[Susan]

Hi Lisa,

Have a look at “Farmina” it was suppose to be all sold out but a delivery was coming November, you can buy direct from Farmina, alot of people who do not like Purina, Hills & Royal Canine are feeding Farmina, there’s a few different Farmina formula’s.
https://www.farmina.com/us/eshop-d-Dog-food.html

“Wellness”

For Dogs

Or go onto an online pet store site like “Chewy” & go thru a few different dry foods ingredients, then if you do find 1 you like go onto the pet food site to check ingredients again to make sure they’re correct..

[Lisa A]

We just learned about DCM a week ago from our vet during an appointment for an ear infection on our 3 yr old golden. I’ve been reading information every night and trying to figure out what to do. We are currently on a grain free lamb food by Zignature, that is due to our golden having allergies to Chicken. He was on prescription food for the first 1+ of his life and after he was stable we were able to move to over the counter, mainly due to the prescription food he was on which was venison – they were having trouble sourcing quality ingredients so the food was discontinued. Now I don’t know what to do. Its nearly impossible to find a grain inclusive food that doesn’t contain a single source protein, prefer beef, vision, or lamb. We spoke with our vet last night and she suggested – https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/dry/limited-ingredient-diets/lamb-meal-and-brown-rice. I would love to hear others thoughts.

[Pamala C]

My 11 yr old toothless Chihuahua has problems too. I either get the really tiny kibbles which she eats dry with no problems at all. Or something semi-soft so she can get the food without problems as well. Canned gives her a lot of frustration because after she eats the part that I fluffed up for her, it sticks together and she can’t get a hold of it to eat. So she gives up trying any more. So I don’t recommend completely soft food for any toothless wonders. Without teeth they can’t grab it up once it begins to pack down. Just my humble opinion. I would be interested in any suggestions myself for my little girl as well. Thanks

[Susan]

Hi Laurence,

join this f/b group,
“Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD – Raw Feeding & Holistic Support”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/292537937935806/

I know the group says Raw Feeding but there’s alot of people in group that feed dry kibble, vet diet kibble/wet tin, cooked meals, raw meals etc, look out for one of the Moderators named Anu, I wont post last name, she is a wealth of information, really good help, it’s worth copying & posting your post then posting in the IBD Holistic f/b group once you’ve joined ask how to firm poo up naturally…

I know potatoes & sweet potato firms up poos for dogs who have IBD & EPI, have you tried a different dry kibble?? one thats lower in carbs & higher protein that has sweet potatoes or potato??…
also have you tried Slippery Elm Paste given 15-20min before he eats? you buy slippery elm powder, add 1/2 teaspoon in a cup slowly add boiling water & stir till you have made slurry & you can pulled up 5ml into a syringe when it has cooled down, I cover cup with cling wrap & put the rest slippery Elm slurry in fridge for the next time you need to use again, then you boil the jug & add a little boiled water & stir till it’s a slurry again & pulls up into the syringe..then I throw away if any Slippery Elm paste is left & start again..

Have you tried reducing the Metronidazole to 1 tablet morning & 1 tablet with Dinner, then get him down to 1 Metronidazole at Dinner time?? ask vet?
also have you tried Tylan Powder?
It is a macrolide antibiotic. Tylosin is used in veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections…
Tylan can replace Metronidazole as Tylan is similiar to Metronidazole (Flagyl)…
Tylan powder will firm up poo within 1 day but cause its a lose powder you MUST put in empty capsules & put down his throat then he eats his dinner, tylan tastes awful & some dogs end up refusing to eat meal if you sprinkle Tylan powder on their food, so best to put in capsule & put back of tongue, push down their throat then quickly feed, its worth a try you might be able to stop giving immodiums twice a day & the Metronidazole, baby steps.
They have proven a dog taking a high Tylan dose can take 1/2 the Tylan dose once a day & poos stayed the same….
ask your vet about Tylan Powder, years ago you could by online or over the counter in the US, I dont know about now, I think I read you can still buy without script if its for chickens I think you might still be able to buy online best to ask in the IBD f/b group people might know more or if you join the EPI Dog group on f/b
https://www.facebook.com/groups/38663535025/
alot of the EPI dogs take Tylan powder & are doing firm poos now, dont be scared to reduce dose if you do start your dog it wont make any differance..
I tried 1/8th teaspoon Tylan powder in capsule given once a day with Breakfast, within 1 day Patches poos were firm..
Go on U-tube it shows how to make the shoe box to hold up the empty open capsules so you can put 1/8th or whatever the Tylan dose is for your size dog into 1/2 empty capsule….

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3084160/

I hope you find something to partley firm up poos, you mighten it might be the ways poos stay with SBS, I know whats it like when Patch does a mountain of diarrhea out the front of someones yard on his walks, I know when he’s going to do sloppy diarrhea, he wont go poo & he holds it in & walks & walks till he can find a bush to hid his sloppy poos, the silly old bugger, he must of gotten into trouble when he was younger, he’s a rescue I got age 4yrs old, I’ve tried telling him it’s OK Patch, your a good boy & we can go home now after walking & walking to find a good bushto poo under & hide it, he will NOT do sloppy/diarrhea poo in his own yard, one vet said he’s a very private dog, lol…

[Laurence T]

Hello everyone,

I also just joined this forum to discuss about SBS.

My dog got an 80% small intestines resection due to a huge mass that was englobing all of his small intestines. They thought it was cancer but it wasn’t. Still to this day they haven’t found out what it was but he is still followed every two months by the Vetenarity University in internal medecine.

He got operated in February 2018 and he is still here today with us. Fingers crossed that the masses do not come back as they did even after the surgery was done. A cocktail of antibiotics made them regress and “dissapear” for now. But they are lurking in my dreams and I am always worried.

Anyhow, when Logan got really sick they told us:
– He has only a few days to survive
– That he was going to die of an agressive form of cancer
– That he wouldn’t survive the surgery
– They think he either suffered from Bartonella (tick born disease) or an auto immune disease so got treated for both. He is still on the auto-immune disease treatment at the moment.

He went down from 72 pounds to 59 pounds after surgery and is now back at 75 pounds.

Here is what he is taking to help his SBS:
– 2 immodiums (one in the morning one at night)
– 1 1/2 of metronidazole in the morning and 1 1/2 at night
– 1/2 of teva gabapantin in the morning and 1/2 at night (mild painkiller as we noticed that when he was eating he was getting crampy)
– 1 fortiflora in the morning mixed with his food.
– 1 B12 shot, once every two weeks.
– 1/4 prednisone every morning (treatment for auto-immune disease).

We used to cook for him, the the diarrhea was so back he wouldnt digest the food. We used to found pieces of food undigested in the food. The vets told us it is better he eats dry pebbles as the proteins are already “cut” to be absorbed faster into the system. Which ended up being true for us. As soon as we switched him to pebbles he started gaining weight and his diarrhea improved.

He is eating Royal Canin High Energy Gastro. And so far it is the best we found for him, ismall meals 3 to 4 times a day.

He does still have a lot of diarrhea. It’s been 10 months since his surgery and it’s still watery. Sometimes a little like mustard, but he poops about 6 times a day and we get up once or twice per night for him to go poop.

I really want to help him with his pooping. Sometimes I wonder if we did the right decision and I am wondering if his diarrhea is making him suffer? I need to find a way to harden his stools. I don’t want to lose complete hope. At least so that he poops less a day than that.

He drinks a lot of water being on predinose (cortizoid) so that shouldnt help too much but if I don’t give him water he sleeps with his head in his bowl.

Did someone found a trick or a way to tamper down the pooping / diarrhea ?

Thank you so much.

Laurence

[pugmomsandy]

Dry food starts to get “old and rancid” as soon as the original bag is opened and the food is exposed to air (even in a container). Adding moisture in the form of fat can speed this process up and the added moisture can be favorable to mold growth. I would add the oil at feeding time instead of mixing it in the kibble and keep the dry food in it’s original bag, with the top rolled down tight and the whole bag kept in the bin instead of pouring the kibble out. The storage bin also needs to be cleaned as fat from the kibble will stick to the container and continue to go rancid and contaminate the rest of the food and future food you pour into the large container. BTW, are you feeding kibble? Couldn’t be sure from your post. I just assumed.

[I love Dogs 2]

@Pitlove
You wrote

“Grain free literally has ZERO benefits to your dog. Why would you risk even a SMALL possibility of your dog getting DCM from the food your feeding when there is no reward?”

How dare you say Im putting my dog at risk?
How can you put this information out there
“grain free foods have ZERO benefits to your dog”
Where is your evidence to support these claim?

My vet prescribe her Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Gastrointestinal grain dry food first, it made her symptoms worse, then the vet put her on grain free Royal Canine Veterinary Diet Canine Selected Protein Adult PR Potato & Rabbit dry dog food straight away she improved, this dog was given to me after her mum had passed away the family were taking her to a shelter, Im her neighbour I know Chloe so I said I’ll take her, from what I can remember she was raw feed her whole life, so I dont know if family members feed her a cheap grain dry dog food this is why is became very ill, vet said it looks like food allergy, since being on grain free Royal Canine vet diet she has gain weight she looks better then she looked 4 months ago when she came into my care, she has energy now wants to play with her brother, the vet said we’ll keep her on the Royal Canine PR for another 3 months then come back again we’ll discuss what to do next (put back onto raw diet).
I asked the vet are potatoes OK, I was reading the ingredients on the Royal Canine food bag, he said potatoes are fine, he has been selling Royal Canine PR vet diet for years there have been no food related DCM cases no problems with potato.

Shame on you, you need to stop putting fear into people put your beliefs aside till we have more proof DCM is food related?…

[joanne l]

Spy Car, I think everyone knows that, but most dog foods have fillers. So I would take the grains before the peas. Not everyone can afford a meat base diet. It is clear that dogs don’t need fillers, but we are talking about grain free and grains, and yes I think grains are better if you are using dry dog food, unless of course a dog is allergic to grains.

[mo a]

How much calcium is too much in dog foods? In 2007, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) convened a panel of experts from academia and industry to, in part, make recommendations for revision of the AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. These profiles, which were last revised in 1995, serve as one means by which the nutritional adequacy of dog and cat foods can be substantiated in the US.

Now, seven years later, the recommendations of the panel have yet to be put into place. There is agreement as to recommended levels of nutrients with one major exception; that is, the maximum calcium concentration that should be allowed in dog foods for different life stages and breeds.

