Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Minor BARF Setback

It's been a day so I think I can publically talk about it now. It seems something that the girls ate didn't appeal to them - NOT AT ALL!! How did I know this? Well, I came home from work on Monday to find that all three of them (not one, not two but ALL three of them) had exploded in their crates. Lucy to the extent that the wall behind her had been sprayed. What a visual, huh?

You can imagine what I must have been thinking and saying and spouting right about then (yes, it sounded as if a sailor were in the room!). I quickly ushered everyone outside where poor Lucy commenced to "going" and "going" until finally she was finished. Everyone had to be hosed down and yes, it was about 40 degrees outside right about then. I dried everyone off and let them back in. Unfortunately though, dear Lucy was afraid to venture back inside because she had slid (on her own poop on her feet) on the kitchen floor on her way out. So, she was very afraid that the "mean ole floor" would get her again. She stood outside in the cold for about an hour and a half, during the entire time it took me to clean their crates!

Anyhoo, I cleaned their crates, washed their crate pads (each had to be washed twice), cleaned the walls, cleaned Lucy's ribbons I had hung on her crate, and cleaned the dogs . . . again. It was about 8:30 p.m. when everything was said and done.

Lucy then finally did venture back inside the house. I didn't know what I was going to do if she didn't come back in. I did grab the leash and tried that but it was like pulling Eeyore through the backdoor and she wasn't having anything to do with that! As you can imagine, I was about to kill everyone I was so frustrated. But I finally coaxed her in with a pumpkin muffin (dog treats I had made on Sunday). Food usually is the motivator for her.

Yesterday morning they had cooked chicken and rice. I came home from work to see poop (and pee) free crates. Last night it was a turkey neck and small chicken leg each. They were happy dogs again. Finally . . . all is well at the Peterson household.

After pondering the weekend trying to determine what the culprit was, I do believe it was the beef fat I gave them on Sunday. I think I probably gave them too much. The butcher told me it would be good for their coats. Well, they get fish oil pills daily so I think their coats are fine, I've determined. NO MORE BEEF FAT!!

I guess I'm still on that learning curve for the BARF thing but I hope for my sake and their sake that I "get it" soon!! Pin It

6 comments:

christie said...

I have come home to the same sight before, luckily I only had one dog at the time, but unfortunatly, he is crated in my bedroom when I'm away. I could smell it when I walked in the house. You have my deepest sympathy. I've been there.

Zan said...

Don't you just love this kind of thing. I've never had multiple dogs with exploding poo at exactly the same time, but when it has happened with one, the same sailor that was at you house on Monday visits mine!! Projectile poop is NOT a pretty sight - especially after a long day at work.

I'm glad everything is back under control and all three pups are back to normal!!

Never Say Never Greyhounds said...

Uuuugggg... that sounds awful. I think it happens to them all at least once, but never all of them at the same time.

I was a little worried about the beef fat. When trying to find the right mix of food to create the right consistancy of stool, remember that meat, fat, and veggies loosen the stool. Bones tighten everything up. Fat especially will liquify the GI output.

Jen

Heather said...

i'm so glad you labeled this minor! i might have gone running for the hills. glad the girls are all feeling better!

Addie said...

Oh Patti...Poor, poor Patti!

I feel sorry for the girls, too, but poor you. I can only imagine.

Addie

Maria Peters said...

oh holy shit. LOL.

Not fun...I see what you meant about your sailor fit...and in front of impressionable young dogs!

Hey, love your side winders! I haven't been to your actual blog site in a while, as I read your blog through google reader...but boy, am glad I showed up!