What to feed

[coneye]

 After some advice here ,, What to feed my little dog ,, i have a   small , not sure but he looks like a maltese cross , how he looks depends on how long his hair is ,,    so lets say little white fluffy dog .. Anyway last 3 years or so  he has developed a real chronic ear infection both ears ,, i've had him to the vets so many times ,,  every answer is the same ,  does'nt seem to have   a yeast problem  so here ya go steroid tablets    and whatever else they feel like selling me at 70 bucks a bottle ,, he's cost a absolute fortune  and 3-4 vets  probably a few thousand dollars later not one can tell me why its happenning ,, Last one put him under , and said his ear was badly infected and full of gunk , cleaned it out , 700 bucks thank you , 2 weeks later his other ear was  red and sore , why they never looked at both while he was under i don't know

So i go on u tube , there was a vet on there  she said she was appalled at the amount of steroids given willy nilly by her colegues  ,  she said its usually acompanied by back handers from the drug companies ,, she touched on ears and said , apple cider vinegar  is a good remedy ,,, so thats what i do when he starts shaking his head   i check there red , i wash them with 50-50 cider and water and it seems to fix them  for a few weeks ,,

 Anyway  he's started to smell   i'm convinced its his diet ,, but i've tried  canned food ,  rice and veg , he's not keen , i tried chicken mince , ended up at the vets who told me  there was a war going on in his stomach ,  bacteria in the chicken mince advised me not to feed him it any more . he  seems to like his dried food  , with maybee a  couple spoons of  tinned food with gravy for taste ,, but the smell  he just developed is getting really bad ,   alweays had 2 big dogs at a time before , and never had them smell has strong or has bad has him ,,, wife says its like smelly feet  dog smell .

 

 Really seem to be wasting time and money continually at vets , alls i get is ,  consultation , 70 dollars ,, steroids 80 dollars , yeast test 80 dollars ,  this tablet 60 dollars , that tablet 60 dollars there ya go  if he;s not better after all this bring him back , NEVER any answers , and i've been to 4-5 different vets all the same

 

So what do you feed your LITTLE dogs , to be honest every other dog i've ever owned has been  healthy with real good coats ,  i'm convinced its his diet but unsure with these little toy breeds which just seem soft  definetly not hardy  after reccomendations  tried blach hawk expensive and he did'nt like it ,   tried   supercoat   , tried the cheap natures own ,  what he has does'nt matter   he's only  small so  its not going to break the ank , i just want whats best for him

Edited October 11, 2022 by coneye

[persephone]

Oh Dear
My advice would be to feed  fresh raw meat ..with some cooked veg, an egg every couple of days , and some plain yoghurt   and a doggy probiotic pill. For treats, anything without colourings etc ! Dried fish /beef liver- that sort of thing . nice meaty bones, too for chewing and fun
There are as many ways of feeding dogs as there are types of dogs! 

[Kazm]

I’ll second Persephone’s advice. I have a mini schnauzer and feed her fresh raw meat with cooked veges for her dinner. Breakfast consists of raw meat and a spoonful of plain yogurt. She also gets egg and  sardines once a week. Due to a recent dental check/ clean I’m going to add some dental biscuits into her meals as ongoing prevention. She’s 11 and her stomach doesn’t tolerate bones any more. Her treats are dental chews and dried liver pieces. And always Australian made!!!
Her coat is always shiny and healthy looking, she doesn’t smell and for her age she has plenty of energy. 
Good luck figuring out your little guy.

[coneye]

Thanks for your replys ,, what raw meat do you give  i did try chicken but it caused havoc with his stomach , vet like i said advised against it said there was too much bacteria in it ..

 

Also if its not food  any other suggestions for a smelly dog

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by coneye

[Kazm]

I give her raw beef and sometimes kangaroo. I buy it from Petbarn. I like their meat for her and it definitely agrees with her. 

[Papillon Kisses]

I’d cut to the chase and see a veterinary dermatologist for a proper work up and treatment plan. 
 

Otherwise you can waste a boatload of time and money on different diets and remedies, get no real answers, and limit food unnecessarily which may lead to nutritional deficiencies and health problems over time. All the while your dog continues to suffer (and you by extraction!). And to top it off, if you then need to do an elimination diet down the track, say if your dog develops ibd, it can make things much more difficult as you’ve limited the amount of carbohydrates and proteins that are novel to your dog.

