Why Abby does Whimzee ?

Abby, believe it or not is on the more mature end of my furry little family at 16 years of age. While age isn’t a disease it does come with increasing risk of some diseases.

Miss Abby was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease earlier this year- it started out with her having accidents in her sleep which could have been misdiagnosed as Spey incontinence but instead with diagnostics we found the kidney disease and a urinary tract infection (which is more common in dogs with kidney disease). It also caused her to lose about 1kg of muscle.

Thankfully with some antibiotics and a change to renal food we have seen her put weight AND muscle back on, stop having nighttime accidents and generally get her Abby back on- this includes a game of fetch and some good old-fashioned toy shaking.

But, it does leave a dilemma about mental health with less variety in her diet. Aka less human snacks! As we try and make sure she has adequate quantities of super high-quality protein and managing her calcium and phosphate. I also had to consider the risk of fracture teeth on very hard chewing objects with associated need for general anaesthetics. As well as a less robust immune system.

 So, Abby has been getting her Whimzee on.

To be fair everyone in the group now gets their Whimzee on.

They are plant based and meet the nutritional requirements for Abby’s kidney diet perfectly. But they also have variety. I buy bulk boxes of the hedgehogs which I have found to be the best for my robust chewers. But sometimes Abby just doesn’t want to have to work so hard at her snack these days. So she gets the choice of a stick of a hedgehog. 4 out of 5 times she takes the hedgehog. Occasionally she has been known to change her mind and drop the hedgehog in front of me and swap to the easier to eat stick.

I love that even at this age and with her co-morbidities I can give her choices.

We know that choice is important for reducing stress and maintaining mental dexterity as we (and our pets) age.

Check out our Whimzee range to give your pet a bit of variety in their chewing life-https://www.primalpaws.com/shop-whimzee