[Jane R]

UPDATE to my post from 3/3/21: My dog’s licking, gulping episodes. hacking, along with tummy noises have pretty much completely stopped. Over the last 5 months, she has had a couple of episodes that lasted a couple of minutes. At that point I would let her go outside as it’s better to let her eat grass than what she can find indoors. Otherwise she’s been doing great!

So along with trial and error, and results from GI/barium study…The KEY things that has helped her are: 1. feeding her 3 small meals a day (versus 2 larger ones before); 2. no more essential oils, scented candles, scented laundry detergent, etc. 3. strict diet of her dog food (Fromm’s dry Duck mixed with a spoon or two of Purina ONE SmartBlend Tender Cuts in Gravy Chicken & Brown Rice or Purina ONE SmartBlend Tender Cuts in Gravy Lamb & Brown Rice as they are low in fat content), plain cooked chicken breast, Old Mother Hubbard dog biscuits treats, or dry dog biscuit for treats.

I had a barium/GI study done on her at the vet’s and was able to rule out any issues with how her food traveled from mouth through her GI tract…everything was normal. So that’s when I tried the three things listed above and it has been key to stopping the licking, gulping, etc, episodes.

What I’ve learned that can trigger her episodes are numerous things: eating too much at once, eating too fast, any food with higher fat content including all oil related supplements (fish oil, coconut oil, etc), fragrances. I’m also leery of any supplements for her at this point.

Bland is BEST; LESS is more. It took alot of trial and error, online research, vet visits, trying acid reflux medications, and reading all the helpful posts here too. When she has to take antibiotics from the vet, they can upset her tummy so he puts her on a pre-biotic he has at his office along with the antibiotic and it works great!

[Thomas Carroll]

He is a pet lab(English Labrador). He weighs 75lbs. He is somewhat slender for his size and does not have a large chest.
I am aware of the other factors that can reduce the risk of bloat besides ingredients in dog food, and am just looking for a recommendation for food and also any supplements that would help to reduce the risk of bloat.

[Thomas Carroll]

My dog currently eats the following Taste of the Wild High Prairie Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, but I am going to switch to different dry dog food because he often does not eat this food:
https://www.chewy.com/taste-wild-high-prairie-grain-free/dp/181320
Can you please recommend a dry dog food that is best for preventing bloat?
Are there certain ingredients that are better for preventing bloat such as the types of meats/poultry/fish or a combination or a certain combination of them?
Are there any supplements/toppers/mix-ins that you would recommend to help prevent bloat?
I am willing to pay as much as about $150/month for the most premium dog food and any supplements to go along with it that in your opinion would be best to prevent bloat.

[Ann H]

Hi – there is a reply I sent under the wrong title. It’s about the supplements I have given my dog for tracheal collapse. I put it under “How much food to feed my dog.” It has helped tremendously and saved on vet visits.

[nicole E]

Hi All,

My 5 month old Vizsla had a bladder infection. We found this out because he was peeing while he slept. We were able to get him in 3 weeks of antibiotics which cleared his urine of any infection. We tested him again due to incontinence and he has a 9 PH.

We put him in hills for 4 weeks with no change.

We are now introducing cornucopia wet foods as well as glucsocamine and cranberry supplements.

It’s been 4 days and he is still peeing while he sleeps. I know I should probably give it more time… but I’m worried about stones or an ectopic ureter. Does anyone have any experience with this! I don’t want to over supplement him either. I just think an ultrasound/x ray will rule some more serious things out. I don’t even know how much they cost … I’m sure it’s expensive but this poor little guy is not improving!

Thanks for any comments or advice!

[Paola P]

Hi there,
My 3 yr old shih tzu has alt at 253 she is on primal raw and homecooked
I am thinking it is her diet and perhaps missing a few supplements so taking her off home cooked and goi g with primal raw mornings and big country raw evenings increasing thrive herring oil as well as adding milk thinsle zinc and eliminating red meat so only duck rabbit fish and turkey
Is this ok do you think?

[Patricia A]

James again my bad when just scanned your post . Trying to do my best in caring for my elderly mom with dementia. Just not doing a thorough job of reading between lines and replying in what I always hoped was some tidbit of helpful advice from my past experiences in having owned and cared for dogs since my kids were little.
It’s obvious from your post that you are a VERY responsible dog owner . Should never judge since been there ourselves with spending $1000 and two weeks later another problem which we would resolve when we waited a few days. Can write a book on serious health issues which the vet actually caused. Autoimmune issues from a shot which dog needed bone marrow test to detererimen it was response from a lepto shot. Chloe in for x-rays at 13 because of labored breathing. Showed Pneumonia . Sent home with meds and told she’ll be fine. Middle of the night gasping for air. Passed in car. Healthy puppy given kennel cough immunization before being spayed and came down with a VERY BAD COLD from the intranasal . Then given to my immune compromised(the one with the lepto shot). UHHH VETS: Do no harm but not always the case.

Never considered looking into supplements. So when have time will educate myself . Always prefer more holistic solutions then strong meds which cause more serious side effects then the problem itself.
So having had a Doxie own us. lol my only advice s weight and back issues. I’m sure you’re aware of this though. The yelping when touched could be disc related that is so common in the long backed Doxies. No jumping off couch . Also the pain would cause the panting .
Orthopedic bedding . Sometimes the bottom of the dog beds have no support and they lay on floor.
Wishing Dalilah many more years of a happy healthy life.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Patricia A.

[Patricia A]

James I’m sorry you feel my answer was condescending. Given your list of symptoms your 14 year old dog was suffering it would have been misguided for anyone on this forum to give you advice on causation and cure.
I’m with you on vets at times causing more problems with strong meds that at times are overkill and cause more harm then good. My dog has loose stool, I don’t run to vet for pills to cure. I look into their diet. I didn’t possibly phrase the question regarding supplements correctly. I was questioning actually the supplements and the reason for them. Just because they are “supplements” it does not mean they do not come without side effects which may effect each dog differently. So possibly I was thinking maybe a new supplement might be causing all those symptoms. https://www.parakeethome.com/dog-vitamins-side-effects/
If you read someone else write all these worrying symptoms in an elderly dog I believe you would be alarmed that this dog can be on a downward spiral and also is suffering.
You wrote: my 14 year old dachshund named Dalilah had puffy upper lip folds. They were both equally visibly puffy.
That same night, she was frantically walking around whining and excessively licking the carpet.
The face puffiness is gone and the carpet licking has stopped, however, for the past day or 2 since this happened, she has been lethargic, and also very nervous and scared. If I touch her with the slightest pressure, she yelps loudly and nips at me.
She also has bouts of quick labored breathing and what appears to be disorientation.
Sorry again for not reading about the cash part. Just stood out that symptoms seemed very serious and I felt for your dog especially since my Doxie Pookie who lived to 17 years still is a legend around our home for his antics.
Very happy to hear your pup is herself again.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Patricia A.

[James H]

Patricia A,

My dachshund is back to 100% perfect health. My belief is that she had an infection of some sort and after packing her with high quality nutrition, she is completely back to her normal self. I guess that answers your question “why all the supplements?”

I really dont appreciate your condescending attitude when you say “sorry but a responsible owner would take their very elderly dog to the vet with these symptoms.”

Patricia were you going to pay for my dog’s vet bill? Would you pay for her testing and medicines? Ever think that maybe I’d like to but I dont have the money for a vet right now?

My dog has been to the vet in the past, and after $6,500 for ivdd surgery I didnt have any more money for a vet at the moment. Supplements and internet research are cheaper than vets and their rip off prices like hundreds of dollars for a 5 minute xray.

Maybe you should think about these things before you condescend and tell people that if they cant afford a vet at the moment they’re not responsible pet owners.

I fixed her myself with “all those supplements,” and yes she had a reaction to them, the reaction was she got her full health back.

Let this be a lesson to you that not being able to afford a vet at the moment is due to a lack of cash, NOT a lack of character.

Thanks for nothing Patricia.

