I tested sammy's urine this morning & it does not look good

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

If he is an average sized Yorkie (4-7 pounds) with no health issues, he is getting "more than plenty" of water a day.

Dogs need somewhere around 1 ounce of water per pound a day (give or take depending on the situation and the dog). Ellie is 6 pounds, so I would like her to drink at least 6 ounces per day. There are 8 ounces in a cup, so she should probably have around 3/4 cup of water. She eats homecooked food. Homecooked or wet food is usually around 75% moisture. Ellie eats around 1 cup of food per day. If 75% of that is moisture, that would be 3/4 cup of moisture. Her needs are met without me giving her any extra just by her food. She is not a big drinker and used to go days without drinking because she was being satisfied with her food. It would be okay and maybe even good to supplement with some water but 1/2 cup extra a day is quite a bit. With all that water there is no way his urine should be that dark. I would definately get him checked. A bile acids test is always good to do.

If you want to feed dog food and price isn't an object, I like Evangers canned personally.

well, i took sammy this morning to the vets and he weighs 8.2 oz. they are doing 2 different urine tests, one regular and ratio test . he said he felt healthy and he checked his lower half a very long time. as far as the homecooking is concerned, i would like to switch to canned and dry, because he gets no dry food at all. money is not object with food. i spend alot of money on food anyways homecooking for him. the only reason i want to switch is because of the supplements. the vet told me to give him homecooking and canned food, this way i know he is getting all the vitamins and supplements. did you ever hear of this? i would rather homecook for him, but like i said i am not sure if he is getting all the proper nutiriion. thank you for your help.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by elle57

well, i took sammy this morning to the vets and he weighs 8.2 oz. they are doing 2 different urine tests, one regular and ratio test . he said he felt healthy and he checked his lower half a very long time. as far as the homecooking is concerned, i would like to switch to canned and dry, because he gets no dry food at all. money is not object with food. i spend alot of money on food anyways homecooking for him. the only reason i want to switch is because of the supplements. the vet told me to give him homecooking and canned food, this way i know he is getting all the vitamins and supplements. did you ever hear of this? i would rather homecook for him, but like i said i am not sure if he is getting all the proper nutiriion. thank you for your help.

You can give homecooked and commercial food but if you give more than about 15 or 20% homecooked, you can throw off the vitamin/mineral/calcium/phosphorus ratios.

If you have $25 to spend on a recipe, I think you could get one that is complete and balanced. They will tell you what supplements to use.

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

You can give homecooked and commercial food but if you give more than about 15 or 20% homecooked, you can throw off the vitamin/mineral/calcium/phosphorus ratios.

If you have $25 to spend on a recipe, I think you could get one that is complete and balanced. They will tell you what supplements to use.

i have 25 to spend on a recipe but where do i get it from?

[Ellie May]

This could get long and confusing but hopefully not.

Go to Welcome to the Balance IT® Web Site.
Click on the website for pet lovers.
Pick your protein and carb.
Look at the list of recipes.
Select the one you want.
Pricing is $20 for first recipe, $30 for two recipes or $12.50 each if you buy three or more at a time.
I would personally pick one with vegetables.
Some of them may call for corn oil.
Ellie's nutritionist put that on the list of acceptable oils for Ellie but she said it could be replaced with a couple others like canola or olive. So if the recipe calls for corn oil and you don't want to use it, you may be able to change it.
I would get more than one recipe with different protein and grain sources to change things up a bit.
It says that they will tell you what combination of human supplements to use and they will give you the amount of Balance It to use (if you don't want to mess with all the human vitamins and minerals....Balance It is all in one). There is an undesirable ingredient in the Balance It that they would tell you to use, so I would use the human vitamins and minerals instead.

Ellie is on Balance It but it is not the kind for healthy dogs and it doesn't have the questionable ingredient in it. Ellie's nutritionist likes this line. The recipes should be AAFCO approved. I have never bought a recipe from this site (just Ellie's supplement), so I don't know how good they are about explaining the human vit/min needed. You may want to call and talk to them first. If you opt for the human vitamin/mineral route, you won't need to get the Balance It shipped to you either.

[Ellie May]

Also, the recipes are 20-25% fat.
That is probably average but I really wouldn't want to give a Yorkie 25%.
You may want to ask them what ones are closer to 20% if you have any concerns about it.

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Also, the recipes are 20-25% fat.
That is probably average but I really wouldn't want to give a Yorkie 25%.
You may want to ask them what ones are closer to 20% if you have any concerns about it.

thanks and i am going to look into tomorrow when i have time. i do feed him veggies in his food. someone said to call cornell and ask for a nutrionist, but that is 140.00, a little high right now for me. but 25.00 is not bad at all. i use the healthy powder mixture from dr pitcairns book, but he seems to lick his paws quite a bit after eating,so i cut it out, now he is getting just salmon oil. which is not good cause i have no vitamins at all. since i got him he gained over 2 lbs, not good either.so the lessfat the better. oh, i also use olive oil in his food.

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

This could get long and confusing but hopefully not.

Go to Welcome to the Balance IT® Web Site.
Click on the website for pet lovers.
Pick your protein and carb.
Look at the list of recipes.
Select the one you want.
Pricing is $20 for first recipe, $30 for two recipes or $12.50 each if you buy three or more at a time.
I would personally pick one with vegetables.
Some of them may call for corn oil.
Ellie's nutritionist put that on the list of acceptable oils for Ellie but she said it could be replaced with a couple others like canola or olive. So if the recipe calls for corn oil and you don't want to use it, you may be able to change it.
I would get more than one recipe with different protein and grain sources to change things up a bit.
It says that they will tell you what combination of human supplements to use and they will give you the amount of Balance It to use (if you don't want to mess with all the human vitamins and minerals....Balance It is all in one). There is an undesirable ingredient in the Balance It that they would tell you to use, so I would use the human vitamins and minerals instead.

Ellie is on Balance It but it is not the kind for healthy dogs and it doesn't have the questionable ingredient in it. Ellie's nutritionist likes this line. The recipes should be AAFCO approved. I have never bought a recipe from this site (just Ellie's supplement), so I don't know how good they are about explaining the human vit/min needed. You may want to call and talk to them first. If you opt for the human vitamin/mineral route, you won't need to get the Balance It shipped to you either.

hi, thanks for the info and i am going to call today. if i decide to buy the recipes, i understand that if you recommend someone that person gets 50% commission. so i do not know what info they need, because i would like you to get the 50% commission. i guess i will let you.
thanks again

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by elle57

hi, thanks for the info and i am going to call today. if i decide to buy the recipes, i understand that if you recommend someone that person gets 50% commission. so i do not know what info they need, because i would like you to get the 50% commission. i guess i will let you.
thanks again

Thanks for the thought.
You need my customer code though and I have no idea what it is.

For everyone reading this, they will NOT create recipes for puppies. A veterinary nutritionist needs to do it.

Please let me know how you like the recipe if you decide to go this way. I've been waiting for someone to try it so I know if this service is any good.