[anonymous]

Excerpt from an article written by a veterinarian that specializes in nutrition. She is affiliated with one of the best veterinary medical centers in the country.
Hope it helps someone, if not the OP, maybe someone else reading this.

https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/

Raw diets are another popular option on the market today. Studies have shown that 20-35% of raw poultry and 80% of raw food dog diets tested contained Salmonella. This poses a health risk for your pet, but also for humans. This is especially true for children or immunocompromised adults, whether exposed to the raw food directly, or the feces of the pet eating the raw food. Additionally, there is increased risk of other bacterial infections and parasitic diseases when feeding raw diets. And the bottom line is there is no reason to believe raw food is healthier than cooked food.
The numerous dietary choices for your pet can be daunting but if you pick an AAFCO approved food made by a manufacturer with a long track record, odds are good that you will find a suitable food for your pet. Most of the large pet food companies employ full time veterinary nutritionists and have very high quality control standards. That is not to say that a small company cannot produce nutritious and high quality food, but you should check out their website if it’s a company that is not familiar to you. Take the time to research, and ask your veterinarian if you have specific questions or concerns.
Please understand that this article is meant to provide basic dietary guidelines for healthy pets. If your pet has specific health issues, then your veterinarian may make specific food recommendations, which may include special prescription diets.

[Susan]

Hi Tiffany,
I think you’re doing a pretty good job, you’ve had a little set back with Aria, if Aria didn’t catch the rabbit Aria would probably be doing really well now, just start all over again..
You may of panic a little bit but after reading all the bad stuff on the net who wouldn’t panic, I would of paniced aswell actually years ago when Patch was pooing blood diarrhea I paniced & rushed him & took some of his bloody poo to the vets & waited out the front till they opened up at 8am, the vet nurses & vet were so calm & I was a mess, stressing out, I had no sleep, I’ve never owned a dog that pooed just blood all night…. he blood wasn’t from a raw diet, afterward I went thru a animal Nutritionist to put him on a raw diet.
But you learn from these things & if there’s a next time you’ll do things different….
Patch has IBD his vet gives me repeat scripts of “Metronidazole” that I keep in the cupboard & when something happens like Aria vomiting undigested smelly brown vomit or blood vomit or bloody poos & I see Patch isnt getting better after 2 days then I start him on the Metronidazole for 7-14 days..
When Aria spewed the brown stuff it would have been digested food in its liquid form, then she couldn’t poo cause she probably didnt have nothing much to poo out after being fasted for 24 hrs then she spewed a meal, her bowel would have been emtpy & she was unwell with Gastritis she probably felt like she had to poo but didnt have to poo..
What did she eat the day she spewed the digested food??
Just keep an eye on Aria being a GSD she may have a sensitive stomach/bowel then her brother Ronan has….She might be more sensitive to certain ingredients?
I just re read your post maybe don’t feed Aria any beef if she gets bad gas after eating beef. also beef livers are more rich, I’d start a Elimination diet with Aria, I’d feed Ronan the same raw diet as you were feeding before the Rabbit incident & with Aria I’d start feeing just 1 meat probably Chicken, Turkey & Duck & feed from the same animal so the same organ meat & same muscle meat, so feed from the same chicken or Turkey or Duck if you can, you’ll have to buy the whole chicken or whole Turkey try & find a chicken, duck & turkey farms close by, best to feed free range raw, but its more expensive.
also maybe when she spewed she ate too much fat??
My vet tells me, sometimes its good when a dogs spews, its not always a bad Susan lol the Gastro vet said its very easy for a dog to bring things back up, they’re not like us when we vomit, it just stresses me out a bit, I stress when Patch spews, well I dont stress as much now after the Gastro vet has explained it all to me & told me not to worry, its better out then in, also dogs have a short digestive tract & can easily vomit when they have too,
Chicken, turkey & pork these meat are suppose to be easier to digest & the bone is supoose to be softest from the Chicken but the pork has more fat but you can control the fat amount you feed if your making your own raw diet also home made raw is HEAPS better then the Pre made raw you buy already made, when I bought Turkey BARF pre-made for my cat she wouldn’t touch it, then I took the Turkey back & they gave me samples of the Rabbit & Kangaroo Barf & they all smelt the same as the Turkey BARF, you’d think being different meats they would all smell different, well they should of all smelt different, the cat wouldn’t touch any of them, then I went to supermarket & bought fresh human grade chicken & kangaroo mince & it smelt like fresh meat should smell, totally different to the pre-made pet BARF raw formula’s, So your better off making your own raw meals, it probably heaps fresher.. find a butcher that sells cheaper off cuts..

Just make sure when they’re both eating raw meaty bones, you watch them & make sure they’re both crunching & munching their raw meaty bones & if you see a certain cut of meaty bone that they’re not really chewing properly & just swollowing, then don’t use that cut of meaty bone again… Invest in a meat cleaver & a good chopping block & go nuts & start hacking at all the meaty bones lol…
If you join a few facebook groups you might find someone thats selling or giving away their smaller grinder/mincer they might have bought a bigger grinder/mincer?
Dont worry about them eating bones, dogs teeth are made specially for eating raw meaty bones, animals etc, a really good Raw Canine group is called “The Australian raw feeding Community” f/b group…

Canine Dental Anatomy

Incisors — Dog
There are four types of teeth in small animals: incisor, canine, premolar, and molar. Nature designed each to serve a special function. Incisors are named first, second and third; or central, intermediate, and lateral, based on their location in the mouth. There should be six incisors in the maxilla (upper jaw) and six in the mandible (lower jaw). Incisor teeth are used for shearing and grooming.

Normally, the
lower canine
should intersect
the upper lateral
incisor and upper
canine
There are two large canine teeth located in the mandible and two in the maxilla. The canines are designed to grasp and tear with great pressure. Premolar teeth have sharp edges used for shearing. In the dog, there are four premolar teeth on either side of the upper and lower jaws. Dogs have four molars in the upper jaw and six in the lower. Molars have a flat surface used for grinding.
So you dont need a grinder your dogs teeth are one lol

[Charles B]

Ok – Our one boy we have figured out his environmental allergies and are on route to controlling them.

Our other food, has a food allergy. He is 100% on Acana Duck and Pear, however our vet doesnt like how much legumes are in it with the Golden Retriever Taurine issues.

So lets say the Acana is our control. This was the food we settled on after a lot of trying and paw licking.

We have also tried Acana Freshwater Fish, Acestry Duck and Potato, Wellness Duck and Oat, Canine Caviar Open Plains, Farmina Cod and Orange, and Farmina Lamb and Blueberry.

Ive created a spreadsheet, which can be seen here: https://tinyurl.com/yd9yxmuo

After a lot of comparison, I determined the following are all shared between the foods, except the control. If their names slightly differed I included them.

Biotin 5/7
Choline Chloride 5/7
Copper Proteinate 4/7
Copper Sulfate 2/7
Manganese Proteinate 4/7
Manganese Sulfate 2/7
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride 5/7
Riboflavin 6/7
Thiamine Mononitrate 5/7
Zinc Proteinate 5/7
Zinc Sulfate 2/7

[Susan]

Hi Jennifer,
I know this is long but something in this post may help your little girl…..

I would go back to see a vet & get another course of the Metronidazole for 21-28 days.
I know the antibiotics don’t seem like they’re working but they are fixing whatever is wrong with your girl intestinal tract. When my boy takes Metronidazole 200mg twice a day every 12 hours with a meal, his poos become very sloppy, he takes the Metronidazole for his stomach to kill that bad bacteria when bacteria starts to take over his stomach again & causes bad acid reflux (Helicobacter-Pylori)….

The Metronidazole should fix her Intestinal tract & I know some of the vet diets don’t have the best ingredients but the vet diets are specially formulated for certain bowel /stomach problems, 1 Gastrointestinal formula has more soluble fiber, (Hills I/d Digestive Care Restore), then other Gastro vet diet (Hills Z/d Ultra) has more insoluble fiber & less soluble fiber, Royal Canine has their Hypoallergenic formula its very low in fiber 1%, this way you work out is it her small bowel or her large bowel that has the problem, her vet should be trying to work this out….You could go back to the same vet practice but see a different vet if there’s a few vets working there, that’s what I did with my boy..

Have you tried adding 1 tablespoon of boiled pumkin with her meals, boiled pumkin freezes really good, cut pumkin up into 1-2 spoon size pieces boil, then freeze them, you can get the ice cube trays & after you have boile the pumkin, mash it all up, then spoon into the ice cube tray, cover with cling warp then freeze & take out the frozen cubed pumkin when you need it….. 1 ice cube thing is = to about 1 spoon, then start adding the pumkin with her meals or just add to 1 of her meals & see are her poos better or worse?? if poos are better & less poo’s then she needs more Soluble fiber in her diet,
Soluble fiber is found in grains like barley, oatmeal, rice, and corn meal and seeds like chia, flax, potatoes, carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, turnips, beets, squash, pumpkins, avocados, bananas, applesauce and mangos.
if her poos become more sloppy after trying the pumkin then she might need a diet with less soluble fiber & more Insoluble fiber, Lentils, Beans, Peas, Legumes, Pinto Beans, Turnips, brown rice, etc but it can become confusing cause these vegetables have both soluble & insoluble fibers in them they’ll just have more of one of the fibers..

Vet diets for intestinal health also have prebiotics to heal the stomach & bowel, have you started giving her a dog probiotic like “Purina Forti Floria” Probiotic yet? give inbetween meals on empty stomach it’s best to take a probiotic, first thing of a morning, inbetween meals or before bed at night when stomach acids are low, I was adding probiotic powder with 10-15mls of water in a bowl, you swirl water around to mix the probiotic powder then let her drink it..

