[Sam Koch]

My mom is not a senior. I think I will take them to the vet by myself and just see what they would like to do. Do I need to switch foods if it’s not a health issue?

[Sam Koch]

Try Alaska Naturals Salmon Oil with Glucosamine & Chondroitin. Just search on Google. Salmon oil is great for the coat while the Glucosamine helps with the joints.

http://www.allnaturalpethealth.com/customer/dogs/alaska-naturals-salmon-oil-glucosamine-chondroitin

I would read the disclaimers at the bottom and also ask your veterinarian if this would be a good choice. It’s 1/2 teaspoon for 10 lbs. We use 1/4 teaspoon for our 4 lb Chihuahuas and it works wonders.

Hope that helps!

Sam

[Sam Koch]

I would definitely introduce them all separately. Although I haven’t used greens, I found that my Chi mix is allergic to random things; her stomach doesn’t take carrots too well, and since I fed her various veggies/fruits I had to separate them to find which one was doing it. Best of luck!

[Sam Koch]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I looked at the stress signals, and one thing she does a LOT when we are out is shake. I picked out some good treats today and will take it slow from now on; I think I thought too much of her otherwise calm behavior. Poor girl, I’ve probably really stressed her out.
There was a small girl today at Walmart that she didn’t worry about at all, so I want to say it was what she was wearing as well. When I take her some where again, I will see if anyone will be willing to work with her a little (probably Petco).

I talked to my trainer and we have 5 private lessons set up for helping her, since my trainer actually has two little ones! She said with the way Honey acted, she doesn’t think it’ll be a problem, it just may prolong her training a bit. Thank you all so much for the help, I really love this site and the ones who help me.

Sam

[Sam Koch]

Also, to clarify, she was not going to bite.
The girl appeared, Honey started shaking, put her ears down, and growled. Just a rumble in her throat, no teeth baring and her eyes just looked scared.
The girl knew not to come near her, but they got in line behind me and Honey moved to the other side of me so I was in between her and the girl. She was obviously scared (now that I’ve calmed down a bit as well, I can see that).

[Sam Koch]

Honey is a Psychiatric Service Dog for me. She hops in my lap when she senses a panic attack come on and if I lay down flat and say “panic” she’ll lay on my chest as a form of deep pressure therapy. She also wakes me up at 8am every morning (her internal alarm for a walk) because I’ll get so depressed I won’t get out of bed.

I am not rude for what I said to the girl. I said to the mother: “Excuse me, I think my dog just needs to meet your daughter without the hood on, I believe the hood is why she’s growling”. I don’t see how that’s rude, inform me? Sorry, I wasn’t very calm in the situation either. Once she started growling I got nervous.

I will never EVER use Cesar Milan’s techniques. I am not fond of him whatsoever.
My trainer said we will talk more Saturday, which is when her next class is.

Thanks,
Sam

[Sam Koch]

I take her every where I go. She’s been to classes of 200+ people with me, at dog parks, restaurants, stores, etc. I only got her Feb. 1st of this year and she’s about 3 is what the rescue told me. No, no signals, just a quiet growl and a few low barks. She had her ears back and was shaking. She didn’t want to go near the girl.

[Sam Koch]

Okay, well, hopefully it won’t happen again. If it does I’ll try to calm her. Could she just be having a bad day? She didn’t eat much either.

[Sam Koch]

Karen, I’ve really been wanting to get a Thundershirt for her because she is very nervous most of the time.

Right now she just keeps looking at me all upset, probably because I’m upset.

[Sam Koch]

Yes, I have already emailed her and have a class Saturday.

She’s a rescue. Her foster mom didn’t do sh*t with her, and had 6 other dogs, so she didn’t get much attention. But when I got her and brought her to a college dorm hall of 38 people, she LOVED everyone, and still loves them. I have never had a problem with any dog, kid, teenager, adult, cat, even rat with her. Suddenly, growling and barking.

[Sam Koch]

I’ll do that, I just don’t understand where it came from. I take her to Walmart (she’s a service dog in training) and a kid came up a pulled her tail and she was startled but fine with it.

[Sam Koch]

How much of the Nutrisca would you recommend for a 5 lb Chi? 1/4 cup total?

[Sam Koch]

Awesome, thank you.

Another thing…
My mom feeds them Purina Dog Chow and has been for years.
How do I get them to a five star food? Gradually go up a star, or just switch to a five star now?
Her concern is money and I offered to pay, so. Should be no problem there. 😉

[Sam Koch]

Definitely don’t get enough exercise, I go back for the summer so I’ll start them on the walks. Will talk to the vet too, thanks!