The charge to the expert panel when it was formed was to consider the newly released (at the time) publication Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats (2006) by the National Research Council (NRC), as well as other scientific information available since the last revision of the AAFCO Profiles. The safe upper limit as recommended by NRC for dog foods intended for growth is 1.8% dry matter (at 4000 kcal ME/kg).

There is no differentiation as to breed of dog in the NRC tables; i.e., it applies to all dog foods intended for puppies. However, in looking at the supportive text, NRC notes, “Thus, excess dietary calcium has been shown to cause clinically recognizable bone abnormalities in growing dogs, but these effects appear restricted to puppies of large breeds.”

The AAFCO expert panel did make a breed-based distinction in its tables when they were first released, though. It recommended a maximum 1.8% Ca DM for foods intended for large/giant-breed growth, but the status quo (i.e., 2.5% Ca DM, as in the current AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles) for smaller breeds of puppies and for adult dogs (maintenance and gestation/lactation) regardless of breed.

For more details :
https://dogfoodreviewz.com/index.php/category/news

[Susan]

Hi Sara,

Change your vet look for a female Holistic Vet or a female vet who isnt chained to these vet diets, I don’t dislike vet diets, yes they are good to use “temporary” until owner works out what to feed once your dog is stable, did you know back in 2013 I remember reading the side of one of the vet diets Patch was on for his IBD, it said, this formua is not to be feed long term…Vet diets weren’t meant to be feed long term, the dog was suppose to get stable then another diet was feed…
Now the vets Diets have been reformulated, can be feed long term now since 2015…
In Australia we can buy a vet diet straight from a vet practice or order online & do not need no presciption or vet, this just proves vet diet are nothing real special & there’s better alternative out there that are healthier & probably cheaper..

I dont understand why is your vet isnt looking into WHY your girl is having this problems in the first place, she is only 1 yr old. Did vet say why this was happening to a 1 yr old dog?
Your vet sound like Patches 2nd vet we got after I rescue him, I was scared to ask him for anything, I remember telling him my boy IBD has gotten worse on this vet diet, he said he needs to be on it longer, after being on the vet diet 1 month I bought the big bag back & told the a vet nurse its not working I want my money back & I told her that my vet John wasnt listening & Patch is pooing water now, his front paws are red & he’s crying 11pm every night & swollowing acid, she went in & asked another vet can I try the Royal Canine Sensitivitiy Control & this is how Patch gets his GOOD female vet who is his still his vet now….

Dogs and cats are designed to eat meat & when they’re are fed a grain-based diet or a starch-rich diet, the starch alkalizes urine pH, which can lead to the development of struvite crystals and stones.
Also is she she having wee breaks every 3 hours?
I would be looking at feeding your girl a raw balanced diet, there’s a few good Pre-made raw diets around, like “Answers Fermented ” Answers raw is suppost to be very good, it’s a bit expensive but its probably around the same price of a vet diet?? ..

I’ve read alot of people’s post who have female dogs (older then your girl) who have urinary problems swear by using “D-Mannose” Pure Powder Healthy Urinary Tract..

Start strengthening her Immune System, get some goats milk add to her diet for breakfast make sure she is having regular wee breaks every 3 hours…
also look into Vitamin C High Potency Powder or I think the D-Mannose has Vitamin C??

For now give the Hills wet & dry vet diet, look for an Holistic Vet or a vet who has been educated in dog Nutrition alot vets just know Hills, Royal Canin & Purina. Ask the vet why he didnt he prescribe Hills Urinary Care, Multicare C/d wet & dry formula’s instead? Ingredients are better in wet & dry formula’s, thats if you do stay feeding the Hills vet diet. Ypu could feed the Hill C/D Wet can food, for 1 of her meals.

My boy was put on the Royal Canine S/O Urinary wet & dry for 6 weeks, he had another Ultra Scan & his crystal had dissolved, all clear, I rescued him & he was weeing blood then the rescue vet said put him back on what he was eating before…
His crystals were from being used as a breeding dog the rescue vet said, he was 4yrs old.

Here’s Hills C/d wet can food
https://www.hillspet.com/dog-food/pd-cd-multicare-canine-chicken-and-vegetable-canned#accordion-content-054167331-2
Feed till you work out what you’re doing..

Start joining few Face Book Holistic Health Dog groups & you’ll find your way..

*”K-9 Kitchen” run by Monica Segal

* “K-9 Nutrition” run by Lew Olson

Dr Judy Morgan DVM
https://www.facebook.com/pg/JudyMorganDVM/videos/?ref=page_internal

* Holistic Dog Care
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Holisticdogcare/?ref=group_header

[Christie B]

My 10 year old American Bulldog mix has food and environmental allergies. Paw licking, face rubbing, excessive drooling…it’s worse in the Spring and Fall but sometimes changes in diet can trigger a few days long reaction. The vet told me to give him 5 1mg Benedryl twice daily when he shows symptoms and if he’s drooling excessively to give him a Pepcid twice daily.

10 Benedryl pills a day seems crazy. I know my dog is large at 120 pounds, but an adult human is only supposed to take 1-2 pills daily. Do dogs process the drug differently? Two pills twice daily has always ceased the licking and rubbing. I’m afraid to give him 5 at a time.

• This topic was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Christie B.

[Susan]

Hi Erin,

Have you tried dry foods that have Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes??
Potato is easy to digest & smooth on the stomach & bowel
Look at
“Wellness Simple” Turkey & Potato formula or the Salmon & Potato or their Simple Duck Meal & Oats or Lamb Meal & Oats formula’s??

Blood, Salvia & Fur testing is a waste of money, they can give false Positives.
Best is to do either a raw or cooked elimination food diet & add 1 new ingredient every 6 weeks & see how she goes..
Patch did really well on the raw elimination diet, he didn’t do well on the cooked elimination diet but I think it was cause I used Oats for the carb, he doesnt do well on grains.. I didnt know about boil Potatoes & Boil Sweet Potatoes being really good for IBD, IBS & Pancreatitis back then…
Boiled Sweet Potato pieces freeze very well after they’re thawed is just like the sweet potates are cooked, White Potatoes don’t freeze too well you have to boil them fresh as needed….

Here’s Wellness Simple formula link
I’m feeding the Wellness Simple Turkey & Potato formula at the moment to my IBD boy, I was feeding the “Wellness Core” Large Breed adult g/f but it wasn’t on special last week so I got a big bag of the Wellness Simple it was $40 cheaper & Patch loves it, so I’ll rotate between the 2 foods + I have a bag of “Canidae Pure Meadow” his poos are excellent on..
https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/product-catalog/simple-limited-ingredient-turkey-potato-recipe

Also have you looked at “Earthborn Holistic Venture” formula’s some formula’s have more fiber then other formula’s, so make sure you read the fiber %,
Does she do better on a lower fiber % or higher fiber % diet??
Buy food from a pet shop so you can take back if it doesn’t agree with her, just say she wont eat, Pet foods are a Guaranteed for Palability money back or exchange..
https://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/dog-food-formulas

[Susan]

Hi Cathy,

Contact a animal nutritionist to formulate home made raw or home cooked “balance meals”, home cooking is more work then raw, raw is easier & healthier, this way you’re killing 2 birds with 1 stone…

If you still want to feed a dry food then have a look at “Farmina”
https://www.farmina.com/us/eshop-d-Dog-food.html
In the beginning when this DCM low Taurine all started they were saying feed “Farmina” it’s a good dog food to feed for DCM theer have been no DCM cases….

Or rotate between a few dry foods, as soon as the kibble bag has around 1/4 left then buy another brand & start introducing old kibble with new kibble, Gryff will enjoy the change, I know my boy does & Gryff is getting the best from all the dry kibbles & isnt staying on same brand causing health problems, this is what I’ve been doing for years now with my nilly 10yr old Staffy…

[Susan]

Hi Sandra,
you in the UK?
CHANGE food
these are the ingredients
“Wainwright’s Salmon & potato puppy”

Composition: Salmon Fish Meal (26%), Potato Starch (21%), Barley (14%), Red Sourghum (13%), Rapseed Oil (7%), Whole Linseed (5%), Potato Protein (5%), Beet Pulp (4%), Alfalfa (2%), Dicalphosphorus (1.5%), Minerals, Seaweed (0.4%), Chicory (0.05%), Extract of Yucca Schidigera (0.02%), Marigold Meal (0.005%), Rosemary Oil Extract

1 or 2 of these ingredient isnt agreeing with him.
My boy can not eat Barley he farts, bad wind & sloppy poos..

A dog should fart but my vet said it “shouldn’t smell” & clear a room, this means he’s making bad gasses, methane combine with hydrogen sulfide makes the fart smell bad….
Vet made me change Patches food, he said look for a kibble that has Potato or Sweet Potato, then finally I found a few different brands of dry foods that agreed with him & I rotate them… best to rotate his foods so his immune system builds up & he gets use to different ingredients, once you find a few different brands that agree with him then rotate these dry dog foods, what I do when the kibble bag has only 1/4 of the kibble left I start adding the new food with the old kibble, more old formula & less new formula untill he’s on 1/2 old & 1/2 new, then I feed that for 3-5 days then I add more new kibble less old kibble…

Look for another puppy food that has NO Potato Starch, Barley, Red Sourghum, Rapeseed oil & “No Salmon or Fish Meal” Fish dog foods are VERY high in Heavy Metals, Toxins & Contamines so I would avoid all fish wet & dry dog foods……

Look for a puppy formula that has either Lamb, Duck, Chicken, Turkey, Venison with Sweet Potato, Brown Rice, Oats, Potato, Vegetables, Fruit, healthy ingredients…
Picture all the ingredients on a plate

I’ve been looking thru the UK ingredients in dog foods & most brands are adding fish, this is telling me the UK pet food companies are getting very cheap byproduct fish ingredients, heads, guts, tails etc so I’d try & avoid dog foods that have fish ingredients if you can, if the fish is further down the ingredient list then OK but no fish meal/ocean meal in the first 5-6 ingredients…

Chicken & Turkey are cleaner meats when used in dog foods..
If you want to feed fish then buy & add tin Salmon in spring water, Sardines in spring water added 1-2 spoon to 1 of his daily meals, add healthy fresh ingredients to his meal once you find a dry food that agrees with him.

