So, I had been trying to figure out how to help Fleetwood become a healthier dog since he's had all kinds of problems in his short life. Loose stool, coat/skin problems, occasional vomiting (mostly bile), weak immune system, panosteitis, lameness on one leg, I could go on and on.
So I finally decided to try him on Innova Large Breed Adult. His stool was better than it had ever been. He had been on it for about 3 months. I began supplementing him consistently every day with 2 Aller-derm Effa-Caps (Virbac brand fatty acid capsules.), 500-1000mg of Vitamin C, and a teaspoon of colostrum supplement. Those were two awesome weeks-- he didn't need any of his tramadol, or prednisone-- he was feeling great.
2 weeks after I began consistently using all of those supplements together, I woke up one morning to 16 piles of vomit. 2 piles of partially digested food, and the rest just bile. He acted fine throughout the rest of the day. That evening, I fed him beef and rice, he threw it all up 3 hours later. The next morning, I tried to feed him just rice, he promptly threw it back up. So off to the vet we went.
X-Rays showed nothing, so they gave him fluids and I had to fast him for a day and then put him back on a bland diet (with a few medications). He was slowly transitioned into beef and rice. His stool was perfectly normal, but he vomited a few times here and there. I was to start weaning him back onto his regular food after 5-7 days. Well, as soon as I did, He had awful diarrhea. Keep in mind, throughout this whole ordeal from day one, he acted just fine. Not sickly, or lethargic, or anything like that.
Now, 3 weeks later, I am STILL feeding him hamburger and rice, using his kibble as 'treats' to try to transition him back to it. But every time he eats a good amount, he has diarrhea. He hasn't vomited it.
So I'm totally lost. I can't figure out what to do next. I'm caught between following my holistic vet's advice, and just home-cooking his food from now on (I can't even afford to feed myself
), keep trying to transition back to innova (he did great on it before!), or try to transition him to a whole new food. I think I'm going to have him tested for pancreatitis, but other than that, I'm lost.
So for now, I've been feeding him a diet consisting of 55-60% hamburger with 10-15ish% fat, 40-45% white or brown rice, about a teaspoon of bone meal added daily, and fish oil supplemented in there too. Should I be adding anything else to sustain him somewhat long term?
Advice? Vibes? A rock for me to hide under? :wall:
So I finally decided to try him on Innova Large Breed Adult. His stool was better than it had ever been. He had been on it for about 3 months. I began supplementing him consistently every day with 2 Aller-derm Effa-Caps (Virbac brand fatty acid capsules.), 500-1000mg of Vitamin C, and a teaspoon of colostrum supplement. Those were two awesome weeks-- he didn't need any of his tramadol, or prednisone-- he was feeling great.
2 weeks after I began consistently using all of those supplements together, I woke up one morning to 16 piles of vomit. 2 piles of partially digested food, and the rest just bile. He acted fine throughout the rest of the day. That evening, I fed him beef and rice, he threw it all up 3 hours later. The next morning, I tried to feed him just rice, he promptly threw it back up. So off to the vet we went.
X-Rays showed nothing, so they gave him fluids and I had to fast him for a day and then put him back on a bland diet (with a few medications). He was slowly transitioned into beef and rice. His stool was perfectly normal, but he vomited a few times here and there. I was to start weaning him back onto his regular food after 5-7 days. Well, as soon as I did, He had awful diarrhea. Keep in mind, throughout this whole ordeal from day one, he acted just fine. Not sickly, or lethargic, or anything like that.
Now, 3 weeks later, I am STILL feeding him hamburger and rice, using his kibble as 'treats' to try to transition him back to it. But every time he eats a good amount, he has diarrhea. He hasn't vomited it.
So I'm totally lost. I can't figure out what to do next. I'm caught between following my holistic vet's advice, and just home-cooking his food from now on (I can't even afford to feed myself
So for now, I've been feeding him a diet consisting of 55-60% hamburger with 10-15ish% fat, 40-45% white or brown rice, about a teaspoon of bone meal added daily, and fish oil supplemented in there too. Should I be adding anything else to sustain him somewhat long term?
Advice? Vibes? A rock for me to hide under? :wall: