[Susan]

Hi Holly,
what has Rooney been eating when these gulping episode started?
With Omeprazole (Prilosec) it needs to be taken daily same time is best given in the morning before breakfast, I give Patch 1 x 20mg Losec as soon as he wakes up, by the time I make my cuppa, feed the cat & prepare Patches breakfast he has waited 20mins so the Losec has had time to dissolve in stomach & send msg to brain, do not release hydrochloric acid into stomach, just make sure when you do give any tablets you use a syringe filled with water & put the Losec tablet on back of tongue down his throat then put syringe in the side of his mouth & push water out of syringe into moouth so the tablet goes into the stomach & doesnt sit in his throat & dissolve….
When Rooney seems to be having bad acid reflux give the Prilosec for 3-4 days then if you want to stop giving the Losec stop but once he takes the Prilosec more then 15-20 days you need to reduce slowly 2 days give then 1 day none etc, in the beginning I use to give Patch Losec for 3-4 days on, then 3 days off the Prilosec depending if he started his gulping, then I realised he was heaps better while taking his Losec so he’s been on Losec 2yrs now but last week I changed him over to 20mg-Somac (Pantropazole) another Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) as Patches lower esohageal Sphincter flap isnt closing properly now & the acid is washing back up into his throat & wind pipe, certain foods make it worse he can NOT eat wet can foods or cooked food now only kibble seems to sstay down…

I havent read your post properly but if your dog is taking Apoquel (a drug I wouldnt give Patch after reading the bad side effects), Apoquel can cause bad side effects with some dogs, I’ve read alot of dogs vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, sleeping all day etc the company that makes Apoquel has brought out Cytopoint Injection now, Cytopoint Injection has less side effects, the injection is given every 4-8 weeks depending on the dog.
I would also start your dog on a limited ingredient diet, 1 carb & 1 lean meat protein, just in case he has food sensitivities & is reacting to a few ingredients & getting itchy skin, smelly yeasty ears/paws or intestinal problems, keep the fat around 10 to 14% for a dry kibble, with wet can foods around 3% & under for fat when you convert 3%min fat in wet/raw can foods it’s around 8%min to 12%max fat…
The vet diet Hills I/d may have ingredients he’s sensititive too & he’s reacting also vet diets are very high in omega oils that can cause bad acid reflux, Patch & a few other dogs that have IBD, IBS etc don’t do too well on vet diets….
Do you belong to any face book groups for Canine IBD or “Canine Pancreatitis support group” has a few dogs with IBD, IBS, Food sensitivities, or “Dog Issues, Allergies & other Information Support group” has dogs with food senitivities, allergies, itchy skin, paws, ears etc dogs with most health problems…
Have you tried the “Natural Balance” LTD dry -Sweet Potato & Bison or Potato & Duck or Sweet Potato & Fish formula’s? I dont know which wet Natural Balance LTD can food has 3% & under for fat here’s the conversion calculator so you can save & convert the fat protein fiber in wet can foods raw foods if you buy them the etc http://www.k-9kraving.com/resources/calculator.php

[Holly D]

Further on above post… Rooney got up and was heading into that full blown gulping panic to get out and eat grass. I read that Omeprazole can take a while to act but Pepcid can give relief in minutes so I gave him a Pepcid, a couple of pieces of kibble and a couple of spoonfuls of the gravy from the ID food. I let him eat a little grass but he did not vomit this time.
Thinking how when I have my migraines, I massage the acupressure points that associate for headaches I thought maybe there could be something similar for dogs…and, yes, there are charts for dogs. Figured it was worth a shot.
I started to massage where they said – on the outside hind leg, just below the knee, in a clear depression in the middle of the muscle toward the front of the leg – and the minute I started, Rooney let out a big burp! Maybe it helped a little?
He’s still having little gulping spurts but I’ll see how he is this morning and probably still take him to the vet later today.

[Shelly C]

Hi,
My name is Shelly and my dog’s name is Nala. She is a 6 mos old Havanese. We have had feeding issues with her almost since we got her 3 mos. ago. We put her on NurtiSource as that is what the breeder was feeding her. She just didn’t seem to like it, vomited occasionally and would take forever to eat. The Vet wasn’t concerned with the vomiting as it was only about once-twice/week. However, she would wipe my mom’s dogs bowl clean anytime we brought her there and didn’t pick it up first. Unfortunately, my mom was feeding her dog a cheaper brand dog food that the Vet does not recommend ( Mom has since changed-it was purely lack of knowledge). So I went on the hunt for a food to change her to once her bag of NutriSource was near the end. After countless hours of research, I chose Merrick BackCountry with Raw Infused. Well that has been a disaster. We transitioned her over a week but her stools have progressively been getting softer and now last night she had explosive diarrhea in her kennel. The night before that it was two loose stools in her kennel. She has never pooped in her kennel and I am convinced it’s the new food and not anything else. So we are on the hunt for another food and I think I’ve found one. My question- sorry for the long backstory- is this- I am out of the NutriSource. I’d like thoughts on do I get another small bag of that and use it to transition her to the new one I want to try?, Do I cook rice and chicken and give her that a few days then transition with that to the new one? Or do I just go to the new one cold turkey? Thanks a billion if you’ve read this far and have any advice. I don’t really want to ask the Vet as he will only recommend Royal Canin, Hills, Iams or Eukanuba and I’m not sure I want to use those unless I cant find a L.I.D. that doesn’t work. (I am going to look closely again at the ingredients of both Royal Canin and HIlls when I go to Petco today- I’m just undecided and I know that’s what he’ll recommend)

[deb s]

@ anon1
Thank you for providing the complex partial seizure info on this thread. I know it’s so hard to see this happening to our dogs. Jinny continues to have these episodes every month or so and she will eat absolutely ANYTHING she can get down her throat so it’s absolutely imperative to keep your dog from ingesting inedible objects during these episodes. Even ingesting a large amount of hair, dust, carpet fibers can cause a life threatening blockage.

My dog is on anti seizure medicine now. Phenobarbitol has been found to have the greatest success. I have also read about the bacteria in the stomach causing pain and reflux so I may look into the antibiotic that treats that, as well. The flap not closing is also a big concern because the brain will send a signal to close it. Over and over and over again. So there are a lot of loose ends and it’s SO sad our dogs are going through this. Please. Talk to a good neurologist. Also, a good high quality CBD oil enabled Jinny to go six months without an episode. I have a hard time affording it because good high quality can run you $80-$100 a month. But it’s not harmful and it’s only helpful and it made a huge difference for Jinny. I’d love to know how everyone’s dogs are doing. I am so committed to finding real answers and a real solution for this terrible condition. It’s really awful.

[Susan]

Hi Tyler,

I got email of the latest study done in February on popular dog foods that were tested for toxins & contaminates, below are the first 12 brands that got 5 stars for product purity.
American Journey Lamb & Sweet Potatoes got 3 stars….
You will notice white meats Chicken, Turkey & Pork seem to be cleaner meats & kibbles that have fish as main protein seem to be very high in toxins & contaminates, so your best not feeding a dry kibble that’s fish/salmon etc, I go to Aldi’s & buy their tin Sardines & tin Salmon in spring water, add 2 spoons to one of her meals a day…
Aldi’s have a new kibble called “Heart To Tail” Pure Being it has pretty good ingredients, go to the “Review” section up top of page, look up “Shep dog dry food” scroll down & you’ll read peoples post about Aldi’s new brand called Pure Being, DFA hasn’t review the new Pure Being formula’s yet, there’s grain free & grain kibbles, people have put up the ingredient list, fat, protein & fiber %…. I wish I could get Pure Being in our Australian Aldi’s, my dog does really well on kibbles that have sweet potatoes….

5 Star freeze dried raw, dehydrated raw formula’s & dry kibbles.

* “Buckley Liberty” – freeze dried beef, freeze dried Chicken, G/F Lamb dry kibble & Chicken dry kibble formula.

* “Canisource Grand CRU”- ALS Turkey dehydrated raw dry food, Pork & Lamb dehydrated raw dry & red meat dehydrated raw formula.
Iwould stick wit the TOTW Victor Nutro & Diamand

* “I and love and You” – Naked Essential G/F Lamb & Bison dry kibble, Naked Esssentials G/F Chicken & Duck dry.

* “Nutro” Natural Choice, small breed Chicken & lentils recipe, Natural Choice, Chicken & Lentils dry recipe, Lamb & Lentils dry recipe, Nutro Wild Frontier Open Valley dry recipe, Nutro Wild Frontier Rolling Meadows dry recipe.

* “Diamond Natural” Chicken & Rice dry formula & small breed puppy dry formula.

* “Proffessional” – Lamb & Brown Rice dry & Chicken & Pea formula dry.

* “Dog for Dog” Lamb Meal & Brown Rice dry.

* “Purina One”- Smart Blend Chicken & Rice formula, Smart Blend Healthy puppy Dry formula,

* “Fresh Pet” Chicken recipe dry.

* “Canidae” ALS Lamb Meal & Rice Dry formula, Canidae’s “Under the Sun” Adult G/F Lamb dry, UTS adult G/F farmed raised chicken dry, UTS G/F Puppy with Chicken dry.

* “Simply Nourish” Adult Chicken & Brown Rice recipe, Chicken with peas & potatoes G/F recipe dry.

* “Eagle Pack” Large & Giant Breeds Naturally Dry formula & Small Breed Chicken Meal & Pork Meal dry formula

Yesterday I bought a bag of “Wellness Core” G/F Large Breed kibble, I got it 1/2 the price cause it’s due by date was ending of 25th March 2018, the kibble is still good, it’s when you open the bag of kibble & the air/oxygen gets to the oils in the kibble, then the kibbles starts to go rancid, so make sure if you buy large bag of kibble get out enough kibble for daily use for about 1-2 weeks & store in an air tight container & put the rest of the kibble in a dry cool place & make sure kibble bag is air tight, I sticky tape the kibble bag, if it has no seal on it, then I put the bag of kibble into another plastic bag seal, then I store the kibble bag in one of those plastic storage containers & I put it in the coolest part of the house where my air condictioner is so it stays cool…

Shop around for bargans & rotate between different brands, Victor, TOTW, Nutro, Diamond, Eagle Pack & Pure Being, this way your dog will have a healthy stomach & stronger immune system cause she’s eating a variety of ingredients & she isn’t eating the same brand ingredients 24/7 & if the kibble she is eating is high in toxins then she wont be eating it for too long to cause any health problems later on cause your rotating with other brands…….

[Jennifer S]

Hi everyone,

I have a 9 week curly coated retriever, should turn out to be about 80-90 lbs or so. I’ve read enough about dog nutrition to know that I need to be watching the Calcium/Phosphorus ratio and keep it close to 1:1, or at least not over 1.3:1. This is easy when determining kibble, but it seems like there are differing opinions about how much bones contribute to this calcium ratio. I was at the local pet food store (where they pride themselves on being very knowledgeable about nutrition) and they told me I should get the meat that had bones ground and organs ground up with it because the calcium from bones affects dogs differently and they poop out what they don’t need. The same thing with giving him bones to chew on. The breeder also told me that they will just poop out the extra calcium and I only need to worry about the Ca:P ratio with kibble.
I took puppy for his first vet visit today. I chose a vet who is fine with raw diets and knows about nutrition. She told me calcium is calcium and that when she does blood work on dogs that get lots of bones, their blood calcium levels tend to be higher. She said I shouldn’t be feeding any meat that has ground up bones in it or giving bones to chew, at least until he is older and I don’t have to worry as much about bone formation.

What do you all do for your large breed puppies when feeding raw? Do you give bones to chew? Do you think bone calcium acts differently in their system than the added calcium in kibble? Thanks!

[Susan]

Hi Gina,
my boy has IBD Plus Environment Allergies & Food Sensitivities, as my boy aged now 9yrs old he has gotten worse with his allergies they dont get better as they age allergies get worse, baths are the best thing to do, weekly baths wash off any allergens on the dogs sick peas face, baths in a good medicated shampoo relieve their itchy skin & paws get some “Malaseb” medicated shampoo its really good for Allergies & yeasty skin problems…

My boy has never done well on vet diets, the vet diets for skin problems are very high in Omega 3, 6 oils, this makes his acid reflux worse, Patch cant take Prednisone it makes him sleepy, tired, nausea, vomit & diarrhea, so he takes low dose of Metronidazole (Flagyl) on & off now….

