sueang

Thanks for the replies. I'm still not really convinced he is in pain, tried a number of different NSAIDs. supplements, etc with my Vets approval and there's no results. He can race around like looney when he sees something to chase but he rests a fair bit too, then again he's not a pup anymore. I do wonder when we go for a walk, sometimes he's reluctant to keep going so I've been carrying him for a while then he wants to get down again. SO - being a 'crazy dog lady" I found a child's pusher which Mick thinks is great. (Oh boy, the neighbours lol) He dashes around (on lead) for a distance then stops, hops in the pusher, rides along like King Muck until he reckons it time for another run.

perfect :)

Smart dog, I wish someone would push me back home, Patch will walk & walk then we are both tired to walk back home, I was going to buy one of those kids carts that you put on the back of a push bike & I ride my bike along side Patch then I put Patch in the cart behind my bike & we ride back home I think he'd like that..

Mick, 9yo Miniature Pinscher, was born with a deformed elbow which has always restricted the movement of that leg. He has never put full weight on it although still using it. My Vet advised that arthritis may set in. There is muscle wastage in that shoulder from not using the leg fully. Over recent months he has been limping more noticeably and he has been on injections, various meds (Metacam, etc) none of which have lessened the limping. Vet cannot get any pain reaction in the area. Mick is not showing any signs of pain, carrying the leg, shaking, reaction to manipulation, etc. He runs flat out, just not putting full weight on the leg (can see the different imprint in wet soil). I feel that the muscle wastage could be the reason for the limp. After resting for some time it seems worse but once he gets moving the limp isn't so bad. Don't want to keep trying different meds due to the side affects but also don't want him suffering pain. So question is - what other signs would there be of pain? He's still his usual nutty self, just this limp.

Hi, you know when a dog has pain, he wouldn't be running around like a nut, it may be a bit tender sometimes especially now winter is coming in the morning it may be a bit stiff......When my boy steps on a bindi he stops walking & will not walk so I have to look at all his paws & check them all, the other day he must of twisted his paw or something & just stopped walking, I looked for a bindi & there was no bindi so I stopped walking for about 10mins & lightly massaged his paw & leg then he was right again to walk, give his elbow a light massage, if it hurts he wont let you massage it, if it feels good he will keep letting you massage the elbow....

Wondering if others have had their dog react to glucosamine chondroitin with msm. I started my dog on this four weeks ago and he now has a fiercely red tummy and is itching badly. Stopped taking it two days ago, but no relief yet. I don't know if the supplement is the problem but wondered if others have had a similar reaction.

Hi there's this really good group on Face Book called "Dog Allergy International Group" that just started 3 weeks ago, the lady that runs the group Michele has 2 dogs with food intolerances to certain ingredients & environment allergies & if I remember correctly there's another lady called "Deb Jessie" & her dog also can not have Glucosamine https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogallergyinternationalgroup/

So last thursday my 3 yr old Samoyed, Wolf vomited up his breakfast. For the rest of the day he continued to vomit on and off, eventually it stopped in the evening and he could drink water again without bringing it back up but refused to eat.

We took him into the vet on friday and had x-rays and full blood work done and aside from a very slightly raised white blood cell count and a couple of very small bone fragments (chicken wings from the day before) in his small intestine there was nothing else to indicate a problem, no fever or areas of pain.

The vet kept him for the day, started a course of antibiotics and gave him some pain relief and in the afternoon the nurses were able to get him to eat without vomiting so we brought him home.

That night he had a small dinner of cooked chicken breast and seemed fine, quieter than usual but still bright and happy. He continued eating small, bland meals over Saturday and continued his antibiotics, toileting and drinking normally.

On Sunday he refused to eat at all but continued to drink and toilet normally. He slept for a good deal of the day.

This morning I was able to get him to eat a small handful of cat biscuits and roast chicken (the only things he didn't turn his nose up at) but has been quiet for most of the day, still drinking and toileting normally and hasn't vomited at all since thursday.

We have no clue what is going on with this boy and our vet is stumped. The best we can come up with is a partial blockage but having dealt with many issues like this with our first Samoyed even that seems to be a bit of a stretch.

Does any one have any ideas what this might be? I'm currently waiting to hear back from our vet to see what he wants to do next.

