Ok, I'll Eat. No I Won't. Yes I Will. No I Won't...

[Guest Swifthounds]

After a few days of raw feeding, he was like a different dog. His urinary issues cleared, up his poop was just the right consistency, his coat was beautiful, and he was bright

 

The switch to raw had all of the above benefits for us, plus my "hard keeper" became a chow hound and never missed a meal unless ill after that.

 

I would still want to do the medical testing, but even with a medical issue, feeding a dog what they were designed to eat can bring about lots of positive changes.

[Guest EMcElfresh]

Haha - sounds like my DBF - he had to be trained not to call me when the dogs did something and I wasn't home. I was like - I can't do anything, what do you want me to do from work, seriously. All you're doing is stressing me out, deal with it and then tell me when I get home.

[greytpups]

Have you tried adding a bit of warm water to her kibble to soften it up a bit?

[cleptogrey]

mmmmm......maybe pecid ac 1/2 hr. before meals. that often will help settle a tummy down.

[DevilDog]

yeppp. Been there, done all that. ^^^^

[DevilDog]

Jason called. One of the dogs ate the carpet by the back door. Sage has NEVER eaten carpet. His dog did as a puppy but hasn't in over a year.. and Sage is the one acting funny..

 

He also found a half eaten poop bag on the floor, and discovered bits of that in her teeth, so we know that was her.

 

The only things she's ever chewed on are a kid's plastic toy that was accidently left out. She's otherwise not a chewer. So what the HECK is going on????

[DevilDog]

Vet called.. fecal and blood work came back completely normal.

 

*sigh*

 

Ok.. what next.

[Guest Stripeyfan]

If I remember rightly, didn't Sage have hooks when you first got her? They don't always show up on fecals, so even if that's clear, it might not mean they're not there. The fact that she's trying to eat inappropriate items when she never normally does stuff like that would definitely make me think there's some sort of GI issue here.

[Guest Swifthounds]

If I remember rightly, didn't Sage have hooks when you first got her? They don't always show up on fecals, so even if that's clear, it might not mean they're not there. The fact that she's trying to eat inappropriate items when she never normally does stuff like that would definitely make me think there's some sort of GI issue here.

 

This.

 

Was there an issue with hooks? They can be a pain to get rid of and keep gone.

 

Also, stress can cause the acting out, by one or both dogs. When Prancer, my alpha was sick and we were in the process of diagnosing what turned out to be cancer, Vixen opened every cabinet in the kitchen and emptied them - above and below the counter. They just don't have any other way to communicate something is wrong.

[DevilDog]

Hmm.

 

Yes, she did have hooks when I adopted her. How do you all remember this stuff?

 

I can get some wormer from my adoption rep. Maybe I'll give that a go.

[Guest Swifthounds]

If you get wormer from them, make sure it's something good for hooks and ask for enough to dose both dogs now and repeat as well.

[JerseyGirlInOz]

Vet called.. fecal and blood work came back completely normal.

 

*sigh*

 

Ok.. what next.

Give raw feeding a go... it couldn't hurt, and you might be surprised.

 

You can start with raw chicken mince and necks, then add in lamb & beef offcuts. You should start seeing results fairly quickly.

Edited July 13, 2011 by JerseyGirlInOz

[NeylasMom]

Hmm.

 

Yes, she did have hooks when I adopted her. How do you all remember this stuff?

 

I can get some wormer from my adoption rep. Maybe I'll give that a go.

The alternative is to do a 3-day fecal to try to get a positive result if they're there. It's the more expensive option, but if she's acting that strangely, I think I'd want to try to actually make a diagnosis rather than treating prophylactically.

 

Something definitely seems to be going on - doesn't sound like a stubborn dog to me.

 

Any chance she ate something inappropriate, even some time ago? Something hanging out in her stomach but not causing a blockage could cause these symptoms and I've seen dogs vomit up items weeks or even months later. No way to diagnosis for sure - depending on material, coudl show up on x-ray, could not. Barium x-ray would be more likely to turn something up, but not a guarantee and they're expensive. But, a regular x-ray if you think it's a possibility and rule out hooks might be worth considering.

[cleptogrey]

which heart worm med is she on??? interceptor helps keep a wider variety of worms, including hook, at bay. my vet only uses interceptor since he is soooo happy w/ the results. i am too after years of worming my salukis, a royal pain to get rid of.

[galgrey]

Lisa, I'd really check pancreatic function before I fed fat balls. This is just something I've gotten very spooked about after my experience with Beth -- if a grey has a low-grade pancreatitis fat balls are are just the thing to push them over the edge into an acute incident.