Regarding TOTW Australia, our TOTW formula’s are made at the South Carolina Plant, TOTW have 4 different Plants around America this could be why Australia hasnt been affected, plus some of the TOTW formula’s are different for Australia & Europe customers, Australia & Europe have very strict importation laws so any pet foods that come into our countries must follow strict guidelines…..
When TOTW did formula changes a few years ago I read on a EPI face book group dogs in the UK were having bad diarrhea after the TOTW formula change, TOTW had added Chickpeas to some of their TOTW formulas.
(Lentils are the new protein booster, add Chickpeas or Lentils to the kibble & up goes the protein % in the kibble, so less meat protein, Wellpets have just done it to their Holistic Select & Wellness Core formula’s, you’ll be reading complaints soon about Wellpet formula’s, my dog is having diarrhea/sloppy poo’s etc”)
So I wrote to TOTW in America & I begged TOTW “Please dont change the TOTW made for Australia, the TOTW Pacific Stream & the Sierra Mountain formula’s, TOTW has low fiber % & we have sick dogs with IBD & EPI in Australia we need a grain free, low fiber dry kibble without lentils & chickpeas, we dont have any other low fiber dry kibbles that agree with our IBD & EPI dogs, we dont want our dogs to react like the dogs in the UK are reacting to the new TOTW formula change,” TOTW listened to us, we have no peas or lentils in the Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon formula & our TOTW Sierra Mountain Roatsed Lamb formula has NO lentils YET Ive just noticed teh American Sierra MountainLamb formula has Lentils now it didnt 2 yrs ago the only thin different was the American Sierra Lamb had Salmon Oil we have Canolia Oil… it can take just 1 small ingredient & a dog with IBD can react..
Lentils, Chickpeas, Peas can irratate the bowel when a dog has IBD IBS etc

Have a look at “Natural Balance” Limited Ingredients formula’s when I run the “Canine International Allergy” face book group a couple of years ago alot of dogs with IBD were doing very well eating the “Natural Balance” LTD, Sweet Potato & Bison or Potato & Duck or Sweet Potato & Fish formula’s…..N/B use to have Potato & Kangaroo formula but they dont have it no more, if you do decide to try N/B please read all the N/B LTD Formula’s as they are all different, some N/B formula’s have Chickpeas/Lentils/peas in them, the formula’s Ive posted dont have any peas, chickpeas or lentils, if you do try a new kibble make sure you introduce it very slowly over 2 weeks, if poo’s go sloppy then go back to the amount of new kibble & old kibble he was eating & doing firm poo’s on also dont reduce the Predisone until he’s stable on new kibble…

There’s a new drug called “Cytopoint” Injections for allergies or “Apoquel” tablets, the same makers Zoetisus make both, first Zoetisus made Apoquel & the Apoquel has a few side effects nausea, vomiting then Zoetisus brought out Cytopoint injections, you give injections every 4-8weeks depends on the dog, we dont have the Cytopoint injections yet in Australia, Patches vet wanted Patch to try Apoquel when it came out 2 yrs ago cause it can also help dogs with IBD, do you have a vet that specializes in your boy IBD? ask him about trying the Apoquel for his itchy skin & IBD, Aqopuel does NOT work if your dog has Yeast Dermatitis, you’ll need to change his Vet diet if he’s got yeasty itchy smelly skin, I dont know if your boy needs to be off the Predisone to take Apoquel, here’s Apoquel site, you can email & ask Zoetisus can a dog take Predisone & Apoquel together?. https://www.zoetisus.com/products/dogs/apoquel/index.aspx

[bexster]

Our German Shepherd is rounding the corner to 5 years old this year. He’s a rescue who we adopted at 1.5 years who, if we hadn’t adopted him, he surely would not be alive today. He is a fearful, anxious dog who dislikes people and other dogs.

He’s a behavioral nightmare so taking him to the vet for allergy tests is not in the cards. He can’t be left with other people. He leads a great, happy, well-lived life with us so please, no judgements.

From the get-go he had red scabby sores on his tummy so we fed him a good grain free food. The sores persisted so we eliminated chicken/turkey and that was the winner.

Things I’m not sure we have to avoid as I’ve never fed them to him:
Grains
Rice

Things we must avoid:
Chicken
Turkey
Chicken fat
Any chicken whatsoever
Apple
Corn

Things I want to avoid because I’ve read and read and researched endlessly for him and our previous girl who we lost to bone cancer:
Peas
Tapioca
Lentils
Potatoes
Crap fillers along those lines

There are only two foods I’ve found that he can eat, Pioneer Naturals and Sport Dog Food. Chewy is eternally, frustratingly out of stock constantly. Last month Sport sent around an email saying they’re soon adding chicken fat to all their foods and I was so destroyed.

I can’t stand cooking for the two humans in the house, I can’t imagine endlessly running to the grocery store, cooking for a 100 lb sweetheart no matter how much I love him. I just don’t have the space or budget to do so.

Any other food suggestions? I have spent countless hours label reading and am at wit’s end.

[Eileen W]

I am posting an update on both dogs.
1. Molly
I sought a second opinion from another vet. Molly has been on a prescription diet for about 3 months. Her poops are well formed now and the last two times her anal glands were checked they did not need to be expressed. My next steps are to keep her on for another month and then move her to a novel protein and limited ingredient diet food. I plan to try Zignature Kangaroo. I am hopeful the trend will continue on a food more balanced. The prescription diet did confirm she is able to express on her own and the more solid poops likely helped with that process. I have read about the deficiencies in the prescription diets…it is not a long term plan so please refrain from beating me up about it. I started her on a prebiotic when I changed her food.

2. Sierra
I switched her from Pure Vita to Fromm Four Star Nutritionals (with grain). She is pooping about 1/3 of what she was on PV and they are also firm. She is no longer scratching or chewing on her feet. Her energy level is great and she seems better than on either Acana or PV. She is off her allergy meds completely now. She still needs her anal glands expressed and as I mentioned she has structural issues which have her anal glands in non standard positioning. I started her on a prebiotic when I changed her food. I am happy with her progress.

My summation: after months of reading and many conversations with vet and other dog owners, I have come to believe there is no single food (brand, flavor, etc.) or medication or “recipe” that addresses this. I have to be willing to try something new if current plan is not working and it may take months to find the right balance. This is my opinion only and I am not a vet. Good Luck.

[Susan]

Hi,
a dog only reacts to potatoes, sugars & starchy carbs if she/he has food sensitives to those particular food/ingredients, this is another Myth spread on the internet (Dr Karen Becker) saying Potato, rice, corn, oats, grains, sugary carbs cause yeasty skin & ears this is not true, it’s only when your dog is sensitive to that food he will react…
What was he eating when his ears became yeasty?
Here’s a site written by a Dermotologist “Karen Helton Rhodes” The Myths & Facts of Yeast Dermatitis in Dogs”, Please read, she has a facebook site called “Healthy Skin 4 Dogs” & frequents another f/b group called “Dog, issues allergies & other Information Support Group” join the group heaps of really good information, your better off taking your dog off any dry kibble or cooked wet canned dog foods, whenever I feed wet can foods to my boy he starts shaking his head & scratches his ears & skin, I think the wet can foods use binders in the wet can foods & he must be sensitive too them, he’s the same when he eats a dry kibble that has tapioca, carrots, chicken, barley & oats he gets red smelly yeasty paws, itchy ears & smelly yeasty skin, he cant eat these ingredients he’s has food sensitivities to them, you need to work out what ingredients your dog has food sensitivities too??…
http://www.healthyskin4dogs.com/blog/2015/9/8/facts-myths-about-yeast-dermatitis-in-dogs
Have a look at freeze dried foods like “Ziwi Peak” air dried, Ziwi Peak also sell wet raw can food, it looks & smells like the cooked wet can foods but it’s healthier, Ziwi Peak is for dogs & cats who have skin/ear problems food sensititivies, Ziwi Peak has Novel protein meats (Venison Rabbit) & limited ingredients, Ziwi Peak must taste really good my cat goes mad when I open a can or open her bag of air dried Ziwi Peak, here’s Ziwi Peak site send them an email telling them about your dog yeasty ears & ask can you try some of their samples of their air dried formula’s, just make sure you give your address so they can send the samples out or go & buy some of the Ziwi Peak to try, your dog will get better & love the air dried & the wet can foods … https://www.ziwipets.com/ also when you do start a new limited ingredient food do not feed any treats or anything else in her diet just the new food..
also look for “K-9 Natural” Green Lipped Mussels Freeze Dried, Mussels are high in Omega fatty acid excellent for skin & ears, give 1-2 mussels a day as a treat..
K-9 Natural also sell wet raw can food & dehydrated food you just add water, same as “Honest Kitchen” look for the Zeal, Spruce or Brave formula’s https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/grain-free

[Margaret G]

Hi Josh, Origen Large Breed Puppy is on the Editor’s Choice list for large breeds. So Ca/Ph levels should be good. However, it is a very expensive food and from what I have read on some other sites, many pups find this food too rich and have tummy troubles. You can try it and see how your puppy does. But there are a number of other foods out there that are less expensive and still very good. Purina ProPlan and Fromms are both good. And mixing some canned to keep him eating will help him transition.

[Robert D]

I wanted to say thank you Lisa C and everybody on this forum and specially this topic. Have spent hundreds of hours researching my 8 year old Papillon same condition. Many vet visits second opinions changing here and there trying this and that expensive dog food and this is been going on since October. Basically 4 months of living hell.. with them always pushing the same sort of recommendation that you went through with chewy…

My Papillon munchkin, who also has severe anxiety, separation anxiety, and a few other things wrong with him. And him developing this condition / / since October with a bad visit to the groomer. After reading your testimony it felt like our story, and coming to the conclusion it was worth the try. Well it’s been 3 days now of him not getting sick, that would usually happen a few times a day. We were feeding them early in the morning and also late at night just before bed. And he still would be getting sick, and when he wasn’t getting sick he didn’t feel good. Anyways what I can tell this is working and what we go through a few times a day has been 3 days with nothing… We’d even have to force-feed him at times not anymore or at least the three days, thank you thank you thank you thank you. I will keep people informed even though it’s only been 3 days. He’s looking and feeling much better Wiley still takes other medicine like Prozac at least he’s not getting sick. So now we can break away from him getting all upset during feeding times and things like that and he can eat back on his own. Anyways hundreds of hours of research different vets different things and recommendations we went through for munchkin..
Thank you Lisa C.. and sorry chewy we definitely can relate and munchkin says thank you..

[gdijess]

I have a 9 month old rottie who I am looking to add some other brands to his food rotation. He does have a few diet restrictions and I unfortunately am limited as to what I can get.
He is Allergic to Chicken and Lamb and definitely does better on limited ingredient diets. I prefer to stick to grain free foods but I am open to other options. He gets really gassy on fish foods (He’s currently on Zignature catfish right now) He does have quite a few sensitivities that we are trying to work out but I’m still not sure as to what they are.
He does best with Pork, Bison, Venison, Duck, Rabbit, and Beef as far as proteins go. He does okay on potatoes but I prefer sweet potatoes or peas in his food instead of potatoes. The food has to have appropriate calcium and phosphorous levels for a growing large breed puppy, He is already 100lbs and still has some growing left to do. (I don’t mind doing this part, I just want some other brand recommendations. I’ve combed this site up and down and haven’t found a one that I have access to yet. )
He does the best on Zignature Pork, but he has also been on nutrisource large bread puppy chicken and rice, Zignature Lamb, Natures Domain puppy, PureVita Duck and Oatmeal, and Taste of the Wild South West Canyon.

I wanted to add Acana Duck and Pear as well as Earthborn Holistic Venture Rabbit but unfortunately I can’t get it where I am at. (I work at a pet store and I order the dog food for the store so I can get quite a few different brands.)

I know I am probably pretty picky, but I’m just looking for other options because he does get bored eating the same kibble and I don’t want to risk him developing any other allergy or sensitivities.

[crazy4cats]

Hi a c- I’ve been feeding my dogs the Turkey and Pea Stew for about two years now, I believe. Ever since it came out anyway. I have never had an issue. I feed it mixed in my dogs’ morning kibble meals.