With Probiotics they are best given on empty stomach, so either first thing of a morning when he wakes up then feed 1 hour later or give probiotic drink inbetween meals when stomach acids are low,
if you’re using a probiotic powder then add 10ml-15ml cool water in a bowl with probiotic & swirl around to dissolve the probiotic powder & then let him drink the probiotic drink, my boy use to love his probiotic drink at 10am, I’d give it as a treat..
He needs his food change then he wont need to take the probiotic, something isnt agreeing with him..
Make sure you keep a diary & write everything down you have tried & first 10 ingredients as Frenchies are known for Food sensitivities & Skin Allergies…
Just remember the vet isn’t a vet nutritionist….

Barking Head & Forthglade dog food looks really good, take back the Wainwright’s Salmon & potato puppy food you’re feeding now, tell pet shop or online pet store Wainwright’s Salmon isnt agreeing with your pup & now he wont eat it, dog foods are normally guaranteed for palability, money back or exchange & they will exchange for another food Look for new food with not too many ingredients, you can add your own healthy fresh ingredients..

Have a look at
* Barking Heads- https://barkingheads.co.uk/collections/dog-food

* Forthglade – https://forthglade.com/shop-dog/dry-dog-food/turkey-brown-rice-cold-pressed-natural-dry-dog-food

* Simpsons – https://www.simpsonspremium.com/dogs/puppy

* Eden – https://edenpetfoods.com/products/dog-food/eden-80-20-dried-food/eden-80-20-country-cuisine.html

* Millies Wolfheart – https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/

[Cara P]

Hi Karen and Stephanie

I just joined this forum so I could join in on the conversation. Firstly I hope that both Abby and Maui are still doing well. I have a 3 1/2 year post mesenteric torsion greatdane. His name is Luca, he is now 5 years old and weighs about 102 lbs.
Over the course of these 3 1/2 years we have tried many foods ( commercial, homemade, dry, canned, raw etc) medicines, and treatments and he has been followed by veterinarian nutritionists, holistic veterinarians, veterinary school veterinarians etc.
I am not going to lie having a short bowel dog is challenging some days more than others
But your dog can live a fairly normal life and I would do anything for him. If either of you are interested in swapping stories of what you have tried, what works, what doesn’t etc
Email me. I don’t think there are many of us ( short bowel dog post mesenteric torsion)owners out there but I do believe we can learn from each other and this will help us give our special dog the best quality of life.

[christine v]

I live in Australia, and have fed the High Prairie and Appalachian valley TOTW formulas. My dog who has a cast iron stomach and is able to eat anything and everything can not hold down this food. He vomited regularly a few hours after eating TOTW, always with whole undigested kibble in his sick. I persevered as i had 4kgs of dog food here, but he never got used to it, and i was sick of cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night, so I threw both bags in the trash 🙁
I have rotated through many brands of kibble, and have never encountered this problem. He is now on ‘Stay Loyal” dry food, which is a grain free Australian made and owned brand, and he is thriving.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by christine v.

[Nole P]

It’s been so long since I posted in here i had to create a new account. I hope this is the right place for this. If not let me know and i will move it. I did a search for Skoki and couldn’t find anything and also didn’t see a dry dog food forum.

I decided on Fromm Classic years ago. Well, Fromm and I have had a falling out so to speak and I am looking for a comparable kibble. Has anyone used this before? Thoughts on it? On a side note, I noticed in my previous research at some point Fromm dropped the protein in the Classic. I had it as 26 and now it says 23.

[HoundMusic]

“So, I am curious what it is the the Purina food that works for your dogs reproductively. I was under the impression that grain the kibble could be a source of estrogen that is counter-productive. (Excuse the play on wirds). I would change kibble in a heart beat if that solved the problem. ”

Grain has absolutely nothing to do with the production of estrogen. Soy will produce estrogen like compounds in the body, but quite honestly, if you want a bitch to come into heat, her estrogen levels had better be high. And I personally don’t mind soy, especially for older or spayed bitches, because it keeps their hormones at a more balanced level, since the old gals produce less naturally as they age.

As for ingredients, I honestly could not pinpoint any one in any of the Purina products I’ve tried over the years that “does the trick”, as it were. I’ve used their dry foods from Pro Plan to Alpo, with protein levels ranging from 18-30%, and, like clockwork, bitches who are late to their cycle will come in heat anywhere from within a week to several weeks later, regardless of the brand. Although higher protein, fat and kcals in combination tend to speed this process along.

I do, however, have a theory that there are dog foods which, in my personal experience, seem to cause hormonal issues such as depression of thyroid function, and low carb diets, be they dry, canned or raw, are often a major culprit in irregular cycles. In fact, when I want to speed a bitch out of heat, raw for a day or two will do the trick nicely. Any Purina (dry) product I’ve tried seems to have the opposite effect – in that of balancing the hormone levels, or causing a surge where they previously had been low.

Also, diets that are higher in simple or complex carbohydrates are pure nourishment for the thyroid gland, which has its own functions but is also like a master control for the production of other hormones. And the thyroid is a glutton for sweets. I don’t consider it a breeding food, but when I’ve used Kibbles N Bits, I get the exact same results – instant heat cycles and bitches that stay in full blown heat for a good 10 days.

Anyway, I only recommended Purina ONE because when I was actively breeding, I got the best results with it for brood bitches in particular. I even had a dog with cervical cancer who hadn’t come into heat in almost 2 years, come in after a few days of eating ONE. So, for good or ill, it works like a charm in bringing bitches in season, and the 26/16 ratio seems to be ideal for both pre and post breeding maintenance.

[Susan]

Hi Jennifer,

great what you’re doing….has she been wormed? If she’s coming thru rescue they may have wormed her already?? this would be the first thing I’d be doing, make sure you give all wormer with her Dinner (a meal), Dinner is best time to give tablet then she goes to sleep..
puppies should be wormed at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 weeks of age, and then every 4months for life with an all-wormer” or you can have poo tested for worms by vet…

I would avoid these new flea/tick chews – “Nexgard & Bravecto” as they are Neurotoxins, attack the fleas nervous systems also causing side effects to the poor dog.
Do your research first…especially if she is malnourished..

Frontline Plus Spot On & Frontline Spray is the only flea/tick product that only penetrates the first 2 layers of the dogs skin & doesnt go into their blood, so less side effect for the dog…

I’d say her mum was also very malnourished, she’ll be right you’ve adopted her at a good age & the rescue people know the age of these rescue dogs that’s their job..
if rescue has said she’s 4months old, then she is 4months old..
I rescued a 18mth old Boxer she was a skeleton, it took a while for her to gain some weight, we had to feed 3-4 smaller meals a day, she had NO health problems except arthritis when she was older…

Look for a large breed puppy formula, then after she is fully grown start rotating her foods so she isnt eating the same brand of dry food…
start feeding raw meaty bones as a treat…

also make sure you start puppy classes & socialize her
The first 2 years are very important for socializing a puppy..
I’d join a GSP f/b group….

[Susan]

@ Atlas
You make up your own mind up whats best for Atlas.. you have enough advice from DFA posters….
all I know is when I kept mentioning the low taurine in dogs after they ate these newer grain free food brands when I asked Australian vets, Patches American vet, our Australian Dog Food Advisor (Pet Food Reviews- Australia) he would NOT post the FDA link, I asked him why are you not warning people about feeding these high legumes g/f diets on his f/b site, when I spoke with pet food companies, I spoke with Hills vet nutritionist & R/C vet nutritionist whoever I could discuss taurine being blocked & get some answers, some people told me, there is NOT enough proof, some people wanted me to show a link with evidence that Legume & Potatoes are blocking the taurine & causing heart problems, I couldnt find any research as it hasnt been done yet, all I found was 1 vet an older vet, said do not feed no more then 20% legumes in a dog diet…
This is when I thought to myself hey I’m the only Nut that seems to think there’s a problem here & if Patches both vets are telling me to continue feeding him his Grain Free Wellness Core Large Breed food that has Potatoes in it then I’m listening to them, they’d know more then me, it wasnt one person I’ve had these disscussions with..

Just remember Atlas has Intestinal problems but Atlas probably isn’t as bad as Patch yet, Patch was a rescue who I rescued on his 4th birthday, the damage was already done with Patch, I thought I could fix Patches IBD but it was too late for him he was probably feed a diet that keep making his poos sloppy/diarrhea….

Atlas may not do great on a grain diet unless you can find a dry food that has grains & potatoes or sweet potatoes further down the ingredient list maybe that will work for Atlas?..
I tried this with Patch, “Canidae All Life Stages Platinum” formula & Patch was doing BIG sloppy yellow cow patties, I tried Purina Pro Plan OptiDerma formula, it helped his itchy skin but made IBD worse…. Canidae & Purina both refunded money or offered to give a voucher…

When you do find a cheaper medium priced dry food that agrees with Atlas then you’ll have another dry food you can rotate with..
Try to not irritate Atlas bowel, you do not want your dog diagnosed with IBD when he’s around 4yrs old…. IBD isnt a nice disease, once the damage is done there’s no going back..
Thickening of the bowel, the cause – the dog continues doing sloppy poos & owner continues to feed food that is irritating the stomach/bowel..
You can not reverse thickening of the bowel with a probiotic, pumkin or other supplements..
Atlas is young & hopefully his bowel has healed & he still has a healthy bowel, i’d feed him dry foods he has done best on…& see a good vet yearly….

[Susan]

Hi,
Unfortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unwittingly prompted these articles to be written when it recently gave a warning about a possible connection. Since then, the FDA has “elucidated its initial warning” and stated, “At this time, we are not advising dietary changes based solely on the information we have gathered so far. If you have questions or concerns about your dog’s health or its diet, we suggest that you consult your veterinarian for individualized advice that takes into account your dog’s specific needs and medical history.”
here’s the link-

https://www.tumblr.com/drjeandoddspethealthresource/179049849051/canine-heart-disease

Atlas has sensitive stomach/bowel, I would first try & find a dry diet that agrees with Atlas & take it from there, I still feed Patch his “Wellness Core” large breed Adult dry g/f & I rotate with “NutraGold” Turkey & Sweet Potatoes g/f & next bag of Kibble I’m buying his Canidae Pure Meadow Senior g/f, I know he does well on these 3 dry formula’s…

In Australia vets were not concerned when FDA released warning about Low Taurine grain free dry foods, when I asked Patches vet she said, until we get more research just leave Patch on his grain free potato formula’s that he’s doing well on, We dont want him having a IBD flare.. he doesnt do well on grain dry foods 🙁

Check & google CLP when they test products & screened over 130 toxins including heavy metals, BPA, … Out of 299 dry dog foods tested, the bottom five, on average, contain the highest …
Purina Focus Sensitive Stomach and Skin formula gets only 1 star & has been on the 1 star high heavy metals & toxins list every 3 months when CLP test these popular dog foods, if you look at 5 star foods
Purina One Smart Blend True Instinct Turkey and Venison Dry Dog Food..
Purina Beyond Salmon & Egg formula..do really well when tested & get 5 stars, so you might be better off trying a different Purina formula & willprobably be a little cheaper with cleaner ingredients.
“Eagle Pack” Large/giant breed Natural Dry formula does very well when tested & is also a good price.
But will grain formula’s agree with Atlas or does he do better on a grain free potato dry food?..

