[Acroyali]

What a beauty Duchess was. I’m so sorry for your loss!
She bears a striking resemblance to a Dalmatian/Whippet or Greyhound mix from my childhood. Like your dog, she was tall and lean (thanks to her sighthound heritage) and had the same ear set. She was protective yet not at all aggressive (thanks to the Dalmatian heritage)! She was a really cool dog.

[Acroyali]

Lovelybear we must be out of the same mold. We recently dragged out an old crate for one of our dogs to eat in and she acted like she was being put in jail, and like I threw away the key! This dog hasn’t had the need to be crated (other than in the car) for quite some time, so she’s none too thrilled with our newest and brightest idea. She has no self preservation and I’m constantly worried she might get hurt. It occurred to us that if she DOES injure herself, crate rest will be in order and it might be a good idea to re-acclimate her so she doesn’t stress.

I keep the crate in a high traffic area (our kitchen is bustling) so she’s in the action (so to speak), and we started playing little crate games. I’d take a treat, have her sit and wait, and toss the treat into the crate and release her. We put a few old blankets in there one night, made a big show of burying some really high value treats IN the blankets and shut the door and released. She wanted in that crate so bad! We opened the door and she flew in, nudging the blankets aside and hunting those treats down. We left the door open so she could exit whenever, and she was so into the game that she didn’t even think about leaving the crate until she was 100% sure there wasn’t a crumb left.

Be creative! If you’re into clicker training, a clicker can come in really useful in situations like this and you can choose a word to send her into the crate. (We use “load up”, a friend of mine simply says “In you go”!) Play crate games with her. When I crate train a new dog I don’t leave the door open when I’m not actively training it, it’s like reverse psychology–the crate = games = fun = not always available. Some people have better luck leaving the door open 24 hours a day and letting the dog explore at their own pace. Assess your dog and do what you feel would be best for her. Be creative! 🙂

I’ve fed raw for a lot of years. A few dogs eat out of bowls, a few on plastic washable mats (no bowls). When it’s nice we do feed some dogs outside, but the yard isn’t treated with anything. The bowls and mats go in hot, soapy water and are easy to wash and rinse. They air dry.

It’s great that your dog is a good, slow eater and not a gulper! Crate feeding is great because it IS so easy to clean. If absolutely necessary, it might be possible to take the crate bottom pan out and let it be free-standing in the room, and use it as a place for her to eat until she’s used to the actual crate again. Once she’s happy walking in and out of the crate for a treat, maybe jackpot reward her with a few gizzards or something really high value.

Yes, there are risks concerning raw feeding, but unfortunately there are risks concerning ANY feeding, for pets or humans. The presence of penobarbitol in some “high end” brands lately have really made many people suspicious of the idea that commercial food is automatically safe and raw food is automatically dangerous.

[Acroyali]

Kevin, please email the folks at ABC homeopathy. They might be able to help you.

For my dog, cleaning was out of the question and I didn’t feel that leaving years old tartar in his mouth was going to do anything positive in his overall health. His teeth weren’t rotting, but they were built up with tannish colored plaque that wasn’t doing him any favors.

I do know that doing nothing WILL increase problems. When it comes to my dogs, if a vet writes their problem off as “can’t be helped” that’s not good enough for me. I’m no professional, but I’m also not an idiot and dislike the idea that pet owners like us are too stupid to do things on our own when everyone else is out of ideas.

I wish you and your dog the very, very best of luck!

[Acroyali]

Certainly I’m not a professional or a dental specialist, but I assumed that’s why forums like this exist–so people can share what has worked for them in the past, and the person asking the questions can make their own decision based on their own knowledge, what information is presented, and what their vet recommends.

I’m very grateful to the individual who shared the information regarding FV6x with me even though they weren’t a “specialist”, as I was stuck between a rock and a hard place and my dog was in no way healthy enough to undergo surgery. It cleaned up his mouth, and the vet and I *both* felt that getting the years old crud out of his mouth did nothing but improve his overall health and quality of life.