 

So see a derm and get a proper work up. If food allergies are diagnosed, or intolerances suspected, the vet can advise on suitable diets.

[coneye]

 going to try him on just mince  i'll just buy proper  human   mince from  butcher or supermarkets , good enough for us good enough for dog , and   frozen veg , cook the veg and make pattys    easy to make and then freeze ,  cut his dried food in half  to half a cup in morn  pattys at dinner  see how he goes  ,   supose its going to be trial and error , he needs to lose weight anyway ,, he gets a lot more active when he gets a couple pounds off ,,,

 

Jeez these small sensetive  toy dogs are hard work ,   first and last one ,    give me the big strong robust shepards and rottys any day  LOL

[Papillon Kisses]

3 hours ago, coneye said:

 going to try him on just mince  i'll just buy proper  human   mince from  butcher or supermarkets , good enough for us good enough for dog , and   frozen veg , cook the veg and make pattys    easy to make and then freeze ,  cut his dried food in half  to half a cup in morn  pattys at dinner  see how he goes  ,   supose its going to be trial and error , he needs to lose weight anyway ,, he gets a lot more active when he gets a couple pounds off ,,,

Unfortunately that is an example of a diet that is not even remotely balanced for a dog.

[_PL_]

If your vet is giving repeated courses of steroid you need a new vet. 

The body odour is yeast, a secondary reaction to oils.

 

I'd skip straight to the dermatologist as well.

Also, grab yourself a little set of clippers like this and always keep the hair short and this includes trimming their whole ear to help keep the air circulating. You'll get used to the look   

 

BTW I don't feed chicken to allergic dogs. It seems to aggravate things. 

 

edit; I meant the ear hair. Not the whole body.   

Edited October 12, 2022 by Powerlegs

[coneye]

3 hours ago, Powerlegs said:

If your vet is giving repeated courses of steroid you need a new vet. 

The body odour is yeast, a secondary reaction to oils.

 

I'd skip straight to the dermatologist as well.

Also, grab yourself a little set of clippers like this and always keep the hair short and this includes trimming their whole ear to help keep the air circulating. You'll get used to the look   

 

BTW I don't feed chicken to allergic dogs. It seems to aggravate things.   

Not just one vet ,, all the vets around where i live ,, i'm over them , got no doubt they break a leg  , get run over they would be good , but uo to now every single one of them has just wanted to sell me  expensive  food  or steroids that they sell ,, not one has said feed your dog a balanced diet of such and such , only   try this canned food , 10 bucks a can , try this  kibble 160 bucks a bag ,   try this steroid course ,   . seems money money and money is there only consideration . In fact  a couple said its not yeast don;t know what it is so we will medicate him and try different stuff , 2 said its possibble yeast  but the test does,nt show it so buy this really expensive food ,, i was buying  the  stuff to put in his ears  once a week , for 87 dollars a bottle then discovered pet barn has the same stuff for 40dollars     now   i use watered down apple cider vinigar and thats the only thing that clears it up quickly  food one wanted to sell me  he was  160 dollars a bag  ,   pet barn was 40 dollars a bag cheaper but the girl there said they have complaints don't buy it ,, dermatologist may be a good idea  if i can find one i could trust , but i put that to  a couple of the vets i tried and both there answer was , WHY  he's got nothing wrong with his coat , he's not losing hair  , he's not scratching  why do you need one ,, here buy this ,  frustrating ...  i will admit he smells  more has his hair grows ,, but i keep him fairly short anyway , i get a dog groomer to do it he likes them and they love him  for 65 dollars let the profesionals do it .

 

Papilon  if  half his buiscits and make it up with beef mince  , ( human grade ,  so less bacteria ) and mixed veg is'nt balanced what would you suggest ,, things like an egge  every now and then he has , same has cheese   ,  he loves it  but he has that for a treat  ,, will admit don't give him bones he does'nt eat them anyway , they just show up  two weeks later , under the bed , down the sofa or somewhere else he's hid them , untouched   just hidden . bit of yogurt is easy  . i thought mince  and veg would of been ok like i said supplemented with kibble

[Boronia]

@Westie mum can you help with Coneye's question? I remember that your wee Mac  had an ear ablation and the results were good

[Dogsfevr]

On 12/10/2022 at 8:47 AM, coneye said:

Thanks for your replys ,, what raw meat do you give  i did try chicken but it caused havoc with his stomach , vet like i said advised against it said there was too much bacteria in it ..

