what have I done?

[Desiree1027]

I slept on the info I read last night about the change in Canidae formula. I am brokenhearted because this could be why Dezi is having so much pain and blood in her stool. She can't tolerate this and I can't believe I've been feeding her something that could have aggravated her IBS or maybe she's developed an allergy to the new ingredients. But now I can't think straight! I have been watching this 2 1/2 lb baby suffer for 5 days now and her poop is so bloody and black and just horrible looking. She ate breakfast this morning and 15 minutes later she was shaking and trying to hide. I need to make a decision about what to do with her diet, how can I change her food in the middle of this? She needs very simple food so I can't feed something with apples and oatmeal or sweet potato it's all too rich and I'm scared to death make it worse. Everything I do for her is a big guessing game and I can't handle it anymore that the decisions I am making are hurting her. The only good thing I can even think about is that the last time she was really sick from getting some of Cassie's puppy food, I found all of you guys who are so willing to help.

[BLowry]

I'm sorry to hear about your little one...Did Canidae (info) say it could cause this?? I have been feeding both of mine Canidae for 2 yrs now and haven't had any problems. Have you called your vet? If your pup has IBS maybe she's going to have to go on a prescription dog food. My Parents little Heidi ( who went over rainbow bridge a few months ago) had alot of health issues. Their vet put her on a prescription diet (Science Diet, not the kind you buy in the stores) and she did very well on it. It's a very bland food. Only thing...I don't think it has alot of good ingredients in it but, you have to do what is best for your furbaby.
I hope you can find something that works for her. I wouldn't wait too long before contacting your vet.

[Ellie May]

You can pull the Canidae and feed homemade for a few days to see if that helps. First I would give mashed potatoes (just potato, no butter or seasonings is best although a VERY small amount may not hurt). If she does well on that, add in protein. Some would say fish. Some would say chicken. Whatever works for her... You could try rice instead of potato but potato is my favorite. That is where I'd start.

[Desiree1027]

Originally Posted by BLowry

I'm sorry to hear about your little one...Did Canidae (info) say it could cause this?? I have been feeding both of mine Canidae for 2 yrs now and haven't had any problems. Have you called your vet? If your pup has IBS maybe she's going to have to go on a prescription dog food. My Parents little Heidi ( who went over rainbow bridge a few months ago) had alot of health issues. Their vet put her on a prescription diet (Science Diet, not the kind you buy in the stores) and she did very well on it. It's a very bland food. Only thing...I don't think it has alot of good ingredients in it but, you have to do what is best for your furbaby.
I hope you can find something that works for her. I wouldn't wait too long before contacting your vet.

I have had her there twice this week already and I have to say that despite what everyone else is going to say, this never happened when she was on Eukanuba. The healthy foods are killing her stomach. No matter what I do, she is suffering every couple of months either because the food is spoiling before it's time or because the manufacturers are changing them (this happened twice in the last 8 months, as soon as I find something acceptable, they change the formula or add a plant that screws up the food). I am very disillusioned with the whole subject of human quality food. Although I have considered it, I am concerned about nutrition when feeding her fresh food and with her history, I don't want to put her through anymore of this distress. I am really considering going back on Euk. I raised the healtiest dog (a Maltese) till he was 17 with not one single health issue on Pedigree! That was when I was 18 years old.

[Desiree1027]

Originally Posted by BLowry

I'm sorry to hear about your little one...Did Canidae (info) say it could cause this?? I have been feeding both of mine Canidae for 2 yrs now and haven't had any problems. Have you called your vet? If your pup has IBS maybe she's going to have to go on a prescription dog food. My Parents little Heidi ( who went over rainbow bridge a few months ago) had alot of health issues. Their vet put her on a prescription diet (Science Diet, not the kind you buy in the stores) and she did very well on it. It's a very bland food. Only thing...I don't think it has alot of good ingredients in it but, you have to do what is best for your furbaby.
I hope you can find something that works for her. I wouldn't wait too long before contacting your vet.

