Ongoing Food Saga

[Mystella]

Started out with TOTW pacific stream, Jeffy would eat it sometimes other times he would ignore it. Switched TOTW formulas around for a while sometimes finicky boy would eat sometimes not.

 

Switched him to Dick Van Patten LID duck and potato. He ate ravenously, gobbled all his food all the time, wanted treats all the time etc. Concurrently he went to the vet re some skin sores and itching, turned out he was losing weight. Did fecal check and vet suggested we switch him to an allergy trial, gave me a prescription diet, royal canin. Didn't make much sense to me as it had grains and his former foods were grain free, however all along I had been giving him 'doggy doritos' aka milk bones etc and treats.

 

Turns out he had giardia. Got that all treated. He loved the Royal Canin. BUT mush poop ensued as did more skin bumps and much more itching. So I decided to switch him back to the LID but cut out treats this time and do an allergy trial that way.

 

Went to my pet food place and had a good chat with the owner who suggested I try same thing, Dick Van Patten LID but try a different formulation this time since he still had issues last time. Told me they also make treats. So I bought bison and sweet potato kibble and treats.

 

Give him treat and he eats it. When it is time for his next treat he drops it on the floor and won't eat it. I put his bison kibble down for supper. Nope, a few sniffs but not interested. This morning I give it to him for breakfast. NOpe not eating it. SIGH. He can't afford to lose more weight.

 

So he enjoys the food that makes him sick and itchy but won't eat the good for him food. Sounds like me now that I think of it

 

 

I am thinking of going and buying a bag of LID duck and potato, which he used to eat happily and mixing that with the bison to see if he will eat the combo. Problem then is I am expanding the ingredients on the allergy trial. Still grain free though.

 

Thoughts?

[Batmom]

If you really think he has allergies, the best food to do a trial on is either a single meat (and NOTHING else) or Hills Z/D Ultra. Can't remember what the Purina equivalent of Z/D Ultra is. Z/D Ultra is a food that has preprocessed proteins -- they're broken down small enough that in most cases the body doesn't recognize them as allergens. It's pricey, tho, and dog has to be willing to eat it.

 

The grains thing is just a myth. Dog is at least as -- if not more -- likely to be allergic to a meat or other food additive. One of mine was allergic to fish and fish oil.

[mom2four]

Hi there, have a look at this site. No grain foods.

 

http://www.firstmate.com/dog_food.aspx?guid=38F-8C95EF820A13

 

It is made in BC and they do ship it.

 

Our Greys are on it and love it. They get the ocean Fish and Potato.

 

Good luck with Jeffy.

[Mystella]

I do really think he has allergies. He has seasonal allergies as well, which is one good thing about having such a long winter, spares him that for a while.

[Trudy]

As Jey said, skip the kibble and just feed a single item at a time until you gradually increase what he's eating. Then you can try a kibble. It's a LONG process and can suck, but in the end, you might be able to figure it out that way.

[Guest avadogner]

I feel for you. My senior grey is the queen of food allergies and picky eating. She started pushing the bowls away and repeatededly that her nose bled. I won't bore you with all the details. It took some time and several hundred dollars to diagnose her as 1)having congenital hip defect causing pain now 2)she's old 3)she's picky because of her pain. We changed pain meds and I did research to find a what Grain Free Salmon based (my hounds don't do well with Chicken). I finally got her eating again but the magic recipe is a pain and pricey. I hope your hound gets with the program and eats that yummy expensive food. If you want my "special recipe", I'll share it.

Hang in there,

ava and augie's mum

[fritofeet]

Sometimes a little hot water on the kibble will get the appetite going. Can you add a tablespoon or so of the Bison canned to the dry? Diesel doesn't have allergies but is having stool issues so I have him on the Synergy mixed with the Bison. It helps, but he wants "extras" so I have to do a little canned & hot water or a raw egg over his kibble or he won't eat it.

What treats are you feeding? Do you have him on a good pro or prebiotic?

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

Which Royal Cannin diet did they try you on? Most vets use the venison... but they DO make a duck & potato version. If he gets mush poop on the Royal Cannin Duck but he does well on the DVP Duck LID, I would stick with that. He might have been losing weight because of the Giardia and the itchy bumps could be from the milk bones. The trick with a food trial is to make sure everything on the trial is the same protein or the same carb so all treats need to be duck or potato. They make duck jerky treats and Senergy makes "Potato Pleasers" treats. You can also give fruits & veggies as treats like carrots and bananas, but NO grains or meats. (BTW- nylabones have meat flavor added and can't be given on a food trial!)