You could ask the vet can you try the “Royal Canine” Select Protein PR-Potato & Rabbit formula or the Royal Canine PV – Potato & Venison formula & get the same matching wet cans as well as the dry formula, or just try the R/C PR or PV wet can food & see how she does on wet can food?? Maybe she can’t handle the dry kibble??
To be so young & to have Intestinal problems it mighten be food related she might have something wrong with her small or her large bowel??
if her poos are sloppy & yellow then it’s her small bowel & if her poos are dark brown look like a cow pattie poo then its her large bowel, a good vet will know where the problem lays, at first Patch had small bowel problems S.I.B.O then after he took the Metronidazole & ate a vet diet for 9 months his small bowel healed & became better then a few years later he had problems with his large bowel…
You could feed the dry kibble R/C PR for breakfast & dinner & the wet can food for lunch cause she is a pup you’d feed 3-4 meals day, with vet diets they are guaranteed money back or exchange for another vet diet & you keep trying the vet diet till you find 1 that agrees with your girl, then you leave her on the same vet diet that seems to be agreeing with her for a good 6 months…Patch was doing really well on the “Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue” dry kibble, its very low in fiber & worked, we finally found a vet diet that helped him & he was only doing 2 poos, somedays 3 small poos a day, his vet wanted him on the Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue for 1yr so his intestinal tract could heal properly, then after 9 months he was scratching & his skin smelt real yeasty he was sensitive to the chicken, his poos were good but his skin wasn’t, then I started trying limited ingredient dry pet shop kibbles & if 1 grain free kibble didnt work, I always went back to his Eukanuba Intestinal Vet Diet, I think it’s called IAMS in America, I know ingredients aren’t the best but its a start to make her bowel healthy, I think the Iams have the Kangaroo & Oats, or look at “Rayne Canada” they have Kangaroo, Rabbit & Crocodile wet & dry formula’s
http://www.raynecanada.ca/canine-diets/

Have you tried the Loaf style meats “FreshPets” rolls. I read on DFA a few people have had success with the Fresh Pets rolls..
Just remember when you try something new just do 1 thing at 1 time over 1 week period other wise you will not know what is causing what if she has diarrhea & blood… Bloody poo’s is Colitis.. but she is so young to have these problems, you need a really good vet to work out whats wrong, I have found lady vets seem to be more sympathetic then the men vets…

[Christopher E]

Madison et al… I started this thread when I myself was eating a vegan diet. Although I still believe that eating vegan is the healthiest choice for both myself and my dog, I didn’t have the conviction necessary to stay away from meat and dairy, which I love. But my dog, on the other hand, has to eat what I give her. Clearly she would prefer a steak over a carrot… as would most any human; but I have decided what I believe to be the healthiest diet for her… which is a diet low in carcinogens and, more importantly cancer growing fuel… cancer is, after all, the number one killer among K9s.

Madison, I understand that you feel a need to defer to what your vet tells you, but there is a flaw in your logic… doctors, by and large, do not know anything about nutrition. Medical schools have only recently begun offering basic introductory courses on nutrition… it is just not what they are trained for.

99%+ of doctors (human) who would actually be willing to discuss diet with you would tell you that eating a 100% vegan diet is not healthy… but you still do it.

I am not pushing my ideals/morality/etc onto my dog as many other posters have stated or alluded to. Even when I was eating vegan I was doing it solely for health reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I was also happy that I was creating less of a negative impact on the environment and that animals were not being mistreated because of my diet… but those were just added benefits.

I feed my dog nature’s balance vegan dry kibble, along with a plethora of supplements (see below), simply because I want for her to live another 10 years and remain as energetic, lucid and healthy as she always has been.

(Vitamins: A,D,E,C,K,B-1,2,6,12,Panthothenic Acid, Folic Acid, Paba, Choline, Inositol, Rutin,Biotin; Minerals: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, Cooper, manganese, iodine, sulphuric, silica, molybdenum, boron, selenium, iron; Protein: alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, asparagine, cystine, cystiene, glycine, glutamic acid, histidine, hydroxyproline, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methsonine, valine, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, glutamine, tyrosine, taurine; Enzymes: amlase, trypsin, papain, lipase, protease, protease, bromelain, pepsin, ditase, pectase; Essential Farty Acids: arachidonic acid, linolenic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid (Norwegian Kelp, ground Flaxseed, nutritional yeast, garlic, calcium citrate, lecithin, borage seed, lactobacillus, acidophilus + amino acids and enzymes))

[pitlove]

Hi Brianne-

While we have textbooks that list out symptoms a dog should have given a particular disease, our dogs don’t follow the textbook and can present in ways other than what they “should” present as. For instance, if a dog had cancer you would think their bloodwork would be completely off the wall crazy, but I’ve seen perfect bloodwork with dogs that are known cancer patients.

When you run bloodwork and the value exceeds what the computer can read it does not matter what the number is, it still means it is too high. His diagnosis would not change if it was 2,000 or 4,000. There is a normal range for amylase and lipase levels and his were well out of the normal range. If he is doing well on the current diet, he needs to remain on that diet until those levels have come back to a normal range. Then you can explore another food.

Also, intermittent vomitting is not normal at all. I see clients daily that believe it is normal for their dog to vomit on occassion and as long as it is not frequent they are fine. This is not the case. Once you get the pancreatitis under control I would consider moving away from Blue Buffalo. It is not a very good company or product in general and it’s clear your dog actually was not doing well on it (picky behavior, vomitting).

[Brianne H]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum, but I wanted to see if anyone has experienced something similar with their dog;

(I have read the other Pancreatitis posts, but my Dog’s symptoms are a bit different.)

So my Dog, Koumpi, is a 6 year old Maltipoo. We got him when he was a puppy, and he had been eating Blue Buffalo food pretty much since we got him, with no issues (at least as far as we were aware). He was always active, but never a big eater; we would give him his food in the morning, and he would sort of pick at it through out the day, but by end of day he would usually have finished it. He’s always had very good physicals, with no red flags for anything, and he weighs 15lbs, which the vet said was perfect.

This march 2018, he went in for his annual physical. The physical portion was good, she said his weight was good (still the same) and everything looked and felt good. We did the blood panel, as we do every year, just to make sure everything is as it should be, but his amylase and lipase enzymes were very high. The vet said he had Pancreatitis, and asked about whether we’d noticed any vomiting, diarrhea, or him refusing to eat. I did tell her that over the last year (or maybe less) he would have intermittent vomiting, like maybe 1ce every few weeks, a very small amount of bile (like a tbsp.), usually at night when he was in his crate. He was still eating as he normally did, still acting the same…the infrequency of the vomiting, and being such a small amount never raised a red flag for me that something was wrong.

She suggested we start by putting him on the Hills low fat prescription I/d diet and re-test his enzyme level in 6 weeks. We did this, and his enzyme level did come down, but was still high at 1800. What we don’t know, was how high exactly it was in the first place, since their cut off level is 2000…it may have been just over 2000, or 4000…we just don’t know. The vet suggested we keep him on this diet, since it *is* doing something, and also give him SAMe (Denosyl 225mg) to act as an anti-inflammatory which will hopefully alleviate any of that if that is what is happening internally, as well as to increase his appetite.

He has been on Denosyl for about 11 days, and I have noticed it has not improved his appetite whatsoever. He does seem to get a burst of energy mid-day/evening, and wants to play a lot with his toys, but other than that, I am not seeing any difference in him.

I guess my issue is, I am not 100% convinced he has Pancreatitis at all…he has no swelling/distention in his abdomen, he is not exhibiting any clinical signs of pain, he’s active, and eating…just eating small amounts throughout the day vs eating it all in 1 sitting. his stools are normal, no diarrhea. He’s also not thrown up AT ALL on the Hill’s diet…

Does anyone know, that has dealt with elevated enzyme levels in their dogs, how long does it typically take for those levels to go back into normal range?

We don’t want to put him through any sort of a scan, as those have their own risks, and where there is no physical indications (swelling or pain in the abdomen), and all other blood work was normal – and we don’t want to medicate him if he truly doesn’t need it, though I would be willing to try Pepcid AC 5mg/day to see if there is any improvement in his eating.

Does anyone have any similar experiences? What worked best for your Dog? Was it Pancreatitis, or just Acid Reflux (GERD)??

[Carrie V]

Our seven year old Boston Terrier mix has tested allergic to flaxseed, beef liver, pinto beans, barley and potato. I believe he is sensitive (or allergic) to coconut oil and hemp oil, as well.

Currently on Nutrience SubZero Canadian Pacific:
http://www.nutrience.ca/dog-food/nutrience-sub-zero/dry-food/canadian-pacific/
There’s something in there making him itchy and flaky…coconut oil maybe? I figured I’d try him on this because his Mastiff sister does incredibly on it. Not going to work for him.

Was on Smack Chunky Chicken a few weeks ago:
Chunky Chicken (DOG)
And did phenomenally, with a silky, dandruff-free coat…but the cost, eeek!

He’s being switched back to Smack now. If that’s what he’s got to eat for the rest of his life to be happy and healthy, I’ll fork out the bucks…but if there is a less expensive–but still top quality–option, I’d love to know about it!

I feel like all I do, all day long, is research dog food so I might ramble a bit. 😀 Thanks for reading all the way to the end!

[Sue S]

Hi Kenneth A – Thanks again for your feedback. We unfortunately don’t have a “Pet People” here. I live in Peoria, AZ. Looks like right now, “Chewy.com” is who I can get the Zignature from. Not sure yet on the Fromm.

We do however have a “Pet Plant”, but they don’t say on their website what they carry, so I’m going to stop by and see. Almost done with the Science Diet though (thank goodness).

The Vet did want her to start taking “Royal Canine – Hydrolyzen Protein” (with nothing else, not even treats) to try and settle her tummy down. (My daughter has a “Puggle Mix”, who is on the Royal Canine too and lives with us). I didn’t want to switch again, but I will once I see if this is helping at all). Vet claims she should get getting better by Friday and wants a report too.

Right now, I think I’m going with “Zignature Zessential” from everything I’ve read on it.
I did notice that it has more meat protein too. I like that it is for all ages (including puppy). I’m still doing my homework on Fromm too.

I’ll keep you posted.
~ Sue

[Sue S]

Hello, Thanks for the greatly appreciated feedback. I will keep you all posted.

zcRiley – We have already done the Proviabal (2-day paste, 10 day probiotic pill sprinkled over food), plus the antibiotics) and poor thing, her soft stools ALWAYS come back. 🙁 Her poop sample has been tested a couple of times and nothing comes back bad. However, I will look into testing for “Clostridium” as suggested. Hadn’t hear about that until you suggested it zcRiley. Thank you! I will check out the Zignature Zessentials, dry grain free kibble for all ages. Can you tell me where to buy that? I don’t see any info. for it on advisor.

I can’t immediately stop feeding what she was on because I need slowly go to feeding another brand, from everything I hear and read. It’s too hard on their tummy if you do. I will tell all of you this……Science Diet is going away and as soon as I can!!