[Michelle W]

My 70 pound Collie was in very bad shape. He is 11 years old and has had movement problems for years, these were helped for a long time using acupuncture, but I eventually gave that up. My vet eventually suspected Addison’s disease and put him on Prednisolone a short time later we added Adequan for arthritis. I have also been taking him to an excellent dog physical therapist. He had improved quite a bit, but the Prednisolone caused him to have excessive food seeking behavior that made him not even seem like my dog anymore. Once I was on-line researching dog nutrition and ran into Dr. Marty. I purchased one bag of food (at it’s highest price) just to take a look and see what it was. When it came I was so embarrassed by what I had paid for it that I put it in a drawer and ignored it for a couple of weeks. One day I hydrated a cup of the food and gave my dog, who usually gets 1 cup of dry Avoderm with his meals. Instead I gave him 1/3 up of Dr. Marty’s and 2/3 cup Avoderm Duck. Later when I sat down to eat my dinner I was astonished that my dog was not begging. I have kept feeding it at that same ratio for a while and he is physically getting a lot better and his food seeking has returned to a normal level. I just took him off of it for two days to see if the food seeking returns and in two days only a hint of it has returned. I will leave him on the 1/3 cup per meal for another month or two because he is healing so well and when his health seems stable I will try cutting down to 1/4 cup. My conclusion is that Dr. Marty’s is very, very good for my dog and that I need not feed him a large portion of it, thus, it is not as ridiculously expensive as I thought, because I do not need to feed him the portion required to feed only that one food to a 70 pound dog.

[Susan]

Hi Lyndsey,

How did you work out your do is sensitive too wheat, barley, soy, corn, dried egg, venison, rabbit, salmon, dairy/milk?
The only way to work out food sensitivities is to do a food elimination diet, blood, salvia & fur testing test can give false positives….Waste of money..

Best Testing for Environment allergies is the “Intradermal Skin test” ask your Dermatologist about Intradermal Skin Testing & can you start Immunotherapy injections, is often the best treatment plan for environment allergies & baths weekly or twice a week baths to wash off allergens on skin & paws…
* Probiotics to strengthen immune system & diet high in Omega 3 will also help, especially if you’re cooking meals start adding foods that are high in Omega 3, Flaxseed, Sunflower oil, Linseed Oil, Chia Seeds, Nuts- I was giving my boy 3 Almonds a day as a treat, i’d bite 1 almond in 1/2 & give Patch the other 1/2 of the Almond..he has a beautiful shiney coat…

If you’re cooking then start doing a food trial, start with 1 meat protein & you know your boy can eat sweet potato so add sweet potato as the carb & now every 6 weeks add 1 new ingredient & see does your boy react…
My boy reacts within 20mins of eating an ingredient (Chicken) his back paw goes red hot & swollen & he start licking & licking back paw, then as the days pass he gets yeasty smelly skin, paws & very itchy, but Chicken doesnt upset his Intestinal tract he has IBD, Carrots make his ears itchy & yeasty he starts shaking his head/ears…
It can take up to 6 weeks for a dog to react to certain ingredients..
Elimination diet is slow but you will know 100% what he can & cant eat..

A really good food is
* “Ziwi Peak” wet can or air dried
https://www.ziwipets.com/catalog/ziwi-peak-dog-nutrition

also look at Aldis” new “Pure Being” formula’s, grain free & grain formula’s
/dog-food-reviews/shep-dog-food/

* “Wellness Core” formula’s – https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/core

* “Canidae Pure Wild” & “Pure Meadow” if your boy is a senior – https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

I’d stay away from Zignature, Zignature is one of the dry foods that is VERY high in legumes & dogs are not absorbing Taurine causing heart problems, DCM…..
Make sure the dry food you’re feeding doesn’t have a heap of legumes in the first 6 ingredients & Zignature does…. there shouldnt be no more then 20% Legumes in a dogs diet..
The dry dog foods list is in this group below, we are NOT allowed to post the Taurine list as it has peoples private info…
Here’s the f/b group join “Taurine-Deficient Dilated Cardiomyopathy” group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1952593284998859/
then look in their “Files” click on 2nd link
“2018-10-05 COPY of Diet and Taurine TABLE”…. & you will see cases mark in Yellow & then Orange = DCM or CHF w/o low Taurine; diet related,
Zignature Kangaroo formula has 3 cases & i’d say the first young GSH has passed away by now as he was diagnosed 2017 & given only 6-8months to live 🙁

Join this facebook group for Skin allergies,
“Dog Allergies, Issues and Other Information Support Group”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240043826044760/
a Dermatologist Karen Helton Rhodes, DVM, DACVD from Canine Skin Solutions “Healthyskin4dogs”
frequents this group, there’s heaps of help & really good advice..

Weekly baths are the best to do, baths wash off any allergens on skin & paws & relieve itchy red skin, I also use Huggie Cucumber & Aloe baby wipes, I wipe my boy down when he comes back inside & I use “Sudocrem” cream on his paws & around his mouth when skin is red & inbetween toes are red, Sudocrem is an anti-bacterial, ant-fungal healing cream, also works as a barrier & protects the skin & paws, excellent for skin problems… sold on Amazon

[Susan]

Hi Debi,

Yes if you think she has acid reflux start her ASAP before she gets stomach ulcers or inflammed esophagus, we did Endoscope & Biospsies January 2018 my poor boy ended up with a red inflammed esophagus & his wind pipe was red where the acid went back down into his wind pipe from bad acid reflux… 🙁

My boy was taking Omeprazole 20mg, best to take of a morning before or after food it doesn’t matter cause Omeprazole is an PPI an acid blocker, not a acid reducer like pepcid or Zantac is, you will see a BIG difference, it takes about 12-24hours to starting working in beginning, also liquid Mylanta 4-5ml will help stop the gulping & swollowing, put in a syringe, I use Quickeze 1/2 a chew aswell some days for Patch when I see he’s swolling hard or he grinds his teeth some the taste, I worry his esophagus will become inflammed again, you girl will start to improve as weeks pass if her throat/esophagus is sore..

After Patch took Omeprazole for 2 yrs Patch he went down hill again he has IBD, mainly stomach & small bowel & he gets bad Helicobacter spirals, I think this is why the Omeprazole didnt work aswell anymore + his Sphincter flap from stomach to esophagus doesn’t close properly now, I suffer with GORDS & have Barrets Esophagus & my sphincter flap doesn’t close either & my Gastrologist put me on Pantoprazole he said Pantoprazole works better for some people, when they have GORD & some people do better on Omeprazole, so Dr changed my PPI to Pantoprazole & yes a big improvement with my burping & acid, so I did the same with Patch, Patches IBD vet wanted him to stay on 20mg Omperazole & he said all PPI are all the same, then I explained to him what my Gastrologist Dr had told me how different brand PPI’s can work differently for some people & then Patches vet said OK then, we’ll try 20mg Pantoprazole (Somac), we can buy Pantoprazole from chemist but its cheaper getting a script from a Dr take to chemist..

Patches specialist vet said we’ll give Patch 1 month & see if there’s any improvement & I also changed his dry food from “Nutro Natural”, Choice Lamb & Rice it was very high in Carbs & Patch wasnt real keen to eat it somedays, I changed his food too “Wellness Core” Large Breed dry kibble, Patch isnt a large breed dog but the “Wellness Core” has all the ingredients that agree with Patch & it’s low in Kcals-340Kcals, you need under 360Kcals if she’s eating a dry kibble, low fat around 13%max & Patch does well on high protein 30-34% & carbs around 30% & under..
When the protein & fat is low in a dry kibble the carbs are high & high carbs can make acid reflux worse, if your girl can eat a cooked meal, then make her boiled sweet potato & cook a lean white meat like turkey breast or chicken breast or lean pork, & green veggies, my boy can NOT eat wet can foods, this is when he went down hill, the fat in wet can food is higher then in a dry kibble 5%min fat in a wet can food when converted to dry matter (kibble) is around 20%min fat to 26%max fat, so be careful if she is eating a wet can food…as dogs ages their digestion slows down like us..
I also fed 4 smaller meals a day.

What is your girl eating.

[Susan]

Hi,
If you dont like the bigger poos then change the food, look for something that has healthy ingredients again but doesn’t have Lentils in the first 7 ingredients & look for fiber % around 3-4%…
…. it wont hurt your dog doing bigger poos as long as the poos are firm, but if poos go sloppy & yuk then he mighten be absorbing all the nutrients..
My boy poos are real big when he eats a grain dry food, 1 food he was doing 4-5 BIG poos a day, it was too much so I changed the food…

Purina HA is 4%-fiber & very low in Protein- 18% & low fat 8%… maybe look for something 25-30%-Protein, 4%-fiber & around 13%-fat cause he’s a senior, as a dog ages their digestion slows down.

[Tanya K]

Susan,

She was initially prescribed Hills Diet c/d dry food. Now she is on Royal Canin s/o dry food. With each she threw up. Not constantly but a lot. The wet food is very expensive and I’m not entirely sure I could manage with that. Right now she is on the small breed formula because the other option would cause her weight gain and as I told the vet that food will go straight to her hips! lol

She never had stones before at all; though I do know shih tzus and poodles are prone to them. My other pup is shih/tzu maltese and they are prone to them, too. Grr! I did mix her food and do it the right way to transition her over so I know that’s not what’s causing the vomiting.

I appreciate all the links and I will read them. Thank you!

