[Pitlove]

Hi Suzanne-

I can’t offer much in the way of advice of garlic poisoning, however my Lab did get into rat poison 2 years ago and he’s doing fine. Sounds like you did the right thing while the vet’s office was closed!

Best wishes to you and your pup that she makes a full and fast recovery!

[El]

Hi Suzanne

I’m sorry to hear what you and your pup are going through 🙁

Here is some info on garlic poisoning. If your dog exhibits any of these symptoms I would immediately take her to the vet!!!

Symptoms of Garlic Toxicity in Dogs and Cats
It’s important to note that it may take up to two to four days after your pet eats garlic for symptoms to appear.

According to Lee, symptoms of garlic toxicity include breathlessness, lethargy, diarrhea, vomiting, pale gums, an elevated heart rate, an increased respiratory rate, weakness, exercise intolerance, and collapse.

Your pet also could lose interest in food as a result of this type of poisoning.”

http://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/pet-articles/pet-health-toxins/Garlic-Toxicity-and-Pets.aspx

[anonymously]

I think the induced vomiting right away may have made a difference, time will tell. I am glad you are listening to a veterinarian. Garlic in any form is toxic to dogs.
A call to a pet poison control hotline would have been warranted (in case anyone else goes through this).
PS: I wouldn’t assume anything about supplements. See the recent Frontline Special (PBS)
Here it is: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/supplements-and-safety/

[aimee]

Hi Suzanne,

Have you called your regular veterinarian for advice?

One thing that stuck me in regards to the garlic ingestion is that you said the product is odorless/ tasteless. It is the compounds in garlic that are responsible for odor and taste that cause problems in dogs. If this version was “deodorized” the toxicity level may be decreased.

[Suzanne W]

I took my German shepherd Ida, outside, was gone about five minutes. I was shocked to find my Maltese, Sophie, on the couch with my vitamin supplements and prescription pills! How in the world did she get them off the coffee table and then take them to the couch. She “moved “definitely five and possibly six pills. Ok, there are definitely two possibly three missing. I believe she ate two garlic gelcaps(2000mg garlic bulb), and possibly a caprylic acid gel cap. I was in shock… And anger! It took me about twenty to twenty five minutes to finally give her hydrogen peroxide. I don’t know if it went down so I tried again. After about a total of half hour maximum forty five minutes, she vomited twice, liquid(she had not eaten yesterday before this) bile colored without any gel substance so I saw nothing. I put a garlc gel cap in my mouth and moved it around n my mouth and it was competent dissolved in less than four minutes and did not taste bad. I decided that she may or may not have vomited it up as the substance is clear, odorless to humans that is, and almost tasteless. Hemolytic anemia is a horrible thing and I will watch soph for the next week or two. I was unable to obtain activated charcoal in time and then we couldn’t get it down her. I am disabled, and my husband has been out of work for six months, but found at least part time work the day before so wasn’t home. Before you judge us for not taking her in, we spent three grand in the summer on the dogs vet bills and we’ve spent hundreds more a couple months ago on skin problems with Ida. I’ve read what to watch for, but does anybody know anything I can do to support her or minimize reprecussions of this? I thought more protein, folic acid and supplements, so I gave her a half sardine this am. She’s already on blue buffalo grain free dog food, homemade topper made with different good quality meat and vegetables and fruits appropriate for dogs, and dermis supplement in her food. She gets tiny amounts of homemade treats we make with peanut butter, oatmeal, banana, flourless cookies we and the dogs like! Any advise? Ok I believe treat the patient not the diagnosis. She is acting fine thus far as it has only been 16 hours. Thanks for any help!

[Shawna]

Hi Pittiemama,

Hopefully I can help you here. My puppy had kidney disease right from birth. It is believed her kidneys just weren’t able to develop (she was the sixth puppy, the runt, for a 12 pound Chihuahua / Boston Terrier mix). The breeder had to had feed her, due to a collapsing trachea, raw goats milk and egg whites to keep her alive. She had symptoms (excessive drinking and urine) at just six weeks of age. She was officially diagnosed at one year and given a year to live. She lived to eight years and seven months old and then passed for reasons not directly related to kd.

A little background on me, my father is a naturopath. I did consult with him when I got Audrey’s diagnosis but being raised by him, I was able to mostly formulate the plan of attack myself.

Audrey’s numbers, when she was diagnosed, were right around the same as your babies — and she lived almost seven more very very healthy and happy years. It could happen for your baby too.

The first thing I would suggest is to keep up on his dental health. You won’t want to use anesthesia for dental cleanings so RIGHT now start doing anything and everything you need to keep his teeth clean. It was actually bacteria likely from a dental infection that got into Audrey’s kidneys and ultimately took her life. Use fresh garlic in his meals. Use an enzyme supplement in his water, Dr. Melissa Shelton’s essential oil called Dog Breath is very effective and a drop can be added to his water dish or you can mix with water in a spray bottle and spray right on teeth. http://www.animaleo.info/dog-breath.html I would also recommend a product made by Green Pasture’s called Infused Coconut Oil. It’s high in vitamin K2 (which has been shown to have great benefit for teeth) and has other wonderful nutrients. All of my dogs get it but I found it when Audrey’s teeth were already needing some extra support. 🙁 http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/InfusedCoconutOil/index.cfm

I HIGHLY recommend Standard Process Canine Renal Support. It is a food based supplement that “feeds” the kidneys but also has a product called a protomorphogen (which is the RNA/DNA of the kidney cell) that helps prevent inflammation to the kidneys. It is the one supplement she never went without. I also used their SP Canine Hepatic Support when I thought she needed a little liver support — helps with allergies too. I also used their Cataplex B and C as water soluble vitamins may need to be added due to the large amounts being urinated out.

ONLY give filtered or other forms of “clean” water. I would avoid tap water at all cost. Lower sodium mineral waters with good amounts of calcium and magnesium have been shown to be beneficial for dogs with kd. I like Evian water because it is high in calcium bicarbonate. I didn’t give it all the time but made sure (at least in the beginning) to give it regularly — I got lax in the later years and I truly believe Audrey would still be with me if I had not. She was doing so well though and my life got busier..