Patricia A – I will also check out Fromm Four Star Nutritionals. Thank you!! I didn’t know that grain-free food would have a higher fat either, so I appreciate that information as well.

Kenneth A – Thank you for your feedback as well and I you already answered my question to zcRiley about where to buy! I’ll check out the pet store today! Thank you so much!!

I will provide feedback as soon as possible (promise). I REALLY appreciate everyone’s involvement and “Lacey” can’t thank you enough either!! Woof!! 🙂

[Terry C]

Hi Everyone!

I was doing an internet search for an alternative to Dr. Marty’s Dog Food for my 15 pound Yorkie Vinny. Boy, am I glad I found you!
I bought 12 bags of this stuff a few months ago and you are right—mostly sawdust! And to make matters worse—Vinny won’t eat it wet!—only dry! He does like the bits in the bag! He was on a human food only diet so I was very happy that he ate this dog food! But he won’t eat the sawdust, so I am stuck with about 8 bags of inedible dry food dust!
I am concerned about this food, not only because it is outrageously expensive but Vinny has recently broken out with seborrheic dermatitis. Since this food has so many different ingredients, I don’t know if he is allergic to the beef or another food ingredient in it since he has never had this skin problem before! So it’s more money for a vet visit to figure out why he suddenly has this rash and if it is because of this food !
Also, since purchasing the product, Vinny’s vet was very interested in the nutritional/vitamin information, so I brought a bag to her office. This info. is not listed anywhere on the package…feel free to check! So since February 12, 2018… I chatted online numerous times to reps who have no idea what they are talking about and with the excuses of: we have forwarded your questions to our research dept. and it will take 2-4 weeks for an answer; I don’t have that information available…I just take customer orders for the food….end chat on their end …is always what happens!!! I have called many times… oh, my computer just went down…let me put you on hold…disconnect…constant ringing when I call back; oh, we have been experiencing power outages, hold on…disconnect…constant ringing when I call back; you can call this 1-800 number (which was the number I called and got this rep.!) ..disconnect…constant ringing when I call back…; you can go to Dr. Marty’s website at http://www.drmarty.com…go to contact us…and his vet practice will personally answer your question….I did this and got a “undeliverable address message in my email! Now when I try to chat online during their CA business hours…I get a pop up message that they were not available…I think they blocked me! So I can not get in touch with Dr. Marty Pets Food at all to try to return the bags and get a refund!
I will definitely try to find other dog foods that you have recommended but I hope that they have smaller bags for a 15 pound Yorkie, especially if I try it and he doesn’t like it! I will continue to read everyone’s comments and advice! Thanks!

[anonymous]

I wonder if you are feeding them too much? Could the food be high in fiber?

I never feed just kibble (too dry) add a little boiled chicken meat and rice (give up the rice when there stools have been firm for more than 3 days), add a little water or plain homemade (nothing added) chicken broth to meals.
Don’t free feed/leave food down.
Feed 3 small meals a day for now.
I have heard good things about Pro Plan Focus salmon for sensitive skin and stomachs
Make sure the food that you choose is appropriate for large breed puppies, it will say so on the bag.

PS: Wait a minute. You got them at 4 weeks? Not good for the immune system. Way too young, they should stay with the mother till at least 10 weeks.
Let me guess, they had a load of vaccinations recently.
Best to spread those out, don’t give all at once, and hold off on the rabies (required by law) for as long as you can, at least till they are 6 months old.

[mojoh]

Hi folks,

First time poster here. I have 2 Rhodesian Ridgebacks, 1 8 weeks old and 1 10 mos old and I am searching for an all life stages brand as I want to feed them as a group. I’m currently feeding them Precise Naturals Large & Giant breed puppy formula.

I do have a number of things I’m hoping to avoid:
1. Trace contaminates from the manufacturing process. I try to vet the dog foods here: https://www.cleanlabelproject.org/product_category/dog-food/

2. Can be grain or grain free (Rice generally has arsenic but grain free blends tend to have more contaminates just as brands with fish tend to as well) Ref: https://www.cleanlabelproject.org/pet-food/ and https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/11/arsenic-in-your-food/index.htm

3. Would like to avoid high levels of pea/pea protein/legumes as they could potentially have long term health effects on dogs: Ref: https://truthaboutpetfood.com/grain-free-equals-peas-peas-and-more-peas/

4. No canola oil. It seems to have more health risks than benefits: https://draxe.com/canola-oil-gm/

With my current feed, I cannot vet it for trace contaminates as there has not been a review. Another similar one that has been reviewed is Eagle Pack Large & Giant breed (Ref: http://www.eaglepack.com/product-dog.aspx#.WubEFtKG99A ) but it is puppy and adult formulas instead of all life stages. The Great Life brand appears to have an all life stages ones but peas are in both grain and grain free formulas: http://www.greatlifedog.com/# and am waiting on a response as to their current calcium/nutritional profile. Also, the original google linked list appears to still have valid formulas except many of them have been tested to have contaminates at various stages of either manufacturing or pre-manufacturing individual product growth.

Also, reading some of the original links and posts it appears that the recommended protein for some studies is 29 to 34% yet other studies shows that 23% protein had no statistical difference on growth. So, is there a recommended range that is statistically proven?

Any thoughts?

Regards,

John

[Tyrionthebiscuit]

You may be able to find a support forum on Facebook for your specific problem. There’s never a clear cut answer, but you can read other experiences and learn from them. Not everyone is as bitter about it as anon101 so don’t get discouraged. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information on a diet, though

[Bonnie W]

Unfortunately I do not use facebook due to harassment issues & getting hacked & told to kill myself every time I go one it so I’ve not gone on in over a year. No he’s not had watery stools until he was given the flea & tick poison & heart worm meds right after finishing the 14 days of SMZ antibiotic. The flagyl worked best but she said that she gave him this SMZ instead last time & this time for 14 days at a time plus the 10mg Prednisone which I’ve not given him yet as I don’t want to make things worse for the poor boy. He just poo’d all over the downstairs again & its almost 2am here & I haven’t slept in 2 night now 3…just ran him outside but it had already happened. The vet also gave me digestive enzymes which I didn’t give him yet either because it says on the bottle that they irritate the mucous membranes & I don’t want to stress him out further as his mouth waters & his nose runs but he’s been drinking a big bowl of water each day & ate most of his Metamucil & food combo w/lots of water in it tonight. Last night he threw up all of the potatoes I boiled & mashed inside his pen then had poo’d all over the rugs & his soft couch like dog bed covers as well so it was a busy day of cooking, cleaning & laundry as well as running out side for slight tiny mucous poo’s I just feel so bad for him. Plus to make things worse my Dad has severe Alzheimers & he called me tonight to ask if I was dead…which was very upsetting & telling me he’d been up to visit my long deceased uncle who was much older than he whose now 89 but telling me he was only 87. He’s supposed to be being taken care of by my sister who is an addict & just uses him & tries to get him drunk so she feels she can safely leave him home alone to go to the pubs etc. Because my older brother has power of atty I can’t do anything to help him & she is the person having people tell me to kill myself on facebook-the police said they would like to see a restraining order put against her to get her out of his house but I’d have to have power of atty to make it happen & my brother has disowned me over a religion he belongs to that I do not so he won’t answer my phone calls or respond to me at all. He says I’m no longer his sister & not to call his home because it upsets his wife to hear my voice. So this along with cancer is making me so stressed with Elijah so sick…he’s been my service dog for all these years & I just feel like I can’t help him. I know he’s very old for an Airedale but he’s been doing so good & his blood work 2wks ago came back perfect except his kidney numbers were up due to the kidney disease but he’s been wanting to go for walks & get outside. He’s very aware of all thats going on around him so I hate the thought of the unspeakable. I’ll just start crying again if I even go on about it. He’s all I have. My mom died several yrs ago & I took care of her to the end when I got cancer which has changed my life & it doesn’t feel like the springtime here it feels like the season of loss for me. I’m just a mess. Thank You for all of you kind words & helpful suggestions I just don’t want to loose him & am not in a position to get another nor do I wish to replace him. He’s been so special in my life & loves to be sung to & is just a kind loving heart full of wisdom of the knowledge bump on top of their heads? His is large so I think he’s quite knowledgeable. But again thank you & I’ll keep you all posted. I just wish is wasn’t the weekend as the vet isn’t in & I don’t want things to go down hill over the next two days. Take care. Thanks again!

[Joshua W]

I searched and could not find anything on this topic, so apologies if it’s already on here.

Prescription dog food is great for dogs with diabetes, kidney issues, etc. There is NO reason that hydrolyzed protein food should require a trip to the vet, and there is no government regulation of this food (that I know of). I have heard that smaller dog food manufacturers (not royal canin, purina, etc) create hydrolyzed protein food and sell it direct. Does anyone know of these manufacturers? Basically, making hydrolyzed food prescription is a racket and I do not want to buy into it.
Thanks!

[CockalierMom]

I think the acid reflux is probably due to the condition of his gut right now. I feed THK base mixes, and my girl will get acid reflux if there is too much fat in her food-she does not tolerate fish oil at all on THK. You may want to try a little Kindly base mix and add your own turkey and see how he does. The base mixes are not ground as fine as the complete mixes, such as Embark, and I hydrate those a lot longer, 4 to 12 hours.

I had was giving my girl probiotics for over a year and mentioned to the vet that I did not think they were helping her, and he suggested adding the kefir. I took her off the pet probiotics when I could not add 3 kibbles to her food without getting diarrhea, and then added kefir and had no problems at all transitioning to another kibble. (She does better with a few kibbles mixed into the THK).

Since the THK is bothering him right now, and he tolerates potatoes and sweet potatoes, you may want to try a little of that with the turkey. White potato has less soluble fiber than sweet potatoes and might be a good choice. I strongly suspect the squash and oatmeal are too much for his system.

Have you tried the Wellness Simple Turkey or Natural Balance Duck and Potato?

With the journey I have been through with my girl, I definitely know what it is like to feel defeated and ready to give up–every time I get a good combination that is working formulas are changed or discontinued. I don’t know that I will have any answers for you but can help get you pointed in the direction to head.

