probiotic suggestion?
 

can anyone suggests a good probiotic; thanks:confused:

I have been very happy with our probiotic from Holistic Veterinarian Pet Nutritionist Holistic Pet Care.

The Animal Essentials line is recommended by many holistic vets.

I use their Plant Enzymes and Probiotics. I found it cheaper on Amazon than on their main website:

Amazon.com: Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes and...

i recently started giving her Vitamineral Green which has probiotic and digestive enzymes from plant; do you think this is enough to give. also would you recommend any additional vitamins? i was researching and i found this from flying basset; what do you think?
Whole Food Daily Maintenance Nutritional Complex With Vitamins And Minerals

Is Ava getting a high quality commercial diet? If so, you don't have to add additional vitamins.

I give Lady Animal Essentials Multivitamins, but she is on a homecooked diet.

she was recently in the hospital due to gastritis; so i have been feeding her boiled chicken and rice with some gerber baby food.
that's why i want to giver her some supplements; she also has a bloated stomach; not sure why

i want to switch her to the honest kitchen semi raw food; however since i feed her 4 times daily (small amts) ; i am not sure how to feed THK food (which is twice daily)
it's all confusing to me and i am also afraid that THK will hurt her stomach again; but i won't know until she eats it for a while.

thanks for your input.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

We use THK Preference and add our own protein (Tilapia) but Izzy has pancreatitis/IBD/SIBO and not sure about gastritis but sounds similar to what Izzy has. She has to watch the fat and protein levels to make sure they are not high. You can also feed THK 4 times a day as that would not be a problem. Just take what you would feed her 2x a day and divide by 4.

Izzy is also on Vitamineral Green and Ask Ariel probiotics and more. I would like to try the Animal Essentials.

Ladymom is this in capsule form or loose powder?

It's loose powder.

Thanks so much I like the loose powder vs. the capsules since I don't use an entire capsule for Izzy..with the loose I can start to give some to Cosmo, too!

i did get a trial size honest kitchen force; however it says to feed 1/2cup daily; that means i have to split it to 1/8 cup each meal; i tried doing that yesterday and the amount was so small and i didnt think it was enough for her to eat; i am not sure if that will keep her stomach full; see when she gets hungry or when her stomach is empty she starts vomiting right away; so the vet told me to avoid that and feed her multiples small meals. however 1/8 cup didnt seem enough for her to be full. you think i can add some oatmeal or rice with it?
how long has izzy been eating THK; has she been doing well; no incidents? how do you cook the tilapia; do u add anything else to the preference formula.

as for the supplements i am going to keep her on Vitamineral Green and get the Animal Essentials probiotic and the multivitamin; i think that should be enough; right?
thanks again everyone.

First - you don't need to add a multivitamin with already giving the vitamineral green. This is a whole food product that you use instead of a traditional vitamin. I would still add the probiotic though.

If you add your own protein to The Honest Kitchen Preference, it will increase the amount of food. Even feeding twice a day, the amount looks small. My girls get Preference as their dinner with approximately 1 oz of cooked Talapia in it. Although that is a small amount of talapia, it pretty much doubles the portion of food. If you broke this up into four small meals, it should work just fine. When you feed a high quality diet, you're giving so much less food than you would think. Keep in mind that if our human stomachs are approximately the size of a hand, just how small their stomachs must be - so even 1/4 cup fills it pretty quickly.

I would definitely not add oatmeal or rice to the food. Rice is difficult to digest normally, even more so when they are having gastric issues. Oatmeal would be a healthier option if you are using steel cut or oldfashioned oats, but not necessary. If anything I would add a little more veggies - like some pure canned pumpkin.

You may want to consider adding colostrum (you can get this from askariel.com as well). You can give this each night, or every other night. It helps build the immune system and they love the taste. Simply take a little warm water and open a capsule on top of it.....

many thanks
 

many thanks to you:)
do i have to introduce 50/50; or give THK 100% directly?
how much colostrum do you give?

