[pets c]

Hi i want you to read some of the very important posts of my blog. The things are very common in our homes and please check how vital role they play in your pet’s life.
1. Apple Cider Vinegar
How Apple Cider Vinegar can be Useful for Dogs

2. Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil Health Benefits for Dogs

3. Kefir
Health Benefits of Kefir for Pets
4. Eggs (there is a debate are eggs good or bad for pets, the article is simply an answer)
Are Eggs Good For Dogs!

Thanks

[aquariangt]

Treat parties for new commands and commands you struggle with are great! Nothing wrong with extra treats for something tough, I often make one little treat last forever (great for stays especially) mixing all those tactics together is great, and it’s good to keep me guessing. For old things I also move into treating every 2-4 times instead of every time, the. Two in a row, then skip a few, etc… When you are getting ready for the good citizen for example, you can’t have treats, so it’s good to get to that point without treats. And I see no problem with giving lots of high value treats for learning things, I don’t only pull them out a couple times in a session.

Unless any of you are planning on coming to Colorado for dog training, you aren’t clients that would normally pay me, so I have no problems sharing 🙂 ( I do however get loads of people mooching for free advice, mostly I don’t care but if it’s intensive, I’ll tell them to setup an appointment. The worst is people who call me about dog training that I don’t know from Adam, and ask me a million questions hoping for free answers, grr…) anyhow, off topic, you all are my internet dog friends so no worries.

Counter conditioning is quite simple, and exactly what it sounds like. Helping your dog not be afraid or anxious in a situation that puts them over threshold, causes fear, or is otherwise a hard position for them to be in. I do this the exact opposite way of what you see the dog whisperer do on tv ;-). I’ll use my sisters Westie for a really basic example with cars. He was terrified of them (can’t blame that eh?) but it was to the point where he would yank, bark, go crazy- unsafe really. So every time a car drove by, we worked on focusing on her, making her a pez dispenser, hand out as many treats as he would take, and reward when the car was gone. Clickers help with this as well. Eventually he got to the point where he could sit and focus without treats, and then click and treat party. Now she doesn’t even have to stop walking, but from time to time gives him a treat anyway. This tactic can be used for a lot of different counter conditioning, and I really like the clicker and having some shaping skills worked in for a lot of it as well

[Akari_32]

She very quickly loses interest in anything that doesn’t giver her immediate satisfaction LOL I’m pretty sure thats why she doesn’t like the Halo chews– because they’re too hard for her to chew, and she doesn’t get anywhere with them, so she gives up. The Denta Sticks are soft enough that she can eat them in a minute or so. I hope that once her teeth are dealt with, she’ll feel better. Just waiting on mom to have her half of the money for it.

I don’t know where I got the idea for it! But trachea is really high in glucosamine and stuff, and best of all, its not a bone, so no hard bone-poops LOL It fits in nicely with the raw meals I already have balanced out in the freezer :p

[pugmomsandy]

I’ve read from others where eating a fish based food causes an odor, even from good brands. Currently my mix does contain some fish, but it’s only 1/3 of their food. You can give the benefits of fish by just feeding some canned sardines (in water or oil, no salt added) a couple times a week.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Dori]

Susan. Once again, a dog with an inflammatory illness should not be eating foods with night shade plants. If you know and don’t feed Patch foods with potatoes why not have mentioned that to the original poster.

If you truly have issues with Marie and as you say, you just move along and mind your own business and avoid her then why didn’t you do that here on this thread in this forum? You and Marie are both entitled to your own opinions and experiences as we all are. I try very hard not to go head to head with anyone unless I think and truly believe that someone is giving someone else erroneous information that can forestall a dogs issues because they are here truly because they are looking for help and guidance. My issue on this thread with you is that you didn’t tell the woman that potatoes were probably not a good way for her to go with her dog. After all, you know enough that Patch shouldn’t be eating potatoes.

Personally my issues with you Sue 66, Susan, are when you give advice that can do more harm than good or not really hearing the pleas when someone is reaching out for help.

Mike……if you want to delete my post please go ahead. I try very hard, as you well know, as you all know, not to get into these tiffs. I typically try to mind my own business. But I really could not hold my tongue and I chose not to, knowingly and willingly.

[Dori]

Aimee. And I disagree with you. If you have an inflammatory illness, as I do, and inflammatory illness, as I do, having similar underlying attributes, as I do, the general advice is to avoid pro-inflammatory ingredients and supplements. Aimee you and I go back and forth on many issues but this one happens to be one that I am closely related to and completely informed on. I’m not only speaking of canines or animals but of all. Having an inflammatory illness since 1997 I know of what I speak. I don’t live somewhere in the boon docks and not knowing of what I speak. I have been to the best of the best around the world, not just the USA. All have told me the same thing in different languages as to their knowledge and experiences with inflammatory illnesses. Having a dog with allergies….again, I know of what I speak. I realize that you are well versed and researched on the areas of science which I will readily admit I know very little of in schooling and education. Not my interests. I know what I know from many years of experience and knowledge. Let’s leave this particular issue alone between the two of us. I’m coming from extreme personal experience, you’re coming from it from data. Very very different. I mean no disrespect Aimee as, if you know me at all from our posts back and forth, I have a great deal of respect for you and feel you are probably one of the smartest if not THE smartest person on this and other sites, but this is not an issue you want to go head to head with me. Let’s just drop it right here. I don’t want to stress myself which is not good for inflammatory illnesses and I have too much respect for Dr. Mike to put him in a position that he has to be put in the middle of this particular discussion.

[Missie]

Hello, I’ve been reading the reviews for quite a while now on the site and decided to join the forum. I have a one year old beagle named Maisie. I’m fairly new to the idea of rotational diet or changing up her food frequently. Currently, she is eating Merrick Healthy Weight dry food and occasionally, she will get some canned food mixed in. I have her on the Healthy Weight food primarily because I live in Iowa and we’ve had a very cold winter and I haven’t been able to get her out and exercise how as much as I would like and she’s gain some weight over the winter. According to the vet she should be about 25 pounds and she weighs 28 right now.

Anyway, I’ve noticed with trying different dry foods, she seems to do better during the transitional period (more energy, stools are healthy, non-stinky) than she seems to do once she has fully transitioned to a new food. For example with the Merrick, I’ve noticed her stools are well formed, but her poop is stinky. She hasn’t had any diarrhea on the Merrick, but she’s had a couple of loose stools that I believe was caused by something she picked up on our walks.

I was wondering if there would be any benefits of mixing two dry foods together for her meals? Instead of just sticking to one formula? Like 50 percent old food and 50 percent new food? Would there be any nutritional benefit to this? Or would this possibly cause an upset tummy?

[Dori]

Susan. I too can read and the OP did not mention IBD with regard to her dog in any way shape or form. She talked about her dog being itchy and oozy. Why would you recommend a food that works for Patch for his IBD be appropriate for her Boston Terrier that is itchy and oozy? I’m just curious as to the correlation of your reply and the OP’s problem.

I’m also wondering about your response to Marie. I’m quite sure Marie has quite an active life. What makes you think she’s checking your posts in particular. I’m sure, like all of us, we see threads in the forums and comments on the comment side and want to offer some help if we can. I’m sure that if you re-read your reply to Marie you will see that it was a bit discourteous. There is also no need for yelling as that is what all caps typically means on line.

I also wanted to mention that IBD, Pancreatitis and Allergies are all inflammatory conditions. No one and that includes animals that has any of these conditions should be eating foods from the night shade plants. Potatoes are night shade plants as are tomatoes, egg plants, and many others that can be googled on line. Night shade plants are pro-inflammatory.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Dori.

[james y]

I just used some puppy wormer from the grocery store. We fasted her for 24 hours and then treated her. Its been a week and shes already putting on some weight. She gets another does this weekend.

Im not really concerned about what the best food is. I just wanted something as good as the frozen food in dry form. One thing i can say about the biljac is theres alot less poo in the yard now and her coat is amazing!