[Susan]

Hi emmygirl,
sorry my post is so long but as I’m writing I’m remember heaps of information & what I did with Patch….
You have written everything I have been thru with my IBD boy Patch who is nilly 10yrs old, I nilly put him to sleep in January, instead we did another Endoscope-Biopsies on esophagus & stomach, I thought he had stomach cancer…
Find a vet that does Endoscope + Biopsies & a vet that knows about IBD, you must get the biopsies done if you ever do Endoscope, some vets dont think to do the biopsies when looking at the stomach & small bowel, these vets are lacking experience in IBD, Patches stomach looks perfect when he had his 2 Endoscopes but his the biopsies told a different story. Biopsies tell the vet so much information what is wrong with your boy intestinal tract….Ultra scan was a waste of money, you cant really see the stomach & the vet can see the bowel but only if the bowel is thickening, vets thought Patch had thickening of the Bowel but he didnt, this happens after the dog has diarrhea for years, I wouldnt like to be a vet, 1 dogs cant talk & tell the vet were is sore what hurts etc, so vets have to do alot guessing sometimes when test come back OK.

*Food
Over the years my good vet told me to keep a yearly diary, cause you cant rememeber every single thing you’ve done & they have done.. now I look back thru Patches diaries when I need to remember what was Patch eating when he was doing so much better, write what your feeding, times, meds, what were poos like when he’s eating ?? etc
Is he doing OK when he’s eating the cooked Turkey, Squash & Oatmeal, how are his poos? one of Patches first vets told me in the beginning, to look & see when dog is pooing, does the poo come out of bum properly formed poo?, then when it hits the ground it turns to slop cow patty poo? the vet said this is OK as long as poo’s are formed when its coming out of the bum & as long as the dog is just doing his normal 1-3 poos a day & is not pooing at all thru day & night at all hours, vet said to me this might be as good as your going to get Patches poos, he was eating the Royal Canine Hypoallergeniic dry kibble… but I ended up getting Patches poos firmer when he started teh TOTW kibble & I ended up trying the Royal Canine Hypoallergenic wet can food last year it was better then the dry R/C HP kibble, then after trying all the Intestinal vet diets Hills, Royal Canine & Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue worked the best but Patch skin was yeasty itchy & smelt bad then after joining the Canine EPI f/b group dogs were doing really well on TOTW or the Kirkland Signature, Natures Domain, Turkey & Sweet potato & Salmon & Sweet potato formula’s so I started Patch on TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb & the Pacific Stream Salmon but teh Pacific Stream Salmon made him vomit he does firm poos but kept vomiting up the TOTW Smoked Salmon later I seen TOTW Pacific Stream Salmon is very high in toxins & another 2 fish formula’s brands Patch kept vomiting are very high in Toxins after being tested, then 3 yrs later Patch refused to eat his TOTW Roasted Lamb kibble, something had changed with TOTW kibble it smelt different, looked different & kibble size became very small….so now it makes me wonder if these kibbles are high in contaminates & toxins making my boy IBD have a flare??? thats why its best to cook their meals or find a really good dog dehydrated dog food that uses human grade ingredients.. as Patch has gotten older his acid reflux has gotten worse so he cant eat kibbles that are over 15% in fat now..
loow for lower fat around 10-13%-fat & low carb diet higher protein

Have you tried adding scramble egg with his meal? also the egg shell dry it out & crush & add 1 egg shell 1 teaspoon egg shell to one of his meals a day for his calcium, slowly start adding the egg shell if you fed home cooked diet……..Patch cant eat any kibbles that have fish or salmon oil in them he gets bad acid reflux from the fish oil also the fiber is very low in those Farmina vet kibbles 1.10% -fiber…Patch would be doing sloppy cow patties eating the Farmine vet diets that are very low in fiber..

When I read your post about your dog can’t eat most ingredients I knew its more then just the ingredients he is reacting too, sometimes it’s not the ingredients they cant eat, it reminded me of Patch when I first rescued him, he does have food sensitivities that I worked out BUT later I worked out there’s In-soluble Fiber, Soluble Fiber, Crude Fiber & Dietary Fiber, dogs with IBD need to work out what fibers agree with them & there isnt that perfect dry kibble diet for our dogs even vet diets dont help Patch or if a vet diet did help Patches IBD he gets his itchy smelly yeasty skin paws & ears.

Have you tried Royal “Canine Gastro Intestinal Low Fat” wet can food??? I bought a 12 can pack last week I had credit from a pet store I had forgotten about & at Lunch time if I think Patch doesnt seem well I open a can of R/C Gastro low fat & I take out the meat loaf from the can as it has heap of oil in the can so I pat dry the loaf with paper towel then I cut into 1/3 & he gets 1/3 of a can & I put the rest in bowl cling wrap bowl & put in fridge Patch does firm poos on the R/C Gastro Low Fat wet can & 5 yrs ago when he ate the R/C Gastro Low Fat he had diarrhea, so sometimes you have to re try foods or wet can or kibbles again cause sometimes its not the ingredients they are reacting too… its something else wrong either their small bowel or large bowel in the beginning it was Patches small bowel S.I.B.O now its his large bowel….
I would start the B-12 weekly injection ASAP you can buy & do yourself, if you join “EPI” Canine face book group they can help & tell you which B-12 tablets to get from chemist & where to buy the B-12 liquid for injections, you can never over dose your dog with B-12′, if they’re feeling crap or have had diarrhea the B-12 can really help them feel heaps better, alot of the EPI dogs take B-12 injections or tablets, I was going to get the tablets for Patch as B-12 is good for them & us humans when we are run down & unwell…..

Try & work out does your boy do better when you cook & add pumkin a soluble fiber soluble fiber is very easy to digest & dissolves in water or does he do better eating Lentils & Chickpeas they’re Insoluble fiber & Soluble fiber food? My boy doesn’t do well on Lentils or Chickpeas he gets instead dirrahea that night if he has ate a kibble with lentils..
google foods that are soluble fiber & foods that are insoluble fibers?

Try & stay feeding the home cooked diet or try a limited ingredient Freeze Dried raw if you I’m slowly introducing a new freeze dried dehydrated raw free range diet we have in Australia called “Frontier Pets” they’re small balls & you add warm water, so many dogs that can’t eat & have IBD symptoms are doing really well on this free range, dehydrated Frontier Pets dog food, it has no lentils, no chickpeas like most of these new grain free foods have now & my Patch is doing firmer poos then what he does when he’s just eating his Wellness Kibble…
I have to feed my boy dry kibble for some of his meals cause his sphincter flap isnt closing now & his food comes back up his esophagus into his mouth causing bad acid reflux, then sometimes the acid goes into his wind pipe & he becomes so unwell, cries, whinges, its awful to watch him when he becames so unwell, I wanted to put him down in January out of his pain, these last 5-6 yrs Ive tried everything & something always seem to work, I had him on Taste Of The Wild, Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb the Australian formula, has no chickpeas or lentils like the American TOTW formula’s have…. I could always fall back onto his TOTW if he started to do cow patty poos again when I was rotating his kibbles his vet said cow paddy poos is the large bowel where yellow sloppy poos is a small bowel problem but when he stopped eating it in December I had no kibbles that I knew worked & didnt iratate his IBD, his vet said please wait 1-2 months before we put Patch to sleep, his environment allergies are real bad at the moment & have put his immune system into over drive, we had just moved as well, so I didnt put him to sleep plus I couldnt do it, I just wanted more help, I wanted a miracle but vets cant always help the dog sometimes no matter how good my vet is, she always tells me Patch is her favorite & she always thinks & wonders how is he going when she doesnt see us but she said she knows he must be doing better cause I havent come…
Have you tried Metronidazole (Flagyl) tablets when he become unwell with vomiting & diarrhea/sloppy poo’s, I have Metronidazole in the cupboard with repeat scripts so I can just go chemist & get them out if I need them saving at $60 vet visit & as soon as I see he’s becoming unwell doing sloppy poos, vomiting or when Im introducing a new food, I put him on the Metronidazole for 14-21 days it helps him, Metronidazole has an anti inflammatory & antibiotic in it, so it helps a few health problems…
With a dry kibble, I’m feeding Wellness Core Large Breed at the moment even though Patch isnt a large breed dog, he’s a senior & when I email Wellness they said yes their Large Breed formula’s are OK to feed a senior dogs, they are high Glucosamine & Chondroitin for their joints & high in DHA, Patch is small to medium English Staffy weights about 40lb -18kgs, the Wellness Core Large Breed formula is high protein-34%, Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, then potatoes, peas, Patch can’t eat chicken he gets red paws but I had no other kibbles left to feed him & the man at Pet Barn said, if anything happens just bring it back all dogs food are money back Guaranteed, I got the 5,4kg bag 1/2 price $40 so I tried it, Patches paws went red but his stomach became better, he had no acid reflux, poos firmed up not 100% firm in the beginning but better then when he was eating a kibble that had grains, I can pick his poos up now on our walk & not leave a poo stamp on the grass, Wellness Core Large Breed is low-med fat-13%max, low Kcals-345 per cup, carbohydrates are 31% you must read the Kcals per cup when looking for a kibble, stay under 360Kcals per cup the higher the Kcals the more dense the food & harder to digest…
also have you tried giving your boy a acid reducer? Patch was taking Losec-(Omeprazole) for 2 yrs then this year I change it to Somac (Pantoprazole) what i take & he stopped eating grass everyday so he mustnt feel sick as much now, sometimes you have to do things yourself when you know in your heart what the vet is doing & advising you isnt helping your dog, & I saw my vet & she now wrote me repeat scripts so I can get the Pantopraozole from chemist cause the vets dont have Pantoprazole in Australia, Pantoprazole is used by American vets… but know if my vet & Patches other vet that does his Endoscopes & Biopsies see a dog like PAtch & cant work out what to do with the dogs bad acid reflux they can rememeber what we did with Patch & touch wood he seems to be getting better he has some bad days but I have his acid reflux under control no & I really want him on this Dehyrated free range, grain free food..
Try the new food just for 1 of his meals, thats what I do now, I feed new food for his lunch 12pm this way Patch has his kibble from breakfast 7am in stomach & small bowel then he eats something different for lunch a small meal then he gets his dinner 5pm kibble again & it seems to work for Patch when Im introducing a new food he gets it at luch time cause you can’t mix kibble & dehydrated raw wet food with a dry kibble, it would probably upset Patches stomach & the Holistic Vet Kathy that help formulate this new Frontier Pets dehydrated raw dog food droped off Patches new food + some samples to try & she said take baby steps, it took 1 of her patient dogs Bernie 6 months to get him onto the Frontier Pets, he was doing well then when down hill but yiou just restart again she said search for “Frontier Pets” on facebook & scroll down, look for Bernies Story” Italian Greyhound story, it will give you some hope…

[Lori H]

Hi Simone,

My dog Buddy has been through a lot, much like your dog. He just turned 10 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes and I was told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over a year ago and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. I just had him into the vet for blood work Friday and his numbers are almost perfect! It has been am amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but it does not matter, he is healthy and that is all that matters!

