[Kathryn A]

I am struggling with my 3 mo old foster puppy (dachshund) having diarrhea. Tested neg for all parasites. I had been feeding her Wellness Small Breed Puppy but the diarrhea was terrible, tried the Wellness Complete Health puppy and the diarrhea continued. Tried to supplement the probiotics with a little organic pumpkin, and it didn’t work. I was shocked this didn’t help considering the probiotics in the food as well.
The vet prescribed her RX food made by Purina and I do not want to continue feeding her this, although it has helped with the diarrhea, I hate Nestle/Purina anything.
Any suggestions for a different food?
Thanks!

[Cannoli]

No I don’t strictly feed boneless. I am a strong proponent of a rotational diet. That means rotating meats, calcium sources, organs, and natural supplements to ensure that proper nutrition is met. But this comes with a caveat. As long as your dog can handle this.

So back to your question, I feed bones as long as they are finely ground. Safer for my dog and easier to digest for him.

In regards to plague. Only daily teeth brushing of your dog will prevent this. Dogs chewing on whole bones won’t always prevent plague. I brush my dog’s teeth as well as his gums and upper and lower inside of his lips. There are parts of the teeth and gums that a whole bone can’t clean. Like the teeth all the way in the back.

If I was you I would buy some calcium seaweed too so that you can rotate it with the egg shell. If you can afford a grinder..check out Amazon you or invest even in a Vitamix blender. You can than buy small ribs bones at the store and grind them up or blend them up in your Vitamix blender.

[John P]

Hello all,

So I started raw feeding about a month ago. Started on Chicken leg quarters for the first two weeks and then introduced turkey necks on week three. She has been doing really well. Her skin and energy have improved tremendously, and honestly I wish I would’ve started this sooner.

I started introducing some boneless a week ago because her stools were really hard, so I figured too much bone content. I also added chicken hearts gizzards, which she loves.

Now all of a sudden, she doesn’t want to eat anything with a bone in it. I put the leg quarter or turkey neck outside and she doesn’t even touch it. I know bones are an important part of raw feeding, so I’m concerned.

Any suggestions on why she may have stopped eating them? Anyone had a similar issue?

Finally, if she just simply won’t eat it, can you recommend a solution for feeding boneless with a calcium supplement?

Thanks

[Susan]

I would STOP feeding the Royal Canin SO….. When I first recused Patch Patch was put the Royal Canine SO kibble & the SO wet tin food to dissolve his crystals, vet said he was probably used for breeding & got an infection….. Patch was desexed put on antibiotics 2 weeks & the R/C SO for 6 weeks, after the 6 weeks he had another Ultra Scan to see if Patches crystals had dissolve & they had, so vet said now you can put him back on his regular diet, he doesn’t have to keep eating the R/C SO anymore but while eating the R/C SO for 6 weeks, Patch started to itch & scratch, had smelly itchy ears, shaking his head & stunk of yeast, I have since learnt Patch can’t eat Wheat, Corn, Maize, Gluten, Barley & Chicken….
If you can start feeding a raw balanced diet or a cooked balanced diet, the Honest Kitchen has some really good formulas & Base Mixes you just add the protein & the meal is balanced also there’s groups on Face Book you can join “Home Cooking for dogs” “Raw Feeding For Dogs” there’s Monica Segal group called “K-9 Kitchen” https://www.facebook.com/groups/K9Kitchen/
Monica puts up recipes, she has one at the moment “Omega 3 Boost” cookies looks very easy too make, Monica also does consults & special diets for health problems….

With Nelly’s itchy skin & hot spots, bath 5-7 days, weekly baths in an antibacterial shampoo, I use “Malaseb medicated shampoo” its kills any bacteria & leaves the skin & fur feeling sooooo soft & itch free…. change diet to a healthy natural diet, bath weekly or when your dog is itchy & has hot spots, you’ll start to see a big change after changing diet & weekly baths, here’s the Honest Kitchen site “Zeal” or “Brave” are excellent formula’s for dogs with skin problems & low in carbs…. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal

Also google “Dr Judy Morgan” she has diets on You-Tube for dogs with certain health problems & sells the supplements & does consults for diets for health problems..

[anonymously]

Because, it is controversial as to whether or not probiotics and such do that much, if anything.
And sometimes supplements can cause harm. Example:
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=probiotics

In response to: “I’ve starting give her a probiotic and am going to switch shampoos to something to treat subhorreic dermatitis. (Both through my own research, which to vet said would be good. Just wondering why they didn’t suggest it themselves in the first place.) Maybe it’s time to switch vets again”.

PS: Some of those shampoos can be very drying and irritating to the skin. My dog with allergies gets bathed once or twice a week with Malaseb in conjunction with other treatments.

[G.J. S]

Hello,
I am new to the thread, but would like some advise on dosing for Swanson’s Mobility Essentials for my 60 pound Standard poodle. She has been on human glucosamine and chondritin with MSM but none of the other anti-inflammatory’s discussed by Hound Dog Mom.
It was her post of some years ago that got me to try this mix. We live in Canada so the pills have just arrived by mail and I wanted to be sure of a canine dose. Adult dose is 3 caps twice daily. I have been giving her 1 cap three times daily of her present supplement which equates to about 1500 mgm daily. She also takes an Omega supplement. There is some glucosamine, etc. in her Acana kibble but it is negligent. Would appreciate any comments you might have.

[anonymously]

Age 7 is considered a senior, the vets often recommend an exam and lab work at this stage, if you haven’t done so. Excessive licking and hot spots is an indication that something is wrong, I think a visit to the vet may be in order.
I would discuss diet changes with the vet before taking her off of a prescription food.

“Food Allergies are probably over-diagnosed in dogs (they account for, perhaps 5-10%). Hypoallergenic diets are occasionally, but not frequently, helpful in canine atopy cases but you should always give them a try. Food intolerances are more common – but considerably more likely to result in digestive disturbances and diarrhea that in itching problems”.
http://www.2ndchance.info/Apoquel.htm

Check the search engine here for allergies: /forums/search/allergies/

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=allergies You may find some helpful information at this site.

