[Katrene J]

Hi, I have an 8 yo, male English Springer with the same problem everyone here is describing. My sweet guy started with the gulps about 5 years ago. The frequency at first was once every 3-4 months. It gradually increased to every 2 weeks or so. Or it had up until last November [2014]. Since November he’s had two bouts and both were mild – no deeply scared, frantic grass-eating dog those two times. He was definitely uncomfortable and seemed kinda worried it might get worse but a little throat massage and he could go back to sleep.

Like a lot of folks on this and a couple of other wonderful, helpful forums, I’ve tried a ton of things and even thought at times we had the problem solved, only to find a few weeks or a month later that I was wrong and had to go back to the drawing board. It’s been 3 1/2 months now since Tommy’s had a bad night. Instead of the predicted 7 or so episodes you’d figure he’d have had at the every-other-week frequency, there were only the two mild ones. I changed only one thing.

Now it may be another wild goose chase in the end but with a hiatus of almost 4 months I figured it’s worth sharing the change we made at this point. I hope it can help another dog. The last thing I want thought, is to give anyone false hope. This may be something or it may be nothing and we all know that each dog is so very different what works well for one may do nothing for another.

With that part out of the way let me tell you what has worked so far for Tom. Back in early Nov Tommy and I were up with a night of the gulps. I scanned the web for any new info that might have been shared since his last bout of the gulps. One person had posted. She [I think] said the only thing that worked for her dog was Pepcid Complete – not regular Pepcid, Not Tums. Only the Complete formula helped. I didn’t have any Pepcid complete on hand so I went online to check the ingredients. It turned out that Pepcid Complete is basically Pepcid plus Tums plus magnesium. Those things I did have on the shelf. I gave Tom the equivalent. He shortly seemed somewhat better. Not good enough so we could go back to bed but somehow less worried, less desperate.

I started to research Magnesium. I had had it on hand for leg and foot cramps. It’s amazing for relieving muscle spasms. Could a throat spasm be part of the gulps problem? The dogs do seem to be gulping like they’re trying to swallow something stuck in their throats… One friend had had success with a very powerful anti spasmodic years ago with her gulps dog, an Aussie. A magnesium deficiency could be a cause of GERD too, I’d read. There sure seems to be some stomach problem with the gulps too… It seemed worth investigating.

I’m NOT a vet nor do I play one on television so please take what follows with that understanding. First I took some magnesium myself as a supplement. That went ok and I learned that, as mentioned in the research, too much creates loose stools. Good – that gave me a gauge to know when to cut back.

I began to give Tom magnesium as a supplement. This is plain magnesium we’re talking about here, nothing fancy. It’s regular grocery store magnesium, 250 mg tablets. Started Tom on it slowly, etc. He weighs about 55#. When he was getting one 250 mg tablet in the morning and two 250s at night I held it there. His stools were still fine and that dosage felt right – not a scientific reason but sometimes I think my subconscious notices things my conscious mind doesn’t and I’ve earned to pay attention.

Since being on that regimen of 250mg AM and 500mg PM Tom has had only the two bouts of the gulps that I mentioned earlier. One was over Christmas when I’d backed off on the Mg to about half the dose for a few days [we were guests and the loose stool potential was weighing heavily on my mind!]. The second was about a month ago. That was the time I never had to even wake up completely. He began soft gulping but was only mildly concerned. I gently messaged his throat for a minute or two. He sighed and curled up next to me. We both went back to sleep. One more momentary massage about 4 hrs later and the gulps were over.

My gut feeling is that some dogs have or develop a magnesium deficiency. If that’s the case Tom’s may have started when I had to take him off a raw diet. Or it may be it’s that the land that grows our food is so magnesium poor at this point the dogs are simply not getting enough no matter what they’re fed. Whatever the cause, for Tom at least so far, the magnesium supplement seems to be working. He and I both hope our experiences can help someone else’s good dog.

[pugmomsandy]

There is no official recognized category for “seniors”. Foods either meet criteria for “growth” or “maintenance” which includes all adults. For seniors, I would just pick a quality food and give additional supplements for age-related issues.

[crazy4cats]

Dori-
Yes,my wish I spent as much time on my human family’s diet! We often use Hamburger Helper for our dinner premix! Lol!