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which has complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 10+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

I worked with a man named Rick Scheyer. He has an amazing website http://www.doglivershunt.com He has helped many dogs with liver shunt, kidney disease, bladder stone problems and much, much more become healthy dogs again. I would suggest reaching out to him for a free consultation. It might be the answer you need.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise.

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy!

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Good luck on your search and reach out if you have further questions or concerns. It was hard to take the jump and trust someone other than my vet with my dogs nutritional health, but I am so glad that I did.

Lori

[Susan]

Hi Robert,

A dogs digestive tract is short, made to digest meat, raw meat, not a high carb high fiber over processed dry kibble….
Why the dogs digestive tract is short so if the dog eats rotten meat etc the meat is quickly digested & passes thru into the small bowe,l then large bowel, then he poo’s, so no bacteria can start to breed in th e stomach….

A homemade cooked or raw diet would be heaps healthier then feeding wet dog can food but wet can dog food is better then feeding dry processed kibble, so you’re getting there, when you cook your dogs food you know whats in their food & what they’re eating, also when you cook you’re not cooking their food are very high temperatures like wet & dry dog foods are cooked, killing all the good nutrience in their food, maybe baby steps, next time you’re cooking, cook some extra boiled sweet potato or potato, a bit of meat & some green veggies for your dogs meal, mix 1/2 wet can with the cooked food & slowly start feeding cooked meals..
Join Monica Segals Face Book group called “K-9 Kitchen” & Lew Olson group called “K-9 Nutrition” & follow “Judy Morgan DVM” she has really good videos you can watch & very easy to make dog recipes you just put in a Crock Pot slow cocker, Judy has a 16-17yr old dog.

People think if the kibble is grain free kibble then its healthier but some of these grain free kibbles are higher in carbs, higher in fiber, full of lentils chickpeas & peas to up the protein %, so the meat protein % isnt as high as you think it is cause your getting plant protein as well, it would be good if these dog food companies had to write the Meat Protein % the Plant Protein %….. honest dog food companies are starting to write the plant protein %, google “Earthborn Holistic” Venture formula’s they write the Pumkin protein% , the Pea protein% the meat protein %…

Back in the 50’s, 60’s, 70′ & 80’s our dogs were so much healthier then the dogs now who eat dry kibble 24/7, in the 90’s the dog food companies started telling us “DO NOT FEED YOUR DOGS HUMAN FOOD” its no good, kibble is better & we believed them, you have even even written
(Our dogs do not est human food.) why??
what makes you think dog food is better then a “balanced” cook meal, why some vets are against cooked or raw diets is people don’t balance their dogs diet properly causing health problems, this is why the vet will recommend to feed pet food for cause they know it will be balanced but after tests on cat wet can foods in Australia scientist found supermarket, pet shop cat foods Hills & Royal Canine all those little expensive cans of cat food were not balanced properly & now it says on these really small cans of cat food “not to be feed as a main meal”… this happened last year & the scientist who exposed this was sponsered by Hills & wouldnt give up the names of the expensive cat foods they had found not to be balanced properly, the reporter doing the story put 2 & 2 together & worked out which expensive cat foods werent balanced…
Rodney Habib & Steve Brown recommend you add either fish or salmon oil capsule once a day to 1 of their meals, use Krill oil capsule if dog has sensitive stomach or start adding 2 spoons of salmon or sardines in olive oil or spring water to 1 of their meals a day, just read the salt % look for lowest salt % in the can salmon or sardines… for lunch sometimes I open a small can of salmon in spring water drain teh water & add some boiled sweet potato mix & give to Patch for lunch.. I boil sweet potato & freeze small pieces sweet potato freezes really well & its healthy for them..

Google “KetoPets” for Liza & start making the Ketopets diets or cook the Ketopets diets & I bet you Liza will be here longer then 2 years….
Dr Judy Morgan talks about this subject in one of her video’s on her facebook page look at all her “Video’s”..
It works out cheaper cooking meals or feeding a raw diet then it does buying the wet can dog foods… also start looking at Freeze Dried food for your dogs instead of giving Benji the kibble with his wet can food..

[Robert S]

I am sharing info that I wish I had know 10 years ago.

What I am going to tell you will be hard to believe, however read my story, and consider the possible outcome.

Benji, wirehair mini dachshund is 10 this year. Ever since we got him at 2 months old he has had what the vet called a sensitive stomach. Maybe a couple times a month he would eat his kibbles, Nature’s Recipe grain free, and then be shaking like he had a fever. We would take temperature and never was it above normal. He normally threw up twice and by early afternoon he was good to go. At the vet’s suggestion, we changed food and we choose Natures Recipe, Sensitive stomach. That seemed to help for a while, but since his spells were sporadic it was hard to tell. For 8 years we dealt with it and tried to fugure it out. Changing things didn’t make any difference. We take him to vet yearly or when sick. Blood work all fine. Stool sample fine always. We give heartguard and Frontline regularly. He gets normal shots per vet.

In June 2017 he had a seizure and my research indicated that he nay be carrier or has Lafora, no blood test completed. He has never father any pups and the only thing that might help is reducing starch from his diet. Which we are doing.

As things would have it our now 14 year old female smooth coated mini was diagnosed, thru an xray, that she has a mass in her abdomen. Vet feels sure it is cancer. The only way to find out is an ultra sound, at additional cost and at a different vet. We are not operating and are presuming that it is a slow growing tumor. One can feel the mass but it is not visible. She was diagnosed in June 2017.

Ever since we had Liza she has had loose stools and urinated frequently. Often in the house, which is unusual as other dachshunds have not had either problems. The vet suggested steroids, which we did off and on. Also we gave her pumpkin to firm them and fed her the same kibbles that Benji ate. (Our dogs do not est human food.)

I had booked mark Dog Food Advisors website and used it to find Natures Recipe, grain free. So I started researching again. Thru the research I found that dogs with cancer do best on high fat high protein food. So I looked for “canned food” with carbohydrates of less than 20% and little starch. Rice, white potatoes etc.

After feeding this type food Benji is no longer sick in mornings. Liza no longer has soft stools and urinates less often and has never urinated in our home since. To our knowledge Benji has not had another seizure, but we dont expect food to cure him, just reduce seizures.

I now realize that dogs, especially hounds for sure need a diet of meat, vegetables, some fruit and very limited ceral type filler. (IMHO).

I have and are using the following foods. You can use dog food advisor and do research. I am just sharing for what it is worth.

I do mix kibbles with stew for Benji. He has most teeth and no problem eating. The gravey makes kibbles look more apealing.

Liza gets all wet food due to health and she has lost some teeth. I figure she won’t be with us for more than 2 years so we will feed her the best we can.

Dry: Has been discontinued still have some food to use:
/dog-food-reviews/evo-dog-food-dry/

/dog-food-reviews/evo-dog-food-dry/

/dog-food-reviews/canidae-dog-food-grain-free-canned/

/dog-food-reviews/castor-pollux-butcher-bushel/

/dog-food-reviews/whole-earth-farms-dog-food-canned/

I do not work for any food companies, Vetenary, or Dog food advisor.

If you told me this I would not believe you but I am here to tell you this is what happened to me and my dachshunds. Yes wet is more expensive, but for me, I see it as pay now for food or pay at the vets later. I now have happy dogs.

Maybe this will help someone.
Bob

[Tiffany A]

My husky is 8yrs old and we just figured out she has hypothyroidism. On top of that she has slightly elevated liver enzymes(we still dont know why) and high calcium (which we strongly believe is her parathyroid). She has not eaten a consistent meal for over 2wks now and I am stressing the heck out. She is on antibiotics and thyroid meds(theze only a week now) a pain killer for her back legs which we believe she has arthritis. I am completly tapped financially from the past three weeks of tests and buying her any food I can think of she might eat. I am at my wits end. My vet is stumped. She is normally very very food motivated. I have tried the following foods.
Northwest naturals (her original diet which raw isnt the best right now with her body going through so much)
Hills i/d (she ate ok for 3 or 4 days)
Vitality (ate for 2 days)
Pet pantry(cooked stew)
Koha(canned cooked stews)
Acana meadowlands(she was on before raw)
Boiled chicken and beef with rice(chicken one meal beef the other ate for a couple days)

She will beg for my food even thougb she knows I wont feed it to her I know she is hungry. She wont touch tripe I have tried gravy tricks,toppers,etc. Maybe I am switching to much but with all these meds she needs to eat something. She is already dropping weight from the thyroid meds and her energy is now through the roof. Its early but my vet agreed to lessen her does a bit because she has been panting and tanking water.

I know no one here is a vet her anything but I just dont know what to do anymore 🙁 am I supposed to just medicate her and wait until she is hungry enough to eat here or what? She hasnt fought me on food like this since she was a puppy.

[M. F]

Sport Dog Food’s website sends customers to this link to read about their growth and changes:
https://sway.com/YyzMyzD9IWovf5jU

Quote from page:
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[Susan]

Hi,
dont do chicken & rice, its old school now, as boiled rice can irrtate the bowel more, the new carb is boiled sweet potato, I boil the orange sweet potato in pieces & then I freeze pieces in freezer & take out a few pieces as I need them, they thaw pretty quickly, get some lean turkey mince & sweet potato or lean pork mince works for my boy & just feed for 1 or 2 of his meals & kibble for the other 1-2 meals, being a pup he’d be eating 3-4 meals a day, also boiled pumkin is good to add, boil & freeze some boiled pumkin as its high in fiber like the sweet potato & your boy did good with a higher fiber diet.. he’ll probably poo less eating some cooked food.. for lunch my boy gets the changed meal either freeze dried or cooked meal that Ive cooked then frozen & I just take out in morning to thaw.