 

Also if its not food  any other suggestions for a smelly dog

 

Your problem is your feeding so much what ever with no actual consideration of what is in each aspect.
If chicken is a problem your are also feeding chicken in its dry food & very few a legit chicken free . 

Most dermo vets will generally do a 6 week strict diet to detox .
For some they will suggest Crocidile prime roll or some off the other varieties off the prime single protein roll as some dogs digest processed food better than raw  & its a very simple starting process for owners 

Raw beef is often a food that will overheat a dog .
Seasonal weather can often require foods that are cooling like Goat.
Roo is often a good choice for inflammed dogs but can also cause tummy troubles .


But if diet related than the whole package needs to be looked at & that means no treats a strict detox .

Is the dogs feet inflammed/yeasty??Often dogs with bad ears have bad feet & just transfer the issue back n forth .
Are the dogs teeth good?

I wouldnt trust a Pet barn staff member most promote there in house brand & very few sell what the vets may do unless they get it in a special order .

If your not willing to pay $$ then you need to look at this more logically in doing a food diary of what everyone is giving it including treats & start very simple .
Beef is one food we will rarely feed our dogs .

Ear infections can also be a result of thyroid disease as can yeast issues .
But at the end off the day for some dog ear infections are a forever thing & its just managing BUT its important to still see the vet as they can inform of inside ear damage ,so many do DIY help without knowing whats in the ear & like many things it can be trial & erro at finding the right product,regime or approach .
 

[jemappelle]

Do you keep the insides and immediately surrounding hair to his ears clipped as that will help as well.

 

And I wouldn't be too concerned about the steroids, I've had a few dogs on them now without any problems.  The dosage for skin problems is very low and considered very safe.

 

 

[coneye]

He really does'nt have any skin problems has such , no excessive  scratching , no loss off hair ,  just stinks lately ,,  and ear infections 

 

Has i stated before   its ongoing he does a course of antibiotics and steroids and its back within weeks  I used to stop the doggy smell by just getting him cut ,,  longer his hair the more he stinks cut  him and it went , but last two cuts its stayed with us .

 

Now regards his ears  when they start to look red or he's scratching them , i just bathe them in organic vinigar 50-50 water vinigar , this seems to  clear them up .  different vets have said its not yeast ,, i  looked if his ears need cutting but not much hair in there that you can see ,    i'm coming too the conclusion  his ear problem is just something we have to live with an keep on top  they or one infected ear was cleaned out  while he was asleep not long ago vet said there was gunk ect in there  but guess what within weeks  all inflamed again ,  i'm starting to think its all diet related ,,, I've been  feeding him either supercoat or natures gift   he likes them   but really he eats anything ,, so i'm going to swap it around . open for suggestions on what dry food

 

Just made up a big pan of   mixed frozen veg , 1 kilo , 2 kilo  of lean mince , (human consumption ) and  cup of rice ,  fried the mince lightly in olive oil , mixed it altogether  and  bagged into serves put in the freezer   thats one meal the other i will stick on dried food ,  primarily because we go away a lot  and need to be able to just take a bag off food .

 

So basicly its going to be trial and error ,, so my questions now are ,  whats a better dry food , and is my  beef mince , frozen veg and rice concoction a good enough diet  cheers ,,, also    some said they give there dog yogurt ,, i bought some but what do you do  give it your dogs on top of there feed , or  just a spoonful has a treat , ,,,

[Kazm]

Good luck with his diet. And I give my girl a spoonful of plain yogurt in her bowl beside her meat. I don’t mix it in. 

[coneye]

Spoke to a very nice lady yesterday , she breeds maltese , so i figured ,   lot more experience with small toy dogs than me , so i'll ask her  ,, she suggested  and agreed with me its probaly a high chance its his diet ,  thinks the  mince concoction is good for him , but perhaps change the beef to roo or venision , also said theres a good meaty product called prime 100 if i don't want to cook myself ..