You can give it directly. There should be no issue changing over whatsoever. Hope it helps your furkid tremendously. My Sissy was diagnosed last fall with early stage Protein Losing ENteropathy - a severe digestive disorder. We were already using THK, just tweaked what we were doing on the advicoe of a nuritionist and this was when we began using Preference with the Talapia.

We also stopped using Grizzly Salmon Oil and instead use organic coconul oil (1/4 tsp melted mixed in with her food once a day). Coconut oil has so many health benefits - they are too numerous to name. I believe Sissy turned a postive corner once we started adding this. Her coat is completely different now also!!!!!!

sorry to ask so many questions; where do you get the coconut oil from? and how much colustrum do you give?
thanks again:)

Not a problem at all!!!! I get my coconut oil from the health food store. I prefer either the Garden of Life or Nature's Way brands. A jar that costs $12 will last about 4 months.

With the colostrum, I give it at night (when I remember - which on average is about 3 nights a week). It needs to be given on an empty stomach - 2 hours after the last food. I usually use a whole capsule as both my girls will drink it, but you can easily use 1/2 capsule as they are pretty easy to put back together once you get the hang of it. Sissy is just under 5 lbs and Angel is just over 5 lbs.

Please don't hesitate to ask any more questions.....

thanks for everything again
i ordered a 4lb THK force from www.doggiefood.com; they had the cheapest prices ($33+sh:)/4lb) and you can get 6% off order by using code dogbone Alpha Nutrition Coupon Codes - all coupons, discounts and promo codes for doggiefood.com

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I like/use this one - which also contains digestive enzymes, and these can be very helpful for some dogs w/ digestive issues: Nature's Farmacy - Store - Product Details

i got the animal essentials enzymes and probiotics; the texture was weird; it looked like powdered milk, thick and course powder ; is that how it's supposed to be? i have other digestive enzyme that were very fine powder.
it does mention that i have to keep in fridge after opening.

would you know if i have to keep the vitamineral green in the fridge?
so far ava is liking THK force; she doesnt eat it right away; not sure if she doesnt like the smell; but then i add a teaspoon of gerber banana and she will eat it all. do you know if another THK formula has better aroma or flavor; or are they all basically the same?
thanks again

The Vitamineral Green does not need to be refrigerated.

It the Force possible too warm for her right away? You only need warm water when you mix it. All the formulas smell about the same to me, except for the Preference - just veggies and fruit that you add your own protein to. Also, if you begin using the coconut oil and melt it to mix in with the food, that will also change the smell a little. And since they love the coconut oil so much, you may want to mix the Force and put the melted coconut oil on top!!!!!!

how do you melt the coconut oil? do i just add 1/4 tspn to the food; or is there any special directions.
i do add warm water; wait 10 min and then give it to her ; for some reason she will taste it and then back away; then i add 1 tspn of gerber baby banana and then she will eat it all; so i am guessing she likes the banana; i dont mind to keep buying and adding banana; but i want to make sure i am not giving her too much sugar daily; but anyway, i am just glad that she has an appetite and she's eating;:)

I put a little coconut oil in a glass dish and microwave for 20 seconds, then mix in with the food.

I never wait more than 2 or 3 minutes before the girls get their food. Too much torture making them wait!!!!!! I don't see any problem with adding the banana, other than the added sugar.... And you are correct - appetite and eating are good things :)!!!

you are funny :) but right; about not making them wait
but the instructions state to wait 10 minutes before serving; so the food can soak in the water?
when is the coconut oil is more like butter; u have to melt it before adding it to the food? i never seen it before; but i will go tomorrow and get one from wholefoods.
thanks again luvmysissy :) you have been a life saver.:)

i use dds plus non-dairy probiotics 2 capsules 30 min before food in am so it coats the stomach with good bacteria. I then feed and then give 1/8 tsp of coconut oil on a plate and she licks it up and LOVES it. The dds plus you can get from vitamin shop in refridgerator section

silly question; Ava's urine is clear; i am feeding her 4 small meals daily; oatmeal, boiled chicken and baby food 3 times daily and the honest kitchen once daily; is it normal for her to urinate frequently and to have clear urine. is it because her diet is very moist?
thanks