Roseann
New member
I have been reading these posts about food lately and I get a little anxious about it. It didn't used to make me feel anxious when I was feeding my guys Orijen food as I thought it was a great food. Here's how I got to where I am today, anxiety running rampant. We got Henry on Christmas eve 2013, by Jan 15 2014 my illness came on with avengence and I had to quit my job. I had a fairly high paying job which put us in a great financial condition. I had thought I would be able to take a couple weeks off work and get myself back to where my pain was under control and go back to my job. Turns out that in the 18 months that I've been off work no doctor can figure out what is happening. I live in misery and anxiety. I had been married to my husband for 5 months when I had to stop working. He didn't sign up for this kind of life but he has taken care of me through it all. About 6 months ago I decided that it was time to try a different, more reasonable kind of food for our guys. It was so hard for me to think of Henry going back to the red itchy face and paws but I just couldn't justify what we were spending on dog food any more. We were going through 3 bags a month on food. $300 in dog food a month. I was bargain shopping for the human food and it was just not something I could continue. I searched every food that I thought was reasonable priced and the ingredients were just so poor that I couldn't decide on anything. Orijen is filled with meat and I felt so guilty about changing. I had looked at Taste of the Wild before and had seen some posts on EBN about other members feeding it. We have a orshlens 30 miles away so I would go there just to look at food and compare. I finally decided that if I had to I would feed Henry Orijen and the lab and EB mix pup TOTW. That also gave terrible anxiety because I was picking a favorite to give better food. (Obviously I have anxiety issues, lol) so we did the switch and there was no reaction. No bloody face, no hot spot, no obsessive paw licking, nothing. I kept waiting for the disaster but it never came. He is as healthy and beautiful as he was on Orijen. TOTW is half the price. I have seen no change in his tear stains either. The only thing that has actually made a difference there is adding yogurt and coconut oil. I starting giving him that for health reasons. I didn't even consider it would make a difference with tear stains. I didn't realize they even made a difference because I had been being very diligent with cleaning his face and thought that was helping. I had a bad spell and didn't give the extras for a week and wow did it surprise me. His stains were back in 2 days. Started the yogurt and coconut oil and nearly gone again. Anyway, the point of my ramble? Who knows. I guess I just wanted to share. I am embarrassed to be 39 and disabled. I'm embarrassed that I had to file for disability and got denied. I can't work. I can barely cook dinner for my family most days. Having a bulldog has changed my life. My husband told me one time that he didn't care how much money that dog costs because if we didn't have Henry I would have given up completely. I have to take care of him, therefore I get out of bed on days I wouldn't. He loves me when I am miserable and comforts me always. I give him the best I can. It just happens that TOTW is the best I can do. It just gives me anxiety because I know there is better quality food. Owning a bulldog is an obsession. I didn't know I was getting on the crazy train when I got him. I just wanted a sweet dog to keep me company when my husband left to go out of town for work. I've never been a real active person and a lazy bulldog was the best fit for us. I'm so thankful to be on this train with the rest of you crazies. Thank you for taking the time to read this excessively long rambling post.