Oakley-emergency surgery

[CrazySenji]

I have never owned a dog or cat that didn't finish their bowl in 2-5 minutes so this situation has been very frustrating. I am going to have to resort to tough love once I find something he likes AND I like the ingredients.

[lisastewart]

I always use chicken based in whatever I feed. Lamb has too many bad metals in it and none of mine have ever liked rabbit. The instinct raw I warm up in the microwave as mine do not like cold raw, I just get it to mouse temperature and they inhale it.

[Chealsie508]

In regards to your dogs..do they not like lamb and rabbit at all or just with the instinct raw? I was thinking of trying to venison seeing as its more of a novel protein and one he hasn't had.

[lisastewart]

Mine love ziwi peak venison but it gives them bad diahreah, I would recommend trying a small quantity to see how your dogs do, all 6 of mine get diahreah from it. they have not liked rabbit in any brand I have tried, and Lamb is know for being too high in metals, I believe its copper that is the issue.

[QuizBasenji]

Butu's just started on Ziwipeak - he loved the lamb, no poop problems at all, he had his first venison today…will keep you posted...

[Chealsie508]

Definitely, let me know..it's worth the consideration if it doesnt

[lisastewart]

Ziwi peak is awesome, but way to expensive for every day, they love it, just had bad results. When Xander went home to Tad for showing for a few weeks, he went on a hunger strike and the only food he could get him to eat was the bag of ziwipeak I had sent along as emergency rations.

[ownedbyspencer]

Never heard of Ziwipeak, but it sounds like a good thing to have on hand, and I'm glad to know about it! Have you completely ruled out dry food, Chealsie? Wellness Core Ocean is a five-star grain-free food, and I've heard good things about it. It's 34% protein, but I'm thinking to mix a little in at a time with the less protein-rich food and see. Ava's feet-biting and scratching have stopped with the switch to grain-free (it took a few weeks), but her anal gland issues persist. Has Oakley gained any more weight?

[Chealsie508]

I haven't completely ruled out dry food, I'm just at a loss at what to choose bc I'm so skeptical with all the high quality foods and his stomach..and choosing between mediocre foods is hard bc I find problems with the ingredients. I'm considering dehydrated foods and raw/frozen bc I believe it'll be easier to digest which may be the problem with the dry foods

[eeeefarm]

I see the U. S. NRG site is still down. You might find the information you want on the Canadian site: http://www.nrgpetproducts.com/

[QuizBasenji]

Ziwipeak is expensive, but it seems excellent (no poop problems so far…) and is air dried. My pet shop has some Ziwipeak discount coupons coming soon, and have promised to put some aside for me. It is 33% protein, though...

[ownedbyspencer]

Chealsie, I met someone today who feeds a mixture of Fromm & NRG. He said his dogs suffered from food allergies, and he was switching them from the dry Fromm to the NRG… but when he added the NRG, the allergies subsided. He decided to keep them on the Fromm/NRG combo, and after a week or so, the allergies went away. He went back to just Fromm to save some money, and the allergies returned! So maybe combining the two gives just the right amount of protein and mix of ingredients? Or maybe it was a fluke and wouldn't work for Oakley, but I thought I'd pass it along. Hope he's feeling better!

[Chealsie508]

That gives me some hope…oakleys allergies are with the prescription diet (the I/D diet) which is littered with grain and Oakley has an intolerance to grain, unlike an allergy..his intolerance builds if he has has constant exposure and symptoms start and get worse with time. He has always done fine with the Fromms; including the limited grain versions. After the surgery and after the bland diet he just couldn't tolerate fromms which was so sad for me, I tried multiple times to reintroduce but I think he needs time. I have researched and discussed with the vet and have chosen a food. Because transitioning (measurements and such) would be more difficult to do with adding a frozen or dehydrated mix we have decided to first try a dry food. I have chosen orijen regional red, my one and only concern was that I've heard many dogs who don't have stool problems tend to get soft on this food but its a great food and my vet seems to think protein content isn't a factor but perhaps that fromms has a good amount of carbohydrates. I started his transition yesterday and its a very slow process, literally kibbles at a time. Also, to help aid in a healthy transition with the best possible chance of a good outcome I am giving one-two teaspoons of pumpkin a day as well as the fortiflora probiotic daily. He started the fortiflora and pumpkin on Saturday before his switch the hopefully get him in a good place. Fingers crossed he has had three meals with the ID/Orijen and he is doing really well. His stools are firm, he isn't off track with his bathrooming schedule and I am not noticing any gas or GI upset noises. Really holding my breath but if this works I will be one happy momma. The sooner we are grain free again the soon his ears go back to normal and his coat clears up and stops eating himself; and hopefully he continues gaining weight.