Regarding bladder stones:
/forums/topic/crystalstone-in-bladder/

Often when the infection is treated (antibiotics) and water intake is increased the condition clears up, unless they have another type of stones, also. They can have more than one type. Often there is a genetic component.

The best thing you can do is to increase water intake and offer frequent bathroom breaks, opportunities to urinate. Sure, dogs can hold it, but that’s not good for this condition, You want to keep the bladder flushed. Stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to stone formation.
PS: Has your dog had an x-ray to rule out calcium oxalate stones?
I use a potassium citrate/cranberry supplement I get from Chewy.com. It depends on the type of stones.
It is best to get approval from the veterinarian that is treating the dog before adding anything, and I would go along with the prescription diet for now. PH levels fluctuate and it takes a while (sometimes weeks) to see changes, at least that is what my vet told me.

you may find this site helpful: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/ Recent blog about cranberry supplements.

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/ Regarding raw diets.

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

[Cannoli]

I believe in a rotational diet this is what I feed my dog below on a weekly basis I aim to balance on a weekly basis when it comes to the nutrition components:

High end kibble 3 meals a week- Origen. Usually chicken flavor since I don’t feed raw poultry.

The rest of the days for the week I feed as follows:

Since my dog is 60lbs I feed 2lbs a day with 80% meat 15-20% bone and 5 % organ of the follows:

Raw hormone free grass fed bison- from grocery store or fom Real Raw Dog food online
Raw or lightly cooked hormone free Venison- from Hare today Gone tomorrow
raw or lightly cooked hormone free elk from haretoday gone tomorrow
Raw or lightly cooked hormone free organic beef- fom grocery stor
Grass fed hormone liver, kidneys, and thymus from grocery store- every meat meal
On weekends he gets 2 meals of fish. Fresh caught whole sardines, or fresh caught salmon with skin, or whole Mackeral. Always cooked and these fish have the highest concentrations of omegas 3. I never use fish pills. Fish pills are crap
Green tripe from real raw once a week

for each meat meal I rotate on a daily basis the calcium to get 15-20%. Either ground rib or pork bones, or calcium seaweed, or egg shells. Never neck bones as I fear hypothyroidism.

Also each none kibble meal I add the following organic supplements to the meat dishes. I never feed synthetic supplements:
Tumeric
spirulina
Organic virgin coconut oil-4x week
Kefir- every other week
Apple cider vinegar with the mother-3x a week
Organic egg 4 x a week
Fresh organic blueberry smoothie with kefir
Fresh ground organic ginger

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

[pugmomsandy]

There’s not a long list of very low carb kibbles since kibble is like a bakery product and needs carbs to hold it’s shape. There are brands that use 70% or more protein from animal sources like Acana Regionals USA, some of the Acana Heritage Canada recipes are near 75% animal sourced, Weruva Caloric Melody, Merrick Grain Free, Only Natural Pet Canine Power Food and Orijen currently boasts 80% animal sourced ingredients so their carbs are low. There are alot more low carb choices in canned foods.

Then there are dehydrated foods like ZiwiPeak and Only Natural Pet MaxMeat that are slightly processed so not technically raw but have high protein and low carbs.

There are also supplements you can buy to add to cooked meat to make it a complete diet such as Urban Wolf and Carnivoraw. These don’t require you to add veggies.

[crazy4cats]

Hi stacy 4-
I’m very familiar with soft mushy poop too! Lucky us. LOL! My dogs do better with a more moderate protein and higher fiber kibble. The one they do very best on is PureVita’s grain free turkey formula: http://purevitapetfoods.com/dog-recipes/grain-free/turkey-and-sweet-potato. I only buy it when I can find it on sale, however, due to it’s price.

They also do well on Whole Earth Farms, Nutrisource, 4Health and Victor which all have a little higher than average fiber and are much more budget friendly.

I also add toppers to some of their meals, which I think help as well such as tripe and frozen commercial raw.

Here is a link to a website which was very helpful when my dogs were going through that stage: http://www.dogaware.com/health/digestive.html

I used some of the supplements on that site, but am pretty much supplement free now, except for occasional probiotics.

Best of luck to you and your furries!

[Shannon D]

I am so glad I found this thread!!! I have a 1.5 yr old American Staffordshire Terrier named Lola. In January I noticed she wasn’t looking/acting normal so I took her to the vet. She always drank a ton of water. At first the vet kinda touched her back and said she may have pulled a muscle and that they could do a panel to check her cell count. Or he said they could do a full panel to get more information. I opted to do the full panel. Come to find out it was a good thing I did. Her results were:

BUN 130 mg
CREA 7.5 mg
PHOS 15.7 mg

They weren’t sure if she had got into toxins or what. I left her at the vet so they could give her fluids and antibiotics. That was on a Monday. They re-tested her on Wednesday.

BUN 90 mg
CREA 5.2 mg
PHOS 8.2 mg

So, she stayed. They re-tested on Friday:

BUN 85 mg
CREA 7 mg
PHOS 10.7 mg

At this point they weren’t sure what was going on. So they did an ultrasound. The vet said her kidneys were abnormal and it was probably something she was born with. They also told me there isn’t anything else they could do at this point, take her home and re-test in a week.
They offered me nothing. Just told me to take her home and make her happy. Put her on the Hills K/D diet and make sure she gets water. I asked about subq fluids and the vet told me they only do that for cats. That it would be too much fluid under the dogs skin.

I researched on my own and found an internal medicine specialist. I was able to get an appointment within a couple days. They re-tested everything and re-did the ultrasound.

BUN 85 mg
CREA 7.0 mg
PHOS 10.7 mg

She is also has alot of protein in her urine and high blood pressure.