Change vet diet to Royal Canine Select Protein vet diets, there’s Potato & Rabbit select protein formula, potato & sweet potato seem to firm dogs poos up or look at “Natural Balance” Sweet Potato & Bison LTD formula or Sweet Potato & Fish or the Potato & Duck LTD formula, if you dont want to pay to see vet again it will be cheaper to buy the Natural Balance LTD kibble, but you need to read all the N/B LTD formula’s as some have Chickpeas & different ingredients. Chewy sell the N/B LTD formula & refund money if food is not agreeing with pup.

[Susan]

Hi Steve,
you need to build his confidence back up, some low life human has knocked his confidence out of him & put fear into the poor dog, if you raise your hand near him does he cower?
if yes, he’s been smacked hit etc, you need to teach him your hands will NEVER hit him again, your hands feed him, give him treats, pat him, walk him, etc he needs to gain trust in you & show him not all humans are bad, some are good…

He DOES NOT need any medications like Anon101 always posts, sometimes these anxiety meds can make your anxieties worse, not better, you’ll end up with a drugged up dog, that will never get over his anxieties, there’s better ways to treat anxieties, he will probably always be a stressful dog but in time he will get better, its all up to you & the way you treat him from now on….
He needs a animal behavourist not a vet & meds..

When he stresses about going out your back yard cause he can see a golfer then what about taking him for wee/poos out your front yard?? this is what I do with my boy now, I have a Staffy who suffers with anxieties, we moved about 4months ago & either side of me are little yapper dogs & everytime poor Patch goes out for a wee or poo these dogs bark at him, so now I let him out the front yard for his quick wee when he gets up first thing of a morning lunch time & before bed….

Does he know how to walk on a lead & go for walks?? his old owner might of tried walking him & he was very fearful of humans & wouldnt walk, she never took the time to reasure him & make him feel safe that everything is OK, she probably did what so many dog owners do they force the dog to do what they are very scared of doing, making the dog worse..

Teach him the word “it’s OK” & reasure him, it will be OK, I promise (say his name), then when he does do what you want him to do, you tell him in a very happy voice “Good Boy gee your a really good boy” give him heaps of praise & then he gets a nice small treat, buy those freeze/air dried treats or pieces of cooked meat….
also if you massage around his ears & play with his ears & side of his face this brings a calming feeling to the dog also softly pating & stroking him will calm….

My Patch was very scared of the car & water, baths, hose, Id say someone hosed him, he has IBD & he probably had dirrahea & his old owner probably hosed the poo & hosed him aswell… So I started taking him for a little 2min drive up the rd to the beach he had never seen a beach before & was terrified, I didnt know this at the time, so we would just sit in car & watch all the dogs swimming & playing at the dog beach, then we’d go for a walk away from the beach to the park, he was very scared of the ocean sound it made, after 1 week going to the dog beach everyday same time, he jump out of the car & pull me to the beach & ran along the wet sand & do the things he saw the other dogs doing but he was still scared to go in for a swim & get his ball or stick, then he started to gain more confidence & started to go into the water a little, this all takes time & patient.

Try & find a animal behavourist to help him gain his confidence back & enjoy his back yard when he goes outside, do you sit out your back yard? start sitting out the back yard with him or him watching you out in your yard put a chair he can sit in & watch his back yard then start playing ball with him, doing stuff with him out in the yard, then he’ll see these golfers wont hurt him it could be their golf sticks or hats he’s scared of, maybe start with your front yard everyday same time he needs a routine, my Boxer was scared of walking stick & men with hats & I had a old neighbour who had a walking stick & wore a old mans hat everyday i’d be outside around the time this old man came home from the bowling club 4pm & he would say hello to Angie at first she just stood behind me then after a while she started to greet him & say hello then she’d wait for him & I had another old neighbour who won Angies heart with food he was always giving Angie chicken…
also daily walks to parks where there’s people walking with their dogs even if you have to drive to a park & what I did with Patch when I first rescued him, was routine same time everyday he ate, he went for his walks etc routine helps them gain trust, we would sit at the park & just watch the dogs playing ball, watch people walking by & then Id talk to someone & in time Patch made alot of dog & human friends.. it will take time but he will get better in time, if you dont work then every day go for a little drive somewhere nice you both can sit & watch the world go by, same with your back yard, show him it’s OK if you have a back deck start sitting out there & bring out his breakfast or dinner, if he loves food he should walk out the back door with you & his food bowl sit with him while he eats, but if he wont go out the back then bring back in the food, dont leave it out there he isnt ready yet, think of ways to get him out the yard that are good things & talk in a happy voice & make sure you praise him when he’s done something really good, talk to him in a high happy voice, chase him, play games with him, he probably hasnt been shown what dogs do & play also he mighten have been socialized like Pitlove said…
Keeps us updated how he’s doing & remember baby steps, 2 steps forward 1 step back is OK..

[haleycookie]

No, protein levels have nothing to do with large breeds and their growth. Calcium and phosphorus ratios are the thing to be worried about when they are growing puppies, but your dog is also already done growing so you only need an adult dog food. Large breed adult food will only be larger in size usually. Since your dog is already done growing large breed food isn’t as important. But larger pieces of food for large mouths makes more sense to me.
Depending where you are located there are lots of different foods to try. I personally like Canidaes large breed food for all life stages. Any Canidae food is good though. Natures variety, merrick, and Canidae are good options to look at. If you want to stay With something lower priced then look at whole earth farms dog food or under the sun. They are made by merrick and Canidae but they’re value lines so a bit cheaper and still good quality.

[Sue G]

Hi there
My little Maltese/Shih-Tzu was diagnosed with bladder stones in 2015 and was operated on and I was told she would have to be on a prescription diet for the rest of her life.
She was put on Hills Urinary care and it didn’t agree with her at all…I suggest you do some reading about it before you decide.
I changed her to Royal Canin Urinary SD and she hasn’t had a problem since.
I always add a little water to her meals
Hers were Struvite Crystal’s and I was told this diet dilutes the urine and helps prevent the growth of the crystals.
All good so far thank goodness…
Best of luck 🙂

[Nancy P]

Hi AC,

Thank you or your information. I will check on the food that you mention. I think the can albacore tuna and canned sardines is a good idea. In answer to your question, I have not added in any digestive enzymes or probiotics at this time but I am likely to do so in the near future. I’ve been reading about them and I have an idea of the ones that I want to use but I’m not quite ready to make that move just yet.

My dogs seem to be doing well so far with Dr. Marty’s food in that they have lots of energy, shiny hair, and look forward to their meal time. But, then they always have had lots of energy, well, because they are schnauzers. They have also always liked their food, even when I was feeding them kibble. Never a crumb left in site. The one thing that is different is that Kimmie Schnauzer does not have any skin issues going on at this time which is the first time in years for this. Time will tell if this continues or not. That’s what makes me nervous about all of this. We have no real way of knowing if there is a problem brewing until it shows up, but that’s the way it always is.

I keep reading and learning what I can. Some things seem to make a lot of sense but then I see some other things that I would not try, just because it involves adding in things like processed people food (cheese). If I do anything other than freeze dried raw diet, it will probably be either totally raw or raw cooked. Freeze dried is most convenient and would be easier for the few occasions when I have to kennel my dogs.

I do think Dr. Marty’s website could be better. I made a couple of suggestions but have not gone there recently to see if there have been any changes made.
Thanks again.

[Airseabattle]

These aren’t dogs from some backyard breeder or pet store. They’re from a kennel that I have closely watched from a breeder who I have known for a decade. I met her through a referral from the chihuahua club of America (cca). If the last one lived to be 16 on Kibble (where kidney diseases caused by diet took her) , I’m not sure how 17 could be seen as unrealistic for a dog on a better diet.

Of course, I have the emergency pet hospitals number on file. I’ve had it since my last dog took her tragic turn. It would be irresponsible for any pet ownernot to have an emergency hospitals contact on file. An emergency can happen at any time. Whether or not you feed raw. My dog is just a baby and she’s already has appointments with specialists to ensure what happened with my last baby doesn’t happen to her. I’m very committed to prevention and catching everything early.

I’m not sure what caused you to be anti raw but it would help if your documentation into raw and the set backs caused by it were listed on here. Also, and I don’t mean this to be mean, but you should not assume everyone you talk to on here fails to do research. I’m surprised you thought I didn’t know much about akc, the breed parent clubs, or how to properly screen for breeders.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Airseabattle.

[Airseabattle]

Genetics leaves an indivual more susceptible to a condition but doesn’t gaurantee it will occur. I am very confident that my last dog’s teeth were caused by her diet which led to her health issues and ultimate demise. Therefore, I cannot in good faith, feed kibble. Thus far, my new pup is thriving on her raw diet.

She is young and healthy. This isn’t some older dog with compromised health. Fortunately, I have the resources to carefully monitor her and treat her for any issues that may arise as a result of feeding her raw. If things go wrong I’ll immediately get her treated and warn others. However, I’m confident nothing will go wrong as long as I carefully make sure she follows a well balanced raw diet. I am mixing her daily portion of ground meat with nupro for small breeds to help get it right.

I’m sorry about your dog. You never mentioned the breed. Mine was a purebred chihuahua from top show lines . I mention this because I read mixed breeds tend to live longer. I don’t think it’s fair to compare a mixed breed to a purebred. Still I’m doing all I can to ensure my new family member lives to be at least 17 and to make sure her quality of life is better than my departed angel.

[Lorena]

I’ve been a Costco member for many years but I will no longer buy pet food there. Good food manufacturers (e.g., Origen, Acana, Fromm) will only sell to specialty stores. I have a Vizsla and a Boston Terrier and they do very well on Acana duck and pears grain free. I also make homemade kefir for my dogs. Read the ingredients for this food, it’s amazing. I also buy raw freeze dried duck patties (Stella & Chewys) and crumble half patty on top of the food as mix in because I no longer buy wet food. If you want kefir grains I can send some rosarina2008 at gmail

[Lewis F]

Karen:
I think each dog will react to certain foods differently. I have a Cavapoo that is 19 months old that has been on Orijen Puppy and Original for all of the 19 months without a problem. Orijen is owned by the same company as Acana; Champion Foods. I also believe the talk on the internet is regarding the alleged Class Action suit against Champion. There are many postings regarding the suit,one of which by Mike Sagman that you might want to read.

