SarasMum Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I have a friend who has an 8yo Wei. Her female wei passed away about a year ago from bloat. At the time she was feeding dry food soaked in water which is what the breeder had told her to feed the dog years before. They had also been given scraps etc. After the female died she stopped feeding dry altogether and was feeding a combo of chicken carcasses and meaty bones, scraps, vegies, yoghurt etc. The dog goes for a daily walk at 5.30am and on Monday didnt want to go, she almost pulled him along the entire time. The next day he was fine, however the day after again he was dragging himself along. His stools have been fine, his gut is soft and no sign of any problems other than lethargy. He was taken to the vet who advised that he needed more carbs in his died and suggested feeding him rice/dry food. That was her solution regarding his lethargy. He has been on the same diet for a year now and this has only happened in the past few days. Now I am not an expert on dogs by any means but that just sounded a bit strange to me. Yes he maybe lacking in some nutrients but giving him rice I dont think is going to fix that is it? Maybe some quality dry food with its added vitamins and minerals but not plain old rice? I am waiting to hear what the recommended dry food is. I told her that if its Hills not to buy it. We cant get EP here but we can get Advance, Nutrience and some others. I feed Advance as its readily available and more affordable thru stock feeds. The others are only available at Petbarn which charge a lot more. What are your thoughts on the recommendation of rice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug Hugger Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Well I am no expert but when Louie had 'tinselitis' (caused by eating too much tinsel at christmas time) the vet put him on rice as it is easy to digest and not harsh on the stomach - to me it seemed to come straight out the other end pretty quickly, but then Louie does like to poop! COuld it just be Mr Wei is getting older and 5.30 seemed to early? It seems too early for me! I have a friend who has an 8yo Wei. Her female wei passed away about a year ago from bloat. At the time she was feeding dry food soaked in water which is what the breeder had told her to feed the dog years before. They had also been given scraps etc. After the female died she stopped feeding dry altogether and was feeding a combo of chicken carcasses and meaty bones, scraps, vegies, yoghurt etc.The dog goes for a daily walk at 5.30am and on Monday didnt want to go, she almost pulled him along the entire time. The next day he was fine, however the day after again he was dragging himself along. His stools have been fine, his gut is soft and no sign of any problems other than lethargy. He was taken to the vet who advised that he needed more carbs in his died and suggested feeding him rice/dry food. That was her solution regarding his lethargy. He has been on the same diet for a year now and this has only happened in the past few days. Now I am not an expert on dogs by any means but that just sounded a bit strange to me. Yes he maybe lacking in some nutrients but giving him rice I dont think is going to fix that is it? Maybe some quality dry food with its added vitamins and minerals but not plain old rice? I am waiting to hear what the recommended dry food is. I told her that if its Hills not to buy it. We cant get EP here but we can get Advance, Nutrience and some others. I feed Advance as its readily available and more affordable thru stock feeds. The others are only available at Petbarn which charge a lot more. What are your thoughts on the recommendation of rice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Sounds like the vet is having a random guess if you ask me. Dogs don't need carbs, they are not human. I seriously doubt that this has anything to do with diet at all. Vets are taught that dry food and rice are the ultimate diet (the food companies sponsor their education so its to be expected) and they have trouble accepting that there are better diets out there. I gave up trying to explain what I feed my dogs a long time ago, I just tell them I feed dry food and it saves the arguments. Whenever something is wrong in a dog fed something other than dry, they use it as an opportunity to convince owners that they should feed commercial food. Has the dog shown any signs of pain? Could be developing arthritis which would make walking uncomfortable. Did the vet do any tests? Could be an indication that something more is going on in there. I would tell your friend to try another vet, one that might be a little more open minded. I would hate for something major to be missed because a vet blamed the diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hum... Very strange. If the vet said rice is an adequate long term diet I would be finding a new vet. Rice is a great supplement - but dogs are carnivorous, they need more protein than rice alone could possibly provide. If the vet meant plain rice in the very short term, she may be thinking the dog has a tummy upset or bug and needs to lay of the rich food for a few days and eat very plain meals to give his tummy a chance to settle down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazxxz Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 How did your friend formulate her dog's diet? Has she done any research? I only ask because you didn't mention offal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Sounds odd. The Rice diet is for poochies with upset tummies. I don't see it as a balanced long term diet. There's an interesting discussion on dogs and carbs here: http://rawfed.com/myths/carbs.