:: bertie update

Bertie had his second treatment shampoo today. He's dim enough that he walked happily into the bathroom; but he suddenly remembered that the last time he was in there Bad Things happened, and tried to back out. There followed a mad struggle, with lots of flailing and swearing, and finally splashing. The third bath will be even more entertaining.

He's on his fourth course of antibiotics, the infection not having completely cleared up. The vet also told me to give him 1,000mg of evening primrose oil a day, so that's on order via the internet (only £18 for a year's supply, not bad!).

The vet and I had a bit of an argument over his diet. She thought he was looking a bit skinny and asked what I feed him. When I told her half a pound to a pound of meat, raw or cooked, plus as much high-quality kibble as he wanted, she tutted and said, "No, no, dogs shouldn't eat meat." Eh? "They're not designed to eat meat." I'm sorry? "They should eat dog food." We had this discussion as I was grappling Bertie on to the scales, where it transpired that he's not underweight after all. But she still insists he's not getting a balanced diet.

I explained how the last time he lost a lot of weight was before I went away on holiday, when I had to feed him dog food at regular meal times because I was training him up for life with the dog minder. There's only one brand of packet food he'll eat at all now - Nature Diet, 100% natural and of course madly expensive. Liz reported that he didn't eat at all for the first couple of days and was picky after that. He used to like Butchers - only the tripe flavour - but he's gone off that. The only kibble he likes is Judge's Choice Greyhound Maintenance (By Royal Appointment). He'll be enthusiastic about other brands for a few days, but then turn up his nose - and he'd rather die of hunger than eat Bakers Complete. He's as picky about treats: yes to Frolics and Markies; no to Gravy Bones and Winalot Shapes. He's crazy about Greenies Smart Sticks at the moment too - they're teeth-cleaning treats made with green tea ... and of course they're insanely expensive.

So, with all the effort I go to to give Bertie tasty, nutritious food, you can imagine how thrilled I was to be lectured on how he shouldn't eat meat. I had visions of a wolf in the pet supermarket, leaning on its trolley as it reads the labels: "Hmmm... carrots, rice, ok. But lamb - I don't think I'm meant to eat lamb..."

To reassure myself that I'm not going mad, I did some internet research and found that while dogs are classed as omnivores and can eat grains and vegetables (unlike cats, which are carnivores), their diet should be based on .... MEAT. The only caveat about giving fresh meat was that dogs might eat too much of it and become obese. Which is not really a problem for Bertie.