Thanks

Hi, has he pooed?? if he has its not a blockage, did he have a Blood Test for Pancreatitis?? a AcpL test is the best & sent away not a in house testing sometimes the in house blood test come back negative when they have Pancreatitis, start feeding low low fat meats like Turkey Breast mince 99% fat free sold at Woolworths meat section, Chicken is high in fat especially baked or BBQ chicken, if you must feed chicken buy chicken breast cut in half then half again & boil just till it starts to bubble up, then remove all the fat & white froth & just stand & removed cooked pieces of chicken cut in half & see if middle is cooked, boil the jug & rinse chicken breast pieces with boiling water, then section into meals & freeze what's not needed, add about 1 spoon boiled pumkin put in a blender & blend then add the pumkin...see how he does on boiled chicken breast or the 99% fat free turkey breast mince, I buy 2x500g packets=1 kilo, I add 1 egg mix all together then make little small balls turkey rissoles put on a baking tray & bake for about 15min or until cooked, they taste beautiful dogs love them & put about 6 little turkey rissoles balls in the blender & add pumkin or boiled sweet potatoes you can also freeze the little bit size turkey rissole & take out of freezer what you need they thaw in about 15mins they are excellent as treats & when they wont eat....sounds like Pancreatitis my boy had the same thing & the blood test came back all good, Ive been keeping him on a low fat diet low fat kibble 10% fat no higher..see how he does on a lower fat diet, he'll need to eat a bit more but he wont get sick again, I hope....also raw meats are higher in fat, when meats are cooked & boiled you boil out the fat..

Hi,

I would like to know peoples' opinion of feeding raw and kibble (dry food) at the same time. We currently feed our two girls (miniature dachshunds) Big Dog BARF mixed with a bit of Holistic Select grain-free dry. Usually the dry is just a sprinkle over the raw, much less than a quarter of a cup. They also get a small chicken neck most days, either in the morning or at night w/ the raw instead of the dry. We also give them biscuit balls with the dry in during the day or sprinkle dry around garden while we are out (not every day, and we will adjust evening meal if they've had dry during the day). I was reading yesterday however that some people believe this is a no-no due to digestive rates & bacteria build up when the raw has to digest more slowly due to the dry. What are peoples' thoughts/experiences? Both our girls are happy & healthy, although we have noticed the older one (nearly 5) has slowed down in terms of energy over the past year or so...but this may be because the younger more energetic dog (just over a year old) makes her seem a little slow, not sure.

I'm also asking because we are getting a new boy (also mini dachshund) in a week or so. I would love to feed him the Big Dog puppy BARF & was planning to mix in a bit of softened dry (same as above but the puppy formula), but now I'm a bit unsure (of course, I will transition him slowly regardless). The breeder has him on My Dog puppy wet & Supercoat dry atm. He will (all things going to plan) be a show dog, so it is important that he grows & develops correctly.

Thanks in advance & sorry for the long post!

Here's a link this experiment was done 27th December 2014 & yes Raw does digest slower then kibble & here's the experiment done on a Borozi 16 month old intact male.. http://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2015/01/08/digest-this-kibble-may-actually-digest-faster-than-raw/

Getting sick of wasting expensive dry food because Jolie refuses to eat it! Can anyone suggest some highly palatable kibble that a fussy dog might like?

ETA Jolie is a 3yo entite female Italian Greyhound. She gets RMB and chicken frames as well as kibble.

Have you tried Sunday Pets the Deliganics they are like weet bix but smaller I soak in water for 1 min drain water then break in half again & the meat comes to life & smells beautiful to the dogs there's only a few places that sell it, as its new, email Sunday Pets for a stock list in ur area also they will send u a samples......all organic & healthy http://www.sundaypets.com/deliganics

For those who may remember my 13 year old senior citizen has had ongoing IBD and food allergies for many, many years so it has been an ongoing battle to feed her, keep weight on her, minimise itchiness and settle her stomach.

This dog has a history of reacting to commercial IBD diets (and I have tried them all on her) and because of an allergy to chicken (which most are based on). She gets extremely itchy even when these diets are hydrolysed. So she is a dog that has a history of bloody diarrhoea, vomiting plus she gets itches from IBD diets that are supposed to help her. A double wammy!

Over the years I have tried her on just about every commercially prepared and homemade food available. The last food she was on for quite a while was homemade kangaroo stew. She still got the rumbling gut, didn't want to eat and was so skinny it was heartbreaking...the only thing it helped with was the itching.

I had over the years also added many different types of bacteria & emzymes to her diet to help with digestion eg. Protexin, Enzyplex, yoghurt, etc. and tried an array of medications, all with no obvious improvement in her condition.

I was at my wits end when I decided to phone Hills and put her back on whatever they recommended and just let nature take its course.

Their recommendation was to feed the Z/d Ultra of a morning and the I/d cans of an evening. I had tried these previously and knew they were an imperfect fit but I had to feed something so I went with their recommendations.

