4My2Greys
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Posts posted by 4My2Greys
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This is the second topic about Blue Buffalo that I've read so far today, and I'm realizing now that I think I'm in the same boat as many of you and might need to switch. Charlie loves the taste of Blue Buffalo, so I never really thought anything of it, but man alive, he can lay some nasty ones!
I'm curious if you and others whose greys have not done well on this brand have tried more than one of the numerous varieties they make. It could be a particular protein that the dog doesn't do well with.
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Personally, I would stay away from acupuncture and chiropractic. There is no evidence that acupuncture is effective at all (many, many clinical trials and meta-analyses have been conducted that have shown this again and again), and chiropractic "therapy" falls in the same category.
Unless you have personal experience, I don't see how you can comment.
Nonsense. Experience has nothing to do with it. Experience is subjective and, as such, totally unreliable. That's precisely why we came up with the scientific method, which involves rigorous testing to determine whether an alleged remedy actually works. All the meds we give to our hounds to help with a condition underwent a thorough testing process again and again before they were proven to be safe, and before they could be approved and then marketed. Not so with "alternative medicine", which is completely unregulated.
Well it's funny then that in reports from the last 2 years from the Poison Control Center not 1, not a single death can be attributed to the use of herbal supplements or vitamins. Conversely, however, 497 deaths were caused by these so called "safe" pharmaceuticals. Just jump over and read the thread about Akon not doing well after receiving an NSAID injection to see how safe these pharmaceuticals are.
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I believe for the most part that those whose dogs had issues from too "rich" foods was due mainly to over-feeding of the food. I also think the fat content, like Batmom mentioned, possibly could also play a role in how they react to it. It could be that in addition to the fat that is added some meats are naturally fattier than others, which is maybe why they don't seem to do good on a particular meat source.
I wonder why you would make such a sweeping statement regarding overfeeding, and I for one take exception to it. My dog has never been overfed, and unlike probably many people on here, she very seldom gets people food and even then, it's usually only when administering her monthly heart worm pill. Sounds mean? ::shrug:: She's a dog. She doesn't know, but I know what negatively affects her digestive system and keeping her pooing properly is my focus. BTW, she cannot tolerate high-end food. Within 24 hours she's pooing soft serve which deteriorates from there and it takes a solid week to get her back to normal using a 'script food from the vet.
This is not the type of over-feeding I was referring to. It's kind of hard to over-feed something you'd most likely stop feeding when the soft serve poo starts. What I was referring to is people not taking into account the calorie differences between the two foods and feeding the same amounts. For example, if you feed Iams the calorie count I believe is around 330kcals/cup conversely EVO Chicken was over 550kcals/cup.
As far as "better" quality kibbles go, I prefer to judge them not only on their ingredients, but on the quality controls in their production process. Unfortunately costs of these foods are often very prohibitive, especially if you have several dogs.
I find it funny that people constantly poor mouth for their reasons what they refer to as "better" kibbles, but when I express my dislike for some of the Science Diet prescription foods there is immediate outrage. Seems like a double standard here.
I think it means too much protein and fat for a particular dog which would result in stomach upset or even pancreatitis. I would guess an active sled dog could handle a lot more fat & protein than a sedentery house dog that only walks twice a day.
I really think this is probably the best explanation, certainly better than my reasoning.
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I believe for the most part that those whose dogs had issues from too "rich" foods was due mainly to over-feeding of the food. I also think the fat content, like Batmom mentioned, possibly could also play a role in how they react to it. It could be that in addition to the fat that is added some meats are naturally fattier than others, which is maybe why they don't seem to do good on a particular meat source.
I'd say in Rex's case he needed food with some fillers. He did horrible on the higher end and no grain foods, much better on foods with the evil "cheap filler" corn.
I would be willing to bet it wasn't the "cheap filler" corn that made the difference, because even grain-free foods have fillers, but the beet pulp it contained that helped him. However, all that matters in the end is that he did well on it and you were happy with it.
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Confused here- her thyroid value is responsible for her incontinence??
I'm not sure if it would be the same for canines, but hyperthyroidism is one of the contributing causes of urge incontinence in women. If this is the case though it would seem that increasing the dosage of thyroid meds, thereby pushing him to a more hyperthyroid level would exacerbate the incontinence issue.
Thought of this after I posted. If she was incorrectly diagnosed as hypothyroid putting her on thyroid supplementation would have driven her to hyperthyroidism which could have possibly led to the incontinence.
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Do you think that maybe these new behaviors could be related to losing Huck? The timing seems to be consistent with it.
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They are doing x-rays, bloodwork, and culture today. We are switching her food to Hills (?). We also have a problem trying to get her to drink enough water. Ugh. Penny is our "problem" child.
If she likes the kibble try adding water to it when you feed her.
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Thinking of you here too. I hope your trip to VA Tech brings some hopeful news.
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I haven't tried the antibiotic route this time yet. If it doesn't clear up on the beef only I think that will be the next thing to try.
