Dogs Health Information

My 3 year old Collie has been raw fed for over 2 years. His stool is almost always normal. He has no other symptoms except he’s drinking more water than usual for the past few weeks. He doesn’t seem to be peeing much more than usual. I keep the house cool, around 60 degrees.

He does have a heavy coat, but he hasn’t started drinking more water during any other winter. I can’t really see him pee, he squats and his coat is in the way, so I can’t see if it’s dilute or not. When I first started feeding raw, his water intake dropped dramatically, as expected.

I’m working through cases of pork loin, turkey necks and chuck roast. He also gets a little liver. I don’t feed enhanced meat. The package on one of the pork loins said 50 mg. sodium per serving. The case has 5 loins in it, from 2 different companies. He’s about 60 lbs. and been eating a turkey neck every 3 days.

I trim most of the fat off the pork, and it’s nice, lean loin. He gets around a pound and a half of that every day, and 1/4 pound of chuck roast. I supplement with Timberwolf Organics fish oil, but I’m having difficulty finding out their ingredients. At one point they told me they add rosemary and vitamin E, but then they retracted that statement.

One of my old dogs had diabetes insipid us (drinking and peeing lots) due to pancreatitis and cancer, so I’m familiar with the symptoms. I believe drinking and peeing a lot can also be due to kidney disease and too much blood calcium. I’m worried…

Should I take him to the vet? What tests should I ask for besides blood work?
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Well some foods like canned fish make my dog thirsty but she has been drinking more water for a couple of months now. So I knew it wasn’t the food. We did a blood work (not because of her constant thirst) but b/c of her seizures and so far we found she is low in glucose and most probably a pancreas problem, another test result is coming tomorrow.

So if it is going for a long time then I would definitely do a blood work before other symptoms start to appear. Good luck and keep us posted.

Tags: blood calcium, constant thirst, dog behavior, dog health problems, dog health questions, dog nutrition, eating habits, kidney disease, natural diet, normal stool, pancreatitis, water intake

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For a rawfed dog, there is no such thing as too much protein. Too much food, yes. Too much fat, yes. Too much of whatever the dog digests poorly, yes. Oh, and too much (as in “any”) plant-based protein like soy, yes indeed. A dog has two nutritional requirements in its pyramid: Protein and Fat. You cannot take either away without significantly affecting the dog as a whole.

It would seem that your homeopathic vet does not know or doesn’t care that dogs, being domesticated wolves, have no dietary requirement for anything but protein and fat. Your dogs need plenty of meat. The protein count comes with naturally with meat.

Digestive system, liver and metabolism in an otherwise healthy dog are not adversely affected by raw protein. You may indeed want to try something other than beef (feedlot beef is corn fed and if there is anything that’s likely to screw up your dog’s digestive system et al it would be corn. Or any other grain), but if/when you remove beef, you should be prepared to feed some other meat.

It’s not the presence of meat that’s likely messing with your dogs, it the presence of meats that are less than optimal (for a variety of reasons).

Your vet is utterly, completely missing the point of carnivorism if veggies and fruits have been recommended. This so undermines any vote of confidence I might otherwise have for the vet. Regardless of what kind of meat protein you want to feed, getting all (as in ALL) the species inappropriate stuff OFF the menu and OUT of the dog is job one.

I would argue that job two would be to find a different homeopathic vet.

Tags: carnivores, dog foods, dog health problems, dog nutrition, eating habits, homeopathic remedies, natural raw diet, raw feeding

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Can anyone explain the difference (details plz) between small breed puppy food and large breed puppy food? Is it the digestible protein or fat content? Or is there basically no difference if you feed high quality food?

Small breed puppy foods are formulated with smaller breeds in mind, meaning it is usually more nutrient dense since small breeds can only eat so much and pieces are smaller for smaller mouths. Large breed puppy foods are designed for slower growth and different ratios of nutrients….but since this list usually frowns on discussing commercial dog foods, I don’t want to offend anyone by discussing it any more detail.

There isn’t such a thing as “high quality” if you are referring to processed foods. Regardless of protein or fat percentages, the ingredients are all wrong for a carnivore.

But, to answer your question….it depends! Not very helpful, huh?
Seriously, there doesn’t seem to be any standard. I just compared 6 brands. Some are higher in fat and protein for the large breed foods, some for the small breed foods.

Any breed, any size requires lots of good quality protein and fat for proper growth, little to no carbs and not excessive amounts of calcium and other nutrients….of course you can only find that when feeding raw.

As I recall the large breed puppy foods are formulated more to do with growth and bone needs of larger breeds. The more difficult stand is which breeds are considered ‘large’; it is subjective with some thinking any dog larger than a miniature poodle is large while more canine knowledge seem to consider large breed as those above naturally 100+# at healthy adult weight.

I do not consider a Golden Retriever a large breed dog yet when I got my girl her former vet had the previous owner feeding her large breed puppy food; I immediately changed her diet and explained I consider large breed dogs more in line with Mastiff or Great Dane.

It seems all Group Members do care and love our pets, and joined this Group to exchange ideas and concerns without degrading of each others thoughts or beliefs . The Group description states this Group does support raw feeding.