Now comes the interesting part.....we keep bees and we have many hives from which we extract pure honey. Our honey is not heat treated as is the case with most commercially produced honey so it is what is called "raw" and so still has active bacteria and enzymes in it. Honey is known to be a great source of beneficial bacteria and has been used for hundreds of years to treat a vast range of medical problems including gut and skin conditions....so I decided to add some into my girls diet. It was a long shot but my thinking was that adding honey to her food couldn't hurt and might just help.

So... it is now 2 months later and I am cautiously ecstatic to say that she has put on about 2kgs, rarely has a grumbling gut,is pooing pretty much normally and is not itchy.

I didn't like to advertise the fact in case she relapsed but I wanted to put it out there for those who do have dogs with the same chronic problem that my girl had.

Maybe it can help you too?

Gee I just bought some Manuka Honey today, I read that its good for Acid Reflux your suppose to put some Manuka Honey on a piece of bread 1/2 hour before eating the higher the UMF the better....We will see how Patch does with his IBD, I'm also trying the "Meals For Mutts" Salmon & Sardine Hypoallergenic Gluten free kibble only sold at Pet Quarters or online not bad for $25 for 2.5kilos maybe its worth a try instead of the Hills Z/d as the insoluble fiber is high & there's only 0.1% soluble fiber in the Z/d..... that's why a lot of dogs with IBD don't do well on any Hills diets as they put more insoluble fiber to make poos firmer but the dogs with stomach problems can digest the harder kibbles cause they are lacking more soluble fiber..

Our 9yo lab has always been food obsessed and eats fast, but in the past couple of weeks he's started to throw up while eating. Doesn't slow him down and he eats the sick along with the food.

He gets fed once in the evening, mostly Bonnie or similar. Starting today I'm giving him half in the morning and half at night.

Is he just getting too old to be eating as fast as he does, or could there be another cause?

My boy is a gulper & gets acid reflux, I just found Sunday Pets Deliganics & the fat% is only 5% fat nice & low & stops the acid reflux..the Deliganics are not kibbles they are like a small baked weet bix & the dog has to chew them, I break in half then in half again & add water to the Deliganics biscuits for about 1-2 mins then I drain all the water the. I sit with Patch & slowly hand feed him 1 by 1....In 1 cup there's about 20 biscuits but I feed 4 smaller meals thru the day, he loves the Deliganics & is starting to enjoy his food cause he is eating slowly & chewing these baked bisuits & they are all organic & healthy & Sunday Pets make a senior deliganics, email Sunday Pets & see if there's a Pet Shop close by that sells a 1.5kilo bag of Deliganics Senior or I buy a 11.81kilo bag from Pet Circle excellent next day delivery & free delivery for orders over $99 http://www.sundaypets.com/deliganics

Hi, has anyone done a salvia test on their dog thru Jean Dodds Nutri-Scan..

How was the service & how much did it cost to post by air to America?

Hi All,

I've been having a lot of trouble lately with Sarah, my 13 year old westie who was desexed at the age of 5 after two litters with her breeder and had two bouts of HGE at ages 5 and 6 - I'm not sure if any of that is connected to her current gut/GI/continence difficulties. She is wee incontinent overnight almost every night for the last week - a huge increase on the occasional incontinence she's had for some years. It seems to happen when she's really deeply asleep. Wondering if the Stilboestrol has stopped working. I had to put 'pants' on her last night and the pad was wet this morning.

She is on a bland, turkey mince, ground turkey bone and basmati rice diet as anything else - especially red meat seems to make her worse. She walks hunched as if she has a pain in her belly. She has terrible wind that can clear a room, rumbly tummy, occasional yellow diarrhoea and vomiting. The occasional vomiting is bright yellow, foamy and has undigested 'bits' in it. Similarly the intermittent watery poo has a yellow tinge to it too and - and she has become more 'snappy' than usual around food. Last year she lost a lot of weight but since we've been 'home' in the new house she's put it back on again to the point where I think she's almost too heavy. Still eats well and wolfs her breakfast and dinner. Otherwise she seems happy enough and she's still wagging her tail.

A friend who is very knowledgeable about dogs and food suggested that I should check for EPI - I'd never heard of it. And certainly when I did a search it seems its a possibility. But I thought I'd check the DOL brains trust first. Has anyone any experience with this or can help me shed some light on what's going on here before we head back to the vet ? As in hindsight, I may not have given the vet enough to go on the first time. so we haven't got to the bottom of it.