[Sam Koch]

Update: Got a fecal test, it showed the parasite Coccidia. We started treatment and the doctor said it should be cleared up after treatment, but if it doesn’t then it’s something else.
Everything had been normal until today. Her poop has been a little mushy but I think that’s because of me switching her diet up. She didn’t eat all of her food today (maybe about 2/3 of it) and she’s asked to go outside three different times and hasn’t done anything, not even squatted. Now I’m smelling poop, I don’t know if she’s having gas or I’m just paranoid…

[Sam Koch]

No vaccinations, and if Merricks doesn’t work out I’ll give Nutrisca a try. I will also look at the website. I just really want it resolved, poor girl (and poor dorm room carpet). 🙁

[Sam Koch]

Sorry, one more post: I’m just not too fond of the foster mom, and I probably need to contact the rescue about it, because she smoked in her house and Honey REEKED of it when she came to me.

[Sam Koch]

She was eating Rachel Ray’s Just 6 and I wanted to switch her away from it, I just don’t feel comfortable having something my dog eat from a huge commercial chef… Her foster mom also free fed her. She was 16 pounds when I got her and is supposed to be 12.5-14.5 pounds, she was a little overweight. The foster mom also mentioned feeding her cheese, because she really liked it.

[Sam Koch]

I’ve done the rice/hamburger remedy each time. These three incidents have been 3 weeks apart from each other. She’ll go 2-3 weeks with being normal, then will have a day where she is just horrible. Then I’ll do rice/hamburger and she’ll get back to normal, etc. The foster said she was completely healthy and normal for most of the time she had her, except when she first got her and she was malnourished. She said when she fed her it would just go right through her, but she said it passed within a month.
I also give her pumpkin and it seems to help. I feed her twice a day, 1/3 cup each time, and that’s lowered from what I used to give her (1 cup a day which I realized was a horrible thing to do).

My friend is letting me borrow money for her fecal test, so as soon as she poops again I will take it in. I will ask my veterinarian what they can find out from it.

[Sam Koch]

I will look at Victor dog food as well, it looks great. Thanks!

[Sam Koch]

Makes sense. The licking started not too long ago too. I’ve been thinking about fish oil not just for Honey, but for my Chis at home with my parents. Thanks for the suggestions! I really appreciate it.

[Sam Koch]

I will check those two out, thank you!
I have always wanted to do homemade food, maybe I will when I move back home for the summer and get a full-time job, I don’t have much money right now.
It doesn’t seem like her allergies are too bad, and I also think some of it is stress.

Thanks again!

[Sam Koch]

I use a slow feeder piece for my little one, may not work too well with a larger dog. It’s called Gobblestopper and I got it from Petco. It’s a little bone-shaped thing that suction-cups to the bottom of your bowl. Works for my little one, but a puzzle or spreading it out may be easier for the bigger ones. Good luck!

[Sam Koch]

I will (try to) do her anal glands soon. I’ve tried before and nothing came out. Her crate is right across from my bed, she can see me from there.

[Sam Koch]

I think it’s being in her crate, but I don’t have to force her in there. Although, she doesn’t look very happy when I tell her to go to bed. 😛 She was locked in a crate most of her life before I rescued her, so that may be it, I just can’t have her out at night because she likes eating stuff off the floor/going through the trash. I will talk to my veterinarian about it, I have an appointment for the 2nd.

[Sam Koch]

Definitely see a vet. My 4 1/2 pound Chihuahua at home started having occasional seizures, then they grew to be 5+ in a day. She ended up having Encephalitis and is now on Keppra for the rest of her life. Keppra is great and she hasn’t had a seizure since starting it. If you want to go with a more holistic approach I would ask the veterinarian.
Take care.

[Sam Koch]

I thought I’d give an update: I switched her to 2/3 cup and gave her a little bit of pumpkin for a while and weened her off just to a tiny bit (don’t want to overdose her on vitamin A) and she had normal poops yesterday and today!! Thank you all for the help, I am near the end of my bag of food and now that she is normal I will try switching. Is there any recommendations that would be easiest on her stomach coming from Whole Earth Farms?

Once again, thank you! It’s a great weight off my shoulders and I can tell Honey is feeling much better.

Sam

[Sam Koch]

I’m nervous to switch foods. I tried switching to Merrick’s small breed formula, and I did it really slow and it still messed her stomach up. She’s in great shape, I’ll try 2/3 cup.

[Sam Koch]

I will try cutting the amount down. I went with what’s on the bag of food, but it does seem like a lot. Should I try 1/2 cup a day? or 2/3?

[Sam Koch]

I like Zuke’s Naturals out of Colorado, and I also use freeze dried beef liver, chicken, etc.

[Sam Koch]

Dori, they look great. I will definitely check them out. I will order a medium first.

[Sam Koch]

I had a step in nylon harness the first time and it chafed her. I think the problem is is that it comes up right behind her legs and chafes her armpits. I’m not sure how to keep the harness lower where it’s supposed to be.

[Sam Koch]

Thanks so much! I’ll check that out.

[Sam Koch]

Thanks for all the replies!
She’s a very well behaved dog and will start service dog training after she transitions thoroughly.
Never heard of rotating food! Will definitely read the article.

Sam

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