[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Nectarmom-

I have been trying to reply for two days, and finally its letting me at least post to this thread. My crew eats a variety of food without issues and none have become picky eaters as a result. If anything, they have become more excited about eating to the point of being obnoxious when the bowls come out(working on that!) However, I do agree that a sensitive stomach dog is a “beast unto itself” My dobergal has had issues on and off for 4 years-and only recently have we started getting it under control. The Abady granular worked well,. and now the Victor Ultra pro dry food. However, rotation for her is not the same as the rest of the crew. Her baseline food will stay the same-Victor Ultra Pro, but we will rotate her commercial raw, as well as her canned to offer her some variety.

My point being, not all rotation will be the same for each and every dog. By rotating out the topper portions, we will be able to offer her some variety in her diet. While it will not be as frequent or as extensive as the “normals”, something, imo, is better than nothing.

[Melissaandcrew]

HI Benny-

Both foods are nearly identical, so I would not expect a problem at this point. However(there always is a but, huh?) Sharpei are NOTORIOUS for skin conditions, yeast issues and food allergies. If it were my pup, I would upgrade the food to something that (at the very least) is corn, soy, wheat free and preferably grain free if you can find something in your price range. Better to pay now, then later-

[Melissaandcrew]

PennyLanesmom-

She has taken xanax her entire life? I have dealt with many dogs that have had separation anxiety etc, and it truly does not need to be a lifetime issue. You need to work on desensitizing her to your leaving. I am not a fan of meds for it when consistent/persistent work can stop the problem for most dogs.

[Melissaandcrew]

Jan-

All has been well : ) I did add Victor grain free ALS to the bin tonight, so hoping that works as a replacement for the Merrick portion.Dogs went nuts for it when I passed out some ‘samples” from the larger bag.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi CP-

Pick some foods that your rescue would be interested in and either email or call them. Explain that you are a rescue and are wondering if they have “kennel” discounts.Some do, some do not. You may find one that is willing to partner with your program the same as SD. As a kennel owner, I found that many of the companies gave me their distributors info and I was able to call and check out pricing-there are volume discounts out there, but other than SD(last I knew food was free, shelter paid for shipping) I really don’t know of any that do that-I would suggest trying Fromm, Nutrisource and Victor for decent foods in bulk.

momofmutts -Acana/orijen breeder program is buy 6 and get 1 free-but all 6 bags have to be purchased at the same time.

[Melissaandcrew]

Dogs can have a small tinge of blood in the stool if they have been straining from either constipation or diarrhea. I agree however, and a vet should check the stool for parasites as well. That extremely foul odor often occurs with IBS issues as well as small intestinal bacteria overgrowth from my experience.

[Melissaandcrew]

Jan-

The kibble in my bag all looked fine and uniform-no visual difference in it. I mixed in the other foods and the problem resolved until today. Yesterday I was at the bottom of the bin which originally had most of the Merrick in it, and obviously I did not mix it up enough since I was in a hurry, Today, some had diarrhea, some had off colored and partial formed stools. Thankfully there is no Merrick left in the mix any longer, so I expect normalcy for tomorrow.

[Melissaandcrew]

Skinny as in under weight.

[Melissaandcrew]

Skinny as in underweight : )

[Melissaandcrew]

HI there-

Some of my dogs are chipped, and some are not. Some have Home Again, some Avid-all depended on where the dog came from. Some of the older chips would migrate to different locations then where it was implanted(between the shoulder blades) I have a 13 yr old whom this occurred with, or at least I am assuming so as the chip is not directly in between the shoulders(she was chipped by the pet store she came from, we rescued her from the owner) I have not found this to occur in any of the chips implanted by either a vet, or myself in the past 15 yrs. Placement is important. You can feel her chip when you run your fingers lightly over the spot, so its probably not placed correctly.

