Son's dog has troubling history BEFORE pancreatitis attack...Please help!

[Catlady711]

Has your son's dog ever been tested for parasites with a fecal test? The first thing coming to my mind is Coccidia.

http://www.animalhealthcare.com/hand...occidiosis.htm
Most pets that are infected with coccidia do not have diarrhea or other clinical signs. When the coccidia oocysts are found in the stool of a pet without diarrhea, they are generally considered a transient, insignificant finding. However, in puppies and debilitated adult pets, they may cause severe, watery diarrhea, dehydration, abdominal distress, and vomiting. In severe cases, death may occur.


However animals can have IBS like people do. Not really sure on treatment for those as I don't see enough of those at work to really remember what the dr's do for them.

If it was my dog I'd be inclined to go for a second opinon, fecal test, full blood work up, and possibly x-rays.

Sounds like the dog wasn't well cared for prior to your son getting it and may have some underlying issues that are still plaguing the dog.

Hope things work out ok, and the vet figures out what the problem is.

[Sher.Fla]

I don't know if she had a fecal test. I would hope so. I asked him that but haven't heard back yet. I think too he should get a second opinion. I know this vet did blood work, but I think it just had to do with the pancreatitus.

btw... would you cook/microwave sweet potatoes for the dog to eat? could you use canned if there was nothing added to them? do you feed them by itself? i have not had any experience with special diets..

Thanks again...

[Karen]

I'd just boil or microwave it, and mash it up with a fork. It is important NOT to add anything. Then, if she tolerates that, for example, he can add some plain chicken, and see how that goes. The point of an elimination diet is trying individual things at a time to rule things out. A day or so without protein from meat won't kill her, and it will give her something she may digest, see how it goes.

[king2005]

I'd just boil or microwave it, and mash it up with a fork. It is important NOT to add anything. Then, if she tolerates that, for example, he can add some plain chicken, and see how that goes. The point of an elimination diet is trying individual things at a time to rule things out. A day or so without protein from meat won't kill her, and it will give her something she may digest, see how it goes.

Boiling veggies isn't really good, a lot of the nutrition goes into the water & thus is almost pointless to feed it to the dog (or us).. its more wasteful then anything. Microwave, or steam it to keep the nutritional value at its highest.

The quickest way to cook sweet potato in the microwave is to cut it into small chunks. Cook it for 5 mins & if its still hard, zap it for another 5 until soft.

Also make sure to NEVER microwave any food in plastic. Even that so-called microwavable safe plastic.. it's all lies. That just means there is less plastic toxins being released into the food.. key word "less"... Also make sure she is eating from metal or ceramic dog bowls. She might be allergic to plastic, like cats are.


But for now I would just leave the Sweet Potato off the menu, because if you give her too much it can cause loose stools. So for just the time being I would keep it on hold.. But once the dog is having good stools, then ass small amounts of her to her meals along with the other cooked veggies. Sweet Potato is good for them

You can use many many many different veggies. Just remember, that her poops WILL be a much different colour, so don't worry if they have some green, or orange in them (Digi's are red from beets), thats just the unprocessed veggies. Even when the veggies are cooked, they are still not able to digest it 100%, but they get what they need

Onions, Grapes & Raisins are toxic to dogs. Apple seeds are bad too, & the skins of several citrus fruits.. I simply don't feed Digi Citrus foods period.. If shes getting any fruits, its usually just a Banana... I like to give her Blue Berries, strawberries, & Raspberries when they are in season. I'll sit at my desk eating away & every 3-4 I have I give her one, but she is a wee bit larger then a chi-chi lol Sometimes berries can cause the runs, so its best to avoid them until she is doing much better.

[king2005]

Almost forgot... When feeding Egg Shells, don't be alarmed if you see some in the poop. It just means there was too much & the body didn't need it. So put a little less into her food. If you see a little here & a little there, then thats just fine. I have what I like to call Calcium Meals. Its a whole meal of nothing but egg & egg shells. I also do egg & lots of chicken bone. When I use bone, her poops look white-ish... I don't do that often (once a month), as Digi has no bones to chew to get added calcium due to her red meat allergies.


That reminds me.. while your testing different foods, put all the beef/pork/etc bones away, until you know its not beef bothering her.. Pork is too fatty "in My Opinion" & should be avoided from a regular diet. No harm with it being a treat once in a while, but not a staple. But for now, no bones. Only non-food item toys.

OH, ask him if the dog likes to eat sticks!!
Digi use to eat sooooooo many sticks, & leaves that it would give her the runs all the time (too much fiber) LOL

[MonicanHonda]

Just wanting to add a few things. Digi did great with the intro to a raw/homecooked diet. But I know for a raw diet, eventually you are going to have to get a red meat in there because, frankly, white meat does not have enough nutrients. Dogs fed an all chicken raw diet have extreme deficiencies in certain areas. If the pup does in fact have an allergy, it is probably to beef. I like the menu that Digi has laid out for you. It is a great way to find what the dog is allergic to. Dogs who have allergies usually do great on venison... so once you figure things out, I think I would try out this type of meat also.

As to pork, it's generally a very good food that makes up a large portion of most raw fed dogs I know. BUT, we do cut off a LOT of fat before feeding it. But not all, because dogs do not get their energy from carbs like we do, they get their energy from FAT! So, the dog could in fact be allergic to rice (or corn because SD is made of mostly corn) because dogs aren't SUPPOSED to eat corn. They are carnivores. Grains and corn are the number one allergies dogs have. Their bodies cannot digest these carbs. That is shown from the start of the mouth. We have amylase in our mouths and dogs do not. Their bodies have to work much harder to digest grains (making the pancreas work harder!!!) to digest these items of food.

SD is a really bad food honestly. The number one ingredient is corn, when it should ALWAYS ALWAYS be meat. That these people are corrupting our veterinarians makes me so sad. It makes me sad for the people that are in the profession I am pursuing.

Anyways, eventually, if this diet does work out and your son wants to keep a raw diet, he will decide if he wants to feed BARF, which has a lot of supplements added to the diet and veggies (which aren't necessary but Delta has to have a fruit smoothie because she can't have organs) or prey model, which is 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs. A lot of the vit and minerals come from the organs, and calcium from the bones. This percentage is alotted for a week. It takes a lot of research for a raw diet, but its extremely worth it.

Delta did not have one solid poo since I had gotten her (This was from 8 weeks until about 4 1/2 months) I did a bunch of research and decided raw was best for her. She's had amazing poops since then. The bone helps firm up the poop, so usually dogs need a bit more bone in the beginning than later on.

BTW, for the dog only being a chihuahua... this is going to be a cheap diet! Lol

I really hope your son gets things figured out. He sounds like such a caring daddy for his dog. It's so nice to know that people out there really care.

Good luck!

***Oh, as for the nutritionist... no one is really giving me an answer for where to find nutritionist... I looked up on the internet but it wasn't giving the right information. Although I wasn't on the internet yesterday... so I'll continue searching***

[MonicanHonda]

Here is something someone posted. It may be interesting to look into???

Delta, when Sooner had pancreatitis the vet initially put her on science diet id then put her on royal canine duck prescription. Hated both. But PLEASE have her make sure of diagnosis. Sooner did NOT have pancreatistis even though her numbers were off the chart. After 2 months of treating her for this she was finally diagnosed with lymphoma of the gi tract. This was after she developed lumps and they were biopsied. Further testing indicated lymphoma in 2 major organs, gi tract and skin. Do not always trust the vet, get second opinions please

[king2005]

MonicanHonda