[Hildie V]

For every bit of meat (phosphorous) you need calcium to balance the ratio

The amount in kale and yogurt isn’t enough. Phosphorous depletes calcium. That is why dogs on raw and bones don’t need supplement because the bone calcium rations the meat phosphorous

When not giving bones you *need* to add calcium, I don’t like calcium pills because you can get it by powdered eggshell

[Hildie V]

I have been using Dr. Peter Dobias probiotics for just under a week. Don’t know if they are doing anything yet but apparently this is the best one. Google GutSense by Dr. Peter Dobias and have a read 🙂

[Hildie V]

Mine used to be the same as a puppy and it wasn’t until I switched her to NRG dehydrated that she became normal.

Kibble is hard for them to break down. By the time it reaches you it has been handled a lot, cooked at high temperatures, and totally altered from it’s natural state.

I would suggest feeding homecooked food, raw, or dehydrated where all you do is add water and soak to fluff it back up

I bet you if you tried this, and added a spoon of pumpkin, you would see huge improvements. When switching to any new food do it gradually. Start off small and over about a month slowly increase until the diet is completely switched over to the new one a month later.

[Hildie V]

From what I have learned from a few books and sites I have read the guidelines for homemade food without using bones is this:

65% meat
10% organ
25% veggies

1 tsp of fresh ground eggshell per lb of food fed
Salmon oil daily
Vitamin e daily

I also add in a mineral and vitamin mix and a probiotic and digestive enzymes

If your dog doesn’t keep weight on with this you can increase the veggies to 40%, using mostly sweet potato or regular potato or a winter squash and use 10% organ and 50% meat

Yogurt isn’t enough of a calcium supplement, it balances itself but not the entire diet

You can also add fish a few times a week and eggs if they work for your dog

[Hildie V]

I bought a meat grinder and tried to get away with a cheaper $100 one

It sucked!! It was an Oster one, but I didn’t try bones in it. I have heard to grind bones you need the fancy $500 ones

For boneless meat I found the quickest and easiest way is a food processor. Way, way faster.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Hildie V.

[Hildie V]

Yes they do and some Asians eat dog and cat… That would be like saying to feed a dog a diet of cat meat and lentils…

It’s an endless debate…could go on and on I suppose, I eat beef and cows are sacred to some East Indians

I guess it’s the nature kingdom. That is why I could never videotape lion packs because I would save their prey

[Hildie V]

Are you thinking it isn’t pancreatitis then? I asked my vet about Exocrine Pancreatic Insoffeciency and/or pancreatitis and he said the two blood tests he had taken on separate instances when I had taken her in showed heightened levels of Amylase but that he didn’t think it was EPI or Pancreatitis but that we could take a deeper look if needed. But the symptoms on all the websites are different that the gulping, hard swallowing, licking of the air, occasionally vomiting and eating everything off the floor…

The other thing my girl experiences at times is mucus around her stool like a sausage wrapping. And sometimes the stool is green, or a mix of green with a bit of yellow, or sometimes dark and sticky on the outside (not all the way through)

One time her bum bled after a poo…

I am wondering if this is all liked too. The thing is that it’s all so random and never consistent, could be days apart then not happen for 6 months later.

[Hildie V]

My girl is super active, high metabolism!

The “rule” is 2-3% of their body weight. But that isn’t a rule, it is a guideline. There are far too many factors to say 100% that it is a “rule”.

If you feed 2-3% to start, you can gauge pretty quickly if you need to alter it.

Martha S. you may not have to feed tonnes more. Depends on your dog 🙂 I would keep on the fresh food.

[Hildie V]

I’m at about $60-$75 a week for a 55 lb dog. She eats 3 lbs a day. I know, that is lots right?!

[Hildie V]

I’m sorry but I can’t get past the horse meat!!!

The way the horses are handled, and then killed, is disgusting and inhumane. They hit them on the pole between the ears which paralyzes them then cut their necks off and they bleed out.

It is painful for them, and not quick. It a not the same as butchering other animals.

Why not try venison? It is an uncommon meat and you can usually find a hunter who will have access to lots. Lots of butcher shops can order it in for you too if they don’t carry it.

You need to make the diet complete. Check out the Whole Dog Food Journal and they have a guide for making it properly.

[Hildie V]

You have to grind them into a fine powder otherwise they don’t get absorbed.

