[InkedMarie]

Ed,
No one claimed to be an expert. Most of us are just pet owners doing the best for our dogs. I can say the bulk of us don’t feed any of the foods you mentioned. I can say, for me, they are not good enough for my dogs. I know what ingredients/nutritional analysis/companies make a good food. You’re free to disagree.
Regarding breeders, handlers, trainers….one of my dogs breeders fed Eukanuba when he was a puppy, 10yrs ago. I have no idea what she feeds now, she isn’t a breeder. Another breeder of my dogs sent me home with either Canidae or California Natural. Been five years so I am not positive. We just got a puppy in November. Between my breeder & her partner, there are alot of dogs in the home. They feed 4Health grainfree.
I don’t know any “professional anything” who feeds the foods you mentioned, except for some vets. The vets I’ve had in the last 10yrs feed Science Diet, Purina & RC. I disagree with what Anony,ously said aout a food the vet approves of. I personally don’t care what my vet thinks about what I feed which is raw only to two & my brittany eats a mix of raw and kibble (currently going from Annamaet Aqualuk to Open Farm turkey; Dr Tim’s RPM is next).
If you don’t agree with what is posted her or on the review side, feel free to find another place to read & post. If you choose to stay here, be aware that you won’t be changing the minds of us “experts”.

[Susan C]

Hi Shichon:

I am new to this forum but not new to dogs or shihtzus and their itching problems. I’m not new to dog allergies or food problems. I have a shihtzu/lhasa apso mix who has suffered since I’ve had her (7 years–got her as a rescue). She has terrible flea allergies, so much so that she digs and chews until I can see either bruising or blood where she has been chewing. I’ve fed her commercial foods, prescription foods and finally settled on home cooking using organic ingredients, non-GMO meats, and free-range eggs.

I have found during all this research (and I mean RESEARCH—FOR YEARS) that a lot of itching has to do with what season we are in and where the dog goes outside. I live in a condo and we have hired a landscaping company to cut the grass. They use Round-up or similar pesticides and when I take my dog out to pee, she walks on the grass. The Round-up is made to kill weeds–and some of these weeds are beneficial to keeping away certain insect populations. The problem is that without the weeds, fleas and other insects overgrow and while we have a nice pretty yard, it’s full of fleas and other itch-making insects. Not to mention the exposure to the pesticide that my dog gets with just walking through the grass.

I use a homemade concoction to spray her every day and increase the usage when she starts itching. It’s made of apple cider vinegar and chamomile tea (brew it and let it cool). I keep it in the fridge and spray her paws before and after she goes outside. I also spray her backside as well because that’s the area that gets closest to the grass.

I mentioned the season earlier in my post because right now where I am, it is 70 degrees and in the middle of winter. This unseasonable warmth throws everything out of whack–I have flowers blooming, fruit trees with leaves, etc, all sorts of unnatural things happen when the environment is screwy–including my dog’s ability to fight off allergies and certain illnesses. When nature gets out of balance, it affects everyone, even humans. Even right now, the murder rate is doubled here in Birmingham, Alabama since the first of 2016…everything is crazy. Up until December 26, we had 70+ temps. It is supposed to be in the 40’s during the day in the winter in Alabama.

I feel our little shihtzus are very sensitive to all this, not to mention they are cold weather dogs and we put them in our US climate where it gets hot every summer. Our dogs are from the Himalayas. Not exactly tropical climate there. My suggestion to you is to spend a little time brushing your dog, use the spray I mentioned above, keep the puppy cool, and only bath him once a month, or once every 3 weeks. But brush his coat twice daily. I am a groomer as well, and we bath our dogs entirely too much. It is nice to have a sweet smelling pup but weekly bathing leads to changes in the dog’s natural ability to fight skin rashes and itchiness greatly decreased. Their skin is too dry, it starts itching, they scratch, we bathe, they scratch, they bite, we bathe—get the picture?

Just for what it’s worth–I feel your pain. I can share more info if you want. Just let me know. This is a problem that won’t go away once and for all. It’s ongoing so buckle down and get ready to spend some time with your puppy. Look at it like this, more time for you to enjoy him. Little shihtzus are the most precious.

Sissi

[Susan]

Hi Bobby D, Yes a dog can take up to 6 weeks to show any signs of a food sensitivity…. My Patch was doing really well on the Wellness Whitefish & Sweet Potato (Read ingredients hardly any sweet potato full of barley) after 5 weeks he started scratching, hive like lumps under skin & sloppy yellow smelly poo’s, so I emailed Wellness Well Pet & the lady said yes it can take any where from 1 day to 6 weeks to show any signs of a food intolerance…

A few people have been complaining about Taste Of the Wild their dogs have dry skin & are real itchy, if you look at the Omega 3, it is lower in some flavours & higher in other flavours…..
Change brand of kibble with higher omega 3….. start adding a couple of small sardines in spring water (69c at Aldi) to 1 meal a day or give as a treat…..I have found just feeding a Fish & Rice kibble with no other ingredients my boy does the best on…I also feed a cook meal for dinner so only 1 meal is kibble… if you can feed freeze dried or raw is the best if your dog can handle a raw diet…

[aimee]

Hi Bobby D.

I’ve read that if sensitized, the response following reexposure is within hours but up to 14 days. “Symptoms can appear within an hour of eating the offending allergen, but may be delayed with a peak in clinical signs noted to be up to 14 days in one study.”

www dot lsu dot edu/vetmed/veterinary_hospital/services/dermatology/ce_lectures/food_allergy.php

When doing an elimination diet home cooking with one protein source and one carb source that your dog hadn’t previously been exposed to is the “Gold Standard. If pursing that do not buy ground meats as the grinders are often not well cleaned and there could be cross contamination. You need to buy large cuts and grind yourself.

If using commercial foods, use food from the vet office that have been made specifically for this purpose. They are costly as you are paying for extensive quality controls ( ingredient “fingerprinting” PCR analysis, complete breakdown and cleaning of all equipment and closing the plant to any ingredients except those in the diet being made) to ensure no cross contamination. Limited ingredient diets from retail sources are often cross contaminated with other proteins which will interfere with your results.

IMO a skin reaction 6 weeks out is less likely to be a hypersensitivity unless a newly developed one and if related to the diet may have to do more with the full nutrient profile not supporting skin health.

I know when I’ve trialed other foods it is usually 6-8 weeks before I note problems with Brooke’s skin and coat( dry flakes, dullness, and increased shedding)

Pitlove: Glad to here your dog is doing well. Is the plan to introduce each ingredient separately before changing the diet completely? For example add potato for several weeks and if all well then test the variety of fish in the food you are considering.

[El]

Hi Bobby D, welcome to the DFA forums 😉

“Is it possible for a dog to be allergic to a certain food and have them be symptom free for over a month”
Yes
“or should an allergy show up much sooner than that?”
Maybe

The first thing I would do is take him to a regular vet if you haven’t done so already. I would definitely take advantage of my vet’s expertise and experience before I do anything else. Once you have a better idea of what is actually going on with his skin then you could always find out what worked for other dogs with the same diagnosis. Your vet could take one look and know what it is (hopefully). Or your vet could immediately narrow it down to environmental, or food, or fleas, or yeast, or ???

If it’s food related I would do an elimination diet before I would ever put him on a veterinary prescription food like “Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein”. Here are the ingredients;

Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein
“Brewers rice, hydrolyzed soy protein, chicken fat, dried plain beet pulp, natural flavors, monocalcium phosphate…”

It’s just rice sweepings, hydrolyzed soy and vitamins and minerals to balance it, and it costs about $100 for a 25lb bag!!!

With a TRUE elimination diet you would pick 1 protein and 1 carbohydrate that he has never eaten before and feed ONLY those 2 things for at least 12 weeks.

Once you see a vet, please come back and let us know what’s going on!
Best of luck to you and your furry one 😉

[Rachel S]

Hello all! This is going to be long, but thank you in advance if you get through this and for all your kind help!

My 10 month old 75 lb lab/bloodhound mix has a sensitive stomach and has since I got him at 8 weeks old. He poops a 2-3 times/walk, in the morning and around 5 each day (he eats directly follow those walks – 7:30 am and 6:30 pm). Not only does the frequency of his bowel movements alarm me but they’re HUGE poops! In the mornings, they start out formed but still soft and progressively get worse as the day goes on. His last poop of the day is always very runny. He doesn’t strain to go, doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort, and doesn’t vomit. He is still full of energy and always happy. He has continued to grow and is a good weight for his size.

When I got him, the foster was feeding him Purina Pro Plan Puppy, so I continued on with that for quite a few months. Then, when he got a bout of diarrhea and knowing his history, the vet switched him over to prescription Purina EN. That got him back to his status quo, but I wanted to find something that could really firm him up. I started feeding him a limited ingredient diet – Zignature, and that brings us to present day. He definitely does the best on the Zignature, but I feel like there is still vast room for improvement.

I have tried pumpkin, goats milk yogurt, probiotics, prebiotics, and Perfect Form (that helped a little but he decided he didn’t like it anymore). He has been on metronidazole before but that made him constipated and when he would finally go to the bathroom, it was still very runny. He has also had multiple fecal tests, so no worms.

I plan to discuss all of this with my vet at his neuter next week, but I want to go in well informed (i.e. low/high fiber, low/high fat, etc.). She also gave me an estimate for some tests – maldigestion profile, fecal O&P plus giardia antigen-antech, canine GI profile – but it comes out to be ~$550 on top of his $450 neuter and it’s just too much for me to spend all at once. Could you kind folks suggest a way for me to prioritize different foods/supplements/tests?

Thank you again for reading through all of this. I love my boy very much, and I want to make sure he is healthy and happy.

[Shawna]

Hi Pittiemama,

So sorry for the delayed response… Although you can certainly buy Standard Process products on Amazon and other various websites, the company does not condone the selling of their product from those sites. SP is only legally sold through health care professionals. Anything you buy online could be close, or past, it’s expiration date, tampered with etc. Standard Process has a find a practitioner near you link on their website however if there truly is no place to purchase from locally (I would check with chiropractors and holistic vets), it can be recommended by professionals via phone consults. Once you have a recommendation you can then buy/ship direct from SP.