Naturella-
Again, I don’t consider PF a probiotic. It’s a digestive enzyme with ingredients that soothe the intestinal tract. You can use a probiotic in addition to that supplement if you need to. A couple of the supplements that I mentioned earlier do contain both, I believe. I often use ProFlora probiotic soft chews as well. I’ve been dealing with leaky guts due to parasites and antibiotic use, I’m afraid.
I ordered a couple of plastic tubs on wheels to store my cat food as I was also keeping under the bathroom sink until I caused a leak by bumping the pipes too many times. I have to feed my cats in our bedroom bath to keep them away from the dogs. It’s kind of a pain. I ordered them from Petco when they were offering one of their deals.

Cheryl-

I got most of my info on digestion supplements on http://www.dogaware.com. I agree, the Mercola is thumbs down for me also. Not worth the money.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Patrick and D_O-
I am using soft chew probiotics called ProFlora by PHS right now. I like them because I can easily feed them to my dogs without hiding in food or “masking” them in peanut butter or something. I have also used similar chews made by Vetri-Science. They think they are treats. I do have golden labs, however. They think everything is a treat. Lol! I give them in the evening a few hours after their dinner and they seem to work well. No stinky gas in the family room! They have 8 or 9 strains of probiotics and a prebiotic as well. Not sure if the chews are as effective, but they have been good for us so far. I buy them from Amazon or Healthy Pets websites. I find that Healthypets.com has some of the best prices on supplements. Hope this helps.

[Naturella]

D_O, you’re welcome. Idk if this truly does help, but I have heard of freezing dry kibble to prolong freshness, so I am refrigerating the dehydrated food for the same reason, hope it works out. BCnut, that’s kind of what I thought too. I will just stick with using herbal/natural supplements as needed and not just give them to give them. 🙂

Sometimes I need to remind myself of the golden rule: “Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken”. 🙂

[Dog_Obsessed]

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

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

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

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

[losul]

Glenna, I want to thank you for responding back also. This is still a learning experience for me. I understand your predicament, I know about the bomb-shelled feeling, but couldn’t imagine that happening on Christmas Eve, and then with 2 dogs i addition…. But it’s good too hear your dogs are asymptomatic for least.

I’m not sure the reason microfilariae were not detected in you dogs- whether the year round HWP was keeping them non-detectible, the infection was caught early and no worms had had reproduced, the worm load low, or whether there were only one sex of worms. I think the year round HWP probably kept them non detectible. When I had Turbo tested last February, he had not had any HWP in any form for several months already, the ivermectin is quick in, quick out. ( didn’t give year round, and my regimen were not good to say the least). He showed pos on 2 different antigen tests and on the microfilarae. The antigen levels showed low.

The disadvantage to the slow kill is that it very unpredictable when worms will die, MUCH less control, although they should die at a much slower rate than in a quick kill where there is large/sudden dieoffs.

Did the vet explain that with A.P. the takes something like 2 to 4 monthly applications before the plasma levels of moxidectin peak and level off? That brings up another question, did the vet prescribe the A.P. to be used at the same levels as would be for your dogs for prevention? For my dog it was the same applied as would be for prevention. My vet really hadn’t much prior experience using A.P. in the slow kill method, and really only some anecdotal words….. I hated to think of Turbo as a guinea pig, but given that there was a possibility of his worms being resistant to ivemectin, I felt I only really had 2 choices, the A.P. slow kill, and the arsenic/steroids/etc. fast kill. I feel i made the right decision for in our situation, and don’t think I would have changed much, even without knowing the upcoming results…

There used to be a fellow Daveshounds ( is that how it’s spelled?)on DFA reviews that rescued a hound that was already known to have HW’s I think. I don’t know the particulars, extnet. He went with a slow kill ivermectin method (more traditional, though still not approved or really advised) method. Didn’t see him about on DFA for a good while, but he came back very briefly many months ago, to report that his dog had then reported back neg for heartworm, and the dog had done very well and in great shape, I’m reasonably think he implied that he had been exercising and working out the dog throughout, but not entirely sure. I tried to reply back too him and ask more, I don’t think he saw it, and haven’t heard anything since. I’ve already been searching alittle for that post, no luck so far. I’m going to look more, when I finish this….., I think it was on the off topic board, and think I can search through my own replies….

I wish I could be of more assurance, I can’t and won’t say that by not restricting activity with a slow kill, that it’s not dangerous and without risk, sorry. I can’t even say what method, slow/fast would be best for YOU and YOUR dogs, I hope you understand….

Do check with the doxycycline. Many vets believe that killing the wolbachia it weakens the worms and also may cause a lesser, immune and inflammatory reaction when the worms die. My vet was going to use it even if we went with the fast kill.

I don’t know if you supplement with fish oil/fish/omega 3’s, could be a good thing in addition for ordinary cardiac health, also for anti-inflammatory qualities.