In fact, it is a very popular food and is on limited availability right now. The manufacturer has not been able to keep up with demand and Costco stores are only getting limited amounts and some stores are not getting any at this time. It is manufactured by Performance Pets.

It is totally up to you. Tractor Supply Company sells 4Health canned foods, which is also a great value and I feed those as well.

Hope this helps. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of recalls lately and it’s tough to know what to do! Plus, most of the posts on this thread are from two years ago.

[Sydney C]

I know this thread is old but I am doing everything I can to try and get this issue resolved. I had a Frenchie nearly die last May from this dog food causing liver failure (she was just a year old) and now my 6 year old Mastiff is in organ failure, likely to pass in the next few days for the exact same thing. I have been in contact with the veterinarians from this manufacturing company and they are trying to pin this on chronic liver failure. There have been no articles that I can find that link either breeds to liver issues, chronic or acute. If anyone on here is interested, I am compiling a list of people interested in a class action lawsuit if this company does not do the right thing of looking into what is making these dogs sick. Please email your information to [email protected]

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by Sydney C.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by Sydney C.

[anonymous]

Are you sure that they are drinking too much water?
Frankly, I’d be more concerned if they weren’t drinking enough water.
You can call the 1-800 number on the dog food bag and ask them for the sodium amounts.
I doubt the food is above the recommended amounts, dogs do need some sodium.

For science based veterinary medicine go here
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/

Otherwise, you are just reading opinions. There are no veterinarians affiliated with this site (DFA).

If you are really concerned, call your vet, he may suggest obtaining a urine sample.
If you can’t get it, the vet can strait cath the pup, only takes a second.

PS: If they are only eating dry food, be glad they are drinking the water, they need it.

[Scherry H]

Thanks to all who responded! I didn’t want to write a novel here about my dog’s history but anon 101 is correct. My dog is on his last try with NSAIDS due to intolerance. All was well for a few days with galliprant now all of the sudden I have I scooter. My boy is ten I know everything about him down to how many times his heart beats per minute. Lol. Not really but sort of. That is why the sudden scoot is significant! And no the vets are not the best at discussing these things objectively for whatever reason, that is why I came here with my question. I had read the entire thread thoroughly before I even started the galliprant a few days ago. There was one comment about scooting and I remembered it but couldn’t relocate it. I feel like real opinions from real case studies from dog owners and their pets have way more value than any vet I have ever had. So again, I am so grateful for all of you. A healthy dog can end up in ER within hours from NSAIDS, look it up. It’s true. Thanks anon101 !

[Sue H]

While there are occasions that warrant immediate vet care, I do not think alarming someone for a low incidence as a side effect of a medication, which the vet can explain, is the correct thing to do. The pet owner, the pet and the vet should make a decisions based on what the actual findings are, and what is best for the dog.

Medications do list ALL side effects, they have to by law. That does not mean that an instance of scooting will lead to “Get ready, loose stools are next, then diarrhea, then bloody diarrhea”, which you stated.

I am sorry if your dog experienced this first hand. It can happen, but the incidence is low.

[Anonymous]

The best way for you to truly understand the answers to your questions is as follows: Look up your current food on the alphabetical list of dog foods, both dry and wet. Each analysis will enable you to learn the reasons why certain ingredients are not recommended. Grains, by large, are simply fillers: the dog FEELS full … and the dog poops MORE. Some dogs are allergic to particular grains and/or to rice. There are many opinions regarding wet versus dry versus raw versus frozen. Again, if you read up on the recommended foods, the ones that are 4- or 5-star winners, you will begin to understand. There is a lot of homework for you to do and a lot of homework for each and every dog owner. We come to our own conclusions and biases. Personally, I feed my Beagle dry with two tablespoons of wet on top. My best friend does the rehydrated frozen food for her Boxer. Boxers have a sensitivity to chicken, so she can’t feed that. I had a Dalmation that was allergic to grain, so I made him his food. Every breed is different. Don’t be put off: it’s fun and educational learning all this … and isn’t it about time people started wondering about what we feed our pets? Good luck. Never hesitate to ask questions on this forum. There are people here who are experts: I’m not. This is just MY opinion. Have fun!!!

[pitlove]

This is a website recommended by ACVN board certified vet nutritionist Dr. Rebecca Remillard
https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/centers-programs/minnesota-urolith-center/recommendations

Also these are some of her comments on using an ingredient list to evaluate the quality of a pet food.

“In summary, despite the blather all over the web about how to evaluate a pet food by the label is just pure BS. This race to get meat listed as the first ingredient and ‘grain free’ has the pet food industry laughing all the way to the bank and those self-appointed pet food experts with their own “rating system” are simply perpetuating misinformation and adding to the confusion.”

“Because in the end, any one ingredient, no matter how defined, does vary widely in nutrient content. The definitions are much too vague to “rate” any one ingredient and so no one can rate the entire ingredient list and say that it represents the entire pet food product. IF the information in the building blocks is vague and lacks detail, how can that poor quality information suddenly become a fine tuned instrument for “rating” the whole pet food product? It can’t and truth is it was NEVER intended by AAFCO that the ingredient list could be used to ‘rate’ pet foods. It is a very poor tool. The whole rating game online and in pet journals has no true value to the individual pet owner trying to do best by their dog or cat.”

“You cannot in any way “assess” the ingredients by reading the label….
Only the manufacturer can do that at the time they decided to accept or reject the ingredient delivery.
So you have to investigate manufacturers and not ingredient lists.”

“There are no bad ingredients – there is bad information on the web for sure.
There are no particularly good or bad ingredients but there are well made and poorly made dog foods.
There is NO way to rate a dog food based on the ingredients list despite the number of self-proclaimed dog food rating web sites readily doling our advice to anyone who will listen.”

You can even ask her questions on petdiets.com, the the “Ask the Nutritionist” section about your concerns regarding Royal Canin

[Chris s]

The diet information is often conflicting…and requires a lot of time to read and cross check. I lost a dog from hemangiosarcoma 6 years back. My oldest dog now had a mast cell tumor in the last year. Some of the information on Dr. Dressler’s website may be helpful–however, I have found the general diet suggestions are not favorable for a dog with a history of mast cell tumor. The dietary goal with that cancer is low histamine foods–which conflicts with some of the foods listed on Dr. Dressler’s canine cancer diet. I would highly recommend looking into I’M Unity– it is a type of mushroom supplement which has been and continues to be studied by UPenn Vet Hospital for cancer treatment. It may be a useful alternative to chemo…without the side effects. It is worth a try. NOT doing chemo was the hardest decision I ever made for my guy who had hemangiosarcoma. I went to 3 top oncologists and contacted the NIH division of translational medicine looking for treatment options– but there had not been any advances in decades. He had severe separation anxiety as well. I decided on quality of life and followed the diet in Dr. Dressler’s book, but got very little time given the nature of his cancer. I hope you find good options for you and your poodle. Wishing you peace at this hard time. Follow your heart.

[Walter G]

Hi all. I have a 10 yr. old beagle mix. She will not eat dry dog food. Only canned and moist. We are just about out of her canned and it seems all the local stores are out of stock. So I’m starting to panic.

I’ve looked on-line for various ideas and recipes and am getting confused as to “safe” ingredients. One web site says “no corn”, so I find a recipe using corn. Another says “no salt” so I find a recipe using beef bullion cubes. Another says “no potato skins, so I find a recipe that says “cut up a whole potato, including skins.” And on and on.

I will go with the safe instructions. But my question is…is there a web site that I can trust for correct/safe ingredients I can use? I don’t plan on making homemade food permanently, just ’til I can get her regular food.

I made a hamburger stew and she loved it.
Fried ground beef..fat drained and rinsed.
shredded white potato, peeled.
shredded carrot, peeled.
diced butternut squash.
green beans, chopped.
quinoa.
Water.
Cooked in a crockpot ’til soft and mushy.

P.S. Anyone know anything about black beans. I read to use dry not canned. I’m planning on adding some to some different stew I’d like to try.

Thanks for any help.

[STEFANIE]

Hello everyone! My name is Stefanie, and I am from Brazil, so for starters, let me apologize for my not-so-good English, but I’ll try my best! My dog, Maui, a 7th month old Border Collie, just went through three surgeries (yeah! amazing survivor!). On Jan 4th, 2018, he ate a HDMI cable and had it removed by undergoing a 3 and 1/2 hour surgery which ended up removing about 9cm of his jejunum. One week later, his internal stitches from the anastomosis had problems, and he ended up with about 800ml of fecal liquid on his stomach cava. With this severe peritonitis diagnosed and confirmed with an ultra, he had his 2nd surgery, which then removed about 10cm of the jejunum again. Less than 72hrs later, the same problems occurred with the internal stitches, and Maui had to undergo his third surgery. On the last surgery, the vets are not sure of the length they removed from his jejunum, and unfortunately, they had to remove his iliac valve. His duodenume and colom are still 100% intact! It has now been 20 days since his last surgery, and he has been home for the last 8 days (blessed!). As predicted by all vets, we are really struggling to help him out since he now has all the signs of SBS. He started all this nightmare with 15.200kgs, and now weights only 10.700kgs. He is currently on a restricted diet, which includes, only 600ml of water a day, served in small portions of 100ml, and now eats 4x times a day the following meal: 2 spoons of mashed potatoes (home cooked) + 2 spoons of a high-caloric meal (canned), which includes turkey, carrots, beet, olive oil, pumpkin and some other ingredients. 3x times a day, I give 1/2 smashed banana with a scoop of whey protein (for dogs, in Brazil named Caninus Protein). With all his 4 main meals, I give him a teaspoon of Pancreatin (mix and wait 15minutes before serving). And 2x a day I give him Omega 3 (1000ml), L-Glutamine (1 teasp), Taurina, a probiotic (in Brazil named Lactofos), and a medicine to help him hold his stool (in Brazil named Duspatalin).
By now I havent really seen any major improvement with his diarrhea, and my MAIN concern is that it is obvious that he cant really digest the food. We can observe the pieces of his meal on his stools. On the poop chart (http://www.epi4dogs.com/poopchart.htm) he has never scored more than 6! and often has an 7.. He varies from 5-9 diarrheas a day.
We have a nutritionist and exchange facts and info on a daily basis! Next week I am considering changing his meals for dry nibble ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY GASTRO INTESTIONAL FIBRE RESPONSE, since the canned options are very wet and it is clear that whenever he drinks water his stools get worst, since the canned meals include 70-80% of water, I am really considering giving him PROCESSED dry nibble and only adding some small spoons of water (so I can control the amount of water taken).
I would really appreciate ANY ideas, suggestions, feedbacks, information on this subject! I am reading a lot about SBS, and am totally committed on helping him as much as I can. Maui is an amazing dog and deserves to live for as long as he wants – and it seems he wants to outlive us all!  He is a little FIGHTER and I love him with all my heart.
For now, I would really like to know how all of you guys managed to help them better DIGEST the food, and also what helped with the stool problems. Did you guys give them Metamucil (Psyllium)? If so, how much? Any feedbacks about the ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY GASTRO INTESTIONAL FIBRE RESPONSE? What seemed to work best as a probiotic?
Thank you all for the help and attention! Its very warm to know that there are so many people out there willing to help.
Best Regards, Stef and Maui

[anonymous]

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/ (click on link for complete article and comments)
Yet Another Study Shows the Real Dangers of Raw Diets for Dogs
Posted on February 2, 2018 by skeptvet
I have covered the raw diet issues since the very start of this blog, which is about nine years now. My articles on the subject are collected here. Very little has changed in my assessment of the evidence over this time. The bottom line is clear:
There is evidence of risk in feeding raw, including infectious disease, parasites, and injury from raw bones. There is no scientific evidence, only anecdote and dubious theories, to demonstrate any benefits from feeding raw.
A new study has recently been published which adds to the already considerable evidence of risk from infectious disease.
Martinez-Anton, L., Marenda, M., Firestone, S.M., Bushell, R.N., Child, G., Hamilton, A.I., Long, S.N. and Le Chevoir, M.A.R. (2018), Investigation of the Role of Campylobacter Infection in Suspected Acute Polyradiculoneuritis in Dogs. J Vet Intern Med, 32: 352–360.
This was a case control study conducted in Australia and designed to look for associations between the occurrence of a serious neurologic disease, Acute Polyradiculoneuritis (APN) and infection with the bacterium Campylobacter sp. This bacterium has been identified as a common trigger for the analogous disease in humans, Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Because exposure to raw chicken is a common source of Campylobacter infection in humans, the feeding of raw chicken, and other raw meats, was one of the variables evaluated in this study.
The results were quite clear. Dogs with APN were far more likely to be have Campylobacter than healthy dogs, and dogs with APN were also much more likely to have been fed raw chicken and other raw foods.
This type of study only shows an association, not a definitive cause-effect relationship. A prospective randomized controlled trial would be needed to prove feeding raw chicken can cause Campylobacter infection which can then cause APN. However, such studies are not always necessary or appropriate to guide us in reducing our risk of disease. Case-control studies are the main source of evidence showing smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, and certainly a randomized trial in which some people are made to smoke for years and others are not to definitively prove this relationship would be unnecessary and unethical.
We are more often willing to inflict harm on animals in order to investigate the causes of disease, so it is possible someone will do such a study in dogs even though we would not do it in humans. However, it is clear that this study, in the context of the existing evidence in veterinary and human medicine, supports the clear health risks eating raw meat.
Proponents of raw diets will certainly argue that the risk is small compared to the benefits. Unfortunately, no scientific evidence yet exists to show any benefits, and personal anecdotes or theories about the natural history of dogs are not sufficient reason to ignore the robust scientific evidence of the harm that raw diets can cause. Unless some reliable research evidence emerges to show meaningful health benefits from raw feeding, there is no good reason for pet owners to participate in this dangerous fad.