For nitrogen trapping purposes the prebiotics MUST be utilized along with the probiotics. You may have got this but mentioned only probiotics so thought I’d emphasize just in case. The Merck Vet Manual has info on prebiotics (fermentable fiber). It reads “In addition, feeding moderately fermentable fiber can facilitate enteric dialysis and provide a nonrenal route of urea excretion.” http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/management_and_nutrition/nutrition_small_animals/nutrition_in_disease_management_in_small_animals.html There’s other sources too, but for a vet tech (very cool by the way) I imagine this would be a good source, at least to start. 🙂

I did as much as I could to help prevent inflammation and damage to her kidneys. She had both of them and they looked good but were small in size. I wasn’t thinking straight on diagnosis and allowed her to be spayed the same day as diagnosis. I was later told by a vet here on DFA that I was lying about her because no vet would do an elective surgery on a dog with kidney disease. I asked him if he thought I should sue them or contact someone about it but he never replied. 🙂 Anyway, the vet who did the spay “opened her up a little more than necessary for the spay” as to get a look at the kidneys. Both there, a healthy color but smaller than should be.

Like you, I research everything – even material presented by those I trust. I like knowing the information but by researching I can often learn the whys and hows. I was at a Standard Process seminar back in 2009 and learned the words and brief understanding of apoptosis and phagocytosis. As soon as I got home I started looking at research. 🙂

I hope you quickly and easily find the best path for you and your little man!!!

[Lyndzy L]

Carol,
Thank you SO much for all this information I cannot tell you how helpful this is. You’ve been able to tell me more than any vet so far has. I’m going to try to find a local vet that is familiar with the port and go from there. Hearing that your dog is doing well over 3 years does give me hope.

When I read that your pup also had a lung lobe torsion my jaw dropped. I am 100% certain these two are related.

Thank you very much for your help.

[Lyndzy L]

Carol, thank you SO much posting this information it has been really helpful to me. My Great Pyrenees Mix dog ( barely 3 years old ) is battling with Chylothorax.

6 months ago he had surgery for a lung lobe torsion, they have no idea why it happened and it’s uncommon just like Chylo, but the prognosis was great so we went ahead and did it spending almost 10K after everything. I had two vets suggest we put him down before we were even able to determine that it was a lung lobe torsion and not only that, they had to open him up again when he got his chest tube stuck on their kennel ( a day after his first surgery ) and ripped it out and more air got into his chest…. it was a total disaster with one set back after another but he made it through it and we were so happy and relieved and he was acting great, my miracle dog I thought…. and now here we are 6 months later with him out of breath at the vet.

I just knew in my heart it was related to his lung lobe problem but they told me that chylo is unrelated, it’s a different kind of fluid. They tapped his chest… 2 liters I think? and told us about the surgery which I do not want to put him through. They had difficulty tapping his chest due to scar tissue from the past surgery and not only that just being at the vet stressed him SO much he went potty on himself and began panting and breathing hard way worse than before I brought him there…. this is the most laid-back, let you do anything to him dog I’ve ever met ( not to mention he is a therapy dog ) so to see him react like that broke my heart and I never want to take him into another vet’s office again.

After doing some research I found that the lung lobe torsion IS indeed related to Chylo but doctors are unable to tell what causes which but I do believe it was his torsion that created the Chylo. The vet that told me it was unrelated is a “specialist” but they don’t know jack about it, leaving me very disappointed and upset. I will NOT be taking him back to them.

I’ve been searching desperately for a vet that knows anything about this condition and the treatments but so far have had no luck ( I’m in Memphis, TN ). After seeing your post about the pleural port, which no dr. yet has mentioned to me, I believe that is the route we want to go… if we can find someone who can do it without complications and if so I’m praying that we can somehow afford it. We are already in so much debt from his torsion surgery I’m not sure what we are going to do. Right now he is acting OK with an occasional deep breath or two, it’s been a week and half since he was tapped. I have started him on Rutin.

I am concerned about how this works long term and how expensive it is to upkeep… how is your dog doing?? Are you still draining fluid twice a week? If you wouldn’t mind filling me in on how she’s doing I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Lyndzy L.

[Pittiemama]

Thanks for your input el doctor! Luckily I’m not easily influenced. I’m thankful to those who give advice while at the same time I do my own due diligence. I do, however, appreciate hearing other people’s experiences and how they got to where they are. Anecdotal evidence isn’t hard data numbers but it still carries weight and matters.

I’m already planning on seeing a holistic vet in my area who I know personally through the vet field.

I’m familiar with peer reviewed journals and have used them through my own college career.

Though I’m still learning, I’ve dabbled in Naturopatic medicine with one of my dogs with cancer many years ago and was fortunate enough to have a very amazing Naturopathic Veterinarian who helped him.

Again, thanks for your words! Best to you as well.

[aimee]

Hi Kelly,

You can find veterinary nutritionists through their website acvn dot org. But most won’t do raw diets and even fewer a raw diet for a puppy. If you want to go that route I’d suggest trying Dr Bartges

The reason most won’t, I think, is two fold.. one the pathogen exposure and two the availability of nutrients contained in raw meaty bones isn’t quantified. Providing calcium at just the right range for a large breed pup becomes an unknown if calcium absorption from these sources isn’t known.

Some time ago I read an article on a pup that had severe calcium depletion on a home made raw diet yet there was plenty of bone in the gut.. In other words the calcium from the bone that was being fed wasn’t being absorbed.

So I wonder if a vet nutritionist who would formulate for a pup would skip the bone and use a Ca source whose availability is known.

The commercial raw foods you mention may be all life stage formula’s meaning they meet the criteria for puppies and then by default for adults.

The only company I know of that made a raw that went through feeding trials and is HPP and consults with a vet nutritionist is Natures Variety. The current formula haven’t been through feeding trials but carry a feeding trial statement by way of AAFCO’s family rule.

Like pitlove, I too have seen horrible results from a raw food diet on the growth of a puppy. The owner was an experienced raw food feeder for her past adult dogs and this was the first pup she raised on raw. The dog was anemic, small for its breed and had to have orthopedic surgery at a young age. So sad….After having seen this first hand it is why I’m uneasy with your plan.

[Kathleen C]

Well great, Weruva is on the list and I’ve just ordered a bag of the kibble, as I wrote in the Merrick forum. This is very encouraging since I’ve been looking for a good low cal food for my Boston Terrier for quite some time and Weruva is also low cal. It comes in several types and I’m getting the Venison & Salmon with Pumpkin. Also comes in Chicken and Turkey flavors so it will be easy to rotate without leaving the brand. As for Wellness, I read somewhere online, can’t remember when or where, that Wellness got mixed up with Diamond some how and one recall list has them on their “brands to watch list”. I also fed Wellness for a long time with no problem.

[Shawna]

Hi Pittiemama,

Hopefully I can help you here. My puppy had kidney disease right from birth. It is believed her kidneys just weren’t able to develop (she was the sixth puppy, the runt, for a 12 pound Chihuahua / Boston Terrier mix). The breeder had to had feed her, due to a collapsing trachea, raw goats milk and egg whites to keep her alive. She had symptoms (excessive drinking and urine) at just six weeks of age. She was officially diagnosed at one year and given a year to live. She lived to eight years and seven months old and then passed for reasons not directly related to kd.

A little background on me, my father is a naturopath. I did consult with him when I got Audrey’s diagnosis but being raised by him, I was able to mostly formulate the plan of attack myself.

Audrey’s numbers, when she was diagnosed, were right around the same as your babies — and she lived almost seven more very very healthy and happy years. It could happen for your baby too.

The first thing I would suggest is to keep up on his dental health. You won’t want to use anesthesia for dental cleanings so RIGHT now start doing anything and everything you need to keep his teeth clean. It was actually bacteria likely from a dental infection that got into Audrey’s kidneys and ultimately took her life. Use fresh garlic in his meals. Use an enzyme supplement in his water, Dr. Melissa Shelton’s essential oil called Dog Breath is very effective and a drop can be added to his water dish or you can mix with water in a spray bottle and spray right on teeth. http://www.animaleo.info/dog-breath.html I would also recommend a product made by Green Pasture’s called Infused Coconut Oil. It’s high in vitamin K2 (which has been shown to have great benefit for teeth) and has other wonderful nutrients. All of my dogs get it but I found it when Audrey’s teeth were already needing some extra support. 🙁 http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/InfusedCoconutOil/index.cfm

I HIGHLY recommend Standard Process Canine Renal Support. It is a food based supplement that “feeds” the kidneys but also has a product called a protomorphogen (which is the RNA/DNA of the kidney cell) that helps prevent inflammation to the kidneys. It is the one supplement she never went without. I also used their SP Canine Hepatic Support when I thought she needed a little liver support — helps with allergies too. I also used their Cataplex B and C as water soluble vitamins may need to be added due to the large amounts being urinated out.

ONLY give filtered or other forms of “clean” water. I would avoid tap water at all cost. Lower sodium mineral waters with good amounts of calcium and magnesium have been shown to be beneficial for dogs with kd. I like Evian water because it is high in calcium bicarbonate. I didn’t give it all the time but made sure (at least in the beginning) to give it regularly — I got lax in the later years and I truly believe Audrey would still be with me if I had not. She was doing so well though and my life got busier..

