Archive for the 'Dog Food' Category

Ask the Dog Food Geek - Raw KILLS Dogs?

admin August 8th, 2008

Hi, I know youve heard this question before, but I have been thinking about giving my dog raw food. She has some really bad allergies and now she has had an attack of pancreatitis. It was VERY frightening! She bled so much we thought she would die. She was in the vet hospital for three days and they said it was ‘touch and go’ for a while. We have had her on I/D ever since, but I have been reading about raw, and how it has helped so many dogs with pancreatitis and allergies.

So, we talked to our vet and he said “Oh no you can’t do that, raw food kills dogs, they get salmonella and die”. And now we aren’t sure. I know raw meat has salmonella. We want to do what is right for our dog and feed her the best food. Her stomach is still upset and her stools soft on the I/D. We don;t like giving it to her. BUt we don’t want to kill her if thats what raw will do!

So I want to know - is it safe?

Carol writes –

Oh dear. Yes, there are lots and lots of people out there who will tell you all the TERRIBLE things OMG! that will happen if you feed raw, and don’t get me wrong - there are risks. These risks, however, can be managed with some pretty basic rules about food storage, preparation and management.

First of all, freeze ALL meat for at least three weeks before feeding it. This will kill almost all of the common parasites which can infest raw meat.

The second step? Simple. Follow the same rules for preparing raw pet food as you would when handling raw meat for yourself and your family.

Don’t cut on wooden surfaces. Don’t allow to get to room temperature. Clean all surfaces, utensils and feeding dishes. Wash your hands.

Really, that’s about it. Think about it — if handling raw meat was so OMG TERRIBLE!!!, how come we can manage it for ourselves, each and every day, without all OMG DYING!! when we do so? Do the parasites and germies magically know that this is dog food, not people food?

Here’s a good compromise - feed her the pre made, frozen raw diets now available on the market. I’ve tried the following products:

Nature’s Variety Raw Patties
Paw Naturaw Organic Bison
Home Made 4 Life (Canada only)
As for pancreatitis and raw, I say go for it - I also have a dog who’s had scary pancreatitis attacks (is there anything worse?), and her condition never cleared up fully until I put her on raw.

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Ask the French Bulldog Trainer - Frenchie with Food Issues

admin August 5th, 2008

I am a proud french bulldog owner and live in Bogota, Colombia. There’s not much knowledge here about French Bulldog breeding or behaviour so I hope you or your collegues can help me with this question.

My male puppy is about 6 months old and is extremely picky with his food. Moreover, he has decided since the last couple of months to eat only when I’m not around. I’ve had to change his food several times as I’m unaware if he dislikes the food or if he is just manipulating me. Well, apparently the food is not the issue as he eats really well whenever I’m not around. The problem is that I spend most of the time with him and he has gotten really, really skinny and looks like if he was from another breed or something. I’ve tried every single method that has been suggested to me: leaving his food down for 15 minutes and then picking it up until the next meal, leaving him alone with his food for some time, warming his food, adding water, you name it! He will only eat when he is just extremely hungry and then go for a hunger strike until the next 24 hours or more (this is during weekends). During weekdays someone takes care of him for me and gives him his lunch but my puppy won’t eat at night or in the morning when I’m around. Incredibly enough he won’t even drink water for really long periods, sometimes even for a day. Even when I serve his food and have to bring him to it, he will just walk away.

He was really sick to his stomach when he was 3 months old (3 ulcers, ouch) and I might have placed too much attention on him, so he knows that his stomach problems really worry me. I guess that he is manipulating me and calling my attention by not eating, but simply haven’t found a way to get him to eat. Obviously as he is not eating correctly, he is getting sick constantly as his inmune system is not as it should be. By the way, he is a VERY active dog which makes this behaviour even stranger.

Oh yes, I have never fed him human food of any kind.

What should I do? Have you ever had a Frenchie that shows similar behaviour? Any tips?

All your help would really be appreciated as I am really worried for my puppy.