Tanya

[Susan]

Hi Tanya,

if she is throwing up I would take the vet food back to vet office for a refund or exchange, tell receptionist what is happening & can you try a different brand WET vet diet, the receptionist will go & see vet & ask him, you shouldn’t have to pay again for another vet visit..
ask can you try the Hill i/d™ Low Fat Canine Rice, Vegetable & Chicken formula,
it Reduces risk of urinary stone formation, has OK ingredients & is LOW in fat, Shih Tzu are prone to pancreatitis, I wouldnt be feeding a 10 yr old a high fat diet maybe the vet diet she is eating is high in fat or she could be vomiting cause she has only ever been fed the one food her whole life, I always recommend to rotate between a few different brands so immune system strengthens, plus some dry dog foods are high in toxins, heavy metals & contaminates especially the fish dry foods..
Here’s the Hill I/d vet diet to try just till you work out what your doing & stop her vomiting.
https://www.hillspet.com.au/dog-food/pd-id-low-fat-canine-rice-vegetable-and-chicken-stew-canned#accordion-content-400284275-0

Which vet diet was she put on
Royal Canine S/O Urinary wet & dry or
Hills C/d Multicare wet & dry formula’s?

She should be on a wet vet diet not a dry vet diet…

I’d be contacting a Vet Nutrionist & ask about making a home made balanced wet diet, or you can contact “Balance It” they have nutritionist who prepare special diets & you add Balance it powder to balance diet.
https://secure.balanceit.com/index.php?rotator=Front

also are you adding Vitamin C Powder to diet?

Vitamin C for Prevention of Chronic Urinary Tract Infections in Dogs

Have a look at “D-Mannose” Pure Powder alot of people say its really good you also add cranberry powder aswell.
https://www.nowfoods.com/supplements/d-mannose-powder

Here’s a good link explaining how low protein isnt needed.
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_4/features/Detecting-Urinary-Stones-Dogs_16215-1.html

Here’s a good face book group to join you dont have to feed raw or cooked but will get some good advise, “Raw & Holistic Cat & Dog Support Group”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411906099101822/

Also follow “Dr Judy Morgan”
look thru her video’s link below,
I’m pretty sure her 17 yr old dog has urinary problems & she cooks for him, her recipes are very easy. Even if you feed 1/2 cooked diet & another food…
https://www.facebook.com/pg/JudyMorganDVM/videos/?ref=page_internal

also here’s “Just For Dogs” special diets
https://www.justfoodfordogs.com/

[HoundMusic]

I’ve been breeding dogs since 2005, and YES, I learned through trial and error that food does indeed affect heat cycles, fertility, litter size and thriftiness of the pups. I have fed brands that, without a single doubt in my mind, caused dangerously early delivery, lack of milk production, even what closely resembled a temporary fading puppy syndrome. I had pups only a day or two old that developed weeping, metallic smelling sores which disappeared entirely almost immediately after a food switch. I have older adult bitches raised on foods that caused heat cycle irregularities and low fertility rates in my kennel who to this day are infertile or have only come into heat a handful of times. I have pups with hitching issues that were weaned onto puppy foods that were too high protein, but had levels of calcium lower than adult food levels in a sorry bid to prevent growth issues (this was Eukanuba, btw).

On that note, if I want a bitch to come into heat, I feed Purina ONE adult 26/16. I use that until 2-3 weeks before the due date, then switch to either ONE puppy or Puppy Chow. Quite honestly, at this point, I don’t trust anything but Purina when it comes to the husbandry of a breeding kennel. Just personally had too many problems with the fancier foods, all of which were fixed by Purina in one form or another…

[Susan]

Hi,
The dry foods you mentioned have lentils in the first 4 ingredients, I’d avoid Lentils, peas would be a better choice like Cockermon said..

Yes cooking & introducing 1 ingredient might work to find out if your dog can eat & handle this ingredient & check out his poo & see is it firmer or sloppier, I did this when I thought Patch couldn’t eat potato, he reacted to ingredient in a LID vet diet Potato & Fish & the vet said it must be the potatoes, so for 1 & 1/2 yrs I thought he cant have potato & most g/f formula back 2014 had potato, so I started adding 1 spoon cooked potato & he was fine then I added 2 spoons of boiled potato & poos were firmer 🙂

Cheaper foods that might work??

Have a look at

“Whole Earth Farms”
Grain Free Recipe with Pork, Beef & Lamb (Poultry-Free)
For All Breeds & Life Stages
https://www.feedgoodness.com/products/recipe?title=Whole-Earth-Farms-Grain-Free-Recipe-with-Pork%2C-Beef-&-Lamb-(Poultry-Free)&id=8

Whole Earth farms – Grain Free Recipe with Chicken & Turkey
https://www.feedgoodness.com/products/recipe?title=Grain-Free-Recipe-with-Chicken-&-Turkey&id=1

Whole Earth Farms – Grain-Free Salmon & Whitefish Dry Dog but has MORE ingredients
https://www.feedgoodness.com/products/recipe?title=Grain-Free-Recipe-with-Salmon-&-Whitefish&id=7

Also look at “Victor Select” formula’s
there’s “Oceanfish Select Formula” or a “Lamb Meal & Rice Select formula” it has Probiotics & Prebiotics
https://victorpetfood.com/products

I’ve read alot of people who have dogs with sensitive stomach/bowel seem to do well on Victor dry food, just need to find the right formula & the Select formula’s have least ingredients to start with..

Pro Pac Ultimates
grains & grain free only has prebiotics

[Atlas T]

Thanks for the input.

Cockaliermom and Susan, I just accidentally came across Diamond Naturals Grain-Free Whitefish & Sweet Potato Formula Dry Dog Food and it seems like that one has lots of different strains of probiotics, do you think that would be a good one to try? It’s not a limited ingredient diet though…

Atlas does get some yogurt and kefir, and I’ll continue to do that.

As to “4Health”Sensitive stomach” – I haven’t tried that yet. Does that one have probiotics? I have some hesitation around the fact that the first ingredient is potatoes and not a protein, but can be convinced that that’s not an issue 🙂

With the recent news from the FDA, I’m also concerned about keeping him long term on a grain free, potato-based diet…that also makes me want to make the switch to something better.

The local pet store recommended I try Pulsar food….they say it’s branded as a limited ingredient diet, but has pretty limited ingredients. It does have lentils and peas though, as well as FOS…so I’m not sure if that would ultimately be good or bad for him. I wonder….if I just try feeding Atlas homemade legumes (peas, chickpeas, lentils, etc.) will that give me a good sense of whether he can tolerate them? Or is it such a different processing in kibble that it doesn’t really matter if he can tolerate them if cooked at home?

Thanks!

[Susan]

Hi Atlas,
Sorry another long post I keep thinking of stuff to write lol,
It’s good you have FINALLY found a dry food that’s working for your Lab, the Natural Balance Potato & Duck formula is low fiber 3%max & the N/B fish formula is 5%max fiber, both formula’s have “NO peas” & both formula’s have “NO probiotics”, both have VERY Limited Ingredients, just 1 single meat protein & potatoes or sweet potatoes as the carb…
Make sure you look for LID, fiber under 5% & it has to have Potatoes or sweet potatoes, not too many ingredients..

Go onto the Natural Balance LID site & look at the Duck formula & Fish formula ingredients that your dog does well on, then try & find a cheaper food with similar ingredients, write down the foods you have tried & he did sloppy poos & obsessively licking his butt, rubbing bum on ground & licking bum can also be from food sensitivities, my boy does it when he’s sensitive to an ingredient in a dry grain kibble…

If you want to give your dog probiotics, your better off buying a probiotic powder or Kefir, add 10-15ml water to the probiotic powder in a small bowl swirl & mix probiotic powder then let your dog drink it as a treat, best to give probiotic inbetween meals on an empty stomach when stomach acids are low not with food, the probiotic works better, give same time every day..

Did you ever try
“4Health”Sensitive stomach” formula, sold Tractor Supply, it is Potato & Egg, No Peas, the fiber is low 3%max & has similar ingredients to the Natural Balance Potato & Duck & the Sweet potato & fish formula’s, if its cheaper maybe you can add with the N/B formula to make the N/B kibble last longer.. also adding fresh ingredients, left overs after you have cooked, feed some to dog & dont add 1 cup of kibble, feed 1/2 cooked food say Potato & a meat & 1/2 his N/B kibble he does well on..
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4health-special-care-sensitive-stomach-formula-for-adult-dogs-25-lb-bag?cm_vc=-10011

I feed “Wellness Core” Large Breed, its Chicken, Turkey, Potato & Peas I buy when on special or has 25% off the online pet food shops always send out emails with 25%-30% off.
I have just finished feeding “Nutra Gold” Turkey & Sweet Potato formula & it had Garbanzo beans, Patch normally farts when he eats Garbanzo beans but not with this Nutra Gold grain free formula, Patches poos were smaller & firmer then when he eats the Wellness Core formula & the Nutra Gold is cheaper then the Wellness Core. Here’s teh Whitefish & Sweet Potato formula, I’d give it a go just buy a small bag.
https://nutragold.com/products/dogs/whitefish-sweet-potato/

Also about the Bravecto chews, can you sell them singley to someone who uses Bravecto, I’d ring the the place your bought the Bravecto chews from or ring/email Bravecto company & I’d say my dog became very unwell & vomited bits of teh chew back up after he ate the Bravecto chew & you “do not” want to use the rest of the 5 x Bravecto chews again as you’re very worried your dog will become unwell again & die & you just bought a 6 pack & have only used 1 chew & I just want a refund….
also thru the Winter months do not give any Bravecto chews, I remember reading 1 dog that became very ill having seizure had his blood tested 9 months later he still had the Bravecto nerve drug in his system, so if you can not get a refund then just give 1 x Bravecto chew in Spring before the flea season starts & that 1 Bravecto chew should last thru Spring/Summer/Autumn months, Bravecto might give you a refund they’d get alot of complaints..
Do you live in a high flea/tick area? I do not use any toxins on Patch he reacts to everything….

[Susan]

The best thing you can do is report to FDA…
The packaging contains IMPORTANT information often needed to identify the variety of pet food, the manufacturing plant, and the production date.
https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm

Then email the pet food company, then take back food for a refund & keep a few dry kibbles just in case you need for testing & do not buy that brand again…
Google, Heavy Metals Contamnates in dog foods, a site called CLP should come up, they do studies on 299 popular dog foods every 3 months….