I HIGHLY recommend getting some Garden of Life Primal Defense probiotic and Garden of Life Acacia Fiber supplements as well. These are used as “nitrogen traps” and as BUN begins to build up the bacteria consuming the fiber will cause some of the nitrogen to be routed through the bowels freeing up the kidneys from having to deal with them. I gave probiotic foods (like green tripe, fermented veggies etc) frequently but when I noticed she was feeling a little lethargic, depressed, not feeling well etc I assumed nitrogen was building up and I’d give her the probiotics and prebiotic for several days. Always worked like a charm. Will be quite important as the disease progresses and he starts getting symptoms. This also allows for a higher protein diet. The protein doesn’t damage the kidneys but it does, due to BUN, add to symptoms. Oh, I forgot to mention. Audrey ate a HIGH protein raw diet up until the last six to eight weeks of her life. Audrey never had a problem with phosphorus but as your puppies disease progresses you may have to watch the amount of phosphorus in the foods you are feeding. The golden rule is to limit phosphorus but it’s obviously not always necessary. That said, phosphorus can damage the kidneys if it gets too high in the blood so either monitor it or feed the right amounts of phos for the stage your pup is at. Right now while phosphorus isn’t as big an issue, I like the Honest Kitchen Brave. To that I would add a raw egg a few times per week and give Answer’s raw goat milk regularly as well. Both raw eggs (if not whipped etc) and raw milk can easily increase the “master antioxidant” in the body called glutathione. This will obviously help out everything. Later, when phos needs to be more restricted, you may not be able to give the whole egg (as the yolk is higher in phos).

Supplements —
1. Organic Turmeric is good as it is anti-inflammatory but it also is anti-fibrotic (prevents scar tissue). Audrey didn’t tolerate turmeric well so she didn’t get it but in general it would be quite helpful for a dog with KD.
2. Spirulina, chlorella and pumpkin seed oil are all high in chlorophyll and supplies lots of other nutrients. Dogs with KD can be at risk for anemia and chlorophyll is awesome for anemia.
3. Burdock root is a prebiotic and of the herb world is considered to be the “blood cleaner”.
4. Milk thistle helps spare glutathione and is a good detoxer.
5. Distilled water (given once in a while) and food grade activated charcoal are good detoxers too.
6. Copaiba essential oil is great for pains and inflammation plus more. A therapeutic grade, like Dr. Sheltons, is the only kind to use on pets. Can be given in food or rubbed into the skin over the kidneys as an example.
7. Braggs brand apple cider vinegar can help with indigestion or tummy issues. Audrey didn’t need it often but when she did I would mix it 50/50 with water and syringe feed it. She hated it but within seconds would burp and feel better.
8. Therapeutic grade peppermint oil, ginger extract or Dr. Shelton’s GI Joe essential oil work great for tummy issues as well. I got sick to my tummy and used the GI Joe to help. Kept me from vomiting and soothed my tummy.
9. Learn about essential oils if you don’t already know. If you have a Facebook account, join AnimalEO’s page and sign up for Dr. Shelton’s Friday Fun Facts. I didn’t know about them early enough to be much use with Audrey (specifically Dr. Shelton’s oils) but I sure wish I had.

DON’T do ANY more vaccinations – not even rabies if you can at all avoid. Audrey was legally exempted from having to get the rabies vaccine for life. She wasn’t protected either as she only got her first shot (at six months) before diagnosis was made. No heartworm, flea/tick or anything like that either.

I know there’s things I’m forgetting but hopefully this is enough to give you a good jumping off point.. 🙂 Hugs to you and your baby boy!!!!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by Shawna.

[natalie w]

DO you ever review treats? Starmark treats are very sketchy. Some products say made in US and some say made in China and some say made in both countries. Garlic powder is also listed as an ingredient. I’m told some people give garlic to their dogs but I don’t think it’s safe as the ASPCA and Pet Poison control list it as a poison. I worry for people who feed these treats to their dogs.

[Coonhound Mama]

Hi Ryan Y:
I’m new to raw feeding so I will stick to quoting the tried and true veterans of the field, but I do know that you have to be careful balancing phosphorous and calcium ratios as well as avoiding too much Vitamin A (often found in liver and fibrous carbohydrates like pumpkin). An older post in this forum written by Hound Dog Mom on the topic of Raw Feeding has a wonderful recipe she’s come up with (and also tested against AAFCO standards) that seems easy to make and is balanced as a full vitamin and mineral mix. Reminder that these are vitamins and minerals in their dietary form and not their tablet or pill form if that makes sense. I’ll post it here for you as I’ve copied it for my own use and don’t have time to hunt around for the original post!

Hound Dog Mom’s Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (for her large dogs):

4 oz kelp powder
4 oz alfalfa powder
4 oz wheatgrass powder
4 oz spirulina powder
4 oz chlorella powder
4 oz bee pollen powder
4 oz turmeric powder
2 oz garlic powder

I know she also uses apple cider vinegar, cod liver oil, Himalayan crystal salt, calcium citrate, coconut oil and various mixed tocopherols tocotrienols in her dogs’ diet, but these would vary with dog size, age, weight and of course the other food items being fed at the time. Again, if you look through the forums, you should be able to find some of her outstanding dietary advice.

[M M]

@Olga, thank you for your detailed response! I already pressure cook big pots of beans and eat lots of vegetables so it should be pretty simple for me to get in the habit of putting the rest of it together in a big batch as you do. I will try the lentils, too! I already have most of these ingredients although most of the supplements (especially the Nupro, Green Mush, and DE) are new to me.

I agree that eating the carcass of a factory-farmed animal is not healthy. I also do not think processed food is healthy. I am a long-time vegetarian but bought into the “dogs need meat” dogma when we adopted our girl. Our vet swears that dogs don’t need or miss the meat (as if kibble even resembles meat), which is comforting as a lot of other folks clearly think I’m a dog abuser for feeding her veg food. I know of at least 7 other dogs who have done very well with the V-dog with or without home cooked supplement.

A few more questions (and I understand if you do not have time to answer all these):

How did you figure out how much to feed and the ratio of your ingredients? I am concerned I may accidentally under- or overdose on the calorie and protein/fat content.

Do you feed any kibble at all or just the home-cooked food? If so, what kind? As I said, ours loves her kibble but words cannot express how much our dog adores her beans and greens mix.

What kind of biscuits do you feed?

What brand of digestive enzymes/probiotic/prebiotic do you like?

Do you mash the food or just let it cook down in the stew? Our dog really does not chew unless I give her something long like an apple slice or carrot stick. She has a powerful jaw but her teeth seem to meet only in one place on each side due to her strong underbite. She has some rubber toys from Westpaw which she loves to chew and tug but her breath is pretty bad if I don’t add liquid chlorphyll to at least one of her meals.

Are there any veggies you know of that are off limits due to toxicity (e.g., raisins, onions, garlic)?

Thank you again for helping us to improve our dog’s diet. I am going to start using your method this weekend and have saved your post to make sure I explore all of the ideas you gave as seasons change.

[Olga M]

Since my buddies are big, and in the interest of time, I make a big pot of food and freeze it in daily portions. when I serve them, I include whatever fresh veggies I am having that day as well. I’ll give you a list of some of the ingredients that I use.