I HIGHLY recommend getting some Garden of Life Primal Defense probiotic and Garden of Life Acacia Fiber supplements as well. These are used as “nitrogen traps” and as BUN begins to build up the bacteria consuming the fiber will cause some of the nitrogen to be routed through the bowels freeing up the kidneys from having to deal with them. I gave probiotic foods (like green tripe, fermented veggies etc) frequently but when I noticed she was feeling a little lethargic, depressed, not feeling well etc I assumed nitrogen was building up and I’d give her the probiotics and prebiotic for several days. Always worked like a charm. Will be quite important as the disease progresses and he starts getting symptoms. This also allows for a higher protein diet. The protein doesn’t damage the kidneys but it does, due to BUN, add to symptoms. Oh, I forgot to mention. Audrey ate a HIGH protein raw diet up until the last six to eight weeks of her life. Audrey never had a problem with phosphorus but as your puppies disease progresses you may have to watch the amount of phosphorus in the foods you are feeding. The golden rule is to limit phosphorus but it’s obviously not always necessary. That said, phosphorus can damage the kidneys if it gets too high in the blood so either monitor it or feed the right amounts of phos for the stage your pup is at. Right now while phosphorus isn’t as big an issue, I like the Honest Kitchen Brave. To that I would add a raw egg a few times per week and give Answer’s raw goat milk regularly as well. Both raw eggs (if not whipped etc) and raw milk can easily increase the “master antioxidant” in the body called glutathione. This will obviously help out everything. Later, when phos needs to be more restricted, you may not be able to give the whole egg (as the yolk is higher in phos).

Supplements —
1. Organic Turmeric is good as it is anti-inflammatory but it also is anti-fibrotic (prevents scar tissue). Audrey didn’t tolerate turmeric well so she didn’t get it but in general it would be quite helpful for a dog with KD.
2. Spirulina, chlorella and pumpkin seed oil are all high in chlorophyll and supplies lots of other nutrients. Dogs with KD can be at risk for anemia and chlorophyll is awesome for anemia.
3. Burdock root is a prebiotic and of the herb world is considered to be the “blood cleaner”.
4. Milk thistle helps spare glutathione and is a good detoxer.
5. Distilled water (given once in a while) and food grade activated charcoal are good detoxers too.
6. Copaiba essential oil is great for pains and inflammation plus more. A therapeutic grade, like Dr. Sheltons, is the only kind to use on pets. Can be given in food or rubbed into the skin over the kidneys as an example.
7. Braggs brand apple cider vinegar can help with indigestion or tummy issues. Audrey didn’t need it often but when she did I would mix it 50/50 with water and syringe feed it. She hated it but within seconds would burp and feel better.
8. Therapeutic grade peppermint oil, ginger extract or Dr. Shelton’s GI Joe essential oil work great for tummy issues as well. I got sick to my tummy and used the GI Joe to help. Kept me from vomiting and soothed my tummy.
9. Learn about essential oils if you don’t already know. If you have a Facebook account, join AnimalEO’s page and sign up for Dr. Shelton’s Friday Fun Facts. I didn’t know about them early enough to be much use with Audrey (specifically Dr. Shelton’s oils) but I sure wish I had.

DON’T do ANY more vaccinations – not even rabies if you can at all avoid. Audrey was legally exempted from having to get the rabies vaccine for life. She wasn’t protected either as she only got her first shot (at six months) before diagnosis was made. No heartworm, flea/tick or anything like that either.

I know there’s things I’m forgetting but hopefully this is enough to give you a good jumping off point.. 🙂 Hugs to you and your baby boy!!!!

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

[Pittiemama]

So I’ve never posted here before but have read and looked around a lot. I have a fair amount of knowledge regarding canine health and have had dogs for 25 years. Right now I’m facing a sad situation. My 5 year old rescue American Staffordshire Terrier has kidney failure. I adopted him nearly 2 years ago from our local shelter without knowing he had health issues but honestly I would’ve taken him no matter what, you know how that it is. I fell in love on sight! Anyway, he’s always had a questionable USG and it was at 1.019 when I adopted him as I had baseline blood work and urine done right after getting him. It fluctuates between 1.014-1.019. Since it wasn’t super low all the time and his other blood work looked normal no one really knew but had suspicions, as he was a big water drinker, much more so than my previous dogs. Now I’ve had him almost two years and his creatinine is creeping up. His BUN is 23 and creatinine is 2.2, it was 1.7 a month ago and 1.4 when I got him so it was never really, really low as the high end of normal from our laboratory is 1.6. His BUN is fine so far, thankfully. He had an ultrasound for a UTI he had about 8 months or so ago. It showed a kidney that looked a little weird but nothing to write home about, needless to say he a urinalysis, culture and a couple of rounds of antibiotics to kick it and be sure that if it was a pylonephritis the antibiotics would kill all the little bacteria that may be hiding, this was a suspicion as his creatinine was creeping up. If you looked at him, you wouldn’t even know he had an issue. He’s beautiful with a gorgeous coat, good weight, eats like a champ, good energy for a big, lazy pittie 🙂

Anyway, long story kind of short, here I sit broken hearted. He is a lovely animal with a ton of life ahead but I know how these things can go. He also has allergies so prescription diet isn’t the answer and you know it has some ingredients that I’m not thrilled about but the diets have their place and can be very important (this is solely my opinion that I don’t wish to debate at all nor pass judgement on anyone really as it’s not even an option.)

I’m very fortunate have an amazing team of veterinary professionals whom I know both professionally and personally who I love and deeply respect in my corner which is worth it’s weight in gold.

Here are my questions to you all, have any of you used supplements to support kidney function? He’s currently not taking any. Food? He eats dehydrated food, Brave by Honest Kitchen and really loves it. Have you worked with a Naturopath for kidney disease? I worked with a herbalist for one of my pitties many years ago who had mast cell cancer. Along with my vet, this may helped by dog live for 21 months instead of the 3 months we were given with him so I’ve seen how it can really help prolong a healthy, happy life. I have also worked with an acupuncturist for skeletal pain in a couple of my dogs. I’ve, happily, not had the experience working with a Naturopath for kidney disease until possibly now so frankly my experience in that arena is limited to the more traditional western side.

It’s long but if you got to this point, thanks and I look forward to hearing about your experiences 🙂

[Mike Sagman]

Hi Loreta,

You said that “Royal Canin changed its primary ingredient from Chicken meal to Chicken by-product meal several years ago and yet the review still states Chicken meal.”

That is not true. Not one of our Royal Canin reviews is over 18 months old. In fact, many of them have been updated in the last few months. You can see the “Last Update” information at the end of every one of our reviews.

By the way, we currently maintain 9 reviews for Royal Canin products on our website. And none of them are Editor’s Choice products.

So, it would be better for you to post your non-Editor’s Choice question at the end of the specific review you’re asking about. That way, others may be able to share what they know, too.

Keep in mind that there are over 900 reviews representing more than 4,300 different recipes on our website. And more are being added all the time.

With limited resources and only 3 staff members, it’s impossible for us (or any other website, for that matter) to update every review on a continuous basis.

Our policy is to update each review on a rotating schedule about once every 18 months or so — unless we receive a tip from one of our readers that a specific recipe has changed. Editor’s Choice company reports and puppy foods are updated much more frequently.

Hope this helps.

[El]

Hi Kelly P

I would recommend these 2 books as part of your research into feeding a properly balanced raw diet to your pup.

“Ok I have not yet gotten my puppy I have about 4 weeks still. She will grow up to be around 100lbs, so I’ll probably feed her about 2lbs a day.”

Here are the feeding guidelines from Primal, I think they are pretty accurate. Puppies need more than 2% of their body weight daily.

Feeding Percentages
1.5% Weight Loss
2.0% Non-Active
2.5% Maintain Weight **
3.0% Slight Weight Gain
3.5% Significant Weight Gain
4.0% Kittens/Puppies (8 weeks-1 year)
4.5-8.0% Kittens/Puppies (4-8 weeks)
4.0-8.0% Pregnant/Lactating

“We will be training too with treats so I need to be sure they level each other out. I have done a lot of research as I’ve been preparing for the past 1-2 years. What I found so far is the following.
Feeding anti-oxidants or some sort of cooked veggies is a good idea.”

I would puree the veggies. Cauliflower, broccoli, spinach in moderation, green beans, peas in moderation…

“Feeding organic eggs, shell and all, is good at least once a week. Egg shells provide a lot of calcium.”

I would suggest free-range organic eggs. I know that people feed finely ground egg shells as a calcium source, but I don’t know about feeding whole egg shells. I would do a little more research specifically on the calcium requirements of large breed puppies if I were you. She will be getting calcium from bones, egg shells, spinach and ?

Feeding a whole fish once a week is good because of the oil it provides, be sure not to feed tuna because of the high mercury levels. Cooked Tripe is great and so is a some coconut oil. I figure I can saute the veggies in coconut oil.

In general, I would feed small fish, they usually have softer bones and less toxic buildup. I would not cook the tripe. One of the benefits of feeding “Raw Green Tripe” are the enzymes, and any processing or cooking will destroy those enzymes.

“As far as percentages I have read a few different things but my research has come up with the below.
Version 1
75% Muscle/skin (i.e chicken breast)
10% Edible Bone
5% Liver
5% Non liver organs
5% Anti-oxidants/Veggies
Version 2
50% Meaty Bones
35% Muscle/Skin (i.e chicken breast)
5% Liver
5% Non liver organs
5% Anti-oxidants/Veggies”

I feed my dogs a homemade lightly cooked diet. Version one looks pretty good. Since I lightly cook my guys food I would replace the 10% edible bone with 5% more pureed veggies and 5% supplements to balance out the diet.

“My main questions are about bones.”

This is good because I see bones as the riskiest part of your diet plan and I would carefully consider both sides of the argument so that you can make the most informed choice possible. Also, regarding Wolves and bones, research has shown that larger pieces of bones are excreted from wolves wrapped in the fur of the animal they ate, maybe as a way of protecting their insides from the bone fragments.

Good Luck with the new addition to your family 😉

[Kelly P]

@Anonymously – I do know bones can be risky, but you have to get calcium in the diet. Which is why actually most people grind the bones, meat, and other ingredients into mush. I would prefer that my puppy learn to chew.

Also I don’t really care for you bringing in articles in regards to dogs are not wolves. A dog is a carnivore not an omnivore. You can argue that the parasites living on the meat can threaten the animal’s life, but then you have the same issue with your raw Commercial food, unless they’re not telling the truth and it’s really cooked raw meat.