[Acroyali]

That’s very true Anon, so it’s always a good idea to speak with your vet before beginning any dental work at home.
I can’t speak for Kevin, but in my dogs case he was suffering from periodontal disease as well as organ problems (due to the periodontal disease–a hard lesson learned). The vet said that a dental would be beneficial but due to his other problems, knocking him out to clean teeth was too dangerous so I was OK’ed to do little and often cleaning at home. His mouth looked nowhere as good as it would have had he been able to have a dental done. Thankfully, he didn’t develop infection. For most dogs I would strongly recommend a dental done first to “clear the area” and then developing a strict at home tooth-brushing regime, but unfortunately some of us are or have been in the situation where we’re out of options aside from doing what we can at home.
Hopefully Kevin can find something that makes him, his dog, and his vet happy.

[Acroyali]

Robin, I know some people with dogs that eat so fast that they inhale, and seem hungry afterwards so they feed in things like a Buster Cube. One of my agility friends feeds 1/2 portion as a “Regular” meal in a bowl, and then the other half portion in something like a Buster Cube to slow him down and extend the time it takes for him to eat. It’s not a weight loss tool in itself, but I think sometimes dogs eat so darned fast that they think they’re starving because feeding time is over in .0005 seconds 😉

Even if you’re concerned about calories (in yogurt), you can literally dilute the yogurt with water if you choose to feed and freeze (in a kong).

I know some Golden Retriever people who swear by green beans to help with weight loss, as Goldens seem to put weight on easily. Rapid weight loss in encouraging at first, but not always safe, so be cautious if you see dramatic loss early on.

[Acroyali]

Also–have you looked at food puzzle toys online? Chewy and Amazon sell them as do most pet stores. A few pieces of kibble can keep them busy for quite some time!

[Acroyali]

Robin, that is one cute dog!!

[Acroyali]

Hi Kevin:

I emailed (and ordered) FG6x from ABC homeopathy online. I asked them a few questions and they were very helpful. I had no problems with enamel damage but I didn’t use it long-term, just a few weeks in order to loosen plaque. You might email them with these questions.
Like Anon said, there’s no substitute for a good dental done by a vet, but if health problems prevent such things sometimes we have to do our best without. Once the plaque started chipping off my dogs teeth, I used coconut oil (as a toothpaste) for its antibacterial properties. I do think it helped my dog feel better!
Cheers =)

[Acroyali]

Fragaria Vesca 6x, a few pellets diluted in water and used as a tooth paste will (over a period of a few weeks) loosen tartar rapidly and make it easy to brush or flick off. It’s no complete substitute for a professional cleaning, but if the dog’s health makes a dental cleaning not an option, this might be something to consider. I used this a few times a day on an elderly dog who’s health made the vet leery of putting him under, and though I was skeptical that it would work so well it really did. The tartar didn’t “disappear” but it softened what was there enough for me to use my fingernail to flick some of it off. The vet was very happy with our progress with this.

[Acroyali]

There are tons of different ways to do it and every recipe is a bit different, but I pour the milk into a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. While it’s heating, uncovered, I turn my oven light on (not the actual oven, just the light) to start warming it up. I heat the milk to 180F (using a meat thermometer), remove from heat and let it cool to 115. I then pour the milk into quart or pint jars, add a tablespoon or two of starter (I use leftover yogurt in place of a starter now) and cover. I leave the jars in the oven (under the light) for 12-24 hours, if I leave it go for closer to 24 hours it gets much thicker.

Keep a close eye on the thermometer as it’s warming, if it goes too warm it won’t necessarily ruin the yogurt but I’ve found 180 is the sweet spot 🙂 The only bad thing is that your oven is pretty much off limits until the yogurt is done, so plan meals accordingly. Hope this helps!

