A Visit to the Vet

It's time for little Zada's first visit to the vet. She needs her rabies shot, plus I'm having them check out what's going on with her production of...soft serve. So, not only do I "get" to pay for said visit, shot, and any medication she might need, I'm also the lucky one who has to "collect a stool sample to bring in for analysis." Oh, goodie.

She DID cooperate this morning and left a nice one for me, but the thought of having it in my car is disgusting. I just picked it up in my hands and transferred it right to the front seat to get it over with. Kidding.

I guess I'm also one of "those people" that makes a list of all afflictions said dog is undergoing at the time so as not to forget to ask something once I get there. As of right now, besides needing the shot & the analysis of her BMs, she makes this "snarfing" noise sometimes...mostly after eating, so maybe she's not chewing all the way, or something. Also, she seems pretty itchy for a pup - fingers crossed that she doesn't end up with skin allergies like the last shepherd we had.

Also, I'll need to set up an appointment to get her spayed and microchipped (they do it at the same time, evidently the needle's pretty big for the microchip procedure), plus I need more of her dog food - they sell it there.

I feed her Solid Gold, which is what the breeder was feeding her and which is VERY expensive - $40 for a 33-lb bag! Once I get back from Mexico (the breeder's boarding her for those 2 weeks) I'm going to switch her over to Natural Choice, I think. It's still spendier than Purina or Iams, but I like the ingredients better and it's all natural (hence the name).

My mother and sister feed their dogs Purina Beneful, but the main ingredients in that are ground corn & chicken by-products, plus sugar, mega-preservatives and soy - which is a major factor in allergies for dogs. (Although the Natural Choice contains soybean OIL, which must not be bad?) Having a shepherd - they're prone to skin allergies; at least the American-bred ones are - makes me want to be very careful in what I choose to feed her because my old boy, at the end of his life, had skin problems so badly he'd lose almost all of his hair in the summer. Poor guy.

Anyway, it's time to get going...