 

I agree, pancreatitis is not only very painful it can kill quickly.

 

I nearly lost my Keno to pancreatitis within a few months after adopting him. I gave him a pig's ear and he nearly died.

[DevilDog]

Thing is, she is acting totally normal again. Eating like a champ too. This dog, I'll tell ya.

 

I'm starting with wormer, and going to try some manuka honey. I'll consider feeding raw, but not until I'm back from vacation. I'm not going to put that on her sitter.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Ask your vet about stomach ulcers and their symptoms. I would give 10 mg Pepcid twice a day to help with the stomach acid and gurgling.

 

I would deworm her anyway. Fecal exams are falsely negative ALL the time, it doesn't mean the worms aren't there. I would do 5 days of Panacur. Panacur will get rounds, hooks, whips, and also Giardia. My dogs get Interceptor year round and I also deworm them twice a year.

 

A few years ago Teagan had chronic hookworms and whipworms that took several dewormings to treat. I confirmed the presence of worms (I have a microscope, supplies, etc, I studied this in school). My vet's fecal exam was negative.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[krissn333]

I also agree with worming. We've had some difficult hookworm cases here and it has taken quite a long time to get rid of them...they're just the worst!

 

Odd behaviors...have you had her thyroid checked? Just a shot in the dark.

 

It can be so frustrating when they don't want to eat. Ace used to pull that on me all the time when she was the only dog in the house. But now that we have more, everyone eats at mealtime or they don't eat, because if I leave it down, someone else will eat it instead I do have to put water on Carrie's food because it makes it easier for her to eat. I think I would still try the tough love approach too...some of the add ins and things could be contributing to a pancreatitis-like issue that wouldn't show up on a cPL because the level is still too low for the test to detect. One thing to try if you insist on adding something - beef broth or chicken broth (make sure it doesn't have garlic and buy the low sodium variety of both!). Sometimes a little splash of broth will help

[Guest jerseygirl]

Another vote for raw here.

 

Our girl Jersey had the *exact* same issues. Once or twice a month she would get the gurgles, loud enough to hear them from the other end of the house! She'd be uncomfortable, and wanted to eat nothing but grass (but never vomited it), and for a few days she'd refuse all food and treats. We had blood work done - negative, tried grain-free kibble (TOTW), and added digestive supplements. Nothing seemed to make it any better. I'd give her a shot of Pepto Bismol on the mornings she woke up like that, and it seemed to shorten the episodes, but didn't make them go away. And her "output" was rarely good & solid (all the time, not just during her stomach upsets).

 

We finally switched over to raw, for the most part. We feed 1/2 raw, and 1/2 Nourished Kitchen (a dehydrated "raw" that comes as a powder to be reconstituted with water) - we do it this way because it's a little more cost effective than 100% raw, and they still get the benefits from it that we were looking for. No more gurgling, no more refusing food (kinda, I'll get to that), no more gas (for either dog - we have 2), and small poops that could bounce off the ground like a quarter off of a well-made bed! We even saw a boost in energy, and an improvement in their coats. Our boy with no stomach issues can eat anything we put in front of him. Jersey is a little more sensitive in that her food needs to be room-temperature or warm (not cool, straight out of the fridge), otherwise she's like to regurgitate some or all of it. She had a bad regurgitation episode with raw duck once, and since then she will not touch chicken, turkey, or duck (she had previously eaten the raw chicken with gusto - seriously, what dog refuses raw meat???!!!). We spoke with an animal behaviorist friend, who brought up something interesting. In alternative Chinese medicine, foods are categorized as "warming", "cooling", or "neutral". In this line of thinking, "warming" foods tend to cause further upset in dogs with stomach issues, and these include chicken, turkey and duck --- all foods that Jersey would no longer touch. The meats that she did eat -rabbit and beef - turned out to be on the list of "cooling" foods. I didn't feed these to her because of this information -- she had tried them prior to my learning all of this -- but her eating habits definitely supported this theory, at least with the actual raw meat blends. As far as the dehydrated raw from Nourished Kitchen is concerned, she will eat the chicken and turkey formulas.

 

Just thought I'd share our experiences with these same issues. The raw definitely helped us, and outside of any financial reasons, we'll be sticking with it. Although she spits a little up every once in a while, the benefits we've seen are far more numerous than anything adverse. Even if you don't choose raw, perhaps switching to a different "cooling" protein might help in your case. Ya never know, it could be worth a try.

 

Best of luck!

 

Liz