[Acroyali]

Susan I’m not 100% but are metronidazole and (all) flagyl the same thing? This little dog was on flagyl and (if I understood the poster correctly) was taken off because there were suspected neurological complications from the medication 🙁
You make an excellent point about giving any supplements or any meds separately so if she throws something up, the owner will know what caused it.
Also, you mentioned Patch can’t have beet pulp–when one of mine was taken off food that contained beet pulp many years ago his chronic runny eyes cleared up! He’d had that his entire life, I figured it was structural but apparently beet pulp isn’t tolerable by everyone.
Chronic digestive upset is the worst…I love it when I read posts from caring owners that recognize the smallest symptom and take action =) Cheers!

[Acroyali]

Has she had IBD for awhile now? Sometimes IBD dogs don’t empty out their anal glands as they should, if they need emptied (or are impacted), that would explain a lot of the breath problem.
As far as acid problems go, in humans the symptoms for low acid and high acid are very close and mimic one another a lot. One of my dogs has LOW stomach acid and acid reducers were making it worse long term, even though the symptoms of reflux (making us all think HIGH stomach acid) were there. A bit of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar whenever he acts as though he’s flaring up works for him, just mixed in with some food. For him it seemed to normalize the ph. I can’t say if this will work for your dog of course, but it might be something to research further.
For ANY dog with IBD, probiotics for life will not be harmful. 🙂 3 days is not long enough to notice a difference, sometimes it takes weeks especially if she’s just coming off antibiotics.
Best of luck. It’s a trying situation. IBD can be a pain in the butt (pun not intended) but once you find out what works for your dog and can get them relief, all the effort is worth it. Don’t give up!

[Acroyali]

I’m not sure about yogurt or kefir brands, but if you’ve access to raw goats milk you could make your own yogurt from this. We do it every few weeks, it’s pretty easy 🙂

[Acroyali]

My dogs get yogurt and love it. We do freeze in kongs occasionally, which they really look forward to (especially on hot days)!

My unpopular belief is that low calorie and/or low fat “weight control” foods are about as effective as low fat cookies and lean cusine (for humans) are. Have you spoke with your vet about the weight issue? Depending on his age, breed, etc. they may want to do some bloodwork just to make sure everything (inside) is working as it should. Sometimes weight problems are medical in nature, which (if addressed) can make the weight loss journey so much easier on everyone 🙂

Cheers!

[Acroyali]

One of my elderly dogs developed a murmur that got worse in 6 months time. We did use CoQ10 and a few other supplements (fish oil at my vets recommendation) his murmur actually improved after another 6 months. His vet was incredibly pleased and said that (in their experiences) murmurs in older dogs don’t usually get better, they usually progress. Who knows if it was a fluke or if the CoQ10 was responsible, but for his situation, I believe it certainly didn’t hurt.
He went on much longer than expected before going into full blown heart failure, and by this time he WAS on several prescription medications that helped to extend his life. (While I do think intelligent supplementation can be extremely helpful, heart disease is something I don’t attempt to work with on my own.)
Your dog, your decision when it comes to supplementation.

[Acroyali]

Agreed with tooth brushing, especially on smaller dogs. Many toy and small breeds don’t possess a strong root structure so chewing alone usually doesn’t do it for them! Mine (big and small) get their teeth brushed with coconut oil because they like it so well. The little guys get their teeth done 5-6 days a week and the big guys 1-2 times a week. Like Pitlove, my big guys have human toothbrushes and my little dogs have brushes meant for young toddlers. (Small dogs are currently using a Super Mario Brothers brush, their last one was a Hello Kitty brush that lit up, LOL). It’s become second nature. It’s not a chore anymore. It’s just something we do now, and it takes minutes a day (for several dogs) and the benefits are so well worth it. I’ve used finger toothbrushes before but I didn’t feel they did as good of a job as a regular brush.

Even having done so since babyhood one of our smaller dogs is losing his small front teeth. He has a poor bite and a poor root structure, and while the rest of his teeth appear clean and strong, those little front ones are loosening up. He’s a middle aged dog.

Anon raises an excellent point about keeping an emergency vet number on your fridge. Or even program it into your cell. In all my years of pet ownership I’ve only had to use the emergency hospital a few times but each time I needed it I was glad it was readily available and I didn’t have to waste time locating the number, especially while in a bit of a panicked state. Better safe than sorry!