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 "bit strange" . You're being very polite. I'm not a vet, but am thinking 8 years old, large breed refusing to walk ....... joint problems/ arthritis etc.? Other illness? I don't think it's good to drag dogs for walks. For a dog that's previously liked walks to not to want to walk, got to be a good reason IMO. Where is your friend? Can someone suggest a better vet in her area for a 2nd opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I'd start with checking the dog over physically - check feet/claws/pads, then go up the legs and check elbows shoulders hips etc. Has he been into something he shouldn't have lately - possibly straining something? Has it been cooler in the mornings and those older joints starting to act up since they are going from sleep to walk within a short amount of time in the cooler part of the day? As to food...it could be he's not getting enough red meat - eg iron etc. Going with raw and kibble on the side or rice on the side isn't a bad idea just to see if that makes a difference. With feeding purely raw you do have to be careful about getting the balance right...have they been feeding offal, red meats - has there been enough meat on the bones for example? Perhaps start including some fish oil capsules into his diet - great stuff for all sorts of reasons. As to Hills....i personally don't like it - however i have found their senstive version has proved very very good. Also my cats and dogs have eaten it on occasion (odd freebie bag from work etc) and have done very well on it. So don't necessarily toss it out as an option. There are some fabulous dry foods out there...just not saying that this isn't one of them depending on the dog involved etc. Hope they sort it out soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarasMum Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 (edited) Its around 20deg overnight here so I dont think its the cold thats doing it. The rice was suggested as a long term thing which is why I was questioning it. Her husband has bought a bag of Advance and will give this every second day in conjunction with his other stuff. I think the vet said that there was a fair bit of bone in his poo, too much chicken and not enough of the red stuff. It just seems funny that its happened all of a sudden and happened on one day but not the next, then the day after again. They do panic about him and he is a very very much loved member of the family so they listen to their vet and follow by the letter. I dont think offal was a part of the diet he ate. The vet also told her to soak all of his dry food before giving it to him to release any gasses that may be in it to minimise the risk of bloat. I have a deep chested dog too but I thought soaking was a no no. I am very conscious of how my dog drinks before and after feeding dry eg, if she has been running around under the sprinkler (her fave past time) then I wont feed her dry food. Its all so confusing. Edited January 31, 2008 by SarasMum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 There is as much advice out there that says soaking the food will cause bloat as well that not soaking the food will cause bloat, that feeding dry will cause bloat, that feeding raw/bone will cause bloat, that feeding before exercise will cause bloat, that feeding after exercise will cause bloat, that feeding one big meal will cause bloat, that feeding lots of little meals will cause bloat...it goes on and on I also have deep chested dogs (GSD's) and the only thing i probably stick with from the above is not feeding and then exercising - no matter what i am feeding them at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterpaws Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Could it have been the heat? I know we leave for work around that time and it has been very muggy and humid this week. Charlie has been a right pest and refusing to go outside because of the heat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazxxz Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I dont think offal was a part of the diet he ate. Has the vet taken a blood sample to determine if the dog has any vitamin or mineral deficiencies? Offal is an important part of a raw diet because it contains high levels of certain nutritional requirements. I would research the diet properly rather than switch to dry food. My dog has been a pain lately when going for a walk - usually around the house with the GSD who has attacked him a few times so maybe there are other factors for your friend to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I doubt that the dog's lethargy has anything to do with its diet, if it continues I think it warrants further investigation and I would be going to another vet and getting a second opinion. Plain white rice is little different to plain white bread or plain white pasta, it's a refined product and many of its natural nutrients are removed in the process. In dogs it acts as a filler, but is of little nutritional value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahona Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Have they checked kidney and liver function? When my dogs kidneys started failing, the first sign was that she was really lethargic during her walk. She was gone in 4 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarasMum Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 The vet as asked them to come back next week if he hasnt picked up at all and they will do some bloodwork to rule other stuff out. Thanks for your replies. The suggestion of rice just surprised me a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Its around 20deg overnight here so I dont think its the cold thats doing it. The rice was suggested as a long term thing which is why I was questioning it. Her husband has bought a bag of Advance and will give this every second day in conjunction with his other stuff. I think the vet said that there was a fair bit of bone in his poo, too much chicken and not enough of the red stuff. It just seems funny that its happened all of a sudden and happened on one day but not the next, then the day after again. They do panic about him and he is a very very much loved member of the family so they listen to their vet and follow by the letter. I dont think offal was a part of the diet he ate.The vet also told her to soak all of his dry food before giving it to him to release any gasses that may be in it to minimise the risk of bloat. I have a deep chested dog too but I thought soaking was a no no. I am very conscious of how my dog drinks before and after feeding dry eg, if she has been running around under the sprinkler (her fave past time) then I wont feed her dry food. Its all so confusing. The comment in regards to bloat is interesting coming froma Vet. No one know what causes Bloat, there are only theories. The soaking of the food is so the kibble expands in the bowl and not in the tummy. Release gasses?....ooooooooooooook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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