[Christa P]

Hi Shawna,
I just wanted to tell you I am so thankful to be able to see your posts. My 9 year old Italian Greyhound is in the very early stages of Kidney disease. Well,at least that is what her vet says. She had blood and urine work done because she drinks so much water. The vet told me her Kidney ALP levels and her BUN levels were high. She gave me Hills K/D kibble but I have heard before how bad kibble can be. I was searching for general information on what to feed her and what not to. I also wondered if there is holistic things I could give her. I was getting so confused with all the different information. But your postings and information seems very helpful! I was also told by Tia`s vet to keep her “low protein”. But from what I read that is not always good for mild kidney disease. She is a fussy eater and she loves meat and chicken. I always gave her the organic if possible. She will eat some veggies as treats. So I am trying to figure out what I can get her to eat that wont hurt her. She does eat Honest Kitchen sometimes so at least I can get her more water content. I am going to look at all your advice and web pages and such to help us out. Thank you for posting all you did!

[RollTide10]

Been catching up on everything that’s been discussed since back in ’12. Thank you to everyone who has contribute to the topic/discussion.

I have a question on what to feed my Lab/GSD Mix. The shelter estimated him to be 2-years old. They were feeding him Royal Canin Medium Adult so I thought to keep it as his food. That is, until I discovered the numerous questionable ingredients. I also noticed that my dog would be scratching/nibbling on his back every so often, not constantly but still a cause for concern. So I thought to attempt to combat this with some grain-free food. After much research, I settled with Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Chicken/Turkey…seeing that it’s not only affordable but contains decent ingredients.

My pup loves food so he has been chowing down WEF with no problem (for 18 days now- including a week of transition time) but I’ve noticed that he’s been shedding a lot more than usual and small clumps of hair is falling from his tail. I also discovered a 2″ long (literally a line) bald patch where his back and hip-bone connect (ruled out fleas). I’m not sure where it’s from but I have a hunch it may be caused by WEF and their lack of Omega-3 data (they won’t say how much Omega-3 is in their grain free chicken and turkey recipe, just that it is formed naturally in the ingredients)

Due to this reason, I’d like to transition my pup to another food that has at least the same amount of Omega-3 RC has (they said .48%). Should I move him back to Royal Canin or try another type of food (whether with or without grains)? I guess I just don’t exactly know which type of food to look for. When I started researching I looked for food that has Growth and All Life Stages profile. Then I looked at the numbers for protein, fat, fiber, Omega-3 %, Calcium and Phosphorus % and C:P ratio.

But now, after reading some posts on here, it seems that the Calcium and Phosphorus % is not as important as my pup is now 2 years old but the and ratio should still be between 1:1 – 2:1? Should I still be focusing on Growth / All-Life Stages food or should I broaden the search and look at Maintenance and/or Unspecified profile?

Ah, so confusing D:
I guess I just want my pup to eat food that is close (or better) to what RC offers, without the questionable ingredients. Here are the data I gathered from RC:

Crude Protein – 23%
Protein (DMB) – 25.56%
Crude Fat – 12%
Fat (DMB) – 13.33%
Fiber – 3.1%
Fiber (DMB) – 3.4%
Omega-3 – 0.48%
Calcium – 1.20%
Phosphorus – 0.80%
C:P – 1.5:1
kcal (kg/cup) – 3633 / 336

[RollTide10]

I adopted my Lab/GSD Mix from the shelter roughly 12 weeks ago (they said he’s 2 years old). They were feeding him Royal Canin Medium Adult so I thought to keep it as his diet. That is, until I discovered the numerous bad ingredients in RC. I also noticed that my dog would be scratching/nibbling on his back every so often, not constantly but still a cause for concern. So I thought to attempt to combat this with some grain-free food. (Perhaps I was wrong to assume so?). After much research, I decided to try out Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Chicken/Turkey…seeing that it’s not only affordable but contains pretty good ingredients.

My pup loves food so he has been chowing down WEF with no problem (for 18 days now- including a week of transition time) but I’ve noticed that he’s been shedding a lot more than usual and small clumps of hair is falling from his tail. I also discovered a 2″ long (literally a line) bald patch where his back and hip-bone connect (ruled out fleas). I’m not sure where it’s from but I have a hunch it may be caused by WEF (they won’t say how much Omega-3 is in their grain free chicken and turkey recipe, just that it is formed naturally.)

I’d like some advice, please, on which food is good to transition my pup to. Should I move him back to Royal Canin or try another type of food (whether with or without grains)? I’ve been doing a lot of research regarding dog food but I’m completely overwhelmed. I read Dr. Mike’s article on calcium/phosphorus levels for large breed puppies but what about my (supposedly) 2 Year old pup? What are other things I should look for in dog food besides protein, fat, fiber, and calcium/phosphorus?

Thanks in advance.

[pitlove]

Hi Sharyl-

Depending on where you live, the change in weather could be causing the dry skin/dander, or he is not getting proper amounts of fatty acids in his diet. You can likely continue him on Fromm Gold and add a fatty acid supplement like Grizzly Salmon Oil to his food and within a month or so will see an improvement.

Unless he is an extremely poorly bred dog with parents that showed similar symptoms at such a young age and later were diagnosed as a food allergy by elimination diet, its unlikely that he has already developed a food allergy.

Do not make the same mistake I made when my boy was a puppy and switch his foods all around. It turned out he was in fact food sensitive and by changing his food so frequently, I could not keep it under control. I also had no clue what was causing the problem. Now he can not eat a grain free diet and peas, kangaroo, duck and red meat are his worst triggers.

[Susan]

Hi again,
Yes stop all treats as they can be very high in fat & just use the dry kibble your feeding for her treats, did you take back the Simply Nourish & get a refund? i would contact Simply Nourish company & they should pay for the vet bill as well, 1 of my cats got ill after I applied Revolution I contacted Revolution & they told me to wash the Revolution off ASAP I had already done that then the lady said if he needs to see a vet they will Pay for it just tell the vet you’re seeing to contact this lady, my new cat is fine with revoluton spot on treatment but my other cat wasnt,…
What are you using to prevent fleas?? Please dont say Bravecto or Nexgard as these flea chews can cause stomach problems & other health problems
I wouldn’t make her drink water, when they eat wet food they don’t need to drink as much water, wet food, cooked & wet can food is around 70% water, its when you feed kibble they drink heaps of water… also when she hasn’t eaten all day thats OK she is resting her stomach, Pancreas, dogs are smart & know when not to eat, when to drink water etc, then when she finally does eat a meal feed her slowly & only feed 1/2 the meal then feed the other 1/2 of the meal about 30-60mins later, sometimes I feed Patch 1 spoon cooked food at a time in his bowl cause he gulps the whole cooked meal in 5sec then he gets pain & I think the pain is wind pain & he needs a to have a big burp, I ,ake Patch sit & hold his chest area & rub his back up & down like you’re burping a babythen he does a big burp & feels better, what I do with Patch & drinking water I use a small bowl & I go fill it 1/2 up & I take the water to him & I ask do you want a drink Patch if he does his head pops up & he moves to drink the water, I do this at night while I’m watching TV & he’s sleeping he gets lazy so I get his water for him but he’s 9y yrs old now & couldnt be bothered getting up om a comfy bed sometimes….
Do you live near a “Costco” or know someone that shops there? Costco have their “Kirkland Signture” Nature’s Domain dry Kibble look at their Turkey & Sweet Potato all life stages kibble, that’s if you can not afford the Natural balance LID kibble this Turkey & Sweet Potato doesnt have too many ingredients, it has probiotics for the gut, & has low Kcals Per cup336Kcals per cup so easy to digest, Patch was eating the Taste Of The Wild Sierra Moutain Roasted Lamb this last 1 & 1/2 years & he was doing very well on teh TOTW Lamb & kirkland Signature is made by the same maker as TOTW
Here’s are the ingredients.

Turkey meal, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, tomato pomace, flaxseed, natural flavor, salmon oil (a source of DHA), salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus reuteri fermentation product, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 24% Minimum
Crude Fat 14% Minimum
Crude Fiber 4% Maximum
Moisture 10% Maximum
Zinc 150 mg/kg Minimum
Selenium 0.35 mg/kg Minimum
Vitamin E 150 IU/kg Minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* 2.4% Minimum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* 0.3% Minimum
Total Microorganisms* Not Less Than 1,000,000 CFU/lb
(Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium animalis, Lactobacillus reuteri)

Calorie Content
3,590 kcals/kg (336 kcals/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy

Does she have a fermenting smell coming from her mouth?? if yes then stop feeding the boiled rice & start buying Sweet Potatoes & peel cut up in pieces & boil them you can freeze Sweet Potato it freezes well, I freeze sweet potato pieces then if I need some I just take out of freezer leave out to thaw, also potato is also good to feed, I also buy the Gluten free pasta for Patch Aldis sells it cheap, Aldis also sells tin Tuna in Spring water cheap keep a few tins of Tuna in the Cupboard for when she becomes unwell & you dont have any chicken, I have my Sweet potato cooked in the freezer & a couple of cans of tuna just in case, scramble egg is also good to feed when unwell or as a light meal..

If you do see the vet on Tuesday ask can you try a 14 day course of “Metronidazole” (Flagyl) twice a day every 12 hours with a meal, when she was vomiting & became unwell she probably needed a course of the Metronidazole when Patch starts having any stomach bowel problems Patches vet tells me to start him on the Metronidazole for 21 days, he’s taking the Metronidazole again at the moment & seems to be getting better, I hope….
You could ask the vet can you have a few repeat script of the Metronidazole 21 tablets 200mg & you take the script to chemist, I got 2 packet of te Metronidazole today only cost me $7.21 for 21 X 200mg tablets… heaps cheaper then seeing the vet & buying from the vet just explain your at Uni Studying & the vet might understand what its like & see you’re a good dog owner & care for your girl heaps I’d say its the Pit Bull in her, some Pit Bulls, Staffy seem to suffer with stomach problems…..
Maybe if she seems OK by Monday then cancel the Tuesday vet visit unless you want to ask for the Metronidazole but if she isnt sick the vet may not prescribe any medications, it will all depend on the vet, cause there’s nothing they can really do except with do further test & the stomach is the hardest health problem to diagnose & the only good test that gives answers is the Endoscope/Biopsies as the camera looks down her throat into her stomach they take a tiny tissue sample & thats ur biopsies no pain they come home in the afternoon & eat a small cooked meal & back to normal the next day, it might be best to save your money & get another LID kibble & wait till she is unwell again, an Endoscope isnt as expensive as people think, it cost around $400-$500 best to shop around first then you pay extra for the Biopsies they cost arount $50 each Patch had 2 biopsies I think, my bill wasnt itemized this time, but I saw teeth cleaning & scaling cost me $200, I dont even get my teeth cleaned & Patch comes out with these pearly whites but he had Gingitivitas back left molar teeth vet wanted to stop any bacteria going down his throat…..
I have to get to bed very tired, Patch is waiting for me… dogs are so loyal arent they..