[Patricia A]

“She also has bouts of quick labored breathing and what appears to be disorientation.”
Sorry, but a responsible owner would take their very elderly dog to the vet with these symptoms. Please don’t let her suffer. This could be heart related.
Face puffiness, yes could be an allergy or got stung. Acting scared could be in pain or the side effect of the sting ? But you wrote that has cleared up. Carpet licking could be dropped food? No cleaners on carpet that could have caused lip swelling?
Hope you had time to bring your Doxie to the vet by now. Also why all of these supplements? Any one of these can cause side effects.

[Laura L]

Moni – Glad that your vet has a plan for your pup. What is the pentason? I’ve never heard of that one. My good friend was in a similar situation with her yorkie. Rocky is tiny…only 5 pounds. She was giving him cerenia and hydrocodone and he wasn’t really feeling any better. She was worried because that’s a lot of strong medication for a tiny pup. Rocky is what got me to researching CT and alternative products. It’s been about 2 years since I posted above. My friend has been using the Ultraflex and Lypozyme from this site
https://www.askariel.com/collapsed-trachea-supplements-s/1896.htm
and Rocky is doing really good. She changed his food to raw (like you did) and it really helped. He doesn’t gag or choke anymore when he’s eating. Rocky doesn’t need the cerenia at all anymore and he only gets the hydrocodone once in a while…like during the fireworks last week.
Hope that your dog continues to do well!

[Patricia A]

Maybe stick to one food without the lamb or beef. Might be too high in fat. Stick with ONLY the food and no other supplements. Any change in food will give diarrhea for mine. So maybe just boiled white meat chicken with skin cut off before boiling and some white rice. Mix in a high quality kibble with only a few kibbles in bowl to get used to. Mine do well with Stella Chewy’s grain free chicken with no stomach problems. Or look here on DFA for 5* proteins/flavors/brands because I believe those are lower in fat. But I think key at least for mine is give new kibble a chance for her digestive system to get used to so you don’t start over and switch again thinking it’s the food each time . This way you can get up to a full bowl in maybe a week or so and if diarrhea again then start process over until find one that agrees with him.
Hope this helps for your pup.

[houndraptor]

Okay, so for starters this is my first self-owned dog ever. He’s a retired racing Greyhound, and I’m a pre-veterinary college student who overthinks like everything and worries constantly about my dog.

My hound came home in January, and I first started feeding him ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach salmon & oatmeal… he had loose stool & pretty bad dandruff, which the vet chalked up to being due to stress. I switched him to ProPlan beef & rice, and he continued to have loose stool but the dandruff became literally horrific like it looked like it was snowing on him. NOT allergies, and he weirdly wasn’t itchy? He just had ridiculously dry skin.

Then, I switched him to Taste of the Wild Ancient Grains (the lamb one) in hopes of trying to curb his dandruff (omega-3 supplements weren’t helping), and he had HORRIFIC diarrhea, I mean like straight up he had the runs. I took him to the vet the next morning and we did a course of metronidazole & probiotic paste. The probiotic paste gave him some temporary relief.

Because of his reaction to TOTW, I switched him to Canidae beef & oatmeal. And honestly? he was doing really well for awhile. I was also supplementing fiber through Olewo Carrots for awhile, but we ran out and have been issues ordering another bag until yesterday. We were still having 50/50 loose stool and good poops, my only qualm was that he seems to have a duller coat. And now we are here…. Aaaand he is having liquid shoot-out-the-butt poops again- I bought him Fortiflora, but I don’t think it’s doing much to help. I made him an appointment to see the vet again but they couldn’t squeeze us in until Thursday. I’m kind of at a loss lol… I feel like total garbage and I don’t know what to do 🙁

He doesn’t have any other symptoms than the diarrhea either! It’s not parasites (I’ve had him tested twice), he’s not lethargic, he isn’t in pain, he’s not itchy, he’s not vomiting, he’s eating & drinking like normal, there’s no blood. He’s totally normal other than having horrific diarrhea!

[aimee]

Hi J B,

This is an interesting question and I’ll give you my thoughts. When two complete and balanced foods are mixed the resulting mixture is complete and balanced. However, feeding for weight loss is a special situation, a complete and balanced food, when fed to achieve weight loss, may not meet nutrient needs.

This is because nutrient levels in foods are tied to an assumed average intake. Because a caloric deficit is needed to achieve weight loss, weight loss foods need to be fortified with nutrients so that when feeding fewer calories a dogs nutrient needs are met.

In this situation you are asking if feeding a presumed fortified with a non fortified food will meet the dogs needs. To answer that you’d need to know the nutrient levels of each food to calculate the levels in the resulting mix, factor in the amount being fed and then compare to needs.

To add to the puzzle is that the nutrients in the vitality formula to support senior health will be being fed at a lower level which may or may not affect outcome.

You said your dog weighs 83 lbs. How much of the vitality formula is she eating a day? What other calorie sources are consumed? Treats, Supplements, dental chews etc. In my experience, Hill’s feeding guidelines are well calculated and so if currently she is consuming an amount at the higher end of the feeding recommendations I’d simply cut back to the lower range and trim other sources. If however she is already consuming at the lower end of the Vitality feeding range, and you would need to feed less than the recommended amount of that diet to achieve weight loss I’d consider switching completely over to a weight loss formula

Finally, Hill’s has a vet support service and you can ask your vet to contact Hill’s, discuss your particular dog, and get customized feeding advice.

[KathyA P]

We give all 12 of our dogs Steadfast Canine. The big dogs get large breed, the little ones small breed. The vet had said several of ours would need luxating patella surgery. Since they were young we decided to try supplements first. All are now doing great! They’re pricey but worth it. http://www.arenus.com

[KathyA P]

You sound like an awesome pet person with all you do for your dogs! We vary between Open Farm and Honest Kitchen and sometimes add their toppers. We always add a little warm water. We have 12 dogs. Two of them are picky eaters but one loves Honest Kitchen. The other loves Open Farm Turkey and Chicken grain free. I’m keeping track of the research about grain free but they’ve been on it a long time with no issues. Japanese Chin are also prone to luxating patella and the vet said a couple of them would require surgery. We had a rescue years ago that had permanently dislocated knees that we had put in place and his tibia needed moved. 12 weeks of cage rest and physical therapy three times daily. He did great! We decided since these two were young we would try supplements first. We bought Steadfast Canine supplements from Arenus.com. They love taking them and no more problems. We feed twice daily. If your pups get picky, you might check out http://www.openfarmpet.com I love the small size on the kibble too!

[runi K]

You should never give your dog human vitamins, or even over-the-counter dog vitamins or supplements. Be sure to follow your vet’s directions on how much and how often to give the pills, treats or capsules prescribed to you.

[rick M]

Did you try to use dog joint supplements, those are some of the best available on the market.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by rick M.

[Jennifer H]

Hello everyone,

I came here to ask for some feedback about the dog food I am feeding my 2 dobermans. It is a dog food brand from my country as I want to support my country’s economy. But I never really got any feedback if the ingredients are any good I was ignored whenever I asked someone as I’m not that knowledgable, I even tried to search a nutritionist but since I don’t know what they call it in my country I couldn’t find any.

The ingredient list was put into google translate since I was lazy translating it from Slovak to English. Also the dog food is for puppies.

Ingredients:
Dried beef 45% (percentage stated after processing, in the dried state), brown natural rice, fresh turkey meat 10% (percentage stated after processing, in the dried state), turkey and duck fat (natural tocopherols, source of vitamin E) , beetroot, carrots, spinach, parsley, borage oil, linseed oil, basil, echinacea, peppermint, motherwort, dandelion, beef collagen, glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, humic substances, hemp flour, oyster mushroom edible chestnut, St. John’s wort, psyllium, brewer’s yeast (source of MOS – mannooligosaccharides), chicory inulin (source of FOS – fructooligosaccharides), yucca schidigera extract.

Analytical components:
crude protein 30%, fat content 18%, crude ash 7.5%, crude fiber 3%, calcium 2%, phosphorus 1.2%, moisture 8%.

