[Dog_Obsessed]

Okay. So this is going to be looong. Sorry in advance. Basically, today we took Lily to the vet because she had been scooting some the last few days. Since her anal glands had been slightly inflamed/discolored before, her vet wanted to actually see her instead of just having the tech do it. In short, they were not pretty. (not that I actually saw them.) The fluid was discolored, which the vet thought might be pus, (hey, I warned you) and there was an area near the anal glands that was inflamed. The vet prescribed a 20 day course of an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory med, and said we should schedule a follow up appointment for when that’s over. I was not thrilled about this, but it might be necessary. I’m planning to give her some yogurt to counter the antibiotic.

The vet said she thought this was a symptom of food allergies. I was afraid that she would prescribe a prescription diet, but luckily she actually knows a thing or two about dog nutrition, and suggested an elimination diet. Basically, she thinks that after she is done with the antibiotics, we should put her on a protein that she has never had before for 6-8 weeks, and then slowly introduce other foods. I pretty much know the drill for this from being on DFA. 🙂 She also suggested home-cooking, but I’m afraid we just don’t really have time for that on a regular basis. I have a bag of Nature’s Logic Venison, and while she has never had Venison in food, she has had it in treats. Is it still okay to use as an elimination protein?

Sooo…Basically I just want to know what you guys think about all of this, and if you have any ideas. I was thinking about giving her a anal gland supplement such as Glandex, but if it is food allergies then I feel like that would be just masking the symptoms rather than solving the problem. Is it still a good idea? Thanks!

Also, an update on Lily’s leg, she is still doing well and not limping much. We’re just crossing our fingers that she stays that way. 😀

[Dog_Obsessed]

This is how it went getting Lily to take her antibiotic tonight:

Wet food: At the food, ate around the pill. Aw, shucks!

Yogurt: Ate the yogurt. Repeatedly put the yogurt-covered pill in her mouth, making me hopeful, and then spitting it out again. Ugh…

Human peanut butter: Success!!! Yay! I’d rather not make this a regular thing, but at least this can be our backup.

[theBCnut]

Back when heartworm meds were daily, I gave a pill in peanut butter every day for years. Then I used liverwurst for a long time. Cream cheese works for my current bunch.

I wouldn’t use the Nature’s Logic for an elimination diet, too many different ingredients. Can you make a big batch of something and freeze portions so you don’t have to cook every day? Otherwise, I would go with an LID.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks BCnut! I realized that the NL Venison has beef in it also, so that’s out. 🙁 I still like the idea of Venison though, so I might try another Venison-based food. I’ll keep experimenting with the pill hiders. I might be able to make and freeze food if we used a base mix, but from reading the “dinner mixes” thread it seems like base mixes are quite complicated, in terms of getting a truly balanced one. Do you have any ideas for good base mixes? Thanks!

[theBCnut]

Just remember that balance doesn’t matter in the short term. The gold standard for elimination diets is one protein one starch. There is NO balance there. It will not, in any way, harm your dog to have an unbalanced diet for this trial. DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. Balancing takes a lot of different ingredients, which is exactly what you don’t want. Just start with the two ingredients and plan for what LID dog food you want to work towards and try those ingredients first. Like if the food you want to try has venison, peas, and tapioca, start with venison and tapioca, or venison and peas, then the first food you add is the other main ingredient of the food you want to go to.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks, I hadn’t really thought about that! The vet said to do a novel protein, single carb diet for 6-8 weeks, but that would be a long time to be unbalanced wouldn’t it?

[Dori]

Hi D. O. Sorry if I missed it but what were you feeding Lily before you took her to the vet and for how long and how long after the food did you start to notice her scooting. I would rather have seen you try to get to the bottom of her food sensitivity before doing the antibiotics. Anyway, tell us about foods you’ve been feeding her in the last month or so and let’s see if we all can’t help you out.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Dori.

[theBCnut]

In that period of time, she is unlikely to have any issues at all with an unbalanced diet, but you may want to add calcium and a multivitamin. They should not present an allergy issue and make the diet closer to balanced.

[Dog_Obsessed]

@Dori Over the last month or so, I had been feeding her Nulo Lamb and Peas, which also contains some other protein and carb sources. I have been using a variety of canned foods and occasionally THK as toppers.

I also would like to resolve the issue itself before going to antibiotics, but if she really does have an infection then that’s what needs to be done. We called the vet’s today to ask if it was okay to continue the transition to THK Thrive, but her vet isn’t in until Wednesday and they said we shouldn’t change her food without talking to the vet first. We are almost out of the Nulo, so I got another bag today. As much as I hate not to rotate her food, I couldn’t think of any other option. We obviously don’t want to start the elimination diet until she is off the antibiotic, because thens we wouldn’t know which had helped.

Also, when we called today, we mentioned that we were giving her yogurt, and they said not to in case she was lactose intolerant (this was just the tech, not the vet.) This doesn’t really make sense, but I don’t really want to go against what the vet says. The antibiotic is called Metronidazole, and according to the vet doesn’t destroy good bacteria like regular antibiotics. It is also an anti-inflammatory.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Just an update. We have been getting Lily to take her antibiotic crushed in her wet food, so that problem is solved. She has been somewhat constipated over the last few days, so we are giving her about a tablespoon of pumpkin at every meal, which seems to be helping. We called the vet about this, and they said that if it persists to give her a probiotic called Culturelle. The pumpkin seems to be helping, but it is a good thing to know about.

Also, I have been doing a bit more searching for LID novel protein diets. I guess I’m preferably looking for something venison-based, though other novel protein sources would be okay too. I made a list of all foods she has had while with us, and the one that she was eating when she came to us, and all of their protein/carb sources. I swore that the food she was eating when she came to us, Iams Proactive Health Small and Toy Breed, had beef as the first ingredient, but when I looked online it said chicken. So maybe Beef is actually novel? Weird.

The other hard thing is that I really want her food to be rated 4 stars or higher. I actually haven’t run into this problem that often when looking at possible food, but I’m sure I will. I know it’s not going to be her long-term diet, but it still feels counter-intuitive to me. I need to live by the wise words of BCnut, “First go with what works, then worry about ingredients.” Of course, I’m not going to feed her Pedigree, but a 3.5 star food won’t hurt her for 6 weeks. 😛

[Dog_Obsessed]

I found a venison-based food called Pioneer Naturals that seems pretty good: http://www.chewy.com/dog/pioneer-naturals-grain-free-venison/dp/109475

I looked on the review page, and a few years back there were a few people who had issues with hair in the food, is that something I should be concerned about? Any other thoughts on this food? Thanks!

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