it as a dietary issue likely related to allergies, or, that Andy is just sick of the Merrick kibble he's been eating since day one. In order to kill two birds with one stone we've been transitioning him to a new brand of dog food. We decided to try the Wellness brand, which I've read many good things about and have purchased in the past. Specifically we bought a bag from the Simple line - which is formulated with limited ingredients and is specifically for dogs with food sensitivities. We've also been wondering if Andy's food issues are related to boredom. He's a very active (and needy!) dog and could probably stand to get more exercise. In either case we're trying a holistic approach - tending to both his physical and mental needs. Sheesh. What a high maintenance dog! If we don't see some improvement in the next couple of weeks we'll take him in to the vet for a checkup.

Andy Lurvs Tennis Balls!