[Christian C]

Hi Susan, thanks for the reply. I’m sorry to hear about patch, and I hope all is well with both of you! My girl is a border collie pit/lab mix. She is my everything. and is around 50 lbs. to break it down a little more, it started around the time I switched her food for the first time, I switched her to originally Simply Norish, but after finishing about 1/3 of the bag and her not eating her food, I discovered there were bugs in her food! I was horrified. They were little flying bugs so I immediately had to switch her food. I switched her to crave and stuck with that for about 2 months, but that’s when the throwing up started happening more often, only in the morning or at night. It went from happening about once a month to happening about once a week and these past couple of weeks she has thrown up bile multiple times a week. Only yesterday was the first time anything serious happened but she wouldn’t eat all day which is a first, not even treats or rice and chicken when I first put it down but later that night she gobbled everything down that she could. Also while she was laying down she let out one random yelp of pain and I have no idea why. I’ve been feeling her stomach and it doesn’t seem to bother her, especially today. She loves eating the rice and chicken but she’s been avoiding drinking water. Idk why but it got to the point where I had to force her to drink by putting water in a baby syringe and let her drink it from there. But she went out and excersized like normal today, she has lots of energy so she was running for quite some time. she doesn’t eat grass when she’s outside or anything. I’ve noticed that her mouth sounds very loud lately. I can’t tell if it’s dry mouth or extra salivation but it’s loud, and she often smacks her lips. I’m gonna try cutting all treats out for s little while as well but that hasn’t helped yet. She seems to be doing well on the bland diet but it’s only been one day so I can’t tell

As for the endoscopy, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford one of those. I read online they were very expensive. It would be my dream to have one of those done just to know my baby is okay, but right now my options are very limited. I don’t know anyone who can loan me money and my family is pretty lower income so they wouldn’t be much help either.
I wish I had the resources or people to start a donation page but I don’t 🙁 I live in the city, so there are plenty of vets near me but I haven’t found a single one that does payment plans. It breaks my heart. Me and my mom applied for care credit but both got denied.
I scrapped every penny I have together and am going to take her to the vet again on Tuesday but it seems I’ll probably only have enough for blood work.
I certainly am going to switch her to natural balance Lid, not sure which formula yet but certainly the lowest fat and protein
formula. I’ve given her fresh pet before and she loves it, I will certainly add it to her diet now that I know how good it is. But cooking fresh food every day would be quite the challenge as I am in school and my mother baby sits most of the day.

I am praying to god it is something easily fixable that can be treated at home, if not I don’t know what to do. I’ll have to ask every vet around about payment plans. This is a very stressful
situation, I can’t find much help online for assistance with the bill and most of the places around here that I call are jerks and don’t offer help to anyone who asks. I’ve never worried about it this much in the past because she always acts so normal after but yesterday got me very scared, it seemed Pepto Bismol and Pepcid did make her situation worse and I won’t be trying them again.

What were your exact recommendations again? I’d like to have a full plan to discuss with my vet when I go. What medications? I am already feeding her 3-5 times a day depending on her activity level etc.
her breed is very enertic but some days I cannot afford to take her to the dog park where she can truly let off all her steam, she is an emotional support animal, so I take her a lot of places. Thank you Susan, you’re so kind

[Susan]

Hi Christain,
I would try “Natural Balance” LID Sweet Potato & Bison look at all the N/B ingredients, a lady told me the Sweet Potato & Venison has gone up in price so maybe pick the Sweet Potato & Bison or Potato & Duck instead read ingredient list & see which will be best…
the fat is low 10%min in the N/B & teh protein is law as well…
Why I dont recommend the fish formula’s no more as its higher in omega fatty acids this is excellent for dogs BUT Patch deosn’t do well with his acid reflux when he eats any fish kibbles….
Do you live at home with mum, it would be good if she cooed & froze the meals?? what breed is your girl?
It’s best feeding 3-4 smaller meals a day & cooked meals would be better then dry kibble, lean low fat cooked meals, also look for the “FreshPet” loaf in the fridge section look for one with the lowest fat% & try the Freshpet loaf or another brand that has good ingredients & the fat isnt real high best to stay under 6% fat, when you convert 5% fat to dry matter fat (Kibble) for wet tin food, the dog loaves, raw dog food, 5%min fat is around 20%min to 26%max in fat…So best to feed lower fat for Acid reflux kibble is higher in carbs so this can make teh acid bad as well but once you do find a kibble that agrees you’ll be OK but what I found I need to rotato foods with Patch breakfast he gets kibble lunch he wetsa cooked meal the dinner 5pm 1/3 cup kibble then another small meal 8pm sometimes a cooked meal what I ate for dinner as long as it has no onion & isnt a hot curry/spicey meal or he gets 1/3 cup kibble, it all depends if he seems unwell then he gets the cooked meal I freeze small meals,
Do you have more then 2 vets in your area? what about if you drive to the next suburb I’d ring around all the vets in your areas who are within 40 mins drive & id’ask do they have the Endoscope machine ? if they say yes ask whats the vets name that does the Endoscope + Biopsies ?? write his name down he should know alot about the stomach small bowel etc…
Patch just had another Endoscope + Biopsies, he had Endoscope + Biopsies done 4-5 yrs ago vet just found teh Helicobacter was bad he was treated with Triple therepy meds & later put on Losec (Ranitidine) 5yrs later this time I thought he’s has stomach cancer as he went down hill so quickly, he had very sore throat, Simon (vet) is Patches second vet he specializes in the IBD & other health problems, when Simon looked down Patches esophagus he saw his wipe pipe was very red & inflammed the acid had come up his throat, our brain sends a msg to close the esophageal spincter (Flap) to the wind pipe but Patches brain isnt doing this & the acid was soo bad & coming up his throat then going back down into his wind pipe, I still havent picked up his biopsies results, after when the bisopies result came back Patch also had mild Helicobacter, Im wondering does your our have the Helicobactor cause you say she has gotten worse this is what happened with Patch just after Xmas, all dogs have the Helicobacter Simon said but its healthy, but Patches helicobacter has taken over & is living him his stomach walls, this is way he’s always hungry, first sign of helicobacter they have a big appetite, acid reflux, eating grass, vomiting acid up this is when their throat gets burnt from te acid best to give liquid Mylanta 4 mls in a syringe I dont know if you have Mylanta its á white liquid & coats the esophagus, their aci is often bad first thing of a morning, best to let them eat some grass not too much about 1min then vet said stop PAtch they will vomit from eating just 2-3 picses of grass Simon said a dog can make himself spew they dont even need grass to speI didnt know that I wish Patch would spew the acid up its better out then in, we do not use Pepcid (Famotidine) in Australia no more, its an old drug the chemist lady said, you can get the liquid “Pepto-Bismol” its pink this helps kill the Helicobacter my vet said but it seems to make Patch symptoms worse & I havent given him the Pepto-Bismol again since I bought it 1-2 yrs ago, I keep it in the fridge same with the liquid Mylanta so when it goes down their throat it cold & soothing, the vet put Patch on the Triple Therapy meds again 1 week ago, Metronidazole-200mg, Amoxcillian- 400mg & Prolosec-20mg, taken every 12 hours with a meal for 3 weeks, the Losec is only given in the morning once a day but cause your dog is so young you do not want her on prilosec yet full time like Patch is on & after 1 yr it doesnt seem to be helping him no more, he’s just turned 9yrs old so its OK giving him a PPI but being young únder 4yrs old there’s other ant acid meds, Losec is a Protein Pump Inhibitor (PPI) once you start taking a PPI for more then 3 weeks you can not just stop taken it very bad side effects, while taking the PPI the brain stops you making stomach acid or not making as much then if you just stop taking the PPI Losec your brain releases the stomach acid & from what the vet said its too much stomach acid until it gets back to normal again so you need to slowly stop the PPI-Losec.. I tried all the ant acid meds then Patch stayed on Zantac (Ranitidine) 1/3 of a 150mg tablet 30mins before food for a while then the Zantac didnt seem to work no more, so vet wrote Patch out a script for 20mg Omeprazole-Losec heaps cheaper from a chemist then a vets, I started giving Patch the Losec for 3 days when he was bad then i’d stop Simon said yes thats what he does takes the Losec for 2-4 days then he stops then I found while Patch was on the Losec he was HEAPS better, no eating grass as soon as he woke up, no vomiting, no whinging all the time, he was sleeping thru the night not getting up 5am wanting grass..so I put him on the Losec full time around May 2016, now I want to try another PPI Somac (Pantoprazole) 20mg what I take for my GORDs.. cause why has Patch gotten so bad where now, his acid has inflammed his wind pipe? the losec isnt helping him no more he needs to try another PPI, Ive changed his food to a lower fat 9%min & Im cooking for lunch & second dinner 8pm meal & kibble for his other meals..5 meals a day…
You’re lucky you can get the Natural Balance heaps of dogs with IBS, IBD, Pancreatitis, are all doing really well on the Natural Balance formula & some of the dog owners cook meals as aswell so their dog isnt just eating a dry processed kibble..
Another thing make sure you read what the Kcals per cup are & stay UNDER 370 Kcals per cup best to stay under 350Kcls per cup, the higher teh Kcals per cup the harder teh stomach has to work digesting the kibble…

I would change your girl food, do live at home with mum? cause cooked meals would be heaps better then dry processed kibble, or have a look at those “Pet Fresh” loaf in pet fridge section at pet shops or supmarkets, look for a loaf that has the lowest amount of fat % around 3-5%-fat & start feeding her 4 smaller meals a day breakfast lunch & 2 dinners I do 5pm-kibble & 8pm-kibble or cooked meal, if your not home get one of these kibble machines that will give her 1/3 to 1/2 a cup for lunch & dnner….. Do you belong to any face book groups “Canine Pancreatitis Support Group” Canine IBD group? I wonder if you ask does anyone have a kibble machine they dont use any more & if you could set a up a donation account once you find a good vet then you give the new vets account details & people can start donating money so your girl can get an Endoscope & Biopsies done, no point in doing an Ultra Scan it cannot see the stomach properly or do teh biopsies there’s another test the dog drinks a solution Barium meal test but you need bipsies done once you get biopsies your vet will get some answers, even if she has ulcers teh endoscope will see teh ulcer of if she has scarring form old old ulcers, this is if only after changing her diet & you have tried Zantac (Ranutdine) twice a day before feeding main meals even thought your feeding 4 smaller meals 2 of the meals are just a bit bigger thats why I asked what breed is your girl??? is she small or a bigger dog, theres so much’info I probably have forgotten, so keep CockerlierMom & me posted please…
Have you tried the “4Health” Special Care, Sensitive Stomach, its Potato & Egg kibble Potato & Egg is really good to cook as well, I always make Patch a scramble egg when he’s unwell dont add any butter or milk you just scramble the egg & use a non stick frying pan or do in the micro wave but if you cook too long in micro wave you can get rubber scramble egg.. also boil soom potatoes leave in air tight container & add to some chicken I often buy the reduced BBQ chicken I eat the fatty part of teh chiken & give to the cat & I give Patch the breast section & freeze any left overs for next time, also tin tuna in spring water with boiled potato is also another good easy tomake meal for your girl instead of feeding her the kibble also look for wet can foods but tehfat has to be #% & under best to email teh pet food company & ask what is the fat% when converted to dry matter the max fat % you’ll be shoked sometimes you see 55-fat after you contact the pet food comany they tell you its 26% fat so be careful with wet can foods,
With Probiotics they seem to make PAtches acid reflux worse I do not know why?? neither does teh vet also stay with loer fiber lower carb kibbles as teh higher fiber 7 higher carbs make teh acid worse, I just hoping it’s just teh brand of kibble your feing & thats the problem an ingredient or the kibble has fish/salmon oil that is causing the aid reflux with your girl cause after eating a cook meal she is better so maybe she s better off eating a balanced cooked meals but dont wory yet about balancing het dietyet she is OK for 2 month with out her diet being balanced just work out this problem first & how can you raise money to get Endoscope & biopsies if it all continues.. finger X it doesnt… she is young hopefully she’s just eating the wrong food..