We are on day three of the blue wilderness puppy food. She seems fine, but gassy like when she was on puppy chow. I guess its just something in puppy food

[Susan]

Hi sounds like your girl has IBD, I read on a link now I cant find it, it said you shouldn’t give dogs enzymes especially if they have a healthy gut, there 2 types of enzymes the plant enzymes or Porcine enzymes….I’d stop the kibble, my boy has IBD & has so many problems with kibbles, just finished trying another kibble & he was sooooo ill, bad acid reflux, now has a real sore throat from the acid reflux, vet wants him on just Turkey breast mince mix in 1 raw egg, then I make about 4 loaves & put on a baking tray & bake 20mins…just for 4-6 weeks to give his stomach a rest, I freeze section & also boil sweet potato boil pumkin & freeze, I boil some Quinoa as its gluten free,….he has stop scatching & his red paws have gone & the red under his chin has gone… I’m finding Patch needs a gluten free diet & has real bad food allergies that has caused his IBD & Colitis when he eats something that he’s allergic too, he has his bloody poos cause the food is irritating his bowel..look up gluten free & low residue foods & stick with those foods also don’t rotate too many foods as you wont know what is causing the itchy skin….
I have found foods that agrees with him & give for breakfast & dinner & something else that agrees with him for lunch & a late dinner, he has 4 small meals thru the day, we found this works best for Patch. also use Malaseb medicated shampoo I found to be the best…. Patch does not take any heartworm meds, he cant take any worm meds only Milbemax all wormer every 6months & I dread the day its due he eats grass the next day & feels sick all day but doesnt have diarrhea on the Milbemax, vet said its very mild, Patch can not use Advantage flea spot on… only Frontline plus, as Frontline only penetrates 2 layers of the skin, where other flea spot ons penetrate thru into their blood, Patch nilly died from Advantage…you name it Patch cannot take it, its all to do with his IBD…..
So I have learnt LESS IS BEST….

[james y]

Hello newb here looking for a little info.

First a little background
My 9 month old pitbull, maple has recently been having problems. She undoubtedly had worms and was scratching alot and losing hair. At first i was feeding her purina dog chow and she was doing fine. Then the wife brought home pedigree and thats when the hair loss started. So i instantly thought the dog had mange and began treating her for it. I also read that a raw diet would boost the immune system so i did that too. I fed her venison mostly, with raw eggs and gave her vitamins everyday. She cleared up and we started back with the unused portion of pedigree. Well she broke out in hives!

Ok so the dog is allergic to dog food…just my luck. A vet friend told me to try bil-jac frozen food so i did for a couple weeks. She was doing great on it! we got rid of the worms and shes putting on wieght and her coat is awesome! Although the frozen food isnt very convenient so i just googled best grain free dog food and found this site. I came across a name i recognized “blue buffalo” and this very site said it wss a five star food. So i purchased 20 pounds of the grain free wilderness red meat puppy food. It was pretty pricey, as a matter of fact i figure i could buy hamburger for $3 a pound but its so much easier than having to refrigerate or prepare raw food.

2 days into feeding and she seems to be doing just fine. I dont monitor poo, so i cant say anything about it.

Anyhow now im seeing all this bad stuff on the web about blue dog food….and something about a lawsuit with purina?? Is there any truth to these claims about the food hurting dogs or is it maybe a bunch of hired posters or something? If the stuff wasnt $60 a bag i would just throw it out and go back to the biljac.

[pugmomsandy]

First, pugs are always hungry and are vacuum cleaners. They pretty much eat anything and will seek out anything to eat. You can keep her on puppy food as they usually have more calories and she sounds quite energetic. Also a food made for puppies can be fed to adults as well and puppy kibbles are usually smaller. You want to feed her enough to keep her in a good body condition. There are several “Body Condition Score for dogs” on the internet to look at.

The pretty, best looking package is just marketing. If you look at a bag of Beneful which looks very good, turn the bag over and read the ingredients. You can also read the ingredients in the Reviews. I disregard any packaging art and just look at the ingredient list and guaranteed analysis which are usually in small print on the back or side of the bag. These are actually government regulated. The artwork is not.

I’ve had good experiences with ordering online dog food. I’ve only used Petflow so far but alot of folks use Chewy.

[Mieke v]

Our dog is on Honest Kitchen Zeal for pancreatitis and when researching it for that had read of folks who had lots of success on it for diabetes. I think that was maybe on Chewy.com where I read some of those. Maybe do a google search HK Zeal diabetes? I read on one post where one person’s dog was able to go down to half the medication dosage (for diabetes) after going on the HK. I also read that people w/dogs with diabetes will hydrate the food (HK is a dehydrated type) let sit for 10 min., then put it in a blender to break it up even more. Be warned, it is an uber expensive food! Due to its costs, and I am not sure if any food is good to give exclusively, we now have him on a rotation diet between the HK, Wellness Core (can) and Merrick Grain-free Wilderness (can). However, for us it save at least $500 in vet fees. Not to mentioned saved our beloved guy.

[Mieke v]

Hi Carol,

We also had pancreatitis symptoms in our dog and Honest Kitchen Zeal really did the trick. He was symptom-free almost immediately. I would recommend to let the food sit about 10 minutes prior to serving (or make ahead and refrig.). We now do a rotation of HK Zeal, Wellness Core, and Merrick Grain-free Wilderness. Three months in and he still has no symptoms. There is a website that lists many of the dry and canned foods and the fat content. It also explains about the information given by the manufacturers and how to figure fat content. I can’t speak to its validity, but it was helpful in pointing us to low-fat, high protein foods. Here is the link: http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjlowfatdiets.html In addition to the HK, on our vet’s advice, we did 10 mg of Famotidine with each meal (our dog weighs 55 lbs) for 2 weeks. You can pick it up at any grocery or drug store. Of course, you’d want to check with your vet first to make sure there are no contra-indications and for the dosage. As you probably already know, fasting is a thing of the past with treatment for pancreatitis and several small meals a day for the first days is the current approach. Good luck! It is so hard – I did weeks of research and I am a research scientist by trade! I hope you find something that works well for your little one.

[Aspen A]

Hi, SamD, Aspen here with Steve’s Real Food (for full disclosure). Rotating is good – you wouldn’t expect your kids to eat the same thing all day every day, and dogs should have variety, too. If you can’t afford raw all the time then switching back and forth would be fine, but if you can, completely eliminating kibble would be best – it sounds like you are already seeing the difference in how they react between kibble and raw, and it is because raw is so much healthier. You just want to make sure he is getting all the trace minerals he needs, and if he is a pup with lots of energy, proteins with higher fat content are better to help him maintain his energy and weight. Good luck to you!

[Keith F]

Hi, I have a cocker spaniel who’s about 3 years old and he’s had a ton of stomach issues and is a very picky eater. Our Vet recently had us only feed him rabbit based wet/dry food which really seems to be working. We were using Royal Canin from the vet but I got mixed reviews from a few pet shop owners about that brand so I recently changed over to Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain-Free Rabbit Meal Formula Dry Dog Food which he seems to like but I need suggestions on a wet food now. I looked into the Nature’s Variety Instinct wet version but it’s very pricey and I was hoping not to spend $4.50 a can unless I really have to. I’ve been trying to do research to find a good nutitional mix that might cost a little less and Evangers Game Meats Rabbit came up. I’ve never heard much about them before and I was hoping someone could tell me from a nutitional standpoint if this is a good food to mix with the dry food I already have if there’s any other suggestions out there. Worst case I can stick with the Royal Canin wet rabbit food but I’d figured I’d ask since I’m new to this site. Thanks – Keith

[Dori]

Aimee.
Sorry, I must learn to thoroughly read original posts. I sometimes skim read and I just focused on the part of the dog having stones. I thought he was asking for help with a diet for a dog that has or had stones.