I do give recreational raw chew bones, provided they are BIG and the dog in question cannot get his jaws around the bone part to bite down (no femurs in this house.) Some of our dogs are such aggressive chewers that I am hesitant to offer these, so they get stuffed (black) Kongs full of goodies. The dogs that settle down and chew at a slower pace are OK, but I never ever leave them unsupervised in case someone manages to break off a piece that could be swallowed or manages to chew off enough strappy stuff that they could chew the bone part enough to break teeth. I don’t care for smoked bones or any bones that come from the pet store, JMO. It really depends on your comfort level, your dogs chewing style, and your ability to keep an eye on them while they chew. Many people swear bully sticks are good for teeth, so that might be something to look into as well!

[Acroyali]

/forums/topic/alternative-to-royal-canin-low-fat-gi/

Some good ideas in this thread 🙂 Cheers!

[Acroyali]

Amanda, where are you purchasing your puppy from? If you’re going with a breeder, he or she might be able to help you choose a program that has worked well for their dogs until you find a vet you feel comfortable with.

[Acroyali]

Also–we’ve used Bug Off Garlic for our horses, and the fly problem was drastically reduced. The fly spray works for about 5 minutes, B.O.G seemed to work 24 hours a day which resulted in much happier horses. Happy horses are much more relaxed, and relaxed horses are much easier to work.

[Acroyali]

The only MDR1 dog we ever had was mutant/normal and he never got any form of conventional flea control. The MDR-1 gene seemed to exceed the norm, many “regular” medications made him act off so we opted to test several times a year for HW and (thankfully) he was always negative.
As far as garlic, etc. goes, we’ve had excellent results with this.
Last year we used nothing. No EO’s, no garlic, no lawn sprays or anything and didn’t have a flea problem. We’d find the occasional dead flea in the water bowl but the dogs never had fleas or flea dirt, the bathwater was always 100% flea-free, and the cats got flea combed as a precaution with no issues. Maybe we were just lucky.
We’ve had some nasty experiences with topicals in the past, when we would use them, but a few of our breeds over the years have seemed to have extra sensitivies to chemicals, which was enough to convince me that there has to be another way.

[Acroyali]

Even dogs without pancreatitis sometimes don’t tolerate a high fat diet. I have one who does not, and he does just fine on raw provided I stick to low fat options for him. My IBD’er is doing great on cooked; I cook the meat in the crockpot until it falls off the bone and add some broth back in; I then re-add the bones to water and make bone broth for everyone.
Like you I prefer to feed my family (which includes the animals) real food. When I was feeding an elderly pet with organ problems and joint problems, fresh food made all the difference.

[Acroyali]

Susan we had a similar scare once, one of our dogs (heavily coated) came inside from the yard with blood all over his rear end. It was terrifying to see; it was an idiopathic bout of colitis that lasted a day or two and our vet instructed us to fast him for a day or so and give him metro and it cleared things up quickly. He did much better on 3 or 4 smaller meals a day than 1 or 2. It’s scary seeing all that blood!

[Acroyali]

http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjpancreatitis.html

So glad he’s doing better, Jasmine 🙂
The above article has a lot of info on pancreatitis. If you’re concerned about the possibility, boiling the meat vs. baking might be a good precaution as boiling (and rinsing after) removes a lot of the fat.
A good low fat protein source is turkey breast, very lean. When I was cooking a very low-fat diet for a dog of ours the staple was turkey breast mixed with pulped steamed veggies and pumpkin (as a temporary diet) and we added in calories with coconut oil. Dogs that have had recent bad gastric upset (or are at risk or suffer from chronic pancreatitis) seem to do really well with MCT’s.
I would personally avoid lamb and pork; very high in fat and his tummy doesn’t need the stress right now. I would seek out lean beef.
Depending on where you’re located, my pet carnivore (dot com) offers spleen as well as pancreas. I’m not sure if Hare Today offers this or not. I would contact the distributor about whether or not it’s OK to cook these things lightly if it’s something you’re interested in researching further.
Best wishes to you and your pup.

