When they're sick, do you feel it?

Mina has always had gastro-intestinal problems. There is something about any complex food product that irritates her gut. Kibble is out. She is allergic to beef. I had high hopes she could be my vegan dog, but anything more complex than white rice causes gastric woes. Mina would like to submit that she would be happy on an all white rice, all the time diet. It just does not pass the litmus test for overall healthy eating. Vegetables can be consumed in small quantities but nothing more than maybe a carrot or broccoli piece a couple times a day. It's not that it just causes gas - I could live with that - it's that it can cause diarrhea and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and mess up her digestive flow. She is on a raw diet which, so far, has been the least offensive to her stomach. But even the simplest diet can upset her balance.

Something Mina ate yesterday really bothered her. She vomited up her food and then was uncomfortable for half the night. When Mina is uncomfortable, I cannot sleep. I'm uncomfortable. Even if she shows no symptoms during the day, if she's about to have problems with diarrhea at night, I somehow know and will remain alert and awake. When she's ready to go outside, she'll get up, stare at me, wag her tail in that submissive, fast wag, then leap off the bed and aim for the door. We go out together and I stand in the freezing cold at some ungodly hour and wait patiently (sometimes less so) for Mina to finish.

I feel bad for her. She's been checked out by vets and it's just some unspecified sensitive gut issue. There was a name for it, something akin to irritable bowel syndrome in humans. It is not curable and the simplest diet is the best for her. I am considering cooking her food to see if that helps at all. My guess is it won't, but couldn't hurt to try.

She is feeling quite chipper today and is eyeing the food I put out, waiting impatiently to be fed. Nothing can stop her love affair with food.

When your dogs are sick or suddenly need a midnight potty run, do you just know?