For protein – lentils, chickpeas, and black or red beans.
Grains – quinoa, whole oats, brown rice, and barley. However, I don’t add them all the time.
Veggies – pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, squash, peas, green beans, kelp, kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower.
Fruits – apple, blueberries, coconut, mango and watermelon.
Herbs – lemongrass (my dogs will graze on it), oregano, turmeric and parsley.
Oils – Coconut, safflower, flax
Supplements – Nupro joint and immunity support, Nutritional yeast, Green Mush (Green Mush and kelp is supposed to be easily absorbable and contains thousands of phytonutrients, protein, and amino acids), L-Canitine, food grade diatomaceous earth, and digestive enzymes (prebiotics and probiotics)

I cook in a big pot of water whatever beans I am using. I use lentils a lot because they love them. If I am using a grain, I’ll add it also. Once they are soft, I add the chopped harder vegetables like the pumpkin, sweet potato, etc. Once they are softened, I add the shredded softer vegetables, e.g., zucchini, kelp, yellow squash, peas, peeled apples, etc. I cook that for a few minutes, then take the pot off the stove and add the chopped leafy greens, 1 clove of finely minced garlic, oregano, lemongrass, and turmeric. I have a garden, so the herbs and many of the vegetables are fresh picked.

I cool down the food by adding ice before adding the oils and supplements.
I add coconut, safflower and flax oil; some Nupro, nutritional yeast, diatomaceous earth, and green mush. The digestive enzymes I sprinkle on their food when I serve them. Occasionally, I’ll ad a capsule of L-Carnitine in their bowl when I serve their food.

I make enough for at least 6 days, and most of the things they eat (except for the Nupro), I also eat. They devour the veggie stew I make, although the Mastiff will eat anything that is not tied down. LOL

It is my belief that eating the carcass of an animal that has been tortured in captivity their entire life, is not healthy for anyone. Also, the food you make will be healthier than any packaged food, and you can always start by adding some of your food to the kibble. Remember though, that if you are giving them soft food to give them things to chew to keep their pearly whites in good shape. Mine love biscuits, balls, toys, antlers, tug ropes, etc.

Thanks for asking about vegetarian food for dogs, I was beginning to think that I had grown a third eye.

[Shawna]

Hi Sheila23,

Although a homemade diet is absolutely doable I would do a LOT more research before you decide on any one brand. Example — Tripe is a great food for kd dogs but it is supposedly already balanced in calcium to phosphorus. Adding a premix like Preference, that is designed to balance higher phosphorus meat, could be problematic. Although phosphorus needs to be watched, you can go too low too early in the disease.

Balance IT could be an option but I personally wouldn’t have fed my KD girl such a low protein diet (ESPECIALLY in the early stages). Based on the nutrient profile of their beef and rice early stage kd diet the protein amount is only 15.3%. That’s ridiculously low for early stage kd without any complicating issues like proteinuria. Not even enough to meet the minimum protein amounts required for an a complete and balanced diet. They also use corn oil — EEEEKK. The chicken & rice recipe is even worse at 14.9% protein.

If you can afford it, I would highly recommend looking at Darwin’s prescription KD diet formulated by vet Dr. Barbara Royal. The ingredient list is
“Human-Grade Meat: Beef Meat, Beef Tripe, Beef Pancreas, Beef Lungs, Beef Kidneys, Beef Liver, Beef Heart, Beef Spleen.

Vegetables: Cabbage, Celery, Squash, Sweet Potato, Beets, Romaine Lettuce.

Special Nutrient Mix: Filtered Water (for processing), Sardine oil (source of EPA, DPA and DHA), Egg Shell Powder, Parsley, Apple Cider Vinegar, Inulin, Cornsilk, Dandelion Root, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Linden Flowers, , Chitosan, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3, Aloe Vera.” http://www.darwinspet.com/our-raw-foods/our-raw-dog-food/intelligent-design-ks/

I LOVE that you are starting Alvin on Standard Process Renal Support. It is the one supplement that my Audrey NEVER did without since diagnosis. She had KD from birth (symptoms showed at just 6 weeks of age) but she wasn’t diagnosed till she was 13 months old. She was given one year to live after that. She lived to almost her ninth birthday and it was an infection that took her life not the normal progression of kidney disease.

Some other things to look at for Alvin — purified water (as much as he wants), extra water soluble vitamins if he urinates large volumes of water. A high quality probiotic and a prebiotic made with acacia fiber helps to clear BUN etc from the blood allowing for higher protein to be fed or simply helps clear BUN when necessary. This is called “nitrogen trapping”. Giving Evian (or another higher calcium, lower sodium mineral water) has been shown to be beneficial for kidney disease. I did give my Audrey fresh, raw garlic most of her life. I still believe that if I hadn’t gotten lazy and quit giving it to her near the end of her life she wouldn’t have developed the severe infection that ended up damaging her kidneys and taking her life. Enzymes to help with the digestion of his food. Certain supplements and herbs can be helpful — spirulina provides many nutrients, food grade activated charcoal given off an on in small amounts can help clear toxins, organic turmeric helps with inflammation and also helps prevent scar tissue (works best when combined with pepper or the enzyme bromelain from pineapple). Chlorella is a wonderful detoxer and it helps build red blood cells due to the high amounts of chlorphyll in it. Apple cider vinegar can help with indigestion (fed with food in small amounts or given via syringe but must be diluted first). Ginger extract and therapeutic grade peppermint oil can help with nausea (later in the illness). I also recently read that there is other therapeutic grade essential oils that can help the kidneys but I don’t remember the particulars of the article. Vet Dr. Melissa Shelton would be the person to seek out if wanting to incorporate essential oils.

I was lucky with Audrey, she was able to eat commercial raw products clear up to a few months before she passed. I’m not sure if that was because of the supplements, being fed raw from weaning or what but she did quite well. Possibly look at lower phosphorus commercial foods and then add small amounts of low phosphorus toppers (lightly cooked egg whites and coconut oil as an example) to keep the calories up while lowering the overall phosphorus even more. There are some great nutritionists out there as well that could be quite beneficial to you and Alvin.

Hoping Alvin does as well as, or better than, my Audrey!!!

Thank you Marie!

[aimee]

Hi sheila23,

I’m so sorry to learn about your dog. You are right to be very concerned about nutrition for Alvin. Since he is so young looking for any conditions that are treatable is also very important.

This site is technical but may be of help to you or your vet as you decide upon treatment. Foods that are intended for normal dogs will have phosphorus levels too high for a dog with kidney insufficiency.

http://iris-kidney.com/

Preference could be an option but I’ve found that The Honest Kitchen knows precious little about dog nutrition and personally I wouldn’t trust the company’s products in this situation. Grandma Lucy’s used to market their diet as a low phosphorus diet appropriate for kidney patients. I repeatedly asked them what the phosphorus level was in the food and they said they didn’t know. It was only after I reported them to the state feed control official that they tested the food and changed their labels. The diets are too high in phosphorus to be considered a low phosphorus diet for a kidney patient and contain garlic which is something I’d avoid in this situation.