@Aimee – I understand your worry which is why I’ve spent time researching.
I have not talked to a Veterinary nutritionist because I don’t know of any. A Veterinary is not a nutritionist either so I can’t ask them. Here’s what I’ve learned though for puppy specific food. Puppies need more calcium than an adult dog. I’ve also read that it’s best to start raw feeding from an early age. Do you buy the same bag of food for an adult as for a puppy?

Wysong doesn’t seem to have a difference, I didn’t see any of the Dawrwin’s to have a choice between adult and puppy. Primal Raw Food doesn’t seem to have a difference either… Am I missing the Puppy formula? Nature’s Variety Raw doesn’t seem to have puppy specific formula. I know Blue Buffalo does but that’s merely grain free dog food. I’m not trying to be a jerk, but if the formula for the adult dog doesn’t change why is it an issue? I’ve also read that there’s a large margin of error when feeding raw, maybe like you suggested its only for adults because puppy nutrition is so important. Or maybe because no one expects to feed a puppy any raw food?

[Juanita B]

My American Pit Bull Terrier has allergies too.

I have head wonders on Zignature (go to chewy.com and read the reviews) but it has peas in it and my dog quit itching but there is a lot of alfala for my dog. He is 2 1/2 now and has allegories since he was a puppy so I know what you are going through. I was just advised by a nutritionist to try Origen Tundra and all food must have absolutely no chicken of any type and no eggs. She also mentioned Acana Lamb and Apple but that has canola oil in it and that is made from a toxic plant. http://breathing.com/articles/canola-oil.htm

Go to http://www.orijen.ca/products/dog-food/dry-dog-food/tundra/ Don’t just go by the ingredients below; look at everything such an amino acids and other ingredients. I do not see anything your dog is allegeric to except peas but that is not on the top five ingredients. My dog is very sensitive and picky and he loves this especially with the freeze dry crumbled on it. I also add Answer’s raw goat’s milk which is supposed to help allegories. I don’t know the results yet. It has only been one week. I have noticed that his stool is better.

INGREDIENTS
Goat*, venison*, mutton*, bison*, whole arctic char*, rabbit*, duck*, whole steelhead trout*, whole pilchard*, whole alaskan cod*, goat meal, venison meal, alaskan cod meal, mutton meal, blue whiting meal, red lentils, green peas, duck fat, herring meal, pollock meal, garbanzo beans, yellow peas, alfalfa, dried kelp, pumpkin*, squash*, cod liver*, goat tripe*, goat liver*, mutton liver*, mutton tripe*, venison liver*, venison tripe*, carrots*, spinach*, apples*, pears*, cranberries*, freeze-dried elk liver, freeze-dried venison liver, freeze-dried bison liver, freeze-dried goat liver, zinc proteinate, mixed tocopherols (preservative), juniper berries, rose fruit, dandelion root, elder flowers, marigold, dried chicory root, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.

[LOREN L]

DRY DOG FOOD – ADD WATER
By Loren D. Lasher

For the past 5 years I have been adding water to my dog’s dry kibble. Letting it soak for 12-15 minutes before serving; I have found many benefits. For my older dog, who had been plagued with digestive problems, they have all been resolved. In my research, I have gotten some support and some conflicting ideas but I believe if you read on, you can make up your own mind. There are many, many benefits of soaking dry food. I share this information, not as an expert, but as a person with some experience wanting to add to your ‘perspective’ and the health of your dog and/or cat. Read this article, check with your Vet and make up your own mind.

First, dogs, cats and many animals were designed to eat foods which were 70%-90% moisture. Dry kibble is dehydrated to about 10% moisture. When a dog eats the dry food, the food is seeking moisture and robs the animal of important vital fluids and creates a situation of the dog being dehydrated and needing to rehydrate. With dry food both the stomach and intestines are upset. Important digestive fluids are taken up by the dry food in the stomach and in the intestines. Intestines are designed to get nutrition from moisture. Dry food prevents much absorption of nutriments in the intestine. When an animal eats the dry food and fills their stomach and afterward water is added, from drinking after eating, the stomach swells and may contribute to bloat. The dry food swells in size and robs the dog of important digestive fluids.

Do an experiment and decide for yourself. Take two cups and put about 1/3 cup of dry food in each cup. Keep one cup dry and to the other cup, add half of cup of warm water and let it set for 15 minutes. Compare and think about what is happening to your dog’s stomach.

There are many benefits to adding water and soaking. First, the dog becomes and stays hydrated. Second, it reduces bloating. Third, it is easier to chew and digest. Fourth, with a bit of ‘gravy’, it tastes better. Fifth, with warm water the ‘aroma’ is inviting. Dogs like good smells. Sixth, the dog will eat less food and be full. You can reduce the amount of dry food served. I feed my 90 pound lab 2 cups of kibble soaked; 1 cup morning and 1 cup night. Finally, with wet food, the dog will eat slower.

Some people might argue that eating dry food cleans the dog’s teeth. Not so! Most dogs do not chew enough with the dry food. If you want cleaner teeth, you have to clean their teeth. Some chew bones may help, but not kibble.

Bottom Line: Bringing dry food to higher moisture content will benefit the animal in many ways. They will be healthy and hydrated. Add equal or more water per kibble. One cup kibble, one and one half cup water (minimum), soak 12-15 minutes. For a little extra, you might add a bit of low salt broth.

[Susan]

My boy does really well on pork, it depends on the cut of pork some cuts have less fat then other cuts, also was there any fat on the pork?
I make pork rissoles baked in oven, when I made the turkey breast rissole Patch had diarrhea, I didn’t know if it was the turkey or the egg I added, so now I don’t add any egg when making the rissoles, I haven’t tried making the lean turkey breast mince rissoles again……

Have you thought about having the Jean Dodds NutriScan Salvia testing done…. read link then click on the blue NutriScan next to Hemopet up top & read about the rope salvia test & what foods it test for…

https://www.tumblr.com/drjeandoddspethealthresource/25934674990/dog-food-sensitivity-versus-dog-food-allergy

[Kitty W]

Wow, no pun intended, but that is a lot to digest! Thank you, Jeffrey. I went to the sites for some of the food you mentioned, keeping in mind that I will have a single puppy, and started visualizing my freezer and pantry filling up with pricey food. i had hoped it would be simpler. However, again, I want him to have the best start. I will start getting Karen’s newsletter, and also read about rotation. If I had to narrow it down to starting on just one or two foods, does anyone have any recommendations about that? Also, can someone direct me to where I can read about how long, etc., to transition him off the Pro Plan? Excellent idea about the enzymes, etc.

[Denise R]

Our dog had blood tests that determined that she was allergic to peanuts, potatoes, & soybeans as well as environmental allergies such as grass & pollen. For a while we took her for regular allergy shots but gave up when we felt we had just as good control through close monitoring of her diet & she really didn’t like to spend time outside anyway (& she’s a Brittany😧). Throughout the years we have found that the dog food companies will change their formulas and not inform the consumer even by stating “new formula” on the bag. You can read the ingredients list 50x’s & the 1st time you buy it without reading the label there are changes. With recent changes we found ourselves looking for again another dog food. We did notice that a lot have peas in them now too. Our dog DID NOT do well on anything with peas. Whenever she gets something she is allergic to she will lick patches of her skin raw or her mouth will turn bright red & her eyes water. So my words of advice are that you need to read the ingredients every time. With this new shift to add peas we are again searching for a new dog food. But fortunately we have found that one of the more reputable dog foods on the market (that our dog could never eat) has changed its formula and our dogs are doing well on it. Our Brittany’s skin is healing nicely & they all seem to be doing well again. PS for years the only food that suited our dog was one of the cheapest ones on the market. While it kept her allergy free we did notice an absence of the benefits of a good dog food, nice fur, reduced stool/waste, etc.

[Keira L]

Hi Shawna,
Thank you so much for your reply! Your story is honestly what keeps me from breaking down after any vet visit! So thank you for sharing!
Like I said this is all very over whelming so I’m so appreciative of your response .

Creatinine 5.6
protein 71 mg/L
BUN 9.60mmol/L

She drinks a lot of water, but we live in a hot climate and I watch what she drinks and her energy compared to my other boxer and there’s not a lot of difference between them. She has a big drink before and during sleep so that’s why I think she has little accidents I try to get up in the night and take her out for a wee.
She has a BIG appetite! Never feels like she has eaten enough, I had started given her 3 meals rather 2, they’re small to medium in portion because she just seems to want to eat all the time! Even tries to eat my other dog , Muddys food 😂

I read what you said about Audrey , “you would never know she had kidney failure apart from her levels” That’s Lola too! I was sure they had made a mistake?!
We have been feeding her sweet potatoe boiled, carrots ,celery, and lean raw mince- only just started her on egg yolk ( our 4th day)
still giving her HILLS wet food in the morning for breakfast as we re weening her off it.
I bought standard process canine support because of you! 😀 Starting her on that, this week😀
I have enzymes , and a mix pre and pro biotic powder- would love advice on how much to give her with these enzymes and pre and pro? I also heard parsley was good but it’s also a diuretic?
She gets a 150mg Q10 ,
she gets an osteo pill for bone strength ( vet recommendation)
fish oil ( was giving everyday but just 3 times a week now- as I didn’t want to give too much, still researching and tweaking amounts)
Also vitamin b complex
We give her little pieces of watermelon through the day sometimes for a treat

Would you recommend vitamin c as well since she isn’t getting enough in her food then?
I was giving human vitamins as I heard they’re better quality (fish oil, vitaminB )
Thanks again Shawna, and sorry to hear about Audrey, what a lucky girl she was to have you as her mum and a great life she would have had ❤️
Keira :))

[Shawna]

I foster/fostered puppies for Boston Terrier, Papillon and an all breed rescue. None of mine are now puppies but I’ve had some 20 or more ranging in age from 4 days old (with his mommy of course), five weeks, many that were in the 8 to 12 week range and on up. All puppies already weaned have started right on the same rotational diet that the adult dogs ate. I’ve found puppies actually tolerate the change in diet MUCH BETTER than do adult dogs. I’ve only had one that ever had a problem and he was reacting to a specific protein I was rotating in. In my experience, there’s no need to wait till a specific age to start rotating (or adding high quality canned, cooked or raw toppers).