He agreed that she was probably born this way and diagnosed her with Stage 4 -Chronic kidney disease (CKD)- most consistent with congenital kidney disease. He said she won’t make it to 5 years old. That we are on borrowed time. He told me that he wasn’t sure how she was up walking around with the numbers she has. She acts completely normal! To look at her you would think there is nothing wrong with her. They advised to keep her on the Hills K/D. They put her on blood pressure medication, along with a probiotic Azodyl and a phosphorus binder, and Epakitin. Said to re-test in a week.

Re-test after adding everything:

BUN 80 mg
CREA 8.6 mg
PHOS 11.4 mg

They then added another phosphorus binder and we know do 500ml of subq fluids a night. She doesn’t drink nearly as much water as she used to. If she starts to drink everyone stops and is really quiet to make sure we don’t bother her. Like watching an animal in the wild. 🙂

Fast forward to her latest test results as of 3/16/16

BUN 72 mg
CREA 8.3 mg
PHOS 8.8 mg

They wanted us to recheck in a month. But my husband and I discussed it and decided to wait because if her numbers are better they will say continue what you are doing or if they are worse or the same, they will say continue what you are doing. I pay about $200 every time they test.

They offer no hope, no suggestions of supplements or anything else we can do. Just take her home and keep her happy.

She has good days and some bad days where she doesn’t want to eat. But most of the time she looks and acts normal. You would never know she has kidney disease. Expect that she is now alittle aggressive toward our other dogs and we can’t have them together anymore. I’m not sure if that is because she doesn’t feel good or just being moody.

I have tried to research foods, supplements etc. It is so overwhelming!!! I don’t want to give up hope for our pretty little Lola.

Thank you for listening.

[Anand V]

Hi there,

I’ve been feeding my 9 1/2 y/o Alaskan Malmaute a dehydrated raw diet….she was already on it when I adopted her 3 years ago. She eats Honest Kitchen Thrive – Chicken and Quinoa. It has done her well but she does have some skin issues and it was suggested I try a raw diet from Big Country Raw (BCR). They’re not too far away from me towards the Niagara region. I haven’t found any reviews that you have done on this product under your rating system. I have read some others mention that supplements may be needed. Any input you can provide would be greatly appreciated. It sounds like a great product and is also budget friendly versus Honest Kitchen. That’s not the main reason I want to switch…doing it more to help my dog have healthier skin and fur….that means more than the $$$ I spend on her food.

http://www.bigcountryraw.ca/index.php

Thanks.

[anonymously]

I suppose you could try a daily fish oil capsule, once you have ruled out medical causes….it is not medicine, it is a supplement and may help (a little if at all) with dry skin.

PS: Have thyroid issues been ruled out?

[anonymously]

What is his diagnosis? It might make sense to take him to a dermatologist, especially if this has been going on for a while.
Otherwise, how do you expect people on the internet who may or may not have any veterinary experience and who have not examined your dog or reviewed his medical history to give you any meaningful advice?
Coconut oil and supplements do not help, imo.
PS: Has he had a senior workup? If not, he is due, lab work and some testing could reveal the cause for his dry skin/hair loss condition.

Coconut Oil for Pets?

[Liz B]

I have my 8 y/0 Shepard Akita mix on a very expensive dry food -Orijen- plus a homemade liver supplement added in. He’s been on this for over a year. He still has a dry, flaky coat and his tail looks more like a palm frond. It used to be a very thick-plumed tail. I don’t know what else to do. He is otherwise pretty healthy and fit. Does coconut oil help?

[Oceans11]

Bobby Dog, does your dog seem to mind the Carnivore supplement?

[Bobby dog]

I would suggest you contact Balance IT to see if they might have some recommendations for you. I have never contacted them by telephone just e-mail; they have always responded quickly.

I really like the Carnivore Blend and decided to try it for a few reasons. I was afraid my dog might not take to a supplement if I needed to use a large quantity. So I played around with the recipes before I ordered. I plugged what he liked into the recipe generator to find recipes that required the least amount of supplement. The recipes I came up with are very simple and are mostly animal protein. I also intended to use it for my cats; they are the most finicky eaters ever. Their recipes don’t require much of it either.

Prior to buying Carnivore Blend I used another mix for a month. My dog liked it, but I did not feel it was as precise as the Balance IT supplements. It required the same amount of mix no matter the protein. The weight range for the amount of supplement used was 20 lbs. so a dog weighing 20 lbs. more than Bobby would get the same amount. I felt if I was taking the time to make his food it should be tailored to my dog. He did like the mix so I created a Balance IT recipe that is similar. He seems to enjoy eating this recipe most. Good luck, I hope my info helped.

[donald f]

I can tell you from years of personal experience with a mini schnauzer who had calcium/oxalate (CaOx) stones, that if your dog has CaOx stones, you can completely eliminate them and prevent them by searching on the internet for the FuzzerFood diet created by Leslie Bean, and feeding it to your dog. It is a combination of home cooked, low oxalate food (typically chicken, broccoli and rice, and certain inexpensive supplements), easy to prepare in advance and even freeze individual meals. My holistic vet gave me an article out of the Whole Dog Journal that explained all. This protocol gave my Max many years of fun life after already having stones removed surgically by another vet. Going further, join the K9KidneyDiet yahoo group. Leslie posts on that frequently. It is a huge source of support and knowledge by people who live and breath canine chemistry. Its topic are limited to kidney/renal issues and bladder stone issues- both CaOx and struvite stones. I am happy to pdf a copy of the WDJ article to anyone whose dog has an issue with stones. oulalaw13@aol.com
Oh and BTW, the K9Kidney group is ultra critical about commercial “vet” sold foods purporting to be for dogs with stones, and recommends none for stone issues due to other chemicals in the food. Home cooking your dog’s food does take a little more work, but it is SOOO worth it for a dog with recurring stones.