TIA

Hi the yellow vomit sounds like acid reflux especially if shes doing it of a morning, my boy was doing it & put on 1/3 of 150mg about Zantac 1 hour before breakfast & 12 hours later another 1/3 Zantac, I give a small meal at 8.30pm-9pm every night so there's something in his stomach I have now started to use 3ml of the liquid Mylanta if he wakes up 3am or 4 am & is swallowing & licking his mouth I'm finding that the Mylanta is working better then the Zantac now, also feed low fat meals turkey breast 99% fat free sold at Woolworths is the best low fat meat, I put 1 egg to 1 kilo of turkey breast mince & make little rissoles & put on a baking tray & bake they cook in about 15mins they're beautiful I even eat some myself I either give a couple of the turkey breast risoles as a treat or I crush the little balls & I mix 1 teaspoon boiled pumkin or sweet potatoes, I can not feed boiled rice as it iratates Patches bowel as boiled rice has sharp corners, ur better off feeding mashed potatoes or the sweet potatoes instead of rice.... have you tried any vet diets I know that they don't have the best ingredients but the Hills I/D low Fat GI Restore wet tin has OK ingredients the fat is only 1.7% she cant keep having the diarrhea Id see vet & have blood test done for Pancreatitis....

My 12 month old mix-breed has had a bit of a sensitive tummy since I adopted him at ~4 months old. He's now 12 months old and still just as sensitive. I have had to cut out anything like pig's ears as it gives him the runs, and honestly his stools are very rarely properly solid. He was on Pro Plan puppy large and that was probably the closest to 'ok' we've had him, but still not fantastic. I'm currently trying him on Applaws grain-free sensitive formula and I have picked up many giant poos from the yard today and difficult to pick up as they are so soft, but not quite runny. His gas isn't very pleasant today, either.

He was vet checked when he was at his worst, a few months ago when he had very watery, frequent diarrhoea. He was given some form of antibiotic for a few days and checked over and I was told nothing serious was up.

Is there a foolproof kibble for dogs with sensitive tummies? Or am I going to have to ride this rollercoaster of trial and error for some time yet?

Sounds like IBD you need a vet that knows about IBD a lot of vets don't know much about IBD.. & will just put ur dog on steroids,find a new vet, that has dealt with IBD IN DOGS & CATS........also vets that have Endoscope, Ultra Scan & have all the machines are normally better qualified vets, as they deal in more health problems then the small vet just up the road, I rescued Patch 2 years ago at the age of 4 yrs old who ever owned him before me just left him at the pound probably cause of his diarrhea & bloody poos (Colitis) cause they never treated him properly thru diet now I have him he has had so many problems that could of all been fix when he was a pup if put on a special diet, I have found he has food allergies cant eat Potatoes, Boiled Rice, Boiled rice isn't good for dogs with IBD as the cornered rice irritates the bowel making the problem worse, your vet should of put ur dog on a vet diet like "Eukanuba Intestinal" its a low residue kibble that is low in fat & low in fiber 1.70% fiber, all the dog foods in Pet shops don't have low enough fiber all around 4% as the premium dog food is made for healthy dogs..people think that u need more fiber but normally it less fiber if ur dog has the IBD with his small bowel, he'll need less fiber but if he has the IBD in the large bowel he'll need more fiber...your dog would of been put on Metronidazole, when the Metronidazole is finished if the sloppy poos havent stopped ask ur vet for a script of Tylan its used in America for diarrhea & is very safe to use its a powder that taste very bitter, u can put on food but It leave a awful taste in their mouth & some dogs stop eating their food, so u need to put the Tylan in empty capsules... Your vet should know about Tylan but a lot of vets don't cause they don't know much about IBD.... If ur vet does give you a script for Tylan Powder then you buy online at the http://www.thevetpharmacy.com.au/ it cost $40 my vet wanted $70 I said I can get it cheaper online you can also print out the prescription form & take to the vets, also join this group on Face Book called "Dogs With Inflammatory Bowel Disease" it a excellent group & everyone helps everyone out, also once you have ur boy on a proper diet, I really think thing will be better but if not you can also try enzymes, you can buy Eukanuba Intestinal online a 1 kilo bag cost $16 at the vets I buy the 5kilo bag Pet Circle sell it just say you were buying it at the vets & u got sick of having to go every fornight & u'd prefer it to be delivered to ur door it cost the same as the vets to be delivered yto ur door just make sure its the "Intestinal" not the "Intestinal Plus" the Intestinal Plus has 4% fiber not the 1.70%... If you go to Pet Barn tomorrow go to the Eukanuba section & look for "Sensitive Digestion" it has a little Boston Terrier on the white kibble bag, this formula is like the vet diet "Intestinal" but the fat is 13% instead of the vet diet 10% but that might be OK with ur boy but the fiber is only 1.70%, it's worth a try, then you'll have an idea that he needs less fiber or he doesn't Id say he does, also no treats, no bones, NOTHING just the Eukanuba Intestinal or the Eukanuba "Sensitive Digestion" also be careful with the Metronidazole my boy had real bad side effects when he stayed on the Metronidazole for more then 2 weeks it was awful...Good Luck I hope Ive helped, join the Face Book Group I'm always on there, Susan & Patch Patch the Staffy