When you give your dogs A.P., I would definitely separate them for a good while. If one were to ingest orally from the others neck/shoulders, at least while wet, it can be extremely toxic.

I’m hoping to know more soon……

[Kimi_forever]

One time our local petco had cans of instinct and wellness for like .15-50cents a can and we stocked up on a bunch only to bring it home and the cats not eat it and us have to give it away…ill have to try and find ways to get some decent cans for cheaper, i was pricing what it would cost to feed weruva, and that would be like 70$ a cat for a 24 day period :-0….20 dollars a month sounds amazing, thats about what it costs to feed them orijen kibble, i dont know where i could find cans of wellness or halo around where i live for that price or online…But basically what you said in your second paragraph seems to be the only solution…

from that catinfo.org site they give a recipe for feeding like you said about 5-6oz a day instead of 10oz a day in canned and using antibiotic free chicken thighs as the source of protein. Only thing is it’s a mixture of homecooked and raw that the vet on that site recommends but her estimated costs after supplements and all and her practical suggestions of locating cheap meat (from whole foods) make it seem very practical. I also like that unlike the canned foods which almost always have something extra in them that i dont want that we have complete control over every ingredient in the food….It makes me jealous that i want to be able to provide this for my dog too. But feeding an 85lb dog raw and a 10lb cat are two different things, that’d be 1.7-2.5lbs for my dog and i do not not know where i can get the organ meat and bones i need for my dog ill have to stick to Orijen for my dog for now. but i found this guide on the internet and it also looks easy to follow so i might make the full transition for both animals at some point http://puppybutt.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/9/2/7692088/beginners_guide_to_prey_model_raw_rv.4.1.pdf …

[Mary S]

I do not know about stone formation – you may want to check Dr. Karen Becker’s web site, part of Dr. Mercola’s web site. http://www.mercola.com Type in those key words, e.g., struvite crystals, calcium oxalate stones, oxalate, oxalate stones, something may come up.

You are correct with the low protein levels. That is what I am looking for too. My vet has asked me to reduce the protein level 30/70. I need to supplement something other than potato. My dog has a severe allergy to it. I believe my next choice to cut the protein will be pumpkin or sweet potato. (Presently, I’m feeding Purina’s Beyond, Grain Free, Wild Caught Tuna and Egg Recipe. Right now it is the only thing she can eat that doesn’t cause a major skin out break. The protein is too high which causes her to wet the bet constantly. Yes, she has been on Blue Buffalo and etc. with no luck or the protein is too high.)

Good luck with your quest.

[pugmomsandy]

I’ve used Duck & Turkey Raw Boost food and their Raw Boost treats and Boost topper powder supplement in Lamb and Beef. I actually avoid chicken products in general. I have pugs and they basically like 99.9% of all things edible. You might try the chicken flavor first since that’s what your dog is currently eating and then eventually add in other varieties.

[Corey K]

I was told you do not have to treat struvite crystals with food change. They do respond to cranberry supplement and they have powder for so you don’t have to worry about the capsules.

[crazy4cats]

Yes, Peggy, you have been very good. I’ll get it going again. Last night my dogs each had 3/4lb of ground turkey lightly browned with 1 1/2 TBS of the See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix. I call it their Special Saturday Supper. Tonight they will have kibble with a tin of sardines each. This will be Sardine Seahawk Sunday! In the mornings they get kibble with a little canned and Vetri-Pro BD supplement. Go Hawks!

[crazy4cats]

Check out http://www.dogaware.com. They have a few good articles on probiotics and digestive issues. It is a great website! I am using Proflora right now with my pups. It is a soft chew and they eat them like treats. They are made by Pet Health Solutions and are available on http://www.healthypets.com. They have 9 strains and also a prebiotic. Vetri-Science also makes a similar one. I Also like Swanson’s Ultra Soil-Based Organisms. It has about 14 strains of microorganisms and also has digestive enzymes. It is a human supplement and is very nicely priced. There are so many. You just have to jump in and give one a try. I like to rotate supplements with my pets. Good luck!

[gina m]

Our dog Dolly had the exact early morning panic gulping. She’s a 7 years old terrier mix that we adopted 3 months ago. After reading this forum and other sites, we tried giving her dog food that only has one food ingredients – Natural Balance LID. Figured too much fat, too many kinds of meat might cause acid. We also started giving her 1 teaspoon of coconut oil per meal. We feed her twice a day. My wife also has digestive issues and coconut oil has helped her tremendously so we figured why not try it. I think it’s helping her. Though we also gave coconut oil to our other dog (dolly’s brother) and it seemed to make his stool too soft so we stopped giving coconut oil to him. And after reading some sites, we also decided to add some Probiotics and Enzyme supplement. We just started this yesterday so we’ll see how she does. So far so good. I hope dolly won’t get another attack, but it’s a trial and error to get the right balance of food for her.