Nutritional supplements in 1kg:
Vit. A (3a672a) 11,200 m. j., Vit.D3 (3a671) 1100 m. j., Vit. E (alpha-tocopherol) (3a700) 250 m. j., Vit. B1 (3a821) 4mg, Vit. B2 (3a825i) 8mg, Choline chloride (3a890) 500mg, Niacinamide (3a315) 50mg, Calcium pantothenate (3a841) 15mg, Nicotinic acid (3a315) 50mg, Folic acid (3a316) 1mg

Trace elements:
Iron (ferrous sulphate, monohydrate) (3b103) 210mg, Zinc – Zn (zinc oxide) (3b603) 180mg, Manganese-Mn (manganese oxide) (3b502) 64mg, Copper-Cu (copper sulphate pentahydrate) (3b405) 10mg, Iodine-I (potassium iodide) (3b201) 3mg, Selenium-Se (sodium selenite) (3b801) 0.12mg, Glucosamine min. 350mg, Chondroitin 80mg

[JadedCanuck]

Greetings, my 14-year-old dog has recently been diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease. The vets have suggested a prescription renal diet but I am reluctant to put him on any prescription diets, not only due to the poor ingredients but because he did very poorly on one in the past. He has allergies to chicken and the biggest roadblock that I am having is that he has allergies to all grains. This includes rice, pasta, oats, barley, quinoa, yeast, tapioca, couscous, wheat germ. Many of the recipes out there call for some form of grains for the carbs.

I live in Canada and picked up a book from my vet called Hilary’s Renal Diet Cookbook. The recipes are to be used with the supplements to make for a complete diet. Unfortunately, there is only one recipe out of the entire book that will accommodate his allergies. I have communicated with the author of the book and was told that I cannot make substitutions in the recipes with the carbs and proteins. I live in Canada and unfortunately, we just do not have the resources here like in the States where there is a multitude of companies who have high-quality, K9 KD products.

Just wondering if any forum users have any of the same obstacles I’m facing and any suggestions on where to find something that I can feed my dog outside of pork and potatoes.

[Adnan A]

An energetic dog is the best partner one could have. That being said, it is very difficult for them to keep up with their energy unless provided with the right supplements. The top best glucosamine for dogs reviews.
https://reviewistic.com/joint-supplement-for-dogs/

[Adnan A]

A healthy dog is a happy dog.

An energetic dog is the best partner one could have. That being said, it is very difficult for them to keep up with their energy unless provided with the right supplements. If you have been looking for the best joint supplement for dogs, this article will be of great help. The best joint supplement for dogs joint chews for dogs on rewiewistic.
https://reviewistic.com/joint-supplement-for-dogs/

[Adnan A]

An energetic dog is the best partner one could have. That being said, it is very difficult for them to keep up with their energy unless provided with the right supplements. If you have been looking for the best joint supplement for dogs, this article will be of great help. The best top joint supplement for dogs joint chews for dogs on rewiewistic.
https://reviewistic.com/joint-supplement-for-dogs/

[Susan]

Hi Ryan,
I feed Patch – “Canidae Pure Senior” its has 10.80%max- fat, high protein-30% & low/med carbs around 30%carbs, also the lower the fat% & lower the protein% kibbles are higher the carbs, same with HIGH fiber diets can also cause Acid reflux, too much Omega oils, NSAID, steriod medications, joint, Arthritis, skin supplements, can also cause acid reflux…

Look at Canidae Pure Weight Management kibble its 9%-fat, has same or very similar ingredients to the Canidae Pure Senior kibble & the fiber is 5% alot of Weight Management kibbles are low fat but high in fiber.
https://www.canidae.com/dogs/canidae-pure-grain-free-weight-management-dry-dog-food-chicken/

I try & stick with around 10-13%max- Fat, 30%-Protein & 30%-Carbs, fiber-5% & under & the kibble has to have Potato or Sweet Potato or both.
People don’t realise the dog also needs low/med carbs & try & avoid fermentable grains as they ferment in the gut causing acid reflux – wheat, barley, oats and rye, most vet diets contain these grains Patches acid reflux seems to get worse when eating grain Gastrointestinal vet diets .
What I’ve found over the years, dogs who suffer with Acid reflux seem to do better on a Grain Free Potato diets, when the dog is having a acid reflux attack- I boil Sweet potato in small pieces & I freeze – take out 1 piece sweet potato, put on plate in Microwave to thaw then I mash the sweet potato give to dog, the potato settles dog or human esophagus, throat & stomach…
For Lunch I buy Tin- Yellow Fin Tuna, Tuna is the lowest in fat & low in omega oils, Sardines & Salmon are too strong for Patch, he mouth licks, I add boiled mashed White & Sweet Potato also add the white of a boiled egg sometimes, the yellow egg yoke is high in fat.
For his Arthritis he’s 12yrs old now, I’ve been doing Physiotherapy twice a day as he cant take NSAID drugs, his vet said Physio will extend his life as alot of dogs get Put To Sleep cause they become so stiff & cant walk in the end, he takes Panadol Children Chewable 3+years 120mg when in pain, 10mg per kg..
I do the Sausage Roll Massage as your massaging & rolling dog skin you’ll feel dogs skin flinching stop & hold the twitching roll/skin for 5-10sec it will be a bit uncomfortable at first so offer the dog treats or his kibble after 1 week its not as painful & Patch rolls have stop twitching.

Have you joined F/B group called “Acid Reflux in Dogs” I cant believe how many poor dogs are suffering with Acid Reflux.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1635198406751056

[WondrousPups]

Hi Sienna!
It’s not strange at all. It’s good of you to update what’s been going on with you and your beloved pup. Glad to hear that both the internist and the behaviorist seem to agree the issues are to do with digestive tract problems. Now you can focus your attentions to healing her gut and helping her immune system to be normal again! That’s good news.

I highly recommend reading two books:

Body into Balance by Maria Noel Groves and
Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care by Randy Kidd, DVM, Ph.D.

Both will give you specific ways to heal IBD, and you will have references on had to refer back to on each stage of your pup’s healing process. They are not big books, straight forward very practical.

Another book you might consider adding to your library is Mosby’s Nursing Drug Reference just because you seem like a person who likes to use both allopathic medicine and herbal medicine. In this book, you can look up each herb-drug interaction as well as drug side effects. So long you are interested in continuing to use herbs and supplements (both for you and your pup), it might be a good one to have. Don’t rely on internet for reliable info. on this one.

I understand you don’t want to get biopsy done right now, but if your pup’s condition doesn’t improve at all in a month or see any blood in her stool, I would get that biopsy done ASAP because there is a possibility of cancer in play. I think that’s why your internist was probably suggesting biopsy as well.

Take care Sienna,
WP

[Laura L]

My dog had increased liver numbers and was diagnosed with possible Cushing’s not too long ago. We started a few supplements suggested by our vet and decided to hold off on the drugs. Since we started the supplements (https://www.askariel.com/natural-remedies-for-cushings-disease-s/1848.htm) her thirst and her pot belly seem to be a little better. We’re giving her the Cushing’s one and the Liver Kit. The vet said that if we can get her liver numbers down and manage her symptoms, we may not need to start her on Vetoryl. The supplement company gave us some food suggestions too and our dog really likes it. She is a big dog with a few other things going on, so it may not be right for your Bichon, but you should try reaching out to Ask Ariel. We go back to the vet in a few weeks for another follow-up, but for now, It seems like our girl is feeling pretty good.

[sienna11711]

Hi all,

I know this reply may come off super strange considering it’s been a few months, but I wanted to update you all on my dog.

So our vet implored us to see a veterinary behaviorist for her issues. It turned out to be of great help because the behaviorist asked a lot of questions and had me checking in with her every single week and trying things one at a time. My dog (Sienna) was put on a low dose of zoloft (sertraline) to help with anxiety and stress and we switched her to the Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Diet. Through process of elimination with our behaviorist we were able to figure out that Sienna’s issues are 100% related to her digestive tract and not just random severe anxiety! She is indeed drinking excessively and eating excessively because of physical pain that is much more pronounced right after eating.

I’m happy to report that on the hydrolyzed diet she gained a little weight eating less than she normally does. She also has less stomach flinching however I did learn that she has the most stomach flinching (when touched underneath) right after eating, and it is markedly less flinchy if she is fasted (for vet appts).

We decided to see an internist who gave her an ultrasound + tons of bloodwork with absolutely no problems. Unfortunately the biopsy is too expensive for us right now, but the internist thinks it is definitely IBD, and definitely tons of inflammation in her intestines. She will be starting a local steroid (budosenide I think) this week to see if it helps any. If anyone has any suggestions, supplements, etc. that would be great. We have tried many many supplements and diets in the past, so I’m not feeling very positive about it, but you never know.