I have a question, with the Nutriscan test the salvia is used, so what do you do, just swab their tongue with something that they have sent out? & doesn't the salvia dry out over the 1 week it takes to get to America, isn't their a salvia testing somewhere in Australia??

Thanks guys, I have heard that blackhawk is rather hit and miss, should I put him back on holistic select maybe? The main protein source for that was fish.

It might be due to hunger since there's never anything in the vomit except for bile so he is definitely vomiting on an empty tummy

When You pick a kibble get one with a lower fat% as fat increases the stomach acids, Have you looked at "Holistic Select" Grainfree Adult/Puppy Salmon Anchovy & Sardine meal sold at Pet Stock & Pet Barn or on-line, its easy to digest & the fat% is only 13% fat & protein is 28%, here's their link, http://www.holisticselect.com/product.aspx?pet=dog&cat=5&pid=71#guaranteed-analysis also I give a snack at 9pm low fat biscuits & feed 3 small meals a day instead of just the 2 meals a day that way there's something in the stomach, so the acid doesn't start noring at the stomach, also Zantac (Ranitidine) not the 12 hour tablets the normal Zantac, 1/3 tablet for a 18 kilo dog, its given 1 hour before food every 12 hours only, see vet if after changing food to a lower fat% doesn't help.

Have you thought of trying the Dr Jean Dodd food sensitivity tests?

http://www.nutriscan.org/

I have a raw fed dog that I spent over a year trialling food elimination diets with before I found out about these tests...within the month, I had received the test kit, sent the kit back and received the results. Fantastic to actually see the results...which did confirm some of my elimination diet results (but also disproved some of what I thought too!)

I have fed my dog by these results ever since, and not had one issue with dietary related issues. Best thing I ever did!

Are you in Australia koolietas? How did you get this test in aus?

Yes, as Dr Jean Dobbs is in America, I know your vet can send you to a place in Sydney that does the test but my vets said that you get false positives, do the test again & get different result... Elimintion diet is the only real way to know what your dog is allergic to...its pretty easy, I found Patch cant eat Potatoes Sweet potatos Pasta, barley, Rye, foods that are high in starch & Lectins...

Dogs can still get an intolerance for the Hills or Royal Canin Hypoallergenic dry dogfoods.

My old girl did....she nearly tore herself apart scratching and once I stopped the hypoallergenic dry food and started to cook kangaroo mince for her the itchy skin problem went away.

After much trialling I was able to get her on Ziwipeak air dried (1 scoop) plus Natural Balance 1/8th cup each morning.

If I give her too much the itches will flare up but I feed her just enough to keep weight on her which kangaroo mince doesn't do....she still gets the kangaroo mince of an evening.

There doesn't seem to be anything that is a perfect fit for her, so I just keep feeding what I can and hope her multiple problems don't get too bad.

Have you tried "K9 Nautral" freeze dry the chicken feast has the least fat then the Venison, here's their site http://www.k9natural.com/ K9Natural was invented for dogs with skin problems, I cant use as the fat % is tooo high for my boy with his IBD..

Hi All,

I'm going through a bit of a food issue with one of my Aussies at the moment. We have tried a lot of things and are sort of at the point of really needing to cut back to basics, go bland and work out what his sensitivities are - if at all.

The background:

No issues with overall health, but fecal matter is inconsistent and he can go up to 4-5 times on a walk (never that much at home!). Range from 1st usually being normal, 2nd, fairly normal and 3rd semi formed (and so on). I changed his diet from a super premium dry to another brand, this helped for a bit, then tried grain free. This again helped for a bit and then we went to 80% raw. Recent weeks has upset his tum again (like I said, not the runs per-se... but just not normal!) and I now have him on Chick/Rice and I/D which is NOT improving things - he is still soft after being on it for a week and I would say perhaps a little worse.

We ARE booked in for the vet later this week but I would like to hear what others experiences are and any suggestions. I am fairly experienced at food elimination trials and these sorts of things, so various addatives and such have already been tried. All under the advice of those more experienced of course!