Some chips operate at different frequencies and some brands require different scanners to read them-for example, my Universal chip reader will read most, but a few it will merely indicate the presence of a chip, w/out providing the ID number,. I then do a secondary scan with the Avid scanner. So far, one of the other has picked up the chips and read them. Whichever chip you decide on, and whichever registry is up to you.

The placement-done with a larger gauge needle and if you looked at it, you would be horrified by the gauge, lol. With that said, I would say 99 percent of the dogs do not react to it-same as most vaccines. More reactions, in my experience tend to be from the very tiny or the very thin(and FYI, i will not chip a skinny dog for this reason, as well as assuring proper placement-you should not be able to feel a properly inserted chip.

I am a firm believer, especially for those that travel w/their pet alot, or allow them to run free or have dogs that bolt and run away, the dog should be chipped. Collars can get lost and it may be the only way for the dog to be returned to the proper owner. W/out it, you are at the mercy of the 3-7 day stray hold and being able to locate the dog in a timely manner is extremelly important.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Jan-

It was the duck variety we had the issues with as well, that I was talking about on the review section. I had three dogs vomiting undigested kibble, some had gas that could kill a maggot(horrible sulfur odor), a few had “off color stool” and I was just generally unhappy and very disappointed in the products results. I returned the second bag that I had purchased and that was unopened. In contrast, I picked up a bag of Fromm Salmon a la veg as well as a bag of Grandma Mae’s country naturals(grain free) that same day. I mixed half a bag of each in my bin with 1/2 bag of Grasslands-despite these both being new foods, stool was normal and better than it had been in several days-no gas either. Point in telling that part is that its not my rotating or a fail to properly introduce it. For some reason, my dogs just did not do well at all with the new Merrick grain free. right now, should be the time I rotate in Acana Lamb/apple, but my store here has not had it in a while, hence the Fromm addition : )

[Melissaandcrew]

Home made dehydrated meats for treats here, kibble, Nutrisource biscuits and depending on what we are doing, I have also used freeze dried broken into small pieces : )

[Melissaandcrew]

Supercoop-

So sorry for you loss. Several of here at DFA have lost beloved friends and family members recently, and it is one of the hardest things to go through. Know that he is in good company and enjoyed every minute he had with you-

Melissa

[Melissaandcrew]

I would also suggest going to a boutique type petstore)not the large chains) and see if they have free samples, or small sample sized packages of various foods. Nothing lost, nothing gained if she will not eat the kibble. I know out store carries all kinds of samples, some free, some for a few bucks. You may just find that she will go for some kibble again, especially if soaked a bit in warm water to release the aromas. Also, sometimes emailing the companies will get you a sample or two, or a coupon or two for a free can to try.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi there-

My crew eats all varieties of the Acana, and Ii generally don’t have problems with it. They will however get funny stool if on the Pacifica for too long(soft). While a higher protein food can cause the gas, imo, so can a food that does not agree with them. Some of my crew get the sulfur gas on lamb based foods(and they are lower protein than the Acana) and recently on Merrick grain free-that was coupled by vomiting as well for a few of them. My new policy is that I need to breath the air and it simply must be sulfur bomb free, lol. When it happens, I have not found that it clears up anytime soon, so I simply nix the offending food from future rotations. You might also consider going with a variety that is lower fat as I find that affects my dogs’ stool. The lamb/apple is only 15 or 16 percent, whilst the other two are 17%.

[Melissaandcrew]

Bryan-

No, she is saying the reason she is thinking grain free is due in part to the arsenic reports : )

Jessie-

Why did your vet say 21% protein or under? That to me is way too low unless there is a medical reason necessitating it. For the record, my dogs range in weight from just under 6lbs to 110lbs. They range in age from 2 yrs to 16 yrs. They are all “house dogs” with activity levels proportionate to their ages(some are very active, some prefer to loaf around the house) All of them eat Acana at 30-31 percent protein, and to that I add raw, canned etc-further upping it.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi DoggyDoc-

Does RC still give free food to the vets that sell their products to feed to their own dogs?