[Laurence T]

Hello everyone,

Maybe I could help.

3 years ago, our dog got a huge mass around his small intestines and we almost lost him. To save him they removed 80% of his small instestines. They thought it was cancer. But after 2 years or different med treatments and ultrasounds, they found out he has a problem with his immune system, where his system is attacking the good bacterias in his stomach, creating masses.

So he has to take sterioids, prednisone, in extremely small dosage, enough to supress his immune system, and keep the masses from forming.

However, since his surgery, he is left with short bowel syndrom – aka. constant diarrhea. After 3 years, I can keep him a decent weight and have only two to three (soft stools a day).

Here’s how. Maybe it could work for you guys. After his surgery, he would go to the washroom 10 times a day, waking us up 4 times a night. We tried all kinds of specific vet foods with high fiber, etc. He would also be so skinny all the time because he would never have time to digest the food. He used to eat the Royal Canin Hypo diet bags and would go through 2 bags a week and it was horrible. And then when I looked in the ingredients the first one was cellulose and obviously it wasn’t working… The vets are sold on selling you Royal Canin because Royal Canin sponsors them…

So we switched him to raw food and it was life changing. We don’t make it, we buy it from the pet store in the fridges. I give him a lot more patties than what they prescribe a day for his weight, but since we switched him 2 years ago to raw, he’s gained back all of his weight, and he only goes to the washroom 3 times a day. Not asking for the door at night anymore. The reason is that the raw food takes a lot more time to digest than the pebbles, so he has time to take a bit of supplements.

Also, we give him probiotics in his water, and he takes a shot of B12 every week or two weeks – that helps alot with the diarrhea as well.

He is also on metronidazole every day, on prednisone every 2 days (to prevent the masses) and take two immodiums a day.

And he seems like he is doing well. 🙂

If any of you want to ask further questions, please let me know !

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by Laurence T.

[aimee]

Some new “rawhide alternatives” being marketed appear to me to simply be rawhide renamed

The chew traditionally called rawhide is a by -product of the leather industry. Hides are sourced at slaughter and sent to a tannery where they are dehaired and fleshed ( the fat layer under the skin is removed). What remains is the dermis. Another word for dermis is corium. The tanner splits the corium into upper and lower layers, The upper is used to make leather, the lower is used as a source of collagen for sausage casings, drug capsules, supplements, gelatin etc , to make rawhide chews, and now apparently some “rawhide alternative”. chews.

AAFCO doesn’t define the word “rawhide”, Merriam Webster defines it, in this context, as “untanned cattle skin”
I find the reasons given from the manufacturers of chews made of full thickness cattle skin or corium, as to why their product is not rawhide, interesting.

Company A appears to report that their untanned cattle skin product is not rawhide because it is sourced from the head of the cow and they seem to define hide as skin as coming from the trunk of the cow. Additionally, they seem to say that since their product is full thickness skin, and rawhide is the lower split.of the corium, their product is not rawhide. Finally, it looks like they are saying their product doesn’t use chemicals in processing. Not sure what is meant by this, since technically, water is a chemical

Company B seems to say their collagen chew isn’t rawhide because rawhide consists of all layers of the skin and their product is only the lower split of corium. Note that their definition of what is rawhide looks to be the opposite definition than that of company A

Company C’s collagen chew appears to me to be identical to company B in size , shape, color, and country of origin making me wonder if they are the same chew being imported by two different companies. When asked if their product was corium, customer service said the answer to my question would be emailed to me. The email stated that all information was proprietary. Under magnification their product appears to me to be a tangle of fibers which is how corium and traditionally labeled rawhide also appears to me.

Company D said the raw material they use in their “rawhide alternative” chews is corium which is also used for human food production, and that no hide is used in their products. I don’t know how they are defining “hide” but it seems they may be defining hide as the top split of the corium and then claiming that the bottom split is hide free. A tannery resides at the same address as this chew maker, who also appears to market beef hide chews under a different brand name , which look to me to be the same in appearance to their “hide free” chews .

Company E , unlike A-D, doesn’t seem to claim their collagen chew is a “rawhide alternative” or say it is not hide. It is labeled “collagen from beefhide”. This company also makes several brands of chews labeled as beefhide.

It seems to me, that what the above products have in common, is that they are all appear to be made from either full thickness or partial thickness untanned cattle skin

In my opinion it is very unethical when companies claim that that chews that they apparently making of full or partial thickness untanned cattle skin are rawhide alternatives. From discussions with distributors and shop owners , I’d consider some to be disingenuous . Even after passing along to them the information from the manufacturers that certain chews are made of the corium , the same material that traditional rawhides are formed from or full thickness cattle skin, I continue to see them market the product as a hide free rawhide alternative.

I wonder what will happen to companies that label their corium dog chews as rawhide, which is how chews made from corium have traditionally always been labeled. I see some shop owners say they will not sell chews labeled as rawhide, stating that rawhide is dangerous, yet they sell these “alternatives” and other stores stop selling rawhide because sales of the chews labeled as alternative outsell those labeled as rawhide, which I think is in part due to the “bad press” on rawhide.

Interesting to me, is that recently a class action was filed against a company alleging that the chews they market as an alternative to rawhide are actually hide ,and a paper was published in which two of the seven dog chews that were examined, labeled as”rawhide free” appeared to be mislabeled.

Unfortunately, it seems that I can not rely on product labeling to accurately describe what a product is, nor can I count on regulatory bodies to remove mislabeled products from the market.

Would love to hear others thoughts on the issue.

[Melanie B]

Hi. My dog Macy is 15 and was just diagnosed with CKD. She wasn’t eating as much as before the past month and a half and when I took her to get dental surgery, they told me her Creatine was 3.4 and her BUN was up. I put her on HSD Kidney Care and on 9/29 they did bloodwork and her Creatine was 5.9 and her liver enzymes are up now. She’s eating and drinking more than before the surgery. They told me to give her a bland diet and watch her. I refuse to do just that. I ordered Calcium Carbonate. Any advice on how much to give her or any other supplements or holistic supplements would be a huge help ASAP! Thanks!

[Chipy]

Good question, John. It’s best to avoid meat meals but they are the primary ingredients in most dry dog food so the healthiest option is to switch to fresh foods like home-cooked or premade raw diets that are more nutritious for our pups.

Meat meals are made from taking slaughterhouse and fish processing factory remnants that are not edible for humans, and cooking them, processing them under high heat, and dehydrating them into a dry powdery substance that goes into kibble.

Like most other low-grade and highly processed ingredients in kibble and canned diets, meat meals contain little to no nutritional value to the dog being fed.

I use Dr. D’s recipe maker and natural whole-food based supplements to create healthy meals for my pup. It helps me build balanced recipes with the ingredients I have available and I love it; https://recipemaker.peterdobias.com

[Chipy]

Hi Soph, so great that you switched to a 100% homemade diet for your girl. My pup is about the same size as yours and eggshells didn’t work for him. Bonemeals are often high in toxic heavy metals such as lead, and low-level lead poisoning can damage kidneys, liver and nerves over time so I would be careful with them.

If you don’t feed any raw bones, you can use GreenMin as the main calcium source. Dr. Dobias has found that dogs who are on GreenMin, and are not consuming any bone in their diet, consistently have results within normal ranges for calcium levels on their hair analysis test.

Also, please be aware that Balanceit. com provides synthetic vitamin & mineral mixes. I was considering it many years ago when we switched to a homemade diet but I don’t like feeding anything that is NOT natural. There is a big difference in how the body abosorbs nutrients from whole food-based vs synthetic chemical-based supplements.

https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/15188693-synthetic-supplements-for-dogs-can-cause-serious-problems

We have been using the Fab4 (GreenMin, SoulFood, GutSense, and FeelGood Omega) for many years and our dog loves them. He is super healthy at the age of 10 and we are very grateful for Dr. Dobias and his pure products.

Dog Essentials

These natural supplements are like wholesome food, the body recognizes them as such and only absorbs what it requires. As every dog has slightly different nutritional requirements, it’s best to provide a wide variety of nutrients to support the body. Here is what we add to our pup’s homemade diet to fill in any nutritional gaps.

