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Post by jojam on Apr 30, 2016 14:10:37 GMT
I have been struggling with my dog's health for a few months. Long story short, her lymph nodes are swollen, thought she had cancer, lots of breathing problems, now I think she was allergic to her dry dog food (Taste of the Wild.)
When she was eating scrambled eggs only for a couple of weeks, the breathing issues almost stopped completely, when I put her back on her dog food, she started huffing again, so I'm trying to feed her a limited diet where I can control what she eats.
She is a 35-40 lb dog who is down to 30 lbs (she had diahrreah for 2 weeks. Sigh.) Currently, I am giving her 2 skinless, boneless, cooked chicken breasts, 2 scrambled eggs, and this week, I added about 3/4 cup of chopped broccoli daily. She gobbles it all up. What else, if anything, do you suggest I add? I'm trying to add just one thing a week, so if she reacts to it, I will know what it is, and can take it out.
Thank you to anyone who can help.
ETA: yes, she has been to the vet. Her lungs and heart are fine. The breathing sounds are coming from the back of her throat. She has been on several rounds of antibiotics, which helped the lymph nodes a little, but resolve the problem.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 30, 2016 14:19:21 GMT
You can also do rice and cooked lean ground beef, our vet always has us feed our dogs that when they've been sick because it's bland.
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GiantsFan
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Post by GiantsFan on Apr 30, 2016 14:23:15 GMT
Please check with your vet first before feeding any "people" food. A lot of food items that are healthy for people are not healthy for dogs and can also hinder medications.
When our dog had colitis we fed him cooked ground turkey, plain white rice and cottage cheese.
Another dog had Cushings and we fed the same turkey & rice diet, but also added mashed sweet potatoes. And eggs. All of our dogs were crazy for scrambled eggs.
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Post by BeckyTech on Apr 30, 2016 14:29:26 GMT
It is difficult to make sure your dog has a well-rounded diet unless you feed commercial dog food. Since you think it is the Taste of the Wild, why not try some other good quality dry food? Most reputable independents have samples you can try.
I feed mine Acana. They make two of theirs with limited ingredients. One is the lamb and apple, the other is the duck.
I also make my girls Ruby Stewbie. When I had a diabetic dog, this was the recipe my vet told me to make but he had me add in a Centrum for every two pounds or something like that (about 8 Centrum for a 1/2 recipe, mixed in at the very end) or so plus some coconut oil (a tablespoon or so) for every couple of cups (I didn't put this in until I served her) in order to give her all the nutrients she needed when this was her only meal.*
Because eating diabetic is healthy for even non-diabetics, I continue to make this stew and use it in place of any canned food they might normally have been fed.
You might also consider an nZymes antioxidant supplement which is supposed to be very good for allergies (it makes their fur silky).
If you are interested in the Ruby Stewbie let me know and I can pass along a couple of tips that make it fairly easy to make.
*My vet has a masters in nutrition, so I took his recommendation. |
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Post by christine58 on Apr 30, 2016 14:36:30 GMT
I have been struggling with my dog's health for a few months. Long story short, her lymph nodes are swollen, thought she had cancer, lots of breathing problems, now I think she was allergic to her dry dog food (Taste of the Wild.) When she was eating scrambled eggs only for a couple of weeks, the breathing issues almost stopped completely, when I put her back on her dog food, she started huffing again, so I'm trying to feed her a limited diet where I can control what she eats. She is a 35-40 lb dog who is down to 30 lbs (she had diahrreah for 2 weeks. Sigh.) Currently, I am giving her 2 skinless, boneless, cooked chicken breasts, 2 scrambled eggs, and this week, I added about 3/4 cup of chopped broccoli daily. She gobbles it all up. What else, if anything, do you suggest I add? I'm trying to add just one thing a week, so if she reacts to it, I will know what it is, and can take it out. Thank you to anyone who can help. ETA: yes, she has been to the vet. Her lungs and heart are fine. The breathing sounds are coming from the back of her throat. She has been on several rounds of antibiotics, which helped the lymph nodes a little, but resolve the problem. Dogs love rice too. You could do browned ground beef and toss in rice and other veggies like pumpkin or green beans. Ground turkey might be good too. |
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Post by Basket1lady on Apr 30, 2016 14:39:58 GMT
I agree with the others. Check with your vet before going this route. There are some specific nutritional needs to be met long term. It's not that you can't do it--it's that it needs to be done right.