[Acroyali]

http://dogaware.com/diet/freshfoods.html

This might be a helpful resource to keep in your favorites tab.
I personally love chia seeds, but I don’t feed them to anything except the birds because my animals don’t care for them.
Best of luck!

[Acroyali]

I’ve been feeding raw for decades and have only had two animals in that time frame that did very poorly on raw, and they got what you’re trying to transition away from–home cooked. They thrive(d) on it! Is there a specific reason you’re wanting to do raw for this dog, and how long have you been trying to transition, because it looks like you’re feeding a lot of possibly novel stuff in a very short time frame.
With that said, I would go to the ER clinic if my dog were doing what your dog is doing, ASAP . I’ve had excellent luck with raw diets over the years and poor results with kibble, but the animals that receive home cooked thrive just as well as their raw fed cousins.
Best of luck to you and your pup.

[Acroyali]

I’m not sure if this will be of any help based on your findings, but it might be something to check into. Is your vet aware that your dog is raw fed?

[Acroyali]

As far as shampoo goes, I love Dr. Goodpet’s hypoallergenic line. The Honest Kitchen sells a shampoo (in bar form) that contains nothing but goats milk and essential oils (you might want to order a bar for yourself, that stuff is amazing!) Burt’s Bee’s has a nice hypo line too.

I don’t care for oatmeal shampoos, personally. My dogs have never felt nice after bathing with oatmeal shampoo, and for any dog who could possibly have an allergy or intolerance to oats (or grains), it might not be the best choice to pour it over their porous skin but that’s JMO.

[Acroyali]

Jazz, I’ve consulted with homeopaths via email. It can be more time consuming than an in person visit, and it took time getting ALL symptoms (even those seemingly unrelated to the problem at hand) down in order to send them to the homeopath. If nothing else works, it might be a route to consider. I came up with several pages of symptoms and quirks (as well as personality traits) and sent them off. The homeopath took a few days to really read over the material, selected a remedy to try (we opted for classical preparation of a single remedy, not a combination remedy) and it worked in only a few doses. For another animal we did the same thing about 6 months later and he selected two remedies. The result wasn’t as quick as this pet was much older and had many more problems, but after a week or two we noticed subtle differences in movement, as well as a disappearing skin rash that had been present for quite some time. We opted to try another remedy topically to (hopefully) make the skin rash disappear for good, but this remedy did not work so we selected another over-all single remedy. The rash healed, though the hair never grew back. It was really cool to experience, and really cool to watch him re-blossom. His pain and arthritis medications were eventually (weaned off) stopped, which was saying a lot for an animal that was close to his mid-teens and had been having arthritis problems for years. We were all extremely happy with this experience, and we were thrilled to see our little friend changed from having difficulty walking across the room to being able to trot freely and roll around on his bed like a youngster again.

I’ve used the steroid injections, and unfortunately for the dog that received them they helped for about 4-5 days only. As far as NAET goes, I found someone who practiced it from word of mouth. Their name doesn’t come up on any holistic vet finder sites even today and it was many years ago that I first found NAET. Don’t stop looking!

[Acroyali]

Side effects and serious reactions happen with medications, too, and aren’t exactly uncommon. One of my dogs almost died from an otherwise useful drug that has helped many dogs in the past, including dogs I previously owned. No decent vet OR doctor would assume herbal or “natural” (a complete buzz-word) automatically equals safe, and intelligent supplementation for a serious problem requires the advice of a professional, as many do more harm than good when ingested on a whim.

It’s not one sided, and I guess I don’t understand why a veterinarian that can help save or improve the life of a dog with a nutritional supplement would make you so upset, but again…to each their own, as you state. I’m just glad my dog in question is alive, and I’m glad I found a veterinarian who was able to save my dog and give him a good quality of life.

[Acroyali]

Anon, I’m honestly curious…if a vet recommends a specific supplement for a specific animal (NOT internet diagnosis) and the pet is helped, what is the problem? Why would that make you sick?

