Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Back To Chewing

Even though Henry has not enjoyed any other chewy stick besides the ones that were Luna's favorite, we have kept a variety in the pugs's toy bin within Henry's reach just in case he ever became interested once again. Low and behold, the boy started to show some interest a few weeks ago. It started with him just sniffing in the bottom tier of the toy bin. Then a few days later he pulled out a chewy and just carried it around with him. The day after that he gave the stick a few licks and then a half-hearted chew. A few more days passed and no interest. But then a another day or two later, he pulled out a different chewy stick and just went to town on it! He was so pleased with himself. Also, back to old school days, he preferred someone to hold it steady for him while he chewed. We were happy to oblige. (I know! The boys are such babies and needed us to hold their chewies. Luna and Sol were self sufficient since we did not spoil them rotten in their youth.)

Henry chewed the stick until it was gone. It took him about an hour. That is about 55 minutes longer than it takes him chew the kind that Luna preferred. The problem is this: Henry really should not be chewing ANY sticks. They are not good for his IBD and thus can be really bad for him by inhibiting his protein absorption. But giving him a longer lasting chewy stick totally helps to alleviate his nervous energy and in way that relieves him where medication and lavender oil does not. It works his mind and body. So, it is a tough call as how to balance it all. We know for sure that the sticks Luna loved cause him to have bad poops. Actually, from puppyhood we have referred to those chewies as diarrhea sticks since pretty much no matter what they would give the boys diarrhea. Luna must have had a stomach of lead since she never had these problems. So, we try to avoid those chew sticks for Henry, especially now. We will see how this other type of chewy plays out with Henry. So far so good now though. Poops are still holding at a 7 on a rough day and a 9 on a good day ( on a 1-10 scale where 10 is a tootsie roll and 1 is brown water). Yeah, more poop talk. Sorry.

While we are thrilled that his desire to chew demonstrates that he is coming back to his old personality and continues to have likes, interests and things that make him happy, it is truly such a double edged sword. What he loves may be his downfall. We are just trying to keep a balance and hope that it works out for the best. If we see that he's being damaged by rekindling his chewing habit, then of course we will go back to high level cautiousness but for now, we are tying to let him chew in moderation so as to let him have some balance in his life.

#HenryStrong #HenryChewsAgain #OldSchoolHComingBack