Tom. I agree with you completely on the ingredients in the foods that vets prescribe. I understand that there may be some animals out there that will benefit from them but I’ve had many dogs in my life and have never come across one of them needing one of those diets. Not to say that I haven’t been asked by vets to feed one or another of them through the years. I just politely let them know that I appreciate their advice and I’ll think about it. This vet that I’ve had for 13 years knows that I feed commercial raw diets so none of the vets in the practice or the techs ask me anymore what I feed my dogs. Dr. Susan Wynn is a nutritionist that has seen my 15 1/2 year old Maltese when she was diagnosed with very high liver levels, then a tumor in her bladder and then a mass on the lobe of one of her lungs. All those were discovered early last Spring. At that point Dr. Wynn suggested that I put Hannah on Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Diet because it is HPP and if Hannah’s immune system was working hard with all that was going on with her she didn’t want her to be exposed to any unnecessary bacteria. I feed a rotational diet with all three of my dogs and Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Food was already in their diets. I continued to keep with my rotational feeding of commercial raw foods as I have for the last three years. Some are HPP and some are not. Actually most are not. Typically poultry is what is put under HPP and I don’t feed any poultry because one of my girls is highly intolerant of all fowl. I also don’t feed white potatoes or any night shade plants because they are pro inflammatory. April will be a year that she was diagnosed. To the delight of all, she remains asymptomatic to bladder or lung cancer. Her liver levels are back down in the normal range. (The elevated liver levels were discovered in last Spring’s blood work during her annual physical which is what started the initial visit to Georgia Veterinary Specialists where Dr. Wynn practices and was one of her doctors). I did add a few supplements to Hannah’s diet manufactured by Standard Process. She is regularly monitored and her blood work comes back normal. Her titers are all really good also. Her vet and I decided last year that due to the cancer only titers will be done for her for the rest of her life which I pray is for many many more years. Hannah is the picture in my avatar that was taken last year.

[Susan]

Hi Tom, this is the answer, I got from my vet 4 months ago when I kept trying premium kibbles for my dog Patch & Patch would become ill again with his IBD so I had to go back to the vet diets…
why vets back these vet diets is they have proven to the vets that their diets do work, Hills Science Diet, its in their name SCIENCE…..Hills have proven with science & done so many studies & tests on real animals with certain illnesses, that their vet prescription diet does work, vets are into science & what is proven so they believe in their diets, (Poor dogs that are tested) for Bladder problems, Pancreatitis, or IBD etc, they formulate a special diet that you can not buy over the counter at pet shops, that’s why it has a prescription.. don’t get me wrong I’m not for Vet Diet foods, I’m always arguing with vets until John my old vet said all this to me…. Sometimes when your dog is so ill you need these vet diets just to get them thru until your dog is strong & healthy enough to start on a different diet, people seem to think, OH the dog has IBD just feed him more fiber, wrong, dogs with IBD normally need less fiber & there’s no premium dog food out there that has real low fiber 1% as a vet diet has…. some illness do require a vet diet like EPI or SIBO these illness need real low fiber diets & some dogs need a low fat diet & low fiber diet…. Premium dog foods are made for healthy dogs not sick dogs…some people see a weight loss kibble that is low in fat & buy it cause its low in fat, then wonder why their dog was up all night with diarrhea ….normal premium weight loss diets normally have very high soluble fiber to keep the dog full so they aren’t hungry…where a vet prescription diets will be low fat & have the proper fiber in their diets…

Maybe in 10-20year these vet diet companies will start to improve their diets & add better ingredients…I asked a Hills rep about their crappy ingredients, he said they have already started improving their foods with their new Ideal Balance range, I said, yeh but the whole Ideal Balance range is Chicken for protein or potatoes & I said, why you use chicken & potatoes is cause they’re cheap & your still into making profit over the animals health, I said what about the animals that cant eat chicken or potatoes ?? he had no answer… I said why didn’t Hills use sweet potatoes & duck or turkey cause it’s toooo dear & there will be no profit..

[Susan]

Oh, I forgot to mention the fat% in wet food seems lower but when converted to dry matter (Kibble) its high for example 4% fat in wet tin food is around 22% fat when converted, if it was a kibble, that’s why I have to cook, if you live America you have lower fat% in wet food, then I have in Australia.. your best to get 2% fat & under for wet tin food, the Wellness Complete Health Senior has the lowest at 3% fat in the wet, or the “Wellness Petite Entrees Mini Filets” only the ones in gravy are 2% fat..

Have you have a Endoscope & Biopsies done for the Helicobacter? I found with the Helicobacter all the ant acid don’t work…. Zantac worked the best for Patch also, Zantac doesn’t affect the bowel, where Losec affects the bowel & gave Patch bad wind pain & sloppy greenie/black poos…..another thing I’ve just read on Dr Karen Becker site about fiber & prebiotics don’t use kibbles with Prebiotics Beet Pulp, FOS, a lot of vet diets use Beet Pulp & FOS & MOS… for a healthy dog with a healthy Gut, prebiotics are good but for a dog with GI problems Prebiotics can make things worse, another reason Patch was taken off kibble…The link has been put up on the Face Book group…

There’s a group on Face Book called “Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disorder” a few dogs on that site have bad acid reflux & stomach problems, the group was called, “Dogs with Stomach & Bowel problems” but the name was changed about 3 months ago..

[Christine U]

Hi everyone,
I seriously need advice.
I’ve been to regular vets and holistic vets.
I have a 4 year old Parsons Terrier/Shitz Tsu mix with bad GI issues. He’s had so many tests and it seems to be food related. We’ve tried so many foods and right now he’s on Royal Canin White Fish and Potato both wet and dry. He still has the occasional ‘gulping’ type issue but no diarrhea or vomiting.
Recently I found Grandma Z’s grain free fish and potato and he loves that and the ingredients seem to be a bit better than Royal Canin.
Here’s my issue. First…I’m ALWAYS open to finding the best food I can for him but we are getting ready to RV full time. My concern is finding his food on the road. Every vet has to order it and it can take 1-2 weeks. I plan to carry a lot with us, but I know there are so many new grain free foods out there. Maybe there’s one I haven’t heard of.
Any tips, advice, recommendations?
Thanks so much!
Christine

[theBCnut]

I grew my own grass fed beef. I’ve read that dog food companies can get grass fed beef because there are cuts that people don’t want if they are paying that much for beef. Also, if it doesn’t sell by it’s “sell by date,” it can go in dog food.

[Akari_32]

Ginger just sneezed on her way up the dog steps, and now there’s dog boogers all over the steps and couch. She sneezes all the time, ever since I got her, but this is the first time I’ve seen any snot come out. Last night I cleaned some mystery gook off the book I had on the couch near where she was laying, and now I can only assume is was dog boogers. Her nose also appears, after this sneezing fit, to now be openly running. She had her head down on the couch just now, and then went to readjust and the couch is wet where her nose was. How long would it be ok to leave this be before seeing the vet? I mean, it could just be allergies, right? But if she’s got something, a doggy cold or whatever, are the other dogs and cat likely to get it?

[crazy4cats]

Akari-
I’m sorry to report that we are having record breaking warm weather. We have been up over 60 degrees the last few days. It is very unusual. Everything is confused. The frogs are croaking, the birds are singing, and flowers are trying to bloom already. Crazy! Our mountain ski resorts are sure suffering though.

Anyway, stopped at Del’s and there was no grain free canned yet. Just as well, I didn’t have my readers and wouldn’t be able to read the labels anyway! Picked up some canned cat food and litter. BDog, I think you told me that you like their house brand litter. I’m going to give it a shot. I also got some fresh cedar chips for the dogs’ kennel. They smell great in our warm spring weather!

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! I guess it’s been a while since I’ve updated this thread!

All in all, Ginger continues to do well on her new diet and with life in general. She’s been in much better spirits, and appears to be in less pain and is able to get around better.

I’ve also noticed, since starting her new diet, that she’s been learning things, particularly, she’s figuring out that the faster she gets to her cage (or some times Bentleys cage if hers isn’t around LOL in which case, I have to lure her out and into her bed), the faster she gets to eat. She’s also learning that when Bentley gets his harness on, we are going for a walk and that gets her all excited and she runs to door as fast as she can and scratches at it and rings the bell. These are just two examples. All that fish oil is good for the brain, I suppose lol

Today, however, she has been in a down right nasty mood. Not sure what her problem is. I was talking to mom on the phone on my way home from work, and she had both of them in her bed and she kept complaining that ginger was growling at her every time mom moved or tried to touch her or move her. Mom also said she was staring off into space, and had a hard time better her “back.” Then, a little bit ago, I went to get her out of moms bed to take her out and put her in her cage, and when I took the covers off her, she lunged at me tried to bite me. I had to scoop her up using my whole arm to support her body while holding her scruff as tightly as I could to keep her from turning around and biting me until she calmed down enough for me to release her onto the floor and put her leash on.