[j w]

My dog had urinary crystals, vet put him on Royal Canin Urinary S/O. Like many other people, I am worried about this not being nutritious enough despite resolving the crystal issue. Now that six months have passed with the crystals being gone, my vet said it is okay for him to go on a different diet and be rechecked in a month for possible reappearing crystals.

There seems to be a decent chance my dog originally developed these crystals from not drinking enough water. The 12 months prior to forming the crystals, he was hardly drinking any water. Now, I pour water in with his kibble, and he happily sips it all up before eating.

I desperately do not want to the crystals to return. But, a raw diet does not seem affordable, and would only be a last resort. I would like to try mostly kibble mixed with canned food and water. From what I am reading when choosing a kibble, it should be a high protein – low-carb – grain free / potato free kibble.

I am leaning towards trying this brand, EVO, which seems to be very low carb yet high quality / high rated food. /dog-food-reviews/evo-dog-food-dry/

Would anyone recommend against this?

[The guy who throws the ball]

I just posted this on another thread and figured I’d post it here too.

I thought I would share our experience. My dog Widgit started having seizures around age 3. The Vet said there was no particular cause and it is just epilepsy. We delt with the seizures for about three years. They were getting worse and we were on the verge of putting her on medication based on the vets recommendation. Then we noticed a pattern with certain treats we were giving the dogs. We had tried different foods over the years , and Widgit was a picky eater. We decided to get the best food we could and switched again. It has been over a year without a single seizure! I’m not saying that diet is a cure or that it will work in all situations, but I can say for a fact that dog food and treats were a trigger and maybe a cause for my dogs seizures, and better food and no processed and flavored treats have changed her life. The funny part was once we fed her her current food she loved it and gobbled it down. So her pickyness was probably just her not wanting to eat because it made her feel bad. A high quality diet without junk made all the difference for us, and I recommend changing your dogs diet for the better if they are affected by seizures, and to look for patterns associated with changes. Keep a seizure log, we did for three years and it was helpful. Like I said, once we switched food after seeing the pattern, Widgit’s seizures immediately stopped and she hasn’t had one. Good luck

[Susan]

Hi Ryan,
Is the Hills Z/d helping with his allergies (Skin) ? does he suffer with Environment allergies or Food sensitivities or does he have both? my boy suffers with both, if his skin seems better on the Hills Z/D it’s probably the high Omega fatty acids they put in the Vet Diets, start looking for another limited ingredient single protein kibble, if the California Natural ingredients didn’t really help read what the ingredients were in the California Natural, I’m pretty sure the CN Kangaroo formula has Red & Green Lentils these ingredients will not help if a dog has sloppy poos/diarrhea you need to aviod Lentils…
With environment allergies baths are best in a medicated shampoo, I found Malaseb works the best for my boy, twice a week or weekly baths, washes off the allergens on the dog skin/paws if he’s doing sloppy poos then Sweet Potatoes & Potato is the best to firm up poo’s, the only way a dog will get yeasty skin & paws is if he is sensitive to an ingredient & from environment allergies, Potato does not cause yeasty skin/paws in dogs this is a Myth, thats if he gets yeasty smelly skin & paws….

You can start an elimination food diet & start working out what foods he can & cant eat, Potato & Sweet Potato firmed up my boy poos up with his IBD now he doesnt need his anal gland expressed no more, sometimes after Patch has done a poo I see the fluid running down his black bum, when I go home I get a baby wipe & wipe that area, after I started feeding Patch “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb, it has just Lamb as the protein source then Sweet Potato, Potato, Peas, Canola Oil, Egg I started rotating & feeding “Canidae” Pure Wild Boar, Patch has had no more anal gland problems..
Here’s the Canidae site to look at formula’s & ingredients,
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
Canidae also have their Pure Sea & Pure Sky formula’s they’re really good for skin problems cause they’re very high in omega fatty acids, Canidae also make another brand called “Under The Sun” but its yellow pea & chickpea heavy, I’d avoid if your dogs has sloppy poo problems..
or look at “4Health” Special Care, Sensitive Stomach” it just has Potato & Egg excellent for doing an elimination diet once your dog is doing well you start adding 1 new ingredient for 6 weeks & see does he react in those 6 weeks there’s also “4Health” Special Care, Sensitive Skin formula it has Hydrolyzed Salmon but has more ingredients then the 4Health Sensitive Stomach formula has, or there’s other “4Health” formula’s Turkey & Potato, Duck & Potato, Whitefish & Potato look for a formula with the least ingredients just google “4health Special Care, Sensitive Stomach” & you’ll see all the 4health formula’s …

Hills Z/d is Guaranteed Money back so I’d take back the remaining Z/D kibble, keep a bit of the Z/d kibble to help introduce a new kibble & tell the lady at the vet counter what is happening, Hills like feed back how your dog went on their vet diets, you can even send Hills an email & have a Vet Nutritionist call you back they will help you with the vets diet, which is best to try next, Hills have their Potato & Duck skin formula or their Science Diet Sensitive Skin formula, the Z/D had been changed twice in the last 5yrs & the Hills I/d Digestive Care has just been changed & improved again, thats 3 times in 5 yrs so Hills must get a few complaints with their vet diets….
There’s “Royal Canin” Hydrolyzed Protein HP formula or Royal Canin have their Select Proteins, PR- Potato & Rabbit, PV Potato & Venison, Skin Support SS is Rice & Fish, that’s if you want to try another vet diet again, or look for a premium limited ingredient dog kibble & add your own omega oil, just buy some Fish/Krill Oil capsules & give 1 capsule with 1 of his meals a day but only start adding the Krill Oil capsules once he’s stable on the new kibble as fish /Krill Oil can cause sloppy poos in some dogs, fish/krill oil its excellent for dogs skin/coat..

[Mary C]

To those who are understandably upset about having to pay return shipping and not getting refunded for the shipping they’ve paid: I haven’t seen any product on any site that refunds initial shipping costs or pays for return shipping. That’s almost unheard of and not a realistic expectation. HOWEVER, that said, the reluctance to refund is inexcusable and does not speak well for the company.

If you have paid by credit card and kept a printed record of when you ordered, you can dispute the charge on your card. It may take awhile, but I have never failed to receive a refund on my card for a legitimate product return. If you have a record of your efforts to return (emails, phone date/results, etc.) the bank will refund and the company has no choice unless they can proved your claim is unreasonable.

Having read most of the posts here, I am not going to order Dinovite due to my 2-1/2 yr old Bishon/Shih Tzu mix’s history of digestive upsets. The problems I’m trying to stop are ear itching and butt scooting.

Thanks to everyone for their input. My husband, a PhD in chemistry, loved the comments on Dihydrogen Minoxide, aka H2O/water. That was priceless. And I’m glad someone explained diatomacious earth, a food grade harmless insecticide (except to the insects) which can be added to animal food and is good for them. In fact, it’s in many people-food boxes for various reasons and by various names (anti-caking agent usually). I’ve used it for years. The form used in pool filters is NOT food grade and will not work as an insecticide.

[Anonymous]

Do I call you “zc” or “Riley”? Thanks for your input. The only reason I counted the calories was to satisfy myself that I am not OVER feeding him. I’ll check the Beagle Weight Chart as you suggested. He is taller and longer than the Beagles you see in fox-hunting movies/paintings. My GUESS is that he should be around 40 pounds. As far as food choices, that’s why I joined THIS site. After lots of research (and remember that I’m in Canada), I chose Performatrim Ultra Grain Free because it has a good rating here. I’m also using their canned food, which unfortunately, has NOT been reviewed. Tell me if you agree with my kibble choice, will you? I am handicapped, so can’t walk Caesar myself, but I do put him on the Treadmill every day and it IS helping … AND he really enjoys it. And of COURSE he has a favourite toy and many others that he plays with. But he still scopes out the place for food regularly! I really appreciate your comments; you were the only one who commented and I thought a LOT of people would have opinions on the subject of calories! Thanks again, very much.

[Mackenzie S]

Hi there, I have an 8 month old golden retriever and need to figure out what adult food to switch her to. She is on Hills Science Diet Large Breed Puppy lamb meal and loves it. Based on the embarrassingly amount of hours i’ve spent researching dog foods i’m still stumped. I noticed that majority of the top editors foods are “grain free,” however i’ve read numerous studies regarding grain free foods being a common factor in golden’s who have died at an early age from DCM because of low taurine levels.

If grain free foods can be the cause of this then why are they the tops picks? Are there grain free foods with an adequate amount of taurine needed for these dogs?
What should I switch her to? I do want to have her on a high quality food, but can’t figure out what direction to go

help!

• This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Mackenzie S.
• This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Mackenzie S.

[Adriana R]

So I saw the bag of kibble and it’s meant to have little speks on the dog food, right? There sorta the color of the kibble. I wish I could upload a pic but it looks exactly the picture they have online so I know it’s fine (mom also looked at it) but it’s bothering me a bit. Hoping you can put my mine at ease as you also feed the same to your dog.
I honestly don’t know which one is “better”
I’ve read fish is “worser” overall but then again you really can’t trust what’s online anymore.

[Matt O]

Hi Pitlove-

We have a 1-year-old Presa Canario that we have had for almost six months (rescued in June). He was approximately 65 lbs when we got him ( a little underweight at the time), transitioned him from the rescue’s food (Natural Balance LID) to Purina Pro Plan Large Breed with no issuers (took the normal 3-4 weeks of slow introduction). For the next few months, he was continuing to add weight at a normal rate, getting up to 85-90 lbs by October-November. Since then he hasn’t added much weight at all. We had maxed him out at 3 cups of food 2x per day, increasing that to 3.5 cups 2x per day but haven’t seen any increase in weight. He topped out at about 97lbs in early December, and actually, when we took him for his proheart shot last week he was at 95.

Based on the purina body condition scale, he is perfectly sized hovering between a 4 and a 5. Our vet doesn’t have a ton of experience with Presa’s, and just says to keep watching his body for signs we are under or overfeeding. Knowing that giant breeds tend to continue growing until 18-20 months, should I continue upping his food intake? If so, how long should I wait to see this dietary change manifest in his body condition before increasing again or going back to the previous amount?

I appreciate any advice you can provide. I should also note that he was a little under the weather for a few days in december where he was eating slightly less than normal. Finally, he does get plenty of treats throughout the day via training (probably another 60-150 calories).

Thanks to everyone for this great thread; I know it has helped us tremendously!

[Susan]

Hi Julia,

start him on the “Natural Balance” LID
https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/special-category-limited-ingredient-diets
either try the Sweet Potato & Bison or the “Potato & Duck” formula or the Sweet Potato & Fish formula but cause your feeding the HK Zeal it’s fish so maybe try another meat protein source a meat protein he hasn’t really eaten before like Duck or the Bison, the Natural Balance formula’s are all different so make sure you read all the limited ingredients as some formula’s have peas & chickpeas, the Duck, Bison & Fish formulas have the least ingredients & have no peas or chickpeas….. Chewy has all the NB formula’s.
If he’s having gas when eating the Honest Kitchen Zeal then he’s either sensitive to an ingredient in the Zeal or the HK is freeze dried my IBD doesnt do well on freeze dried pet foods he doesn’t digest the freeze dried ingredients, if you look in your boy poo, is there any undigest food in it?? just put your hand in a plastic bag then go thru a fresh sloppy poo, I buy those baby sack/nappy bags in supermarket in baby section & I pick up Patches poos, the bags also smell nice or the digestive enzymes could be causing the gas, sometimes dogs don’t need the digestive enzymes cause their stomach is working properly so they don’t need help digesting their food, when I put Patch on digestive enzymes he was farting & doing sloppy cow paddy poos so I stopped but digestive enzyme do help some dogs do firm poos, you wrote his poos are formed but not soiled & he’s pooing heaps, see what happens if you stop adding the digestive enzymes just for 1-2 days?? see how his poos & gas are, is he better?….
Why he probably got bad diarrhea when eating the Purina HA it could have been from the high Omega oils most vet diet high in omega oils & I’m pretty sure the Purina HA is higher in In-soluble fiber, you or vet have to contact Purina Pro Plan or you can email & they will ring you back, ask can you speak with a Vet Nutrtionist ask them what is the Soluble fiber % the In-soluble Fiber %& the Crude Fiber % in the HA vet diet then this will give you an idea if he needs a kibble with more soluble fiber or less or more Insoluble fiber, my IBD boy does better on kibble that has more soluble fiber & less insoluble fiber….Potato & Sweet Potato has more soluble fiber & less in-soluble this is probably why my dog & other dogs with bowel problems do really well eating potato or sweet potato in a kibble, would have been good if your vet tried your boy on the Hills vet diet Potato & Duck kibble, I’d try the Natural Balance Potato & Duck formula first its simliar to the Hills Potato & Duck formula try the NB formula with the least ingredients just make sure who you buy the Natural balance from Chewy or another pet store they give you a refund or let you try another NB formula until you find the right food for your boy thats if your boy gets dirrahea Ive read Chewy is pretty good I always say my boy wont eat teh food after he had diarrhea cause teh foods are guaranteed for palability I’ve gotten 2 refunds in the last month & finally got a kibble that’s not giving my boy acid reflux… alot of dogs with food sensitivities & stomach/bowel problems do really well on the Natural Balance LTD formula’s….

