Respect the hoof!

His Biggleship has had a bit of a rough time lately. It started with the return of his acid reflux problem that he first experienced a couple of years ago. When this takes hold in dogs it often produces sudden regurgitation of acidic bile. Biggles’ reflux is generally pretty mild and if I spot the more subtle symptoms early then a few little doses of cider vinegar in his meals banishes the problem before the regurgitation happens, often for months. This time however I was slow to recognize the early symptoms and he had a big watery vomit, some of which he apparently took into his lungs. The next day his breathing was shallow and fast – even when sleeping – and it was obvious that something wasn’t right. We took him to the vet and came home with a week’s worth of antibiotics to guard against the possibility of aspiration pneumonia. Happily the treatment turned him around, and by the fifth day his breathing rhythm at rest was once again deep, slow and hypnotic. It’s long been the case if that if one of us cuddles up with him in front of the TV, his restful breathing noises quickly put us to sleep; thus far I’ve made two attempts at watching the latest Star Trek “Discovery” episode with Biggles, and in both cases everything between the start and end titles was lost to the Land of Nod. Admittedly Star Trek Discovery isn’t the most riveting of programs at the best of times, but I still think that Biggles’ snoozy sighs are to blame for my TV blackouts.

Just as he recovered the full use of lungs, Biggles managed to cut the pad on one of his front paws. It seems to be typical of my boy that he’ll make a big fuss over something trivial like a twig fragment caught between his toes, but when there’s a genuine injury – like an actual cut pad – he plays the stoic hound. In this case there was no raised paw, no worried licking or three-legged injured soldier routine, just a slight reluctance to go on walks and  – if I looked really closely – a very slight limp. I only spotted the cut when when he was curled up next to me on the sofa! Fortunately we always have a tub of Musher’s Secret in our doggy medicaments box, so the situation is in hand.

I felt that my little boy probably needed a little perking up after these two incidents, and when browsing the shelves of our local pet shop I found something new: filled hooves!

Yes, they look gross…

…but boy do they taste great!

Beanie and Biggles are well-used to getting filled bones, but this was their first time with filled hooves. The stuff in the hooves seemed to be tasty enough, but both of our pups were even more interested in the hooves themselves. Even now, long after every last molecule of filling has been licked away, both our furry types are content to hunker down and have a long, absorbing chew session with them.

Disgusting though they are to look at, I have to say that penny for penny these hooves provide way more chew time than any filled bone, cow ear or toy they’ve tried in the past – except for maybe the legs of the kitchen table. Respect the hoof!