[Kimi_forever]

Yes they have been on kibble all their life. actually they are my mom and sisters cats, but i try and have some input on them too. They used to be fed purina one, and i made them get off that and told them about merrick because it wasnt so expensive. Now we have just recently (this is the first bag) put them on orijen because i expressed that imo it was worth the money over merrick or wellness core we were trying. I recently have read some of the info on catinfo.org and they said the same thing. The only problem is finding decent canned food not chalked up with carrageenan and other stuff is absurdly expensive, i’ve been pricing it for what it would cost for 3 adult 10lb cats and it’s not pretty. the vet on catinfo.org seems to have a method of making homemade meals that while still more expensive then orijen seems more practical, i think we are going to try her method since she has laid it out so clearly how to prepare source and supplement a cat’s diet in a way that economical and practical to do. I got some samples of Honest Kitchen for them to try, because as my pricing went it was a lot cheaper then canned food and still obviously had moisture from the added water, but they just looked at me like i was crazy for giving them THK. Maybe i should contact the vet from catinfo.org and talk to her and see what she thinks. I like the vet we are seeing okay, he has done wonders for my grandmothers old german shepherd whenever he had problems, but i wasnt thrilled when he suggested putting this cat on Hill’s prescription diet for her being over weight, but i know he had good intentions….We are in the process of trying to transition them off kibble but we will probably have to buy at least one more large bag before we get anything setup for a homemade diet :-\

[Cassie P]

My advice is, take the video you took to the vet and show him. Also, have you tried giving your dog gas x and pepto when the episode starts? That is the only thing that helps my dog when she has an episode. I pat her belly until she burps. I’d suggest a probiotic supplement also. She is a 5yr old rescued black lab and I feed her chicken and rice 4Heath. I hope your dog feels better!

[MIKE B]

Sorry for the long history, but the situation is complicated; I’ll stick to info that seems essential to this mystery.

Our 15.5 year old lab/setter mix has been on a raw food diet for about the last 14 years, since being diagnosed with mild hip disp. For all these years, he has eaten his nightly dinner with joy, mostly frozen raw chicken on the bone, lots of leg quarters, drumsticks, backs. Breakfast has also always been an eagerly awaited treat, a mix of ground turkey, tuna, fish oil, eggs yokes, and ground veggies (brocc, carrots, and other) and apples w/out seeds. I’m probably forgetting something, but you get the idea.

His regular blood work has also delivered exemplary results from a doc sympathetic to but not knowledgeable about raw feeding.

As recently as this last summer we were needing to feed him a bit less to keep his weight down (approx. 60 lbs) because the warm weather really slows him down. He has always gotten two walks a day, totaling about 3-4 miles, off leash, though as he slowed down it was sometimes tough to get in 2 miles a day in 2 walks.

Then we tried some laser therapy on an arthritic wrist, which didn’t help, so we tried adding Tramadol to help w/ the arthritis. He has been getting daily Rimadyl, also, for probably the last year or more.

The Tramadol seemed to help, but he really hated the taste, and soon even hiding them in his morning breakfast wasn’t good enough, so we put them in fish oil capsules, until he detected the hated pills and stopped eating the fish oil caps that came with his breakfast.

Since the pills helped, we decided to hide the pills in very small Lean Treats, which did the trick, but soon after he started losing interest in breakfast and eventually his nightly chicken on the bone. He still ate, but seemed less enthused.

Now things get really complicated. To combat a growing problem with nightly incontinence, we started giving him testosterone shots. The results have been phenomenal. The shots not only got the incontinence under control, but they, along with cold weather, have him walking with great enthusiasm, speed, and vigor, so now we’re up to 4 or more miles a day between the two walks. Great news.

Except that even as he was getting much more exercise, his appetite has been greatly reduced. He still eats both breakfast and dinner as described above, but he will typically only eat a half portion, which has lead to significant weight loss.

When his ribs began to show we started trying different meats including beef and liver with some but not enough improvement. Finally, about a week ago, in desperation we did three things: 1) we started making silky balls for him as a supplement, and sure enough, he likes them; 2) we started adding canned dog food to his breakfast and 3) we started giving him some Iams dry dog food AFTER he ate as much of his chicken on the bone as he was willing to eat.

