You say Potato. I say Potahto

Ken and seem to talk about poop a lot these days. Specifically, dog doo.

Riley, our golden retriever, is 21 months now. Still a pup, really. We’re hoping for the maturity everyone assures us occurs at age two. He has been a darling puppy, don’t get me wrong. We’ve had a lot of fun with him. And really he’s been so eager to learn that training has been a joy for the most part. We have certificates from at least five different training classes to put on the fridge to demonstrate our pride in him. And any lapses he had in doggy etiquette were all within the realm of normal puppy behavior. So, although his appearance still causes little kids to ask if he is “Marley,” famous from book and movie as the “worst dog in the world” and, although Riley can sometimes be a bit Marley-esque in his puppy ways, we aren’t looking for maturity in behavior (although it will be nice to have a calm, grown up companion, we will be sad to see his puppy days ending.)

No, our hope is that his digestive system will finally grow up. Poor Riley (poor us!) has had chronic diarrhea since we got him at 7 weeks. We have a wonderful vet whom we trust and who has made Riley’s digestive tract his personal mission. Riley’s had tests for every possible cause, has been treated for all kinds of infections and parasites, and has been on food trials to determine allergies. There have been a few weeks or days in this time when he has been o.k., but nothing has agreed with him for long and we have been on high alert for any symptoms. “How was “business” this morning?” “Oh. Not too good!” Or, “Pretty good today! Good Boy, Riley.”  We call the vet weekly with poop reports. We can describe all kinds of subtle characteristics.  The vet thinks that Riley just isn’t absorbing nutrients. In humans this is called “slow gut.” Or maybe he has a doggy version of IBS. We’re not sure. He is as thin as a coyote and I tell people we meet that he’s a rescue so that they don’t think we’re starving him and call the SPCA on us.

For the last month and a half we have been cooking potatoes for our boy.  He eats 2 cups of mashed spuds (not the packaged instant variety) twice a day. To this we have gradually been adding prescription diet, low fat, low residue, high nutrient canned dog food in increasing amounts (plus enzymes, probiotics and powdered clay.) So far, the potato diet has been yielding the right effect. (I’ll spare you the details.) We buy a lot of potatoes. I love those sales for 2 ten pound bags for $5.00.  I even bake our very own potato chips (sans oil) so we can treat him for being a good boy. He now knows the word, “chips!” and will come running if we call him, “Riley! Chips!”

So many kind friends have given us their suggestions for fixing Riley’s problem. It seems as though there are a lot of dogs out there that have had digestive issues. Many people have said it got better when the dog turned two. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. But I keep watching for potato sales in the meantime.