[Susan]

Hi, have a look at Dr Judy Morgan, http://www.drjudymorgan.com/articles/food-therapy/
Dr Judy has cooked meals on You-Tube & sells the supplements to balance meals, she also uses the Honest Kitchen Base Mixes to add to her meat loaf for one of her sick dogs…have you tried adding some sweet potato or boiled potato & some boiled broccoli instead of the rice, swap them around a bit…after you stop the Prilosec if Patch seems to have acid reflux give some Liquid Mylanta about 4mls in a syringe, I found the Mylanta seems to help the best… cause when they are on an acid reducer some days they don’t have acid reflux, so they don’t need to be taken an acid reducer all the time also look up “Hypochlorhydria” is lack of Stomach Acid, as we get older we start making less Hydrochloric acid & have trouble digesting foods & an ant acid can make it worse, so I like to use Mylanta when Patch gets his acid reflux…..low fat diet is best …..Good-Luck with Patch, I hope Patch starts feeling better soon… 🙂

[Oceans11]

Does anyone have experience with either of the supplements? I have two Coton de Tulears. One is a picky eater and the other eats most food. We have been feeding them chicken or ground beef as the picky eater won’t eat most highly recommended canned food. I know this all protein diet is not good. We ended up cooking it for them in order to get them to eat. Now they don’t like that. I purchased Balance It which is a supplement to add to their menus which you prepare. They absolutely don’t like it. Their stools are blackish and runny. I have no idea what is causing this and running out of ideas of what to feed them. I feel like I am at my wits end and would really appreciate your thoughts on the supplements and on the stools.

[anonymously]

Have you checked the search engine at this site for “bladder stones”

Example: /forums/topic/crystalstone-in-bladder/

Often when the infection is treated (antibiotics) and water intake is increased the condition clears up, unless they have another type of stones, also. They can have more than one type. Often there is a genetic component.

The best thing you can do is to increase water intake and offer frequent bathroom breaks, opportunities to urinate. Sure, dogs can hold it, but that’s not good for this condition, You want to keep the bladder flushed. Stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to stone formation.
PS: Has your dog had an x-ray to rule out calcium oxalate stones?
I use a potassium citrate/cranberry supplement I get from Chewy.com. It depends on the type of stones.
It is best to get approval from the veterinarian that is treating the dog before adding anything, and I would go along with the prescription diet for now. PH levels fluctuate and it takes a while (sometimes weeks) to see changes, at least that is what my vet told me.

you may find this site helpful: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/ Recent blog about cranberry supplements.
I don’t know what you are talking about “So Index”. I would listen to the vet and use the prescription food, just a a bite of something tasty, pre-soak it overnight, a spoonful of plain chicken broth…he’s right, cranberry will not clear up crystals. Antibiotics will, but they will come back if you don’t make necessary changes.

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

[Heather C]

Thanks for getting back and so sad to hear about your pup! The only thing our dog eats is the prescribed food, kibble and wet, even when we stuff his Kongs. Outside of that its water and occasionally he too will eat grass – though I haven’t seen him eat grass in a while (we used to joke he was part cow but now realize it was because of his digestive system … Poor guy). When we thought he had chronic pancreatitis we actually had him on a home cooked meal with a supplement, but it never agreed with him (and we did try slowly changing him to a few different recipes per our vet). The Royal Canine Potatoe Whitefish doesn’t have any beet pulp, and it’s not a kibble that can just be picked up at the vet, even the vet has to special order it. It’s also hydrolized so the protein is broken down to its smallest digestible form. Stool wise it is the best we’ve seen – before he would strain to go, have diarrhea, blood, mucus like substance, etc, it was terrible. I’m not against a home cooked diet and I’m not against something more holistic, but we’ve been down that road to disappointing results – though we thought we were treating chronic pancreatitis and not bowel disease at the time. {Sigh}

The strange thing is other than not wanting to eat as much he seems normal, he’s sleeping through the night, he’s not grinding his teeth or vomiting like Patch … It’s just really frustrating and I agree, I wish he could just talk to me.

You’ve given a lot of helpful information and I’m curious about the Pepcid. I may reach out to the vet much to the chagrin of my husband – I’d rather be safe than sorry. If you have any other advice let me know.

[Susan]

Hi, Patch 7 yrs old suffers with IBD, Helicobacter-Pylori (bad Acid Reflux) & Pancreatitis sounds like the Pepcid isn’t working anymore or he doesn’t need it any more or what are you putting in the Kongs ?? its not Peanut Butter? or his kibble needs changing its making him feel sick …..IBD can make them feel sick especially after they eat…Patch wakes up feeling good he eats breakfast then from 9am to 12pm he doesn’t feel well some mornings. Grass seems to be the only thing that makes him feel better, I have stopped giving the ant acids now…. only use as needed..

Try stopping the Pepcid for a couple of days & see if he feels better, Patch vomited when he took the Pepcid & was put on Zantac (Ranitidine) instead given 30mins before breakfast & dinner given every 12 hours, then after 3 months it didn’t seem to work anymore, he still had bad acid reflux & was still grinding his teeth & vomiting yellow acid some mornings but he was eating a vet diet that had fish oil & Beet Pulp in kibble that made his acid reflux worse…
I now only give liquid Mylanta 4-5mls in a syringe kept in the fridge only when he needs it, the Mylanta seems to work the best…..
I started to realise Patch wasn’t making enough stomach acid & some days he wasn’t getting acid reflux & I was still giving him ant acid medication, so stomach wasn’t working properly…. as we get older we make less hydrochloric acid it’s called “Hypochlorhydria”

Vet didn’t want Patch on Losec (Omeprazole) cause its a Pump Proton Inhibitor (PPI) & you can not just stop taking a PPI Losec after you have taken it for more then 3 weeks but vet did say I can give Patch the Losec 10mg for 3-4 days then I stop but only when Patch has bad acid reflux…Zantac & Pepcid can be stopped at anytime…So be careful if vet puts him on a PPI…