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greyhead, the kibble he was eating contained sweet potatoes. I was feeding kibble for the morning meal and the raw for the evening. Metro has helped in the past I just hate time have to repeatedly use it because that is not without it's dangers. My vet has had personal experience with that. Right now I'm giving him lots of Manuka honey, that seemed to help the other day when I figured what was causing his panting. He went from cow patty stools to nicely formed in about day. Yesterday was the liquid output though
.Chris, I've decided at this point to go back to only raw to see if that resolves the incontinence issue. If the gut issues persist I'll have to look at home cooked diets. It's just a really bad time for that because we've gotten so busy at work right now and it won't be letting up until the end of the year, but I will do what I have to do for him. As far as something else going on I still worry about that although he's been checked several times and nothing has been found. As to prostate, yes dogs have them and his was checked, I just worry about something having been missed.
tbhounds, no, water intake seems about the same. I have four though that drink from the same fountain so I really can't measure it. He doesn't seems to be going to the bowl more than usual though.
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The container I use is big enough to fit the whole bag in. I just cut the top of the bag off. This way I have all the info and the container stays clean.
I've been doing this because I worry about toxins from plastic leaching into their food. Just one of the many things I worry about
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Well the incontinence I had resolved by eliminating fish from his diet is back after a month of no accidents
. I also found out the reason for the panting he's been doing lately, it was his gut. He's had a rumbling tummy and watery poop again. Thanks tbhounds for the explanation in my other thread about his test results and my worry about heart issues. The thing is I'm not sure what is causing the gut issues now. Is it the raw beef, which he has done fairly well on, or the new kibble, one of the few that doesn't contain fish, that gave him soft poops from the start. The only way to get back to decent stools output was to do half raw and half kibble. I also wonder if there is something else in the kibble that is causing the latest round of incontinence, another ingredient he can't tolerate or is there something else going on? It really sucks when things are not right with them and your not sure which move to make anymore. -
I was feeding TOTW Pacific Stream to 3 of mine who have done very well on it. I did return a bag that was on the recall list and am now trying Buffalo Freedom grain-free made with chicken and no fish. If it works I'll probably switch for good as Nadir cannot have any fish what so ever because for him even a little bit can cause an incontinence relapse.
I think as far as the Salmonella issue and feeding raw goes maybe there is some expectation by those that feed kibble that because it is cooked they shouldn't have to worry about it.
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I tried it last summer for a short while but the dogs got worms from the dog park anyway
How long was a short while? Diatomaceous earth will not prevent your dog from getting worms, what it does is kill the worms. You do have to give it long enough though to kill worms at all stages of development.
Oh, and as to the question of the safety of it that some may have. I've put it in oatmeal I've eaten.
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As hard as all of this is to grasp I truly believe she was meant to be with you at this time.
I couldn't help but think from the very beginning of reading about this that Crystal is where she is at because she needed to be with someone like Mary Pat.
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Now that's the kind of news I like to start my day with
. You go Shelby! I'm with Yamaha_gurl I'd let her stand on the counter if that is what she wanted 
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I had so hoped for a better outcome when I read this this morning
. I'm so sorry your facing something like this again. -
It will remain a badge of courage and of his inner strength. He's beautiful - the SOB's couldn't take that away from him.
Amen to that.
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Adding more healing thoughts and prayers for Shelby.
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It just has to start getting better for you and Lynn. Keeping all of you in my thoughts.
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He wasn't really doing any panting when they did the blood draw. The reference range given for the CK was 33-152. What would you consider high? I didn't see lipase on the list. Would it be listed some other way? He's not on any medications.
Greyhead, he had a tick panel run a few years ago that came back negative for any TBD. That turned out to be his corn problem He did however pick up some ticks around Christmas time 2010, so a new tick panel would probably be a good idea.
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What concerns me is the unexplained heavy panting. He woke up in the middle of the night last night and started breathing very rapidly. This went on for some time before his breathing seemed to return to normal . This hasn't been the only incidence. He's had these episodes of unexplained rapid breathing in the past, however they seem to be happening quite frequently recently.
His amylase level was also on the high side at 1071.
He did have a urine culture done and it came back with no bacterial growth.
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I had blood sent to Michigan State for a CBC and Chemistry panel to be done. Unfortunately they were unable to do the CBC because the blood clotted. What concerns me is some of the levels in the chem panel. The CK level, which has a reference range of 33-152 came back as 234. From what little I've read this could indicate heart muscle problems. Coincidentally Nadir has been panting very heavy lately, even when at rest which has had me concerned. Couple that with the problems of incontinence, which I believe tbhounds said could possibly be related to a heart issue. The incontinence did stop when I eliminated fish from his diet, however it has started again just recently. How does one go about finding a veterinary heart specialist? Are there other things I should be looking at?
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. You go Shelby! I'm with Yamaha_gurl I'd let her stand on the counter if that is what she wanted 
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Blue Buffalo Cause Farting?
in Food and dietary discussion
Posted
I've got mine on Blue Buffalo Freedom grain-free chicken and all but Nadir are doing very well on it. No gas and decent stools. Nadir never had gas from it, but his stools were soft, but then again he was having issues to start with when I switched them over.