Too much of a good thing

Yesterday I gave Meg a dental chew to help with her teeth and to keep her occupied. Some days she gets what to do with it, other days she lets it sit in her mouth like a trophy and eventually spits it out and lets it rest beside her. Toby saw Meg sleeping next to it and thought "who would do such a thing? It's meant for eating!". So he barked at me to get my attention, as if to say, "Ridiculous! I know what to do with it!" So I gave it to him instead. Meg didn't seem to miss it.

Because Toby is diabetic, and now on Prednisone, he drinks a lot of water. What I didn't realize is that every time he eats one of those dental chews, it makes him drink even more water. I was cleaning around the house, doing other things, and it wasn't until John got home that we noticed Toby's belly really distended. He must have had at least 2 big bowls of water, and he drinks like he'll never have access to water again in his life. We called the doc to see how concerned we should be. She advised us to not offer water the rest of the night, and no food at midnight, just a half dose of insulin, and monitor him. Great. We can manage that.

But not so much for Toby. Toby lets out a single bark when he's trying to get our attention, like when a kibble has gone under the couch and he needs help to get it. Well, all night he sat by the empty water bowl and let out single barks. I felt so bad for him because I knew what he wanted, I just couldn't give it to him. Eventually he fell asleep, but those first few hours were painful for all of us!

This morning he was so excited for his breakfast, he ate it all, and it didn't take that long. He had some water too. His belly looks much better than last night but still somewhat puffy, so we're keeping an eye on him. Note to self: don't cave when Toby pouts wanting a dental chew!

On the plus side, his appetite is up, his energy seems up, and he even barked and jumped when we got his food ready this morning. Oh, and it's not raining this whole week, so we get to enjoy some outside time. Maybe we'll even go to the park later. Woohoo!