I have found I have to keep changing Patches kibbles & rotating them & no vet diets, if he stays on the same kibble for more then 2 months, his acid reflux starts to come back also I read when they have acid reflux they need a low fiber kibble 3-4% fiber & no Beet Pulp, Does the kibble he’s eating have “Beet Pulp” ?? it makes their poos look beautiful & firm, so everything looks OK cause poos are firm & look good, its the beet pulp making the poos firm…most vet diets use Beet Pulp….
When the Kibble has beet Pulp it made Patches acid reflux bad again, I started doing so much research & read low fiber diets are best when they have Acid Reflux thru IBD & if you can start feeding a balanced cooked diet will be better then eating a kibble, feed lean meats boil some potatoes, sweet potato & green vegetables, Google Dr Judy Morgan she has easy to follow recipes on You-Tube & she uses the Honest Kitchen Base Mixes in some of her meals you just add the meat & the Base Mixes balances the meal, she also has supplements to balance the cooked meals also have a look at the Honest Kitchen Zeal its low in fat & excellent for dogs with Pancreatitis & IBD…you just add warm water..
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal
I started feeding cooked chicken breast, sweet potato & broccoli & replacing 1 kibble meal, I’m feeding “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain now, I’m going to try Canidae Pure Land you cant have too much high fat in a kibble with acid reflux so I normally stay around 10-14% for fat but in Australia we have 1 low fat grain free kibble & the fiber is high 5%….I’m waiting cause Canidae has 4 new grain free formulas, Pure Meadows, is for seniors & is 10% fat & limited ingredients & grain free, if you live in America you can get the Canidae Pure Meadow.. I also want to try the Pure Wild its boar & Pork…
I was feeding Patch Salmon & Sardine kibbles but I think the fish gives him his acid reflux also certain kibbles he starts getting his pain right side pancreas/stomach area & wants me to rub the chest area, he starts his whinging when he has his pain again & doesn’t really want to eat so I change his food, I have to introduce the new kibble over 1 week……I make sure the kibble doesn’t have fish oil & has limited ingredients…. I wish they could talk….. if you can cook & freeze meals give it a try cause kibble is hard to digest especially on the pancreas….

[Susan]

Hi Tamara change vets, I went thru 3 vets before I found Patches good vet, she’s into natural healing, feeding fresh foods as well….
I can’t see how boiled vegetables will kill your dog, they have no fat in them at all… have you joined the “Canine Pancreatitis” Face Book Group?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1435920120029740/
The ladies in the Canine Pancreatitis group are very helpful. Look in the files… click on “Non RX foods” all wet tin foods that you can feed your dog will come up that are feed to dogs with Pancreatitis……Your dog can’t just live on boiled chicken, he needs his vitamins, minerals, omega fatty acid etc he’ll start to get dry itchy skin & loss weight…
The Honest Kitchen Zeal is low in fat-8.5% & is for seniors & dogs with Pancreatitis, IBD……all you do is add water, don’t add too much water, some people say its a bit sloppy, so add less water then is recommended….
Dr Judy Morgan uses the Honest Kitchen “Base Mixes” you just add your lean meat, Judy makes a few meat loaves for her sick little girl… you can find Dr Judy Morgan recipes on You-Tube she also sell supplements & has a Face Book page & answers all post & msg…. The Honest Kitchen sell samples, so you can try a few Zeal samples first, your dog will probably love it & its balanced & human grade ingredients … http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal

[Howard J]

Hi Tamara!

I have a similar dog as you and she also suffered with pancreatitis. For our Carine Terrier we had to do a lot of trial and error to figure out what was best for her. Firstly, she was overweight, 19lbs; 4.5lbs overweight in November of 2015. She is now 14.6 and staying steady. One reason she might of lost so much weight was because she had EPI from the pancreatitis episode in 2015. So she wasn’t absorbing as many nutrients. We also focused on exercise a lot more.

In regards to PANCREATITIS, we put her on a strict diet for about a month after her episode. Chicken boiled twice, white rice, sometimes a starchy food like Yam or sweet potatoes steamed and/or boiled. We should of supplemented with vitamins at this time but we were a little ignorant. Anyway, after this we bought HONEST KITCHEN Zeal Meal fish formula and HONEST KITCHEN veggie formula which is just a topping if you feed her protein such as fish boiled or chicken boiled. For 5 months we have been on a regime feeding her twice a day, either the zeal meal, ground up in a blender for a sec. Or the Honest Kitchen veggie topping dehydrated one. Both need hot water and let sit for 5min. The veggie one is mixed with fish, chicken or 95% lean twice boiled beef. We introduce more fat like coconut oil which doesn’t require the pancreas to work like other fats in small amounts.

NO TABLE SCRAPS PERIOD!! Supplements are what saved our dog. She has more energy than she did when she was 7. For every meal and what I think is the most important for dogs suffering with pancreatitis is an enzyme replacement. You can get them from your vet but we just use the vegan powder formula on amazon. Not too much money and lasts a year. We sprinkle 1/2 a teaspoon on her food for nutrient absorption and so her pancreas doesn’t have to work as hard. The brand is called Nusentia Enzyme Miracle.

Other supplements include pancreatrophin from standard process, which also aids in her digestion, paraplex and enteric powder all from standard process. We barely use the last two.

I hope this helps a lot, we had to go through the same thing, it’s important to stay low fat, but not too low and to add in enzymes slowly.

[Kirk R]

I am looking to find a good probiotic and digestive enzymes supplement for dogs. I have a 7 year old English Bulldog who is absolutely my best friend. I believe he has food allergies that are causing chronic ear infections so I have been switching his food to hopefully solve the food allergy mystery. I have been fed him Taste of the wild, Zignature, Fromm Gold Coast – all limited ingredient and no wheat or chicken and I now have him on Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Hydrolyzed Protein Moderate Calorie Dry Dog Food $100/24lbs – bit expensive . Switching foods sometimes cause diarrhea so I have been mixing pumpkin in his food as a probiotic/prebiotic (I forget which it is) in hopes of building up his immune system in his digestive track. That is what has led me to search for Probiotics and digestive enzymes. Any suggestions to help my buddy out sure would be appreciated. Thank you

[Melanie B]

I have a 14 year old JRT that I am starting to notice some arthritis in (nothing severe) and I got Element 5 Green-Lipped Mussel Supplement for her. I like this brand because it is a Canadian family owned company. Just started giving it to her but am wondering if anyone else has used this supplement before or used green-lipped mussel before. Did you notice a difference and did it help?

