Food

Obviously you have to have food ready when you bring a dog home. The shelter, BARCS, gave us a five pound bag of what they were feeding him (Advance Science Diet). This food is very expensive and very hard to find so Colleen and I ventured into Petco where we found Purina Pro Plan Chicken dog food. Ranger picked it out himself and it was reasonably priced. The ingredients looked good, so we picked up a 50 pound bag. First mistake. We should've started with a smaller bag!

BARCS also provides the first check-up with a vet for free through VCA Animal Hospitals. Ranger had his first check-up the second week we had him, and the vet was very impressed with his health. He was about 5-10 pounds underweight and I discussed several things with her, including severe itchiness after eating. As I expected, Ranger (and most Pit bull breeds) are allergic to poultry. His food was no good for him. We have since switched his food to another brand without and poultry or poultry by-product. Unfortunately he didn't do well with this food either as it gave him diarrhea. Thankfully we got a small bag to try this time. We are now on our third bag of food that is made by Purina, so it should hold up well in his intestines, and has no poultry whatsoever. Fingers crossed! If you're thinking about getting a dog, be prepared to make a few changes. It's kind of trial and error when it comes to finding the right food.

With Ranger, he became red on his belly, underarms and elbows, as well as being continuously itchy. Always keep an eye out for new lumps, red spots, sores, etc. on a new pet. Ranger is the type of dog that won't tell you something is wrong until it's too late.

We are happy to report that Ranger is currently up to a healthy weight, and maintaing that weight and he is having 'normal' poops. Yup, you get a dog and your life now revolves around talking about poop.