I rotate kibble brands/proteins about every week, rotate the canned topper every three to four days and rotate the raw I’m using as a topper every other day. Half the diet is raw, teaspoon of canned and the rest is kibble.

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

[Shawna]

Hi Keira,

So sorry to hear about your baby!!

Diagnosed as stage 4 but has no symptoms other than urinating inappropriately? That’s odd. It would be really helpful to know the results of the original blood panel (before starting the prescription diet) when discussing foods and supplements. As the BUN and creatinine get more elevated you need to start limiting phosphorus (as it can build up in the system and damage the kidneys) and protein (as it contributes to symptoms – but NOT to damaging the kidneys)). Example – in the later stages of the disease egg yolks should be increasingly limited because of the higher phosphorus content in them. Ask you vet for a copy of your pup’s blood work if you don’t already have it and then let us know the values.

Nitrogen trapping is helpful at any stage of renal failure but becomes the most noticeably beneficial when you start seeing symptoms – vomiting, inappetance, possibly lethargy or depression etc. In order to create a nitrogen trap you absolutely need a probiotic (however I’m not sure which bacteria is involved in nitrogen trapping so I recommend using one with a WIDE variety of beneficial microbes – one like Garden of Life Primal Defense (human product)). When my Audrey was diagnosed with KD at age one (she was also given a year to live but lived to just shy of age nine) I tried multiple different fiber sources (which are also considered prebiotics – feed the microbes in the gut). Some of the prebiotics (such as apple and grapefruit pectin or the fiber in the grain barley) had a negative impact – the pectins made her symptoms worse and she had a food sensitivity to the barley. I ended up using acacia fiber for her from age one and half(ish) to when she passed. Garden of Life has an acacia fiber product as well but NOW brand makes one and there are a few others.

“Standard Process Renal Support” is the one supplement that my girl NEVER did without. It helps in many many many ways including giving the kidneys the nourishment they need to preventing inflammation from damaging the kidneys further. The Standard Process brand have specific products (called protomorphogens) that help with inflammation. There are other things I used for Audrey or would recommend – such as turmeric bombs / balls, Evian bottle water (lower in sodium then some others and a type of calcium very easily used by the body), activated charcoal, spirulina, chlorella and so on.

Your current diet doesn’t have a source of calcium listed which is VERY important.. If you can give us her actual info from the blood panel we can more easily recommend the right diet for you.

[Shirley B]

I own several dogs, all of the same breed, parents are screen genetically prior to mating, all of which are not known to have kidney disorders. All had perfect blood work ups prior to using Bravecto. My youngest (under 3 yrs of age) became ill two months after taking Bravecto. Kidney failure. I am watching her undergo dialysis for the second week now. The other two, have also been tested for blood. A second one, also under age 3, has elevated BUN levels, indicative of potential for Kidney complications. The third one came up clean, thank heavens I may not lose him. I just sobbed as I wrote that, and he looked over at me.

I didn’t want to come on the message boards, but I owe it to others who could lose their sweet precious babies.

What happened is this: I wanted to switch to what was a gentler flea application. A vet told me yes this was it. Fool that I am, I didn’t research side effects. They are posted all over the web. How dare this company not pull the product, to prevent death to our sweet dogs. However, once I gave them these tablets, I did research, for one threw up in 30 mins. I felt sick to my stomach reading the reports. My husband said relax, most likely nothing. Two months later we were looking healthy and enjoying life, balls, playing, and all of a sudden my sweet girl becomes ill. Looked like UTI, kidney failure mimicks that. If you have already given Bravecto, RUN A BLOOD WORKUP FOR KIDNEY FUNCTION IMMEDIATELY.

Another (dog of mine) didn’t look so great, but oddly enough he is the one who is coming up good blood work up. I was so upset as I read the incidents of kidney and liver failure, but my dogs seemed to clear up and look wonderful, but ah kidney failure is sneaky. You don’t see the signs until there is so much damage.

I hope I can help my second sweet heart. I hope that it is not too late. But literally I have a sick feeling about my sweet girl who is undergoing dialysis. She is not looking good and the Vet (not the one that recommended Bravecto) looks so sad about her illness, and so shocked at how athletic and healthy her heart and body is otherwise. He said this he hasn’t seen before, and cannot imagine what caused it.

So I write this as one is real bad, and the worst is heading our way. A second hopeful, but ah I see how horrid this is, this damage. The third will not understand why his younger pack mates would vanish. Such pain, so avoidable, as is using Bravecto. Avoid Bravecto. Shame on the manufacturer of this product… My heart is with them and part of me will leave with them if they die prematurely at such a young age.

I had to be responsible and post this. I do not want more blood on my hands. It is bad enough i held out the Bravecto and told them good dog as they ate it.

[Jeff A]

Hello,

I’m looking for opinions on how to proceed. Sorry for the long post!

History :

For a couple years my Great Danes have been on a diet of Blue Buffalo Wilderness kibble. They get fed twice a day with each meal consisting of two cups of dry kibble and about 1/4 can of Blue Buffalo basics canned food mixed in. I’ve had zero issues with them on this food. Recently, I decided to transition them over to Fromm. I bought a bag of Fromm Gold kibble, and a case of Fromm gold chicken and duck pate soft food.

I’ve been mixing kibble for quite awhile, and they went through a case of the Fromm soft food with no issues.

Then..

1/4 – Ella went in for a dental at the vet. Pretty groggy from anesthesia.
1/5 – Ella getting back to normal. Received new case of Fromm soft food. Ella and Sydnee have food from new case in evening.
1/6 – Ella back to hungry self. For breakfast they have food from second can in the new case for breakfast. All appears normal. 3 pm in the afternoon my wife comes home to a house full of vomit. Ella wants no food, but Sydnee eats dinner. We assume Ella still isn’t feeling right from anesthesia. 6 pm Sydnee vomits all her dinner.

The next six days are spent dealing with pretty sick girls. They were lethargic, occasional vomiting, bloody diarrhea. Both visited the vet twice over that period of time. Fecal test was negative, blood test showed normal, and temperatures were in the normal (101-103) range. They were both put on antibiotics. After doing some reading this sounds a lot like hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. It usually hits small dogs and requires IV fluids, but I think because my girls are so large (140lb each) they didn’t become overly dehydrated.

I’ve been feeding them boiled hamburger and rice for a few days now, but I’m getting to the point where I need to think about transitioning them back to normal food. I’m very worried at this point.

I will not feed them the remaining cans of the Fromm soft food. I’ve also thrown out all the open bags of dry kibble. I have no idea what caused the issue, but two dogs sick in the exact same manner at the exact same time leads me to believe the the new case of food was a trigger. I called Mr Chewy who contacted Fromm and there have been no reports of issues with the food.

My gut tells me to transition them from the hamburger and rice back to Blue Buffalo and leave well enough alone. Thoughts?

[Jenn H]

Wendeyzee your situation is eerily similar to mine when I lost my 2 boys. The first from torsion. I took him to the vet immediately, but that emergency vet was a quack and wasn’t doing anything to help. I literally had to break into the back area & “steal” him back. Took him to another emergency vet. 3 hrs later. (Still don’t know how he hung on that long.) He survived the surgery, but kept coding afterward. We had to let him go.
A few months later my other guy was diagnosed w/HSA. He didn’t wake up from the anesthesia. Honestly if I had to choose a way for my animals to go that’s it. Just go to sleep happy and not wake up. The vet did CPR for 45 min. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her to stop even tho I knew. My husband showed up and told her no more. He was my baby boy. They were almost 11 and just barely 8 respectfully. (SHEP is my avatar.) How could I go home to my 2 girls a second time empty handed???
I’m grateful a part of SHEP is still here. His niece is will turn 8 in April. My biggest fear is she will have the same diagnosis some day. She’s my best little friend. It’s been ages since I’ve had a GSD live to a respectable age of 13+. Sometimes I almost feel like feeding them crap food maybe wasn’t so bad. Those are the dogs that lived to see old age.
From what I have learned about cancer diets is high protein, low carb. Good luck finding any premade. Grain free tend to have even more carbs than with grain. Go figure.
There is a DNA test for this cancer I think. But I already know it’s a possibility with my baby girl.
I’ve been told it’s basically 50/50 if a dog gets cancer or not. If that holds true then statistically 1 of my girls would get it. This is a thought I try to block every time it pops in my head. I’d rather it be me. Let all bad things happen to me. Never them.

[Jenn H]

I have an almost 7 month GSD puppy. He’s already in the mid 60s in weight.
Until he was 6 months old he had been getting Wellness Core Grain Free Puppy. It was a very good food. And I chose it because it was the best food with the least amount of calcium that was available at big box stores making it easy for my husband could pick it up when I needed him to.
(The other Wellness large breed puppy/all life stages foods have more calcium than the aforementioned.)
I like to rotate my dog’s foods every few months and had a hard time looking for food that met the same criteria and hopefully wasn’t grain free. (I prefer they not be limited to ingredients unless there’s a medical need.)
After much searching & contacting of companies (since they love to only list the min amt of calcium in the GA) I settled on Solid Gold Wolf Cub.
I highly recommend it! Gronk is finally satisfied after meals and I have to feed him half as much. (I actually feed 1/4-1/2 cup less than recommended to allow aome wiggle room for other things.) I thought for sure that would piss him off. I’m saving a bundle too!!!!
The other thing that happened often with his previous food was intermittent diarrhea. Even though the dogs get pumpkin every morning he still had soft/mushy/watery stools once in a while. Hasn’t happened once since the switch!
I’m definitely keeping this puppy food in the rotation. Hope to have the same results with the adult formulas.
Anyone obsessively looking for a good food for their large breed pup and can’t spend a fortune may want to check out Solid Gold Wolf Cub.
The company itself was also very quick & helpful in response to my questions. To me that’s a huge plus.