A homemade diet may be the best option if you are not comfortable with any of the commercial diets designed for dogs with kidney compromise. Or a combination of homemade and commercial. Nutrition of a kidney patient is very important, so much so that this is a situation that I personally would consult a vet nutritionist. Or you may want to check out the “balance it” site as they have for kidney friendly homemade recipes balanced by a vet nutritionist.

Best of luck to you and Alvin

[Stanislav K]

Got a reply from CC:

Thank you for reaching out to Canine Caviar. We did change some ingredients at the beginning of the year. We took out the garlic and parsley and added coconut, coconut oil, anise oil and thyme oil. We also had one batch at the beginning of the year where we injected the fat on the inside of the kibble. We have since gone back to encapsulating the fat. Our kibble can vary in color batch to batch, it is a natural product and we do not use anything to change the color of the kibble. I hope this information helps.

[InkedMarie]

Yes Angel, I posted what I use already: Bug Off Garlic and flea/tick collars from HolisticFamilyandPets dot com.

Regarding food, you typically feed less of a higher quality food. Most high quality foods don’t come in 50lb bags. As I also posted above, skin issues aren’t easy and it costs money to diagnose and “fix”.

[Anonymous]

You might find some helpful tips here:
http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

PS: Be careful with the table scraps, some of the additives such as msg (probably in the gravy) and the spices, onions, garlic etc are not good for dogs, in fact, some ingredients may be toxic.

[InkedMarie]

You’re going to have a very hard time finding any ndecent food at that pricepoint. Having a dog with skin issues is going to cost money to diagnose and “fix”.

For fleas, we use Bug Off Garlic and bought flea/tick collars from HolisticFamilyandPets dot com.

[Luisa P]

I have done so much ready and I am exhausted!! Bottom line is, I wish I could just cook fresh food for my Dalmatian but realistically I know I can’t. All the information online is overwhelming because some sites do talk about fresh food, but then you need to add vitamins, etc. to make sure they are getting a balanced meal. My biggest challenge is that not only do I feed my Dalmatian, but I have 7 other dogs. So to make fresh food every day is not realistic for me. So I decided to meet in the middle. I am currently giving
one of the highly recommended grain free formulas from this website, but I give 1 cup less and then I supplement that with fresh homemade food. The biggest thing that I have learned from the Dalmatian diet is that you need to make sure you float their food with water. If your water source is high in minerals, then I would use distilled. I am attaching something important that I have found and do follow with my daly.

Traffic light system:
Green Light Purines – These foods are virtually Purine free they can be fed as often as you like and to stone forming dogs. Food stuffs
Whole grain yeast free bread
Whole grain yeast free cereals
Most vegetables (see high purine exceptions below) Not onions or Garlic.
Fruits (some fruits are toxic to dogs see list below)
Nuts (except Macadamia nuts)
Peanut Butter
Pasta
Eggs
Cheese
Yellow light Purines – The following foods are considered to contain a moderate level of purines and are acceptable in diets for stone-forming dog breeds. Most or even all of your Dalmatian’s protein sources should come from this list as opposed to the “Red Light” purines listed in the next section Most Poultry including Chicken and Turkey
Fish and Shellfish (see exceptions below)
Lamb
Pork
Beef
Oats and Oatmeal

Red light Purines – The following foods contain the highest levels of purines and should be avoided as much as possible to help prevent stone formation: Kidneys
Hearts
Brains
Liver
Sweetbreads
Venison
Duck
Goose
Sardines
Mackerel
Muscles
Scallops
Cauliflower
Spinach
Peas
Mushrooms
Legumes (kidney beans, lentils)
Yeast (including brewers yeast)
Gravy

If you have a FB account, you could join a private group called Dalmatian Addiction, there are a lot of great people there who share great info and pictures of their dogs.

[Laura S]

I have a 22 mo. old female frenchie, Stella. I am searching for a new high quality kibble that is grain free and potato free. She has horrific allergies and is on Atopica. Allergy tests were pretty inconclusive with what she is allergic to. She is also a very picky eater. She was on Amicus, which she liked, but about every 2 to 3 weeks she would have awful bouts of diahrrea. So I started transitioning her to Acana Pork & Butternut squash and now she has terrible gas. I have also tried Grandma Lucy’s PureFormance in the past and it made her vomit. I think this food was too heavy handed on the garlic. So I’m not sure what is making her gassy that is in the Acana, perhaps the garbanzo beans??? The Amicus and Acana both have red lentils so it shouldn’t be that. Also, her vet put her on a food trial a while back of Royal Canin Duck & Potato and it completely constipated her and made her really sick. Any suggestions would be welcome. Kind of at a loss at this point as to what to feed her that will not cause ear infections, gas, etc. I do give her a probiotic too.

[InkedMarie]

Hi Chuck,
I have a brittany who is 5! I buy grinds from Hare Today, Reel Raw Dog and a new england meet up. I feed ones with bone & organ, tripe too for most. They’re complete. I add minimal supplements: salmon oil 3x weekly, eggs 3x weekly, Bug off Garlic & joint supps for my older dog. All you do is put the bowl on a scale, tare it, scoop it then feed. I do use some beef rib bones & necks as well for dental care.

[Freda D]

My vet encouraged the use of the product. I used it this season. I won’t next. It is relatively effective
but not as effective as other products I have used. I know someone who only feeds their dog fresh garlic for flea and tick repellant and he swears he’s not seen any at all.

[Susan]

Hi Wifsie, when I rescued my boy about 2 years ago he had the same swallowing & swallowing & worse at night & what I’ve learnt is too LOWER the FAT & protein in the kibble & kibble makes it worse, I’m finding low fat cooked meals seem to be the best & low fat wet tin foods 3% fat & under for wet tin foods, the fat% is different in wet tin food to the fat % in kibbles…
I buy extra lean beef ground mince or the lean turkey breast mince & add broccoli, celery, carrot & quiona that I’ve already boiled made into a meatloaf & baked in oven, I feed wet food for breakfast & soften kibble for lunch & wet for dinner sometimes kibble, you could change it around & feed kibble for breakfast & wet tin or cooked meal for dinner & see if there’s a difference… the fat in the Taste Of the Wild is high, when it says min fat add another 2% for max %…..
if you do soak the kibble in water make sure you fully drain all the water, squeeze the soft kibble while in the bowl, then I put thru a blender for 3-5 sec, the kibble should fluff up & separate, not be a ball of gluggy glue kibble, it means you soaked the kibble in water too long if its a gluggy ball, some kibbles when soaked only take about 30-60mins & are soft, I’ve found kibbles with rice are better & digest easier then kibbles with potatoes, sweet potatoes.. I’ve just read that water can make acid reflux worse if water is left in with the kibble in bowl, something about the Ph levels in the stomach rising & making more stomach acid (Hydrochloric acid)…. if you still want to feed a kibble & see if he gets better on another brand, look for a lower protein around 24% & lower fat around 10% & a limited ingredient kibble, so less problems of 1 ingredient giving him acid reflux…like us some people can eat tomatoes, garlic, raw onions etc & are fine, when I eat acidy foods, I get bad acid reflux…. I look for a kibbles with rice without tomato pomace & all those added ingredients, I’m going to try the “EarthBorn Holistic Ocean Fusion” next I running out of kibbles to try, I’m worried cause the fat % is 12% min so max will be around 14% http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/us/dog_formulas/
I have found when I feed a low fat 10-12% fat & higher protein 30% kibble, Patch had his bad swallowing & swallowing again… you may have to try a few different kibbles to find the right one…. “The Honest Kitchen Zeal” is suppose to be very good for dogs with stomach & skin problem…. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal fat is 8.50% but the protein is higher at 35.50%…. there’s a lot of really good kibbles & wet tin foods in America so google around before deciding & make sure its money back guaranteed….I just say my boy wont eat it, when I start saying he gets acid reflux or sloopy poos the lady just looks at me weird…..I feel embarrassed when returning foods..