[Acroyali]

Also, in case you’re interested. Dr. Richard Pitcairn, as well as Dr. Martin Goldstein both have very good books on the subject of holistic care–Dr. Pitcairn’s book is more geared to every day living and Dr. Marty’s book is geared more towards holistic treatment options he’s used in the past, as well as some stunning success stories. If you’re interested in this subject, I’d really recommend checking them out. Also, Karen at Ottawa valley Dog Whisperer has a lot of very helpful articles on her blog.

Keep in mind, what works for dog A might not always work for dog B, which is why holistic medicine can be so challenging…every patient is an individual and it takes a talented vet to be able to form a comprehensive treatment plan for the individual in front of him rather than a text-book approach. This is why developing a good relationship with a vet you like and trust is so important. Again, best of luck and I hope this was at least a little bit helpful.

[Acroyali]

I’ve used NAET and homeopathy with excellent results. NAET is totally non-invasive, which is awesome. Please don’t ask me *how* it works, but it works. My dogs’ allergies were diet related, and all but one allergy cleared (and one became much less intense) with two sessions.

Homeopathy has amazed me time and time again, but the big secret is finding an experienced homeopath who knows the science, and finding one who doesn’t write off other assets in assisting your dogs health…some homeopaths will refuse to work with anyone who uses nutritional supplements, etc. which is something I would absolutely avoid. A good holistic vet examines the big picture and doesn’t stick rigidly to one answer only. Holistic = whole!

The most common mistake I see with homeopathy is people choosing incorrect remedies, by themselves, within 5 minutes of reading about the symptoms present and not taking into account the smaller, more subtle symptoms that would point to a different remedy. Then they claim it didn’t work, even though they took no time at all to study it themselves or seek out someone competent to help them through, who will also be knowledgeable about selecting the correct potency. It would be no different than if you or I had a headache and decided to take Zantac. When we take the wrong medication for the wrong symptoms, the problem we’re experiencing isn’t going to go away, and it would be unfair to complain and tell everyone that Zantac doesn’t work because we took it for the wrong problem. If you try a remedy and it does not work, you should consult your vet to decide on what remedy to try next.

I would also research vaccines and develop a close relationship with a trusted vet who will only vaccinate your dog if and when he needs it. I would ALSO research problems associated with any flea and/or tick prevention you may be using or have used in the past (what works good for one dog may be hurting the next), as well as things like what household cleaners you use, right down to the quality of water you put in your dogs water bowl every day. If you haven’t done so yet, I would consult with your vet about the possibility of a good blood count as well as discussing whether or not a thyroid test would be a good idea for your particular dog. Discuss immune support with your vet; not all immune support is necessarily stimulating but balancing instead.

I hope this helps you and you’re able to find someone who can help you and your dog. Allergies are a pain, but they CAN be helped.

[Acroyali]

Millicent, I’ve had a similar experience as yours though probably not as dramatically obvious. I have a cat with feline hyperesthesia syndrome and dry food triggers violent outbursts; he self-attacked himself to the point of bleeding and removing dry food from his diet completely has dropped the episodes. Occasionally he’ll flare up; a chiropractic adjustment or acupuncture does the trick. I have no idea why he has this or what causes(d) it, but I’m just glad I’ve found a link to help keep the episodes down and keep him from being a bloody and miserable mess. Best to you and your pup.

[Acroyali]

I’ve used herbs before under the guidance of an herbalist who knew what was safe, and what was not. Herbal doesn’t automatically equal safe, though they can be twice as effective as conventional medication when used correctly.

I’d encourage your friend to research, research, and research some more and find someone who knows herbs like the back of their hand that would be a good in-person mentor to help her along her journey, and ignore the skeptics who consider herbs as “magic potions.”