[Melissaandcrew]

You can still use up your chicken by mixing it as a topper with the dry-we top all the time and the dogs love it. Just remember since its not a balanced topper, to keep the amount to 20 percent or less to avoid causing an issue. And lose the bouillon cubes-most are way too salty…

[Melissaandcrew]

Oh, I agree-whenever there is an odor, there is a problem, no matter how many pets are in the home. Sounds to me like they are overwhelmed, perhaps not wanting to admit that what they could do and keep up with at 40 is not the same in their 60’s or 70’s. The fact that the rescue Pres was out there 5 days prior tells me a lot, and I have to say, not too impressive.

[Melissaandcrew]

Oh yuck! I think the description of ” too many dogs” is subjective-for some people 1 may be “too many” and for others “8” etc. However, I just don’t get how people can not identify odor in their homes and do something to rectify it. I would be horrified to walk through my front door and smell an odor-and then would spend the next however many hours it took to locate the source!! When a home smells like urine, the owner is either a lazy slob or they are in over their heads. Homes do not smell simply based upon how many pets are in it-they smell because the owner fails to clean up or remove the offending source of the issue. Either way, if the person is a foster for an actual rescue, someone needs to mention it to the rescue. Often times the heads of the program get swamped and do not have the time to visit(on a regular basis) each and every foster home-if the dogs look good/clean at clinics, they assume all is well.

Anyway, Gemma I’m sure, is now set up to live the life of a queen with parents who care and its all green pastures for her from here on out.

[Melissaandcrew]

Maltipoo-

We know what Petsmart carries, but what brands of food does this “Mud Bay’ carry? If you can give us the brands, someone around here has probably used it and knows the kibble size.

[Melissaandcrew]

Sounds like Gemma is acclimating to the new home nicely!It doesn’t sound like the foster home really was clear on communications. Its unfortunate, but some people say “good with other dogs” simply because she doesn’t fight with them. To me, “good with other dogs or likes” other dogs means they interact with them and look forward to the interaction.

I don’t think foster homes try to lie(I hope they don’t) but sometimes adopters have to scratch below the surface and question things. For example, my dogs are housebroken. What that sentence doesn’t clarify is that I am never gone longer than 4 hrs from here and hubby and I both work from home-so the dogs have as much access as they need to go out. Would they be housebroken in another home with a different schedule? Not sure : ) Then there is just the reality that some dogs do not do well in certain foster homes, and the worse reality that not all foster homes are created equal. Either way, I am thrilled to hear that you have her and did not give up easily. And even better news is that Mitch is just around the corner!!

[Melissaandcrew]

Thanks gals! I wrote them all down to run by hubby. Karmella was my hubby’s rescued pygmy goat that recently passed, and Rose we inherited when her owner died-she herself passed this year due to an embolism-she was 16yrs old. Lacey was our 17 yr old schnauzer who passed last year due to heart problems. Love all the other suggestions!

Valerie-Thanks and a big Thank you to you as well. While my heart goes out to the seniors, we have had other pups recently. The shihtzu in my icon has a heart condition that requires a visit to the cardiologist every 3mths and she is just 22 mths old. I figure we have a few younger ones that will still play with and enjoy a puppy(not the old cranky ones, lol) so its now or never since I can’t see me raising two pups at once again!

[Melissaandcrew]

Maltipoo Mom-

For my small ones(smallest is just under 6lbs) I just make sure that anything that is a larger kibble is flat-not big round balls. The flat foods they can eat just fine

[Melissaandcrew]

Thanks Sandy! I have written it down to investigate later today once the storm starts here. I have to say, not only does he continue to improve physically, but mentally as well. He is much happier now that he can use his legs : ) I am a big proponent of trying something that may have a chance of working, whether or not its considered “approved use”.