[Susan]

Hi Brenda,

IBD is an awful disease, has your dog had Endoscope & Biopsies
done on Stomach & Small Bowel?? Biopsies will tell vet whats wrong?? my boy has Helicobacter Spirals + Gastritis

What medications does your dog take? is he on an acid reducer or acid blocker like Omperazole 20mg?
His rumbling grumbling noises is gasses running thru his bowel, it can be painful, my boy wakes up around 4-6am with these loud noises happening but not as much theses days since I worked out what foods he is sensitive too & NO boiled Rice it can irritate the bowel, sweet potato or potato is best to add instead of boiled rice, I make 1 piece of white bread toast & make the toast very brown nilly burnt then I cut toast into pieces or if you have Charcol tablet or charcol dog biscuit works good & stops the rumbling noises.. work out what ingredient is causing gasses & bad wind?? also Ive used liquid Mylanta 1 teaspoon/5ml stops the gasses rumbling thru bowel.. Ive read some pet owners use Degas, but find out WHY?? this is happening, re do diet, elimination diet, 1 new meat & 1 new carb.

My boy has IBD mainly stomach & small bowel, when he eats a wet diet he doesnt do well, it seems to ferment in his stomach, then he burps & food comes back up & then he gets bad acid reflux 🙁 I feed 5 small meals a day & at lunch he gets a small wet meal only.
The only food he seems to do best on is a dry kibble that has Sweet Potato & Potato that is either Pork, or Lamb or Turkey & Chicken, the dry kibble must digest quicker & move onto small bowel instead of sitting in his stomach.

Here’s a really good face book group you can join heaps of help & answers…
“Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD – Raw Feeding & Holistic Support” Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/292537937935806/

[Susan]

Hi Vicki,

just becareful with Zignature it’s a high legume diet, they’re finding that high legume diets have been blocking the dog from absorbing Taurine & a few dogs have ended up with DCM who ate Zignature Kangaroo, Acana formula’s was another bad brand high in legumes, I’ll post the f/b group & its list is in their files below
Kangaroo, Venison, Bison are all expensive meats these pet food companies looks for cheaper alternative & add Lentils, Chickpeas to up the protein % & add less meat proetin & more plant proteins..

Make sure you rotate your dog foods every 3months so your dog isnt eating the same brand & ingredients 24/7…

Have you looked at Freeze Dried dry foods like “BIXBI Rawbble Freeze-Dried Dry Dog food”
& wet foods instead of feeding a dry processed kibble or rotate & feed a few different foods this is what I do with my boy, he has IBD & Food Sensitivities, rotating foods has strenghtened his immune system & now after 5yrs rotating he can eat anything as long as it doesnt have any ingredients he is sensitive too..

“Taurine-Deficient Dilated Cardiomyopathy” f/b group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1952593284998859/

Once you have joined look in “Files” 2nd & 3rd PDF link called “2018-09-14 Copy of Diet and Taurine.pdf” the
Light Orange = DCM or CHF w/o low Taurine; diet related.

[Susan]

Hi,
Rotate & feed Nature’s Logic– NutriSource – Instinct see which brands your dog does best on & change every 3 months so your dog isn’t just eating 1 brand 24/7 just incase the dry food is high in heavy metal, toxins & contaminates & not balanced properly etc.

I would be looking at Freeze dried foods instead, these brands below got 5 stars & came 1st, 2nd & 3rd when tested for heavy metals & contaminates, you’ll have a healthier dog..

* Buckley Liberty Freeze-Dried formula’s

* CaniSource Grand Cru All Life Stages formula’s

* BIXBI Rawbble Freeze-Dried formula’s
Freeze dried would be a better choice then dry processed kibbles..

[Susan]

Hi Tara,
TOTW is a high Legume diet, I’ve been seeing alot of dogs on f/b groups & on DFA, dogs that were eating Zignature who were feed a high legume diet they keep having UTI’s…
Look for a Potato, Sweet Potato, Oats, Rice food that has NO Lentils or Chickpeas…

Also stop feeding any fish pet foods as fish is the worse dog food for Heavy Metals, Toxins & Contaminates.. The TOTW Pacific Stream has been in the top 10 worse dry foods high in heavy meatals for the last 1 & 1/2 yrs…. 299 dry dog foods are tested every 3 months & TOTW Salmon & TOTW High Prairie formula’s have both stayed in the bad top 10 dry dog foods…
Change her food to a different brand, feed more of a wet diet then dry diet…
Can you cook or feed a raw diet instead of a dry diet?? wet diet would be heaps better then a dry diet even when you add water its still a dry process diet full of toxins….

Have you tried D-mannose??
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27424995

D-Mannose has been known to disrupt the ability of e-coli bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract. It is derived from mannose, which is a sugar molecule (binding). Some have reported combining cranberry with a dosage of D-Mannose and have seen great improvements in their dogs’ urinary tract conditions.

Also Vitamin C has been known to help stengthen immune system & help with Urinary tratc problems..

Vitamin C for Prevention of Chronic Urinary Tract Infections in Dogs

[haleycookie]

I’ve heard of this before, not sure of the validity of it, but the first issue I see is she’s not getting any wet food as far as you mentioned. I know with utis in cats it is common for an all dry fed cat to get them often. Adding in at least half wet can sometimes completely get rid of the issue so I would recommend doing that to make sure she’s always hydrated and changing to a poultry/red meat based food your dog can tolerate.

[Susan]

Hi Heytsu,

Change vets ASAP sounds like you have a vet that doesn’t know what she is doing??, some vets are awful, same happened with me with my Boxer years ago, now I have a rescue Staffy named Patch who has IBD we had to see 3 vets before we found a really good vet that wasnt into just feeding these vet diets, vet diets don’t agree with some dogs…. Vet should of prescribe “Metronidazole” antibiotic for stomach & bowel taken twice a day every 12 hours with a meal… for 14-21 days

Alot of dogs who have IBS/IBD symptoms do very well on a grainfree dry food that has limited ingredients & have Sweet Potato & Potato & only has 1 meat protein, what country do you live?
I live Australia & we get the Royal Canine Sensitivity Control & so does Europe/UK
My Patch did really bad on all the Hills & Royal Canine vet diets, the only vet diet that worked was the Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue dry kibble, take vet diet food back & get a refund & see another vet, go on a day your vet isnt there & say I do not want to see her again, thats what I did when Patches vet wouldnt listen & change him form the Royal Canine Hypoallergenic vet diet, it only has 1% fiber this could be the problem, something is wrong with your dog..
I did Endoscope & 2 x Biopsies you need to do biopsies so vet can see whats wrong, Ultra Scan is NO good, its a waste of money as it still doesn’t give vet any real answers, Ultra Scan is good if dog has a blockage, the biopsies are the best to do..

Do NOT give any boil any rice as boiled rice can irritates the bowel more sometimes, its very old school boiled rice, now vets recommend boiled potato or sweet potato its more gentle on their stomach & bowel, especially when the bowel is already inflammed, boil some peeled cut up potato & add a lean cooked white meat, like turkey breast, chicken breast or lean pork… feed 3-4 times a day…
Resting the bowel for 24 hours is good to do, Patch had to rest his stomach & bowel for 48hrs you must give electroytes in water every hour in a 20ml syringe if the dog isnt eating long for a long period of time, look for vet that specializes in IBD & is supportive & more into holistic ways & not into pushing vet diets as they can make things worse… rest stomach & bowel 24hrs then restart food some boiled potato or sweet potato & turkey breast 1/2 & 1/2, feed 4 small meals..no treats nothing just the boiled sweet potato or potato & a lean white meat..

Join this facebook group, “Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD – Raw Feeding & Holistic Support” You’ll get heaps of help..You dont have to fed raw diet to join group…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/292537937935806/

When you say Surgery, what type of surgery did your dog have & how old is he??

[Susan]

Hi Patty,

why they say dont feed puppies a raw diet is like Tyrionthebiscuit said, it’s hard to balance a growing dog diet, especially large breed puppy, their bones can grow too quickly & cause osteo problems later when the pup is a fully grown adult, so they say to put the large breed pup on a large breed puppy formula till the dog is 18-24months, then when dog is fully grown then start feeding the large dog a raw diet…
You have a small breed pup you should be right, there’s heaps of balanced premade raw diets & freeze dried dehydrated raw on the market…..
299 most popular dry dog foods are tested every 3 months for heavy metals & contaminates, these 3 brands came 1st, 2nd & 3rd they got 5 stars when tested for toxins, heavy metals & contaminates..

* “Buckley Liberty” Freeze-Dried Dry Dog Food the Beef, Lamb & chicken formula’s
* “CaniSource Grand Cru” All Life Stages Dehydrated Raw Dry Dog Food their Turkey, Lamb & Meat formula’s
* “BIXBI Rawbble” Freeze-Dried Dry Dog foods, their LAmb, Duck Chicken & Salmon formula’s
another good brand I hear people saying is really good is “Answers” fermented raw..

Join a few raw feeding f/b groups there’s Lew Olsons “K-9 Nurition” Lews book is excellent for starting home made raw.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/371592139642185/
Monica Segal “K-9 Kitchen” https://www.facebook.com/groups/K9Kitchen/
also has a few books that are good aswell..
Why alot a vet are against raw feeding is cause they have seen the bad when a raw diet isn’t balance properly like Rickets, Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphorus.
Good luck you’re on the right track feeding a raw diet…

[Mary G]

Hello! We rescued and adopted a little beagle who had a lot of health issues, one of them being bloody diahrrea every other day. After tests, ghere was no medical reason for it. Aside from that she had bladder stones which made it worse as far as food choices. I did some research as vets were not finding anything and found a fb group for natural food called K9 nutrition who is ran by Lew Olson. I asked for help and she suggested I give Lola probiotics and supplement her witb L-Glutamine. I could not find a formula for dogs here in Mexico but found it at GNC. Nowadays I give her a crushed tablet in her dry food and mix in kefir. It has been a slow process but she has improved dramatically. Lew has written a book on natural food for pets. You might want to look into that. I was out of my mind worrying about her bit thankfully she is much better. Another suggestion would be to get a referral for a nutritionist who might give you a list of ingredients to feed natural home-cooked meals which will help. I hope this info helps!!

[heytsu l]

Hi,

My dog has been having loose stool issue for a few months now. He has been on Orijen since he was a puppy, which was fine but after his surgery and switch to the adult formula things have not got back to normal. I’ve tried feeing him a raw diet but he kept regurgitating and then refused to touch anything raw all together, switched back to dry food this time Belcando lamb and rice formula ,which improved the situation a bit but the stool still wasn’t great. After that I’ve been feeding him Terra Canis grain free cans ,which he loved and things were similar as on the lamb & rice dry food; I still had to clean his butt multiple times a week because of soft or runny stool.