[Acroyali]

I’m sorry about the tone, sometimes it’s hard for me to come across correctly over the internet. For everything we know, or think we know, about the link between A and B (and in this case, food and (insert problem/disease) I think there’s about 100 things we’ve yet to discover; I think you’re absolutely right in suspecting a link between the issues. We had a hypothyroidism dog that was diagnosed at about 7 years old, too. Even though medication and synthetics are usually not the first route I prefer to take, in this dogs case I did and it helped him tremendously and he lived a full and happy life. Best to your canine nephew as well!

[Acroyali]

Crazy4cats, it’s great to see another cat person!
I knew of an owner who had a cat that would only eat fish and the vet was concerned about the taurine deficiency over time; picky cats can be a nightmare and cause much worry to caring owners. My question was pretty much rhetorical as many people (myself included) look to diet first. In re-reading my response it did sound rather snarky, my apologies to everyone as it was more thinking out loud than anything else and I have a lot of respect for many on this forum.
I had a male cat get urinary blockages twice (life threatening indeed, and scary!) and have a female cat that develops UTI’s at the drop of a hat. A high moisture diet helped the male but the female is still having issues occasionally. It bothers me as she’s not very old. It sounds crazy but I can tell when she’s got a UTI coming on as the other cats begin to bully her, which (I’m sure) makes the stress level higher which in turn does nothing for the UTI.. 🙁

On another side of the topic, it’s kind of fascinating to me that dogs develop low thyroid so often and cats go the opposite way and develop a high thyroid.

Kind regards to you and your kitties >^..^<

[Acroyali]

Interesting topic, but I wonder if owners or vets of (many) cats that (have) develop(ed) hyperthyroidism that have been fed kibbled or canned commercial diets since babyhood would automatically blame the food as “causing” it?

[Acroyali]

I don’t feed kibble, so I can’t make any good recommendations but I’m sure someone with more knowledge on the matter will chime in soon!

I wanted to ask if the vet mentioned perhaps offering her a little bit of canned food daily, as well as changing her dry? Even if you gave her a tablespoon or two and let the other dogs have a small taste as a daily treat, it wouldn’t break the bank or create the need for specified meal times, and the extra moisture probably would be of some benefit for her kidneys.

Best of luck with your pup.

[Acroyali]

Where do you usually source your beef from? The grocery store or supermarket can be an expensive way to do it sometimes. If you haven’t already, could you talk to a local butcher about saving some quality scraps? Many will, or if you have freezer space, buying in bulk can help tremendously.
If she does well with beef, have you considered substituting beef heart? It’s usually cheaper, VERY high in taurine and a very nutritious additive. It’s considered a muscle meat, not an organ, and while some beef heart is fatty, many are pretty lean. Does she need 90%FF or is this just what you’re able to locate the easiest?
Another option is going right to the source and finding a local farmer that raises beef. You might be able to get scraps and meat for cheaper, especially if you’re able to buy in bulk and store in the freezer.
Another somewhat inexpensive thing to consider would be beef tripe, if you can handle the smell! I’m not sure if it can or should be cooked, but I know fed raw it’s great for digestion and teeth and has a good cal/phos ratio. Some people swear by it and say it’s the perfect food for dogs and (if fed alone) is a complete diet, but I’m not as 100% convinced that they need nothing else. I’m not sure if you’re into that idea or not, but if so it’s something you could definitely consider sourcing as it’s very inexpensive compared to “real” muscle meat!
You could also bulk the meals out with these things (heart or tripe), as well as kidney, liver, or tongue. I can feed tripe, livers, gizzards and all sorts of weird stuff but for some reason beef tongue really grosses me out so I don’t use it 😛
Assuming that she would do well on any “relation” to beef, I wonder if any hunters (or, again, butchers) would be willing to share venison, or if the butcher would have any leftover venison from last season…sometimes hunters have deer processed and then (for some reason) never come to pick the meat up. If she does well on beef, she MIGHT do well on venison, so this might be another option to keep in mind. It would probably be too expensive to purchase on it’s own, but if you can get a freebie…
Hope this is (somewhat) helpful!