Their digestive system is too quick to digest properly bigger chunks.

[Hildie V]

Hi Susan they do sound alike 🙂

She does best on food I make myself. Also, NRG raw dehydrated, but unfortunately she’s developed a wheat allergy in these wheat germ in NRG so I can’t use anymore.

I’m going to try a ground turkey, beef liver, beef heart, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, and potato next. I supplement with eggshell calcium because I don’t feed her bones. I also give Simon oil, vitamin E, digestive enzymes, probiotic, and a multivitamin and mineral specifically designed for dogs by a holistic vet.

I would suppose just as in humans certain things trigger acid reflux but it can be different in every person and also in every dog. I suppose there’s also an underlying reason why acid reflex is there to start with which is what I really want to get to the bottom of. That is, assuming she actually does have acid reflux and this isn’t something to do with something else because no one seems to know 🙂

I think finding foods that work for the dog is specific to each dog and it’s trial and error. Kibble can be a lot harder for them to break down than fresh food. Fresh food is highly digestible, and usually easier to digest. I would not touch a vet prescribed food with a 10 foot pole… But that’s not saying it doesn’t work for some people and their dogs, is just disgusting to me 🙂

If you want to make your own homemade food but are scared that you might not do it right you can buy a cookbook called Hillary’s Complete and Balanced and you can buy her supplements to go with it and then follow her recipes for homemade food. Her cookbook is only available through veterinarian offices in Canada and off her website in the USA. My girl did great on her venison and potato limited ingredient diet for five months until I couldn’t find the venison anymore at an affordable price :-). That is when I switched her to NRG…

Nothing I have done is a fix for sure, my dog is still having problems, and I like reading about what other people do to try and help myself as well 🙂

[Hildie V]

Hello 🙂 I too have a Boxer who gulps (swallows hard repeatedly), licks the air, licks the floor, tries to eat everything that isn’t nailed into the ground, sometimes throws up. This happens randomly and almost always between 1am and 3am, although sometimes just occasionally it happens during the day.

She has been seen by 6 different vets for this. I have had her tested for almost everything possible. Tests involved: x-ray, barium x-ray, stool sample, extensive stool culture, urine cultures, blood work, autoimmune disorders, megaesophagus… the only thing I have left to do is an endoscopy but that will either turn up negative or show something we already know that we’ve been doing trial therapies on.

At first I was told it may be: acid reflux or tonsilitis. I was told to give her Pepcid AC (fomatidine) and Sulcrate Suspension. This worked for a bit (give 1 hour before or 3 hours after food). I stopped using Pepcid and continued with the Sulcrate when she had an episode. It doesn’t work anymore.

Now, after all these tests she is on her third treatment for Heliobactor, just like someome else here mentioned. She also is on Amoxicillin and Metronidazole, as well as Pepcid and Pepto-Bismol. This is her thrid go-around in four months and she’s still randomly doing this.

I have come to several personal conclusions. Firstly she CANNOT eat grain. The last time she was on a good-streak I made oatmeal cookies for her and she got an episode that night. Secondly, she cannot eat high fat things. Another good streak, I gave her eggs before bed and she got an episode. Another good streak and she snuck into the garbage and ate beef fat strips, got an episode that night. I really believe this is acid reflux. I don’t know what is causing it. I REALLY hope the antibiotics do the trick this time for Heliobactor.

If she has an episode, I know it’s usually 2am but I don’t sleep anyway so I take her for a long walk and you would never know she was having a problem. Until we get home, then it’s back to the gulping. She seeks comfort in me rubbing her belly in a firm was as to burp her.

So…Along with doing whatever it takes from my vet’s suggestions (He is AMAZING) I am also gonig to treat her as if she has acid reflux. No big meals before bed. No eating after 8pm. Multiple smaller meals throughout the day. No more kibble (she has tried every food possible, kibble, dehydrated, raw, fresh homecooked and it doesn’t make a difference). I will stick with a low-fat homemade highly-digestible meal plan and give probiotics (Dr. Peter Dobias) and digestive enzymes (Prozyme). I will keep Pepcid and Pepto Bismol on hand (you can give together).

I am PRAYING that this stops. It is the scariest thing when it happens. She begs to me to help her but there isn’t anything I can do to make it stop.

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