The latest is that he seems less and less interested in his raw food breakfast even when mixed with canned dog food, and while he can still be coaxed into downing a couple of raw drumsticks for dinner most (but not all) nights, he loves the silky balls and his kibble.

At this point I need another bag of dog food but I hate using the stuff and would rather see him back on a BARF diet, but if he won’t eat enough of it, well, he’s got to eat! At 15.5 years old, I’m tempted to say, okay, whatever you’ll eat, pal, that’s fine, but if anyone has experience with a situation like this I’d love to hear some suggestions.

In particular, I’d like to know a) are changes in taste common to older dogs, as they can be in people?,; b) does anybody recognize in the story above a causal explanation? (we have our own theories, but I’ll reserve them for now); c) does anybody have suggestions for how to get him back to enthusiastic BARFing?

Thank you.

[Kimi_forever]

Hi,

i have a cat who has been having patches of hair fall out, i am not sure what is causing it, they are like circles of hair that just arent there anymore. all the patches are of circular shape. we are taking her to the vet soon, but i had a concern. My last akita had a similar condition, i’m not sure if it’s caused by the same thing or not yet but it looks very similar. my concern is when we took our akita to the vet for this they put her on various medications such as anti-biotics and other things none of which did anything, we had to take my akita to several vets until one of them suggested standard process dermal care. as soon as we started putting the standard process dermal on her kibble the patches of hair my akita was missing grew back and it’s the only thing that helped her recover. i went to standard process’s website to see if they had dermal care for cats and they only make it for canine’s to my dismay. I was wondering if anyone knew of any holistic food type supplements similar to standard process that might be effective for dermal care that i might be able to suggest to our vet when i see him because he is not a holistic vet, just an average run of the mill vet is all i can find around my city…i just dont want to put my cat on all sorts of medications for no reason, and was hoping their might be some other way to handle this like we did for my dog.
thanks…

[Kelley P]

It’s called Butchers Selects. These are the ingredients:
Ground yellow corn, meat and bone meal, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), corn gluten meal, dehydrated gravy, natural flavor, salt, natural beef flavor, potassium chloride, chlorine chloride, dried peas, dried carrots, color added (red #40, yellow #5, blue #2, yellow #6), minerals (zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, mangfnous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate), vitamins (Vitamin E supplement, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, Vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), riboflavin supplement, folic acid (Vitamin D3 supplement)

The brand website is http://www.butchersselects.com

[Kathy B]

Thank you for the reply. I will continue on the on the supplement and take your advice on the research of each of the dog food products. If you switch kibble that often do you not have to be concerned about digestive upsets? Seems to be where I am with Merrick at this time. My male is okay with it ,but my little girl cannot have a firm bm without some pumpkin and rice. And Rice is not something I want to do long term with allergies.

[Sally C]

Thank you all so much! He has done better with this Nature’s Variety LID, so changing the protein will be the answer. I will also check for peas, I know the salmon recipe does have them. Nature’s Variety says it contains probiotics. Should I still add a supplement?

[Kathy B]

Has anyone used this product? I have had my cockers on this for a year for allergies and on grain free food. At this point, they ended up on allergy meds and I have change food 3 times in a year. I do not want to keep them on these meds and I am beginning to doubt these supplements as well.

[Leslie H]

Maybe I’ve been too busy elsewhere, but I wasn’t even aware of the BB controversy. I’ve been feeding my dog BB Wilderness chicken since he was a puppy. He’s now two and a half. Lately, though, he just doesn’t seem that interested in it. I’m not sure what’s going on. I’ve been “supplementing”…aka bribing him…to eat by adding small bits of meat from our meals from our meals. But if BB is not the best dog food for him anyway, it seems, do you have a recommendation for a mixed breed, usually fairly active dog who is really not seeming too interested in his food right now? I think he may be a little low energy now (which is totally unlike him) because he’s not eating well. Any recommendations on a good dog food that will actually appeal to him? Thank you SO much for any suggestions. Meanwhile, I hope PetCo will take back the new unopened bag of BB. 🙂

[Dog_Obsessed]

Tonight I opened a can of Wellness CORE Venison, Beef, and Lamb. It was devoured as usual (That is, the something like 2 teaspoons I use for a topper!) I also got my Chewy order today, which contain some poop bags (irrelevant), some Wellness cat treats, some Yaky Charms (Doggy popcorn made out of Himalayan cheese), and a supergreen supplement by Ark Naturals. I am going to double-check with the vet that it is okay to use the supplement for daily use. I haven’t tried the treats yet, because I have an open bag of THK Pecks and Superior Farms Venison Itty Bitties, but I will update when we’ve tried them!