So, on one hand, Ginger is happy and doing great, and is associating walks and dinner time with certain routines, but at the same time, she’s showing some sever symptoms of dementia, and they’re quite sudden and dramatic. Walks are definitely keeping her in a better mood over all, and her food is helping with cognitive function to a certain degree, as well as helping her joints and pain, but I’m still fighting a losing battle with dementia. I really hope these bad mood swings do not lead to a safety issue with the other animals in the house, not to mention the effect they could lead to with her over all quality of life. We all know where both of those lead, and thays a one way ticket….

For now, they’re just short phases. I’m not going to get myself down about it just yet. She’s a happy little dog 95% of the time, so long as that keeps up, I’m happy for her enough to make up that 5%, then some 🙂 Not a day goes by that I see her running at the end of her leash and think “How could anyone give up on this dog? How could anyone not want her?”

[lovemypuppy]

Thanks everyone for all the good information!

First let me say, I’m in my late 30’s and this is the first dog I’ve owned, lived with, or cared for. Not trying to use that as an excuse, it is what it is, but I’m definitely having a steep learning curve, and unfortunately it’s at the expense of my pup 🙁

I don’t know she has a food allergy or any type of allergy, but given her breed (Boston Terrier), finickiness, weight loss, red eyes, tear stains, brittle and dry fur, dry itchy skin, missing fur on her hind legs and behind her ears, and a few small scabs from scratching, I felt like it made sense to try to switch to raw with minimal ingredients in hopes of improving her overall health and identifying any potential allergens.

Unfortunately, I didn’t come to this conclusion until after giving her WAY TOO MANY different types of animal proteins (kibble, wet, freeze dried, toppers, etc.) while trying to find a food (and training treat) she’d settle on. I’m sure it didn’t help that she also went through quite a few different foods with the breeder when she was having a hard time weaning.

At this point, I’m not sure it would be possible for me to pinpoint a specific food that might be causing her skin and fur issues. The animal proteins she’s had the most of are chicken, beef, and turkey. Also, most of her symptoms were present before I started switching her food around and giving her novel animal proteins. So, if I had to take a guess, I would say she is having a hard time with turkey, chicken, and maybe lentils (they gave her horrid gas, anyway).

At this point, she’s been on the commercial raw for about a week and I’m seeing dramatic improvement. She still has tear stains, but I imagine that will take time (to grow out) and diligence on my end (wiping her face). She has gained weight and filled out, her coat is not nearly as dry (even shiny towards her back/spine) and her skin flaking and itchiness has lessened.

Given her overall improvement, I’m not inclined to switch her food yet again, especially if I can just stick with this for 10 weeks and see where she is at then (and if need be do more of a true elimination diet). I will stop the catfish skins (bummer) and try to find some type of low fat duck chew. I have sweet potato chews but she doesn’t really like them … they seem to crumble up and are more crunchy than chewy. Maybe if that’s her only choice though, she’ll learn to enjoy them 🙂

@DogFoodie, have you looked at Nordic Naturals Pet Collection? They use pharmaceutical grade, molecularly distilled fish oil, using sardine and anchovy oil or cod liver oil. Their pet line is pretty much the same as their human line with the exception of tocopherols as the preservative rather than rosemary extract. Just a thought.

If you read all of this, you rock! Sorry it’s so long and again thanks to all for offering your valuable insight!

[lovemypuppy]

I’m just learning about this today. I’m new to dogs as my first ever is just a small puppy right now, but I’m wanting to be well read for our next vet appointment. What I like about Interceptor is, (according to the FDA) the minimum effective dose to prevent heart worm is just 0.1mg per kg. Of course, the milbemycin oxime at this low of a dose won’t do a thing for intestinal worms, but I don’t like the idea of treating for things that aren’t necessarily an issue. I looked everywhere online to purchase it and couldn’t find it anywhere, then realized it was discontinued. I did find a site that claims to have the same drug/medication from the same manufacturer but labeled for different countries for sale. I didn’t feel comfortable trusting that, so am happy to learn Elanco will be bringing this product back in the spring! My puppy is 11 weeks now, so I hope we can go straight to it without having to use something else 🙂

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Don..

To me, it sounds like the dog is getting ready to bloat. I am guessing the vet was suggesting tacking the stomach? Bloat is an emergency, bloat with stomach torsion is a killer. Unfortunately there is no definitive cause, but deep chested and large breeds are more prone to it and many have a genetic factor. If this is the case I can not imagine how food would stop the issue.

As for the Retriever I would change that if for no other reason then it’s very poor quality.

Melissa

Find out what kind of surgery was recommended.

[david c]

i’m getting an irish wolfhound puppy in a week or two, i’ve had two wolfhounds and they were both raised on Iams. The first lived to she was almost 12yr and the second 7yrs and came down with a cancer called angiosarcoma but she had issues with changes in her stool regularly. I’ve been reading about dog foods and now i’m so confused about which food to use with all the different ingredents and so many different brands, brands that i never heard of or seen before in the pet stores in my area and i’m just wondering if i should just feed her real store bought food to elminate reading labels and all the guess work in what percentage of protein,fats, and carbohydrates exist and where they came from. Its way too much work. Can you feed a puppy home cooked food?

[Dori]

Hi Kimberly C. It sounds as though your dog is having food intolerances/sensitivities. First off he should be on grain free foods. Avoid corn, soy, white potatoes, rice and all poultry. That’s for starters. You also mention that your dog has seizures. Very important is to avoid any foods that contain rosemary in any form.

I have three small dogs all of which are on commercial raw dog foods. One of my girls has a multitude of food intolerances which is what led me on the road to raw feeding about three years ago. I started by eliminating all the ingredients I mentioned above. I feed commercial raw foods. I’m not inclined to make my own because, well…. truth be told I just don’t feel like doing it. Here is the list of commercial raw food companies that I have researched to death over the years and that I trust. Primal Raw Pronto, Primal Raw Formulas (these are Primal’s complete and balanced foods…you don’t have to add anything to them in the way of supplements). Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Dog Foods, Vital Essential Raw Foods, OC Raw Dog Food, Answer’s Detailed Raw Frozen. I also from time to time have on hand their freeze dried foods (they’re raw and you can feed as is without hydrating). As for dehydrated foods, the only one I use is The Honest Kitchen’s Zeal formula. The others contain some type of poultry or white potatoes that I choose not to feed. I feed what is called a rotational diet. I rotate different brands and different proteins within the brands with the exception of any and all poultry. I also do not feed any commercial treats. For the most part they all contain some sort of grain and there have been way too many recalls of dog treats for me to take a chance with my dogs. For treats I feed them little pieces of fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I puree them. Sometimes they’re cooked from our dinner. For the most part since I use them as treats for them I’m not particularly concerned about how much nutritional value they get from the fruits and veggies. The enjoy them, as they would a commercial treat, and that is my intent in giving them to them. If they get some nutritional value from them, even a little, that’s great; if not, that’s not the purpose I give them the treats. Of course you know you can go on google and just google what fruits and vegetables you can feed your dogs or go in reverse and type in what fruits and veggies you should not be feeding your dogs. Always, of course avoid onions, grapes, raisins. As for fruits, never feed anything that still has it’s pit or seeds. They tend to be toxic. As for apples I always don’t feed the peel. Apples are sprayed continuously to detract worms. They are also highly waxed to appear pretty for the consumer. I think I read somewhere, but don’t now remember where, that the skin of an apple has more bacteria than any other fruit on the market. That would probably hold true for cucumbers on the market due to the same reasons. I feed both but I peel them. Hope any of this has helped you. If you have any other questions, please ask.

Please remember to check any and all foods you feed your seizure dog so that you avoid rosemary in any form. Studies have shown (in people so far as no study has been done in animals as of yet) that if one has a predisposition to seizures, rosemary can trigger a seizure.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Dori.

[Lyndel M]

Hi Gloria,

Yes, there is certainly a lot of confusion amongst the raw and the cooked dog food camps. I have been reading heaps about it. Those in the raw food camp put forward for the raw food diet. I shall do my best to summarise a few of the key points that are important to me. First, they say that the dog’s metabolism has changed very little from the wolves, the original wild dogs. They suggest that when we provide our dogs with the right proportions of meats, organ meats, vegetables, fruit matter and bones, they’re digestive systems have the best chance of exacting the nutrients they need for shiny coats, healthier skin and teeth, stronger bones, and decreased chances of modern-day ailments and diseases that dogs in the wild rarely if ever have. Some of these ailments include itching, skin irritations, including dryness, fleas, hip dysplasia and arthritis.