My Concerns:

I want my boy to be on a mostly raw diet as I think this is what is best for him. I'm happy to try Z/D for a short period of time (to get everything back on track so to speak), but I really don't want to feed him on this for his life unless it is an absolute must. I am in complete support of keeping him on a bland/ simple diet for a short period (read: 6-12mths) is necessary, but I am also concerned that keeping him on a bland diet may increase his sensitivities (again, this could be absolutely incorrect and I'm just making things up!)

Suggestoins welcome please!

Have you tried the vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal low residue kibble as the Hills z/d can make thing worse with some dogs as its high in fiber where the Eukanuba Intestinal has only 1.70% fiber...also are you feeding the Hills low fat GI Restore wet tin food not the Hills I/d low fat GI Restore kibble it has Gluten meal, barley, oats, wheat all the grains thats no good for food sensitivities The wet I/d low fat GI restore doesn't have these ingredients.....some dog just can not eat raw... I have a dog with IBD & its a big NO NO feeding a raw diet as they cant handle the bacteria in the raw meat, even if you try sitting the meat in boiling water for 1-2 mins to kill any bacteria on the meat but I would let his stomach/bowel rest & heal for at least 6 months on just 1 vet diet no other foods & a good dog probiotic like Vetafarm Probiotic 1 teaspoon taken daily & make sure you find a vet that knows a lot about IBD as some vets don't know much about IBD & will just put the dog on Prednisone (Steriod) without trying a diet first.... I can control my boys IBD so far on just a vet diet the Eukanuba Intestinal but Hills isn't good if ur dog has food intolerances as its full of grains also if you cannot get the vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal try the Vet diet Royal Canine "Sensitivity Control" its the only vet diet that's a Gluten free diet its just Duck & Tapioca as ingredient now I have my boy going real well, I'm slowly starting to add a new cooked food for breakfast only, just to see how he does but this has taken me 6months to get my boy stable with no Flares, vet want me to wait another 6months before trying any foods,he just does 2 small poos a day on his Eukanuba Intestinal cause its a low residue diet less poo & less work on their stomach & bowel it worth a try & its money back guarantee if poos don't firm up...

leopuppy04, not sure where you live? When we needed goat for a trial for our dog, the best source was the halal butchers.

I live Newcastle & we do not have Halal butcher...

Hi All,

I'm going through a bit of a food issue with one of my Aussies at the moment. We have tried a lot of things and are sort of at the point of really needing to cut back to basics, go bland and work out what his sensitivities are - if at all.

The background:

No issues with overall health, but fecal matter is inconsistent and he can go up to 4-5 times on a walk (never that much at home!). Range from 1st usually being normal, 2nd, fairly normal and 3rd semi formed (and so on). I changed his diet from a super premium dry to another brand, this helped for a bit, then tried grain free. This again helped for a bit and then we went to 80% raw. Recent weeks has upset his tum again (like I said, not the runs per-se... but just not normal!) and I now have him on Chick/Rice and I/D which is NOT improving things - he is still soft after being on it for a week and I would say perhaps a little worse.

We ARE booked in for the vet later this week but I would like to hear what others experiences are and any suggestions. I am fairly experienced at food elimination trials and these sorts of things, so various addatives and such have already been tried. All under the advice of those more experienced of course!

My Concerns:

I want my boy to be on a mostly raw diet as I think this is what is best for him. I'm happy to try Z/D for a short period of time (to get everything back on track so to speak), but I really don't want to feed him on this for his life unless it is an absolute must. I am in complete support of keeping him on a bland/ simple diet for a short period (read: 6-12mths) is necessary, but I am also concerned that keeping him on a bland diet may increase his sensitivities (again, this could be absolutely incorrect and I'm just making things up!)

Suggestoins welcome please!

My boy has just been diagnosed with Lymphocytic Gastritic (IBD) & cannot eat raw no more, I found the best vet Diet for him was Eukanuba Intestinal low residue kibble, the fiber is only 1.70% there's also "Eukanuba Intestinal Plus" the fiber is 4% this was tooo high for my boy, so U may need to choose either the "Intestinal" first then if poos dont firm up within 2 days like Eukanuba guarantee then buy the 1 kilo "Intestinal Plus" Eukanuba is money back guarenteed, I also use a "Probiotic" called Vetafarm sold at Petbarn in the bird section must be kept under 25 degree so in the fridge...you should keep him on the vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal for at least 6 months to rest & heal bowel, then I started to give boiled chicken & 1 spoon boiled pumkin for breakfast but you must sooooooo slowley add a new food if ur going to add any foods to diet....