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Post by BeckyTech on Apr 30, 2016 14:40:44 GMT
Sometimes I make the stew with ground beef (hormone and antibiotic free) instead of the chicken/turkey for variety. I would remind you, though, that dogs cannot process fat in the same way that humans do so any ground beef should be boiled and then rinsed thoroughly. It looks yucky to us, but they love it. I'm talking the quantities used for a meal. Giving a dog a bite of your hamburger is fine.
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GiantsFan
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Post by GiantsFan on Apr 30, 2016 14:45:52 GMT
I have been struggling with my dog's health for a few months. Long story short, her lymph nodes are swollen, thought she had cancer, lots of breathing problems, now I think she was allergic to her dry dog food (Taste of the Wild.) When she was eating scrambled eggs only for a couple of weeks, the breathing issues almost stopped completely, when I put her back on her dog food, she started huffing again, so I'm trying to feed her a limited diet where I can control what she eats. She is a 35-40 lb dog who is down to 30 lbs (she had diahrreah for 2 weeks. Sigh.) Currently, I am giving her 2 skinless, boneless, cooked chicken breasts, 2 scrambled eggs, and this week, I added about 3/4 cup of chopped broccoli daily. She gobbles it all up. What else, if anything, do you suggest I add? I'm trying to add just one thing a week, so if she reacts to it, I will know what it is, and can take it out. Thank you to anyone who can help. ETA: yes, she has been to the vet. Her lungs and heart are fine. The breathing sounds are coming from the back of her throat. She has been on several rounds of antibiotics, which helped the lymph nodes a little, but resolve the problem. Dogs love rice too. You could do browned ground beef and toss in rice and other veggies like pumpkin or green beans. Ground turkey might be good too. I forgot about the pumpkin. Our last dog (a foster) we mixed pumpkin in his dry food. It helps with poopy problems. Only a couple of tablespoons per day though. |
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paget
Drama Llama
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Apr 30, 2016 15:56:19 GMT
Dogs love rice but it's not really good for them- try brown rice.
I've been doing a mix of Stella and chewies freeze dried surf and turf patties with vegetables that have been sautéed in coconut oil. Sometime i do eggs as well as they love them! I feel more comfortable blending the patties with people food to make sure they are getting other nutrients. I also sprinkle in some NOW kibble. I like to mix it up for my dogs. And yes, they are spoiled.
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Post by jojam on Apr 30, 2016 18:35:36 GMT
Thanks, all. Right now I'm experimenting to see what Lucy can and can't eat. Yes, the vet knows what I'm doing. I think he thinks I've seen a red and blue zebra in a herd of Shetland ponies, but if she has cancer an only a few more weeks anyway, why not try? If it is a food allergy, I'm going to try to get her back on some commercial dog food. I don't plan to do this long term, but I will if I have to. Lucy will be 11 this summer, so I feel like I can do what needs to be done for the time she has left.
Lucy has never been able to eat red meat or red meat dog food. It is too rich for her, so I've stuck with chicken or other poultry foods.
BeckyTech the link you shared sounds interesting. If I do decide to go this route for longer than a few more weeks, I'll get in touch with your for the hints.