The vet suggested Royal Canin Sensitivity Control, which made things better the first week or so but after that things kept getting worse. His stool went back to loose and he kept licking the floor ,which he has never done before. They tested his stool for parasites and it came out clear. Now the vet told me to feed him Royal Canin Hypoallergenic formula for six weeks exclusively. And then if that doesn’t work, we will look further.

He has been on this formula only two days and he has woken me up at five in the morning both days, desperate to potty with full blown diarrhea. He also shakes his head, and scratches his ear a lot. He has been farting all evening yesterday. The smell was horrendous. Could he just be adapting to the new food or is it already showing that this is not the right type of food for him? I’m a little lost as far as what the best thing to do is right now. I want to listen to my vet but it’s been going on for so long with little to no testing done that I’m starting to get a little impatient. How long before I can safely say the food is making things worse/ or at least not helping? What can I request from the vet other than a blood test (she didn’t want to do it until we try this food)?

[Susan]

Hi Patrica,

Which Stella & Chewy formula are you talking about? I quickly looked up a few of the Stella & Chewy different formula’s & they all seems to have 2 meats as 1st & 2nd ingredients, the Raw coated Kibble Chicken formula ingredients look OK
Chicken, chicken meal, chickpeas, peas, chicken liver, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), chicken heart, natural chicken flavor, salmon oil,

If a dry kibble said, Chicken, pea/corn, lentils/chickpeas, tapioca/potatoes etc I would NOT buy it as the meat protein being “chicken” isnt a chicken meal & ingredients are listed when they’re raw not cooked so after the chicken is cooked it shrinks, 70% is water so the Lentils/chickpeas come 1st then either the peas/corn or the tapioca/potatoes come 2nd then the Chicken moves up the ingredient list depending how heavy the other ingredients are?…So I stay away from these type of pet foods now, Patch doesnt do well on high carb diets..
But if the dry kibble said Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey meal, Potatoes, Peas, Chickpeas then you know this dry kibble is higher in meat proteins not plant proteins. I wish these pet food companies had to list all the protein % in all ingredients, Earthborn Holistic Venture kibble does & I think Victor does aswell..
You’d think it would be the same with a raw food…but NO cause the raw doesnt get cooked so the meat proteins stay at 1st & 2nd ingredients etc same with freeze dried/dehydrated raw ingredients they are not cooked, maybe this is why DFA gives Stella & Chewy 5 stars?? or his dog eats it & does very well on Stella & Chewy lol

Make sure you have at least 2-3 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd 3rd & if lucky 4th ingredient, my Patch has improved so much since eating a higher meat protein kibble, I use to think he couldn’t handle a high meat dry kibble, I’ve worked out it was the Kcals they were toooo HIGH, the higher the Kcals the more dense is the dry kibble so it’s harder to digest & as they get older their digestive tract slows down.. Patch gets his pain stomach/pancreas when Kcals are over 370Kcals per cup so now I look for at least 2-4 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd, 3rd ingredients then a carb.

I belong to an Dogs with IBD Raw Feeding Holistic Support f/b group & I always see people recommending “Answers Fermented Raw” Answers is suppose to be “very good quality” raw food, I read about all these very sick dogs with IBD doing really well since coming off their vet diet (well that isnt too hard lol) or a premium dry kibble & since starting Answers raw food & their Fermented Goats milk these dogs is doing very well…
Have you tried Answer pet food ? I want to try the Goats Milk I’ll buy human quality goats milk.. Patch gets some of my cup of tea every morning so I’ll replace the tea with warm goats milk instead & see how he goes…
https://www.answerspetfood.com/products.html

[crazy4cats]

Hi Patricia-
You are absolutely right! It’s impossible to tell how much of each ingredient is actually in the food by the ingredient label. In addition, you can’t tell the quality of the ingredients. You can’t tell which cut of the meat they used, or if they weighed it when it was wet or dry.

You need to go with a company you trust that uses solid ingredients, has safety procedures in place, does research, has a veterinary nutritionist on staff and tests their food!

Good luck!

[Susan]

Hi Linda,

Was your girl eating the Zignature dry food when her liver test came back high??
Sometimes when a kibble is very high in toxins, heavy metals & contaminates this can cause high liver results, Fish is one of the worse proteins to feed in an dog food…
The cleanest meats used in dog foods are Chicken & Turkey.
I’d stop feeding her the Zignature & try another dry food a different “brand” …
When “Eagle Pack” Giant/Large breed Adult dry was tested for toxins & heavy metals it came back 5 stars really good results, same with “Canidae” dry formula’s…
if you google you will find this site that does studies on 299 best selling dog foods that are tested & are high in heavy metals & contaminates.

[joanne l]

Sure it does not disagreeing with you there. But grain free boosts it up more so, b/c legumes have a much higher protein content. So in a nut Schell of course meat is better, however dog food companies need to put some binders in it weather beneficial or not. So if I had to choose between grain free or grain in I would choose the grain in, that is the best of the worst. Also supplementing with some fresh meat with dry food is beneficial as well. Not all people can afford a all meat diet, including myself, so I give him some fresh meat along with his dry food. Even so corn meal is not the best, however I did see better results with it.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by joanne l.

[Susan]

Hi Jill,
I had a Boxer Angie she had Mast Cell Tumors diagnosed age 8yrs old, she wasnt her happy self, no more she was sleeping more, didn’t want to go on her daily walks or come in the car shopping, her poos became black, vomiting blood, so I took her to see the RSPCA vet where I adopted her from 6yrs before, the vet asked me has she eaten breakfast this morning, I said no Ang eats breakfast at 11am, the vet said I want to remove these lumps ASAP now they don’t look good, I said but I seen another vet where I live about 1 yr ago, the vet said not the vet on Darby st, please say no, I said yes, we always walk past to go to the beach & one day I seen her out the front with another vet who was visiting from America, I stopped & I showed them both her wierd looking lump on the back of her leg, they BOTH said its nothing, its just an old lady wort, its nothing to worry about, this RSPCA vet just shook her head & said if these lumps were removed 1 yr year ago the cancer wouldn’t be as this advanced….Angie had a few Mast Cell tumors 1 on back of her leg & other lumps & bumps all were removed she looked a Quit, full of patches everywhere, 1/2 of her nipples were removed, when I came to take her home that afternoon, the vet said we have removed more then we thought, she wasnt allowed to come home & had to stay the night the poor thing….
She had another operation as some of the Mast Cell Tumors came back within 3months of removing, my mum said, let her go Susan, I said but she looks good, the little bit of weight she had lost made her her perfect weight 30kg, then she was cancer free BUT she didn’t get better, so the RSPCA vet said you can do Endoscope to see if she has Ulcers from the Mast Cell Tumors as the Mast Cell sets off histimines that attacks the stomach..So I was reffered to another vet that had the Endoscope Camera, it became the vet practice where I go now & take my Staffy Patch who has IBD…
My Angie never got better it was all down hill, I wish I listened to the first vet from the RSPCA when he said, I can put her to sleep on the back seat of your car, I thought to myself, Im not putting my Angie to sleep on my back seat of my car… I was thinking what will I do without my Angie, I cant put her to sleep its all too quick, the same vet did say to me, you have to be strong Susan, Angie sounds like she has been there for you 6 years now? so its your turn now to help her…. I couldn’t put her to sleep, my daughter couldnt PTS either, so I wasted another few thousand dollars doing Endoscope, she had no ulcers & the stupid vet didnt do any biospies, so the Endoscope was pointless but I didnt know all this back then 2009 now I do….
Angie was put on ant acid meds Zantac & Carafate, other medications Valium, Pain meds that made her feel very sick, nausea, vomit, I dont think she could take the Prednisone she took something else similiar, I cant remember the name its started with S she was also put on Hills Z/D dry food in the end & this caused extream stomach pain & she refused to eat it, I told the new vet & he said, Oh she’s just spoilt she’ll eat it, I have found male vets are heartless when it comes to a sick dog, I prefer lady vets & lady vet nurses..
We had had another sleepless 1/2 of the night again up 12am-3am, Angie crying with her pain, so I ended up ringing a mobil vet 8.30am Saturday morning, the mobil vet came 9am & he said gee are you sure she is sick, she started running around all excited we had a visitor, the vet said, she’s in really good condition, then I showed him Angies vet folder, all her tests, her operations, all the meds we had tried & they didnt help etc then he gave her a valium injection, then I talked to Angie for 20mins told her we are going for a walk to the beach I’ll see you at the beach Ang & the vet put her to sleep, he said she’ll have green dreams now…Finally she was painfree… I couldnt fix my Angie, she never had a sick day in her life until she turned 8yrs old, she could eat anything, she was a beautiful dog, a real lady … 🙁

The Nature’s Logic canned rabbit food you’re feeding is 7%min fat, when you convert that to dry matter (Kibble) this is around 35-40%max fat, this would be too high in fat for Nilla, you’re better off cooking & making her a bland diet with lean white meats like Turkey breast, lean Pork, I know you said No pork but the Natures Logic wet can rabbit food has Pork liver in it, she’ll probably do really well on pork, alot of IBD dogs do very well eating sweet Potato, white Potato, Gluten Free Pasta, I know she needs to have some fat in her diet to gain some weight, but is Nilla still on Predisone & the ant acid blocker Losec? if not put her back on the Losec 20mg given every morning, also you cannot just stop the Prilosec once its been taken for 3-4 weeks it must be slowley reduced as all the hydrochloric acid come rushing back into stomach all at once until the stomach acid go back to normal..Taking an acid blocker might make her want to eat again or reduce the fat in her diet with cooked lean meals & see does she get her appetite back again?? My IBD boy takes Pantoprazole 20mg now its an ant acid blocker, he did take Losec for 2 years then it didn’t seem to work…..
If you still want to feed wet can food look at either a low fat vet diet Royal Canine HP or Royal Canine Intestinal Low Fat or Hills I/d Low Fat Stew can food, as these wet can foods are under 8% in fat so they’re 1.7%-2%max fat is written on the canof food, so when converted to Dry Mater (DM) they’re 7-8% in fat & wont cause as bad acid reflux…
No wet can foods or premade raw food, fat % protein % fiber % is converted yet…
or look at “Walk About”
http://walkaboutpetproducts.com/dog-food/
“Walk About” has Rabbit, Kangaroo, Boar, Quail, Duck, the fat is 2%min & isn’t converted, the moisture is 82% so when you convert the fat it will be higher, when you see 78% Moisture this is better, the fat will be a bit lower…. I converted the fat in the Walk About Rabbit formula & it’s around 11.11%min fat, same with the Walk About kangaroo formula, The Walk About wet can foods are heaps lower in fat then the Nature Logic Rabbit formula.. It’s best to email Walk About or other dog food companies who sell wet can foods you want to try & ask them can you have the fat convertion to dry matter please.
eg- when you see 5%min fat, 78% moisture on a wet can of dog food, this 5%min fat when converted will be around 20%min fat to 26% max fat…