If you do use Slippery Elm Powder, what brand do you use?

Is one brand better than another?

Slippery Elm powder is excellent when ur dog is feeling sick... licking & licking mouth or drooling.....

I thought it would be good to have a chat on probiotics.

I have use a few different ones, from Inner Health Plus and Healthy Essentials Broad Spectrum- which are both refrigerated human types.

I now use Protexin Green Label.

I don't have any great need to feed probiotics to my dog, but I am of the opinion that prevention is better than cure and that around 85% of the dogs immunity is controlled by a healthy gut. So I use it to optimise the gut function and cultivate a healthy material flora. Happy to be corrected on this.

I mix mine direct into his cold raw food at feeding time.

Please share you thoughts and what is your preferred PB.

I use VETAFARM 90g it's the same strength & ingredients as the Protexin yellow label & half the price & needs to be kept under 25 degrees like Protexin, so keep in fridge... Vetafarm is sold online thru "We Know Pets" for $25 free delivery or Pet Barn $20 in the Bird section with a red chicken & a lorreket on front..Ive emailed Protexin & dogs shouldn't be given human probiotics as dogs have a shorter GI tract then humans & stronger stomach acids, so the human probiotics wont work a waste of money...

thanks Sueang it is something that I can certainly speak to my vet about as well....although if it is highly contagious my other dogs drink from the same water as Jessie and they all lick each others mouths and they are not sick at all and yes all water at our house is changed every day for them to have clean fresh water daily but something else to look into so thank you very much

I forgot to write if the other dogs have a good immune system chances of getting the Helicobacter virus are slim, as they will have alot of good bacteria to fight the bad bacteria off. I asked the vet about my cat as he drinks out of the same water bowl & thats what she told me..Also put them all on a good dog probiotic I use Vetafarm Probiotic its a powder I just mix 1 teaspoon to 10-15ml water in a bowl & Patch just drinks it, I give daily after breakfast well I will be doing again after the Anitbiotics are finished in 3 weeks..You keep Vetafarm in the fridge, has to be store under 25degrees, its sold at Pet Barn in the bird section now, I dont know why they moved it, it use to have a dog & cat on the container now it has a red chicken & lorekett on the side & they put in the bird section they do sell Paws probiotic in dog section but its dearer double the price & has less strains of good bacteria the vetafarm has around 7-8 strains of good bacteria..like the vets Protexin Vetafarm has the same ingredients as Protexin & its sold at vets for $65 Vetafarm sells for only $20 Paws sells for $45

Just for the record, Paws DigestiCare 60 has 7 strains and is also in a large tub (150gm compared to 90gm).

Sags

:)

READ the ingredients, it has less CFU/g LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS it only has 60 million,....Where the Vetafarm & Protexin yellow container has 180 million....the Protexin Green label has only 60 million like Paws & its cheaper then Paws, so why pay $40 something dollars When you can get the VetaFarm for $20 just like what vets use the yellow label Protexin that sells for $65... buy the Paws larger tube u'll just need to use more...

thanks Sueang it is something that I can certainly speak to my vet about as well....although if it is highly contagious my other dogs drink from the same water as Jessie and they all lick each others mouths and they are not sick at all and yes all water at our house is changed every day for them to have clean fresh water daily but something else to look into so thank you very much

I forgot to write if the other dogs have a good immune system chances of getting the Helicobacter virus are slim, as they will have alot of good bacteria to fight the bad bacteria off. I asked the vet about my cat as he drinks out of the same water bowl & thats what she told me..Also put them all on a good dog probiotic I use Vetafarm Probiotic its a powder I just mix 1 teaspoon to 10-15ml water in a bowl & Patch just drinks it, I give daily after breakfast well I will be doing again after the Anitbiotics are finished in 3 weeks..You keep Vetafarm in the fridge, has to be store under 25degrees, its sold at Pet Barn in the bird section now, I dont know why they moved it, it use to have a dog & cat on the container now it has a red chicken & lorekett on the side & they put in the bird section they do sell Paws probiotic in dog section but its dearer double the price & has less strains of good bacteria the vetafarm has around 7-8 strains of good bacteria..like the vets Protexin Vetafarm has the same ingredients as Protexin & its sold at vets for $65 Vetafarm sells for only $20 Paws sells for $45

Can I ask what the dosage is for the Vetafarm product?

