[Walt]

Hello,

I’m a new member and wanted to ask your opinions on dog food for our wire hair Terrier Mix (25 lbs – Smooch). He was on Orijen adult and did well for quite awhile and then started having stomach issues; stomach making noises, gassy, lethargic., runny/soft stools. Smooch has been known to eat anything on the ground, rabbit poop, acorns, etc. This might have been an isolated incident, we are not sure. Vet put him on antibiotics and prescription food and he finally got better (took awhile though). Put him NV chicken raw boost dry and he started scratching more often, I then had a saliva test for food sensitivities by Dr. Dodd and it came back with Smooch being sensitive to most foods. According to this test, the only meat proteins that Smooch can tolerate are Beef/Lamb and white fish. The NV contained chicken and turkey, not good according to test. Put him on NV limited ingredient Lamb and he is doing good, but he poops more often and his poop consist of several small/harder pieces (is this good?). He is still scratching. I started giving him fish oil (sardines/anchovies) daily hoping this will help his scratching but not sure if this is good since test revealed sensitivity to Salmon.. In your opinion, are these type tests accurate? Like everyone on this site, we just want to make good decisions for our dog. Any advice on food for Smooch would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Walt

[theBCnut]

Dr. Dodd’s is one of the best, but did you get the list of what is actually tested for? It isn’t comprehensive, in fact, it’s rather limited. There could easily be things that your dog is sensitive to that are not tested for and things that your dog would be just fine on, but weren’t tested for. Get the full list so you can compare it to the ingredient list for the food that you are feeding or food that you are thinking about feeding. That way you will know which ingredients were tested for and which weren’t.

Salmon oil should not be a problem because the protein is removed, however there are no guarantees in life, so it might be better if you went with krill oil, calamari oil, anchovy or sardine oil, or even marine algae oil. You could even try adding a little coconut oil to his diet in addition to the omega 3 oil, about 1/2 teaspoon.

[Walt]

Thanks for replying Patty,

Yes, we have a list of tested foods. 24 items total, he can’t eat chicken, corn, duck, rabbit, salmon, pork, turkey, venison, milk, oatmeal,rice, sweet potato. He can eat beef, lamb, soy, white fish, barley, egg, lentils, potato, and quinoa. The NV limited ingredient lamb is the only food I’ve been able to find that doesn’t include items Smooch can’t have. Don’t know if it has enough fiber since his stools are small pieces and somewhat hard. Tks

[FreeholdHound]

My boys “avoid” list is pretty long too. I’ve been having success with Natures Logic Beef, Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast & I’m about to try out 4Health GF Beef & Potato. I also add in some raw. I should’ve done the test sooner – but it did confirm what I was finding out with failed foods. I did try the NV but Harry wouldn’t eat it. Ugh.

[theBCnut]

Most dogs don’t have a problem with too little fiber. What you may see is him scooting his butt across the floor. They do this when their anal glands are clogged and not releasing when they poop. If the stool is too small, it doesn’t put enough pressure on the glands to release them, so then you would want to add something for bulk. If it isn’t a problem, then it isn’t a problem.

[FreeholdHound]

Ps) Harry can’t have Salmon or White Fish but he does fine with Sardine/Anchovy oil, sardines, & Coconut oil. I don’t use every day. And I started out SLOWLY or it would go right thru him.

[KathyM]

Hi, I’m new to your forums and I apologize in advance if I’m posting this in the wrong place or if I don’t use the proper wording. If that is the case, I ask for your help and advice. I’ve been searching the forums and have seen some pretty harsh comments, I’m typing through tears right now so please, no nasty comments: I really can’t take that right now.
But the reason for my post is my best friend Daisy, a 7 year old Boxer, has a mast cell tumor and I’m trying very hard to find out what to feed her and any other information anyone could provide. The situation is bad as I was in a very bad accident and have become disabled, my unemployment has run out and I’ve had no income for 8 months now. I’m still going through appeals with the state to get any assistance at all, so it’s breaking my heart I can’t take her to the vet. And I know that will anger some of you, it would have angered me too before circumstance turned my life upside down. But I’m not getting rid of the one joy in my life as long as I can still feed her. Any friendly advice would be a huge blessing. Thank you in advance and have a great day.

[theBCnut]

No one is going to say anything nasty to you. We have all had circumstances pull the rug out from under us at one time or another. Google “mastocytosis society” and you will find a list of foods to avoid because of their high histamine levels. Go to dogaware dot com and look at their recipes for homemade food and substitute any ingredient that is on the avoid list. That will give you about the best diet for a dog with mast cell tumors. Good luck and God bless.

[KathyM]

Thank you Pattyvaughn, I appreciate your help very much. God bless.

[lplsuzie]

My dog is diabetic. Right now she is eating special dry food from the vet. She does not really like this food, but I know she needs to eat regularly because of the insulin. I got a small bag of Natural Balance synergy and she loves it. The ingredients are about the same as the Rx food. Does anyone have any suggestions.

[Susan]

To KATHY M, My beautiful Angie was a white Boxer, she had Mast Cell Tumors, In 2009 I noticed my boxer wasnt herself, didnt really want to go for her walks, always sleeping & tired she started vomiting sometimes of a morning, she just wasnt Angie so I took her to the RSPCA vet as that was her vet as I had bought her from them at 2 yrs old, 2002, I love boxers, she was like a human so gentle & never hurt any wild life, she’d come inside crying to tell me come outside & see this rat that was dying a neighbours cat didnt kill properly, she was my soul mate, anyway when I took her to the vets the vet said has she eaten this morning, I said no, she doesnt eat breakfast, then the vet said I want to operate & cut these tumors off they should of been done 1 yr ago when you first seen them, But I did go to a vet I told her the vet up the rd from my place, when I first seen 1 on the back of her leg, the stupid vet said, oh thats nothing its just an old ladys wort, she’ll be fine, she was 8 yrs old then, I let the RSPCA vet cut out any lumps that she found, when I saw Angie the next day she looked like a patched quilt, with stitches everywhere, the results came back high grade 2 cancer, back in 2009 I didnt have the internet or computer back then so I tried getting any info on mast cell tumors.. Id go to the library, I tried everthing.. after being cut open & all lumps removed about 5 months later more lumps popped up on her tummy, so they operated again & some of her nipples were removed, she seemed to get better but 1 yr later she went down hill again, black poos, vomiting blood then the vet thought stomach ulcers so I was refered to another vets that had the Endoscope & ultra Scan to look down her throat & Ultra scan her spleen & other organs the test come back all good no ulcers nothing, she was put on a steriod & Metronidole for her diarrhea the meds made her feel sick & Science diet Z/D this food seemed to make her worst at nites she’d cry 2am, Id cook her boiled chicken breast & rice she loved this but the new vet said she needs a proper diet thats how she ended up on the hill Z/D.. In the end I had her put down at home. it was as if she told me, I woke up one morning & I just knew today was the day…. I regrete going to the RSPCA vets as I just put her thru more pain having operations & tests. All I can advise is find a food that agrees with Daisy & makes her feel good, doesnt matter if its not a grain free or one of the supermaket foods, if something agrees with her, keep her on it.. all these vet prescription diets are crap.. I know this now, I just wish I knew it back in 2009 for my Angie. Just make Daisy as happy as you can, thats all that matters, that she feels good & has no pain & remember they feel if ur sad, so put on ur happy face & be happy even if u feel like crap, sometimes not have enough money for vets is a blessing in disguise….Good-Luck Kathy with Daisy…

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