Another really good kibble is “Canidae Pure” formula’s but the Pure formula’s have peas or “Canidae All Life Stages” formula’s some of the ALL Life Stages formula’s don’t have peas you have written he can’t have peas but are you 100% sure he can’t have peas & done an food elimination diet? for 2 yrs I thought my boy couldn’t eat potato cause he had really bad diarrhea from the Eukanuba FP Fish & Potato Vet Diet even his vet wrote no Potato on his file but then a lady breeder who worked at the Pet Shop told me to boil some potato & start adding 1 spoon of the cooked potato to 1 of his cooked meals a day, Patch ended up doing firmer poos when eating the potato so it must have been something else in the Eukanuba FP he got instant water diarrhea from……
It’s sooo hard when they have sloppy/diarrrhea to know what is causing it, you’re best feeding a kibble that has only 1 novel meat protein he hasnt eaten before & 1 Carb (Potato) then see how he does, if he does well on new kibble then wait 6 months & let his stomach/bowel heal & get back to normal then you start adding 1 new cooked ingredient to his diet & see are his poos sloppy etc, I use to make a small meal for lunch & try the new ingredient with a cook protein, I used Pork or Beef cause Patch could eat pork & beef…It takes time doing a dog elmination diet but its the only real way you will know 100% what he can & cant eat…. Good Luck

[Fanette R]

Hello Susan,

I am so sorry for Patch. I hate this disease, our dogs don’t deserve that. Sometimes I just wish Furby could give me his pain and be all happy.
Furby had a biopsy in August, that’s actually how he got diagnosed for IBD. For now I want to try to stabilize him with foods and if nothing works I could try another biopsy. I just don’t want him to go through anesthesia again, he got 6 of them in a year already so I want to wait as much as possible before doing this again to him. I know that you cannot see everything on Ultra Scan, but my vets are doing them to Furby for free just to check that there is nothing big going, that they would see on Ultra Scan.
But I think it’s great that you do that for Patch, you need to have as much infos as possible. I hope you’ll find a food that is ok with him. I know we both don’t like prescription food, but I checked a lot of Royal Canin prescription food formulas yesterday, because people on the facebook groups for IBD and for pancreatitis told me that I should really go for hydrolized protein if Furby has really bad IBD, that it’s the only solution and it works really, really great. So I checked the formula and I found two formulas that would be ok with Furby, but unfortunately they don’t seem to be available in Europe. I did email Royal Canin France to ask if they were nothing they could do, so I’m waiting to hear from them (although, first I’ll give Natural Balance a shot).
The two formula is : selected protein rabbit (there is different kind of selected protein formulas, but this one is low fat.
There is also « hydrolized protein ». You have to take the « PS » formula though because it’s the low fat version.
For example there is no way I give to Furby their hypoallergenic formula because it wouldn’t agree with him, but I feel like those two would be good to try out. I’ve read a lot of reviews and those two did save the life of dogs with severe IBD. So if you don’t find anything , I think it could really be worth the shot. Although I’m assuming that the Purina formula you’re talking about is also hydrolized protein, so it could be good too.
I’m also gonna try to add probiotics and digestive enzymes to furby’s food, apprently it really helps. I read a lot of very, very good reviens on the Dr Mercola formulas.
I hope I helped a little, I’m new in all this but I’m doing as much researches as I can.
What kind of medicines is he on for his IBD?

For Furby, you’re totally right Furby is been having a lot of acid reflux for months now. He takes antiacid since august, twice a day. His stomach noises had stopped, but came back over a week ago. And usually right after he eats , I hear very loud noises in his tomach, and sometimes it ends with a very big acid reflux.
I agree TOTW wouldn’t be a great idea, he needs a low fat diet, it’s time.
Unfortunately the Natural Balance Bison formula isn’t available in Europe. And last time Furby ate duck, he had a bad reaction. So I’m thinking of going for the Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish formula, do you think it’s a good option ? I could also go for the Venison formula, but a lot of people told me Fish is easier to digest, so I dunno.
And as I mentioned earlier, I did message Royal Canin France to see if I could get those formulas in Europe. If they say no it would sound crazy to me (although I won’t be surprised), because it means they would rather not helping a dog than sending some of their foods over Europe.
Natural Balance is gonna be shipped from Austria so I’d have to wait one or two weeks, so people on the facebook groups suggest me to home cooked for him until then, rabbit and sweet potato. I’m gonna start that today, I’ll probably transition him with his wet food though. Do you think it’s a good idea ?

Although, I have an appointment on the 30th with a vet that is all about natural remedes, and who do a lot of conventions about dog foods. She also do acupuncture and said that it could help dogs with stomach problems or with depression (furby is being depressed since he got IBD). I’ll see what she can offer to me, and I’ll be happy to share some stuff with you 😊 Have you ever tried to go see a holistic vet for Patch ?

Fingers crossed for your doggie ! I know how hard it is, I also have a special connection with my dog. He’s a rescued and when I adopted him, he was biting people and couldn’t trust any human. I worked so much with him, got a lot of patience to show him he could trust me, and it created this crazy connection between us. The first years I got him, if he was in my arm, no one could come near us, he was growling at them. I asked my vet once about it and she said « it’s very common. It means that your dog is fully aware that you saved him, and that not all human beings would have done that, he doesn’t want anyone to take him from you »
It’s so hard to see him having to deal with all this today. After all he has been through in the first years of his life (the vet that saw him right after he was rescued said that he must have lived on the street for at least 2 months, because he was such in a bad shape), I wanted to him to grow old peacefully.

Keep me posted on Patch.
Have a good day

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Fanette R.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Fanette R.

[Karen G]

Hi Susan, Turkey sounds like a great idea. We buy our beef from a farm so I just grabbed what I had in my freezer based on what we saw at the Vet hospital.
I’m sorry to hear that Patch isn’t doing so well. Our dogs are like our children, I knew that was the case before Abby got sick but I had no idea how emotional I would get and how much I realized I loved her until we almost lost her. I imagine you have similar feelings. You have obviously put so much thought and time and money too, into keeping Patch as healthy as he can be. I hope that Patch isn’t in any pain and you find out what is wrong soon. I also hope that it will be a fixable problem.
Thanks for the suggestions about the Purina foods. I think that is one of the foods our CN is going to write up in the report. Royal Canin is always in the back of peoples minds here because the head office is about 10 minutes from the Vet school and they give scholarships etc to the UofG for the OVC. I’ve heard a lot of talk about kangaroo and alligator but haven’t seen any of those foods yet. In Australia I imagine, they are plentiful….or at least the kangaroo is, my husband worked on a farm in Toowoomba when he was a student and he says the famers used to go out and shoot the Kangaroos just to keep the population down. So I’d say the dogs of Australia get a real treat….We don’t really have anything running around Southern Ontario like that….Hmmm, raccoon maybe haha.
Your meatballs sound wonderful. Does Patch eat kibble as well as the food you prepare? what is the ratio? The extras we give to Abby are such a small amount of her overall diet it’s a little hard to add more than one ingredient per feed. To maximize absorption we have to give her small feeds throughout the day instead of one or two big feeds. She eats 5-6x a day. She does love veg and veg has virtually no calories so she can have squash and broccoli and red peppers (her favourite) as much as we wish to give her. I give them to her partially cooked now, to cut down on the gassy aftereffects.
Well I better finish and get ready for work. I will keep my fingers crossed for Patch. All the best….Karen

[Karen G]

Hello Everyone, It has been almost 2 weeks since I have posted about Abby and I thought I would give an update. According to the clinical nutritionist at the Veterinary College here in Ontario, Abby is doing quite well. She and her supervisor were not really concerned with any of the slight abnormalities in Abby’s bloodwork, with the exception of a low B!2, something we all knew would be an issue for Abby as she lost her ileum (the section of the small bowel that absorbs B!2). Therefore we have restarted B12 injections every 2 weeks.
Abby’s appetite has picked up now that we are almost exclusively feeding her small meals of Hills z/d kibble (both canine and feline mixed ~75%/25%). we “flavour” the meals with ~ 5-8gm of a slurry of boiled lean ground beef (I boil 1 lb of ground beef in ~300-400 mL of water, after it is cooked and cooled in the fridge I remove as much fat as I can and then pulverize the whole pot of water and beef into a rather thick beefy broth. I freeze it in small containers and then measure it out per meal) We heat the slurry in the microwave for 5 seconds so it is warmed and thinned and then we coat the measured dry kibble with it before setting it down for her to eat. She loves it. I suppose it sounds like a lot of work but really boiling a pound of ground beef, separating the fat, blending it then freezing it is really pretty easy.
We have decreased the daily Fortiflora doses as I was concerned that it could be contributing to Abby’s diarrhea. The envelope that contains the daily dose is the same amount for a Great Dane as it is for Abby who is only about 6.35kg (14lbs) and I thought she might be getting too much. However there was really no difference in her number of poops after I stopped the Fortiflora so now I give her a bit on her morning feed every 2nd day or so just to give her a little healthy bacteria top up and that seems to be fine. Her weight loss has levelled off and we have seen a slight increase in the last 2 weeks.
I spoke to our clinical nutrition resident about soluble vs insoluble fibre (Thank you Susan) and since we had such bad luck with soluble fibre (metmucil) her suggestion was to just try what we can from natural sources (veg, fruit etc) but to always maintain a rule of 90% daily nutritional content from her kibble, and no more than 10% nutritional content from other things (ground beef and/or fruit veg etc). Now that she is getting the ground beef we no longer give Abby any canned z/d. We also discussed other hydrolysed dog foods and alternative protein source dog foods (again, thank you both pitlove & Susan) and the CN is going to modify Abby’s original diet report with alternate options, all under the supervision of the assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the OVC. We are pretty lucky to live so close to such a high level of care for our pup.
Abby continues to poop 4-6x a day, thickest in the morning, most watery at night. Our CN reminded us that because Abby has lost so much of her small bowel she will always have diarrhea and our goals should be to see a decrease in frequency, to maybe only 3x a day and hopefully one day poops that are consistently only a score of 5 on the Purina fecal scoring system chart. Currently Abby’s poops are usually a score of 6-7 with an occasional 5. http://www.epi4dogs.com/poopchart.htm
Just this past week we passed the 3month anniversary of Abby’s torsion and surgery. This date was a real milestone for me as everything I read online re:veterinary studies of dogs that had bowel resections and a loss of a large section of small bowel, would show that a dog that survived the first 3 months generally lasted until they were no longer being followed by the authors (i.e. a couple of years). Because Abby lost 70% of her small bowel, she is on the borderline of good vs bad outcomes. So three cheers for our wee Abby…she has survived the acute recovery period and now we are transitioning to chronic mode.
I have to admit this has all become quite an obsession for me this last 3 months but I am feeling pretty good right now. Abby is a happy active little dog, her quality of life is very good. Other good news is that the CN at the OVC also reviewed Abby’s BCS and gave her a 4/9 instead of a 3/9 as our family vet’s practice partner did. (I shouldn’t have even asked for it that day, she was a vet that didn’t know Abby and a BCS can be quite subjective) The CN told us that family vets often underestimate Body Conditioning Scores because they are so used to seeing dogs that are overweight. So a 4/9 is pretty perfect and I’ll take it!
The next steps are the modified diet plan, and Abby will be discussed at internal medicine rounds this week at the OVC re: would she benefit from another round of metronidazole and/or would she benefit from a low daily dose of an antidiarrheal. I know those seem like simple actions that any vet might do, but the opportunity to discuss it with a number of professors and vets at a university teaching hospital may have far reaching results…who knows, Abby may be the subject of a journal article some day.
Once again, thank you pitlove, Susan, & Tyrionthebiscuit for reading and offering your supportive comments and knowledge. It has been very helpful for me. I realize this is a rather long winded post but I am hopeful that if ever anyone else has to go through a similar experience with their dog, they will find this post and know that there are people out there willing to share their knowledge and experiences to help that family have a positive outcome. As our CN said, a lot of this is trial and error because many dogs don’t survive post surgery or their owners can’t afford the surgery so there isn’t a huge amount of information out there. I will continue to post updates about Abby’s progress, thanks all….Cheers for now