GreenMin, as a source of plant-based minerals, calcium, amino-acids, and super greens
SoulFood, as a certified organic multivitamin with additional organ support components
GutSense, as a source of dog specific certified organic probiotics
FeelGood Omega, to supplement Essential Fatty Acids (omega 3s) – Sardines can be high in toxic strontium!

In a perfect world, a wide variety of food would keep your dog’s body nourished and no supplements would be required. The problem is, due to intensive agriculture, minerals and nutrients do not get recycled back into the soil, leading to a lack of minerals in the whole food chain.

https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/15072565-how-many-supplements-are-too-many-for-your-dog

I encourage you to do your own research and only choose the highest quality products for your dog. They deserve the best! 🙂

[Chipy]

Leamless, it’s so great that you are considering to switch from kibble to something healthier. I know what it’s like to live on a strict budget and understand how expensive life can get. In my experience it is more economical to feed a home-made diet (raw or cooked) than feeding commercially processed pet foods. You also get the benefit of understanding where each ingredient comes from (dog food recalls have been super scary lately)!

We switched to home-made meals years ago and it was the best decision for our dog and my budget. LOL I am happy to share some resources that have been super helpful in guiding us to prepare balanced, home-made meals.

Dr. Dobias has created a free Natural Diet Course which contains videos and articles full of information on this subject;

https://peterdobias.com/pages/course-rawdiet

His online Recipe Maker will help you build healthy meals for your dog with the ingredients you have available. It provides guidance on amounts of each ingredient and which ingredients are best;

https://recipemaker.peterdobias.com

The key is to offer a variety of both proteins and vegetables, and add essential nutrients (non-synthetic, whole-food based supplements) to help fill in any nutritional deficiencies;

Dog Essentials

I hope this helps to get you started on this journey. It takes some time to learn the basics but the energy investment will definitely pay off when your dog is super healthy thanks to natural nutrition and you get to save on unnecessary vet bills.

[Nancy W]

“Quote: “There is nothing that says you can’t do both.”

That’s not always true. Supplements can interfere with the absorption and effectiveness of some prescription medications……”

My comment was in reference to what the book does or doesn’t say in response to the “holistic rabbit whole” comment. The
book and it recommendations does not exclude traditional treatments and in fact includes them and leaves the decision up to the caretaker.

[Jeniffer P]

Hi all. First of all thank you for writing, I’m getting some positive thoughts upon reading this. I’ll be seeing a specialist this week to confirm the initial diagnosis and layout a strategy plan if it indeed it’s TC. I’m super sad my dog is so young just 3 yrs old. The vet said mild case but still so so worried. How are everyone else’s pets doing? Hope all your fur babies are doing good. I’m starting him in glucosamine and cartilage/joint supplements, as well as probiotics, and anti-allergy natural supplements for gut and allergy-immune defense. Since his gut health and respiratory / anti-allergy health is key. Changed his diet to grain-free salmon as well (Merrick). Any or all advice on signs or things to look out or to keep an eye out on are truly appreciated. Bless you and your paw-besties.

[Laura L]

Hi Rachelle & Kathy – I am so sorry for all you are going through with your dogs. It sounds like you both have tried everything within your means that the vets have suggested. I had similar experiences with one of my dogs and ended up finding that I didn’t need all of the expensive tests to help my dog. We treated the symptoms instead of searching for a diagnosis. After much online research, we found a site that seemed to have a lot of experience with pet digestive problems. We started with a probiotic and added some digesitve supplements and saw significant improvement. They are from a site called Ask Ariel: https://www.askariel.com/pet-probiotics-p/81.htm Unfortunately, many vets just want to sell you their special food and medications. Don’t get me wrong…many times the medications are necessary. We never got a definitive diagnosis, but once we switched off the prescription foods and started the supplements our dog really improved. I think the food the vet was giving us was actually making the symptoms worse.

[Patricia A]

Madison I have dogs’ which have digestive problems with higher fat in their diet. I came to that conclusion because whenever I fed certain home cooked food as a kibble topper they would have loose stools. That being dark meat chicken vs boiled white meat, ground beef that wasn’t 90% fat free, fatty pieces of steak vs very lean(when they got lucky lol). They have no trouble with plain, boiled salmon.
So, that being said I hope I can make some suggestions of a starting point in switching to raw and then you can see how she does with each of these brands.
I got used to my dogs’ with one brand/protein VERY, VERY, VERY slowly. Then when i knew that they were digestively good with the brand/protein I would switch the protein also very slowly. Just giving them bits mixed in with the other protein. Eventually, I also would change brands and did the same. I just feel better not sticking always to one brand, but that’s me.
I used a starting point by looking at the raw food reviews on DFA. This led me to Primal, Stella Chewy’s, I have Chihuahuas’. This allowed me to use freeze dried. However, for a larger dog as yours, I believe the frozen raw would be most cost efficient. Freeze Dried should be the same as raw nutritionally once hydrated.
I always only feed his 5* reviews in the protein/flavor of that brand. I believe he rates by protein to fat ratio. So the 5* ones are lower in fat. So I stick to Primal’s turkey/sardine, venison, pork, duck. All of these proteins/flavors are non HPP (HIGH-PRESSURE PROCESSING (HPP)
High-Pressure Processing, or HPP, is an FDA- and USDA-approved cold water pressure process that allows us to target salmonella and other food-borne pathogens—without cooking.) Some raw feeders do not like the HPP process claiming it effects nutritional values. However other studies show he use of High Pressure Processing (known as HPP) is becoming increasingly common with commercial raw dog foods. However, HPP can be a controversial process. Some view it as an effective way to eliminate disease-causing bacteria while having only minimal effect on the integrity of the finished product.)
I believe Stella’s uses HPP in all their products. With their food I use chicken, venison bland and their rabbit.
Their are many other companies which are rated highly on this site. I believe VITAL ESSENTIALS is the brand which Is as a whole below in fat . If you go to the reviews on DFA they are all listed as a 5*. Many different flavors also. They are also low in calories . Their company goes by the prey model which is no veggies/fruits which are sometimes added to other brands. vital essentials example (ngredients: Beef, beef tripe, beef lung, ground beef bone, beef liver, beef heart, beef kidney, beef blood, beef fat, herring oil, d-alpha tocopherol)
I also want to suggest possibly kibble with salmon. Pancreatic digestive enzyme supplements have been reported to help some dogs with pancreatitis while fish body oils (such as salmon oil or EPA oil but not cod liver oil), can help to lower blood lipid levels which may reduce the workload on the pancreas.
I believe your dog does not suffer from pancreatitis but just occasional IBS? So I hope she does well with any of these . Just go slowly. So much confusion with all those brands. Hope I gave you a good starting point and she does well with these suggestions.

[sienna11711]

Hi,

Just to clear up any misunderstandings here WondrousPups your suggestions have been great but Susan does have a valid point. When you have a dog with a really sensitive digestive system even the best supplements and whole foods can cause them distress. I personally have gastroparesis and I cannot handle turmeric in any capacity. I don’t think Susan was trying to discredit the benefits, I think she has a lot of valuable experience. Having a “mystery” case dog is extremely stressful. I have tried a home cooked diet and raw diet and I did not experience any of the benefits of it for my dog. The people in the raw feeding facebook group treated me extremely harshly and insisted my dog needed to detox further even though she was slowly becoming skin and bones. Please be sensitive to that! We are trying so hard.

Susan unfortunately the endoscope and biopsy are out of my price range at the moment 🙁 I am getting an affordable second opinion with a telehealth visit with a vet from Barcelona, I’m looking forward to what she may think. Your vet made an EXCELLENT point- IBD can occur anywhere along the digestive tract, just because a dog isn’t having diarrhea or vomiting does not mean they don’t have IBD.

Also, lastly, (Patricia A) my vet said my dog could have IBD and we could certainly try the Hills IBD diet if I wanted to go down that road but she really didn’t seem convinced that it was. So there’s really no official actual diagnosis besides anxiety/stress. But I would classify her symptoms as some form of IBD or IBS – ravenous hunger, inability to digest anything besides kibble, poor fat digestion, resulting weak immunity, in the past she had chronic regurgitation as well.