[Chloe j]

i am starting a raw food diet with my dog panda, i am looking for good supplements to feed, i will be feeding a variety of lean meat, RMB, and organs, veggies,fruit, i was looking at these supplements, to feed daily, how do they look to you guys? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AYL6M/ref=gno_cart_title_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A34A7V6YS432AV


if anyone has any suggestions i would be really gratefull, thank you
chloe

[crazy4cats]

Hi Bev L-

I think it is so awesome that you adopted a dog from the shelter that sounds like he needed a loving home quick! Sounds like you are on the right track. I agree with neezerfan, if you have a dog (or cat) with a health condition, sometimes an Rx food can get them on the right track. Another thing you might consider is some type of digestive supplement that contains digestive enzymes and/or probiotics. I am attaching a link to a website that I have used on numerous occasions that gives several recommendations of products to use for different symptoms. Good luck!
http://www.dogaware.com/health/digestive.html

[crazy4cats]

Does your store carry Fruitables Digestive Supplement? It is canned pumpkin with some other goodies in it also that seem to help my dogs better than just the plain pumpkin. You could try that while waiting for the PF. More stores tend to carry that than the Perfect Form.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Peggy-
The Perfect Form is a digestive supplement made by The Honest Kitchen. A few pet food stores carry it, but you can also order it from THe Honest Kitchen’s website or Amazon. I’ve used it on several occasions also. Good luck!

[DogFoodie]

OK, so the stool is still formed, but mucusy, right?

I would think that it could be a food intolerance. Whether to the rice, lamb, or some other ingredient. I would eliminate the new food you were beginning to introduce and see if things clear up on their own. Compare the ingredients in what he’s been eating to what you were beginning to introduce.

I’m still working on an elimination diet of sorts with my Golden with food intolerance issues. Any time he has a reaction to something, I eliminate the new food/supplement and go back to the base diet so things can resolve. Only then, do I know for sure what the offending ingredients were. Problem ingredients can be obvious like, lamb or rice, or more obscure, like flax or garlic. So compare every ingredient. Sometimes a reaction takes a little while and sometimes, it’s immediate. So almost anything he’s eating could be suspect. Because my dog has so many intolerances and I’m a rotator, it’s important to me to have several foods that I know he’s good with to use as a barometer.

[Hound Dog Mom]

The first step is balancing the calcium to phosphorus ratio, if you’re feeding a “grind” with bone you likely won’t have to do anything but if you’re feeding boneless meat you’ll need about 1,000 mg calcium per pound of meat. The easiest thing to do at that point for someone just starting out with homemade diets would be to add a well rounded multivitamin with little to no calcium (you don’t want to throw off the ratio you previously balanced). There are also several pre-mixes on the market where all you need to add is meat to make a balanced meal (they usually contain fruits, vegetables and supplements). My favorite book on homemade food is “Unlocking the Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown. There are some balanced recipes in there.

[ellen k]

Hi Rob,
My name is Ellen. My 5 yr old cocker spaniel suffered with this high ph of 8.6 and struvite crystals x 4 years. He was placed on Kidney prescription diets with absolutley no difference. I found a high density cranberry supplement called CRANIMALS, original formula. [there r 3 formulas]
After just one month, Ozzie’s ph was 5.5, no crystals and no peeing in the house from the crystals blockng the urethra.. Go to their website http://www.cranimals.com. I will guarantee this will do the job without having to change the food.
Ellen

[ellen k]

get “CRANIMALS” powder supplement. It has 2400 mg of cranberry and gets rid of the crystals and gets the urine to a normal ph. my dog had this problem x 4 years and thaen i found this supplement. You then can use any food
Ellen

[pugmomsandy]

You can find diet supplementation guidelines at dogaware.com in the homemade section. Also the recipe book “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Becker/Taylor includes a recipe for a vitamin mix.

[Amy K]

I’ll be checking this often, because I’m running into a similar situation. My dog is showing borderline allergic to most of the proteins, and definitely allergic to a lot of the grains as well as peas. My vet advises avoiding the borderline items as well as the definitely allergic – searching all the limited ingredient and hypoallergenic foods, one or the other always pops up, so I’m thinking I’ll have to make her food.
So I have two questions: Do I really need to worry about the borderline items? And if so, where can I find a good formula for homemade dogfood I.e. Proper protein to carb ratios, supplements needed, portion size guide for daily feedings.
I do plan on talking to my vet more about this, but would like to have info to use so I know what questions I still need to ask.
Appreciate any help given!