If after you change her diet a few times to a lower fat, lower protein & if she is still swallowing & eating grass, ask vet can you have an Endoscope & Biopsies done on the stomach & make sure the biopsies are done, After changing my boys diet & giving ant-acid meds, Patch was still having his acid reflux on & off waking up about 11pm & was bad in morning about 10am after eating, so the Vet did a Endoscope & Biopsies & found Helicobacter-Pylori often found in shelter-pound dogs…. also what I do when I see Patch swallowing & eating grass & uncomfortable, I give him about 4ml liquid Mylanta in a syringe, some people use Pepto Bismol but we don’t have Pepto in Australia..it gives instant relief, please keep us updated on your girl & what worked for your new girl…..

[C4D]

M Y,

These are just terrible treats. It doesn’t matter where they come from. They have been sold off to Smuckers now & there are various ingredient labels depending on which site you go to. I can’t even find the actual ingredients from the company that owns it. The website doesn’t even link to anything about the products. The ingredient panel on any of the sites is just awful, with all kinds of coloring and artificial additives. I think Petfooddirect might be the older formula, but they may still have it in stock. Either way, dogs don’t need BHA, sugar, 4 different artificial colors and a bunch of other preservatives in their treats!

Big Heart Brands website:
http://www.bigheartpet.com/

Bacon flavor on Petfooddirect:

Ingredients

Chicken, Corn Syrup, Soy Flour, Wheat Flour, Corn Starch, Water, Propylene Glycol, Animal Fat (BHA Used As A Preservative), Animal Digest, Calcium Sulfate, Soy Protein Concentrate, Sugar, Beef, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Sorbic Acid (Used As A Preservative), Red 40 Lake, Garlic Powder, Natural Smoke Flavor, Iron Oxide, BHA (Used As A Preservative), Citric Acid (Used As A Preservative).

Bacon flavor on Pet360, Target & Walmart:

Ingredients

Wheat Flour, Soybean Flour, Water, Beef. Glycerin, Whole Corn Sugar, Bacon, Corn Syrup, Natural Smoke Flavor, Bone Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Sorbate (Used As A Preservative), Phosphoric Acid, Red 40 Lake, Glyceryl Monostearate, Yellow 6 Lake, Titanium Dioxide, BHA (Used As A Preservative), Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 1 Lake.

[InkedMarie]

Olive,
I cannot remember the exact amount but dogs would need to injest huge amounts of garlic for it to be dangerous. I use Bug Off Garlic for flea/tick control.

[Kate L]

Recently, my pug ate some chopped onion off the floor that I had dropped cooking dinner. . .maybe just a sliver or 2. The next morning he passed the onion in a bout of bloody diarrhea. However, he didn’t act sick and by the next poop, he was fine. . .no more diarrhea. So YES, onion is bad. Garlic is added in small quantities even to the high end dog food. I think a lot of fresh garlic would be bad but I don’t think the amounts people put in commercial pet food is bad. I never put it in my home made dog food.

[olive1015]

I’ve seen homemade recipes using GARLIC and am concerned that I’m getting conflicting information on the topic. Anyone have good SOLID info that it is not harmful to dogs?

According to a list I found – Animal Poison Control Center
GARLIC is – Poisonous to: Cats, Dogs

Onions, garlic, chives, and leeks are of the Allium family, and are poisonous to both dogs and cats. Garlic is considered to be about five times as potent as onions. Certain breeds and species seem to be more sensitive: Japanese breeds of dogs (e.g., Akita, Shiba Inu) and cats. Onion and garlic poisoning results in oxidative damage to the red blood cells (making the red blood cells more likely to rupture) and gastroenteritis (e.g., nausea, oral irritation, drooling, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea).

Level of toxicity: Generally mild to moderate
Common signs to watch for:
•Drooling
•Nausea
•Oral irritation
•Vomiting
•Diarrhea
•Lethargy
•Abdominal pain
•Elevated heart rate and respiratory rate
•Weakness
•Exercise intolerance
•Collapse
•Pale gums

[Gracie’s Mom]

Yeah, tripe takes some getting used to. Our last dog had chronic pancreatitis the last three+ years of her life (she made it to almost 17). The only thing she would/could eat without causing an attack was tripe (Tripett) mixed with slow cooked rice, fennel, and garlic. That diet helped her live much longer than any vet predicted and helped us limit, but certainly not eliminate, the severe, painful attacks. At first, I literally gagged when I would fix her food, but, now, after years of it, the odor does not bother me. Gracie loves tripe and would eat it every meal if I would let her. I have mixed feelings about whether it provides enough nutrition, since I did see one dog not just survive, but actually get healthier, on it for a long time.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Hello Fellow DFA people,
I have been absent for a while due to major changes-the biggest being my adopting 3 more pups (toy schnauzers) which now brings my total to 6!!!
Crazy i know, but crew 2 as I call them Abe Murray & sister Marlie are all from the same litter.
They came to me underweight fleas and intestinal worms on May 30th. Now they are worm free weight great ( On commercial raw ,cooked meats and dehydrated THK) vet was so happy when she saw them-she wants to send me her hard cases-I politely said no.
But I have a huge problem -I am faced with fleas – i live in south louisiana -we are having one of the worst seasons ever. Crew 1 Pepper Millie & Sophie are my mini schnauzers Pepper is my blind angel who just turned 12 years young Millie turned 1 on july 4th and Sophie is 7 months-well I guess crew 2 brought them in and oh my they (the fleas) don’t want to leave.
I have always used a topical either frontline tritak or frontline plus ,but now it is totally ineffective.
I hesitate to give an internal pill for fleas ,since they MUST be on heartworm chewables ,since we are the heart worm capitol .
I have been seeing Nexgard but am so skeptical.
I started both crews on granulated garlic but know that can take time to work and I am very slowly dosing them, I use the mercola spray before we walk, bathed in old fashioned dawn, been washing everything like a fiend.
Friends I am at a loss, I am so afraid to spray a chemical on my yard so I use Diamacous Earth.
Any feedback, opinions on giving nexgard a try during the bad months and doing a topical in the other months? I fear for Pepper given her age & multiple health problems ingesting a chemical to kill fleas-Oh how I hate this.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and reply.
Hope all of you are doing well and your fur-kids free of bugs and enjoying the summer

[DogFoodie]

The most top of the line super premium food will be worthless if your dog is intolerant to one or more ingredients it contains.