Hope writes -

At this point your pup’s food issues seem to be more related to behavior than health, so I’m jumping in to answer your question.

I agree that, at this point, it’s not the taste of the food that’s the problem. It’s also not your dog being manipulative. What he is doing is picking up on your stress. Dogs seem to know when their people are tense, his eating makes you tense, so he’s trying to fix it by not eating when you’re around.

I would forget about trying to set a bowl down and have him eat. Instead, make a game and training session out of his mealtimes. I know he will use calories as well as get some, but you’ll both have a better time and stop stressing about his food.

When you want to feed him, put his food in a small bag or bowl, and keep it up where you can reach it. Have your dog perform some obedience exercise or “trick.” Reward him with his kibble - one piece at a time, many pieces for each reward. Have a great time doing it - if he sits, tell him “good sit” and reward. If he lies down, say “good down” and reward. If he watches you, say “good watch” and reward him. Leave the room, call him and say “good come” when he shows up.

Your sessions will have a dual purpose, getting food into him and teaching him new things. Reward him for anything positive he does, ignore behaviors you don’t want. You and your dog will form a strong bond through training, you’ll stop being quite so tense about his food, you’ll have a good time with your dog, and, as an added bonus, you’ll have an extraordinarily well-trained dog, too!

You can teach any behavior you want - just break it down into the smallest possible increments and teach those, in any order. You can put it all together when he’s good at each piece separately. Training sessions should only last five to ten minutes, so be generous with your rewards to get the most food into him that you can.

Relax, have fun and play-train your dog. Please let us know how you do!
Hope

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Frenchie Vet Follow Up - Bloated French Bulldog Puppy

admin July 21st, 2008

I posted two weeks ago about my puppy, Stella, getting so bloated after eating.

It’s two weeks later, and while the bloating is still
there, it is also combined with projectile diarrhea - which basically
looks like yellow split pea soup.  I have had numerous trips to the
vet, we have tried flagyl, amfarol, and now she is on Panacur.

However, no tests have shown anything in her stool.  On our breeders
suggestion, we also have her eating rice, chicken, yogurt.  We are
also giving her some FortiFlora and Nutrical.  Her stools have been
very soft since day 1 (we’ve had her for 4 weeks), but now on this new
diet (it’s been 2 full days), her diarrhea is the worst I’ve ever seen
it.  Her attitude and spirit is still wonderful.  No lethargy, loss of
appetite, or strange behavior.  She doesn’t have any accidents in the
house or in her crate overnight, but when she goes outside, it’s like
an explosion.

She is also constantly scooting her but on the ground
b/c I can only assume it’s irritated.  Any insight?  Our vet has been
great, but only through consulting other vets (he’s never worked with
a Frenchie before).  I just am so upset because I’m afraid I have a
sick puppy and nothing seems to help her.

Advice?

Dr. Lori writes -

It sounds like you are doing all you can, one suggestion I have is to pick one food and stick with it, preferably a bland dry food, as canned foods tend to loosen stool.  It could be all the switching of the food is making it worse.  I am not sure what “tests” have been done on her stool, but if you haven’t done a culture, I would suggest that.  I would definitely keep up with the probiotic.

Although I know the diarrhea is disturbing, from your description she sounds healthy and in good spirits, just loose stools.  Do keep us posted and good luck with her.

Lori Hunt, DVM

We just received this follow up from Stella’s mom -

Hello!!!

She’s sooooo much better.  After a round of Panacur and some Tylosin, she is totally fine.  That was such a scare.

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Ask the Frenchie Geek - Switch to raw dog food?

bullmarketfrogs July 19th, 2008

I have a GSD.  He is 1 yr 3 months.  When I got him at 3 months he was on Purina.  I switched him over to what I thought was a better quality dog food:  Solid Gold.  He then started having diaherria.  I then tried Wellness.  Still no success he still had the runs.  When I took him to the vet they put him on the Eukanuba Low Residue.  He is not liking it much is not eating very well.
I am considering moving to Aunt Jeni’s raw (I fed to my other GSD)… Is that a bad idea based upon the fact he is on the ‘perscription’ diet?
Thanks you in advance…
Carol writes -
What was he ultimately diagnosed with — ie; what was causing the diarrhea? Did they ever determine a cause?