In the beginning I thought that meant while we all might discuss different foods, I should be prepared for those who also fed raw. It took me a while to realize food topics other than raw acceptance are generally frowned upon & discouraged in group topics.

I explain this as a matter of fact and do not wish to offend any one, therefore, while the Group supports raw feeding, if you are not following that diet, please discuss this issue with your friends and vets for their opinion.

I think that foods marketed for large breed, small breed, senior, puppy, sensitive stomach, etc are all gimmicks, like Royal Canine marketing different foods for different breeds! Ridiculous.

Why would a Labrador Retriever have different nutritional requirements than a boxer? I am always amazed by those who feel that they have found the ‘perfect’ food for their dog, because the very label has a photo of their breed on it and says it was made specifically for that kind of dog.

Some of these ‘formulas’ may have a few minor differences, like glucosomine (not enough to make a difference) in a large breed formula or smaller bites in a small breed formula. If you compare the labels, they are all very similar.

Pet food companies love to dupe the consumer into believing that their food is best. Though I do feel that some kibbles are worse than others, none are appropriate for a dog. They simply do not have the proper enzymes or the type of digestive tract that is meant to process all of those grains and carbohydrates.??

Its pretty much all the same – species Inappropriate!

A raw feeding plan is best for puppies and dogs, who are carnivores;

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

http://www.rawlearning.com/supplementmyths.html

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

http://rawfeddogs.net/Recipes

Raw is the ultimate evolutionary diet, with nutrients that are optimally bio-available, since they aren’t denatured by cooking or interfere with the dog’s digestive process.

http://rawfeddogs.net/FAQlist

Tags: carnivores, dog foods, dog health questions, dog nutrition, eating habits, glucosamine, Golden Retriever, great dane, kibble, large breed dogs, large breed puppy food, natural diet, puppy foods, raw feeding, senior dog

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A recommendation would be to take your pup his x-rays to a
veterinarian that will do a head to tail evaluation and one where you can advocate comfortably for your dog’s needs. The sulcrafate (carafate) is to protect his tummy from the potential side effects of
the prednisone. Long term use of steroids needs to be managed by a
professional.

If you have evidence by x-rays that your dog has disc disease, than it needs to be managed correctly. After the head to tail evaluation,
review of his medications and daily lifestyle, an MRI for further
information may truly be in order. An MRI is quite expensive in any
state but so is a trip to the ER vet when he suddenly can’t walk.

A veterinary chiropractor isn’t necessarily going to adjust your dog’s
spinal column without knowing whats going on. You have many choices from a safe lifestyle, acupuncture, chicro, surgery, physical therapy to help with his problems, but first you do need an evaluation.

Not all human medicine is safe for dogs, tell your vet what you are
giving including supplements. There are simple, cost effective (free)
things you can do to help him be more comfortable.

1. No jumping on & off furniture.
2. Bathroom mats from Walmart if you have title or hardwood floors. 3. A crate where he can rest.
4. Supervise all play w/children & other dogs.
5. Pick him up like he had handles, avoid scooping him up under his belly or hanging over your arm.

Warm moist compresses/Ice compresses can also help, but only after you know whats going on. Finances are hard all over, talk to friends dog lovers, I am sure they will recommend to good vet that will take all of your needs into consideration & offer you the best solution for you & your dog.

Good news… I figured out what was wrong…

1. My sis mentioned that the quivering could simply be referred pain..
2. I know from a previous x-ray she has a narrow or partially collapsed trachea
3. The sucralfate was the pill that provided the most relief.
4. I feed her raw.

Conclusion… it was the bones and larger chunks of meat getting slowed down in transit..

Have her on a boiled rice and chicken diet temporarily with maloxx to sooth the trachea..

After 24 hours she is doing much better… I will have to put her on either ground meat with another source of calcium such as egg shells [any other ideas] or cut up her meat into very small chunks.

Tags: back muscle spasms, dog food, dog health problems, eating habits, natural diet, raw feeding, sucralfate

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Do you know what she is feeding this dog? High fiber, high grain, high starch diets are the enemy of a carnivore’s short digestive tract and processed foods will only continue to cause inflammation, irritation and spasming. **I knew that she has just switched to a grain-free kibble, for I also suggested to her that the diet might be a culprit.

Grain-free is still high starch, high fiber so that’s contraindicated
for any kind of digestive issue…IBD, colitis, etc. Sometimes processed foods do make it *look* like there has been healing because they absorb moisture in the intestines, producing firmer stools. In reality they continue to irritate and inflame so actual healing cannot take place.

Being she has been using Tylan for many months, that makes the addition of probiotics even more important. Prolonged use of antibiotics kill the good bacteria.

I had a Golden Retriever with the same issue. I used tylan as well, but I also changed her food to a duck and sweet potato formula. Within days her stools got better so I stopped the tylan, within 6 weeks I had her producing normal stool.

It has been almost 1.5 yrs now since she has had any recurrence. When we travel to shows, I just add tylan to her food in case the stress of the trip or the enviroment causes an issue. Works for
me!

Tags: colitis, dog food, dog health problems, dog health questions, dog illnesses, dog nutrition, eating habits, Golden Retriever, kibble, mini schnauzer, natural diet, normal stool, probiotics, raw feeding, Tylan

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