[Susan]

@Wondrouspups
I’m not being rude or meaning to be rude to you, American always take us Australians the wrong way, Americans are very sensitive where Australian aren’t.
Re read your post honestly, You even write
“I’m kind of scared for you right now. DO NOT start using Ashwagandha until after the vet exam.”

When people are desperate they will try anything thinking they’re helping their sick dog which can lead to more pain, then emergency vet or if pet owner doesn’t have the funds NO emergency vet a very painful death.

This dog is sick & has pain which has been left untreated, probably way too long with no proper medications, sounds like the vet was an idiot & he didn’t know what was wrong with the dog so he got rid of his problem & recommended a animal behaviorist, when the dog probably should of seen another vet & not wasted more of Sienna’s money, Sienna (dog owner) has probably been going around circles for years now, I’ve been there with Patch until a lady straight out told me to change my vet, your dog is sick & is in pain, Patch saw 4 vets before I found a good vet who knew straight away its his stomach, Patches poos were firm, except when he ate foods he was sensitive too, my good vet explained to me, IBD starts at the mouth & can be anywhere all the way to the bum, a dog doesn’t have to have diarrhea, this is when the vet should have known its probably the dogs stomach, sent dog owner to see an specialist for a Endoscope & a couple of Biopsies of the stomach, the dog owner would of had answers, & proper meds would have been prescribed.

Peppermint oil is Toxic to dogs when taken orally.
Peppermint oil should only be used in a diffuser and in low amounts. It can be toxic if ingested.

Ashwagandha causes vomiting & diarrhea.

Turmeric – Over-supplementing your dog with turmeric can cause upset stomach, or increase risks for those with kidney problems.

Wondrouspups you’re probably have healthy pups, pups who haven’t suffered with stomach problems, as soon as I read your post I thought where’s Anon, what happened to Anon she would of been posting all side effects to your holistic supplements or reporting your post to DFA….
The dog needs a good vet who’s dealt with IBD in dogs
Sorry if I’ve upset you but its upsetting reading post where the dog isn’t well & has learn’t to live with its pain..

[WondrousPups]

Hi Susan,
Thank you for the clarification and sorry for mixing up IBD with IBS. I didn’t suggest turmeric to you. It’s peppermint oil. It’s still helpful for helping pains, gas, bloating associated with the disease. If you don’t find my offering helpful, that’s not a problem for me. My sharing is from my heart, and freely given, and it’s up to you to do whatever you’d like.

I fine it very troubling and unethical for you to say things untrue about turmeric. It does not cause pain or upset stomach. Turmeric actually work as a pain killer in high doses much like aspirin would without upsetting stomach that NSAIDs often causes. It’s been well documented. I am also don’t suggest using purified forms of supplements. Whole plants as a food as medicine is my general approach.

[Susan]

@ Wonderuspups,
A Colonoscopy is different to an Endoscope Stomach you just need a empty stomach, not empty bowel the camera can only go down esophagus & maybe small bowel only if the sphincter flap is open to enter small bowel for dogs.
Patch has IBD not IBS..
When Patch is having Endoscope + Biopsies, he eats his Dinner night before then no more food after 8pm, no water after 12am, next day he goes to vet 10am, his Endoscope app is at 11am, blood is taken for anesthetic check.
then I get a call from his vet nurse who’s looking after him after his procedure to tell me Patch has woken up come around 3pm to pick him up then he’s back home eating small meal 3-4pm & running around, there’s no pain with Endoscope/Biopsies, he stayed on his Acid Blocker meds weren’t stopped same with me.
I have Endoscope every 5 yrs, no food after 12am I’m at hospital 8am next day, back home 11am same day & I have to take my meds before I leave home that morning, when I was younger I was told to stop my ant acid medication 2 weeks before Endoscope & my god the pain I had bad acid reflux, when my scope/biopsies was finished & I woke up the Gastro Dr told me to take my ant acid medication as soon as I get home, cause my esophagus & stomach is red & inflamed..

Turmeric is hot spice, I cant take it & I’d never give to Patch as it would upset his stomach. Same as Apple Cider Vinegar makes acid reflux worse if dog or person is making too much Hydrochloric acid in their stomach, coconut oil can cause bad acid reflux as well its a hard fat, not a soluble fat.
You have to be very careful with animals as they cant talk & tell owner they’re in more pain after having natural herbs etc.. The only supplement I’ll use is Slippery Elm powder cause I’ve tried it & CBD oil, I always try things first..

@ Sienna.
I’d be trying medications before trying any holistic supplements, Turmeric can cause stomach upset, if your dog has Ulcer Turmeric will make pain worse.
Patch was eating Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fusion & the fish made his acid worse he cant eat any fish kibbles they’re higher in Omega Oils, also dogs who suffer with Pancreatitis have problems with oily fish + fish oils, they can cause a Pancreas flare, if you follow Dr Judy Morgan her old dog he’s since passed away, he kept having Pancreatic flare every month so Judy stopped everything in his diet & did Elimination Food diet & re introduced everything slowly & it was the Fish Oil causing his flares… look at Turkey & Potato kibbles, Pork & Potato kibbles
Here’s Canidae Pure Wild Boar but the fat is 15-16%???
https://www.canidae.com/dogs/canidae-pure-grain-free-dry-dog-food-wild-boar/

Patch does really well on the Canidae Pure Senior it has the lowest fat- 10.80%max are you 100% sure she cant have Chicken you’ve don’t a proper elimination diet?

There’s also 4Health Special Care Sensitive Stomach, there’s NO meat + kcals are low
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4health-special-care-sensitive-stomach-formula-for-adult-dogs-8-lb-bag?cm_vc=-10011

4Health has Lamb & Rice Kcals are 328Kcals per cup easy to digest ingredients fat -12%min.

Sometimes we have to put aside our strong beliefs & do whats best for the dog, I’m feeding Patch Eukanuba Senior kibble Eukanuba made in Australia, ingredients are slightly different to USA Eukanuba, it has Corn & Wheat & Patch isn’t wanting his grass he normally wants after Dinner, I’m going back to what Patch was first put on when I rescued him 2012 + I know Eukanuba makes low residue kibbles easy to digest ingredients.

[WondrousPups]

Hi Sienna,

If you are planning on biopsy and an endoscopic exam, I believe you need to have your pup off of any meds/supplements for two weeks before the exam to clear the system, and no food for three days before endoscopic exam. At least that’s what I had to do for my colonoscopy so that the test results will be sound. I can understand your urge to want to help your furbaby. Starting with new herbs before the tests can contaminate the results, though. If I were in your shoes, I’d wait until after the test results are back so that I’d be able to make a more informed decision, not shooting in blind. How can anyone treat something one doesn’t know what’s wrong? Do you know for sure your girl’s problem is from IBS? Slippery elm is helpful for protecting digestive lining. I would not use it before the exam because it increases mucilage in digestive tracks and it can make it difficult for the doctor to establish the base line. Does this make sense?

I’m kind of scared for you right now. DO NOT start using Ashwagandha until after the vet exam. Your pup probably has to be sedated for the endoscopic exam, and ashwagandha can potentiate the sedative that the vet is going to use. VERY DANGEROUS! I don’t want you to risk getting adulterated powder somewhere as supplements and herbs are not regulated as medicine although some are potent enough to be as such, I’ll tell you where to get a safe supply, but again, I recommend waiting. With that said, I highly recommend buying herbs from Mountain Rose Herb – mountainroseherbs.com. They are highly ethical and well respected company. Prices are very reasonable for the quality (fresh, organic, ethically harvested, and sustainably sourced). Bulk is the least expensive way, but if you don’t use it quickly, quality diminishes (especially powder form). Some herbs, spices and tea make sense to buy in bulk, others, smallest quantities in powder from.

Dosage (Upto, Roy, and Petrone, Cathirose, eds., Ashwagandha Root: Withania Somnifera – Analytical, Quality Control, and Therapeutic Monograph.):

As powder, ¼ teaspoon (1/2g) – ½ teaspoon (1g) per day for your 50 lb. pup. You can add it to the turmeric concoction I shared earlier, but here it is again.