In the other camp, there is some criticism of the raw diet saying that giving a dog only food i.e., meats risks feeding contaminated food, that people don’t take enough care in raw food preparation, that dogs today have evolved to adjust to modern (cooked, commercial) food and that dogs are at moderate – high risk of injuries from bone which become lodged in the throat or gut.

I am definitely against using any commercial dog foods. There are some great you-tube documentaries disclosing the shocking truth about the poor quality of nutrition of kibble and canned dog foods and the associated illnesses. In addition, that most Vets receive very little real knowledge of nutrition in their veterinarian studies and are just as influenced by the unregulated marketing and commercial dog food producers as GPs are by drug companies.

Regardless, Jean Hofve & Celeste Yarnall “Paleo Dog” is one book that has been recommended provide excellent information for providing your dog with all of the information needed to provide our dogs with all of the nutrients required and how to do so, if we want to go down the raw food pathway. Also there is the BARF raw foods that you can purchase and other online info about this pathway. And there are heaps of recipes for cooking our dogs food as well. Andi Brown “The Whole Pet Diet: 8 wks to great health for dogs and cats”, which is also excellent for going down the cooked food pathway. They both recommend certain supplements and they both provide enough evidence to suggest that just like for humans, if we give our pets fresh wholesome, organic foods (either raw or cooked) we will be doing our beloved pets a great service.

Given I have been a passionate advocate of healthy, unprocessed foods for more 40years, I certainly want to extend this to my pet. People on this post have just been concerned that I was being cruel to our new puppy for placing his food into chewtoys. However, I made the mistake of saying that we would be putting all of his daily foods into chewtoys, whereas that won’t be the case. But I will definitely using chewtoys together with crate training, self-soothing, stimulation and entertainment as I mentioned in my previous post. I am definitely not an expert, but a concerned pet owner who has done lots and lots of reading in order to do the best by our new puppy in terms of nutrition and training. All the best!! :0)

[Akari_32]

Listen! At this point, it’s too late for winter weather, my brains already ready for warm, spring weather LOL Anything below 60 is just not right LOL But you can come over! Party at my house! 😀

I do like Arm and Hammer, as well, both lines, other than how powdery it is and the smell (smells are a no-no in my house, especially flowery ones. Gives us headaches). The black box ones are so expensive here, though. $13 for a small box at the grocery store! AND I’m pretty sure they’re less than 10 lbs. They have a new light weight one, so keep an eye out for coupons, and sales!

[Naturella]

Thank you, Marie, D_O, and Dori!

Ok, so we were just going to do a day trip… But I found a REALLY affordable offer for a pet-friendly hotel DOWNTOWN (2 miles from the Aquarium, 3 miles from the River Boat), so I booked a room. If we decide not to stay, as long as we call before check-in time, they won’t charge us. I am pumped though! This way we can see a bit more of Chattanooga and do more, plus have our baby with us sometimes! It is our first anniversary and I feel like we deserve a tiny little splurge, like a weekend trip! We never had a honeymoon anyway, lol, so here it is! 😀

I am pretty excited, but done hogging the thread! Thank you all for the kind wishes! 🙂

[losul]

I started this thread almost a year ago as way to receive much needed advice and info, as I was hit with an unexpected bombshell, and needed to learn quickly all that I could. I didn’t even know very much about heartworms at the time. I’m forever grateful to all those who provided loads of info and advice, and all kind words of support, thoughts and best wishes. At the same time I wanted to chronicle everything I learned in a manner as objective as possible, not only for my own useful purposes of reviewing, but also hopefully for others it could possibly help that found themselves in the same predicament. I wanted to weigh everything I could, learn as much as I could, do all I could, so that I could arrive at the best decision I could make. I stand by my own personal decision. This was never a clear cut decision, it was NEVER simply one way is right and one way is wrong. There are way too many VERY important factors to weigh. The issue itself is way too important and serious, and dogs health and lives can be at risk. If my dogs condition warranted the other method, I would most definitely have used it. But I’ll NEVER try to promote a particular method as a blanket statement.

The events of the last several days showed this thread was no longer where I intended it to go. What happened to facts and objectivity? I’d never take sides in there is only one right way, and only one wrong way, there isn’t IMO, there is no one size fits all. I’ve had Turbo’s results since yesterday, again I know I made the right decision for us, no one else. I’ve now had to come to another VERY hard decision. I’ve decided NOT to post them in public.

Glenna, if you could ask Dr Sagman to forward your EM address to mine, and he would be so kind to do so, I am more than willing to discuss with you.

[l0vx3]

So I’ve been reading Dog Food Advisor for awhile now and reading peoples’ comments and suggestions, but there are just too many options for me. I have two dogs: a 2 year old 60 pound pitbull and a 7 month old 4 pound chihuahua.

I’ve been feeding them Victor Dog Food. It’s sold right by my house and it’s a great price for the quality. I have SOO many questions I’d love to ask. But I’ll try to keep it to a minimum lol.

For my two dogs, which Victor foods specifically would be best for each of them? I do not show, breed, or exercise either of them intensely. The chihuahua obviously has more energy than the pitbull, but the pitbull has amazing stamina.

Could someone who knows a lot about each compare and contrast each of them or the best ones? I’m confused about “atwater figures” so is one better than the other in terms of protein/fat/carb ratios? I’m not even sure how much of each a dog is supposed to have?

Also, after comparing and choosing the best ones, should I rotate some of them? Is water added to dry kibble? Is there any best way to feed dry kibble? Should it be mixed with canned food? If so, how much? AHHhh please just tell me as much as you can haha. Thank you!

[Barbara]

naturella sorry i just reread my post that i had posted in the middle of the night when i was in pain and could not sleep…i did not mean to sound like you or anyone else who collects coupons are wasting their time. i just can’t believe that you had to go through that hassle the clerks gave you! i forget that not everyone has big dogs like i have and orders 2 30# bags every 3 weeks! i just find it easier to order on chewy.com where for the last 2 months i have been ordering 30# bags of castor and pollux grain free ultramix duck for only 49.99 and their grain and poultry free ultramix salmon for 47.99. compared to other on-line sites and dog food stores like petco and petsmart these prices are very good because i need to get the large bags and i don’t have to carry 30# bags to my car all the time! i do rotate their dry kibble and have ordered other brands from chewy that have good ratings on dfa and are grain free…i think i have been ordering from chewy now for at least 3 years… i also occasionally drive a ways to a county feed store to get victor dog food especially their grain free joint health which has beef in it so they do get a variety of kibble along with lightly cooked meats and veggies. my 14 yr old border collie/flat coat mix also gets kirkland’s natures domain canned turkey and peas from costco rated 5 star and only 20 dollars for 24 cans! i do realize that coupons are good when you have the time to search for them and need smaller size bags then i do…so do take care and happy coupon hunting and thanks for sharing them with others! 🙂

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Barbara.

[Barbara]

naturella sweetie how many puppies do you have anyway? i was completely lost reading about this coupon transaction! is it really worth it? i am just about 70 years young and i have found over the last several years why waste your life collecting coupons? i don’t go on the site much lately because i broke my right shoulder mis-stepping over one of my dogs that never in her 12 years has ever jumped up when you step over her 80 lbs until this one time!! ugh! what luck! i am already retired and supposed to be getting our home ready to go on the market here in kansas so we can move to northwestern Washington where our grandchildren live…my husband(who still works for now) says i broke my shoulder so that i could just supervise while he does all the work! i was always good at supervising…:o)

i have 3 dogs 1 is 50 lbs, and 2 that are almost 80 lbs each but it is so much easier and really cheaper to order on-line or go to a county feed store…i personally have been ordering from chewy.com because the have great prices much better on 4 and 5 star kibble then petsmart or petco has even with coupons and with no hassle! relax and do something for you… walk your pets 2-3 times a day instead of shopping but don’t break anything…take care

[Gloria K]

As you already know I make all of my dogs food and treats I have a problem and hoping someone knows the answer. The first two or three times I made treats I used wheat flour. The biscuits and cookies came out perfect just like regular cookies do. However I noticed my dog developed a very red rash on the inside of his thighs. I wondered if it could have been a wheat allergy so I stopped using wheat and started using coconut and rice flours instead. About a week later the rash went away. Two or three weeks later I gave him a wheat flour cookie just to see what would happen and the rash came back so looks like he may indeed have a wheat allergy.
The biscuits and cookies that I make him now are very dry. I’ve cut back on the amount of rice and coconut flour as someone suggested using 1/4 to 1/3 cup to the recipe calling for one cup of wheat or whole wheat flour. Has anyone used these flours and if so do you have the same problem with dryness that I have? Is there a solution to this? What am I doing wrong and what can I do to fix it?