[crazy4cats]

Oh boy, Mine also had giardia and unfortunately, it took months for their tummies to get better afterwards for some reason. I had a hard time getting rid of it though. I would think about using another round of Panacur for five days unless you are absolutely sure that he is rid of it. You mentioned using Flagyl (metronidazole) which is an antibiotic and can cause their tummies to be out of balance. Therefore, I’d definitely continue with probiotics. Forti Flora by Purina worked well for us. It isn’t one that I’d use for maintennce. But, good for when they have diarrhea.

I used a lot of the supplements that are mentioned on the dogaware link that I provided above. Mostly Vetri Science Probiotic BD, Gastriplex as well as the Perfect Form I mentioned earlier. Some of them contain both probiotics and digestive enzymes, but also some healing ingredients as well. Only use one at a time until you see if it helps at all.

I fed them as if they had colitis, (yes, I have two littermates) adding some fiber and applesauce for the pectin. I would feed a moderate protein and fat food for now. Nutrisource large breed puppy food might be a good one.

There is hope, however. My dogs are doing well now. We can switch kibble and toppers up now without any digestive upset!!!! Woo Hoo! Best of luck to you!

[FIREMAN29]

I did forget to mention that he had giardia as a puppy around 8 weeks old but since then no other parasites. We’ve sent in about a half-dozen fecal tests in since this has all started and the only one to come back positive was the aforementioned one.

Do you think we should stick with the current food for now and supplement that with a digestive aid?

[crazy4cats]

Hi Fireman29-
That was awesome of your friend to take in the pregnant puppy!

Have you had a recent fecal test done? If not, I would recommend taking in a stool sample and having it checked for all types of worms and parasites, including Giardia and Coccidia. They are common in puppies and can cause intermittent soft stools and diarrhea.

The supplement called Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen was very helpful when we were going through this with our puppies. But, no supplement will fix it if they have worms or parasites.

Here is a link that may be helpful: http://www.dogaware.com/health/digestive.html

Good luck!

[Claudia H]

My Selene is a blue nose pit (16 months old in April 2016). We tried changing diet, went to the vet, she got antibiotic, etc. but nothing really work until after reading different blogs, we decided to do this and it worked:
Dry food: salmon (NOW brand). Then we switched to other ingredients but no chicken.
I sometimes top the dry with half a cup of Evangers rabbit. Somebody told me rabbit is a cooling meat.
We did use fish oil as a supplement prescribed by the vet but we don’t use it all the time.
I sometimes put a spoonful of plain yogurt on top of dry food.
Once a week, Selene gets a bath with Dermal Soothe with Vetoquinol (i purchased thru Amazon).
Her skin is so healthy!!!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 12 months ago by Claudia H.

[Nic M]

Dear Jenn H,
I belive you make some excellent points about the use of pesticides and in showing that the possibility that someone could live their life without harming any creatures is nonexistent. However, the point of veganism/ vegetarianism is not to completely eliminate animal death and suffering but to reduce it is much as possible. Any pragmatic human being must recognize that to exist is to destroy, but that doesn’t mean that you can try to reign in your incumbent destruction. I’d also like to speak to the bulk of your argument. While by no means entirely wrong, it is a bit misleading (which I recognize may be entirely unintentional). I will readily concede that the agricultural system which you described, when practiced perfectly, would result in less overall deaths than crop production, but theven system which you mentioned is a rarity in the modern agribusiness system. The vast majority of animals used for food purposes are fed a diet consisting of corn, soy, nutritional supplements, and other grains for all of their lives ( a notable exception is ruminants like cattle which graze for the first couple of years of their lives and are later transferred onto the system which I am referring to). Livestock converts this feed into energy at a horrible rate with chickens and swine converting feed to energy at around a 50% efficiency rate and cattle at only a 10% efficiency rate. These rates can vary greatly depending on the breed of animal and other factors but no matter what an animal will always use more food energy than it produces in the form of bodily tissues because most of the energy goes to maintaining basic metabolic processes and the leftover is turned into mass. So most animals will utilize the crop production system that kills much of the local wildlife and then still be killed themselves. By eating the crop directly you are killing far fewer animals. As a matter of fact, equation for how many animals more you kill by eating meat calories as opposed to plant calories would be [ (animals killed per crop calorie/ efficiency rate of livestock) +1]-animals killed per crop calorie. All in all, if you care about animals the best way would to live would be to grow as much of your own food as possible, eating mainly a plant based diet and supplementing it with meat you raise yourself in the livestock production system you described Jenn.
Thanks for your insight. I appreciate your use of logic instead of sputtering guttural pathetic crap in all caps

[Rhonda F]

My dog has colitis and was put on royal canine fiber response, which took care of the problem, but I was not happy with the ingredients – corn, cellulose, wheat gluten. I went to a feed store and they recommended Natural Balance Synergy. Said it took care of many digestive issues. They cook the food and then coat with a prebiotic. I tried it , but supplement with a tsp/day of psyllium husk. My dog is doing great!!

[Joelle V]

I have fed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, the salmon canned food for several years. My Portuguese Water Dog who has a very sensitive stomach, and I supplement for this, has done well. Interesting to see your post because after TOTW changed the food visually, it is a lighter color, and soft chunks are larger, and I saw nothing of a formula change, I started looking for other fish based canned foods. I just tried Instinct salmon on the best list, and it is unfortunately a pate, and these seem harder to eat for my dog. She gulps her food. I have tried others best rated too, including Weruva tuna. I like this one, but it seemed that my dog has less energy on this food. So, I am may go back to TOTW canned even though it is not a 5 on the list.
If anyone has a great salmon that is not a pate, please let me know!
Thank you!

