Requesting a little help from P-F dog owners/lovers

[Clusterfrack]

I don't have much to add here but have you checked for giardia? Almost every time our beasts have had GI problems it has been due to giardia.

[LittleLebowski]

My wife and I have a 3.5 year old small dog (like 8 pounds). Last year, he started having these "digestive incidents." Basically, it goes like this. He vomits twice, like clockwork always twice, then has diarrhea. This happened last year in January, March, and May. We took him to the vet each time, and they pretty much shrugged their shoulders, gave him some medicine, told me to give him a tablespoon of yogurt a night until he was better and sent us on our way. Finally, in May, I decided if the yogurt was supposed to help his digestion, I'd just give it to him every night permanently. That actually seemed to help, all the way until December, when it happened again.

This time we took him to a different vet (who my wife and I both wound up liking much better). He did blood work (all normal). Gave us some medicine, but suggested he may have a food allergy of some kind. So, he told us to feed him Purina EN Gastroenteric blend exclusively, and nothing else. We followed his advice. Late last week, it hit him again. They gave us some medicine, etc.

Throughout this, I've been hearing about these high protein, low grain (or no grain) dog foods. Specifically, I keep hearing and reading that they're a lot better for the dogs digestive system since they're supposed to be closer to what their wild cousins actually eat. I have to say, I like the sound of it. Today, while in town, I stopped by our local TSC, and looked at a few of them. I walked out with 3 cans of Taste of the Wild, the buffalo and venison blend. I'm seriously wondering if our dogs problems could be an intolerance of the grains in the other foods we've always fed him, including this prescription diet the vet gave us.

I intend to speak with our vet tomorrow about trying him on a diet like this. That said, I'd like to hear from you guys if you've either A. had a dog with problems like this, or B. feed your dog one of these high protein low grain foods.

I'd also like to be clear that this isn't about me trying to be smarter than our vet, I really like this guy, I just want my little buddy to be happy and healthy. Thanks!

ETA: I also realize that if we switch him over, we'll have to spend 7-10 days doing it gradually. I haven't opened any of this stuff yet, so if this is a bad idea, I can just take it back.

I ran this past a friend who was a veterinarian for years and is now a scientist for the FDA. His response on the food choices is unprintable and he does not agree with the marketing involved.

[orionz06]

Marketing for what? What's the suggestion?

[Aray]

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/0...oisoning-pets/

Lawsuit claims Beneful is poisoning dogs.

[MGW]

Nothing has made our current dog sicker than Purina dog food that was supposed to be for gastronenteric problems. There were some issues before but it was so bad with the Purina food that we thought we were going to lose her.

We tried a lot of different brands of foods, including some really high dollar stuff, that didn't help. Believe it or not the food we found that finally stopped all of her issues was Kibble and Bits. I feel dumb when I buy it and I always hear that commercial in my head. It is better than watching our dog slowly die though.

[BaiHu]

Got the green light from the vet to switch him to this food. They also gave us some pro-biotic packets to mix in with his food to see if that helps with his digestion.

I'm cautiously optimistic, and hoping it helps my little buddy out. He's been such a great companion to my wife (and me too, but his true love is my wife), and I really just want the best for him.

Again, thanks to everybody for all the feedback and help!

Dog owner with four different dogs over the course of my life. IANAV (I am not a vet), but....

1) pro-biotics seem to be a must when you switch dog foods.
2) we use Taste of the Wild for our mutt (English coonhound, pointer, husky, setter mix-maybe?)
3) 99.9% of the time he gets no scraps unless its: pumpkin, yogurt or coconut oil for his stomach/stool and then coat when it gets a bit dry from summer sun or winter dryness. We bathe him every few months with an oatmeal dog shampoo.
4) The only time he gets stomach issues is if he enjoys a raw butcher bone/frozen bone stuff. We stopped giving them to him after the second time we noticed the pattern. The joint/sinew/raw bone immediately gives him diarrhea for a day or so.
5) small dogs tend to be nervous dogs. does he get enough exercise? just a hunch.

*SNIP*As a tween living in rural Costa Rica, I rescued a ton of dogs from the street.*SNIP*

Are you Cesar Milan hiding out as a techy gun geek on PF??

Jared,*SNIP*

On a side note, do not use "Raw diets." I know it is what the wolves eat, but the life span of those is short. The dog has been domesticated for hundreds of years as has been diets, some veterinarians believe this is the single most important factor to the dog having an extended life span over the last 40 or so years. This and going from the shed to the bed. The raw diet will complicate matters.

Find a vet you trust and who will listen to your needs. The problem is now chornic which means it will take some time to get figured out. Good luck.

Manuel *SNIP*

I've heard this too from future-missus-BaiHu's father who was a very successful vet in NJ for decades.

Good luck!

[Bigguy]

Dog ain't wolves, and wolves ain't dogs. Those centuries of selective breeding have produced something very different from their feral cousins. I've been told that people who keep wolves as pets are really courting disaster if they don't understand the differences. Here's a Nat Geo video that really illustrates the point that dogs aren't really born as wild animals.

[Jared]

BaiHu,

You asked about exercise. I'm ashamed to say this, but in the winter, no, he doesn't get adequate exercise. He used to. He's got a soft rubber ball that he used to play fetch with me indoors until he was totally pooped out every day. Then I got him the "outside ball" to play out in the yard with, and after a good taste of running free in the back yard playing fetch, he became bored with inside fetch, and that was pretty much it.

In the spring/summer/fall, I take him out every afternoon, weather permitting, and play fetch with him until he's good and tired. He loves it. When he sees me get that ball for outdoor play, he jumps and barks and wags his tail and puts on one hell of a show.

I'd blame it on exercise if it was just a wintertime thing, but he had this last year in March and May, and he was definitely getting plenty of exercise last May.

[Jared]

Jared,

(snip)

On a side note, do not use "Raw diets." I know it is what the wolves eat, but the life span of those is short. The dog has been domesticated for hundreds of years as has been diets, some veterinarians believe this is the single most important factor to the dog having an extended life span over the last 40 or so years. This and going from the shed to the bed. The raw diet will complicate matters.

Find a vet you trust and who will listen to your needs. The problem is now chornic which means it will take some time to get figured out. Good luck.

Manuel

Understand exactly where you are coming from.

The good thing is our new vet (who we started taking him to in December) is, IMO, doing a MUCH better job of listening to us and trying to help us out. I really like this guy a lot. The only thing, he's a bit older, and I'm afraid he'll retire before our dogs life span is over, but I'm certainly grateful to have him now.

[BaiHu]

BaiHu,

You asked about exercise. *SNIP*

I'd blame it on exercise if it was just a wintertime thing, but he had this last year in March and May, and he was definitely getting plenty of exercise last May.

I know this isn't your primary concern/focus, but exercise gives blood flow into the joints, pushes breathing where the diaphragm massages the organs in the body, etc. We find it tough to exercise our mutt in the winter time too, so a good replacement that gets his heart pumping and mind churning is training!

Some recalls, 'hide & seek', lie down, sit up, jump up, down. Then my fiance and I will play hide and seek with him or recall him from different rooms, floors, etc.

In short, perhaps the issue creeps up on your dog and isn't as sudden as it seems. Just thinking out loud.

Good luck!