New Canidae thread - Page 1

The previous thread would not accept my post--so here is a new thread.

Maren

Do you feed regular Innova--not one of the EVO grain-free diets? Perhaps 12 years ago, I bought a bag of Innova from a "bad lot" (produced on a certain date) where the oil had overheated during production (thus, producing free radicals). My old Lex (then, just a young adult with a cast iron gut.) practically s**t his brains out for several weeks. Some of his siblings in other homes were much sicker than Lex. The manufacturer paid for their vet bills/

I did not take him to the vet--just fed lowfat cottage cheese and white rice--producing bright yellow diarrhea. I called Natura Pet Products in Santa Clara and talked with Peter Atkins (president of the company) who referred me to Dr.Wendell Bellfield (one of the original "designers" of Innova) for a telephone consult. Anyhow, it took nearly a month before Lex had normal stools.

Why don't you call Natura in Santa Clara and ask to speak with Peter Adkins.

If Gally still has the runs and poor appetite, in addition to probiotics (I prefer the Fast Track brand), give him about 1/4 teaspoon Tylan powder 3 times daily for 2 weeks. I was given this dosage by Elanco Animal Health (the makers of Tylan powder).This powder is very bitter to the taste--you may wish to mix it with water and syringe it into the dog's mouth--or put the powder in empty gelatin capsules. You should see almost immediate results.

The correct dosage for the Tylan powder is 10 mg/kg, 3 times daily for 3 weeks. However, because the powder contains 4000 mg/teaspoon, it is impossible to titrate down the dog dosage. However, the Tylan is well-tolerated and has a wide margin of safety--no need to worry about titration. Tylan powder is the drug of choice for SIBO.

You can further tighten the stool by adding 1 teaspoon daily of bentonite powder (purchased at health/natual food stores) to his food.

Give me a call if you have any other problems. You have my number.

Got ahead of me Louise...

I posted Canidae's response under try again Canidae's Response

Birdy...

The dogs are fine today.  Have them on Eukanuba lamb & rice.  Eating well, anticipating food etc.  Difference is night and day.  No more grass eating, no farting, loose mucousy stools and looking sorrowful but Galy is not going to be worked this week.  I think I am just going to hang onto the bag of food for awhile.  No vet costs due to stopping food immediately and putting on probiotics.  Have decided to make sure all is OK by doing a CBC on them.  Mostly to set my mind at rest. They are both spunky again. 

it is pure Hell, when your dog is sick due to what we feed them. My Mom was a basket case with hers and the last go around, the trips to the vet and the bills and not knowing the amount of long term damage and if it has shortened her life span. I am glad you were able to catch whatever it is in a hurry.

Just because a dog looks good, appears to feel good, has good appetite, has normal stools, and has blood work within normal limits, he may still not be eating an optimal diet. You may only know this on a long term basis as measured by such factors as longevity, freedom from disease/allergies/fertility problems, constitutional vigor, etc.

Frankly, I would prefer to stick with a diet that is easy to prepare and similar to what I discussed in this thread: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/128829.html#129061

When it comes to diet, I'm not static but always experimenting with new things that sound better. I'm particularly interested in the grain-free, high-protein kibbles (which I supplement with plenty of RAW) and their healthy ingredients.

In Germany, a few years back, GSD's were not fed commercial kibbles. Eventually, the Germans began to think that all feeds "Amerikanische" had to be better because they costs so damned much. When a friend sent a bitch to Germany for training/titling, the trainer fed Eukanuba. The bitch continued to have a healthy appearing coat but it developed a greasy feel to it.

Years ago (before I learned much about raw), I fed some of the dry foods imported from Germany and supplemented with fresh meat. These dry foods had some extruded kibble chunks but tended to look more like muesli with flakes of dried grains/veggies (orange were carrots, green were peas, etc.) and pieces of dried meats. A few of these brands were Litina, Matzinger, Royal Canin, and Bosch. They required no cooking--you just added warm water and your own choices of fresh meats, fresh veggies, cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, etc.

I don't know how much quality control there was in these older dry German feeds. Unfortunately, many of the companies were bought by Mars, Purina, Quaker, Nestle, etc. and the formulae were modified beyond recognition. I recall an old Royal Canin formula that looked, tasted, and smelled like stew. Suddenly, Royal Canin was discontinue in the USA until it became manufactured here and and was marketed as extruded kibbles.