[anonymously]

I prefer to get my canine’s medical advice from a science-based veterinary healthcare professional.

“There is no “Natural” or “Holistic” Heartworm Prevention or Treatment Proven to be Safe and Effective” posted on June 30,2013 by skeptvet

Much of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is offered either as an addition to conventional, science-based treatment or in situations in which conventional therapies are unavailable or ineffective. This doesn’t excuse offering treatments that haven’t been properly tested, and it … Continue reading →
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=heartworm

[Francis F]

To everyone that has experienced a bad reaction to their dog(s) eating the Canine CarryOuts treats:
In reading the situation with your dog(s), I wonder, how many of the CarryOut treats did they eat?
Because some of our dogs have not had any issues so far, even after years of eating them, the question arises that maybe your dog is eating too many of these instead of only a treat.
I remember about 5 years ago, I left my toy poodle at a very expensive pet resort in Tampa, FL, with specific instructions on how many little pieces of these treats should be given and when. The afternoon care person didn’t read and because he wasn’t eating his regular ProPlan food, she went ahead and gave him the entire daily portion! Well, when I picked him up at 5:00 pm, he was vomiting and had diarrhea. I went inside and that’s when I found out what had happened. So, that’s why I say that perhaps it is the amount of these that they are eating and could be the same with other treats if given an excessive amount per day.
You can read my previous post on 12/13/15 for my experience and thoughts. I’ve checked the 5 oz. packages very carefully and it clearly states MADE IN THE USA, right at the bottom, right front of package. Nowhere does it state China.
Why take a risk if you had a bad experience and if someone finds out for sure via a letter from their vets that these were the cause of the problems, please make a special post all in caps so that we all know about it. Hope you stopped immediately and that all ends in a healthy diagnosis. Thank you for sharing the good & the bad. We certainly don’t want our pooches to suffer. Francis3

[Janet Q]

Hello, I am new to the group here. Thank you everyone for all this info. I am taking notes now as my rescue dog SASHA from Mississippi has this problem. We got her 7 months ago. She is an English Shepherd/Great Pyrenese mix supposedly. She is 7 yrs old. She looked perfectly healthy when we adopted her other than a lick granuloma on a paw. She did have a lot of fears we were told. She is very afraid of people and cars and noises. She walks in the woods fine. She seems to scratch quite a bit so we started her on Benadryl , then cetrizine, now Chlorpheneramine.

Her first Licky/Gulpy Episode was in September. She just had her 8th one tonight. I give her Acepromazine immediately now and it seems to help her. The last 2 episodes only lasted an hour or 2 and she wasn’t totally frantic. The other episodes lasted 3-4 hours and she would vomit halfway through.

She went 3 months without an episode and started up again on Dec 17.

When she starts the episodes she just suddenly starts licking anything like the floor, comforters, carpets. Then starts gulping and gagging. I have slept in bed with her with her leash in my hand so I would know if she jumped off the bed to lick the floor or started licking the comforter again.

She really seems to be even more afraid of noises when she is going through these episodes. Any creak in the house, or noise from a cat jumping off furniture down the hall etc. She will just have a horrified look on her face.

I have read about gastritis and that it can be caused from ingesting fur. She licks quite a bit like OCD and she did have that lick granuloma when we got her. She tore up 3 sets of King sheets when I first got her also and recently shredded a pillowcase while I was home doing dishes.

So I am thinking of finding a specialist near me to have the scope procedure done to check out her esophagus for damage.

I also have her on sucralfate, benadryl, chlropheniramine, composure treats, Lean Treats by Purina, Dasaquin.

She was on a probiotic for a few months and I didn’t refill it.

Her food is Taste of The Wild Salmon, mixed with a little JM by purina and a few spoons of canned Purina Adult Chicken and Rice.

I try to walk her each day on a 20 foot leash so she can run a bit.

Thankyou again for all these posts as I a have never had this problem with a dog before.
I will let you know what I find that works.

[Jane D]

I breed Shih Tzu and have for the past 28 years. For the last fifteen they have been on Solid Gold puppy and dog food till this summer.
I have spoken to the owner Sissy( who I believe is in her eighties or just about there) and she told me she had sold only the manufacturing part of the company. She also stated it was in the contract that No changes were to be made to the recipes or the company reverted back to her. Well this summer all my dogs started throwing up! I mean constantly not just once in a while. I started looking for a new great food for them and one young man took the time to teach me about Acana foods and why they would be so good for my dogs!
I have one allergic to chicken so we started on Acana Grasslands and they love it! The puppies were put on Acana puppy and the loved it as well.
Go check it out at http://www.acana.com or http://www.acanadogfood.com, ask can never remember which it is.
READ how it arrives, how it is cooked and what is in it. It is certified human grade meaning it is fit for human consumption as it is made with the same grade of meats, vegetables, fruit etc that we eat!
It is cooked in its own juices with no added water( means your animals will drink more water of course) no additives, no bad stuff at all!
I am keeping them on it! They are very healthy which is important to me and the cost is about what I was paying for Solid Gold.
I am sold on Acana products!
Check it out for yourself!

[C4D]

Hi Darrel M,

I posted earlier on this thread, please read my comments. I admit that 20 years ago I gave these to my dog, poor baby. These are just terrible treats. There are so many options of fresh food you could give your dog as opposed to this bag of junk. You could give them: bananas, apples, carrots, cantaloupe, watermelon, peanut butter, a piece of cooked chicken, anything fresh. They would look, feel and be healthier if you do.

[Laura D]

Having quite the week with our pup. She’ll be 4 next week and is a shih tzu. We have 2 problems going on, pancreatitis as well as some back issues. I’ve ended up at our regular vet and then a 24 hour one for the back problems. Between the 2 different vets and my research on foods they’re suggesting I am drowning in thoughts/questions and not sure the directions to go.

She’s been on a bland diet and given her dx’s is feeling pretty good. Pancreatitis was under control pretty quickly, but is the 2nd incidence of it (she had same symptoms but no blood taken, end of November so we’re assuming 2nd incidence.) Bland diet is going well and it’s time to put her on regular food. Main problem – she has a CHICKEN ALLERGY so it’s limiting our options.

ER vet gave me a couple of can samples of Royal Canin gastrointestinal low fat. We feed just kibble and for whatever reason it just never occurred to me to give her canned food. Not sure why.

Regular vet gave me Hills Prescription Diet Digestive Care i/d sensitive dry. This food has 13% fat and I know she needs a “low fat” diet. This concerns my somewhat because she was eating taste of the wild and it has 15% fat which isn’t that different to me. I’ve also read here that going too low fat can compromise the quality.

We aren’t sure what caused the pancreatitis. I was giving her a pill in a small amount of cheese prior to the recent one so i’m not sure that isn’t it?!

Anyway I guess i’m wondering if anyone has any great chicken-free recommendations? And do you feed can or dry? Are there advantages/disadvantages to either? Like I said, I have no idea why I settled on dry. With the 2 dogs feeding them eating together has been an issue, one which if they were fed canned they’d be more likely to eat on a better schedule I think. Any advice on getting things put back together and avoid pancreatitis?

[Sarah H]

Yes, I have a gate for the kitchen, unfortunately then the cat cannot get in either! Originally the thought was to keep the puppy in the kitchen with her food and the cat with the cat food in the living and dining room, but the puppy hated being in there. I think the tile floors are too cold. We do keep the puppy confined to a play yard in our finished basement when we are not able to keep an eye on her, but we let her run around the living room when we are watching her. Unfortunately she is very quick and sneaky! As I said we turn away for a second and she is already in the kitchen going for the cat food. We will just have to keep a better eye on her. Or train the cat to eat her food off of the coffee table which she can access from the couch (she cannot jump high). We have been trying to do that but she just doesn’t seem to get it. So far so good with the cat litter. The puppy has not tried to go for it at all. Hopefully just a bite or two of cat food will not hurt her now and then. We have had her a week and no digestive issues so far.

[Suzanne J]

Aimee, I do not like the thought of my puppy having a needle stuck in her bladder again. The vet did this exact same test recently & nothing showed up; no infection at all. She’s never had a positive test for a UTI infection like your pup, and she has had so many urine tests I can’t even remember how many. The test is not without risk & it scares me. Maybe I’m overprotective, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong either.

Dogfoodie, the vet did this “clean urine” test right before Christmas because she thought my puppy had an infection. I don’t know if you read my whole story or not, but Cookie had two rounds of antibiotics without having a urine test first because my vet just “thought” Cookie had an infection. Then she made us wait a week after the two rounds of (maybe unneeded) antibiotics and then the vet did the first “clean urine test” to see about the “infection”. She did not have an infection per results of that culture, and I don’t think she has one now. The vet didn’t believe that culture was right so she is doing another culture right now. I don’t think my vet has ever seen a puppy with crystals that didn’t have an infection & she just doesn’t know what to do, but that doesn’t make her a bad vet or a bad person. Still, I feel like my vet is treating Cookie (my puppy) like a test case. She keeps calling a specialist in another state & he told her to just do a regular urine test every two weeks & to let him know if there was a big change, and we agreed to do that and there has been no change. There just comes a point where you say “what the hello” is going on? I may have to eat my words after this new culture if it comes back positive so we’ll see. If it comes back positive I’ll let you know. Either way, I’ll let all of you know the results.

zcRiley, as soon as I finish typing this I will order the lamb you recommended from Chewy. I do think my poor puppy is being over treated for something she could very well grow out of. I am a librarian and I have read several “peer reviewed articles” by experts in veterinary medicine that say crystals are not really that unusual in young female puppies unless there is a UTI, and that the crystals will usually go away after the first heat. That is the main reason why I’m waiting to have my puppy fixed. I do not plan to breed her, even though she is a purebred, very beautiful cocker spaniel puppy. She a solid buff color with deep brown (almost black) eyes that make my heart melt when I look at her. I do believe she deserves a better vet, maybe a vet who is a few years older and has much more experience in the field.

