brookcove
Posted : 6/6/2006 10:23:56 AM
So weird - that's the second Corgi I know named Darwin - was there a famous Corgi named Darwin or something? [
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Welcome! Puppies grow and change so much anyway that you may not notice a big difference. But you are layng the foundation for a lifetime of good health with the attention you are paying to your dog's diet from day one.
I just took my almost 13 year old medium sized mixed breed dog for her yearly and the vet kept saying, "I can't believe this dog is over 12 - she looks like a four or six year old to me!" Nope, not only have I had her since she was six weeks old, she has also been her dr from day one, too!
A couple months ago, I had one of my other dogs - Ben, the dog with all the health problems, in fact - in the vet office for a social visit. Our doctor was standing out in the lobby with a couple other vets who were visiting. Dr. Debbie asked Ben to come over for a quick hello and one of the other vets gave him some snuggles and said, "Awww, what a well-behaved puppy. How old, ten or eleven months?" They were serious! Dr. Debbie said, "I can never remember with her dogs - what is he, six?" I said, "He turned nine last month!" The other vets did a once over (Ben loved the attention) and said - "MONTHS?" and our vet said, "YEARS."
So you see it's worth it.
But to answer the question specifically - it can take up to 21 days to see a significant difference - that's how long the skin/haircoat shedding cycle takes. At around that time or any time before that and UP TO that time, some dogs may look worse or have brief periods of digestive upset, odd smells, bad breath, and other oddities. This is a detox period (remember that a mammal's largest execretory organ is the skin). Then you wake up on day 22 and your dog looks half its age, coat glowing, teeth shiny, smelling fresh, happy, the whole deal that is promised by the proponents of premium and holistic food choices.[
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