She has been there twice and had CBC bloods and xrays and we together realized the change is the problem since she is so sensitive and also since there have been so many of the same complaints. Not as severe, though.Thank you for your concern and sympathy.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by Desiree1027

I have had her there twice this week already and I have to say that despite what everyone else is going to say, this never happened when she was on Eukanuba. The healthy foods are killing her stomach. No matter what I do, she is suffering every couple of months either because the food is spoiling before it's time or because the manufacturers are changing them (this happened twice in the last 8 months, as soon as I find something acceptable, they change the formula or add a plant that screws up the food). I am very disillusioned with the whole subject of human quality food. Although I have considered it, I am concerned about nutrition when feeding her fresh food and with her history, I don't want to put her through anymore of this distress. I am really considering going back on Euk. I raised the healtiest dog (a Maltese) till he was 17 with not one single health issue on Pedigree! That was when I was 18 years old.

While I wouldn't recommend going back to any Iams products, there has got to be other foods out there that will work for her. Evangers canned? Natural Balance?

Homecooked is fine as long as it is done right.
You can talk to a nutritionist if you want to go this way.
A fish based homemade diet might work very well for her...

And some dogs foods do say "human grade" but that means nothing. Ingredients are either "fit for human consumption" or "unfit for human consumption". If it doesn't say fit for human consumption, it may not be. The term human grade didn't have a definition awhile back and it probably still doesn't...

[chattiesmom]

Home cooking can be very simple. That way you can control exactly what is in her food and you can continually tweak it to fit her needs.

[hviola]

What did your vet say about it?

[Amanda7]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

Home cooking can be very simple. That way you can control exactly what is in her food and you can continually tweak it to fit her needs.

This sounds like very sensible advice. If you are concerned about her getting balanced nutrition, you could gradually add what she needs. But this way you are controlling it based on her reaction to the food. Good Luck.

[Zanders' mom]

Hi, sorry to hear about your lil baby. After months on Innova, Zander seems to not be tolerating it well, perhaps too rich. I am in the process of switching him to something rather simple, from California natural - chicken meal and rice formula. The food is a bit big so I have made the kibble size more to his size.
I hope this helps.

[Desiree1027]

Thank you all for your feedback. For the past two days I have given her boiled chicken, and she is HAPPY. She is feeling better and the vet had started Metro and an antacid in case of ulcer then switched to Amforol after hearing of the suspicion of the food spoiling and change of formula. Dezi started to poop rather than leak. but after switching to Amforol, it started to get runny again but here's where the guessing game comes in, is it the change in meds or the chicken? She doesn't always tolerate people food, Vet said feed chicken till she is stable and recommended the Honest Kitchen (never heard of). It's some powdery food you add water to and she just told me to go online to check it out and see if I would be comfortable with it. I will do that now. I was going to try the Cal natural and decided not to but don't remember why, probably the large kibble. I was torn between them and Canidae, guess I know what I should have done now. The simplicity of the cal nat formula was attractive since she's so sensitive. I am still consdering the eukanuba. There is no black stool so the scare of bleeding is passing. But poor Cassidy, after Mondays spay, she's still hugging the floor and really preoccupied and uncomfortable, everyone says after a couple of days their pups were hard to stop from playing and running around. I don't remember how long it was for Dezi to recover. Thanks everyone for being so great.

[TeddyBear]

a couple weeks ago I had a bout with diarhea in two dogs I was watching and Starsky. One of the dogs I watched had Colitis and she pooped blood stool everywhere! She was put on a medication right away and it cleared up really quick. I fed them for about 48 hrs boiled chicken and rice until all their stools cleared up. Then I didn't have any problems after that

[Desiree1027]

I just came from rateitall.com and boy are there alot of people having the same problem Canidae. I am really surprised by all the posts. What causes the paw biting? It seems that is the second most common complaint about the food. Funny, with all the problems that Dezi has been having, it never occurred to me that Cassidy's paw chewing could be coming from eating the same food. WHAT AM I GOING TO FEED THEM?????? I need to make a decision soon. I need simple ingredients and the Honest Hitchen that my vet told me to look into isn't readily available and that scares me in case I can't get ahold of it, plus it's raw dehydrated. I don't know if I should take a chance on that with Dezi's history. After reading those ratings, alot of them also had bad things to say about Eukanuba.