There are many dog food reviews and many times people are seeking a diet to solve acute issues.  You can look at hundreds of dog food comparisons, premium dog food, gluten free dog food,etc. and think this will work. Don’t be fooled or tricked.

What should you do when your dog or cat…ain’t exactly right? Before you go jumping to any conclusions, you must realize that you probably know your pet better than anybody else, so using your common sense first calmly evaluate the situation.

So, normally, I would assume that you have a healthy dog or healthy cat, most if not all of the time, so once in a while they may get into something or even catch something from us, never thought of that did you? The truth is they can and do catch colds, viruses, bacteria, and all sorts of stuff not only from sniffing around, but from us humans as well.

As you would rest your digestive tract when you’re not feeling well, shouldn’t you do the same for theirs? Do not go jumping to conclusions and running to the veterinarian every time Fido or Kitty vomits or has loose stool or scratches.

It has been my experience over the past 20 years that when I have recommended these simple, logical steps to follow, many hundreds of Viand clients have benefited emotionally as well as financially and their pets regained all of their energy and many have even done better than before the episode.

1. Evaluate the situation first….

Is their tail wagging? Purring? Do they want to still play? Do they just want to cuddle? Is everything pretty normal, but they just seem a little out of it?

If this is the case, then read on. If this is not the case and your pet is lethargic and really out of it, then by all means get in the car and go to the Vet.

2. In any case, DO NOT FEED!!!

I can’t stress this enough, be sure there is plenty of water or preferably, low sodium chicken broth, as much as they want. Supply this for minimally for a whole day, 24 hours,  NO FOOD of any type, no treats, no rice, nothing!.

3. What to feed and When?

Once things settle, normally after 24 hours or so, whatever volume of food you normally would feed, cut it in ½, but ready for this…Fresh Raw ground Turkey, yes, raw, ground turkey…you can add a little chopped dark leafy greens, if you wish. Then, the day after that, bump up the volume of food intake to the normal amount using just the ground turkey.  By then, things should have passed through, you’ve allowed their system to rest, and you nourished them with the easiest product to digest and pass through their digestive tract.

4. Now What?

Go back to the Viand Kibble, ½ the normal amount you would normally feed and if you can include a little of the raw turkey for the next few days, that’s even better. Everything should be back to normal by now.

They are dogs and cats, they get into stuff, that is their nature. Vomiting and resting is normal, but sometimes our over zealousness hinders that process which only adds layer upon layer of unnecessary work onto our pets where all we want to do is have them focus on the issue at hand.

In my experience over the years when clients experience their pet a little out of the norm, not knowing these steps, they would visit the veterinarian who many times insists on an overnight stay, an  I.V  and some blood work, which usually would have shown some elevated something or other due to the dehydration while vomiting. Depending on where you live this can run up to a few thousand dollars.

Be smart, relax, you know your pet, do these few things and you’ll see that within a day or so they’re back to normal. Reflect back, if you had children, did you go running to the doctor every time he or she vomited, had loose stool, didn’t feel like eating????  Ok, with your first child, maybe we ran prematurely once or twice. But, as we experienced more, we were much wiser and relaxed as each event arose and we then knew when we could handle an issue or when we should get help. That is all I am trying to convey here, the connection we have with our pets is one that goes far beyond mere words, but one of a connection of spirit.

So, file this where you can have it handy whenever the situation may arise.

Thank you for taking the time to inform yourself back to a “common-sense” approach to well-being,