The first thought I had after the vet diagnosed Topaz was well what do I feed her? What did you feed a dog that is allergic to grain, wheat, soy, dairy and most meats? My previous dog ate Purina Dog Chow and when she reached her golden years was then switched to Purina One and given a high protein diet. It was the only way to keep decent weight on her. I was not even aware that dogs could have grain, wheat and soy allergies until that day at the vets. The vet informed that several dog food brand companies made grain, wheat and soy free formula dog food and that I could find these brands at Petsmart. He had no suggestions for what brand to put her on, but informed me that I needed to ensure that the protein in the food was either lamb or fish.
I took Topaz home and then headed to Petsmart. Oh what an ordeal it was. First, wandering up and down all the aisles looking at all the brands and noting which ones were grain, wheat and soy free. Next, weeding out all the ones that did not offer a lamb and rice diet. Then, reading all the dog food labels of the few brands I had narrowed it down too. If the ingredient list contained the words chicken byproduct, chicken fat, chicken meal it immediately got bumped off the list. If the ingredient list contained the word egg it went into a tentative category. After reading all the potential new dog food ingredient labels I called Ken and had him do an internet check on all the potential brands. Only one brand got cut from the internet check due to some ingredients that were being called into question. Finally, it was time to make a choice.
We began with Natural Ultramix. She enjoyed there food and did improve on it, however, she did not completely improve. I believe next we went to Blue Buffalo and that did the trick. Of course, she was still notorious for managing to eat things she was not supposed too. Eating the other dogs food, anything left over by the kids on any of the floors, the cats food, etc. Then there was the list of foods (primarily peanut butter) that I used to hide her medicine in that I quickly learned were on her no-no list when she began to get better.
Prior to this point, Topaz had been given fruits and veggies from time to time but they were not something she got on a regular basis. The Ultramix dog food contained lots of fruits and vegetables in a form in which they were still recognizable. I decided to go ahead and try giving her fruits and vegetables as treats and to hide medicine in. I already knew she liked carrots, green beans and as a pup she had happily ate banana and peeled apples(she refuses to eat the peel). Banana is now an item she will eat a bite of on rare occasions and probably only because it is what I am eating. I believe this is because after her diagnosis bananas were what I primarily used as a treat and she got sick of it.
However, since moving to Tennessee her fruit and veggie list has expanded. It began by making sure I made meals with ingredients that I knew she liked at least once a week so that she got to have goodies. If we were having a salad, we would save out some carrots and let her have some carrots. Sometimes it was cooked green beans. However, the list became expanded in an accidental way.
I had been preparing an Italian pasta salad dish for dinner and had some broccoli that I was adding to it and a piece fell and hit the floor. Before I had a chance to scoop it up it was in Topaz's mouth. I did not expect her to eat it. I expected she would chew it for a moment decide she hated it and drop it on the floor. However, she ate it right up and then was under my feet asking for more. I gave her another piece. Again she scarfed it up and was back asking for more.
I began setting aside vegetables and fruits that I was preparing for us to give to her. I did this for two reasons. One the more fruits and veggies that I discover she likes or even better loves the larger my treat list becomes. Also, keeping the treat list new and interesting keeps her willing to work for the treats. I have found that if I get the same treat to much she just gets this attitude of Mom you've already given me a lot of that and she will no longer work for that treat well.
Finally, last night I decided what the hell. I was already cooking fish for us and sauteing squash, zucchini and onions why not make enough to go ahead and give her some. I had already discovered that she liked zucchini and she likes fish. This meant I had to alter how I intended to cook the food. Normally, I would have used butter. However, since she was eating too I decided to brush some olive oil on both sides of the fish. The sauteed veggies I went ahead and used 2 tablespoons of butter on. Since through past experiences I knew 2 tablespoons of butter was not enough to cause a problem (meaning from all the times that she has jumped on the counter top and gobbled down entire sticks of butter).
She loved it. Cooking for three is now on the to do more often list. This means Ken and I are committing to eating gluten and grain free and a mostly vegetarian meal at least 2 to 3 times a month simply so we can reward her from time to time with goodies from our plate.
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