Pet Lovers

[1920712]

Our little toy poodle has inflammatory bowel disease. She has had it all of her life with an extremely sensitive stomach.....her symptoms were blood in the stool, mucus in the stool, diarrhea and vomiting up bile as well as anything else that she tried to eat. She had  this even before she was age one. Our wonderful vet had us put her on a cottage cheese (we use low fat) and rice diet with a supplement of 1/4 tsp. of baby vitamins. She is also taking Prednisone as prescribed by our vet along with Proviable probiotic and 1/8 tsp of Tylan powder. Our vet told us that she could be on the cottage cheese/rice diet for months without harm. It has worked for us. Bonnie does not like the taste of the vitamin, so we didn't use that to start with. We now have been able to reduce her prednisone to 1/2 tablet of a 5mg pill to every 36 hours. When on the rare occasion of a flare-up, we give her 1/2 tablet of Centrine as prescribed by our vet. It helps so much, but I believe that our vet has to have it made by a specialty pharmacy because it may not be available on the open market. We tried every kind of dog food on the market without success but since she has progressed so well, we have now been able to incorporate Blue Buffalo NATURAL Veterinary Diet HF (hydrolyzed salmon) kibbles. We just give her a small amount in addition to the cottage cheese/rice diet. She does tolerate this. Bonnie will be 16 years young this June 11.

[Little Way]

My dog suddenly developed diarrhea and bloody stools with mucus.  The vet put him on the Royal Canin gastrointestinal formula dry dog food.  The 6 pound bag cost about $30 from the vet's office.  I am sure you can buy it more cheaply online.  He also put my dog on PROBIOTICS. The brand was Purina.  Purina Pro Plan probioics is in a black box with a purple swirl design.  This is about $29 from Chewy.  I don't know if you need ot give a full packet, so maybe it would last longer for a smaller dog.   One bit of advice he gave was to keep the dog on the same source of protein.  So, for example chicken kibble, chicken treats.  Do not mix in another type of protein such as pork-based treats.  Some dogs won't tolerate a certain kind of protein and you have to figure out what it is and then stick to the type of protein that they tolerate. 

[CinNC]

My last dog...a greyhound ....was prescribed Royal Canin years ago by my vet.  I ordered it online - for about $75 - and got an expired bag of dog food. Turns out all the Royal Canin at this company was expired. They gave me a tiny bit of a hard time about a return and refund. 

Ended up finding a similar dog food at a more upscale pet store.  I think it was Natural Balance.

Lots of good advice from other posters.....esp if you want to make your own. 

[betty423]

I have a Yorkie that is eating Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein dry & the canned meat.  She was having the same issues.  I purchase the dry food from Chewy.Com.  I buy the large bag 17.6 lb.  I also have another Yorkie that is eating the dry food also.  I usually purchase the canned food from my Vet.  about $4.00 a can.  I divide the can meat and freeze 2 small containers as my little one doesn't eat alot and I don't want it to spoil.(It is pricey) 

I looked at chewy.  It's a little cheaper than my Vet's prices.  I asked about alternatives and Vet said there are over the counter versions but if it were her dog, she would use the prescription.  The dog ate it last night no problem (and he's a picky eater).  For now I'll  use it to get him over the "hump" and see if there are alternatives down the road.  I like the idea of cooking my own food.  He loves rice and scrambled eggs.  I've not tried boiled chicken but I can't think of why he wouldn't eat that since he eats chicken meat in his canned food.  

From day one this little guy has been a fussy eater.  He came to us via rescue so I have no clue how he was treated or fed,  I also don't know how old he is and that is why Vet thinks he needs less "protein rich" food as older dogs generally don't tolerate it.  I'm no expert here - I just want him to be well and happy.

Enjoy your day all!

Betty

[Still Raining]

Grain free often uses peas instead.  I found that peas cause problems.  There are foods without peas.  It worked for me.

[kittyloo]

@drizzellla  

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@drizzellla wrote:

During our last Vet visit. The Vet also stressed not to feed our dog grain free food. And she also talked about Blue Buffalo having quite a commercial campaign but did not recommend feeding Blue Buffalo to our dog.

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well the commercial campaign worked on me. both cats, and both dogs, HATED it.  i have $35 worth (2 small bags of food), that no one will touch.  i'll probably try mixing it in a little at a time.

[drizzellla]

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@kittyloo wrote:

@drizzellla  

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@drizzellla wrote:

During our last Vet visit. The Vet also stressed not to feed our dog grain free food. And she also talked about Blue Buffalo having quite a commercial campaign but did not recommend feeding Blue Buffalo to our dog.

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well the commercial campaign worked on me. both cats, and both dogs, HATED it.  i have $35 worth (2 small bags of food), that no one will touch.  i'll probably try mixing it in a little at a time.

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I believe it. My friend had the same experience. He had a large bag of the Blue Buffalo dog food and his dog would not eat it. 

[betty423]

That's why I'm hesitant to invest so much money by buying this food via Chewy.  My little guy is so finicky - loves one thing one day and turns his nose up on it another day.  I may try going the homemade route.  Starting small with chicken and rice.  Waiting to hear from Vet on radiology review.  I am going to ask her then.  Fun fact, my friend told me earlier today that Vets love prescribing food because they get a kickback.  Is that true?  That makes you wonder if it's really the right food long term.

Betty

[m0rgan]

My dogs eat Royal Canin Gastrointestinal and Royal Canin Urinary SO mixed together.  As long as they don't have treats or table food they are good.  I use their food as treats also.  I keep them stable by the same food, same time of day.  I know people think treats are important but may come from CHINA.  Please be careful and just use what they are used to.  Maybe you can use the kibble sparingly and add stewed chicken with rice.  If you find the correct food think of the vet bills you will save.  It may more than make up for the cost of the food.

[tends2dogs]

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@betty423 wrote:

They did xrays that showed inflammation of his stomach lining and gas pockets.  The xrays are also being read by a board certified ved radiologist tomorrow for confirmation.  I'll post what I find out from him/her.

Last week they did the giardia test - negative.  Basic bloodwork - all normal.  No fever.

As far as making his food, I absolutely would.  I had a SIL who used to make a crockpot full of dog food every Sunday for the coming week.  She'd do chicken, rice, squash, etc.

Thaks for replying.

Betty.

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My dog has inflammatory bowel disease.  His initial symptoms were bloody stool and vomit.  They said he should eat a limited ingredient dog food and wanted to put him on the Royal Canin.  Have you read how many ingredients are in that food?  I said thanks, but no thanks. 

My dog eats raw, but I realize that isn't for everyone.  The recipe you mentioned cooking sounds 100% better than the commercial dog food and that includes Blue Buffalo. 

My vet put my dog on a product called Gastriplex. Ask your vet about it.  It really helped turn my dog around.  I am not saying he doesn't still have problems, but he better than he was or would have been on Royal Canin.

You sound like a concerned pet owner.  I think you would be on the right track, or at least a better one, if you cooked for your dog.

Please let us know how things go.  We care.