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Post by Dori~Mama~Bear on Apr 30, 2016 18:49:28 GMT
I have been struggling with my dog's health for a few months. Long story short, her lymph nodes are swollen, thought she had cancer, lots of breathing problems, now I think she was allergic to her dry dog food (Taste of the Wild.) When she was eating scrambled eggs only for a couple of weeks, the breathing issues almost stopped completely, when I put her back on her dog food, she started huffing again, so I'm trying to feed her a limited diet where I can control what she eats. She is a 35-40 lb dog who is down to 30 lbs (she had diahrreah for 2 weeks. Sigh.) Currently, I am giving her 2 skinless, boneless, cooked chicken breasts, 2 scrambled eggs, and this week, I added about 3/4 cup of chopped broccoli daily. She gobbles it all up. What else, if anything, do you suggest I add? I'm trying to add just one thing a week, so if she reacts to it, I will know what it is, and can take it out. Thank you to anyone who can help. ETA: yes, she has been to the vet. Her lungs and heart are fine. The breathing sounds are coming from the back of her throat. She has been on several rounds of antibiotics, which helped the lymph nodes a little, but resolve the problem. I would change her to Northwest naturals (We use the frozen daily and have some freeze dried for traveling) get her away from Chicken. and don't feed her beef. I have gadget on the lamb and he had bad issues with breathing and his snoring was so bad he was so loud that we couldn't handle sleeping int he same room with him. IT takes a good 2 months or more to completely get the breathing to clear up after switching the food. His issue was an enlarged soft pallet. once we got him off the grains and the chicken his breathing made major improvements and he hardly snores at all now and his breathing is so much better. he still has issues with choking. |
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grinningcat
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Post by grinningcat on Apr 30, 2016 18:50:19 GMT
We supplement our dog's kibble with fresh produce: carrots (loves these, good for treats and for their teeth), sweet potatoes (mashed and dried into "jerky" for chews), green beans (fresh and dried), bananas, blueberries (he LOVES these frozen), pumpkin (mashed). We also stuff a hollowed bone with sugar free/salt free peanut butter as a treat. We've replaced a lot of his treats with fresh fruit and veg. It definitely makes a difference.
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Post by birukitty on Apr 30, 2016 20:02:10 GMT
I have a suggestion for you- a raw food diet. Go to this website www.felineinstincts.com and check it out. Although it is a website for cats they do make a dog version. What they make is organic powder formulas that you add to raw meat to make a 100% nutritionally complete diet for your dog. My Siamese cat Biru was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2012. At first I followed my vet's advise and fed him the Royal Canin prescription food for kidney diseased cats. Biru lost even more weight on it and was down to skin and bones. I searched on the internet for 3 weeks trying to find a commercial food for him before I found this website. They make a powder for kidney diseased cats, (and healthy ones too). Once we made up a batch and fed it to Biru and his brother cat (Biru was 15 his brother cat was 16 at the time) it was only 2 weeks before we saw a change. Their eyes started to sparkle, their coats got glossy and Biru started putting on weight. They loved the food. We used ground turkey because that is what the recipe for this cat food called for. Within 4 weeks they were chasing each other around like kittens. We were able to stop Biru's fluid therapy-with kidney diseased cats you have hang an IV bottle of fluid and put a needle under the cat's skin every other day, and never do it again. In fact although Biru was at stage 3 with kidney disease at the time of diagnosis his disease eventually completely reversed itself! I now believe a raw food diet is the healthiest way to feed our cats and dogs. I also believe after 3 weeks of research on the internet that commercial pet foods are vastly flawed. Yes, some are much better than others. But for my cats from now on I will feed a raw diet mixed with the powder from Feline Instincts so I know that I'm feeding a 100% nutritionally correctly balanced diet. A lot of my research focused on www.dogfoodadvisor.com because there wasn't an equivalent cat food site at the time. Most traditional vets frown on raw diets. I believe it is because they simply aren't knowledgeable enough about animal nutrition. They get less then a few weeks of it in vet school and Science Diet and Royal Canin donate huge amounts to the vet schools and then push the traditional vets to sell the products in their clinics. Think about it-before we came along with our packaged foods what did cats eat? They ate mice right? Did they build a little fire and roast the mouse before they ate it? No of course not. The same with dogs. They hunted and ate what they caught raw. Their bodies are built to eat like this. Their is a video on the Feline Instincts website by a Holistic Vet that explains why Raw food diets are safe for cats and dogs to eat and why they are the most healthy. I have no stake in that company. I just happened to find it and it basically worked a miracle for my Biru. He passed away two years later from a blood clot, not kidney disease. I miss him every day. I wish you the best of luck with your dog. Take care, Debbie in MD. |
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Post by jojam on Apr 30, 2016 20:14:35 GMT
Northwest Naturals is sold nowhere near where I live. Sigh. That looked promising.