[Acroyali]

http://purinaproclub.com/resource-library/pro-club-updates/hypoglycemia-requires-quick-intervention-in-toy-breeds/

Don’t let it scare you or make you super worried though, I’ve seen it but it’s usually a case of a puppy won’t eat or hasn’t eaten in a long period of time.

If he’s eating canned food, I wouldn’t worry about him drinking a whole lot of water. My dogs are fed raw which contains a lot of water (as does canned food, most of it is 78-81% moisture), and they rarely visit the water bowl. They get good hydration from their food.

Enjoy your puppy!

[Acroyali]

I agree–I’d call the vet and question a bit further, not in a confrontational manner of course, but just tell the vet you want to do what’s right but you need to understand what’s happening in order to make the best decision possible.
With that said, even though dogs need protein (as do we), I’m a little weary of some of the super duper high protein dry diets simply because they’re fed on a dry matter basis, but that’s just my opinion and comfort level coming into play. Best of luck, Brittany!

[Acroyali]

Brittany, did the vet mention WHY he or she would suggest low protein?

[Acroyali]

Many people feed boneless raw; they just add pulped (usually steamed) vegetables and sweet potatoes or pumpkin for fiber. The shells (provided you’re giving the correct amount finely ground) would be good for calcium that would otherwise be present in bones.
http://dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html#cooked
There are guidelines in this article for those who wish to feed a raw diet that does not contain bones. Hope this is helpful!

[Acroyali]

Susan, it’s great to know that the folks at VeRUS are so helpful. I wish more companies took a one on one interest/approach with customers that are having a rough time choosing the best formula.

Thanks for sharing this, it’s always good to have good kibble brands on hand to recommend to others.

[Acroyali]

He sounds cute, I love Chihuahuas!

Whenever we have a toy breed puppy in the house, either our own or keeping one for a friend or neighbor, we keep Nutri-cal or Nutri-stat on hand. These little guys seem to have their blood sugar drop more often than a larger or older puppy would. I can’t swear by it or guarantee it’s worked, but it seems to have helped prevent such instances along with very small, very regular feedings like Anon101 suggested.

[Acroyali]

I have no recent personal experience using Dinovite, but I do know of many owners who have used Dinovite with good results and others who have had their dogs do nothing but refuse it, or throw it back up whenever it was fed. It seems like people either absolutely love it and swear by it, or hate it and swear it’s nothing but a gimmick.

Has your Pug had Dinovite in the past, before starting the yeast starvation diet? What about beef, eggs, and fish (even though you’re feeding fish oil and not the whole fish, it still could be some form of reaction.)

Raw dog food recipes don’t need to be complicated and not all dogs need (nor thrive on) diets that include vegetables, grains, sweet potatoes, and all the “extras” recipes throw in. Some dogs do better with, some without, some it seems to make no difference. Prey model raw is pretty much 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 10% organs (half of this being liver.)

If and when we feed vegetables of any sort, it’s mostly limited to a handful of leftovers (we like ’em steamed, too!) and herbs (parsley, dandelion, etc.)

[Acroyali]

Raw goats milk is great stuff, but it has to be raw and (very important) from a good, clean source. At 15 years, if it were a case of comfort over cure I would at least consider using the medication as needed but pair it with goats milk or a good probiotic (or perhaps both).

My only issue with using anything long term (especially on a young or young-ish dog) is the potential for the effectiveness of the medication to wear off and needing to go to something stronger, having it work for 4-6 months then needing something even stronger than that, etc. I’ve had that happen before, and it’s kind of a nerve wracking place to be when your dog is getting the maximum dose of something that used to be helpful at a much lower dose, and the maximum dose is no longer working.

Just my personal opinion, of course!

[Acroyali]

Were the glands simply full, or did the vet say they were impacted?

[Acroyali]

Aside from his weight, is there a medical reason that he’s on low fat food? It’s just been my experience, but low fat dog food works like low fat human food–it doesn’t work all that great because fat doesn’t necessarily make a living thing fat, and when fat is taken out something needs to replace it (sugar, carbs, etc.) Quality fats are needed for health; not all fats are created equally. Just something to consider.

[Author]

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