[Tracey K]

Thank you for your responses Dori & crazy4cats 🙂
Dori, I personally went to the company yesterday so I could speak with someone in person. When I asked about having to supplement the food, I was told no and they only add Herring Oil to their dogs food because they don’t feed fish.

This morning was a disaster. He gave it a few licks and dropped 2 chunks on the floor which put my husband in a frenzy. Should have known not to start this when he was home…LOL! I ended up throwing it in the frying pan and cooking it to get him to eat and to placate the husband. The little dickens ate it all up lickety split.

[ellen k]

I have 5 year old cocker spaniel male named Ozzie. He has been diagnosed with struvite crystale fo 4 years. There is protein in his urine from the sloughing away of bladder tissue from the crystals. i am a critical care RN for 33 yrs and have tried everything to get rid of the crystals. I HAVE FINALLY SUCCEEDED. “CRANIMALS” is a company that make a powder like substance to add to any food. Unlike the capsules of cranberry that have only 250 mg of cranberry this product has 2400 mg of cranberry extract with every teaspoon. # month after I had Ozzie on this supplement, the struvite crystals were gone, the PH of the urine was 5.5 which is normal and the urine was negative for protein. Ozzie always ha an elevated urine ph of 7.6. This is where struvite crystals are made. The urine ph has to be acidic My vet is now selling this product to all the cats/dogs with this struvite problem. Ozzie was always having pee accidents in the house. Since the crystals are gone so is the accidents.
Ellen Kane,

[jakes mom]

Just checking in with an update. Cats never would eat the raw turkey mix. I made the cooked mix today with some ground turkey. One cat tried it and seemed to like it but a little while later I heard the sound of a cat vomiting. Yep, it was that cat, Teddy. There was a hairball involved so maybe it was just a coincidence. Fingers crossed. I’ll give it a few more days and see how it goes. These mixes have a strong aroma, kind of like a boullion cube. Maybe the cats aren’t happy with that part of it. Do the other mixes have an odor?
Peggy, meal mixes are a supplement powder you mix in with your own meat to make a complete meal. Some are for raw meat, others are for cooked.

[Dori]

Tracy I just went on their web site to check their food and company out and my suggestion would be for you to call and speak to a customer representative and tell them your situation and ask what supplement would they suggest you add to their “dinners”. I don’t see that they include any vitamins or minerals at all. If that’s so, then you need to consult them on this issue. Their dinners do not appear to be complete and balanced.

I’ll see if I can get Aimee to see your question and respond. She’s pretty much the resident “complete and balanced” guru on this site.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Dori.

[Dori]

Hi Tracy. I’m a commercial raw feeder to my three girls. Maltese, Maltipoo and a Yorkipoo. If the food you are feeding is complete and balanced than no supplements are required. When you say that you were told that the food contains no cheated minerals, are they saying they contain synthetic minerals or just no minerals at all? That’s an important thing to know. With probiotics, once again, if it’s a truly complete and balanced food than, no, in my opinion there is no need for probiotics. Have you been to their web site and read up on the food itself and checked out ingredients and guaranteed analysis. If not, I would suugested you do that. Whatever food you are going to switch to please remember that since your dog has been eating kibble and canned, YOU MUST transition him slowly to see how his gut does with raw so that he doesn’t have diarrhea or loose stools. Once you know he doesn’t then your good to go. Once he’s been on raw for a bit I would suggest that you introduce different proteins and then different brands. That will benefit his gut and he’ll be able to make the switch from one food to the other with no issues whatsoever. I rotate brands and the different proteins within all the brands that I feed with the exception of poultry of any sort as one of my girls has food intolerances and for convenience sake for me I feed them all the same. I believe that a rotational diet is the best and healthiest way to feed. Also less chance of them becoming sensitive to the same protein fed day in and day out. Also it makes meal times more interesting for them. Anyway, all this is my opinion and my experiences with my three. So very glad you’re switching to raw. Yay!

[Tracey K]

Thanks so much crazy4cats. I was just wondering on the supplements because someone mentioned to me that the dinners don’t contain chelated minerals or probiotics.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tracey-
I am not a raw feeder, but was curious about the food you bought. The website claims that the meals are complete and balanced. So you should be fine without any supplements. You could probably add some fish oil or sardines a few days a week but other than that it looks like you are good to go!

I do add some frozen or freeze dried raw to my dogs’ kibble two or three days a week and they love it and do fine with the mix. Hopefully I will be able to eventually even feed it more often.