Eventually I would like to go back to fromms or at least be able to rotate a bag in with the Orijen but if he does well on Orijen it'll be at least a year before I make additions or changes.

[curlytails]

I'm late to the party, and only skimmed the previous comments… but I just wanted to add that we're huge Honest Kitchen fans here. It's a great, in-between step for us between a fully raw diet and kibble. My dogs got hooked on the Zeal (fish) recipe, which we happened to order on a fantastic buy-one-get-one-free deal for the 10 pound boxes (and they loved every pound of it!). Others in our regular mix now include Embark (grain-free turkey), Force (grain-free chicken), Keen (turkey and oats), and Preference (meat-free veggie mix that allows you to add any protein you'd like, in whatever ratios you feel is appropriate).

If high protein is a concern, you might want to try Acana, also by Champion Pet Foods, the makers of Orijen. We don't really feed Orijen anymore since they bumped the protein ratio up, but my two do very well on Acana. I do a lot of fish-based kibbles. Acana Pacifica is less expensive than Orijen Six Fish, for example... and definitely less than Ziwipeak. May be something to consider...

Edited to add: the Honest Kitchen also has a line of natural digestive supplements called Perfect Form that's pretty easy to add to any of their dehydrated meals, and helps smooth things out on the other end.

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/supplements/perfect-form

They offer cheap sample pouches on the site if you don't want to spring for a whole canister (they also offer sample versions of everything else). I keep a canister on hand for the occasional stomach upset, and it works pretty well for us in the months when canned pumpkin is not available…

[Chealsie508]

We are on meal 6..of the transition; started Sunday night…he is doing well. Had a little soft stool this morning but it was to be expected as he jumped the gate to the garbage and filled himself. I was sure that he had sabotaged all my hard work to transition him bc if he got sick it would've been the end to that trial. No more pumpkin but its on hand if need be. He gets one packet of fortiflora with his night meal..he had a little gas for the first time yesterday (pre dumpster diving) and he pouted as though his tummy Hirt last night (post trash) to which I wasn't entertaining. 8 more days of transitioning as its a two week timeline...fingers crossed but all is well at the moment.

[Chealsie508]

This morning his stool was softer than yesterday's..too soft to be good so back on the pumpkin. Could be backlash from the trash incident. Won't be increasing the new food until he gets better stool..fingers crossed

[ownedbyspencer]

I see that today is your birthday, Chealsie, so I hope it's a terrific one! Is Oakley eating well for you (NOT out of the trash) as a present?

IDK if the pumpkin helps all that much, but it doesn't hurt. Ava doesn't mind it, and it gives me a way to add water/liquid to her food. Otherwise, it's hard to get her to drink. Out of filthy puddles, yes… out of a green pond, yes... out of the toilet, from the water hose, from a discarded cup on the sidewalk,yes, yes, yes. Out of her nice clean bowl, nooooo.

[Chealsie508]

Thanks Pamela, we are enjoying a nice day. Oakley is trying his best at good behavior…semi succeeding..lol

His stools are still soft
Hoping to give it time since its not diarrhea..I feel like the fortiflora helps for the stool after he eats..that's always the better one. Here's to hoping the pumpkin helps because I think it would be prohibitive to use Flagyl in this process. We're working on it!

The garbage incident was not a happy moment for me- he couldn't help himself but I was certainly mad..lol

[ownedbyspencer]

Soft stools can lead to anal gland issues, so thank goodness you're spared that. It is nauseatingly awful!

I divide the FortiFlora packet and the pumpkin serving– half in the AM, half in the PM-- and that seems to help. But really, who knows why some dogs have issues and others don't? it's trial and error, trying to find the right kind and the right balance of food and supplements. Hope Oakley continues to improve. You're both due a break!

[Chealsie508]

Oakley does have what I call "splooge"…it's an awful smell, and it happens about five times a week. My hesitation is to have his anal glands squeezed because I know once you have it done the first time, it opens the floodgates to having to do it frequently. He could benefit from it but he doesn't seem to be in pain, and I cover my couches with sheets...he doesn't scoot so I feel ok with not having it done. That's a good idea about splitting the packet; I thought about it but didn't because the directions didn't state you could (can't see why it'd hurt)..how much pumpkin are you giving Ava?