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Originally Posted by PILOTthePuppy  Hi ladyjane, thank you for your feedback and advice. We may have differences in opinion but we're not really "winging" it.
We've been home cooking for Pilot and Pax since 2013. We get bloodwork done yearly at least and it's been normal except for when they are sick which hasn't been often until the recent GI debacle (see the other thread).
We're following a regimen that has helped many dogs with calcium oxolate stones, which the prescription food cannot do 100%. In fact, the prescription food is high in fat as it contains pork by products and has the potential to cause pancreatitis.
The regimen has worked for hundreds of dogs (including Pilot and Pax).
There is a support group which helped us in the beginning and there are guidelines for balancing the diet, including the calcium/phosphorus ratio (most important piece of home cooking), vitamins, and other supplements.
Pilot's pancreatitis event earlier this year was not due to his diet, but a corticosteriod shot given by the vet to calm his collapsing trachea after his dentals. I was just worried because he recently went through it 3 months ago, a little PTSD.
The vet was just guessing at Reglan for Pax and wanted to do a 2 week trial.
We actually just saw an internal medicine vet for the Pax's GI episodes last month. She wanted to put him on steroids because they weren't sure what was causing the diarrhea, but it looks like we didn't need to go down that route. A few days after the third dose of Drontal Plus and a month on Metronidazole, his diarrhea went away.
The spitting up issue mentioned in the last few posts appears to be diet related though and not motility as Pax seems to be OK when given a little blander diet (no spitting up the last few meals). |
I agree about the RX foods when dealing with multiple issues....and yes, with the addition of a history of oxylates, you do probably need to home cook. Personally, I would double check with a vet nutritionist, but that's just me. I prefer listening to the experts about these things. I have been on quite a few support forums and just didn't care for that kind of thing. I have home cooked successfully for a few of my pups with medical issues that RX food just wasn't going to do the trick for. Not against home cooking at all..I just prefer the advice of people who are board certified in the field of animal nutrition.
I hope it all continues to work for you and your pups.