Popeye, the Poop Purveyor

It is no secret that Popeye and I just tolerate each other, he is MeMa's dog and they adore each other.

Perhaps if he was not a poop eater things would be different........no.....the fact is he pee's on everything in the garden! MeMa says get over it, its a guy thing. My answer to that was, "You don't see me out there peeing on things do you"?

I prefer bitch dog's, they pee too but not on every plant in the garden or your favorite spade after you lean it against the wall while working on something else in the garden. I think he does it to show that his tolerance for me is getting thin.

It was suggested that we try the "raw diet" and along with it a whole slew of additives including pro-biotics. This was supposed to replace the essential enzymes that are missing in his diet.

He loved it, Sophie loved it, all was going great. But it didn't curb his unhealthy urge to eat poop, in fact it worsened the habit. Now he was eating the poop and the soil under it, digging great trenches all over the garden and pathways.

The evening of the second day he vomited seven times on the carpets, great piles of putrid stuff that almost had us rushing him to the veterinarian. Fortunately he stopped and so did the new raw diet.

We recently took him in for another thyroid check but the vet said no need as he is showing all the classic symtoms of Cushings Disease.  Hair loss, thinning skin, swollen belly, voracious appetite, insatiable thirst.  His skin is so thin and with the hair loss we now have to put sun screen on him so he can go outside and eat poop.  The Vet said to keep him comfortable and he could live a long life, keep him from getting any injuries as they will be very hard to treat and heal over.

There is a treatment for it but besides the fact that it is super expensive it is also very dangerous and the success rate is slim to none.  So now my tolerance level has come up a bit as the disease is what is causing the bad behavior issues.  He is still and always will be MeMa's dog, in her eyes he is Rin-Tin-Tin or Old Yeller.

While in my eyes he is still that poop eating dog.