Never has it been more obvious to me than the last few days….
Shadow needs to eat more food than what she had been eating. Things were going great until the other day.
I started my externship for my Vet Assistant course on Tuesday so my routine changed.
Shadow definitely does not like change. Ducky? She couldn’t care less. As long as she gets fed, loved, and played with, she’s happy.
Back to Shadow. Tuesday, while I brought Ducky to daycare, I had hubby put Shadow’s breakfast bowl down for her. She ate some – well, most – of it but not all. Later, she barely touched her lunch. She did eat her dinner but only because she was hungry. And even then she picked and poked at it first. Wednesday she was even less willing to eat. And Thursday morning she left part of her breakfast again.
I’m trying to change their meal times to make it easier on all of us. Ducky’s being very cooperative. Shadow is not. She is a creature of habit – like her mama – and doesn’t like having her applecart upset.
Routine change is hard on me, too. Normally, I hate it. So, I feel for Shadow. And like with Ducky’s attitude changes last week, I had an “ah-ha!” moment with Shadow Thursday morning. I’ll just keep feeding her at the new times – picking up the bowl if she doesn’t eat within 15 minutes – until she gets used to the new routine.
The changes due to my externship will only last nine or ten, maybe twelve, weeks. Hubby will give Shadow her chest and neck rubs in the afternoons, and let both girls play out in the yard, while I’m working at the vet’s office the three afternoons a week.
All that said, I’m thankful that Shadow is healthy and that her body can tolerate the upheaval of her routine.
in my heart 4ever 
Our crew is surprisingly adaptable to changes in routine. Just this morning Luke had to go to the vet, and with the possibility of sedation (for blood tests), there was no breakfast. Cricket slept right through it all, and was fine when I fed her later after Luke and Dad had left.
It was a “no go” at the vet, Luke got treats when he got home but he was fine with that and nothing else.
Whenever we’ve had issues with eating, it’s always in the morning. I guess their appetites are just better after a day of activity?
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A day of play and no breakfast. 🙂
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It’s surprising how adaptable they can become in a reasonably quick amount of time. Fingers and paws crossed it all works out with little disruption. Best of luck with the internship. You’re gonna be a pawsome tech!
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I think she’ll adapt at some point, but I’m not pushing it…when she does, she does. And if she doesn’t? Well, so be it. At 12-1/2, I just want her to be happy and healthy. We can deal with the inconvenience if need be.
As for my externship/future, thanks!! Actually, I’m just taking the course for my own knowledge. And so I can better take care of my girls. It’s my way of honoring my sweet CallieAngel (and KissyAngel, too).
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Sam learned real fast if he didn’t eat the dish got put up. Didn’t take long at all and he was especially interested in thwarting Ms. Elsa! LOL I love that you’re doing this for the dogs’ sake. So cool!
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Enjoy you externship.
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Thanks!
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We’re very lucky Honey tolerates some of our crazy schedule changes. We try to feed her at 7 a.m. But sometimes we have to leave an anchorage or dock at 7 a.m. to get the right tide for a rough spot. And then we feed her at 5 a.m. so she has time to digest before we dinghy her off for her walk.
She looks a little miffed when we wake her up to eat. Luckily she’s VERY food motivated.
Hopefully your efforts with Shadow will help her adjust. If you added a soft treat that could be mixed into her normal food–liverwurst or yogurt–maybe it would motivate her enough to finish everything.
Of course, you don’t want Ducky to get jealous. 🙂
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Poor Shadow – anything out of the ordinary (like liverwurst, peanut butter) tend to aggravate her reflux, so I have to be careful of what I give her and how much. Luckily, I feed them separately (behind closed doors) so there’s no chance of jealousy. But I usually give them the same treats anyway.
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Meadow is a fussy eater. Sometimes I just add a small sprinkle of her favorite treats on top of her food and once she starts eating the treats she seems to find her appetite to finish the rest of her meal. Maybe something like that might help?
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I never thought of that. Thanks for the idea, Donna! Although, knowing Shadow, she might just eat the treats and leave the food.
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Sounds like Torrey, she is such a creature of habit. The two days we had my nieces with us, she was way out of sorts. I’ve always joked she wears a watch.
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