Good luck with your new adventure!

[Tracey K]

Hi! I have a 5 year old shih tzu/bichon mix that I have been feeding Fromm Grain Free kibble and canned for the last 2 years and after much reading on the benefits of a raw diet, I went out and purchased raw dinners from a local company ( Big Country Raw) located here in Southern Ontario. I went with the dinners because they included vegetables and fruits along with the meat.
My question is do I have to add any supplements to this food? I’m so nervous he won’t be getting the required amount needed. I want to start him on it in the morning and is it ok if I don’t have the supplements if needed then?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂

[theBCnut]

For fish oil, you want to make sure she is getting 100mg combined of DHA and EPA per 10 lbs of body weight, so the supplement you gave her could be given much less often. If you are moving towards raw or some raw, replacing one meal a week with sardines or herring should give her enough omega 3s.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Kristen
It is a mini schnauzer female 7 months old.
My older gal pepper also a mini schnauzer used to get a fish oil gel cap nordic naturals -Ultimate Omega 1 soft gel had 325 EPA /425 DHA -640 Total Omega 3’s every day but had to stop it in dec. when she had a bad episode of gastritis -havent given them until I make sure her total diet change is working then I will add them back in a few times a week.
This may be too much of a dose for millie so i may give her sardines a few times a week
BC said the same thing that a good diet is paramount and supplements aren’t necessary if the diet is good

[Kristin S]

What type of dog is it? I know it depends on the breed. I am currently using Salmon Oil for our 4 month old Bullmastiff and I also give it to our adult dog. I just figured since fish oil is good for humans, probably good for dogs too. The claims on the product seem great also and include helping keep their coat nice, heart health, etc. But, I would be curious to know if it has an actual benefit or is just wasteful.
Also, I was going to put my puppy on a puppy vitamin but since she is large breed, I read a lot of articles against it. For the simple reason that if a puppy gets too many vitamins and supplements, could be bad for them long term. I don’t want to risk that.
I would say the most important thing to consider is that if your puppy is on a high quality food, they shouldn’t need additional supplements.

[Barbara M]

Yes. Supplements are after the fact and preventative.

[Jon h]

Thanks for the response zhiba. Now sublingual immunotherapy makes complete sense. It has science to back it up and intelligent theory behind it. Local honey supplementation appears to have zero science to back it up and only science refuting the claims that it works. As mentioned (and from further research after my initial post) local honey carries zero common allergens for dogs or humans and will therefore never be an effective method of “immunizing” your dog against allergens. Instead you are just pumping your dog full of sugar it shouldn’t be having and added calories it doesn’t need.

Hopefully people will stop perpetuating this misinformation and start actually providing their animals with proper care instead of trusting in so called “experts” who have nothing but their own opinion and poor or non-existent education in the matter backing them up.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Hi Everyone,
I need some advice if Millie my 7 month old mini schnauzer is : 1. too young to stop Puppy kibble? 2. If she isn’t too young to stop the puppy kibble, can I feed her the various kinds of the grain free Honest Kitchen(that would be the rotating) with toppers of lightly cooked meat or poultry for 1 of her meals? Does the Honest Kitchen have enough nutrients for a young gal or would i have to add various supplements/antioxidents/oils to that meal?
For the 2nd meal would it be ok to give her commercial raw? Rotating within say Primal or Vital Essentials (or whatever raw co. that will ship to me) their various lower fat proteins.
I do know the VE does not add the fruit/veggies so could I top that meal off with maybe some cooked veggies.
BC mentioned that it may be time to cut out her noon meal,so I am trying to figure out how to get her off kibble & increase the raw & introduce the dehydrated.
Thanks so much to all for the great advice and guidance you ALL have given me in these past months. I can’t tell you how much it has meant to me & the girls 🙂

[weezerweeks]

My yorkie had sturvite crystals but no uti’s so I switched him to low carb canned food with water even added to it and we have been clear since. I would think u would have to get rid of the Uti and crystals before the supplements would help.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Michelle T-
Have you taken your dog to the vet to make sure that she doesn’t have an infection or that the crystals have not returned? I don’t believe that any of the supplements that have been mentioned in the above posts will actually dissolve crystals or cure infections. I do think that they are great preventatives of these conditions. Also adding moisture to their diets is very important, either by feeding canned or raw or adding as much of it as possible to their kibble is very helpful. Plenty of opportunities to go potty is another important preventative measure. I have also read that stress and anxiety can lead to these issues as well. Have you had any big changes in your household lately?

I wish you luck on your quest to help your doggy!