All True Stories
We already knew having a Chinese Sharpei was not going to be easy. They are notorious for skin problems, ear problems, food allergies, and basically being a bit more challenging than some other breeds. Coco was our third sharpei so we thought we knew what we were getting into� not exactly!
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nFrom day 1, Coco hated eating. I mean HATED. We tried every premium brand of kibble, no luck. We tried wetting the kibble, no deal. We tried putting wet food over her kibble� that she eventually ate IF and I mean IF she had a different flavor each time. We were feeding her kibble with half a portion of Cesar dog food on top. Cesar had about 12 different flavors which we would rotate. If she had Chicken and Cheese in the morning, there was no way she was going to eat that same flavor in the next 24-48 hours.
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nWe tried not feeding her, hoping once she was hungry enough, she would eat whatever we put in front of her. Well, she didn't eat for over 24 hours and she started vomiting what looked like stomach liquid or acid.
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nTo make things worse, her coat started deteriorating. It was rough, splotchy, and just dull looking. She was always scratching and eventually she got a fungus (probably from running around in the plants). She just couldn't heal or fight off the fungus despite medicated shampoos, and several anti fungal shots. I felt like if she could just stop scratching so she could heal, then maybe the funs would not penetrate her skin. This went on for years.
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nAt one point she had ears that were so stinky and full of gunk despite almost daily cleaning. She was eventually diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. So she was on a medication called Atopica. To be honest, I never saw any results from that.
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nWhen she was about 4 years old, I was visiting my cousin and her husband, and he mentioned The Honest Kitchen. I can't remember how he knew of THK but as soon as I got home, I googled it. I bought my first box and I could not believe it.
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nCoco ate the entire serving. She ate the same thing the next meal and the next. I was waiting for her to get tired of the taste but she just kept eating it. Even more amazing, after almost three months on THK, we noticed she had stopped scratching, and her coat was improving. After about 6 months, she was a completely different dog. Her coat was great, the fungus was gone (she hasn't needed any shot since) and she didn't hate eating anymore. Although, I still have to rotate between honest kitchen flavors after she is done with a box. But given everything else, that's nothing!
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nBTW, what I didn't mention is that we live in Manila, in The Philippines. THK is not available in any store here. I've tried to ask a local store that carries other brands of similar price range and type (the healthier ones) but they just don't have it. So I actually buy food online and have a friend ship them to me which takes an extra month or so before it gets here. Or when I do go there, I buy several boxes and ship them home. It's not easy, but it woks wonders for Coco. And well, Coco is Queen of the house, so we must serve HRH her THK.
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nI will try to look up some before photos and come back to post them soon.
Coco
Shar Pei — Age 8
I'm too much of a diva to step on the scale at the vet. I must be carried.
n
nFrom day 1, Coco hated eating. I mean HATED. We tried every premium brand of kibble, no luck. We tried wetting the kibble, no deal. We tried putting wet food over her kibble� that she eventually ate IF and I mean IF she had a different flavor each time. We were feeding her kibble with half a portion of Cesar dog food on top. Cesar had about 12 different flavors which we would rotate. If she had Chicken and Cheese in the morning, there was no way she was going to eat that same flavor in the next 24-48 hours.
n
nWe tried not feeding her, hoping once she was hungry enough, she would eat whatever we put in front of her. Well, she didn't eat for over 24 hours and she started vomiting what looked like stomach liquid or acid.
n
nTo make things worse, her coat started deteriorating. It was rough, splotchy, and just dull looking. She was always scratching and eventually she got a fungus (probably from running around in the plants). She just couldn't heal or fight off the fungus despite medicated shampoos, and several anti fungal shots. I felt like if she could just stop scratching so she could heal, then maybe the funs would not penetrate her skin. This went on for years.
n
nAt one point she had ears that were so stinky and full of gunk despite almost daily cleaning. She was eventually diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. So she was on a medication called Atopica. To be honest, I never saw any results from that.
n
nWhen she was about 4 years old, I was visiting my cousin and her husband, and he mentioned The Honest Kitchen. I can't remember how he knew of THK but as soon as I got home, I googled it. I bought my first box and I could not believe it.
n
nCoco ate the entire serving. She ate the same thing the next meal and the next. I was waiting for her to get tired of the taste but she just kept eating it. Even more amazing, after almost three months on THK, we noticed she had stopped scratching, and her coat was improving. After about 6 months, she was a completely different dog. Her coat was great, the fungus was gone (she hasn't needed any shot since) and she didn't hate eating anymore. Although, I still have to rotate between honest kitchen flavors after she is done with a box. But given everything else, that's nothing!
n
nBTW, what I didn't mention is that we live in Manila, in The Philippines. THK is not available in any store here. I've tried to ask a local store that carries other brands of similar price range and type (the healthier ones) but they just don't have it. So I actually buy food online and have a friend ship them to me which takes an extra month or so before it gets here. Or when I do go there, I buy several boxes and ship them home. It's not easy, but it woks wonders for Coco. And well, Coco is Queen of the house, so we must serve HRH her THK.
n
nI will try to look up some before photos and come back to post them soon.