2 servings (1 cup per serving daily)
2 cups of full fat coconut milk – heated. In a blender, add the milk, 1 tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp ginger powder, ½ tsp Ashwagandha powder, 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 tsp honey (optional). Blend on high for about 30 seconds.

Remember – it is meant to be taken over time every day to restore nervous system and sleep cycle.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Jerold K]

I bought Nutra Thrive Canine Nutritional Supplement directly from the company after I saw an infomercial touting its benefits with a horse called “Sly.” The message in the infomercial was POWERFUL. The ingredients brought “Sly” the horse back to life after he was on his way to dying.! My dog was not dying. In fact he was and is very healthy. I thought to myself this product will just make him healthier. On June 19,2020, I started feeding small amounts to my Jack Russell/ Chihuahua by mixing it in with his other regular food. Within 3-4 days , I noticed that my dog had black diarrhea. I also noticed that he was scratching his anal area with his teeth. I noticed that his anal area was red. I immediately took him off the supplement. I thought everything would return to normal. I did not at that time check his entire body. I thought the redness was confined to his anal area. Then on June 29th, I saw that he had red blotches on his flank and stomach area.( I have pictures, but I do not think I can attach them here.) (I did send the pictures to the company.) I WAS IN A PANIC! I got on the INTERNET and started to research the issue. After my research, I thought it could be ringworm. I took him to a vet and to my surprise, it was not ringworm, but a strong a strong allergic reaction to something. I told the vet about my use of Nutra Thrive. He concluded it must have been something in the ingredients that caused that reaction. I was dumbfounded!
Anyway, the vet gave him a cortisone shot , put him on antibiotics for 2 weeks, shaved his stomach and flank area so I could apply gentacalm on his body throughout the day. He also has a cone around his neck so he cannot scratch his anal area. My dog is not happy! UNBELIEVABLE! The vet bill was $298.99! PRIOR TO THIS EVENT, MY DOG HAD NEVER BEEN TO A VET FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN TO GET HIS YEARLY SHOTS. I have owned him for 4 years. He is 10 years old.
I would strongly suggest to any dog owner that if your dog develops diarrhea, IN MY OPINION, STOP USING THIS PRODUCT IMMEDIATELY!
I called customer service and asked for a refund because my dog had terrible diarrhea. The girl was very understanding and said she would issue a refund. I had no problems with the company with my request for a refund. I mailed back the jar which was 95% full because I had used very little.
I also sent an E-mail to customer service telling them what had happened and requested that they reimburse me for the vet bill. A person named Aldo replied and stated that he apologized for the ‘inconvenience” that has caused me and my pet. He calls a $298.99 vet bill and the miserable condition my dog finds himself in an “inconvenience.” UNBELIEVABLE! I wonder what he would say if the shoe were on the other foot and it was his dog that had this problem.
And of course he gives the standard line that they always suggest speaking with your “preferred” veterinarian for the best advise. THE INFOMERCIAL THAT I SAW NEVER SUGGESTED THAT! If that is their position then every ad they run should state that the customer should see their “preferred vet” first before they buy the product. Of course if they did that they wouldn’t sell any product because the vet would most assuredly say do not buy the product. The vet would sell them their own product. WHO ARE THEY KIDDING! Their whole business model is to bypass the vet. IF IT WERE OTHERWISE, THEY WOULD TRY TO SELL THEIR PRODUCT THROUGH THE VET!
Aldo never mentioned anything about the vet bill by the way.
The ingredients in Nutra Thrive caused harm to my dog and The company should reimburse me for my vet bill of $298.99! I understand that they do not sell their product to harm pets. That is not their intention. However, when their product negligently causes harm to a pet, they are liable for the damages. If they care about pets like they say they do. they should pay up.
A STRANGE THING HAPPENED WHEN I GOT MY REFUND ON JULY 7,2020. The refund was issued by a company called “California Pet Partners.” I looked up who runs that company. The name I found was Martin Goldstein. Martin Goldstein is none other than DR. MARTY who sells his own line of dog supplements. WHY AM i GETTING A REFUND FROM DR. MARTY FOR A PRODUCT THAT IS SOLD BY DR. RICHTER! STRANGE!

[Patricia A]

There are different types of stones with different reasons for formations. However, hydration is a big key in all stones to prevent recurrence. Helpful article below for Calcium oxalate stones.
Nutritional management of Calcium Oxalate stones

While it can be difficult to completely prevent your dog developing calcium oxalate stones (particularly if they have a genetic predisposition to it), there are some things that you can do to decrease your dog’s chances of developing bladder stones, and to prevent them coming back in dogs who have previously had them.

Keeping your dog well hydrated is vital. This dilutes their urine, which in turn dilutes the levels of chemicals that promote stone formation, and so decreases the chance of your dog developing bladder stones.

You can help your dog drink more water by placing a few bowls of fresh water in different locations around the house. Always make sure the water is fresh and that you change it regularly.

In the ideal world we are aiming to maintain urine specific gravity <1.020. I always encourage my clients to buy a refractometer, which makes it very easy to measure your dog’s urine specific gravity.

The food your dog eats also impacts on the development of calcium oxalate stones.

To decrease the chances of your dog developing bladder stones, you should avoid feeding foods that contain high levels of oxalate such as spinach, sweet potatoes, organ meat and brown rice. Instead, include foods with lower oxalate levels like apples (peeled), wild rice and meats and fish in their diet. It’s also a good idea to boil vegetables and discharge the water before giving them to your dog – this helps to reduce the oxalate levels in them.

Restricting calcium is another strategy for reducing oxalate levels in the urine – a reduction in calcium should be accompanies by a similar reduction in oxalate levels. However calcium restriction should be done very carefully, as too much restriction can be damaging and may lead to health problems including osteoporosis.

Other dietary measures that can be taken to help prevent formation of calcium oxalate stones are reducing dietary sodium (salt) and avoiding excess vitamin D. This is because excess sodium and vitamin D promotes excessive urinary calcium excretion. Therefore moderately reduce dietary sodium, stay away from high sodium treats and do not supplement with vitamin D.

Vitamin C supplements are not recommended because when vitamin C is metabolised and broken down, it produces oxalate – therefore avoiding vitamin C supplements avoids an increase in oxalate levels.

Vitamin B supplements are water soluble and are excreted in the urine. Therefore in all cases of urinary tract stones it is prudent to give a vitamin B complex supplement.

There is still some debate surrounding magnesium and bladder stones. Some studies have shown that magnesium in the urine impairs formation of calcium oxalate stones. But other studies have shown that when given to healthy dogs, magnesium supplements resulted in an increase in urinary calcium levels. So because there is no definite consensus, restricting or supplementing magnesium is not recommended and so both should be avoided.

It’s important to note that not all of the oxalate in your dog’s body stems from their diet. Some is produced naturally by your dog’s body, mainly the liver. Nonetheless, avoiding incorporating foods with high levels of oxalate in your dog’s diet is an important preventative step against calcium oxalate stones.

Including fiber in the diet may reduce absorption of some minerals and so should be considered as part of any dietary changes being made. However, take care not to increase levels too much which can result in overfeeding.

Calcium oxalate stones cause the bladder to become inflamed by rubbing up against the bladder wall. To help reduce this inflammation, you can give your dog fish body oil supplements. However, avoid liver oil as this contains vitamin D which should be avoided (see above).

There are a few veterinary prescription diets designed to (theoretically) reduce the likelihood of calcium oxalate stone.

You can also prepare you dogs food at home using the same high quality ingredients that you eat. There are several health benefits of making your dogs food at home. By feeding your dog a home-prepared diet rather than a dry kibble diet, you can increase the amount of water they are drinking. And as mentioned above, increased water consumption makes urine more dilute and can help prevent stones forming.

A home-prepared diet is also the only way you can truly control what is going into your dog.

If you’d like to try cooking for your dog, the best way to ensure that the diet is meeting all of your dogs nutritional needs is to get your recipe from a qualified nutritionist. Dietary manipulation to address a health problem should be done by someone who will work with your dog.