[Melissaandcrew]

HDM-

Never said it was harmless or low risk-rather presented another opinion and results of my experience. I will say I personally only vaccinate for KC when I absolutely need to, but that is an individual decision to make, but should be based on all information/sides.As with all diseases, there is a risk to vaccinating and a risk to not vaccinating. Any disease contracted could potentially be life threatening to the dog that gets it-and once they have it, its too late to decide ‘oops, that one must have been immune compromised” Obviously I am referring to those that it may progress to a major problem for. I just prefer for people to hear differing opinions, whether or not they are the same at the root core as my own preferences and beliefs.

I also do not vaccinate for lyme or lepto as my dogs just do not have the exposure to the lepto, and I have seen multiple reactions to the lyme vaccine.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Aimee-

Could be-I was unaware of all the potential applications for Cerenia and I Thank You for posting this. You see, often times we drift off topic and make comments that are unrelated directly to the topic at hand, and never know or realize the ramifications of that off handed comment, both good or bad.

Approx 2 weeks ago, we woke up to find one of our dogs was neurological in the back end-by the time the vet finished the exam, he could not stand at all. Since he was fine the night before, we can only assume that he may have slipped off the couch during the night, or slipped on the tile etc. Due to his intractable(aggressive nature) with anyone but myself, he was ruled out as a back surgery candidate-he would not tolerate the handling etc even if surgery would have worked. After a week on Pred twice a day and muscle relaxers, he was still scooting around and while he would compensate with his front end , we were starting to look into carts. I read what you posted, investigated and thought “It may be a Hail Mary play, but I have nothing to lose and neither does he” I am on my way shortly to pick up more Cerenia. Today will be Day #5. In 5 days, he has progressed by leaps and bounds. He has gone from a dog who could not use his back end-scooted to be mobile, lifted himself to a standing position by bearing weight on the front half-then legs would give out and he would fall over, to a dog who can walk. Don’t get me wrong, he is far from 100 percent, and may never be 100 percent. BUT, he can move all 4 feet independently, is aware when he is toe dragging and self correct. This morning, he actually used one of his legs to scratch his ear-something we thought we would never see.

Could it be coincidence since he is still on the Pred and could it actually be the Pred starting to work? Could be, but I don’t think so. He has been on 1 tab a day for the past week, and typically you get the “best results that it will be” when given at the higher dose. The amount of progress in these 5 days has been amazing. Had you not mentioned that snippet about Cerenia, I never would have thought of it as an “off label application”, never would have asked my vet to look into the option, and he may not have been walking today.

[Melissaandcrew]

HDM-

While I agree that Bordetella often does not work, its because it only protects for 6 or 8 strains out of a myriad of strains out there-which of course is unfortunate, but no different than the flu vaccine that people get. As for “being dangerous” I have never seen an ill reaction to it, except for one or two that have gotten a transient reaction(slight cough for a day or two) and honestly, those seem to be the ones that have gotten kennel cough when it goes around, despite being vaccinated. In our general location, some places are starting to require the Influenza vaccine as well in order to board or go to daycare.

It is unfortunate for many that groomers and kennels require the vaccine, but its about disease control and attempting to stop the spread of it in a daycare type setting-doesn’t always work, but the majority of vaccinated dogs will not come down with KC or will get a mild case. In the very young, and old KC can be rather serious and life threatening as it can rapidly progress into pneumonia. While most will not(especially those with owners who are aware and get them to the vet quickly) its not accurate to say its not life threatening-it certainly has the potential to be so.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi DieselJunki-

Its the same issue with apartments as with a single home owner-whether or not the home owner’s insurance will allow the breed or not. And, they are less likely to allow them in rental situations. I too was shocked when I found out that many will not cover “exotic” pets such as ferrets as well. As a former rental owner, I can tell you that many renting animal owners(not all!) just don’t care about training their pets properly or preventing damage to the rental units. And typically, the security deposit does not cover one 8 hr span of “dog or cat gone wild” , lol Despite being an animal lover, we eventually prohibited all pets due to potential for damages and liability.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Amy-