[Susan]

Hi, can you cook for her, some chicken breast, some potato & some boil broccoli make a few meals & put in the fridge look up “Dr Judy Morgan” she has good easy meals on
YouTube & go on Dr Judy Morgan’s face Book page & her site she sells supplements as well, she makes certain meals for her sick dogs, she has a few sick Cavilers..she also will answer any msg you send her for help..

[zcRiley]

Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM as a daily supplement, it’s the best because your dog will actually show signs of better mobility. And Zignature Zssentials for dry kibble. One of my pups has partially torn ligaments, no surgery and you’d never know he’s crippled. My other baby has sports injuries once in awhile, too. Just follow a suitable exercise regimen for your type of breed while considering age and weight.

[C4D]

Hi Michael,

There is no food that provides enough glucosamine and chondroitin. I’ve had several dogs with joint issues for many years. I feed grain and potato free (potatoes exacerbate inflammation) and supplement with human grade fish oil and joint supplements. You have to be careful if using human joint supplements that there aren’t added vitamins. Your vet might be willing to give you suggestions. You also have to adjust the dosage. My current senior dog is doing well and still extremely active.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 12 months ago by C4D.

[InkedMarie]

Hi Michael,
Foods that have glucosamine & chondroitin aren’t generally woth it as the amount of the supplements are “cooked out” of the food. You’re better to give a separate joint supplement.
It has been said that grains are inflammatory so you’d be better to feed a grain free food.

[moti r]

Maybe try to give your dog a regular quality food as your choice , and a as a supplement
glocosamine and chrodentine.

[Coonhound Mama]

I would agree with Pit Love- a nutritionist would be your safest and best bet. There are some very important things you don’t want to guesstimate on such as calcium/phosphorus ratios, especially since GSDs are large breed dogs. It is crucial to get ratios in balance at this stage. Definitely check out this link for some supplemental resources for starting puppies on raw:

http://perfectlyrawsome.com/dogs/raw-feeding-puppies/

[anonymously]

Did the veterinarian do an ultrasound/x-ray to rule out a blockage? That’s what I would have had done, going by the symptoms you describe.
Be careful reading stuff on those homeopathic sites……I find science based medicine more helpful. Supplements can cause harm.

PS: Yes, the blood test to rule out pancreatitis is important, that is how they diagnose or rule out pancreatitis. I would consider seeing an Internal Medicine Specialist and get the dog properly diagnosed as soon as possible.

[Susan]

Hi, sounds like your rescue dog was feed home cooked meals or what his owner was eating for dinner…. He’s a very smart dog, kibbles are processed & quick & easy for us, I’d take back all the kibbles & get a refund tell pet shop he wont eat the kibble he’s a rescue….Join Face Book groups like “Home Cooking for dogs” or “Cooking For Dogs” also you can start looking up balanced home made meals, here’s Dr Judy Morgan she also sells the supplements to balance the meals she’s on Face Book & will answer ur msg if you need any help…….Judy uses the Honest Kitchen Base mix in this meat loaf so its balanced… “Honest Kitchen” have samples you can buy & try.. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food

[anonymously]

Please do not add any supplements to the diet or apply over the counter creams to the skin, especially those intended for human use. Unless prescribed or recommended by a veterinarian who has ideally examined the dog. You could irritate his condition and make things worse.

I say this because I made this mistake and was told the above by the emergency vet….that’s where we ended up.

[gina m]

It’s been more than a year ago that i posted on here regarding my terrier mix Dolly’s gulping. I don’t know what we did but she stopped having her panic/gulping/eating grass frenzy. We still don’t know what was the issue but i wanted to post what we did.

Dolly is 8 years old and we adopted her along with her brother a year and a half ago. She came with the gulping issue and super allergic to seasonal pollen and allergic to any bug bites (ticks, flea, mosquito, etc). Her teeth were ground down and causing irritation so some of her teeth had to be removed. She had a few lumps on her body which one was cancerous so we’re glad we were proactive and removed it.

After all these issues: we stopped giving her any chicken, beef, pork (mass produced meat) but stuck with venison & rabbit wet food – Royal Canin from the vet, and anchovy dry food from Forza. Additional supplements of enzyme and probiotic. Cosequin for her joints. Famotidine for heart burns (though i’m thinking of stop giving this to her to see if she still needs this daily). Zyrtec in the morning and Benadryl at night for her allergy. We give her Sentinel and Bravecto for fleas and ticks and heart worm. And we shampoo her once a week.

After continuing this for a year, her gulping has stopped since last summer. A small gulping happened few weeks ago but I realized we gave her a lot of cheese the day before (she loves cheese) so no more cheese for her. I think dairy might be causing it as well, as I remember giving her yogurt thinking that it will help with the gulping but may have been causing it.

Hope this helps someone or gave them a clue for a cure.

[Rebecca` O]

Hey,

Have you heard of Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic? It works wonders on dogs skin, rashes, darndruff, scratching. It took about 4 weeks of sprinkling it on his normal food, 2 teaspoons a day. It’s made with pre and pro biotics and is all natural and vet reccommended.

They also have an offer on it now for 15% off that ends this week so I’ve been stocking up!

If it doesn’t work you can send the empty pack back and they give you a refund, so nothing to lose really!

Bionic Biotic

[Rebecca` O]

Hey all,

I’ve found Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic to stop my dog’s scratching and biting paws altogether. It took about 4 weeks of sprinkling it on his normal food, 2 teaspoons a day.

They also have an offer on it now for 15% off that ends this week so I’ve been stocking up!

If it doesn’t work you can send the empty pack back and they give you a refund, so nothing to lose really!

Bionic Biotic

[Rebecca` O]

Hey Peggy,

I’m conscious of overloading you with loads of solutions but I’ve really found Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic to stop my dog’s scratching and biting paws altogether. It took about 4 weeks of sprinkling it on his normal food, 2 teaspoons a day.

