[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I know that I can get some advice from the knowledgeable people on this site.
I haven’t posted in sometime but the regulars were very helpful when my Pepper came to me 3 years ago.
We have been through MANY ILLNESSES-I have fought for my angel every step of the way-but as she is aging the chronic inflammation she suffers from reared it’s ugly head again.
I have tried many foods and she adjusted to the amicus senior kibble that I would give her soaked of course wit a topper of boiled organic chicken or grassed beef or bison.
she was doing fine. A few weeks back the regurgitation and then vomiting started along with a touch of diarrhea.
Blood work x-rays and ultrasound showed nothing- next step endoscopy which her internist is not too anxious to do given her age & her numerous other health issues.
He feels it is her diet and you guessed it wants me to try the veterinary prescription foods-now understand I am not trying to get in a battle with these vets-my Pepper is my main concern & if this junk will keep her going I WILL DO IT. I looked at the Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein wet & dry & got sick when I read the ingredients!!!
Can anyone guide me in an alternative-she has been eating organic pumpkin or sweet potato with organic ground turkey (as DR. Karen Becker) suggests, but I can’t keep her on this forever- I thought the Honest Kitchen base mix might work but she threw that up also.
I asked the Dr to put her on Reglan because I feel Pepper has a motility issue-she doesn’t digest her food completely, she has been on the Reglan since Monday & hasn’t reguritated or vomited. I know there are advocates of raw feeding, but, to me & I may be very wrong -she is just too old to start her on raw feeding.
I think since she is taking the Reglan, I may try to re-introduce a tsp. of the Honest Kitchen grain-free base mix again and see what happens.
Thank you for any help anyone may give.
Cheryl,Pepper & Mille-Belle

[Susan]

Hi Cheryl, when she has Endoscope make sure you have biopies done, Patch had an Endoscope done about 1 month ago when vet looked he found nothing everything looked good oh there was some salvia in his stomach, he took 2 biopies & 5 days later rung with results Patch has Chronic to Moderate Lymphocytic Gastritis with associated spiral bacteria infection (Helicobacter)he was put on a 2 set of antibiotics & Zantac they are suppose to have Losec but losec gives him very sloppy green poo..
he kept swallowing regurgitating & swallowing about 1am 3am of a morning I knew it was acid I thought ulcers but it was the Helicobacter infection causing his acid reflux..
Patch last year was vomiting up his food undigested when he was put on the Royal Canine
Hypoallergenic kibble this kibble was to hard to digest & was toooo high in fat..

I’d be looking at low fat diets Low residue foods that are easy to digest..
I feed 5 smaller meals thru the day
I give cooked meal for breakfast then I give kibble for lunch & dinner that way if the breakfast meal isn’t balanced he’s getting everything in his kibble,

My boy is on vet diet as he has IBD & I’ve tried premium kibbles with no luck…
I cant rotate foods as this irratates his bowel so I just give foods for breakfast that I know wont cause any problems….He eats the Eukanuba Intestinal vet diet this has different ingredient to the Iams Intestinal.. the Eukanuba Intestinal kibble is a low residue kibble & breaks up real easy so easier to digest & less work on his stomach & bowel, google low residue foods, here’s 1 site that has what foods are recommended its for humans I cant find one for dogs but you’ll get an idea, until you have the Endoscope done for a proper diagnoses..
http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/services/sgog/LowResidueDiet.html

I just bring to boil chicken breast & 1 tablespoon pumkin I was adding 1/2 a boiled egg but the I thought the yoke had too much fat cause after eating breakfast Patch would start his licking mouth, when I looked up egg on this site egg isn’t a low residue food, so no wonder he’d start his swallowing & licking after he’d eat his chicken pumkin mixed with the boiled egg..
I also give mash banana as a treat & water melon mashed when hot as we are in Summer at the moment & Patch doesn’t like drinking water it must make him feel sick..
I hope some of this info will help but remember less is best when dealing with dogs with GI problems…well that’s what I have learnt

[neezerfan]

Cheryl,

Have you had a consult with Dr. Becker? She does phone consults. Maybe there’s a holistic vet in your area you can consult with. http://www.ahvma.org

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Thank you Neezerfan,
Unfortunately the holistic vet in my area leans more to traditional therapies. So, I don’t go to her.
As for a phone consult with Dr. Becker, I feel given Pepper’s MANY health issues,a phone consult would not do. Pepper would have to be seen by her in person to give an accurate informed diagnosis.
That being said, I may heave to consult her about a low residue diet,because I shiver when the thought of putting her on a vet. diet comes up. I know she can’t survive on sweet potato,pumpkin & ground turkey forever,& I know the premium kibbles no longer are good for her-she can’t digest them.
Even the special coconut treats (dried veggies & dried fruits) she adores -she can’t tolerate any longer, it breaks my heart!!!

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Thank you Susan,
I WOULD LOVE to have an endoscopy done, but the internist fears putting her under,
She has pulmonary hypertension along with a mild heart murmur.
I truly feel her GI problems stem from an inflammatory condition in her entire body, mainly caused by neglect of her teeth & gums, the bad bacteria hides in her GI tract, she is being treated with everything except the antibiotic, the Reglan seems to be helping with her motility issue.
I MUST FIND a diet for her. Like you, the premium kibble which I have been giving her (soaked) no longer works. If only I could balance the cooked turkey, chicken, bison, with something I could stay away from the hydrolyzed vet diet. I know Rabbit was too rich for her, she vomited that up. I, too, could never rotate foods. Have you every tried the Honest Kitchen grain-free Base Mix topped with a cooked protein? I tried it, she loved it, but threw it up, I was also giving her the kibble, which may have caused the problem. I am thinking of trying the HK again about a TBSP. no kibble of course. I just don’t know what would be the best way to go for her wellbeing. I have been fighting this since I got her 3 years ago.If the vet diet will keep her with me, then I must do it.
I had to stop all her supplements, which worries me greatly.
Thank you very very much for your reply.

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