Thank you all for your replies. I really do appreciate your concern and advice. It helps to belong to a board where everybody loves their pets so much.

[Misha M]

Hi all,

I recently realised that carrageenan in wet forms of dog food can cause lots of health problems and wanted to make a switch. We currently feed grain free wet food from Wellness, their turkey and fish range. However, they include carrageenan. I was wondering if anyone knew of any good, grain free brands that stock turkey and/or fish that are carrageenan free in Australia?

There was a thread here that listed brands, however I have trouble finding them here!

Thanks!

[anonymously]

There is NO magic supplement. The trick is to add water to each meal 3-4 small meals per day soaked in water, don’t measure, just fill the small bowl, the dog will lap it up to get to the food.
The dog must be taken out to void (pee) ideally every 2 hours during the day. At bedtime and first thing in the morning. Stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to stone formation.
There is nothing wrong with Royal Canin Urinary SO. If you get the dry, soak it in water overnight then add water too. Once the dog is stable, few months to a year, you can talk to your vet about adding something tasty to the prescription food, like cooked chopped up chicken breast or some other lean meat.
Did you check the search engine here /forums/search/bladder+stones/
Read my posts, you may find some helpful tips
Some info at this site you may find helpful http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=bladder+stones

[Coonhound Mama]

I’m sorry to hear about this 🙁 I would strongly recommend trying bone broth for your girl while she’s still having issues with nausea and vomiting. It’s got many beneficial vitamins and minerals in it that will be easily digestible to your dog. You can buy bone broth from some specialty pet stores already made (popular brand Honest Kitchen makes some) but it’s really easy to do yourself! It’s not a complete and balanced diet, but starting your dog back onto regular food isn’t always easy and this is a solid, nutritious start. Regarding raw, I disagree with the previous poster in that raw isn’t good for a dog in this condition. I think you may just want to keep her fat intake to a minimum. Darwins is notorious these days for high fat levels so if you’re looking for a brand with a lower fat content, try Natures Variety Instinct Frozen Raw.

Here’s a link to bone broth!

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/reasons-your-dog-love-bone-broth/

[Susan]

Hi Donnie, maybe see a vet, the vet will probably put him on Metronidazole a antibiotic for the bowel/stomach for 14-21 days…to clear up any bacteria over growth that he may have & you start his new diet…
Can you cook up some chicken breast & potatoes? I cut the fat off the breast then cut the chicken breast into chunks & just before it boils, I take pot off stove, I drain all the water, I boil the jug & put the boiled jug water over the cooked chicken too rinse off the fat from the chicken pieces, I cut thru a chunk of chicken to see if its cooked thru, then I rinse in cold water to stop them cooking & to rinse off any white fat, the chicken chunks don’t take long to cook about 10mins depends how small you have cut your pieces…. if you cook the chicken too long the chicken breast pieces go like leather, at the same time, boil 1 big potato that has been peeled & cut up into small pieces, I prefer the brown potatoes they don’t seem to be waxy & aren’t as starchy as the white or red potatoes, then I put the cooked chicken pieces in 1 cup to measure & put in freezer seal bags, the potatoes I boil fresh every second day same with the other veggies, I add about 4-5 small pieces of the potatoes to 1 cup of cooked chicken then I put thru the blender & blend for a few seconds or you can cut up the chicken chunks & cut or mash the potatoes, see if his poos firm up…..

I don’t feed wet tin food the fat is too high, especially supermarket or crappy wet tin food..
The fat % in Wet tin food isn’t the same % as in Kibble, when a kibble says 10% fat then its 10% per cup normally, if it says 5% fat in the wet tin food, when fat% is converted to dry matter (Kibble) then that’s around 23%-25%-fat, that’s why some dogs get diarrhea when they eat dog tin food, the fat is high…… if your looking for a wet tin food then look for tins around 4% min fat & under, it will say min% fat so the max fat % you need to add another 1-5% fat on top, depends on the company, I was emailing the companies & asking what is the max% fat %……… read ingredients, the cheap supermarket wet tin foods normally says Chicken, Lamb & Beef by products or poultry byproducts then Whole wheat, cereal by products or corn gluten meal, corn etc….. the gluten meal can make them scratch, have you ever soaked kibble in warm water, then when kibble is soft I was draining the water then cuffing the kibble in the bowl in my palm of my hand & squeezing out any excess water, then I put the soft drained kibble in the blender & blend only a few seconds & it comes out lite & fluffy, if I didn’t drain out the water properly, the wet kibble would be like a ball of goo, good kibbles soften within 50 mins of soaking them in warm water, so I stick with easy to digest kibbles…I ask for samples & test the sample kibbles & soak a few kibbles in warm water & see how long they take to soften…. I feed Patch his cooked meal for Breakfast & Dinner then he gets 1/2 cup kibble at lunch time & another late dinner 8pm another 1/2 cup kibble, Fish & Rice only kibble to keep his weight on & the fish is good for his skin, coat & stomach…… he weights about 17kg=38lbs…..

The vets have their vet diets, Royal Canine Intestinal wet tin, the fat is only 1.7%max or there’s Hills I/D Low Fat GI Restore wet tin 8.5% fat, Hills has already converted all their wet tin foods….. but for the price of 4 tins of the vet diet wet tin foods, you can buy 1kg chicken breast & a bag of potatoes & make about 5 days of cooked meals, 2 meals a day…..you will need to balance the diet later if his poos firm up….cooked meals are OK un balanced for about 1 month, my vet said while your working out what your dog is sensitive too etc….”The Honest Kitchen” has their Base Diets where you add the protein & their normal diets, have you tried the “Zeal” grain free ? you just add water…. You can buy their samples for $2 I think…
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal

If poos do firm up eating the cooked chicken & potato then slowly start adding 1 new ingredient every 5-7 days, like some tin salmon in spring water or sardines in spring water, drain the spring water, I add 1/2 a small tin salmon with the 1 cup of chicken breast pieces & 1/4 -1/2 cup of potatoes, 1/4 cup broccoli & 1/2 a zucchini for breakfast meal & put the other 1/2 tin of salmon in fridge for the next morning, salmon & sardines are good for their skin & coat, they need their omega fatty acid in their diet, he’s probably not getting enough omega 3 in the wet tin food he’s eating now, if his poos firm up on the cooked chicken & potato then add some cooked broccoli or zucchini, be careful with pumkin as pumkin is high in fiber so only add about 1 teaspoon to see how poos go, also sweet potatoes is higher in fiber then white potatoes…… I boil 1/2 a butternut pumkin & freeze little cut up pieces & take out when needed, also carrot I froze a heap but later I found when I was adding the carrots he was scratching his ears & shaking his head, that’s why it’s good to only add 1 new ingredient at a time, that way you will know if it causes any problems……

If Russell poos do not firm up on the cooked Chicken & potato or another protein & potato, then see vet….also have you wormed Russell?? when Patch starts getting tapeworms, his poos start going soft, then sloppy……..

[Susan]

Hi Elena, if the Metronidazole helped then ask vet about Tylan Powder, it has less side effect & is suppose to have no side effects like Metronidazole has, Patches vet wanted Patch on low dose of Metronidazole for 6 months but he started acting weird & real paranoid after takin the Metronidazole for 1 month, so I tried the Tylan Powder 1/4 teaspoon once a day, you put 1/4 teaspoon in empty capsules & give with Dinner every night once a day, the Tylan Powder taste awful, so make sure you put in empty capsule, can turn them off meal… In America you once could buy the Tylan Powder over the counter from Pet Shops but I’ve read you now need a script from vet…
Join this Face Book group called “Dogs With Inflammatory Bowel Disorder”
someone on that site may know where to buy the Tylan Powder online, I live Australia & we need a script….also there’s a few dogs with Food Allergies & Food Intolerances….Have a look at IAMS Vet Formula Skin & Coat Plus Response KO, it’s just Kangaroo & Oat flour & Beet Pulp that makes poos firm, fat is 12% & no other ingredients to irritate the bowel…. https://www.iams.com/dog-food/veterinary-formula-dog-food-skin-coat-health-ko

I feed boiled chicken breast & boiled potatoes, broccoli & zucchini & add a small tin of salmon or make a big batch & buy the big tins of Salmon…. I don’t mix any kibble with the cooked meals, I feed 4 small meals a day, I give cooked for breakfast & dinner & kibble for lunch & a late dinner this way its not expensive feeding the cooked meals & the weight stays on… I feed a Fish & Rice kibble with no other ingredients…..

Boiled rice can irritate the bowel, my boy can not eat boiled rice, but he can eat kibbles with rice that’s been grounded up….

Can you find a kibble that is just turkey & rice or chicken & rice or lamb & rice where the fat is around 10-12% no higher?? fat can cause diarrhea….
Have you tried the “California Natural” Lamb & Rice it has just 4 ingredients, Lamb, brown rice, rice & sunflower oil, I don’t know if C/N is money back guaranteed, if it doesn’t work you can get money back, some kibbles are only guaranteed if the dog doesn’t eat the kibble, so Patch has not liked a few kibbles lol, the Pet Shops know Patch and are very good when we have returned kibbles, they didn’t mind….it becomes expensive when they cant eat a kibble….
A few dogs with IBD & Food Sensitivities are doing really well on the California Natural kibble, stay away from kibbles that have peas, barley, chick peas, lentils, too many ingredients, only limited ingredients with just 1 protein & 1 carb like the California Natural has… http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/1181

You may need to see a specialist that specialises in IBD/food intolerances, my boy had an Endoscope & Biopsies done, then was put on Vet Diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” low Residue kibble, its just Chicken, rice & corn, that was the only vet diet that worked for him, he had to stay on the Eukanuba for 6-12 months to let his bowel heal, (he was a rescue) then the next 1-2 years I tried every kibble & found the only kibbles that work were kibbles with just 1 protein & 1 carb, no peas, gave bad wind pain & farts, kibbles with potatoes/sweet potatoes gave him diarrhea but he can eat cooked fresh potatoes & fresh sweet potatoes, so the potatoes in the kibbles mustn’t be fresh & green or rotten potatoes,thats why I like rice….
You will work it out hopefully but try & not let Penny have diarrhea too much, it will cause thickening of the bowel lining as she gets older…..ask vet about the Tylan Powder or try & buy it online, poos are firm the next day….as long as she isn’t eating something she is sensitive too..

