UK FOOD - What do you UK members feed your baby?

[dianaww]

I love all you USA members, but we just can't get all the wonderful foods you feed your babies

My Teddy has has X-rays and Blood tests today to see why he has vomitted bile every day for over 4 weeks, he is 18 months old and it only began 4 weeks ago. It is not empty tummy problems.

He is NEVER fed human food, only Nurto food, one of USA's good brands
we can't get the others.

So any one in the UK with food advice, I may try ARDEN GRANGE has anyone used it.

Many Thanks

Di & Teddy

[Ellie May]

That's strange and not normal.

Just out of curiosity, have you had his bile acids checked? Does he have diarrhea?

[dianaww]

Hi thank you for your reply. I am not sure if he had the bile acids checked.
I have noticed a few members have mentioned this. Is it a blood test?

As he has had blood tests that were all normal except UREA was slightly raised but Kidney function totally normal.

The X-rays he had only showed a thicker stomach lining.

Tomorrow he is going in again for a Barian Swollow and X-rays to see if the
carriage of food is right.

The antiboitoics, antacid and the anteseptin have NOT helped.

I am VERY worried, one of my other Yorkies has a Hiatal Hernia and had similar symtoms.

He is 18 months old and it only all started 4 weeks ago.

I am so upset he will be away tomorrow again so soon. But we MUST find out what is going on.

[dianaww]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

That's strange and not normal.

Just out of curiosity, have you had his bile acids checked? Does he have diarrhea?

SORRY I FORGOT TO SAY No Diarrhea, and he is so happy and lively doesn't LOOK ill at all ???

[Ellie May]

The bile acid test is a blood test right before a meal and then another one two hours after a meal.

It does sound like more of a stomacho problem than a liver problem with the thickened stomach lining but I think the bile acid test should be done on all Yorkies (especially those with questionable breeders) as a precaution anyway, so I would do it.

What are his lipase and amylase levels?

Have they thought about doing an ultrasound?

Have they ruled out pancreatitis?

It is strange that it is vomiting only and not diarrhea.

[Ellie May]

How many times a day is he vomiting and is it before or after eating?

Can you post his lab work results?

[dianaww]

Hi What does the Bile Acid Test look for and what does it rule out if it is OK?

I don't know what his lipase and amylase levels? I will ask and see if I can find out. What do these look for?

I will ask about what they think about Ultrasound & Pancreatitis, my first Yorkie I had, has that.

I will ask what they think about an Ultrasound.

It is odd that it is only vomitting & not diarrhea I agree.

I can't help wondering if he has a Hiatis Hernia, I hope he hasn't got Liver Shunt he seems to well and cheerful, aren't they more miserable and show more signs of being ill if they have Liver Shunt, and Pancreatitis?

[dianaww]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

How many times a day is he vomiting and is it before or after eating?

Can you post his lab work results?

I will if I can get them given to me, they are much better at this in the USA than the UK. They tell you much more.


He is usually only vomitting ONCE a day, it can be before or after. If it is after it is usually a few hours after, not right away.

95% of the time it is Yellow bile, sometimes frothy, only 5% of the time does it have some undigested food in it.

[Ellie May]

A bile acid test looks at liver function. It can help rule out a shunt or MVD. Dogs with MVD (small shunting throughout the liver) can be asymptomatic, so they don't have to be depressed.

Amylase and lipase have to do with pancreas function.
It doesn't really sound like pancreatitis, but it would be one of my first thoughts.

In the US, all we have to do is say we want a copy of the blood test results and they hand it over. In fact, I just asked Ellie's vet for this and she had them copy the whole file for me. If you paid for the services, I would think you have every right to those papers.

Have you thought about trying homecooking to see how he does?

[dianaww]

Does a normal blood profile not show Liver abnormalities, if there are any.

Just say he had Liver Shunt, would not the liver function been " off " with the blood profies they did, or does it only show with Bile Acid Tests ?

Is MVD less serious than Liver Shunt, I have read a few bits about LS and it
sounds bad, Can they do anything for LS or MVD ?

When my other Yorkie has Pancreatitis he was so ill, he was a lot worse than Teddy.

That is NOT to say all Yorkies will act/be the same with the same condition.

I have recently moved to where I live now, in the past 7 months, so I am getting to know the new Vet, I haven't asked for the Blood Test results, I am sure he would give them to me.

You are so right we pay so we should be able to see what we wish to.

Has Ellie had health issues ?

Do you do home cooking?

Is there any advise to follow?

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by dianaww

Does a normal blood profile not show Liver abnormalities, if there are any.

Just say he had Liver Shunt, would not the liver function been " off " with the blood profies they did, or does it only show with Bile Acid Tests ?

The bile acid test shows liver function. A regular blood profile can show an elevated ALT but the liver has to be 70% damaged for that number to be really high. Bile acid testing is always best when the liver is in question.

Is MVD less serious than Liver Shunt, I have read a few bits about LS and it
sounds bad, Can they do anything for LS or MVD ?

Before I answer this I want to say please try not to worry. The symptoms you describe don't sound like a liver shunt. However, two of the symptoms of ls are vomiting and diarrhea.

Shunts outside the liver can usually be repaired. Shunts inside the liver (les common in Yorkies) can't be. MVD or small shunting throughout cannot be repaired and the dog is sometimes maintained on low protein diet and supplements. She all depends on the philosophy of your vet.

When my other Yorkie has Pancreatitis he was so ill, he was a lot worse than Teddy.

That is NOT to say all Yorkies will act/be the same with the same condition.