Here’s a Dog Food Guaranteed Analysis Calculator link, save it…

Dog Food Calculators

If you can cook, cook & freeze small meals, I make rissoles balls, I buy 1kg = 2lbs of lean 5 star Beef or Pork mince low fat, I whisk 1 egg, add to the beef mince some freshly chopped parsley & add about 1 teaspoon parsley, then I chop a few small brocolli heads & grate 1 small peeled carrot, mix all together & make either 1/4 cup size rissole balls or 1/2 a cup size rissole balls & put on a foil lined baking tray & bake for 15mins take out drain any water/fat turn over the rissole balls then bake for another 15mins till ready do not over cook as you’ll have leather rissoles, you can eat these rissoles with some mashed potatoes, I also boil 1 peeled cut up sweet potato then boil then cool & freeze those sweet potato in a sandwich clip lock bags & make sure the sweet potato pieces aren’t touching each other if they do touch then when frozen just wack on kicthen bench while still in sandwich bag & they should separate, you can add 1/2 cup size rissole ball & about 1/3 cup boiled sweet potato then I put 1 rissole ball & the sweet potato pieces in a blender & blend your dog will really like the rissoles, you can make turkey breast mince into rissoles & add some boiled Sweet Potato, theyre really nice, also scrambled egg make Nilla 1 scambled egg, what ever your eating as long as its not hot chillie, curry etc she can eats some & feed about 4-5 small meals a day get her back into a rountine & ask vet about ant acid medication..I use Quick eze chews as well for my IBD boy he comes & tells me & looks at the draw that has his meds in it…
The Canine Nutritionist will help but be careful with omega oils as these can cause acid reflux & then Nilla may not want to eat again so be fully intune with Nilla so you know whats wrong, also with the Walk About wet can foods you can boil some potato & add 1/2 wet can food & 1/3 boiled Potato this the potato should firm up her poos..

I hope you find answers & fix Nilla up but if you look into Nilla eyes & they have lost their spark, put her to sleep…its the best thing you can do for Nilla…

[Susan]

Hi,

“I am thinking of changing his food, but I don’t want to upset his stomach”,

his intestinal tract is already upset, if he was doing really well on this Purina Pro Plan Sensitive stomach formula, his poos would be nice & firm, he wouldn’t be drinking & drinking water & he wouldnt be licking his bum…

DRINKING heaps of water- if his poos are soft/sloppy & not firm then he might be dehydrated, something in this formula might be dehydrating him like too many soluble fibers…your dog mighten have problems digesting his foods, your dog might be OK & can digest foods, he might digest his food too quickly like Patch does, so he doesnt need these type of ingredients that are high in soluble fibers that digest in teh small bowel, this could be the reason for drinking excess water??

Licking bum area or rubbing bum on ground/grass could be food sensitivities, something in this Pro Plan formula he’s sensitive too….
or his anal glands are full & need emptying, his poos mighten be firm enough & his anal glands are not naturally emptying now, this happens with Patch when he eats a grain kibble that’s higher in soluble fibers, maize/corn gluten meal, barley, oats, rice, & his poos aren’t firm enough to empty his anal glands…

Have you seen the Purina Poo chart??
https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PPPVD-Fecal-Scoring-Chart-EN-FINAL.pdf

I really think alot of his Intestinal problems is to do with FIBER, Soluble fiber & Insoluble fiber & he cant handle too much soluble fiber ingredients as they digest too quickly in the small bowel & he might be like Patch & digests his food quickly anyway, so when they eat foods that are higher in soluble fibers this is when their poos are sloppy & are not firm.
He needs a dry food that has more insoluble fiber & less soluble fiber & alot of grain free formulas have more insoluble fiber ingredients & less soluble fiber ingredients..

Potatoes- Fiber from potatoes comes in both forms, soluble and insoluble, the “insoluble content is higher”. This is probably why dogs with IBS or IBD do really well when they eat a kibble that has potato in it…

He’d probably do better on a Large Breed grain free kibble that has potato?? or a grain kibble that has potato in it…

Make sure the next kibble you try has at least 2-3 meat protein meals as 1st & 2nd ingredients, so there’s less fiber in his diet & more meat but not too much meat 25%-34%, the Purina Pro plan Lamb & Oatmeal Sensitive Stomach doesnt have much meat protein in it, it has more plant proteins which = higher soluble fiber ingredients….

Have a look at Victor, a few people say their dogs are doing really well eating Victor dog food..
Look at the Victor Select formula’s, Victor uses the Montmorillonite clay.
Chicken Meal & Brown Rice with Lamb meal.
https://victorpetfood.com/products/chicken-meal-brown-rice-formula

or look at “Whole Earth Farms” Adult, it’s made by Purina if you like Purina but I really would look at a different brand for now.
https://www.feedgoodness.com/products/recipe?title=Adult-Recipe&id=6
or
“Whole Earth Farm” Grain Free Recipe with Pork, Beef & Lamb (Poultry-Free)
For All Breeds & Life Stages
https://www.feedgoodness.com/products/recipe?title=Whole-Earth-Farms-Grain-Free-Recipe-with-Pork%2C-Beef-&-Lamb-(Poultry-Free)&id=8

[Dennis C]

hello everyone!
I have 1 dog and 1 cat.
both were adopted. the dog came first, given by a neighbour.
the cat was a stray kitten that my brother picked up and nursed to health.

we adore them and give them as much love as we can afford
Mixing dry food with raw food diet. this is because my dogs and cats have different preferences occasionally.

the cat is a lot more picky than the dog.

kiekie (my dog) loves raw bones and raw organ meat (chicken liver, chicken hearts, pig kidney etc)

[Susan]

Hi Harry,

Listen to your brother, a raw diet is the best diet you can feed a dog or a cat..
Dogs & cats have a short digestive tract, it’s made to digest a raw diet, their intestinal tract was not made to digest a high carb, high fiber dry dog food…

Over time watch & you’ll see the difference in both your dogs as they age if your dog continues eating a dry diet, your brothers dog will have a shinner coat, more energy, less pooh, he’ll be leaner & not over weight & look healthier…

Your pup is a large breed dog, his bones are still growing till he’s 18-24months, might be better to feed him his balance “Large breed puppy” dry food until he’s 18months, still give him raw meaty bones as a treat, unless you contact a animal nutritionist who can formulate a raw diet for a growing pup…
Sky Car knows heaps about raw feeding, he can give some advice…

Are you on facebook join a few Canine Raw feeding groups,
also follow “Rodney Habib” & his “Planet Paws” page look at his Video’s https://www.facebook.com/pg/PlanetPaws.ca/videos/?ref=page_internal
Also Follow “Steve Brown” when you follow Rodney you will get to know everyone.

Have you seen all the Toxins Contaminates & Heavy Metals in dry pet foods?
Google Toxins in dogs foods, a site will come up they test the most popular dry wet treats

[Susan]

Hi
until vet finds out why he isnt keen on eating, I’d treat him as if he has IBS/IBD…..
Feed him fresh foods, NO kibble, he doesn’t like kibble, he’s made that pretty clear, kibble must cause pain, nausea, acid reflux & makes whatever is wrong with him worse, so best to stop offering him any dry kibble, you’re just wasting money…
Feed lean white meats, feed him meats he likes to eat, try my Rissole Balls recipe or Judy Morgan Pup loaf with either ground lean Turkey or ground lean chicken breast with a whisked egg made into small balls bake in oven so all the fat comes out, then add some boil sweet potatoes for the carb, sweet potatoes are healthy & sweet, dogs love sweet things, also boil rice can he eat boiled rice?? put all in a blender & blend with his chicken…
I know he needs the fat in his diet to gain weight but high fat diet can cause diarrhea, stomach pain, acid reflux, pancreatitis….
also try limited ingredients wet can foods instead of dry kibble, make sure the wet can foods have 4% fat or are under 4% fat in just incase he is getting acid reflux or Pancreatitis pain etc….then he wont want to eat any wet can foods like he doesn’t eat the dry kibble…
Keep a diary so when vet ask question you have diary also for yourself foods you have tried….
Did you get 1 can of the Hills I/d Digestive Care Chicken, Rice & Vegetables Stew? then you would have known if he liked it, the wet vet diets are made for dogs wont eat, the wet vet diet can foods smell really good & are guaranteed for palability…
should have tried a Wet can Vet diet for Intestinal Health, use 1 can & add your own ingredients & double the amount of ingredients for the day & keep in the fridge then he’s getting a balanced diet & all the nutrients he needs.. if food is cold heat up in microwave, did you ask vet about trying the “Mirtazapine” to increase his appetite??.
Maybe the Pepcid given twice a day morning & dinner, 30mins before he eats might make him feel better & want to eat & reduce any acid reflux….fingers X ??
you can also try Zantac it’s the same type of drug its a newer ant acid drug…..

The Ultra Scan might show nothing, I always read people first get blood test everything comes back good, then they get Ultra Scan, result come back everything “looks” OK cause it doesn’t show enough a& if something does come up then further testing is needed, Ultra Scans are good if vet needs to see the Pancreas or if there’s a blockage or vet wants to see if there’s any thickening of the bowel but your boy is a bit young to have thickening of the bowel already?? & when it comes to the stomach, the vet said the pancreas was in the way to get a good look at Patches stomach so I wasted about $400….
I’ve heard there’s the new 3D Ultra scan now, maybe this is heaps better & vet can see heaps more then the normal Ultra Scan but the vet need to have this new 3d Ultra scan & I don’t know how modern your vet practice is…

Email or ring leave a msg for your vet to call you back when she’s not busy have a written list of question you have forgotten to ask her & tell your vet, my husband said no its too expensive for Ultra Scan & ask your vet what procedure will give you the most answers, she will say Biopsies & ask how much will it cost for Endoscope & 2 Biopsies to be done?
then ask your vet are there any Clinical Trials – looking for participants, any School of Veterinary Science who are doing clinical trials/studies for research or learning vets, needing to learn on dogs at the moment… we have few trials in Australia at the moment.

Pitlove might know more about this..