Steroids are absolutely necessary in some cases. We all must be careful not to assume they are always bad...and be careful about stopping them just because someone thinks they are bad.

My Cookie has lymphangectasia, a protein losing enteropathy, and she has been on a low dose of prednisone for a year now. It is given every other day now so that she will not develop the signs of cushings. She also is on a special home cooked diet that was formulated by a veterinary nutritionist. These two things are keeping her alive!!

OP, please be very careful about making decisions at this time regarding the meds your vet has suggested. I would suggest that you sit down and discuss the meds with your vet rather than to assume they are bad and then to off to a holistic vet. I am not saying there is anything wrong with holistic viewpoints....just saying that conventional med is sometimes very necessary.

Sure, steroids have their issues, but what they can do in terms of healing is phenomenal. I have had other pups on steroids who suffered NO ill effects from them.

OP, also, Hill's ID is a good food for now for your pup. After your pup is doing better, I am quite sure your vet will discuss other foods with you. It might be a good idea for you to do a consult with a vet nutrionist. Here is a great website about dog food that is published by a vet nutrionist...there is some very helpful information on this site!

Welcome to Pet Diets

Good luck and please keep us posted.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Here is a list of healthy dog food that another YT member started. I hope Nicky feels better soon.
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ganic-etc.html

Thank you all for Nicky's well wishes and for your advice!! You guys are the best!

I have stuck to what the vet recommended- he's on Prednisone, Lomotil, DLM, Metrodinazole, and Amoxycillin. Very low doses of all (Pred is 5 mg).. While I agree that meds can have terrible side effects and are deff not something I'm happy about giving him, sometimes the good outweighs the bad. I couldn't watch him in pain and suffering if a few pills could alleviate/fix the issue.

We've seen a marked improvement thankfully! Blood in urine and poop has stopped and our little scavenger has his full appetite back. It suffices to say that I am not feeding him people food anymore, nor will I ever - lesson learned!! I'll have to show him love in other ways. It is a HUGE adjustment for him though- he's only allowed to have the I/D and hes deff not happy about it! But I plan on making huge natural changes to his diet when his vet allows him off the I/D. Hope all your little angels are doing well!! Thanks again everyone! :animal36:animal-pa

i am glad your little one is on the mend :)

I am so happy to hear that he is feeling better!!

Once this is past, perhaps you might want to do a consult with a vet nutritionist. I have done that with my pups who have medical conditions and have been very pleased...as have the pups! :) You can find a vet nutritionist at American College of Veterinary Nutrition

Glad to hear somewhat back to normal yayyy. Dr Karen Becker has published a book on nutrition and diet.
You may be interested in purchasing that. It's about $15

thank you all! I will deff check out your recos =] :animal36:)