They also have an offer on it now for 15% off that ends this week so I’ve been stocking up!

If it doesn’t work you can send the empty pack back and they give you a refund, so nothing to lose really!

Bionic Biotic

[Susan]

Hi Carlene, I feel for your poor dog, your story reminded me of my Patch that I rescued 3 years ago, I also have tried all the ant acid meds until I read about not making enough Hydrochloric acid, its called Hypochlorhydria low stomach acid, this year I stopped any meds on Patch the end of 2015 all I used was liquid Mylanta & the Metronidazole for 7 days in October 2015, the ant acids seemed to make Patch worse not better & his mouth started to smell like food was fermenting in his stomach & not digesting, after he took Losec the Moltium you have Reglan in America made his breath smell like food was fermenting vet didn’t want him on the Moltium…
2016 all I gave Patch was grass, grass growing out the back yard, i’d wash grass under cool water dry in a tea towel & feed Patch 1 blade of grass at a time about 5-6 pieces, then he’d either spew up un-digested kibble or he’d feel better & want to play,no more Mylanta nothing, then a lady told me LOW FIBER diet, I was lowering the fat% always feeding kibbles from 8% fat to 13% it made no difference then I saw on a EPI F/B group their dogs were doing really well on the “Taste Of The Wild” Pacific Stream, the fat is 15% & the fiber is 3%, I live Australia & we still have the old formula with no peas & no garbanzo beans, its just Salmon, Ocean Fish Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Canola Oil, Salmon, Smoked Salmon Meal, probiotics… finally Patches acid reflux, grinding his teeth, all stopped, no waking up grinding his teeth, another thing I have found I have to do is change his kibble every month if he eats the same kibble or cooked diet for more then 5 weeks, he gets food sensitivities & all his symptoms come back, so now I’m feeding the “Taste of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb in 1 month I’m trying Canidae Pure Lamb limited ingredients then going back to the TOTW Pacific stream smoke Salmon & going to rotate his kibbles, Becareful with the Prilosec its a Pump Proton Inhibitor you can not just stop taking it after taken a PPI’s for 1 month, my vet said NO to the Losec & I was to only use it for 3-4days then stop also I use Metronidazole for 7-10days that’s what I did in October & January 2016 & after I stop the Metronidazole Patch does real well as soon as I see him have his acid reflux grinding his teeth for more then 3-4 days I’m giving the Metronidazole again, have you tried any Calming supplements??
Since the grass works the best now with Patch I’m going to buy some Chlorophyll liquid, look at what is in the kibble she is eating now write down everything protein% fat% fiber% ingredients, & look for another kibble that’s the same BUT a different protein & start rotating in 3 weeks, I also feed 4 small meals a day, 7am I give 3/4 cup TOTW Roasted Lamb, 12pm under 1/2 cup TOTW Roasted Lamb, 5pm the TOTW Smoked Salmon & 8pm 1/2 cup cooked chicken & sweet potatoes or a low fat wet tin food, 2% fat but I have just started that this week…. I don’t know why Patch has finally gotten better & gained weight I don’t know what I did but something has fixed his IBD, all I’ve done is changed his food every month & feed something different for breakfast & dinner & the grass & the Metronidazole when the acid reflux doesn’t go away, Patches vet wanted Patch on a low dose of the Metronidazole 200mg a day for 6months she said the Metronidazole works for her IBD dogs with stomach problems, I just gave for 21 days then stopped, I hate giving any tablets they seem to make Patch worse, I hope everything you’ve been thru you find the answers for your poor girl…..I really believe stress plays a big part..

[Rebecca` O]

Hey,

I was reading this thread and couldn’t help but wonder if you have ever tried Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic?

It’s a natural health supplement and can be sprinkled on any food for scratching, biting, itching, and other things like solid stools, digestion, and just overall health! It has pre and probiotics in and might be worth a try. They currently have 15% off and full money back guarantee if you don’t see a results, you just need to send the empty pack back. Loads of good reviews on their website and it really worked for my dogs (www.poochandmutt.com/product-reviews/)

Bionic Biotic

[Josie F]

I have to disagree with “anonymous”. And here’s why- We’ve been using Nuvet Plus with our dog for almost 3 years. When we got him, he was a rescue who had been sitting in a box on the side of the road for who knows how long. Someone found him and his sister, and brought them to a vet. They were covered with fleas, had demoxdex, severe allergies and a bunch of other health issues. We fell in love with him- hair loss, red spots and all and decided we would do everything we could to get him better. We tried EVERYTHING to get the demodex to clear up, and it was awful for him (And us!) I was devastated.

I searched around constantly for a cure, and then ran into an old friend of mine who worked for a holistic vet, and she said to try NuVet. I did my own research, and read some of the nuvet reviews and saw a lot of other people who’s dogs had issues with hair loss and allergies- and it HELPED, and so I figured it was worth a shot. If it didn’t work, I’d get my money back.

Well- it didn’t hurt, it actually cleared his issues up. We made no other changes, stopped the (like Acid!) baths for the demodex, stopped the antibiotics (we felt he was on them too long anyways) and made sure to watch closely what was in his food. And within 2 months, his fur was regrowing. It took about 6 months to clear up fully. I’ve kept him on it ever since, and he’s 3 now, and hasn’t had a single issue with his coat or skin. He’s shiny, happy and healthy.

I don’t see how people say it’s snake oil- it’s easy to see what each ingredient does, and doing your own research will show you that some people have seen those things help with certain ailments in their pets. I take vitamins for myself, my husband and children take them as well, and have seen them work consistently, along with the right nutrition, so why wouldn’t I do that for my dog too? I know that not every supplement or even every medicine (as we proved in the past) is going to work with every animal but this one worked for my dog and I’m grateful. I’d recommend at least trying nuvet to any pet owner who is seeing similar issues.