I have recently moved to where I live now, in the past 7 months, so I am getting to know the new Vet, I haven't asked for the Blood Test results, I am sure he would give them to me.

You are so right we pay so we should be able to see what we wish to.

Has Ellie had health issues ? Yes, Ellie has high bile acids (normal after a meal is 15 and last time hers were 106). She had mild pancreatitis and some urination issues. She also has food allergies. We are about 99% sure Ellie doesn't have a shunt and she did have a liver biopsy which showed no MVD, so we don't know...

Do you do home cooking? Yes, I am cooking the Princess's eggs right now.

Is there any advise to follow?

If you want to homecook, I highly recommend talking to a nutritionist.

[dianaww]

Hi, I can see now why a Bile Acid test is the best thing to do. I did ask about it today, and we will be having that done if the next treatment doesn't help him. They did take a fasting test in case I wanted that one done, but I said no as we couldn't do the one 2 hours later, as he had a BARIUM SWOLLOW today, that came back normal, there was no evidence of any Hiatal Hernia, or Blockage, or Esophogus problems.

The vet doesn't think he has pancreatitis as he is too well for it. Also his blood tests showned nothing to suggest he has that.

His UREA levels are normal today. In fact all his blood tests are normal, and the X-rays and the Barium X-rays.

They are now trying a newish anti-sickness drug for 5 days, and I am changing his diet.

Then we will see what happens after 5 days, if the vomitting returns, if so we will do the Bile Acid test, and have a scope done, he would have to be referred elsewhere for that, as my vet do not have one.

They didn't feel ultrasound would tell us anything, as I had said to do one, if it would help.

I am so sorry that you don't know 100% what Ellie has, it is a worry isn't it. I think it is best to know but it seems sometimes that isn't possible.

Sometimes it seems vets can do tests to rule out things, rather than to rule them in.

I will keep you updated. Please let me know how Ellie gets on.

I have read MANY MANY of your posts and you really are a wonderful caring person. You certainly know what you are talking about THANK YOU.

Diana & Teddy x

[eaglez28]

dianaww,
this sounds like exactly what had been happening to Kylee recently.
did you change his dog food before the vomiting started?
how long has he been on Nutro? Which Nutro formula? check the bag to see the protein percentage.

I had started to add a new dog food (Innova EVO) with the older dog food (Canidae) for about a month & finally figured out it was too high in Protein for Kylee!
Canidae has 21% Protein
Innova EVO has 42% Protein

[dianaww]

Hi many thanks for your reply.

The Nutro he has been on is as follows:

Adult Lamb & Rice Mini

A "real" lamb & rice formula with minimum 26% dried lamb meat & minimum 26% rice
• Hypoallergenic, limited ingredients to manage food allergies or intolerance - easy on the stomach
• Glucosamine and chondroitin, the building blocks for healthy joints.


INGREDIENTS
Dried Lamb Meat (min. 26%), Ground Rice (min. 26%), Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Sunflower Oil (min. 3.5%), Poultry Fat, Rice Gluten, Dried Egg Product, Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Dried Kelp, Salt.


CHICKEN & RICE
Formulated for Dogs
with Sensitive Stomachs

KEY FEATURES & BENEFITS
• Rice and oatmeal for better digestion and smaller, more compact stool
• Minimum 26% dried chicken meat
and minimum 26% rice for great taste
• Helps improve gastrointestinal health
• Glucosamine and chondroitin,
the building blocks for healthy joints


INGREDIENTS
Dried Chicken Meat (min. 26%), Ground Rice (min. 26%), Rice Bran, Rice Flour, Corn Gluten, Poultry Fat (min. 8.0%), Beet Pulp, Sunflower Oil (min. 2.5%), Oatmeal, Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Dried Kelp.


He was sick daily on both of these. He is 18 months old, yet for 17 months he was fine on the Lamb & Rice, then about 4 weeks ago the sickeness started.

Bile at first. So I started feeding 3 x times daily to see if that would help. As I thought it maybe partly empty tummy porblems, it didn't help. So I changed to the Chicken & Rice for sensitive tummies.

No change.

He has had blood test, X-Rays and yesterday a BARIUM SWOLLOW with X-rays all are normal.

He is so happy and full of energy.

He is my third Yorkie, the other two have had bad health issues, my first one had the worst, so I have seen a very ill Yorkie, and Teddy just doesn't seem ill.

He is now on a 5 day course of CERENIA a newish anti sickness drug to see if that helps. I am also changing his diet (On vets advice) To one without the CORN in it.

We can't get a lot of the good ones you can in the USA

Please tell me all about your babies situation.

Diana & Teddy

[penny28]

Hi,
I posted this today hope it helps.

Is there anyboby out there feeding there dogs with Hills kd, Prescription Diet? Recently Tara my 7 year old Yorkie died of Kidney Failure; I have another Yorkie Penny who is 10 I did not want Penny to have the same problems, so I did some research and found that Yorkshire Terriers, along with other breeds of dogs are prone to Kidney Disease, After more research I discovered Hills Prescription Diet k/d Canine (kidney defence); it is a complete dietetic pet food for the support of renal function in cases of chronic or temporary renal insufficiency in dogs. it has a low level of phosphorus and a restricted level of protein of high quality, I disovered this product to late for Tara, but Penny has been on it for about 4 months now, she has become more alert, her eyes are brighter,Her hair used to fall out while bathing it does'nt now, her hair has become thicker and shinier, and there are no more slimy horrible poos, just you know what I mean Lovely Poos, Both of the dogs where fed on Eukanuba dried food from being puppies with a little lean chicken, I would realy recomm end this product.

Regards