 

You need to do a trial for at least 3 months before switching to something else. That's how long it takes to get the allergens out of their systems and to treat any skin infections caused by the allergies. If he's been on the food for 3 months and does not have an active skin infection, but it still itchy then you need to switch to something else.

 

My cocker spaniel has food allergies and I worked with a boarded dermatologist to find something that works for him (which happens to be IAMS F/P.) They did warn me that a lot of the OTC "allergy diets" have hidden protein ingredients that can throw off the food trial... but if all he wants to eat is the DVP then stick with that for now.

 

If you're worried about seasonal allergies perhaps you could talk to the vet about adding an anti-histamine. You can try benadryl, but my dog did much better with Zyrtec. Costco's store brand, Kirkland, carries Zyrtec 365 tablets for $20!

[Mystella]

Thanks. I tried to send you a pm but you don't have enough posts yet

 

Thanks everyone I appreciate the tips and help. After a couple days of persistence he is coming around to the bison, ate it no problem for supper tonight and when he came in from a walk he ran to the 'treat spot' and when i gave him the bison treat he ate it. Progress in baby steps. Now to keep all appendages crossed that he will continue to 'grow to love it'

 

Jey I asked my vet about the Hills and she said ride out this trial without any straying (treat wise, it is hard and is where I screwed up last time!!! ) and if the symptoms aren't all cleared up then yup we go right down to basics and do ultra and nothing else but hopefully he isn't going to be that extreme case.

 

My mom just arrived in town and she said he looks like he has gained a little weight since she saw him at Christmas. Hopefully the weight check will agree!!

[Guest IrskasMom]

MFCW . Morty was a very finicky Eater. I switched him from ProPlan to all different Food Because I thought I have to do better with him.I asked my Vet about it and he said "If he does well on ProPlan leave it alone" . Now I am back on Shredded Blend ProPlan and mix it up with Natural Choice Grain Free Salmon ,Sweet Potatoes and Pumpkin and Viola he eats every Bit of it ( you have to warm it up in the Microwave and put warm Water to it ) ,has good Poop and is happy.

 

Be careful about Microwave (just maybe 25 Seconds )

[MaryJane]

You might also want to try the Venison and Sweet Potato by Natural Balance - it's also limited ingredient. I've used that successfully for quite a few of my fosters.

 

Just my experience but, I've found that more than a fair share of the greyhounds that I've fostered (or my own) tend to have sensitivity to chicken and to a lessor extent, noodles. Most seem to do OK on beef, rice, veggies, grits, and oatmeal.

[Guest iconsmum]

Started out with TOTW pacific stream, Jeffy would eat it sometimes other times he would ignore it. Switched TOTW formulas around for a while sometimes finicky boy would eat sometimes not.

 

Switched him to Dick Van Patten LID duck and potato. He ate ravenously, gobbled all his food all the time, wanted treats all the time etc. Concurrently he went to the vet re some skin sores and itching, turned out he was losing weight. Did fecal check and vet suggested we switch him to an allergy trial, gave me a prescription diet, royal canin. Didn't make much sense to me as it had grains and his former foods were grain free, however all along I had been giving him 'doggy doritos' aka milk bones etc and treats.

 

Turns out he had giardia. Got that all treated. He loved the Royal Canin. BUT mush poop ensued as did more skin bumps and much more itching. So I decided to switch him back to the LID but cut out treats this time and do an allergy trial that way.

 

Went to my pet food place and had a good chat with the owner who suggested I try same thing, Dick Van Patten LID but try a different formulation this time since he still had issues last time. Told me they also make treats. So I bought bison and sweet potato kibble and treats.

 

Give him treat and he eats it. When it is time for his next treat he drops it on the floor and won't eat it. I put his bison kibble down for supper. Nope, a few sniffs but not interested. This morning I give it to him for breakfast. NOpe not eating it. SIGH. He can't afford to lose more weight.

