[Michael R]

Oye and a very good evening. Hope all is well. 21 lb. Lhasa Apso, typically active, walked twice per day 15 mins each, is le freaking on dry versus wet food, has a little acid reflex. Per vet, we are giving 5mg of an anti acid pill which is working out well. On the food, he ignores the Royal Canin low fat, gastro, dry foot. Today, we served him RC wet. Ate it no problem. Question is, how much do a serve the pooch per day? I ran some numbers, finding out 597kcal or 2.83 cups per day, almost 1 2/3 cans/per day. This means we’d be spending 4 USD per day on food. Is this true. I could very well be clueless and I will spend, do whatever for the well being of the poochie magoochie, however, I don’t remember ever serving my small pooches this many cups per day? Help! Any advice?

[Marionne H]

Your numbers do look correct…I have a 22 pound dog with a recommended daily calorie intake of about 620 calories, and RC low fat is lower in calories than a lot of canned varieties. Quality canned food is pricey no matter what you serve and a lower cal food is just going to increase the quantity you need to feed. What specific food requirements does your dog have?

[theBCnut]

Just a note, acid reflux is often a symptom of a food intolerance. As an example, my dog gets acid reflux if he eats grains. If I take him off all grains, he never has acid reflux. In fact, I actually add raw vinegar to his food because I have read that acid reflux is also associates with NOT producing enough acid, so the sphincter valve at the top of the stomach doesn’t close all the way. Also, I add water to his food, because acid production in the stomach is affected by water content of the meal.

You might want to experiment on your dog and it’s food a bit rather than continue on antacids for life, which has a different set of problems.

[anonymously]

Have you tried soaking the RC kibble (or whatever you are using) in water overnight in the fridg? Maybe add a spoonful of plain homemade chicken broth, scrambled egg, lean meat or cooked chicken or canned food.

[M F]

This reply is to theBCnut first of all I wanted to tell you that my dog looks almost identical to the dog you have in your picture, 1/2 black 1/2 white face on the same side, but my guy has a black eyebrow on the white side, I would like to talk to you more about where you got him etc, I did a dna test on mine and found out what he is. Anyway, he just started having what the vet thinks is acid reflux, he was eating his food fine and then one day throwing up, so I put him on cooked chicken and rice at home and he did just fine, then I get him transitioned back to his regular food and he does fine for several days and then throws up again, so I took him in for tests, and blood work is perfect, so the vet told me to give him Prilosec for 14 days, quit feeding the home cooked meal and just give him his regular food, well we made through 9 meals this way (he eats twice per day) and then thowing up all over the place, so now I’m back on home cooked chicken and rice and trying to decide to try a different food, or go to a gastro specialist, he keeps the home cooked chicken and rice down and his stool is always great on his regular food, he tested negative for pancreatitis. I’ve read to try a lower fat lower protein food but I haven’t decided what to try yet. Any advice?

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