Lew

[Airseabattle]

I just read that there is salt in the sardines I bought. Would the water from that be healthy to mix with my puppy’s food? Considering there’s salt included, Is feeding her canned sardines daily healthy? She’s just a five pound chihuahua. The canned sardines at my grocery store all have salt. Should I feed raw sardines instead?

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Airseabattle.

[Charles B]

Over the past year we have fostered and adopted a Golden that’s got some pretty nasty allergies.

We have him eating Zignature Kahatoo and Venison. I see that a Goat and Quail just came out. Hoping to try theses as well.

Anyway he does have some food sensitivities, and when he came to use on Kirkland Grain Free Chicken he was a walking Yeast infection. We got that sorted and after lots of trial and error got him on his current food. It’s still not perfect, and if we give him the wrong treat he’ll start kicking st his face and lick between his toes till they bleed.

He loves being outside sun bathing in the grass. He also loves to eat grass. He’s part cow. He will bathe, grab a mouthful of grass, then roll on his bag chewing till he’s ready for some more.

He’s been on Apoquel for 7-9 months now off and on. On a good day we can give 8mg and be fine. On a bad day we are on 32mg a day. Now that spring is here we are on 16 morning to deal with the allergies.

Is there another route we should be perusing? We can’t force him to stop eating grass so we would like to figure another way around it.

Apoquel is $2.39 a day for us, do $71 a month in pills.

[anonymous]

Per the search engine: /forums/search/bladder+stones/
See my posts
Also regarding prescription food:

More Nonsense from Holistic Vets about Commercial Therapeutic Diets

I have used Royal Canin SO for a dog for a dog with bladder stones with good results.
Zignature is a quality food, copy the ingredient list from Chewy and show your vet, maybe the dog could have that? Or, 1/2 and 1/2 with the prescription food? Check with your vet.
Whatever you feed, add water and maybe soft food, presoak kibble and add water.
Dogs that get bladder stones often have a genetic predisposition (struvite and calcium oxalate are the most common), not enough water is another contributing factor.
Has she had an x-ray/ultrasound to rule out bladder stones? Because, they can have more than one type of stones. This also. can result in recurrent urinary tract infections.
Add water to the kibble, and you can also presoak the kibble in water overnight in the fridge prior to serving.
Offer frequent bathroom breaks/opportunities to urinate, keep the bladder flushed. Stagnant conditions in the bladder are conductive to stone formation.
Don’t free feed, 2 or 3 small meals a day is better and always have fresh water available. Maybe add a little plain chicken broth (no onion) to the kibble.
A blocked urethra is a medical emergency and can result in surgery to save the dog’s life.
Did the vet talk to you about prescription meds for stubborn cases? Don’t confuse supplements with medication.
Work with your vet, prescription food and all, when the dog has been stable for 6 months to 1 year you can discuss diet changes.
Use the search engine here to see more threads on this topic.
This is not veterinary advice; consult your veterinarian.
Ps: You may find some helpful information here http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=urinary+tract+infection

[Mike Sagman]

Click here to read the actual lawsuit. The document refers directly to the same controversial “study” mentioned in numerous articles, including the ones I previously referenced in this thread.

[Bobby dog]

Hello Penny:
I recently went through a similar experience and spent a year researching horse rescue and adoption. Facebook and forums proved invaluable for me. I learned many things from the experiences posters shared on-line. I was also fortunate because my Vet has experience with rescue horses and gave me expert guidance throughout the process. IMO you’re on the right track looking into this health condition prior to making any decisions about adoption!

I personally would never feed or recommend a homemade recipe that was not formulated by a credentialed veterinary nutritionist (ACVN or PhD in small animal nutrition) for my cat or dog. Many recipes I have seen posted are lacking essential vitamins and minerals. Feeding a diet, homemade or commercial, that is not balanced or feeding a commercial food far below recommended amounts over a long period might exacerbate any health issue(s) known or unknown. Ensuring they get all there required vitamins and minerals especially when they have a known health condition is important. There are many recipes on the Internet that bloggers and Vets have posted. Ask the formulators if they are credentialed in small animal nutrition, my guess would be no for most of them.

If a Vet has recommended a special diet or even if you’re just interested in feeding a balanced homemade diet I second C4C’s suggestion to check out BalanceIT.com or petdiets.com. I use a product from BalanceIT for my pup, he loves his homemade meals. The recipes are simple to make and there are many options for budget friendly ingredients.

It sounds like a good start since you have her medical history and she already had the stones removed. I hope an adoption works out for you both!! 

Here’s a few sites you may find helpful:
https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/centers-programs/minnesota-urolith-center/recommendations
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=460

Struvite info:
https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/sites/vetmed.umn.edu/files/canine_struvite_uroliths.pdf

petdiets.com provides a free “ask the Veterinary Nutritionist” service:
https://petdiets.com/Ask-the-Nutritionist

[Lisa K]

I can almost 100% tell you that your dogs seizures came from the food you are feeding them.

My dog Horus ( Shih Tzu Chihuahua mix. Completely Shih in apearence) 5 years old at the time, was perfectly healthy. I had been feeding him Prina One dog food. At the time I was unaware of what Raw dog food and thought I was feeding a good quality brand of Purina. Well one day he just feel over and his body seized, foam started coming out his mouth, his eyes bucked out. I grab him up hysterically thinking he was having a heart attack. I was about to try CPR on him, when he snap out of it and jumped up, and began running around. I got online immediately and started searching for a reason by symptoms. I came to the conclusion it was a seizure and hoped it would not happen again. A few days went by and he had another one, but this time he began having them every 30 mins to an hour in between. I rush him to the vet. They administered phenobarbital and did blood work. His readings were normal with a slightly elevated liver, which the vet said could be the problem but he was not sure. I took him home with a prescription. The doctor said he would need these meds for the rest of his life. I didn’t believe him because that’s what they said about my daughter when she was one. The doctors gave her to high a does once and I pulled her off the meds. She’s 26 now and has never had another seizure, but I gave Horus the meds as prescribed. One day the thought hit me that it could be his food. I started researching the brand I was feeding him and discovered that Purina had several law suites against them for seizure related issues. I was stunned. I continued to research to find what I should be feeding him and found out the a Raw food diet was the best options for dogs. After more research on quality and the best brands I immediately ordered his Raw food. Over the next few weeks I whenned him off the meds. For the next 2 years he never had another Seizure.

Now 3 weeks ago I forgot to order his food and had to get a bag from the market. This time I got Pedigree until his food could arrive. Big mistake. 2 days into the Pedigree he began having seizures again. I rushed him to the vet emergency because he was not recovering from it. They just kept coming. They put him on Keppra and Potassium Bromide which did absolutely nothing to stop the seizures and later his normal vet told me vets sale this stuff to make more money. It does not work, and it’s way more expensive then phenobarbital. My vet gave him one shot of phenobarbital and started Horus on a regiment of vitimains, Enzymes and Amino Acids along with a suggestion to purchase a product called Vet CBD, which I got immediately after leaving her office. These along with the Raw food should help in his recovery. She also said that he may have some brain damage because of the severity of his seizure this time. It has now been 1 week and Horus has not had another seizure. I am still working on his recovery as I do think he may have suffered some brain damage as he will not stop endlessly pacing. He has a wonderful appetite and his blood work remains good.

With all this said, I do see that your pooch is on a raw food diet, but I would also suggest you get her started on supplements also. What she recommended was: Arthur Dex joint support for all animals given by weight of dog, Ultimate Daily Classic 1/2 pill daily, and Ultimate Selenium1/2 pill daily, All by a company called Youngevity which you can get on Amazon. The Vet CBD I’m not sure you can get. It depends on the state you live in. I’m in California and Cannabis is legal here.

I hope some of the info I left helps you in some way.

[Kimberly S]

In my dogs case there was an ultrasound done and stones are NOT the case. My dog drinks plenty of water and goes out when she needs to. I work from home so she gets me when she needs to go. I let her out at least every 4 hours as someone stated. The last time she was on antibiotics it cost me a fortune due to the fact the culture showed 2 different bacteria and she needed to be on 2 different antibiotics!!! The Vet had no answers for me as to what was causing this besides her licking. I am at the end of my rope here and about ready to switch to another Vet to be completely honest. Yes, my dog needs to lose weight but I am unable to walk her right now due to my own health issues. But she has a yard to run in. I know that’s not enough but it’s better than nothing for now until I can get back on my feet.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again,
Kimberly S

[pitlove]

Hi Kathy-

The last Zignature rep I spoke too told me Zignature was in fact appropriate for large breed puppies. However, this guy was also not extremely knowledgable about pet nutrition in general, so I doubt I trust him.

Best thing you can do is to email Zignature directly. Ask them for a full nutrient analysis of whichever Zignature formula you want to use and then take the kcals, calcium and phos levels and input them into this tool here: /best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

PLEASE NOTE* You will need to be very specific with them as to what you want in the email. Tell them you do NOT want the values of calcium and phos that would be found on a guarenteed analysis as that does not tell you anything. Ask specifically for a TYPICAL or NUTRIENT analysis.

You can post your results here and I will help you determine if the food is appropriate or you can read the article and see if it is for yourself.

[KIM C]

My 2 1/2 year old female Dalmatian had a preliminary diagnosis of MMM today. We are awaiting results of blood test to return in 7-10 days before starting steroids as this can cause a false result in the testing. I am searching for other owners that are going through the same thing with their pet. I am hoping to get some ideas as to what I can feed her to help her through this difficult time. She can not eat kibble and will barely eat canned food. She can barely open her mouth and basically has to squish her nose down into the bowl and that spreads her lips back far enough for her teeth to gently grab a morsel of food. It’s heartbreaking to watch. She began taking her treats very slowly about 2 weeks again or not wanting them at all. I didn’t notice a change in her eating because I own several dogs and assumed she was eating her food because the bowls were always empty. I was away on vacation for 7 days last week so I wasn’t present to see any regression in eating. I own a boarding and grooming facility, and had my kennel manager taking care of my dogs inside my home for me while away. She didn’t notice any changes either, but often fed my dogs then went back outside to the kennel facility that I have located on the property where I live.
I feel horrible that my poor Penelope may have suffered in extreme pain for almost 2 weeks with out anyone noticing her pain. I only discovered one of her symptoms late Sunday night while petting and rubbing her head, I felt extremely large knots under her cheeks. When I tried to open and look into her mouth for any foreign body or an abscessed tooth, she whined in pain and pulled away. That’s when I realized that she wasn’t able to open her mouth. I separated her from my other dogs and tried giving her some canned food. That’s when I saw her inability to hardly open her mouth and get the food inside. Normally she would gobble down soft food because she is on a hard kibble diet with only a tablespoon of canned mixed with it.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can feed her while awaiting results to start the prednisone? I tried wetting the soft food down to make a gruel and she won’t eat that either? PLEASE HELP me find a solution, so she doesn’t develop anorexia as well. The Vet just told me to soften her kibble, but that is NOT going to work!

