Creatures of Habit, Part 2

Well, I’ve given up on changing the girls’ breakfast time. Temporarily.

Last week Shadow had to get a re-check of her liver enzyme levels. 

Back in January when she had her annual exam, they were slightly elevated, but the vet wasn’t all that concerned. “We’ll re-check them in three months and take it from there.”

Well, they were still a little elevated last week, so the vet decided to try Denosyl – a nutritional supplement, not a prescription drug – to help “clean out” her “system”. That’s when her appetite really went south.

I started her on the Denosyl on Wednesday morning – on an empty stomach – and about two hours later put her food bowl down for her. (Instructions call for waiting at least an hour before feeding meals.) 

Shadow sniffed at the food and walked away. Would not even take a small bite. “Oh ****!” I said to hubby. “Between my routine change and now this, all that hard work of getting her weight and daily calories back up is going to be for naught.”

I spent the day worrying about her food intake. Stupid me. I should have just called the vet. But she was otherwise fine. She and Ducky played well together in the yard.
Well, to be honest, they played separately – Shadow with her ball, Ducky with her Bounzer – but there was no arguing between them. I worked with Ducky on her “place” and loose-leash walking and threw in some sit-stay-come work. And I threw Shadow’s ball back and forth across the yard. 

Thursday morning? Same scenario. Denosyl at 7 am, food bowl down at 9:30, a brief sniff and then refusal to eat. So, when I got to the vet’s office to do my externship hours, I mentioned the food issue to the vet tech who’s mentoring me. She immediately put my mind at ease.

“It’s a temporary thing. The Denosyl has a habit of making their stomachs feel weird the first two or three days until they’re used to it. If she’s still refusing to eat over the weekend, we’ll figure something else out on Monday. But my guess is she’ll be back to normal tomorrow.” So, I stopped worrying and sure enough, Shadow ate her regular breakfast and then some yesterday. 

Maybe, at some point, I’ll go back to changing the girls’ meal times. But for now at least, all’s well. And the teensy bit of extra attention that I’m giving Ducky each day is keeping her jealousy under control. Even yesterday when the guys were here putting the new roof on the house she was good. (Of course, being at daycare all day and taking her “chill pill” before we left to come home probably helped. Along with the 3/4-mile walk around the ball field.)​​

Here’s hoping that you’re all having a good weekend!

17 thoughts on “Creatures of Habit, Part 2”

    • My Golden Life says:

      Thanks! She’s worried me – or maybe I should say given me reason to be concerned – a lot lately. But I have a great relationship with our vet, so I get over my worst fears pretty quickly.

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    • My Golden Life says:

      Well, I’m thinking the vet will want to check the enzyme levels again once I give Shadow the 30th tablet just to be sure; but as long as she’s eating again, I’m happy.

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  6. christycaplan (@christycaplan) says:

    Oh I’m so glad Shadow’s appetite returned -just as the tech suggested. I’m not familiar with Denosyl -was the cleanse to make sure there wasn’t an issue with the elevated liver enzymes? I also didn’t know you were studying to be a vet assistant! That’s incredible and I know what kind of commitment that is – I went back to get my CVT license a few years ago. Congrats!

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  7. Jan K says:

    Oh, that was worrisome at first, but so glad the med settled in and Shadow has started eating! Also glad that everything you have been doing with Ducky is making a difference – good job! xo

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