[Naturella]

Let’s see if I can explain it – you go to photobucket.com, set up an account, then upload your photos there. Then go to Library (where your photos are), and when you click on a picture, on the right hand side there will be different options on how to post it. I use the HTML one (but the IMG one will work too) – just click on the code and it automatically copies, then come and paste it in your comment on here and your pic will appear after you submit your comment. This will make more sense if you read it while actually using Photobucket, lol.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Naturella.

[losul]

have limited time now, can’t get into much a discsussion, The 4x HW tickborne was considerable cheaper when included in the complete bloodwork package which is sent to an an outside lab, so rather thanm have them do the 4X inhouse and sending the rest out, I’m waiting day to find out all results tommorrow. The courier picks up today, and results should be ready tommorrow, he probably won’t call me until late. Per the vet, heart and lungs sound great, lungs sound clear. Condition appears excellent. He told me not change anything I was doing, barring any kind of problems and he is quite aware of his to activity’s. have more advantage multi now, but haven’t made an exact decision yet going forward, show know more tommorrow when vet calls with results. Dori, for Turbo, I’m not sure I could ever confidently use ivermectin again for preventative, whether it was all my fault, or whether it is really a resistant strain, I’ll never completely know, otherwise I’d likely be using it going forward, once negative test results. We still have bad mosquitos here. The swamp” land on the adjoining property still has yet too be fixed.

Aimee, I disagree on that. I had all W.E. to sit on this, and tone things down, and I did tone it down, as as much as I can get. Yes, she stated as being unsure about the exact average lifespan, but she stated those other sentences as fact, when in fact, it is FALSE, I would never do such a thing, and I will never try to wrongly influence someone, and especially with a matter important. In fact, I’m not trying to influence anyone period, that should be quite clear. Then her superfluous, unfounded last sentance as a kick in the teeth. Anyway it’s over, I can’t dwell anymore on it, or waste anymore time on it.

I have read a little about the antigen/antibody thing, especially in just the last few days. I meant to ask the vet about, and want too look into further. HJust a couple quick thoughts though, there is a lot of oppostion to making anything easy in the pharmaceutical world, especially with so much money involved. There are even Heartworm scary commercials about. Antigen tests have gotten more sensitive, not less. If it were completely true then how could you ever even tell for sure whether a dog ever were to became infected in the first place? Don’t know, Gotta go for now…..

[aimee]

Losal,

I didn’t read Mellissaandcrew’s comment as trying to be anything but informative. She did preface it by saying she has fallen behind on research.

Each person has to decide for themselves what is the best course of treatment. When faced with the decision there is no way to know what I’d actually do. Certainly with a new dog, one that hadn’t been on a good prevention program or any dog with any signs of heartworm disease, I’d use immiticide. I think if my dogs currently came up heartworm positive I would likely use Immiticide. They are active dogs and from what I’ve read the lung/artery damage is most evident in an active dog when undergoing “slow kill”. I wouldn’t want to exercise restrict, potentially for years, until the worms were gone.

But I could also see myself as reasoning that they have been on preventative, likely have a low worm burden and consider “slow kill”. Immiticide isn’t 100% and even after treatment it is still possible to have worms remain.

With slow kill I may fret more in regards to “are they really gone”? This can be a concern with any method of removal but I read that when using slow kill method dogs may revert to a negative antigen test but still be worm positive. This is because of antibody formation that ties up antigen. http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/symbiosis-parasitology-heartworm-recommendations-updated?rel=canonical

I hope to never be faced with having to make that decision, it would be heart wrenching. I do all I can do to prevent HWD by giving my dogs heartworm preventative once a month all year round.

Wishing only the best for you and Turbo.

[losul]

I think its pretty well established that the average natural lifespan of adult HW’s is about 5 or so years. “adult worms that may live for five to seven years in dogs.”- American Heartworm Society. Even devout opponents of using slow kill, usually say that it can take UP TOO 2 Years for the adults to die using ivermectin as a slow kill. UP TO 2 YEARS- I would ask, is is that the average lifespan of 5 to seven years? They can say it doesn’t kill HW’s if they want ( I call it slow killing them), but there IS evidence that it significantly shortens their lifespans, and evidence that they can be gone in much less time than 2 years. Yet above is an unsubstantiated, unreferenced claim that;

“it does nothing to kill the adults. Without Immitricide, the present adult worms will continue to cause damage to the heart and circulatory system until the natural expiration of its life cycle.”

Well here’s some more of my research.t;

Here’s an important study titled, “COMBINED IVERMECTIN AND DOXYCYCLINE TREATMENT has microfilaricidal and ADULTICIDAL activity against Dirofilaria immitis in experimentally infected dogs.” and the conclusion, “RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE COMBINATION OF THESE TWO DRUGS CAUSES WORM DEATH. This could have important implications for control of human and animal filarial infections.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18433753

a third; “Reduction of adult worms was 20.3% for IVM, 8.7% for DOXY, 92.8% for IVM + DOXY + MEL, 100% for MEL, and 78.3% for IVM + DOXY.”
“Preliminary observations suggest that administration of DOXY+IVM for several months prior to (OR WITHOUT) MEL WILL ELIMINATE HW with less potential for severe thromboembolism than MEL alone.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18930598

To try to keep balanced, and not to be takenm lightly, a bit older and a negative study, warning of using ivermectin alone or ivermectin with praziquantal as a SOLE treatment too dogs with with clinical, radiographic or echocardiographic evidence of heartworm disease. Some of the dogs radiographs or electrocardiographs indicated increased evidence of disease during the study, The conclusion of that study- “Thus, monthly administration of IVM to dogs with CLINICAL, RADIOGRAPHIC or ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC evidence of heartworm disease is ILL ADVISED and SUCH TREATMENT OF EVEN THE ASYMPTOMATIC DOG SHOULD BE DONE ONLY WITH MUCH CAUTION AND FREQUENT MONITORING BY THE VETERINARIAN”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15381305

Immiticide (melarsomine dihydrochloride) has les side effects and mortalities than the elder chemical. There hasn’t been shown immediate liver or kidney damage, but is STILL A VERY POTENT ARSENIC compound, I don’t believe anyone can say for certain what LT effects aor damages it could have. Immiticide “Melarsomine dihydrochloride is an organic arsenical chemotherapeutic agent.” Merial themselves state that immiticide has a low margin of safety. Plus, in their own clinical trials, 5.2% of dogs in stage 1 and stage 2 died following treatment. 18.2% of class 3 dogs died following treatment. In a further smaller trial, 33.33% of class 3 dogs died. Many of the mortalities and side effects a surely reduced much further with the use of powerful steroids. My vet would have given along with each of the series of 3 immiticide injections, 3 injections of dexamethasone, a powerful steroidal drug that can in itself have serious consequences, and tramadol for pain, with a strict confinement total of 60 days and three nights and 3 days hospitalization. That’s his protocol assuming there were no complications. These were hard but researched decisions for me too make, and I’m sure fro anyone else in these shoes. Again my dog is asymptomatic, shows no clinical signs, or pertinent radiographical signs of heartworm disease. He still does or did have a HW infection. I do my best to keep my dog healthy, did everything I could too best make decisions, and I’m not going top feel guilt for not subjecting him to (what I believe is needlessly in Turbo’s case ) to trauma and harsh, damaging, life threatening chemicals. The money for us was no factor. To make it clear, I believe in many cases, melarsomine SHOULD, be used, and in some, I understand why it is used, and also who sometimes it CAN’T be used.