[Lisa V]

I posted about my dog last year, I didn’t not mention that we were on our third round of some type of auto immune disease/PLE/Lymphangeictasia, I only mentioned 2 rounds. He started at age 4 and he is now age 9. I wrote that last year we decided to take him off meds, he is still on Metronidazole twice/day but that’s it. We also give him a B-12 shot once/month. The next day his stools are good. His vet from Tufts said he would die within days or weeks. That was almost 1 year ago and he’s still doing well. I mostly feed him boiled chicken breast and rice (not instant if possible) with steamed veggies (I steam and puree veggies before mixing with the rice). I also cook up some beef or chicken liver and add that to the rice mixture. We used to use a GNC supplement but that appears to have been discontinued it was awesome! His stools have softened over the last few months since that product was discontinued so I’m experimenting again with enzymes and supplements but haven’t found anything great yet, but sometimes his stools are loose and sometimes they are pretty good, they have shape. I supplement a little in the morning with added Hydrolized protein dry food because it has some vitamins and texture that he likes. However, it seems that the more kibble he gets, the looser the stools are the next day. If I kept him on pure chicken, rice, liver and pumpkin he’d probably have better stools. I am home so I try to feed him 3 smaller meals/day, lunch is canned Salmon/mackerel. Maybe go real simple for a few days. Good luck!

[Chipy]

Hi Jessica,

So awesome that you are switching to fresh food! Your pups are very lucky to have you!! 🙂

We switched to home-made meals many years ago and it was the best decision to support our dog’s health. I am happy to share some resources that have been super helpful in guiding us to prepare balanced, home-cooked, and raw meals.

To learn the basics, I suggest you start with this quick and easy Natural Diet Course which contains videos and articles full of information on this subject; https://peterdobias.com/pages/course-rawdiet

This online Recipe Maker will help you build healthy meals for your dogs with the ingredients you have available. It provides guidance on amounts of each ingredient and which ingredients are best; https://recipemaker.peterdobias.com

The key is to offer a variety of both proteins and vegetables and add essential nutrients (non-synthetic, wholefood-based supplements) to help fill in any nutritional deficiencies; https://peterdobias.com/collections/adult-dog-essentials

When it comes to recommendations on where to purchase high-quality meat and bones, it’s difficult to provide specific options as that will vary depending on where you live. I have some general advice that I would like to share and hope you find helpful.

Connecting with your local butcher is a great option, but you can always go to the supermarket as most meat departments have butchers working on site.

Bones that we are looking to feed our dogs are not often packaged for the display shelves. If you chat with them, they might have something you are looking for or can work with you to put it aside next time.

Some people that live in the country connect with local farmers or those that have friends or family that go hunting for a game could potentially give you items that they would discard when they are processing meat.

Pet stores are beginning to carry more natural food including stocking freezers with various bones and brands of pre-packaged, raw dog food. Unfortunately many primarily carry a lot of big beef marrow bones which are very hard and can lead to teeth fractures. On speaking to the pet store owner about what you are looking for, they are more likely to carry alternatives if they know that people want to buy them.

There are many Raw Food suppliers that ship nationwide and you can also try to connect with dog lovers in your area in person or online through Facebook groups etc to see if they have suggestions.

I hope you find the above information useful for your beloved dogs. Wishing you a great rest of the week! 🙂
Chipy

[Kayla M]

Margy,

My small mixed breed dog was given Heartguard and was on antibiotics (Baytril) and went blind overnight (dilated pupils freaked me out!) & couldn’t smell. She was walking uncoordinated, developed dementia symptoms over that week. It traumatized me and broke my heart.
This happened too fast.

She eats real meals (chicken breasts, rice, vegs) everyday, but was also eating a new dog food to cover any missed nutrients, “Purina One Smart Blend” (2 flavors – the salmon and chicken & rice blend) and Purina Beyond small dog (chicken).

She was drinking a lot of water and had UTI and protein in urine (and and also high WBC, RBC- this has all cleared up though after a few months – antibiotics did not help it).

She peed every 30 minutes.
Could NOT hold it for an hour. It was insane. How can a dog pee that much? All they kept checking for was diabetes which was negative.

At first I thought it was from a manufacturing defect of the heart guard (did too much active ingredient get in her chew?? :(. )
or the antibiotics themselves??

Maybe some dogs can’t metabolize certain antibiotics or have a liver issue, that potentially could slow things down and it therefore effects/travels to their brain? (So much water drinking!).

My vet said nothing. We just kept doing bloodwork and urinalysis.

My dog then suddenly developed every Cushings Symptoms (eating), and was finally diagnosed a few months later and put on med.

(I also wondered if perhaps an infection like a virus occurs and if it triggers the bone marrow, and then things go haywire… leading to other issues involving the eyes, pituitary/brain inflammation. (Hence all the drinking and peeing?)

Or maybe if she were beginning to get Cushings, and the antibiotics and/or Heartguard somehow caused an extreme imbalance or could then cross the brain brain barrier leading to the blindness?

The sudden onset of blindness and dementia symptoms was the worst part. For 3 months she didn’t know who I was.
It was rapid.

With a lot of love and care and supplements and her new med she is coming around. (Still blind, but she had a moment where she could see and her eyes are no longer dilated).

If anyone is reading this, I read a lady used bilberry for her dog and it reversed.
It’s too late for us, but it you spend $4 at Walmart on a bottle and it it somehow helps, please try it and report it. (Of course, take dog to a opthamologist. We did to see if it was glaucoma or anything. I wish I could have afforded an MRI and neurologist, for peace of mind to see what was happening. 🙁

(P.s. Ocuglo didn’t help her in any way, we started it that day… and it was expensive for a supplement).

[jamie L]

i am also trying to feed my dogs no dry food, only wet/canned meat and then I add in vegetables, quinoa, rice, etc….trying to keep them off dry food, but am very worried I am not giving them enough of something…I give them an organic supplement with their foods…I rotate supplements, and only pick the highest grade ones I can find with ORGANIC ingredients. So, same question……is canned wet food enough, or do I also need to supplement my dogs with Calcium???

[Natalie R]

Hello y’all, my name is Guinevere and this is my very first post!!! So I’ve been dabbling in and out of feeding raw for years. Im so happy that I stumbled across dogfoodadvisor.com and then greentrip.com. You know to be honest with y’all I wouldn’t have gone searching online for anything but my Dobie has been having the WORST ⛽️!! So yes I figured it out, she needs some tripe or enzymes, but what’s even more exciting is earlier on Craigslist I was looking for feeder rabbits. So now I can sit back take a deep breath and relax.
My poor little puppers have definitely been missing out on important nutrients in their diet. So as bad as I feel about this, its important to realize that I was doing the best that I could and if I knew better I would have done better. So I’m a big believer in the statement “no stupid question”. Well pretty much 😜.
When supplementing with CodLiverOil I noticed on one person’s menu she recommended reduced VitaminA. Ok I got that however like one of the supplements I was looking at , BioFinestCodLiverOil the amount of vitamin a in it is 2500iu. How do I know if that is too much or right where it needs to be? I’m sure I’m going to have more questions but that’s my first. Let me say ahead of time thank you for reading my post and taking the time to answer me.

Guinevere

[Hav mom]

Chip,y I have been using Dr. Dobias products for my dog. I put Green min and Soul food every day along with am
Feel Good OMega and pm meal gut sense.l It has made a great difference in his coat, his health and his teeth and
gums. My vet asked what am I feeding him. I feed him fresh veggies with grouond turkey Dr. Dobias has a
plan meals for dogs, easy to make and freeze portions or fresh very day (if you have the time. But the supplements are
for any food. I also waited for a few months and then did the liver cleanse. easy, peasey, he had no difference in his
attitude but he was more perky and better when he was done in six weeks. He also does not itch any longer and his
eyes don’t cake in corners. So, we are happy with the supplements. I make a large bowl of food at one time with his plan
of recipes. My dog is a havanese, large guy, 20#,he was a rescue 7 years ago and is going on 9 years old this year. Looks
terrific, his blood tests are perfect…cant ask for more. The suypplements are expensive, but I found he only needs
1/2 tsp. for a day of Green min and the rest, so they ususallly last 3 months or so. Dr.Dobias has a chart as to how long
for hyour personaldog the supplement you choose should last before running out. His meal plans are easy and affordable
if you want to do them. veggies, meat that’s it. Hope this helps, and as this is a late post ,(I have been off line for a while, sorry)you may have tried them already–so let me know if you liked the products.