 

Lady said i've been feeding him rubbish from the supermarket   dry foods , and suggested if i'm going to  keep that up  buy a better one  , delicate care from the vets she suggested ,,  I'm up for it was .nt even expensive to do , think  2 kilo of beef mince was only 20 dollars , kilo of mixed veg 5 bucks  thats 20 night time meals for  25 bucks ,  buy the more expensive kibble  she said about 35 for 2.5 kilo ,,  morning meal  at 60-80 grams  grams  easy a months supply  , 60 bucks or so for a months food ,  cheaper than the vets every 2 months , if it works ,, fingers crossed ,  and if i ever get another dog its back to big strong dogs  LOL ,  , never ever had any issues before with big dogs ,, there definetly more hardy

 

[Boronia]

I have older Westies, the latest from Qld Westie Rescue, the woman who runs it insists on raw diet especially for her skin problem dogs (some Westies are prone to this and crook diet when they are younger doesn't help)

I found that minced turkey necks (you need a very robust mincer for this and chop the necks up long wise first...use a tomahawk, it's easier) put the mince in containers and freeze then when you need the meat part just thaw and mix with cooked pumpkin or sweet potato and vegetables, I have gotten lazy and just cook up single feeds of either Bell Farms or Woolies Winter Vegetables, I choose the winter veg as they don't have corn. They also get some of the frozen broccoli or cauli as a treat.

it's not a cure-all but it helps

Aldi and Woolies have turkey mince in the 500g trays, sometimes you can pick it up as a mark-down (yippee!) There's no bones it it as humans don't like the crunchiness so perhaps buy turkey wings and cut them half

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by Boronia

[coneye]

Thought i'd give an update on how he's going ,,  start with i thought definetly change his dry food  i done  a lot of looking and decided to feed him TASTE OF THE WILD  it seems to get good reviews and the girl in the pet shop said its one of there best ,  so out with the supermarket NATURES GIFT  and he now gets this , price is treble but heh , he 's only a small dog  it will last  a month  easy ,  he gets  half a cup in the morning .

 

Then for his  night feed , i bought a kilo human grade beef ,   lightly cooked it  mainly because chicken mince un cooked once had him to the vets with a neuclear war going on in his tummy  , i boiled up  a kilo of  mixed frozen veg ,  , mixed them together ,, ,

 

Instant result within days  the smell had gone he was smelling normal ,  did'nt even relize how bad he was until we went away for 7 days came back and the whole house still stank of him , still thats the wifes job now , she knows what to do .

 

But and theres always a BUT ,, he developed a severe scratching and itching problem  , so i gave the beef mix away , and went and bought some , pet roo mince ,, it was only $7.50 a kilo so i bought 2 kilo for the same price has  the mince , i cooked that  has well  got to be honest did'nt like the smell and said  naaaw gonna change that , but he seems to love it woofs it down , mixed that with   2  kilo of  mixed veg  , and thats his nightime meal ,,  within probably 5-6 days of changing to roo  ,  the scratching stopped ,, plus he's only had one bout of  red   this time semi inflamed ears  , which    the cider vinigar fixed up overnight so alls looking good for the moment

 

Thanks for all the advice , because to be honest its the first time i've ever had problems with a dog in   45-50 years of owning them ,, i put it down to  the breed  shitz - maltese cross ,  every other dog i've ever owned have always been big strong with beutiful shiny coats ,  and  good examples , of there breed , and  i've never really been  fussy over what i fed them

 

Cost wise its no biggy because he's only small , give him  half a cup kibble in the morning approx 50-=60 grams , around   150 grams of the roo -veg mix at night , and too be honest , he's a bit overweight  still ,  so its  not a huge expense works out  around $15 a week , , Now normally the wife just throws the bag of natures gift in with the  shopping  , usually grabs it when its on speciel  and we don't even think about it  3 kilo bag  , for around 15 bucks ,,  no big deal ,, but  upgrading him to mince and veg , and the more expensive  kibble has made me relize  if yu had two BIG dogs like i used to always own ,  you would probably need a part tim job to pay for them ,, may explain whay theres so many at the dogs homes ,,, because its obvious   the cheaper stuff in supermarkets will cost you in vets bills

 

 

[Kazm]

Very happy to hear you’ve had success so far with your little one. Makes life easy when it’s all going well. And the cost - sometimes you just have to do what you have to do and you do do it to keep them happy and healthy. 

[Deeds]

Great that you posted back " thanks for the advice" and even better you updated us on your dog and what you are now feeding him.

 

Again thanks for updating us coneye.