I have hopes, but no expectations one way or the other for Turbo’s upcoming HW test results. The only expectation I have is that his complete exam, his CBC, and if need be, another xray, will continue to indicate good health. I had already made the determination some time ago that I was going to be able to rest in peace, no matter + or – reading, as long as Turbo remains healthy and free of heartworm disease and as ALL the evidence currently shows. I know I made the right choice for us. My vet wanted to wait for a full year for retesting, as he knows the worms need be gone for about 6 months for the antigens to be non detectible. That would mean the worms would have already had to have been gone already around 6 months ago, so about 5 months after starting A.P., not a very long time, especially since the moxidectin takes 3 to 4 applications to build up to full plasma potency.

If Melissa’s intent was was to inflict hurt, disturbance, dismay, guilt, or just to promote antagonism, then I guess I can give her the pleasure of knowing she had much of intended effect, but not guilt. I made an appointment for Turbo tommorrow, (soon to be today) a few weeks ahead of time, and he will get his HW re-test, blood work and exam.

I’m disturbed of the purpose of Melissas statement, and honestly I fail to find anything helpful or useful, in it. Instead, I find unsubstantied and inaccuracies. Unlike her, I extensively researched everything I could, and with the help of many others, to make important educated decisions, some of it documented throughout this thread. I’m sure my my research extended well beyond, and still do. I took this very seriously, still do, I’m never one to just throw damaging drugs and chemicals at anything without doing my own research rather than relying on a clinic vet’s words, my own personal and unsubstantied bias, or simple heresay.

Her first paragraph actually contradicts her second , (Could she actually think the slow kill method entails doing absolutely nothing, no monthly preventative?). That final sentence and her irrational conclusion is the one most superfluous and disturbing. What person or vet in their right mind would ever attempt, condone or allow continuing damage for 5 years? Seem’s as to me sensationalism at it’s best.

Glenna, i will continue trying to present the whole picture, the best I can, without any bias, or judgement. I think you probably already realized that before this post. Slow kill can absolutely has it’s risks, much of it depending on the health, and the degree of infection or disease, but so can the the immiticide, the immiticide particularly if you are not able to adhere too very strict confinement, as you already indicated you could not? It seemed you already had your mind made up on slow kill, but I would believe you still have then more time to still consider the alternative? Have your vet read the studies above, in particular the one about doxycycline w/preventative, it could be very be helpful in whichewver method. Xrays/bloodwork/ can also certainly help on any further determination if not already done.

I should have the HW test results later today. The other bloodwork then send to an outside lab so probably will not have it for a couple more days…

[Katrene J]

Hi, I have an 8 yo, male English Springer with the same problem everyone here is describing. My sweet guy started with the gulps about 5 years ago. The frequency at first was once every 3-4 months. It gradually increased to every 2 weeks or so. Or it had up until last November [2014]. Since November he’s had two bouts and both were mild – no deeply scared, frantic grass-eating dog those two times. He was definitely uncomfortable and seemed kinda worried it might get worse but a little throat massage and he could go back to sleep.

Like a lot of folks on this and a couple of other wonderful, helpful forums, I’ve tried a ton of things and even thought at times we had the problem solved, only to find a few weeks or a month later that I was wrong and had to go back to the drawing board. It’s been 3 1/2 months now since Tommy’s had a bad night. Instead of the predicted 7 or so episodes you’d figure he’d have had at the every-other-week frequency, there were only the two mild ones. I changed only one thing.

Now it may be another wild goose chase in the end but with a hiatus of almost 4 months I figured it’s worth sharing the change we made at this point. I hope it can help another dog. The last thing I want thought, is to give anyone false hope. This may be something or it may be nothing and we all know that each dog is so very different what works well for one may do nothing for another.

With that part out of the way let me tell you what has worked so far for Tom. Back in early Nov Tommy and I were up with a night of the gulps. I scanned the web for any new info that might have been shared since his last bout of the gulps. One person had posted. She [I think] said the only thing that worked for her dog was Pepcid Complete – not regular Pepcid, Not Tums. Only the Complete formula helped. I didn’t have any Pepcid complete on hand so I went online to check the ingredients. It turned out that Pepcid Complete is basically Pepcid plus Tums plus magnesium. Those things I did have on the shelf. I gave Tom the equivalent. He shortly seemed somewhat better. Not good enough so we could go back to bed but somehow less worried, less desperate.

I started to research Magnesium. I had had it on hand for leg and foot cramps. It’s amazing for relieving muscle spasms. Could a throat spasm be part of the gulps problem? The dogs do seem to be gulping like they’re trying to swallow something stuck in their throats… One friend had had success with a very powerful anti spasmodic years ago with her gulps dog, an Aussie. A magnesium deficiency could be a cause of GERD too, I’d read. There sure seems to be some stomach problem with the gulps too… It seemed worth investigating.

I’m NOT a vet nor do I play one on television so please take what follows with that understanding. First I took some magnesium myself as a supplement. That went ok and I learned that, as mentioned in the research, too much creates loose stools. Good – that gave me a gauge to know when to cut back.

I began to give Tom magnesium as a supplement. This is plain magnesium we’re talking about here, nothing fancy. It’s regular grocery store magnesium, 250 mg tablets. Started Tom on it slowly, etc. He weighs about 55#. When he was getting one 250 mg tablet in the morning and two 250s at night I held it there. His stools were still fine and that dosage felt right – not a scientific reason but sometimes I think my subconscious notices things my conscious mind doesn’t and I’ve earned to pay attention.

Since being on that regimen of 250mg AM and 500mg PM Tom has had only the two bouts of the gulps that I mentioned earlier. One was over Christmas when I’d backed off on the Mg to about half the dose for a few days [we were guests and the loose stool potential was weighing heavily on my mind!]. The second was about a month ago. That was the time I never had to even wake up completely. He began soft gulping but was only mildly concerned. I gently messaged his throat for a minute or two. He sighed and curled up next to me. We both went back to sleep. One more momentary massage about 4 hrs later and the gulps were over.

My gut feeling is that some dogs have or develop a magnesium deficiency. If that’s the case Tom’s may have started when I had to take him off a raw diet. Or it may be it’s that the land that grows our food is so magnesium poor at this point the dogs are simply not getting enough no matter what they’re fed. Whatever the cause, for Tom at least so far, the magnesium supplement seems to be working. He and I both hope our experiences can help someone else’s good dog.

[aquariangt]

I’m with BobbyDog, I remove my dogs from the situation. I also won’t bring my dogs to situations where there are going to be non dog people (and yes, I totally understand the distinction and use it myself, often) with their dogs because im not interested in attempting to teach people who aren’t paying me to do so. I also have the opposite problem often with Dani, who does NOT like strange dogs up in her business, especially in the face. She will snap to show warning, which usually results in some <insert insult here> trying to tell me how their dog is just being friendly (read: poor mannered a$$) and my dog needs this or that. I just don’t bother anymore. I cross the street if a strange dog is going to cross my path and I can see them straining on the leash meaning they will try to greet my dog, and I skip dog parks because too many people think that’s “socialization”

Now in class, I get to tell people how it works, and the people running in to “save” their puppies from the others they think are bullying because they don’t understand behavior, get a nice lesson on watching dogs and what actions they are making truly do make their dogs uncomfortable. Without fail, almost every puppy class I do has at least one of these people, so it’s easy to work in.

When it comes to family-im lucky I guess because of how we grew up, everyone understands dog play, and we know who to keep away from who (My sister’s giant lug of a great dane/st Bernard mix and Dani) and generally things are fine. I recently got invited to a friend event however that everyone was bringing their dogs, and I opted Dani out of that one. Liesl too, just because I didn’t feel like dealing, but good thing, because a lot of them were untrained and playing rudely. I didn’t say anything, but had it been family, I probably would have. Maybe get some literature to give said uncle and aunt about dog signals so they can see what was actually going on, or opt to skip out on Bruno going with if the Yorkie would be there

[lovemypuppy]

Let me start by just saying, I’m a total dog novice. I grew up with cats and now in my mid 30’s have adopted my first puppy.

I have a 10 week old boston terrier. Her weight is OK, but she is on the small side with not a weight to spare. She’s pretty finicky. I really wanted her to like Amicus puppy small breed but she continues to turn her nose up to it, even when adding to it (pumpkin, yogurt, wet food, etc.)

