# Whoops



## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Short story: I ran out of dog food.

Long story + context: I traveled back home for Thanksgiving to visit my grandfather, who was in hospice for a brain tumor. I packed enough food to get through Monday morning, plus a little extra, as I was planning on leaving Sunday afternoon (I usually give myself a 1 day buffer when the weather is decent). Unfortunately and unexpectedly, my grandfather declined rapidly over the weekend and passed away early this morning. I am staying through the funeral on Thursday. 

That said, I am about to run out of dog food. I have a little bit left, because Jasper gets a little stressed during the first few days of travel and is less likely to eat. Coupled with a few too many hours in the crate and me being tired and out-of-sorts when I'd get home from the nursing home meant that he hasn't eating full meals most of the time. Despite that, I definitely don't have enough to get through Thursday, and unfortunately, the nearest store that sells Jasper's food is about 3 hours away. It didn't occur to me until today that I could have just ordered a small bag off of Amazon and had it delivered here (no pet food delivery companies deliver here). I don't really want to transition him to a new food for just a few days, mostly because he's on some meds that make his stool softer already, plus I don't have enough of his regular food to make the transition go smoothly.

Anyway, I figured I'd just go the rice + hamburger route (he's allergic to chicken), but was unsure as to quantity. Just the same amount as his normal food? More? Less? He gets 2 cups of Acana Pacifica twice a day. I thought I could pick up a can of wet food too, and mix just a little in there as well for some added interest and nutrients.

The local farm fleet store does carry some other excellent brands, such as ToTW. Would it be better to pick up a small bag of that (I'm thinking the Pacific Stream is closest to his current food) and either just rough out the transition (but then we'd have to transition back...) or mix it in with the rice/hamburger?

Sorry for the ramble--things are obviously a little crazy around the house right now. Just looking for some insight on how to make this the least stressful for both of us, and hoping someone else here has worked through a similar situation. Thanks!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I am so sorry for the loss of your grandfather. :'(

Your food plan for Jasper's food sounds very reasonable to me. I'm lucky that Willie has a stomach made of cast iron, and can switch back and forward between foods with the greatest of ease. I think that Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream would be a pretty close match for Jasper, and probably worth a try. Good luck!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

My mom has run out of our dog food a couple of times when the pups are at her house. She feeds them about 1/2 cooked meat (chicken, in our case) & 1/2 cooked sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes help to keep their stools nice & firm. They have some gas, but no diarrhea. I think if you combined ground beef & sweet potatoes you could feed him approximately the same amount as his kibble.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I'm also sorry to hear about your grandfather. I'm sure he appreciated you visiting him this past week. 

1 cup of rice + 1 cup of ground beef twice a day will be around the same amount of calories as his current food. You might add some mashed sweet potatoes like threefsh suggested or canned pumpkin. A couple tablespoons in the mix will bring some extra nutrients and firm up the stools. 

Wishing you and your family the best.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Thanks for all the help, everyone! Jasper's going to feel so spoiled.


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