You need to figure out what’s causing the problem and eliminate it. Keep in mind that dogs can be intolerant of much more than animal protein or grain and that true allergies are extremely rare. For example, my dog is intolerant of fish, flax, rice, barley, wheat, millet, chickpeas, lentils, tomato, garlic, etc…. the list goes on.

You need to start by choosing a very simple food with a protein and a starch that are both novel to your dog. If you’re up for it, you can conduct a true elimination diet, but they require strict discipline.

One food you might consider is California Natural Lamb & Rice, assuming she hasn’t had either lamb or rice previously.

[Marta W]

Is that bug off garlic working? is that for ticksand fleas? i am looking for sth good that is natural, ive been using cedar oil mixture spray but it works only ok

[InkedMarie]

I personally don’t want to pay for produce in my dogs food; I can give them that separate if I want to.

I only give eggs 3x a week, salmon oil 3x a week, 1tsp diatamaceous earth 3x a week, Bug Off Garlic daily and my oldest gets some joint supplements.

[Dina H]

My dogs love this company’s food…I use the beef with tripe HVM (healthy variety mix), pork HVM, lamb HVM, duck HVM, chicken hvm. They love it all but esp the beef with tripe. I pick up my monthly supply in Quakertown and I know that they deliver to New England and New Jersey as well.

I will also use the Honest Kitchen dehydrated mix called Kindly and add this to their food…soak it well for 20 min to rehydrate and then I mix the raw with the Kindly. That product has the following ingredients and it is the only dog food out there that is HUMAN grade:

“Dehydrated carrots, organic flaxseed, dehydrated parsnips, dehydrated peas, dehydrated celery, dried organic coconut, dehydrated pumpkin, dehydrated chard, dehydrated organic kelp, dried marjoram, dried garlic, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate, thiamine mononitrate.”

[DogFoodie]

Wysong Epigen is good product, Pitlove. It’s worth a try, but it also quite possibly not food related.

That said, I have a Golden whose seasonal allergies became very apparent to me this spring. He was eating a particular food that he’s always done great on when seemingly out of nowhere, he had yeast infections in both ears. He does have food intolerance issues also, and in the past, when he’s reacted to foods, he’s had the same type of reaction which resulted in yeast infections in his ears – usually his right ear. But, this year, I was able to relate the timing of the onset of his symptoms to seasonal environmental changes. Looking back, it happened the same time last year. I was starting him on Springtime’s Bug Off Garlic and I attributed his ear infections to him reacting to that. I’m still not certain whether or not he’s intolerant of garlic.

One thing I did that seemed to help was to add Quercetin with Bromelain, Papain and an Omega 3 supplement to help the scratching. I could tell a difference. My dogs allergies have improved as the particular pollen season that seemed to affect him the most has decreased a bit. We’re still not in the clear, but I’m formulating my strategy for next spring.

Another thing you might consider doing is preparing a rinse of diluted white vinegar. Use it to clean his feet and wipe off his legs and belt with it every time he comes in from outside. Vacuum frequently. Keep indoor cleaning products simple and natural. The sensitivity could also be to products in your home; ie: cleaning products, new carpet, bedding, etc.

A raw diet would be great, but it’s OK if you’re able to do it currently. Since you’re interested, talk to your boyfriend and find out why he feels uneasy about it. Would he be feeding your pup at times? Maybe you could assume sole responsibility of feeding him if your boyfriend is uneasy about it. Also, half raw is better than none. Maybe you could try a commercial raw – that’s sometimes easier to stomach for queasy feeders. It’s also agreat way to be sure you’re getting balanced meals. A dehydrated food like The Honest Kitchen would also be less processed than kibble. I’d probably choose a grain free one like Zeal. Raw isn’t for everyone. My Golden isn’t a fan of raw, unless it’s tripe, which he eats eagerly. Another option would be canned food.

Allergy testing is notoriously inaccurate. I actually had a hair and saliva test recently that tests samples using biofeedback energy. The test was affordable for me, but I’m struggling to make sense of the results. My integrative vet and I were discussing another test, Dr. Jean Dodds, NutriScan test as likely being the most reliable, but still limited in scope and possibly accuracy. So, you’re better off with an elimination diet for food intolerance issues and developing a strategy for dealing with your pup’s environmental sensitivities.

There was someone here who was feeling with an issue with a food the same breed as yours and she ended up figuring out that it was a specific new detergent she was using. She stooped using the detergent and the symptoms disappeared. She had started using Gain lavender. She and her pup went through h*ll until she figured it out.

I know how frustrating it can be. There’s an awful lot of us here dealing with similar issues. You’re not alone! Good luck!

[Cheryl F]

Hi Sharon,

I replied to you on the other thread about most reputable raw food supplier. One other thing to consider. Dont get yourself too worked up about mixing in kale, garlic, this that or the other. Easiest thing for you to do would be to source a good supplier for Salmon Oil, multivitamins and DE (diatomaceous earth). The raw food suppliers will have the ground mixes available for purchase. In my house we buy the grounds (such as ground up chicken with organ meat with vegetables mixed in, beef with organ mix, trachea/gullet mix as well as green tripe. the green tripe is a very excellent source for dogs as it can help them with kidney problems. When dogs are on a raw diet their BUN/Creatinine numbers will different than if they they were on a kibble diet. I dealt with a saint that had symptoms of renal failure when I had her on kibble – and when i had her on raw the green tripe helped to level out those numbers. We feed whole chicken necks, chicken paws, cut up pieces of chicken (back, thigh/leg, breast and gibblets) as well as turkey necks, duck necks, ground mixes and the three x/ week raw meaty bones such as marrow bones, knuckle bones, etc…

We give our dogs a good multivitamin that is tasty to them, salmon oil and DE mixed in with their food daily. My 14 yr old basset had horrible plaque build up on her teeth and now they are all sparkly white. My ‘western medicine’ vet is now finally convinced that the raw diet is so much better than the kibble could hope to be.

Hope this helps you.

[Gem M]

Ps I’ve tried gravy, searing, garlic, yogurt, veg nope just won’t take it without really coaxing and praising him and even then he gets fed up of it!

[InkedMarie]

Cotons Mom: I feed prey model raw, in ground form. It is meat, bone, organs & some have tripe. I add a scoop of tripe to the ones that don’t have it. Prey model does not need anything else. I add supplements for specific purposes: ACV, Bug Off Garlic, salmon oil, eggs, joint supplement for one; no vitmins. Not needed.

