Kaiser the Anxious Wolf

You see that beautiful white swiss shepherd in the picture?

That’s Kaiser, one of the first London pooches to try our food! He resides in East London with his hooman Adeline.

Adeline adopted Kaiser when he was 4 months old. Her advice for anyone thinking of adopting a dog:

“You have to be prepared for all of it. Having to take the dog for a walk every few hours, rain or sunshine. Picking up poop. Dealing with behavioural problems, expensive vet bills, finding pet care when you’re at work or on holiday. It all adds up. It’s like having a child. You have to be OK with all that for the next 10-15 years. But if you are you’ll have the best 10-15 years of your life.”

Before adopting Kaiser, Adeline thoroughly researched his breed. This is an incredibly important step when considering adopting. Whether you adopt from a shelter or from a breeder, researching the breed helps you understand what behavioural traits and drives are common in your soon-to-be pooch. This can be invaluable in managing expectations and getting in the right mindset to help your dog have the best life they can. Just as Adeline expected, Kaiser is incredibly loyal and highly sensitive – and sometimes a little too serious for his own good, she smiled.

“He’s more like a cat than a dog, to be honest. He’s clearly an introvert. He takes a long time to come around to people but when he does, it’s incredible. So many friends have been chipping away at him and when he finally returns their love, they say it’s like being accepted into heaven! That said, he’s also an anxious pup. Most things worry him, from inanimate objects to strangers and other dogs, so we take it pretty slow with most things. He can be very silly too, in an unselfconscious way.”

“I don’t think he realises how funny he is.”

Like many dogs (and us hoomans!), Kaiser is struggling with anxiety and can find situations and interactions overwhelming. When Adeline adopted Kaiser she hadn’t really come across canine anxiety before and wishes she had known it was a thing. Through more awareness, she says she would have been able to make his life better when he was younger. On when and how she noticed Kaiser’s anxiety and how it is impacting their every day life, Adeline recalls:

“We noticed it from the day he arrived. We had met him and picked him out as a pup from the litter, he was very curious and confident… but that was a different story when he arrived to the city, separate from his family. He was so worried about everything, we had to step him forward slowly. It does impact our lives, especially in a social way. I had to ditch my dreams of having a dog I could take to the pub with me. But we’ve grown and adapted”

Now Adeline is working on helping him every day through…

“Positive reinforcement all the way!”

“Using positive training methods, games, etc. If anyone has a similar dog, looking for help is always a good idea, be it in online courses like Absolute Dogs or finding a behaviour trainer to give you some guidance is invaluable.”

Another big thing that needs consideration and thought is how you will feed your pooch once they are with you. With all the different options from raw food to canned food to Kibble to home-cooked, there are many options and all claim their own individual benefits. Some dogs seem to adjust to their food immediately while it may take others a while. And then there are allergies and sensitivities which affect dogs just as much as humans. How would you be able to identify allergies and a sensitive stomach?

“We went to a vet, couldn’t find a food that he’d settle with. His tummy was permanently upset and he was scratching a lot. So we had to exclude all foods from his diet and just feed him a very simple, single protein feed and then slowly reintroduced ingredients after a month. We found a chicken allergy after that.”

When Kaiser was set to have a Talula Eats taster package, our nutritionist and head chef Rupal got in touch with Adeline to discuss Kaiser’s dietary requirements. Instead of chicken, Kaiser’s food was focused around turkey meat and we added extra cricket protein powder to not just cater to Kaiser’s allergies but also to Adeline’s preferences. About how Kaiser’s tummy reacted to our tailored recipe?

“Perfect! No upset tummies and perfect poops!”

Thank you Adeline and Kaiser for trying our food, providing us with an amazing testimonial and being a continuous supporter of Talula Eats!
If you would like to follow Kaiser and Adeline’s journey, check out their Instagram Account.