While Cerenia and Tramadol are part of the treatment program for a bout of pancreatitis, I am confused at the reasoning of why to give them at the start of an attack to head it off. Cerenia stops vomiting and Tramadol is for pain. Metronidazole is the typical treatment for the stomach/intestines. At the first sign of a problem, or if ours got something she should not have, she was given metronidazole immediately and would not develop the pancreatitis attack.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi PennyLanesMom-

Yes, yes and yes. : ) I have mini schnauzers who are genetically predisposed to pancreatitis. Most of them can eat a food with a fat content up to 15 or 16 percent now, but I did have one that could not go over 10 or 12 percent. Unfortunately, each dog’s limitations for fat is different. My girl did well on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Healthy weight-its grain free and if I recall, about 10 percent fat. She could also indulge in the occasional serving of Grandma Lucy’s pureformance chicken(dehydrated food) as well as lower fat canned as a topper. She was a severe case and if she so much as got a few nuggets of a food she should not have, she would start with symptoms within 24 hrs.

[Melissaandcrew]

HI Kenn-

While I have not used that particular variety of Nutrisource, I do like the food in general and feed it as part of our rotation-both grain inclusive and grain free. Currently I am using the Heartland Select. I do think their stool is a little softer and more plentiful on it and some have a bit of gas, but nothing horrible. Nutrisource also has a frequent buyer program, so be sure to ask your retailer for the frequent buyer card-

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Dave-

Why is the owner looking to change foods? Its so hard to find one that works for an individual dog, that I would ask her that question first : ) My girl does best on lower fiber foods and flareups can be stopped by adding a raw medallion or two to the meals.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi there-

While I switch my adult dogs “cold turkey” from one food to another, I personally would not switch a 7 week old this way. They are babies and their digestive systems are much more fragile imo. They are going to have enough stress of leaving the litter, new environment etc. For me, unless there was a pressing medical reason to switch, I would opt for at least a week to completely switch them over.

[Melissaandcrew]

HI Marie-

A few things-Rescues often have nasty dry or oily skin/coat until they have been on a better diet for a few months-sometimes they even blow coat and start to look naked.. But, once the coat starts to regrow, its usually a healthy coat. Dogs with dental disease often rub at their faces because of the rotting teeth which of course hurt. Poor girlie.

Once her mouth heals(usually 10-14 days) you can add dry in, but soak it a bit. Most actually can eat the kibble once the pain is gone. I have two rescue with no teeth and they not only eat dry, but one still “chews” a rawhide bone : )

The bathing should help the dry skin as the groomer will(should) use a heavy conditioner, but one treatment may not be enough to remove all the dry skin. I find that briskly rubbing them helps to move the dry skin into the hair, and then frequent brushing(soft bristle brush) removes the dead skin cells from the coat. We also supplement these ones with fish oil etc, but that helps control further issues, but does not resolve the current one-

[Melissaandcrew]

Inked-

Love the Chris Christensen products, including the pin brushes. Mine have lasted for years w/out loosing their pins. For a great conditioner, I use either Coat Handler(can be left in and works great to loosen mats) or Tomlyn Nova Pearl creme rinse. I know some do not like soaps with “scents” but I personally like my dogs to smell like they just came from the groomer : )

[Melissaandcrew]

Inked Marie-

I generally use my regular clippers with a 40 blade for the toes/feet..but, I also have a small Wahl trimmer(cordless-runs on double A’s) Its small, and you hold it like a pen, comes with one fixed size blade.(I bought a second blade for it) I use it for the very small feet, as well as for dogs who are sensitive to sound to trim the insides of ears-its very quiet. It was like $20 or so, and I have now had it for 10 yrs-and I have yet to change the blade. For small areas, light use such as feet etc, it was a great deal.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hmm…If you still have the cart(s), I would have someone take a look at it and what happens when he is using it-like someone with an engineering background.. If he is up ending the cart, there has to be some way to balance it out(think training wheels). Perhaps some sort of “pole” on either side preventing it from rolling over. ..or even weight it down to some degree to stop the bouncing..Poor guy! and poor you! Its got to be stressful for all involved.