[Laura M]

I use the large sized “bites” as treats but I would not feed this as a regular diet. Read the ingredients and you will agree I think. I attended a dental seminar recently and they recommend what is on the VOHC website for oral care, but as stated previously, the only way to keep the teeth in good condition is to brush and regular cleanings as recommended by your vet. Although not all vets are doing the best dentistry treatments either. The doctor was a specialist in the dental field. I live in an area where there are a lot of specialty veterinarians so I am lucky. I love your breed, had two minis at one point in my life. I feed my dogs a variety of things right now. One I feed Acana, my puppy I feed Nutrisource puppy and my old girl I feed Holistic Select turkey and lentil. Hope you find a good diet for your special friend!

[Dori]

R C If this was my dog, I’d already be at emergency veterinary clinic not here asking for advice. Please get your dog to an emergency clinic as quickly as you can!

[Daniel K]

Hi Liz,

We bought a bunch of reusable, washable pee pads on Amazon.com and on eBay. Just search on washable bed pads in the Medical Supplies categories and you’ll find many options. They aren’t hard to find. You can even buy used ones, but the news ones are not that expensive and they last a long time and many washes with bleach with no problems.

Here’s one example from Amazon:

And here’s another example from eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Bed-Pads-Reusable-Underpads-Hospital-Medical-Incontinence-Washable-/391305064353?var=&hash=item5b1b996fa1:m:mlGa-3vSTpyGuSL4QNsYEoQ

and another very large size:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-NEW-BED-PADS-REUSABLE-UNDERPADS-44×52-HOSPITAL-MEDICAL-INCONTINENCE-WASHABLE-/251767224798?hash=item3a9e7ef9de:g:TSkAAOSwQJ5USkO9

I’m not suggesting you buy these specific ones necessarily, but they are examples of what’s readily available and it should help you find the right categories. Also, look for someone that’s selling a lot of more than one at a time and you’ll get a better deal.

Good luck!!
Daniel

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

[El]

Hi Gwen J, welcome to DFA, and yes, you’re in the right forum.

First of all let me say that your friend is blessed to have so many apparently healthy dogs who live to be 12 to 15 years old 😉

Health and longevity in dogs, like in people, is related to a combination of genes and environment. So, while your friend’s dogs appear healthy and live to be 12 to 15 years old on what you call a below average kibble, I believe that with all other things being equal, those same dogs would have been a little healthier and might have lived a bit longer if they had eaten a less processed, more species appropriate diet than a below average kibble.

That was the easy part, the difficult part is figuring out exactly what a healthier more species appropriate diet is and how you can achieve that within yours or anyone else’s financial and other constraints.

One way is to add approximately 10% lightly cooked meat to a dog’s diet. I would stick to a meat that is already in the food your feeding. Another way is to rotate between 2 or 3 different kibbles that don’t have overlapping proteins. Most companies now have a red meat, a lamb or a venison, a fish, and one or 2 poultry formulas.

The reason for adding only 10% lightly cooked meat is that the kibble is probably balanced as far as vitamins and minerals go, and if you added more than 10% of anything, you could unbalance that diet over the long term. The reason to rotate is that it helps expose your dog to a variety of proteins and nutrients and helps a dog have a more diverse population of healthy bacteria in their gut, and a diverse population of bacteria is very beneficial to a dog’s immune system.

Transition between foods s l o w l y. The longer a dog is on the same food the greater the chance of problems when switching foods. Try a 3 week transition to begin with. Add 10% of the new food to the old food, then every 2 days go up another 10%, so that it takes 20 days to fully transition.

Hopefully things will go well and then every 3 months or so you can switch to a new food until you find at least 3 foods that don’t cause any problems, and that your dog enjoys.

I know I wrote a lot of stuff, but in reality I’ve only scratched the surface. For now I’ve told you about 2 things that I believe will improve the health of yours and your friends dogs.

Good luck, keep us updated, and in the future if someone replies to you in a manner you don’t like, just IGNORE THEM, you’ll have a much better experience here if you do!

[anonymously]

“I found another vet willing to work with me. He acknowledged the financial ties vets have to Royal Canin and Hill’s”.

That would be a red flag to me, prescription foods have helped a lot of animals get through a rough patch, you could always look into other options later. I tend to lean toward science based veterinary medicine these days.

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2015/08/veterinary-medicine-is-a-business-and-that-includes-alternative-medicine/ excerpt below
“The bottom line is that financial bias is a real issue in veterinary medicine at all levels, and it has to be investigated and managed. However, this is not the same as saying there is widespread fraud or a sinister conspiracy involving vets and companies that do business with them. There is no reason to believe that the majority of vets are doing anything other than the best they can to help their patients and clients. And there is absolutely no reason to believe vets offering alternative therapies are any less subject to financial bias or any purer in their motivation or behavior than vets practices science-based medicine”.

[Diane W]

Well I’m glad my kitties don’t care for fish, and I’m also glad there’s not a lot of “beef” choices out there; I’ll stop getting them. There are way too many fishy varieties, though. I’m sure learning a lot by following along and from reading catinfo.org. I’m even taking a print-out of the “short version” to my vet’s office on Monday when I take my Boxers in for a bath. They’re great and don’t pretend to “know everything”, and told me they’d be genuinely interested in reading the info.
Unfortunately I’ve not done anything about un-addicting Skeetoria (Skeeter) from dry food. There has been a lot of tragedy (suicide, other death, & cancer diagnoses) in my family lately, but I don’t want more in Skeetie’s case, so I need to get on it. She’s very strong willed, but I will persevere. I’m thankful that she does drink a lot of water on her own and asks us to turn on the faucet for her so she can have fresh to her heart’s content.

[Susan]

That’s excellent, great news, so she has IBD like Patch, IBD covers a lot of health problems from the stomach, small bowel thru to the large bowel she’s very lucky its not EPI, I thought S.I.B.O as soon as you explained her poo’s & smelly breath, how long has your vet put her on the Metronidazole?? Patches vet was only giving me 10 days worth of Metronidazole tablets at first & the S.I.B.O kept coming back every 4-6months, from foods I was feeding & ingredients in kibbles & Vet Diets, I changed vets then I joined the EPI Face Book group & they said when a dog has S.I.B.O, vet needs to put them on the Metronidazole for 21-28 days, that’s when Patches new vet gave me about 4 repeat scripts of 21 days worth of Metronidazole tablets so when I start to see his poos going yellow & smelly & his breath smelling like fermenting food, I have to start Patch on the Metronidazole again, I just finished a 3 week course about 1-2 months ago, I had tried anew kibble, the Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fusion kibble it had Barley, Rye flour & Sweet Potatoes then about 3-4 weeks of eating the Earthborn Holistic kibble Patches poos were going yellow & sloppy, some poo’s look like the end had a condom on them (Colitis) so something in the new kibble he was sensitive too causing the colitis & causing the bacteria over growth…. then I read Barley is a High Fodmap carb, so now I avoid any kibbles with barley here’s a list of high Fodmap foods & Low Fodmap foods its for humans but you’ll get an idea what foods feed your girl & what foods to stay away from……..
http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/

There’s a Human group on Face Book called “Fast tract Diet (Official Group)” run by Dr Norm Robillard, for S.I.B.O, Colitis, IBS, Acid Reflux & Hypochlorhydria-low stomach acid, Drs & vets prescribe ant acid meds thinking patient is making too much stomach acid when they have very low acid, a lot of really good info & links in this group. Dr Norm has a few books, what foods to avoid & to eat & how to change to a low Fodmap diet & avoid fermentable carbs like rice…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FastTractDiet/

This is an excellent video it explains how some people cant digest carbohydrates & explains how bacteria lives off these carbs using them as energy to survive….. http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap

[Susan]

Hi, I’ve been thinking about your poor girl this morning, I read your email then had to go shopping, has she been tested for EPI & SIBO?? they normally come together….there’s a group on Face Book called “Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency” & there’s a lady called “Dianne Folwarczny-Sloan she makes Pancreatic Enzymes called “Enzyme Dianne”
http://www.enzymediane.com/ everyone uses them on their EPI dogs, they’re suppose to be cheaper there’s also the human ones called Creon digestive enzymes google Creon Digestive Enzymes sold at chemist also the ladies give their dogs B12 shots to help with their weight loss & loss of nutrients coming back out in their poos….you may need a new vet that knows about EPI & SIBO you will get heaps of help in the EPI group just post your story about your girl, Diane will probably answer your post & help you I know she is closing for Xmas I just looked she is on EPI Facebook group site at the moment https://www.facebook.com/groups/38663535025/
I don’t know if she has samples, maybe ask people in the group for a really good EPI
vet in your area as a lot of vets don’t know much about EPI & these poor dogs go untreated I don’t think it will make much of a difference what she eats unless its the rice that’s causing the diarrhea it so hard to work out what’s wrong cause they normally have a few health problems that’s when vets just say “oh it’s IBD” & give you a vet diet, also try white potatoes not sweet potatoes as sweet potatoes have more fiber fruit has fiber… I think she needs a very low fiber diet…
EPI dog cant digest fiber a lot of the dogs are eating the Taste Of The Wild Kibble cause the fiber is low 3 % or vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal has their fiber at 1.7% low residue kibble easy to digest…
I really think she needs some Metronidazole to get rid of the bad bacteria then when the bad bacteria has all gone away then you start a prebiotic like DigestaVite Plus-100 that keeps the bad bacteria away…… Gee your going to have a yukky Christmas worrying about your poor girl…I hope you get it sorted before Christmas you have just over 1 week everything closes then..