|
Well, we had a visit to the vet today... I had to take Gizmo to the vet today for his Heartworm blood test. They weighed him, and noticed that he was down weight wise. I explained to them the troubles we've been having with food and pickyness and the food he liked was making him gassy and pooping way too much. And then I told them how I switched him to a less holistic approach and tried using Royal Canin, which only led the poor dog to itchy dandruff skin and watery eyes. One suggestion the vet made was Nature's Variety Raw and Dry Kibble. She said to try mixing them together and see how Gizmo likes it. She also said, that if his allergies don't seem to be improving, I'm going to have to bring him in for tests. :( Any comments on my YTers who use Nature's Variety Raw and or kibble combination. Another suggestion she had with the raw is Nature's balance kibble. Little stressed today. |
I use Nature's Variety raw medallions. Sparky loved the chicken and beef. He did not like the lamb and is actually back on TOTW right now because he wouldnt eat the lamb and I couldnt get a hold of the other flavors. I really like it. His poop was firm but small (like a quarter compared to his poop on TOTW). His coat is shiny, and no eye goop. I also like their customer service. They are sending me a coupon for a new bag in replacement for the lamb that Sparky didnt care for. I dont use the kibble but I am thinking of maybe switching to it once the TOTW is finished. |
How big is sparky? |
RC not agreeing with him? JMHO and FWIW just as some YTers prefer holistic vets so that they don't have to here about Science Diet, and how they choose to NOT go to vets who suggest it, I'm the opposite. With all due respect to my raw feeding pals, I would not go to a vet that thought I should feed it to my dog (or at the least I just wouldn't listen to them about diet). I guess now you know he is intolerant and/or allergic to something in some of these foods though. Avoidance of the trigger food(s)... |
My leo is very sensitive to foods, we use Innova........no problems at all. I get it at my local country max. here is a link that will tell you about it. http://www.InnovaPet.com/?gclid=CMTA...FYJx4AodNDJm6Q |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Yeah I asked them about raw only, and they said absolutely not. Just asking for problems with I think they said it had something to do with the crushed up bone in the food. But anywho, yeah the RC he was itching like a mad man. And I noticed dandruff in his coat. I'm about losing my mind :confused: I was browsing foods and saw that Natural Balance had a lower protein content and thought maybe mixing a little bit of pumpkin with it. He loves pumpkin. |
You need to give a food 3-5 days before determining if the dog is ingredient intolerant. What tests is the vet wanting to do.....because food allergy testing is a waste of money and the results are unreliable. |
I talked with the vet over the phone, when I got the results on the heartworm test, and she said that if it came down to it that they'd do the food allergy to see if he is allergic to chicken, etc. But I read some allergy behavior and he doesn't lick his paws like mad or any of that. But then again, I'm not a professional so who knows. Sorry don't mean to be so down, just frustrated. :thumbdown |
Quote:
Environmental allergy testing on the other hand IS reliable. |
Same thing happened with Ellie when eating an rx RC kibble. I'm still not sure exactly what the problem ingredient was for her though. She has so many foods on her "no" list anyway. It's hard tellin'. That is one of the reasons I don't feed raw. Part time, full time, every 3 days, once a month - there is still risk involved that I just won't take. NB isn't a bad food. I'd feed it if I had to. And I agree. This is coming on when eating certain foods. It's almost certainly mostly a food allergy. No blood testing is reliable for food allergy testing. |
Quote:
I liked NB because of the low protein percentage. Figured it wouldn't crate soft poop like the rest and it comes in small kibble for his tiny mouth :rolleyes: And he likes sweet potato so. Who knows anymore! Crystal what would I do without you? Lol. But no, I won't do the food allergy tests then, if they are a waste. Thank you both for telling me I appreciate it. |
OK where did my post go :confused::confused::confused: I feed Natural Balance because of Pebbles allergies. She was a total mess before I switched. Currently, I am feeding the Brown Rice and Lamb LI but have used the Sweet Potato and Venison as well as the Sweet Potato and Bison in the past. They changed the sweet potato formulas a while back and as soon as they did Pebbles started to have allergy issues again The bison just stunk like I had a bison living in my kitchen :eek: I've had the best result with the Brown Rice and Lamb. Now that you mention the dry itchy and flaky skin I do remember Pebbles having problems similar before I changed to the NB. If you buy from Petco they have a return policy so there is no worry about the cost of a food not working. I'd be leery of feeding the raw medallions. There have been a few people that had issues that I can remember. They switched to kibble and have not had any issues since. Let me see if I can remember who it was. |