 

So he enjoys the food that makes him sick and itchy but won't eat the good for him food. Sounds like me now that I think of it

 

 

I am thinking of going and buying a bag of LID duck and potato, which he used to eat happily and mixing that with the bison to see if he will eat the combo. Problem then is I am expanding the ingredients on the allergy trial. Still grain free though.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

you might try switching him to raw if his enthusiasm is low - you can keep track of what he's ingesting that way

[GeorgeofNE]

If you really think he has allergies, the best food to do a trial on is either a single meat (and NOTHING else) or Hills Z/D Ultra. Can't remember what the Purina equivalent of Z/D Ultra is. Z/D Ultra is a food that has preprocessed proteins -- they're broken down small enough that in most cases the body doesn't recognize them as allergens. It's pricey, tho, and dog has to be willing to eat it.

 

The grains thing is just a myth. Dog is at least as -- if not more -- likely to be allergic to a meat or other food additive. One of mine was allergic to fish and fish oil.

 

 

Once again Batmom beats me to the punch!

 

Having had an allergy dog for 12 years, what I learned is that most food allergies are to the protein source, not the grain source. And people seem to forget your dog is just as likely to be allergic to wool, rag weed, grass pollen, etc. My dog had terrible inhalant allergies which were so bad only steroids helped.

[Mystella]

Jeffy is going in for an EPI test tomorrow morning. Weight isn't coming back on and my vet feels that though he may well have an allergy that there is more than that going on with him. I was hopeful that the whole issue could be written off to the giardia and allergy combo but its been a while. I'll update once I get the results

 

[Figma]

Our Grey has always been a picky eater. Makes me nuts! He was losing weight (he just turned 12) off to the Vet we went. Looks like we are dealing with renal issues.

Aside from that, I tried samples of various foods recommended by a Vet and he is now on Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato and I used a little of the canned food per meal also. It's like $2.00 a can. Just to try a little variety, I picked up a can of Bison and Venison. He turns his nose up to both.

You might try and see if you can get some samples of the Natural Balance. The pet store here that sells these types of foods, luckily, always has the small sample bags and gave me quite a few to try.

His stools are good on this food too.

[Cully]

Thanks. I tried to send you a pm but you don't have enough posts yet

 

Thanks everyone I appreciate the tips and help. After a couple days of persistence he is coming around to the bison, ate it no problem for supper tonight and when he came in from a walk he ran to the 'treat spot' and when i gave him the bison treat he ate it. Progress in baby steps. Now to keep all appendages crossed that he will continue to 'grow to love it'

 

Jey I asked my vet about the Hills and she said ride out this trial without any straying (treat wise, it is hard and is where I screwed up last time!!! ) and if the symptoms aren't all cleared up then yup we go right down to basics and do ultra and nothing else but hopefully he isn't going to be that extreme case.

 

My mom just arrived in town and she said he looks like he has gained a little weight since she saw him at Christmas. Hopefully the weight check will agree!!

 

With the Z/d Ultra you can get the canned food. Slice them about 1/4" think and them cut them into wedges. You can put them in the oven and bake them (350 for about 15 minutes) if I remember right. Then give that to Jeff as treats.

Good luck

[Guest davidsl88]

Poor doggie! Poor you! Both our dogs were extremely picky eaters and it was agony to get them to eat when they first arrived. My secret weapon to get them to eat regularly was boiled chicken livers, which I cut up into little pieces and sprinkled a spoonful or so on top of the kibble. I would warm up the meal with leftover broth. Sometimes I used steamed broccoli and ricotta, which they both really like. After time, I was able to easily transition from cooking to kibble with a bit of canned sprinkled on top (they don't like it mixed). Whatever I serve though, I also use warm water or broth, which I think 'makes' the meal for them. They also go off their food on a regular basis and they usually do that together too. I throw away the old stuff they leave in their bowls and continue to offer the meals. After a time, they both start eating again. I have never understood why they do that. And although they have always eaten the exact same thing, their 'habit' couldn't be more different. From the start, Colby's pooh has been consistently 'consistent' and very easy to clean up after. Stormy's is always 'inconsistent' and a trial. The one time a dog accidently pooh-ed in the house, I can say I was happy that it was Colby! Good luck to you both, I hope you find your solution quickly.

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

I don't know how bad the itching is, but I think keeping weight on would override being itchy. I would just feed the food that he will eat. It's too difficult to fight off anything if they are undernourished. I have had succeess with Canidae canned and Pro Plan shredded with my picky eater. If she has a day where she won't eat her food, she will always eat a chunk of raw fatty ground beef.