I think I’d base my anwer to this question on what the ultimate cause of his runs is - food allergy or sensitivity, pancreatitis, parasites? I’d want my vet to give me a good, solid reason for having my dog on Eukanuba, other than ‘Well, it stopped his runs’.

Other than that, I don’t know anything about Aunt Jeni’s per se, but there are few digestive issues I haven’t seen clear up on raw (including my own dog’s extremely frightening pancreatitis attacks). I’d suggest introducing it, slowly but surely - perhaps a 1/8 cup additional per day, until he’s totally on raw. If, during that change over, you don’t see a return of his diarrhea, I’d say you’re home free.

Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

Carol

In response:
Thank you… They didn’t give me an ‘diagnosis’ other than alot of GSD have digestive issues so they put him on it and the result was positive.

I will do just that slowly transition his food and see if there are any issues.

Again, thank you.   I trully wish there were ‘vets’ that supported the raw diet.  It just makes so much sense.  In reading about the raw diet it said that vets  while in training are not taught about nutrition.  The same is true for large animal vet.

I will definitely keep you apprised.

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Ask the Frenchie Geek - How much to feed my French Bulldog?

bullmarketfrogs July 10th, 2008

My question is related to feeding Toby. He is about 131/2 weeks and weighs in at about 8 stock lbs.

I have been doing lots of research related to raw feeding and commercial dog food. I talked to me vet who suggested staying away from raw, but also staying away from commercial. I had him on Eagle Pak, but have now decided to make all of his meals at home.

I want to know everything he eats is natural and healthy. I have a variety of what seem to be good doggie recipes, and he loves them. He eats tuna patties with cottage cheese and veggies, also I make him a boiled chicken stew with whole grain rice and veggies ( no onion or garlic). Also I do give him the occasional  raw meaty marrow bone which he looooves.

My question in how much should he be eating. I give him two large meals a day , and he gets some kibble treats during a few obedience training sessions throughout the day. I have been portioning out his meals to about a heaping cups worth of food during each feeding.

Is this an appropriate amount of food?  I think he is going to be on the larger size as he was the only male and the largest of his litter. The little guy has lots of wrinkles to grow in to.

Any suggestions about diet content and size would be great help.

Carol writes -

I have two dogs, both of them roughly the same age.

Tula, my cream, is a slim, lithe little girl. She eats roughly two cups per day of high calorie, puppy formulated food.

Penelope, my brindle, is a chunky little thing, and prone to chubbiness. She eats one scant cup per day of adult formulated food.

This is by way of saying that, in Frenchies, one size does not equal all, and neither does one set volume of food. You have to adjust your feeding amounts - and your food - to your dog, and not the other way around.

A cup per day is good rule of thumb, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. On a single cup, some dogs will look thin, while others, like Penelope, will look like little round bowling balls. Trust your own judgement - if your dog looks thin, up their volume. If they look like sausages with legs, drop it back a bit, and make up the difference with some green beans (and cut out the snacks).

It’s easier to adjust a home made diet than it is to adjust kibble. We up the fat and protein content (ie; meat and fish and eggs and yoghurt) for slim dogs, and up the vegetable content for the Jenny Craig poster dogs.

There are lots of good books out there on home cooked diets - I personally think that home cooking is easiest done if you base it around a mix that has all the bone meal and extras added in already, like the ones from Sojos or Essex Cottage Farms. With either of these, you can cook, or feed raw.

Your ability to know your own dog is so much better than mine - or even your vet’s - could ever be. Trust yourself, and if you get worried, remember that there are still some good commercial foods on the market.

Carol

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