I add the above to breakfast meal, nothing at dinner. Did I answer your question?

[DogFoodie]

OK, it sounds like you’re saying that your dog tested negative for EPI, which was my first concern. If he’s gaining weight and growing normally otherwise, I’d lean toward a food intolerance. Digestive enzymes and probiotics still might prove beneficial. Plain, canned pumpkin helps, too; but you need to remove the food first. Be sure you aren’t overfeeding (that’s a very common cause of loose stool). You can also fast him for a bit, which helps to rest the gut.

I’d switch him to a food with a different, single, protein and starch source. Keep track of every food you feed him and make notes about his reactions to them. This is how I narrowed down my dog’s sensitivities. Also keep in mind that sensitivities can be to a lot of different ingredients. My boy can’t have any fish or fish oil, garlic, chickpeas, lentils, garlic, barley, millet or flax. He tends to have a sensitive digestive system and does better with lower fiber foods and does well on Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet. That might be a good place to start.

I can tell you what I’ve found that works for me if you’d like, but if your dog is intolerant of an ingredient in one of those foods, they’re obviously not an option for you. I’d pick a very limited ingredient food and start with that. Merrick, California Natural, Natural Balance and Wellness Simple are a few other brands you might want to check out.

[Terry W]

Another question? I feed my dog Grandma Lucy’s Dehydrated “Pre-Mix” and I add in Evangers canned food. I am trying to stop his proclivity to struvite crystals and excess proteins and high Ph levels. He seems ok on it, but doesn’t like the carrots and I think excess garlic. I have fed him a couple of sample bags of Sojo’s dehydrated pre-mix. He loves that, but you have to soak for at least 15 minutes. My dog goes crazy waiting the 15 minutes knowing I have mixed it up. Can you mix it up the night before and refrigerate till morning? Will this do anything bad to it, sitting in the fridge overnight?

[DogFoodie]

Have you ever tried a limited ingredient food, Karen? I’m not a fan of Blue Buffalo at all and guaranteed, your girl is eating chicken if she’s eating Blue Buffalo products. But, keep in mind, food sensitivities like your girl has can be the result of exposure to problem ingredients far beyond chicken and grains. For example, one of mine can’t have fish (including fish oil), flax, chickpeas, lentil, tomato, garlic, barley or millet. Right now, he’s eating Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Duck. He’s doing well, but has recently developed what appear to be seasonal allergies – which yours could be as well. I’m using some supplements (Quercetin with Bromelain and Papain), but something as simple as a foot rinse each time he comes back in from outside helps eliminate the pollen that he tracks into the house.

How old is your pup and how long has she been having sensitivities? How long has she been eating the food she’s eating currently.

Even if the vet thinks it’s not the food, it’s worth a try and easy enough to change.

[InkedMarie]

Boone is 9 with a knee problem (minor) so he gets a few joint supplement that I rotate: Liquid Gold K9 glucosamine, Swanson Vitamins joint mobility plus & green lipped mussel.

Ginger gets nothing specific.

Both get salmon oil 3x a week, eggs 2-3 times a week and Bug off Garlic daily.

[Anonymous]

They are all pesticides (flea/tick and heartworm preventives) not medications.

I am in the same boat, lots of woods here. I use Advantix II every month, late spring-fall, Sentinel every 6 weeks May-November. Annual heartworm test.

I also use Preventic collars (amitraz) sometimes alone or in conjunction with topicals.
Some vets may say this is too much, some vets say it is okay, but to apply them at different times, I suspect the collar is only really good for a month anyway (not 3 months).

I also use homeopathic remedies such as Wondercide spray, brewers yeast tablets, a garlic clove about once a week….all controversial.

[DogFoodie]

Starting them on the Blue Buffalo (while I would personally never use Blue Buffalo products) actually helped to give you more information. What you need to do is compare the ingredients in all of the foods they’ve eaten and reacted to see what common ingredient they might have. Through trial and error, and many, many different foods, I’ve determined that my dog reacts to all fish (including fish oil), chickpeas, lentils, flax, probably garlic and likely tomato. Keep in mind that what might be a problem for one dog might not be the problem for the other and dogs that have food intolerances frequently have more than one. Randomly choosing a brand’s food labelled ” hypoallergenic,” will do nothing to help your dog if he’s intolerant of the ingredients in it.

I would look for a truly limited ingredient food with a meat protein and a starch that your dogs haven’t eaten before and see how they do on that for a while. Nature’s Variety Instinct LID is one of the foods I’ve found that my dog does very well on. Keep in mind anything you offer them could be a problem; ie: treats and edible chews.

[Eve D]

This possum meat dog roll was enthusiastically recommended to me by several dog owners and pet store staff. I was hesitant to give it to my dog as I am trying to avoid feeding him junk food. But the ingredients list looked ok and I couldn’t ignore all the recommendations. I mix it with Orijen kibble or use it as treats. There’s no denying my dog LOVES this stuff. But is it healthy for him?
Ingredients listed are:
Contains possum meat, lamb and/or beef, semolina, sucrose, garlic, preservatives, added vitamins & minerals | Pack Size 2kg

[aquariangt]

Seriously?!

Here are my ingredients for when I use my rotisserie:

Whole chicken, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Rosemary

[a c]

The diet I feed my dog looks like this. He is a male, 55lb 9 month old pit mix.
AM – 1lb of ground chicken mix
PM – 1lb of ground chicken mix
– 1/2lb of tripe every 2 days
– Carlson cod liver oil, 1 pill every 2 days
– Carlson salmon oil, 1 pill every day
– Coconut oil, 3 teaspoon every day
– 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 garlic clove, 1 egg without shell 2-3 times a week.
– 2 Tsp of Phresh Greens every day
In total he gets about 2 lbs to 2.5 lbs per day. He is a active dog and I think he could do with a bit more weight. I recently started throwing in 2-3oz of chicken liver as well as 1-2 chicken thigh or a turkey neck to his meal at night. Would it throw off the balance since I feed him a chicken ground mixture and ratios are good like that? Or will it be okay to add chicken thighs or turkey neck with some liver aswel at night meals?

[Dog_Obsessed]

Here are the ingredients I see online for liver flavored Charlie Bear treats: Wheat flour, liver (poultry liver preserved naturally with vitamin E), salt (2 tablespoons per 100 pounds), garlic powder

Not horrible, and it is nice that they are low-calorie, but they’re certainly not grain-free. Do they make a variety that is?

[Anonymous]

I use k9Advantix II (topical monthly) on my dogs, but only during the summer. Heartworm pills every 6 weeks (not 4) during warm months, yearly testing, careful checking and avoidance of all tall grass, brush and woods.
I also use Brewers yeast/garlic supplements as they are supposed to deter bugs, plus natural spray repellents.
I would not use an oral agent, wish I didn’t have to use anything, but the ticks are bad in my area. They all are pesticides/poisons.

