Stuck in the Middle

Hi Sophie,

You look like a shapely lady, so I'd appreciate your thoughts. I'm on a new diet. It's working, in that I've lost weight and feel healthy, but I'm constantly constipated. Are there any long-term side effects to being blocked like this? I can handle the discomfort as long as I'm losing weight.

Slim and Stuck 

Dear Slim,

Congratulations on finding a diet that works for you! I am always in the market for ways to slim down (although not like those skinny girls at the Westminster Kennel Club), so I'm curious as to what is your secret. Is your diet veterinarian approved? Assuming that your diet has been approved, I have heard sometimes it takes a few weeks for one's body to get adjusted to new things (in fact, whenever my mommies try out some new kibble, they mix a little of the old in with the new, gradually reducing the old over time so it's not such a shock to my system). 

However, the old adage, "food in, garbage out" should always apply: I've been told that if I eat three times a day, I should poop three times a day, and although I can survive a day or two without pooping, it should not be much longer. Otherwise, my mommies take me to the vet thinking I've eaten a chicken bone at the park. Do you think you ate a chicken bone at the park? 

If your diet is veterinarian approved, you're healthy, and you're slim, I don't see why you just can't add some fiber, like raw vegetables (or cooked, as my mommies give me) or even a little bit of fiber powder (like Metamucil). Neither will add much calorically to your diet, but they will add roughage and hopefully many happy returns (and less discomfort). However, if you feel dizzy, or weak, or sluggish, or you start to strain or rub your butt on the floor, you should go to the vet right away. 

S O P H I E