The Vetafarm is 90g it last me over 1 month.....Oh dosage, I started with 1 level teaspoon for 1 week, just incase Patch had diarrhea & he didnt, made his poos firmer, it comes with a spoon inside now I just give 1 level spoon that is inside container, I think their spoon holds 2 level teaspoons. I give after 1 hour after breakfast every day, Patch loves it, I mix about 10-15ml water, he just drinks it but some dog wont drink it, so just sprinkle over meal You can also email the Vetafarm company they are really good with advise...but if ur dog is on antibiotics you have to either wait till antibiotics are finished or give the probiotic 4 hours after you've giving antibiotcs, as the antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the probiotic...

How heavy is Patch?

Patch weights 17-18kilos, when you read the dose it says small 2-4g medium-4g large-6g also depends if they are stressed then they can have more, I just googled how many grams in 1 teaspoon & its said 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon, The vetafarm is a powder not as course as sugar but its close...so Patch must be classed as a meduim dog he's a English Staffy a shorty..

thanks Sueang it is something that I can certainly speak to my vet about as well....although if it is highly contagious my other dogs drink from the same water as Jessie and they all lick each others mouths and they are not sick at all and yes all water at our house is changed every day for them to have clean fresh water daily but something else to look into so thank you very much

I forgot to write if the other dogs have a good immune system chances of getting the Helicobacter virus are slim, as they will have alot of good bacteria to fight the bad bacteria off. I asked the vet about my cat as he drinks out of the same water bowl & thats what she told me..Also put them all on a good dog probiotic I use Vetafarm Probiotic its a powder I just mix 1 teaspoon to 10-15ml water in a bowl & Patch just drinks it, I give daily after breakfast well I will be doing again after the Anitbiotics are finished in 3 weeks..You keep Vetafarm in the fridge, has to be store under 25degrees, its sold at Pet Barn in the bird section now, I dont know why they moved it, it use to have a dog & cat on the container now it has a red chicken & lorekett on the side & they put in the bird section they do sell Paws probiotic in dog section but its dearer double the price & has less strains of good bacteria the vetafarm has around 7-8 strains of good bacteria..like the vets Protexin Vetafarm has the same ingredients as Protexin & its sold at vets for $65 Vetafarm sells for only $20 Paws sells for $45

Can I ask what the dosage is for the Vetafarm product?

The Vetafarm is 90g it last me over 1 month.....Oh dosage, I started with 1 level teaspoon for 1 week, just incase Patch had diarrhea & he didnt, made his poos firmer, it comes with a spoon inside now I just give 1 level spoon that is inside container, I think their spoon holds 2 level teaspoons. I give after 1 hour after breakfast every day, Patch loves it, I mix about 10-15ml water, he just drinks it but some dog wont drink it, so just sprinkle over meal You can also email the Vetafarm company they are really good with advise...but if ur dog is on antibiotics you have to either wait till antibiotics are finished or give the probiotic 4 hours after you've giving antibiotcs, as the antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the probiotic...

thanks Sueang it is something that I can certainly speak to my vet about as well....although if it is highly contagious my other dogs drink from the same water as Jessie and they all lick each others mouths and they are not sick at all and yes all water at our house is changed every day for them to have clean fresh water daily but something else to look into so thank you very much

I forgot to write if the other dogs have a good immune system chances of getting the Helicobacter virus are slim, as they will have alot of good bacteria to fight the bad bacteria off. I asked the vet about my cat as he drinks out of the same water bowl & thats what she told me..Also put them all on a good dog probiotic I use Vetafarm Probiotic its a powder I just mix 1 teaspoon to 10-15ml water in a bowl & Patch just drinks it, I give daily after breakfast well I will be doing again after the Anitbiotics are finished in 3 weeks..You keep Vetafarm in the fridge, has to be store under 25degrees, its sold at Pet Barn in the bird section now, I dont know why they moved it, it use to have a dog & cat on the container now it has a red chicken & lorekett on the side & they put in the bird section they do sell Paws probiotic in dog section but its dearer double the price & has less strains of good bacteria the vetafarm has around 7-8 strains of good bacteria..like the vets Protexin Vetafarm has the same ingredients as Protexin & its sold at vets for $65 Vetafarm sells for only $20 Paws sells for $45

Can I ask what the dosage is for the Vetafarm product?

The Vetafarm is 90g it last me over 1 month.....

Last time I tried BH my dog did start chucking and doing a lot of grass eating. A couple of us had trouble at the same time. Not really sure why as they said the formula hadn't changed.

Yes My boy couldnt eat, BH.. I emailed Black Hawk & a lady rang me back within 5 mins of sending the email & wanted to know what happened & told her it made my boy ill, she told me take the rest of kibble back to Pet Quarters & get a refund they'll know what to do, so BH must be use to complaints...