[Melissaandcrew]

Better quality foods result in lower output of waste, but there is no food that specifically cuts own on waste produced. A low residue diet is a type of prescription diet that is easier for a dog with certain medical issues to digest. Your dog needs a cart so that he is more independent and you can have less stress.

[Melissaandcrew]

Rambo and Fancy-

The comment about a good breeder is merely someone’s opinion. Some people can not handle one puppy, some people can handle two. In all my years, I have NEVER had a problem with siblings(owning them) nor a problem with a responsible owner having litter mates.

[Melissaandcrew]

Jan-

My deepest sympathies are with you. Having recently lost one myself, I know its not easy to go through. Hugs to you and yours and know that you made the decision that was best for her-

Melissa

[Melissaandcrew]

Has NV started using a different process or modified it? The bags of the raw I always bought were that slightly grayish color from the HPP…This last bag we bought(the bite size pieces-chicken) was/is very very pink in color. Difference of night and day..

[Melissaandcrew]

HDM-

For some reason, the “theory’ is out there that two litter mates will bond and be dependent on one another- more so than with the owner. I am not really sure what the “whole” thought process is behind this belief, as quite frankly, I have never seen it be an issue. If an owner is spending time with the pups, teaching them, playing with them, there is no reason for that to occur. I have had no more issues with actual litter mates, than with two the same age raised together who think they are litter mates, lol.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Jens-

Sorry about the divorce : ) Yes, people say you should not get two litter mates-and with that said, I have had litter mates together as welll as two pups(different litters) but same age-never had a problem with them : )

[Melissaandcrew]

HDM-

I just had an aha moment, lol. What do you think of raw green tripe for my dobergal? She can eat the canned green tripe w/out issue. Now I am thinking perhaps some fresh green might help..thoughts?

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi there-

Each dog is an individual and what works for one, might not work best for another. Since I have multiple dogs, I find it easiest to find a food that works for all, and increase or decrease based on calorie requirements. My baseline kibble is a good 50-50 mix of 5 star or 4 star foods, grain free and grain inclusive. Add in toppers and we are good to go. I started with the calculator to determine a kcal starting point and simply went from there.As long as the food is a decent quality, and does not cause issues for either(skin, ears, stomach etc) you should be able to maintain both on one with serving size variation.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi eles7-

I use the GL chicken Pureformance and the dogs love it. It does have a very strong garlic smell to it, which some people do not like. As well, a few of my dogs seem to have a problem digesting the carrots in it, but it has not caused a huge issue for most. I use it either solo or as a topper to offer variety on a rotating basis.

[Melissaandcrew]

Mike P-

Thanks for the compliment!

[Melissaandcrew]

ALexandra-

Just took a quick look and I am not getting the same thing you got : )

1) it says the guidelines would be vaccinated as appropriate for the shows area-this makes sense. If parvo is a huge factor in a show area, it only makes sense that all dogs coming to the show be current or titered The question would come into play as to what each individual show is requiring(which some shows already do!) I am betting that exemptions would not be an issue since the vaccine status is verified by your own veterinarian : )

2) Dogs would have to have certificate for interstate travel(this is a basic health exam and form that gets filled out) Believe it or not, many states already have these laws in place, owners just ignore them or never look into them. Rescues/transporters for rescues keep a travel log and any dog travelling through an affected state are certain to travel with required paperwork

3)No where does it say flea/heartworm preventative is required. It says the dog must be internal and externally parasite free. For me, that is a no brainer. This can be accomplished with a fecal and visual check at the health exam for transport.

[Melissaandcrew]

I have to think about this more. I have not heard about this. Can you direct me to some online info showing what is being addressed etc? On one hand, it does have its merits-who wants their $5000 show bitch to be kenneled next to Uncle Skeeter’s parvo exposed dog with no vaccines? On the other hand, I don’t want to be told things have to be done yearly…

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