[Lewis F]

This is a reply from Champion Dog Food facebook page:
Champion Petfoods is with Maureen Randall Breakfield.
18 hrs ·
Dear Fellow Pet Lovers,

The allegations contained within a Class Action Complaint that was brought against us on March 1st are meritless and based on misinterpretation of the data.

Let us assure you that our products are safe and that we systematically test our products at two third-party laboratories using the Official Methods of Analysis by Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC). While we plan to comprehensively refute the wide range of false allegations in a court of law at the appropriate date, in the interim we want you to be confident in the safety and quality of our products.

For more information, we urge you to read: ORIJEN and ACANA Foods in Comparison to Pet Food Safety Standards, here: http://bit.ly/2HMvJiy

As you know, our commitment to using fresh and raw meat and fish ingredients means that pets and Pet Lovers can count on Champion to provide safe, Biologically Appropriate™ nutrition. Much like the natural human food we consume, Champion Petfoods contains small traces of a range of naturally occurring elements. These so-called ‘heavy metals’ are found throughout the Earth’s environment, and the miniscule amounts of these substances found in Champion Petfoods are a safe and common component of both human and animal diets. Our Biologically Appropriate™ foods feature much higher levels of quality fresh and raw meat ingredients than conventional pet foods, including fish and seafood ingredients.

Please know that we are confident that we will prevail as the facts and evidence are presented to the court, and that these baseless claims will not deter us from our mission of delivering award-winning Biologically Appropriate™ foods. The legal complaint has no bearing whatsoever on the activities or operation of our business, and you will continue to enjoy the same high degree of professionalism and quality you have come to expect from Champion.

Thank you for your continued commitment to our company and our quality food products.

Champion Petfoods

Image may contain: text

[Marla G]

Following up, I’ve been talking with and emailing with the owner of the feed store where I purchase my food. He provided me with all the information I needed to feel comfortable with the Acana Duck and Pear I’m feeding. When you read the lawsuit that someone posted here on the forum, read carefully the measurements and claims particularly noting kilograms and milligrams. It speaks for itself.

[Marla G]

Acana and Orijen: My breeder sent a copy last night of a lawsuit filed against Champion Pet Foods. It is one of the worst things I’ve ever read. Have any of you heard of it? It came from a website that was called The Truth About Pet Foods and it was dated 3/19/18. It states arsenic and mercury levels are startling high along with lead. There were several others mentioned too. I’m devastated to think a company I trusted has something so awful going on. I feel completely blindsided. If a food like Acana and Orijen have this happening, what’s left? And I don’t want to homecook for my dogs. Any information regarding this would be appreciated. I am completely dissolutioned now. Thanks.

[anonymous]

Here is what I was referring to:

“Please be advised that we not veterinarians. For this reason, this website was never meant to be used as a substitute for sound professional advice”.
“Because the health of your dog can be directly affected by what you read here, you should always consult with a licensed veterinary professional before taking any specific action”.
above is an excerpt from: /disclaimer-and-disclosure/

If you are not experiencing positive results from the treatment prescribed by your vet within a reasonable amount of time, I would consider asking for a referral to an internal medicine veterinary specialist.
On the other hand, if you are declining diagnostic tests suggested by your vet, then maybe you should reconsider.
The first step to effective treatment is obtaining an accurate diagnosis.
Talk to your vet.

[Susan]

Hi Gaby,
Please don’t go Gaby, I know to end up here on DFA, your desperate to help your dog… that’s how I got here 5yrs ago…
XXX TEXT REMOVED XXX
I hate seeing dogs suffer, Ive been thru heaps with Patches IBD & like to help other dogs get on the right track & get better, its sad having a sick dog epecially when some vets do NOT know what’s wrong with these dogs…

This sounds like what my Patch gets, very hungry, stomach pain, eats food then feel better for a couple of hours, then it all starts over again, he gets Helicobacter-Pylori Spirals”, all dogs have Helicobacter BUT the Helicobacter takes over some dogs stomach & lives in their stomach wall cause they don’t have a healthy stomach….
Ask your vet can you do “Endoscope + Biopsies” or ask vet can ur dog start the Triple Therapy meds “Metronidazole” taken every 12 hours with a meal. “Amoxicillin” also taken every 12 hours with a meal & 20mg “Prilosec” (Ant Acid Blocker) taken in morning 30mins before breakfast & then other meds taken with breakfast, these 3 drugs are taken for 3 weeks….
The first time Patch took the Triple Therapy meds, he became better within 5days I had a normal dog, he finshed all the triple therapy meds but within 2-3 months Patch was hungry again, whinging again the Helicobacter returned, so we re did the 3 week triple therapy meds & when the triple therpy meds finished, I continued the Losec every morning, so the Helicobacter has no stomach acid to live in…I read a study that had been done where taken when a PPI is taken (Prilosec) it stopps the Helicobacter from returning, Patches Helicobacter did NOT return for 4-5 yrs, then last December Patch went dont hill & stopped eating, so I started feeing him dry kibble with grains & Beet Pulp, kibbles he he’d eat, he still continued to go down hill so I asked his vet can we do another the Endoscope & Biopsies, I thought he had Stomach Cancer but Patches Helicobacter Spiral were mild & returning, so back on the triple therapy meds & we increased & changed his PPI (acid blocker) which is Pantoprazole now, but I think the Losec was working better??

Look for low fiber, gluten free, grain free diet…. if you can feed cooked meal or feed freeze dried raw thats heaps better then a dry kibble… Feed 4-5 smaller meals a day, dont just feed 2 larger meals a day, need to keep the acid reflux down…
Patches lower esophageal Spincter flap isnt closing now & kibble is the only thing that stays down in his stomach, wet cooked canned foods come back up… Patch is 9yrs old…

• This reply was modified 7 years, 9 months ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Text removed by moderator

[Lori H]

Hi Simone,

My dog Buddy has been through a lot, much like your dog. He just turned 10 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes and I was told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was 10 months ago and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy.

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which has complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 6+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

I worked with a man named Rick Scheyer. He has an amazing website http://www.doglivershunt.com He has helped many dogs with liver shunt, kidney disease, bladder stone problems and much, much more become healthy dogs again. I would suggest reaching out to him for a free consultation.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise.

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy!

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Good luck on your search and reach out if you have further questions or concerns. It was hard to take the jump and trust someone other than my vet with my dogs nutritional health, but I am so glad that I did.

Lori

[Donna R]

Mike L., You didn’t mention your Yorkie’s weight. If it’s less than eight pounds Galliprant can not be accurately dosed. It’s only recommended for dogs that are 8 pounds or more. Don’t know if that would be a symptom or not, since there is nothing stated in Manufacturers information provided with Galliprant. If your dog is on any other medications, it could be a drug incompatibility too.
Hopefully though your Vet would have caught any of those before prescribing it.

I’ve had my 50 lb 13yr old border collie chow mix on Galliprant for the last five months. She has severe hip dysplasia diagnosed when she was 10 months old and has degenerative arthritis in her hips, elbows and at least her right knee, which she had past corrective surgery on for a luxating patella that popped out of place and didn’t go back on it’s own. Her condition will only get worse, I’m under no illusion about this. The Galliprant helps her to remain mobile, for now at least and pretty much pain free. She also gets Gabapentin twice a day. In all other aspects of her health, she is doing very well for her age. She has had only slight gastric and bowel movement problems, which lasted only for a few days and was just soft to a little mushy stool, but not diarrhea. But as others have stated, she also was started on half a dose ( half of a 60 mg tablet), for about 10 days. Increased it by using a pill cutter to give an extra quarter of the pill for about another 10 days, then she got the whole dose. The soft stools happened about half way through the first increase and she’s been good since. She does get her blood work and urine tested also.
I know I’ll have to make that final decision in the near future as her hind legs are becoming weaker. I can’t exercise her much, we go for 10 to 15 minute slow walks. Sometimes just out the front door onto the lawn and back. I leave it up to her. I’d get her the underwater treadmill rehab, but she has a pressure sore that hasn’t completely healed yet and they won’t chance it due to possible infection. I’ve tried laser, helped some but got too expensive and the same with acupuncture. We are trying the Asissi Loop now. My dog has so many joints that need treatment though I don’t know how effective it will be and am trying to concentrate on the two or three worst areas.The Loop is expensive and is only prescribed by a Vet because it is an FDA cleared anti-inflamatory medical device. But the Loop is yours and treatments are done at home. I also massage her and use some acupressure on a few of the areas pressure points. Don’t know if it helps the condition so much as us just spending time together doing something she loves. Loves those rub downs. Just want her to be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible, knowing that I’ve tried all that I can for her.

[anonymous]

I would hold the med and call the vet asap. NOW
. Some dogs cannot tolerate NSAIDS
She is a senior, she may be dehydrated.
It may take a week or two for her to get back to baseline.
There are other medications the vet can prescribe.
Bloody diarrhea and crying all night are next.

Did you see the thread on Galliprant? Three pages, similar issues./forums/topic/galliprant-for-osteoarthritis-anyone/

[Anonymous]

Our 10 yr old Cain terrier went to the vet who diagnosed a bit of osteoarthritis and prescribed 20Mg Galliprant – 1 tablet to start and then 1/2 tablet. The first morning she had two uncontrollable BMs and shortly there after very liquid stool and no appetite for treats, regular food or anything else.It’s now been 3 days and she still has no appetite and is passing only very liquid (and usually black) stools. She is staying well hydrated, but still has no appetite for anything we can offer. I’ve read it could take up to 7 or 10 days for her to kick the Galliprant effect. Any brilliant ideas?
She won’t eat boiled chicken (with or without rice) and has no interest in her normal food or normal treats.