[Lori H]

Hi Paul,

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 6 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

[Susan]

Hi Adriana,
Have a look at “Canidae Pure” line & Canidae Pure Petite line only has 5 ingredients for petite dogs with food sensitivities/allergies, all of the Canidae Pure line is really good for dogs with stomach/bowel & allergies & for your 9yr old have a look at “Canidae Pure Meadow” Senior, it’s excellent for aging dogs, the Protein is 28%min email Canidae for max Protein % you usually add another 1-5% more when it says min but with Canidae it’s only about 1% more, the fat is not high at 10%min-fat, that’s what I like about the Pure Meadow Senior formula, as dogs age their stomach doesn’t work as well as when they were youger dog, the fat is only 10.80%max, I’ve already emailed Canidae & asked them what is the max fat %, the Pure Meadow Senior has all the supplements needed for aging dogs, it’s high in omega fatty acids for skin, coat, brain, heart etc & Glucosamine + Chondroitin for bone & joint health. Canidae grow their own vegetables, fruit & source ingredients from local farmers, their ingredient are fresh & their foods are made in smaller batches, the kibble size is nice & small so very easy to digest….
Here’s the Canidae link https://www.canidae.com.com/dog-food/products

also google “Toxins In Dogs Foods” then look for a company that has
completed a study of 1,084 pet food products from 80 brands. Products were screened for over 130 toxins including heavy metals, BPA, pesticides and other contaminants with links to cancer and other health conditions in both humans and animals….Canidae formula’s & Canidae’s other brand “Under The Sun” did really well when tested for 130 Contaminates & Toxins….You’ll see the 5 star dry dog foods, 3 stars then the 1 star dry dog foods.
I stay away from dry dog food brands once I see 1-2 of their formulas with 1 star rating that means they probably will have more foods that are full of toxins & contaminates..
A few of Wellness formula’s did poorly, Wellpet make Wellness, Holistic Select & Eagle Pack Holistic Select had a few bad formula’s get only 1 star…. Simply Nourish LTD Sweet potato & Lamb formula, Nutrisca Lamb & Chickpea they all got 1 star as well which means they were high in toxins…

[Susan]

Hi Debora k,
Please go on facebook & join this group asap “Canine Panacreatitis Support group” link below also go onto “Judy Morgan DVM” facebook page & click on her video’s she has easy to make meals look for her “Pancreatitis Diet” video & another video called “Pancreatitis Again”
Why is she on Reglan?? Reglan was band in Australia, if she keeps having diarrhea stop the Reglan, we have Motilim instead in Australia & when I wanted to try the Motlium on Patch my vet didn’t want him on it, then Patches next visit she said OK then BUT I do not like dogs on this drug Reglan/Motlium do not give it to him more then 1 month, so I tried the Motilium with Patch but it made a bad smell come out of his mouth, a fermenting smell like his food was fermenting in his stomach, so I stopped giving him the Motlium.. Motilium/Reglan is made for humans digestive tract not a dog digestive tract my vet said…
I’m suppose to take Motlium but I dont take it yet, I told my Gastro Dr when I can’t swollow my food completely then I’ll take it later, I have C.R.E.S.T Scleroderma, Motlium/Reglan makes the stomach & esophagus work, my esophagus doesn’t work like it should cause of the Scleroderma, if your dogs stomach is already working she’ll have Diarrhea….
Join the Pancreatitis f/b group there’s heaps of help & people cook & have recipes get an egg & separate the white from the yoke & scramble the white part of the egg, I cook the whole egg in a non stick frying pan when Patch is unwell he loves his scrambled egg, the yoke does have some fat, I dont know how much fat, I also add cooked gluten free noodles or sweet potato to fill him up more & firm his poos,
The Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) she is taking is it Losec? is she only taking 1x Losec once a day? in the morning is best to give Losec or in America its called Prilosec?
The pain meds are probably making her feel like crap very tired aswell, I’d reduce the dose & see if she improves, some vets over medicate, ring the vet up & tell him can I reduce her pain meds & she has diarrhea can I stop the Reglan, she probably doesn’t need it poor old girl.. Here’s the Pancreas group link https://www.facebook.com/groups/1435920120029740
here’s Judy Morgans, send her a msg on f/b she will help as well f/b page https://www.facebook.com/JudyMorganDVM

[Susan]

Hi Max and Lucy,
What is the protein source in the vet diet? its probably chicken look for a limited ingredient kibble that has chicken, but they normaly don’t have chicken in LID formula’s as dogs can be sensitive to chicken or try a new protein source he hasn’t really eaten before he was probably sensitive to an ingredient in the food he was eating when he was pooing blood, google the food he was eating at the time & read what the ingredients were & try & work out which ingredient he probably is sensitive too & avoid it.

Have a look at “Natural Balance” LID formula’s, NB is really good for dogs with Intestinal problems, IBD IBS the NB has limited of ingredients what you need, then when your dog is doing really well you can start adding 1 new food to your dog diet & try & work out what he can & can eat,.. I added the new food to only one of my boy meal at first, this way I saw the difference in his poos if there was a problem with the food I added when he did his 2 poos a day..
https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/special-category-limited-ingredient-diets look at the “Potato & Duck” LID formula, Sweet Potato & Fish & the Sweet Potato & Bison Formula’s as these formula’s are very similiar to the vet diets & they do not have the Garbanzo Beans, some of the other Natural balance LID formulas & their Chicken Small Breed formula has Garbanzo beans, Lentils & Garbanzo beans cause bad gas/wind pain…
My boy has IBD & was on a vet diet & I changed him to Taste Of The Wild Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb & had no problems but I did it very slowley over a 14 day period I’d do the same when you find a limited ingredient dog food..
also once you do find a limited ingredient food that agrees with your dog then just start adding healthy cooked ingredients to his diet what ever your cooking cook extra & freeze in section in freezer, that’s what I do & for Lunch Patch gets a cooked small meal..but first work out what foods he can & can’t eat…..

[ginger s]

Misti,
Good luck with your new addition to your family. Please seek the help of a veterinarian before diving in and trying home remedies. I literally tried everything before the vet put my baby on Apoquil. I’ve also run myself ragged looking for an affordable dog food her tummy can tolerate. She was diagnosed with colitis so we need to keep the fat content low. I’m about 2 years into the process and I think I have a regimen that works for her and she enjoys.

The point I’m making is there is no quick fix out there. I can say if you wash your dog bedding frequently go for fragrance and dye free brands if your dog is having skin issues. Sometimes the perfume from the soaps can irritate already irritated skin.

Good luck. It’s hard watching your dog go through stuff like this. They look so uncomfortabl. It’s so sad. Good luck with everything.

[Nadine H]

Started reading about the copper that is added to dog food. There is evidence that copper is stored in the liver and can cause issues Copper Sulfate is the worst form of copper and the cheapest to use. Copper proteinate is the best form and the most expensive for a vendor to use in the dog food that they produce. I’m now looking for a kibble that uses only the copper proteinate. Some will split between the two forms to save money. So far the only food I’ve found with the proteinate is Annamaet. Fromms uses the two forms and Purina uses the sulfate. Just wondered if others have looked into this and what your thought were. Trying to find the perfect food for my danes isn’t possible but the least I can do is find one that doesn’t have the ingredients that I know are bad for them.

[Susan]

Hi Liz,
I have found when a dog becomes picky it can be stomach problems, the dog is smart & has learnt what foods upset his stomach, have you taken him to vet? even if you do take him to see a vet the vet can’t tell you anything by just looking at him the vet needs to see inside stomach/bowel he needs an Endoscope & Biopsies done or blood tests done for his Pancreas & liver, I did Endoscope & Biopsies in the end with my boy, he has IBD, nausea & certain foods (Wet canned high fat & Kibble) gives him bad acid reflux, when I first rescued him 5 years ago I didnt have a clue why he was grinding his teeth, lip smacking, whinging at 11pm, he’d look at the food in his bowl (kibble) & look back up at me with this look “whats this crap” & then he’d walked away, cause he was a rescue I didnt know what he was feed I know he wouldn’t touch kibble the first week I got him then he was weeing blood he was put on a Vet diet wet can & dry kibble & he seem to like the Royal Canin vet Kibble & wet canned food but that was only to be feed for 6 weeks then once his crystals were dissolved vet said feed him what he was eating before (I didnt know) so I started feeding him what I ate & wet canned food then he was pooing blood (IBD)

Kibble is harder to digest & higher in carboydrates, the higher the protein & fat in kibble can be making things worse, normally the fancy foods are high fat/protein so he wont eat them now, have you tried wet canned food? but make sure the fat is under 4% in fat in wet canned foods as they havn’t been converted to dry matter (kibble) fat, 5%min-fat written on the can of wet food when converted to DM is around 20%min to 26% max fat same with raw pre-made & the pet rolls etc
Have you tried those Pet Rolls alot of people say good things about “Freshpet rolls sold at Costco, Pet Smart & Walmart also have you tried home cooking what your cooking for dinner make some extra for him like boiled potato, veggies & add some type of meat, I buy the human extra lean beef mince or the Lean Turkey mince & whisk an egg & add some chopped parsley & make 1/2 cup size rissole balls & bake in the oven on foil linned oven tray & all the fat & water comes out drain turn them over & bake till ready then I cool & freeze the rissoles then you get a fork & mash them up with some sweet potato, veggies etc?? cooked food will be healthier then a dry kibble, also start feeding 4 smaller meals a day this helps gain weight & if he does have stomach problems there’s not as much to digest when he eats 4-5 smaller meals, when you feed 2 larger meals of dry kibble there’s heaps more to digest, the bowl of kibble you put on the floor doubles in size, now this would cause anyone stomach pain when you think about it, you eat this small dry kibble then this kibble all start to swell up in your stomach & you’d start to feel uncomfortable, I know I would, I feed Patch 7am-1/2 a cup kibble, 9am-1/2 a cup same kibble, 12pm-scrambled egg with gluten free pasta or can tuna in spring water drained water add boiled mashed potato, 5pm 1/2 cup kibble or I do Tuna/Salmon & boiled potato & 8pm-cooked meal or 1/3 cup kibble at the moment he likes eating “Nutro Essential” Lamb & Rice, 2 weeks ago he stopped eating his “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Lamb this was his go to kibble when he was un well & had diarrhea/acid reflux, the TOTW fixed up his IBD but he doesnt want anything to do with, after seeing all the Toxins in pet foods (Google “Toxins In Pet Food”) the company will come up then have a look at the 2 & 1 star dry dog foods, Kirkland & TOTW have a few bad 1 star dry foods, so I’m listening to Patch & not feeding his TOTW for now…I also buy a grain free Super market good quaility kibble, I buy the smaller bags look for specials online pet store kibbles that have ingredients he can eat then I rotate his kibbles I ask him “which one do you want” I put 1 brand kibble inbetween right fingers & another brand kibble in between left hand fingers & ask him to smell them he smells both kibbles then I let him take the kibble he wants to eat thats been working out really well, you’d get sick of eating the same meal everyday so I never feed the same kibble more then 1-2 week or he starts reacting he has IBD food sensitivies & he has problems keeping on his weight & FINALLY I have him at 18kg he would always stay around 16-17kg vet said he looks good but I dont like seeing his bottom rib, I like Staffys that are little solid nuggets, all muscle, not muscle & bones like he use to be…