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Post by hopechest on Apr 30, 2016 22:18:49 GMT
i make a goulash for my dog. Ground turkey green beans brown rice pumpkin sweet potatoes.
She loves it!
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Post by jojam on Apr 30, 2016 23:43:02 GMT
Just tried to give her some carrots. No go. She spit them all out (or ate around them to get the eggs and broccoli.)
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GiantsFan
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Post by GiantsFan on May 1, 2016 0:37:39 GMT
Just tried to give her some carrots. No go. She spit them all out (or ate around them to get the eggs and broccoli.) Haha, I have never had a dog who liked carrots or green beans. |
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Post by kat on May 1, 2016 0:50:44 GMT
Check out Primal. My dog gets the beef. It is freeze dried like the Northwest Naturals. My Chloe is only 5 pounds, she gets 2 of the little nugget things a day. At $27. for a 14 oz bag (it lasts her lasts her 20 days) it can get expensive with a large dog.
Chloe has had problems with eating since last June when she had seizures from her flea medication. Even after seeing 2 different vet specialists at 2 different hospitals. X-Rays, ultrasounds, 3 different kinds of blood tests. She does great for 2 weeks, then stops eating for a week or more and has to be force fed. I started the Primal 5 weeks ago, Chloe stopped eating yesterday, but this is the longest she has gone in a year and is already interested in food. She gained 1.5 pounds after 5 weeks on Primal. Hopefully I can get her going again.
If your dog continues to refuse to eat ask your vet about trying an appetite stimulant like a steroid or Mirtazapine (this is an antidepressant for people and is used to help dogs with cancer eat). Chloe also gets a low dose of metronidazole (antiobiotics for the stomach) and Cerenia for nausea if needed. Once she eats on her own for 2-3 days, I stop the mirtazapine.
Feed several smaller meals a day.
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Post by kat on May 1, 2016 0:52:16 GMT
Has your vet made sure there are no dental issues?
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Post by jojam on May 1, 2016 1:54:40 GMT
She isn't refusing to eat and never has. She gobbles up anything in her dish, except the carrots earlier today.
She had her teeth cleaned last summer and the vet said she had the teeth of a five year old dog--she was 10 at the time. I will check out Primal.
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Post by crazy4scraps on May 1, 2016 3:54:02 GMT
Just tried to give her some carrots. No go. She spit them all out (or ate around them to get the eggs and broccoli.) Haha, I have never had a dog who liked carrots or green beans. Ours will eat them but only if they're cooked. They will also eat broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, Lima beans, pretty much anything as long as it started out on one of our plates! |
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azredhead
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Post by azredhead on May 1, 2016 4:07:54 GMT
Rice more fiber, especially if there's diarreah.. and most recently our dogs new favorite sweet potatoes or green beans with no salt. Mine aren't crazy about the red meat even meat in general unless it's chicken. They love that. But they stalk me when I get the rice cooker out. It's just plain white rice. They don't like the carrots either or apples. Which is funny cause they normally like crunchy things. I have one that has a sensitive stomach but those things really seem to help. I mix it with their regular dog food.When they get that stuff.
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