I would like to try her on Acana puppy small breed (despite it not being grain free) but can’t seem to get it in the US due to regulations of some sort re: milk thistle ingredient. Anyone know a way around this? Or maybe when they open up production in the US it will be available w/out milk thistle?

(side note, is the US production site thought to be no good because the pet food regulations in that state are too lax? I remember reading a downside, but can’t remember where or what the details were).

My pup is currently eating Acana Lamb and Apple whole prey diet and really enjoys it. The kibble is big but she gobbles it down. Is All life stages OK? Seems like it is for puppies, but may be too many calories for a mature dog?

Is rotating kibble OK for a puppy? I know their digestive system is immature and more sensitive, but so far, we’ve made sudden switches and she has handled it just fine. I would prefer to not get her stuck on one food … just not sure if that’s something that should wait until she is past her puppyhood.

I would like to stay grain free if possible as her coat is already dry and dull. That said, she also has (smelly) gas, so I’m a little leery of lentils … but it seems like avoiding potatoes might help with yeast? she does have tear stains … waiting on probitiocs to arrive.

How much truth is there with ying/yang, cool vs heating foods? She is definitely a hot dog (not the kind you eat) so I’m thinking I will try her on Acana Duck and Pear whole prey and see if I notice a difference.

I’m hoping for some recommendations of kibble for a finicky puppy, preferably grain free with a moderate protein %? I don’t like natural flavors (there can be some pretty nasty stuff hidden there) or canola oil.

I realize there is no perfect kibble and even then it really depends on the specific dog. Just feeling a little overwhelmed and hoping some of you who have been doing this longer or have a similar dog, might have some input.

TIA!

[Susan]

Hi, I think it’s true cause WHY would they put probiotics in their kibbles if they didn’t work & they are also guaranteeing survivability……
My boy was diagnosed with the Helicobacter 2nd December 2014, in September/October, I introduced the Wellness Simple kibble, I didn’t know Patch had the Helicobacter (Stomach Bacteria) I suspected that he did have the Helicobacter but he needed a Endoscope + Biopsies done to confirm, the Wellness Kibbles have probiotics in all their kibbles, after he was on the Wellness Simple for around 2 months Patch got worse with his Helicobacter & we finally did the Endoscope December to see what was wrong, he was doing OK before I tried the Wellness Simple, he’d have maybe 1 off day in 2 weeks… he was playing & being his naughty self, that’s how I know when he isn’t sick, he’s full of energy & a bit naughty lol, then about 3-4 weeks on the Wellness Simple, he started eating & eating grass, bad acid reflux coming up into his throat, vomiting yellow acid, & whinging & whinging, his vet diet kibble before the Wellness Simple doesn’t have Probiotics, it just has prebiotics FOS, he stayed the same while on the Vet diet kibble without the probiotics….
I think that the Probiotics in the Wellness Simple made his Helicobacter worse as I’m starting to do research on the Helicobacter & it says Lactobacillus Acidophilus should be avoided as it can make the Helicobacter multiply in the stomach, so these kibbles with probiotics must be live & working probiotics in their kibble…as Patches stomach bacteria got worse & vet asked what was I feeding for him to have gotten so sick, he said to stop any kibbles that have probiotics in them, there probably good for dogs with a healthy stomach but for dogs that already have bad stomach or bowel bacteria maybe not so good, vet has told me to take him off all probiotics he said prebiotics are better….I’ll see how he does now without all the kibble probiotics & powder probiotics…I’m pretty sure when I rescued him, he wasn’t ill with the Helicobacter just has his Colitis, I think me or his other vet putting him on the dog powder probiotics & feeding him kibbles with the probiotics in them did make the Bacteria in his stomach multiply & worse not better like they should…..so they must be live probiotics & in some of these kibbles…maybe probiotics can go off & become bad I don’t know….So after his antibiotic treatment, I’m going to try a low fat Greek yogurt that has the good bacterias that are on my list of good bacterias that are suppose to decrease the Helicobacter & not have a party with it & multiply..

[Naturella]

… Ok, I caved, Wysong is in packs in the fridge now… All that’s under the sink are the sandwich bags with THK for toppers, small bag of BDN tripe (for topper), and the freezer bag with about 1/3 of the Wysong for feeding for the next 10 days or so, however long it lasts. I don’t think anything else can enter this fridge until we eat some of what’s already in there. I guess that’s a good thing? 🙂

[Amie W]

A simple google search of Bravecto (or any medicine, really) will bring up the scientific reports, trials and fda/cvm information. This is all honest, scientific information. Bravecto is extremely safe. Reading through this Freedom of Information Summary, you can read about all of the studies done and any and all adverse reactions.

For those who think oral is more dangerous than topical – topical soaks transdermally directly into the bloodstream. It also has the potential to be spread between animals, as well as humans. Some require placement in spots along the back. If the dog then licks around his back where he was treated, he has then taken the drug transdermally, as well orally. I, for one, would rather know exactly the dose my dog is getting, without the fear of my children getting it on them by touching the dog, or touching the dogs bedding, etc.

For those with dogs in the 75-80 pound range that claim this doesn’t work, your dog is at the very top of the dosage weight. It is possible that the dose is just not strong enough for your dog and you should speak to your vet about using the next size up, which in this case would be for 88lbs. In most cases, this is perfectly acceptable.

All flea and tick treatments are pesticides. No matter how they are administered. If you are against chemicals completely, that is one thing. But, if you are against only particular chemicals, I would say do some research.

Here is the link for the FOI Summary, provided by the FDA:

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/Products/ApprovedAnimalDrugProducts/FOIADrugSummaries/UCM399075.pdf

[crazy4cats]

Hi Bralic-
So you got yourself a tiny little guy, huh? Lol!I think I’ve read on here that it is fine to switch when they are at least 3/4 grown. So, you are probably fine to switch. You don’t need to, but I can understand if there is that much difference in price. Others can chime in on their thoughts. I mostly wanted to comment on how cute he was and probably still is. It sounds like a very interesting mix.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Bailey5244-

I have a cat with struvite crystals as well. I am also currently feeding Hill’s C/D. It is an OK food to feed long term, unlike the Hill’s S/D. But you are right, the ingredients do not look great. Are you feeding canned or dry? One of the most important things that I am learning about crystals and possible stones is that moisture is of great importance. It is best to try to feed as much canned as possible and try to get them to drink and pee often also. Another thing that I’m reading is that stress can be a factor with forming the crystals. My cat is on an anti-anxiety pill that seems to help a lot too. I think the addition of two crazy dogs was very hard on him.

In addition to the C/D, there are other prescription urinary tract foods that you could possibly rotate with, such as Purina, Iams and Royal Canin Rx urinary foods. I am currently adding some over the counter urinary foods that are made by Purina, Friskies and Dave’s. I am going to slowly attempt to wean him off the expensive prescription foods. But, so far they are working as his recent urinalysis showed no crystals, blood or infection. Woo Hoo! It has been about 3 months since his blockage and he is doing well.

I definitely could not recommend you doing any of these things without approval from your vet. You would need a prescription for the RC, Purina, or Iams food anyway. But, I like the fact that at least I am giving him some variety. I hardly feed any kibble to any of my cats any longer, but I do plan to transition off the vet food some time. But, like I said, in good conscience, I could never suggest you do the same. Most vets say they need to stay on it for life. But, I’m hoping if I feed mostly high quality canned, like Weezerweeks mentioned above, he will stay healthy. Good luck!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Amanda-Love J-
Congrats on the new pups. Wow! Do you have your hands full or what? I’m glad that you are excited about switching foods. Here is a link with information about feeding large breed puppies: /best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/
The most important factor when choosing a food for a Large Breed Pup is the calcium levels. Also important is to not over feed. There is a chart of recommended foods with appropriate calcium on this thread on about page 35 or 36. Also if you join the Editor’s Choice club, there are a few very highly recommended foods for your puppies on that list. I’ve heard Nutrisource large breed puppy and Wellness Core puppy food come up a few times from others as being good choices. After your pups are close to being full grown and their joints are done forming, you can switch to any high quality food.

Your other dogs can eat puppy or all life stages food as well, but you may have to adjust the amount fed as they are often higher in calories and fat.

Have fun with your zoo!