I have heard terrible things about this product http://vitalanimal.com/trifexis-hoax/

[a c]

Hello,
I have been reading this forums for a while now. It really convinced me to start feeding my i dog raw and I thank all of you for that.
Right now Im trying to find a nice superfood mix. I came across this and was wondering what people think about it. I didn’t come across any ingredients which are harmful. It is called pHresh Greens Raw Alkalizing Superfood. http://shop.phreshproducts.com/phresh-greens-1-month-supply/
The diet I feed my dog looks like this. He is a male, 55lb 9 month old pit mix.
AM – 1lb chicken grind
PM – 1lb chicken grind
– 1/2lb of tripe and eggs every 2-3 days
– Carlson cod liver oil, 1 pill every 2 days
– Carlson salmon oil, 1 pill every day
– Coconut oil, 4-5 teaspoon every day
– apple cider vinegar, 1 garlic clove 2-3 times a week.
I am trying to find good superfood mix and also to supplement with some probiotics, either kefir or yoghurt. I can get them both from the farmers market. Would that be necessary or any store-bought will be just fine?
Thank you

[DogFoodie]

Hi William,

Since I identified my dog’s food intolerances, he no longer has ear infections. His ears are clean and healthy. Makes me so happy!

The best thing I found to clean ears with is an enzymatic cleaner called Zymox. It’s amazing stuff and literally digests ear gunk. I prefer the one without hydrocortisone.

I know food intolerances are incredibly frustrating. I’ve been doing food trials for a long time now and keep track of everything I feed Sam. FWIW, so far, the intolerances I’ve identified are fish, barley, chickpeas, lentils, flax, garlic and tomato.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Derek P-

Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with giardia. What exactly did the vet prescribe to evacuate the parasites? I hope it was either panacur or drontal plus dewormers. Often they prescribe the antibiotic Metronidazole and it seems to work only about 50% of the time anymore. It may help a bit with the diarrhea though. I don’t know or understand how a lower protein would help, but definitely add more fiber, such as shredded carrots to his diet to help push them out. A limited ingredient diet might be helpful for his tummy right now. There are other natural holistic options to use as well if you are interested. My top four are: fiber, garlic, probiotics and digestive enzymes on an empty stomach along with the dewormer. Btw, it’s just the enzymes that I gave on an empty stomach. The other three I mixed in their meals. I would also repeat the dewormer about 10 days after the first treatment. Make sure you pick up the poop right away and douse the spot with hot water and bleach or ammonia. Clean all the bedding very well too. Heat kills it. It thrives in cold temperatures and water. So, make sure you don’t have any standing water in your yard. At least you know what the issue is now. Let us know how it goes!

[Stacey A]

Hi. We’ve been making our own dog food for many years and I feel like it’s selfish not to share with others the way we make it economically. I realize the majority of people don’t have access to the same resources that we have but some people might benefit from this information and it really saves a lot of money while being very good for the dogs.

The #1 most important item we have to make this possible is our large pressure cooker. The reason it is so important is that when you pressure cook a chicken the bones become very soft and crumbly like chalk. You can literally take the leg bone of a pressure cooked chicken and pinch it into pieces between your thumb and forefinger. No splinters – and LOTS of calcium and other minerals. This only works with chicken. The bones of turkey, beef, pork etc. will not crumble this way. We have not tried it with fish and we do intend to, at some point. The pressure cooker is well worth the expense because keeping the bones really makes a chicken go a lot further and provides the dogs with a lot of nutrition.

We live on a farm and raise chickens for our friends and family and process them here. All we ask for, in exchange for the work we do raising the chickens, is the cost of feed and all of the “byproducts”, which we use in our homemade dog food. So basically we raise chickens and get paid with dog food. I’m not sure if our definition of “byproducts” is the same as the definition on the dog food bags but, if it is, “byproducts” are definitely not a bad thing. We keep all of the backs, necks, bones and organs (but not the stomach or intestines or feathers or heads/beaks). We would keep the feet because, believe it or not, there is a LOT of meat on feet and they are full of glucosamine etc. In many cultures, people eat the feet after the scales and toenails are removed. Unfortunately my husband is so grossed out by the appearance of the feet that he insists we throw them away and won’t even allow us to give them to the dogs.

I realize others don’t have access to the byproducts that we do but you can just use whole chickens and get the same results. When you cook a chicken for your family you wind up throwing over half of it away. Don’t throw away any part of your store-bought whole chicken, not the giblets or the skin or the necks or bones. If you want to keep the breasts for yourselves and give the rest of the chicken to the dogs you’re getting a very economical meal or two for yourself and the dogs.

So – just throw your whole chickens into your pressure cooker with some water and pressure cook them for 45 minutes to an hour. We think garlic is good for dogs and add a lot of it to the chicken but some people feel like garlic is bad for dogs because it comes from the same family as onions. As far as I know, no studies have been done. It depends on your altitude and what weight you use on the pressure cooker and it might take some trial and error – but cook them until the bones just crumble between your fingers. For us that’s 45 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. Keep the broth to add to the water you cook your grains in.

Next, cook up an equal amount of rice or oatmeal, wheat berries, amaranth – whatever grains you have cheap and easy access to. We’ll use anything except for corn meal because we don’t want to feed anything GMO to our dogs. Oatmeal and rice are very cheap. There’s some controversy over potatoes but a lot of people feel potatoes are fine to feed to dogs instead of or in addition to grains.

Next, an equal amount of veggies. There’s some controversy as to whether or not the dogs actually need the veggies but they’re a good filler, they’re cheap, and they’re probably good for the dogs. We use stuff from our garden and also go to GFS and get the huge cans of green beans, carrots, and peas.

Just mix everything together and package it up – 1/3 meat, 1/3 carbs and 1/3 veggies. We currently feed our dogs 50% homemade dog food and 50% kibble just to make sure they get a lot of variety, but kibble makes us nervous. You never know when your brand is going to be on the recall list. We’d switch to 100% homemade dog food but we’d have to have a lot more chicken that way and we don’t believe in buying meat. We don’t like to eat anything we haven’t raised ourselves so we know for sure there aren’t any hormones etc. and that the animals were raised and butchered humanely and with very good sanitation.

We also feed the dogs other things when they’re available. We raise milk goats and have access to a lot of fresh raw goat milk – we have been careful not to give the dogs too much goat milk because we don’t want them to get diarrhea but we’ve never had any bad results from giving them small amounts of the raw goat milk or goat yogurt. Goat milk is so much more digestible than cow milk, and if you make it into yogurt or kefir the lactose gets removed. Also, kombucha is very good for the dogs and prevents cancer. We make our own and it only costs about 30 cents per gallon to make.

We have always had large breed dogs – shepherds, shepherd mixes. They’ve lived 13-14 years so we must be feeding them right.