Ive used Nature's Variety's Prairie lines and my dogs love it and did well on and the only reason why I stopped using it was because I had to order it online and it could get expense, but it is still on my list of foods to use. Tucker has a senstive stomach so I have to be careful, so we have to stay low in protien and fat.. right now we are using NB's new synergy, its suppose to help with digestive issues. My dogs all seem to enjoy it and are doing well on it so far. Im sorry that your poor pup has had so many issues, hopefully you will be able to find something for him soon. |
I'm a little confused; I thought food allergies didn't even show up till after the age of one? Anyway, don't overlook environmental allergies with such things as dandruff, and always use a good dog shampoo and conditioner and rinse really well. Also, teething can cause some tearing. |
Yup, they can. Just less common. Actually, something about RC seems to make some Yorkies very itchy. Just doesn't seem to work for all of them (like all foods). Ellie was scratching in much less than a week when starting RC. Had to take her off of it. I'd use it again most definitely..just not for her. |
bought a can of pumpkin per vet recommendation. Just thought I'd add that in there. I feel really ignorant right now. Blah! |
my daughter has a great dane who skin was awful open sores, crusted and itching like crazy horrible, after several vet visit they did skin test sent it off 10 days latter it came back she was allergic to everything from grass, cotton even to human hair, fiber in carpet and of course food. she was given 4 (serum) shots for 4 months and we try to find a food she could eat RX SD. $68.00 for a large bag, was what we ended up with 8 mos latter she has the same probem, so after $2000.00 of testing and shots she is back to where she started, she can redo the shots again for $800.00 for 4 mos. my daughter husband is in the air force and are leaving the U.S. this fall and unless this dog skin is clear up she will not be able to go. so now they are giving shots to keep her from itching, a circle she keeps going around in circle with no results. |
Quote:
|
Hmm, not sure on the dandruff. I think that is just a generalization that puppies don't usually get food allergies because they haven't been exposed to proteins enough. I don't know where people are getting the before the age of one thing. And it could be that there is an envir allergy too and the food is just pushing pup over the threshold. |
What is the protein source in the RC you were feeding? Maybe try one of the NB LID kibbles that doesn't have that protein source in it. I feed NB and am very happy with the results. I wouldn't personally feed raw- and also I thought it was bad to mix raw and kibble in the same meal because they are digested differently? don't remember where I read that- but something to research if you did choose to go that route. |
I feed NV raw in the morning, and NV Prairie kibble in the evenings, and my dogs do great on it. They go crazy for the raw, and it is very easy to manage. |
I have both of my girls on NB LID,the duck and potato one. They also have little treats in the same formula that they seem to love:love: They used to itch and be flaky, with weepy eyes and just plain icky poops, until we stumbled upon the NB LID stuff. I think a lot of dogs are allergic to the corn in some foods, RC is chock full of it! We tried that one, Solid Gold, and some others I can't remember right now, but the NB has worked best for us. Hang in there, I know you're frustrated, it's a PITA:p It may take a few weeks, also, to see any change after switching foods. If you email NB, they'll send you samples so you can see if your baby will eat the food. Good luck! |
We adopted a Yorkie in March who is allergic to chicken. He HATED the prescription diet his previous owners were giving him (Hill's z/d) and so was underweight. After a disastrous experiment at finding something that he would eat that wouldn't make him sick, I followed the advice of other YTers on this forum, and got in touch with Susan Blake Davis Pet Health Pet Nutritionist Holistic Pet. She had me fill out a questionnaire, and after a couple of email exchanges, she called promptly at the agreed time. She talked to me for over an hour, and gave recommendations for both a home cooked diet and commercially prepared food. Susan does charge for her service, but it was money well spent. Her advice was targeted to Wendell's particular condition and was spot on. I've tried all of the recommendations, and they were in instant hit. Wendell LOVES his new foods, has gained .8 lbs, has had no recurrence of diarrhea and vomiting. You might want to consider contacting Susan if Natures Variety doesn't work for Gizmo. |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 11:56 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use