Parental Practice

I have a feeling that Boobies, our yellow lab, can tell that there will be some big changes soon. He has been acting really weird lately. We switched his dog food from a more pricey $35/a bag for forty pounds of Purina One (food he's had since he was a puppy, that we love to feed him) to $20/a bag for 55 pounds of Purina Dog Chow. I know we've downgraded his food considerably, and I feel horrible. But at the rate Boobies and Monkey eat their food, we go through it so fast. We really need to tighten things up with money before the baby comes.

We know that when it comes time to switch food for our dogs, that we must mix the old with the new to transition the change. They have sensitive stomachs and we are careful to not disrupt their digestion too much. It's been about a month since we've changed their food. It seems that just recently, Boobies has been really inhaling his food. We watch him and see that he actually is sucking in his ribs to eat. Then he hacks and wheezes and sometimes even throws his food back up.

I've been trying to feed him little by little lately. That seems to help a bit. I give Monkey his food first, across the kitchen, and then I feed Boobies a teeny bit of food at a time. I try to praise him when he actually chews. He seems so ravenous. I wonder if maybe our food doesn't satisfy him and he really is starving by next meal time? It's not like he's been losing weight. I would say he's got a good build. He's not too fat like Labs get, and he's not skinny. I know that Labs have a habit of being glutenous, but this is ridiculous.

I know he doesn't have any obstructions to cause him to throw his food up, because when I feed him slowly, he doesn't regurgitate. I read on some forums that dogs can feel stress. I wonder if maybe he can sense a new arrival coming and he's worried. I feel so bad for him if he's stressed. I don't feel that Kyle and I carry our stress of the upcoming change with us, but maybe Boobies can see right past our facade.

He went from being our only "baby" since he was a puppy, to being just another dog. Monkey came into his life when he was three and lost a part of his pedestal as the best dog ever. Now, he's been watching as we work on the nursery and buy baby things, and he's probably sensing another change coming. I wonder if we need to get him a new toy and pay extra attention to him? I don't think that Monkey is as affected by any possible changes as he still acts the way he's been since we've known him. As long as he gets affection and gets to snuggle with Kyle on the couch, he is satisfied.

I'm going to keep trying to feed Boobies slow and see if that helps any. There are some bowls out there with prongs in them to help the quick eater, and if I have to, I'll buy that. A friend also suggested that we get some toys that give him a "job" to do. Maybe a new Kong or a treat ball of some sort. She thought maybe if he was a bit more active with his mind, he will feel less stress. We do take the boys for walks after work before dinner.

This must just be practice for kids... We get so mad at him for doing "stupid" things like breathing his food down and then up-chucking it all over the carpet. It's not his fault he's doing this, if it's caused by emotion or stress. We have to get over our aggravation of his behavior and try to get to the root of it. Hopefully if we pay more attention to him and show him that we love him, he will feel more at ease... Parenting practice... that's how I look at it.