Hello everyone, am new to this forum and writing from France where I live with a lovely lab Gadget. He was adopted just over a year ago and was quite neglected healthwise. He's a rescue (left as a 2 yr old puppy) and the centre guessed his age at the time - which now makes him approx 11years old. We changed his diet from supermarket kibble which was very fatty and low quality to a mix of a mid-range kibble mixed in with boiled rice, different allowable veg, sometimes egg and lentils. That with exercise got his weight right down (approx 32kg) and he now has much better mobility all round however due to a recent bout of regurgitating his food on a regular basis I took him to the vet who diagnosed gastro problem - so we're re-thinking the food plan. I had hoped that human food - base of cooked rice, lentils with chicken or fish from time to time would do the trick but with the gastro am not so sure and have lost my bottle...we've gone back to kibble. He'll eat it but doesn't enjoy it was much as human food...would love any advice please? New to the forum so hope this is the right place for this question! On behalf of gadget!
I feed kibble and put about a tablepoonful of a good tinned food on top and give it a star and add a little warm water. The one Lab couldn't care less what he eats, but the other is very fussy but now happy with the way I feed.
Rice can ferment and it didn't work at all for my dog. Chicken is a food some dogs have problems with. Was he ok on the supermarket kibble? Maybe you could examine it's ingredients and find something similar but lower in fat. Does your Vet support raw and/or homecooked? That might help too. FWIW when my dog was desperately sick we homecooked turkey and sweet potato, nothing else, for about three months, then went raw. As per Vet. Maybe I should say, my dog had month and a half long fire hose diarrhoea, no apparent stomach upset, but the same or similar feeding might still help your boy.
Casper who is nearly 8, also a rescue, has been diagnosed with regurgitation and with gastric problems, possibly due to do with a sort of laxity around throat due to trauma, diet and probably being overweight in a previous life. His diet now is a high quality kibble, we use Millies Wolfheart salmon and veg. We also mix a couple tablespoons of high quality wet food (we like Hermanns or Green and wilds salmon or venison) Casper also has a pro-biotic every couple of days. He has a table the same height as his muzzle (roughly) this is to make sure his meals go down properly/ No exercise for a least mins after meals. No small treats, or treats on the move, he did have inhalation pneumonia earlier this year and we almost lost him. The probiotic we use is Yumove Digest and once a week Protexin Pro fibre. We did mention a raw diet, the vet was against this as in her opinion there was a potential risk of bacteria from the raw meat which could lead to aggravation of his GI tract.
Wow what a great forum...so glad I found it! Had thought about going raw heard so many good things however was concerned it is too extreme a change for him at this stage given he's clearly a sensitive soul. I will read up. Was sure we'd cracked it with rice so reassured to know that it doesn't always work - thanks Snowshoe. He was ok on the supermarket kibble and have moved him to something less 'chemical' - mid-range and special for easy digestion. Seems to be ok - plus now feeding at height and three times a day in smaller quantities. Didn't know about chicken either! He loves sweet potato - don't we all... In the meantime interested in the good quality kibble + wet food ideas from Beanwood and Stacia - I had heard wet food was linked to gum disease so have always fed dry for Gadget and for the cats! He would love that tho' just to give the kibble some flavour. Have absolutely raised the height of his plate - it's now a tray not a bowl - he's a total gobbler...terrible really am surprised he doesn't suffer stomach upsets more often! Also trying to ensure no exercise for a good half hour - the treats is a bit more tricky as Gadget is on the lean side for his size - better for his mobility....the vet here is pretty conventional so am sure won't be supportive of raw. Thanks for all the replies btw - anyone got any views either way on raw bones?
Raw bones are fine, as long as they're not weight bearing from large mammals, because these are too hard and can risk breaking teeth. If you feed raw, though, bones actually make up a pretty small percentage of the diet. Switching to raw often involves upset stomachs along the way as your dog gets used to it, so be aware of that.
Thanks snowbunny....yep understand the point about 'transition' period...thanks for all the great tips! Gadget will be most grateful - so thanks on his behalf!
Nothing to add, just to say hi to you ans Gadget. Sounds like a lucky dog to have found such a caring home. Bless you.
If you do feed raw (we feed our dog raw), be careful of small sharp bones that might irritate his gut and cause vomiting. These would be whole fish heads (made our dog vomit, must've been very irritating as he usually has a gut of steel) and chicken necks apparently. I'd tend to feed more protein, less carbs. Fat is very important for satiety. If your dog wants to munch, raw veg are very useful - won't break teeth and have few/no calories. Our dog loves raw carrots, and the hard centers of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower (I kid you not!). And the cellulose fiber is apparently a good prebiotic (bacteria like to feed on it I believe - good for gut health). Was Gadget in the shelter for 8 years???? What a lucky dog to have found you!
Nonononono. Mine had cauliflower once. Once. I don't know about clearing rooms, they could have cleared the whole village with that pong!
My pup did great on all home-cooked food. I used to do BARF (raw) for my first dog and couldn't continue it due to a change in my living situation, so my second dog got dehydrated manufactured (not home-cooked) for a while with fresh meat and veggies and then I switched over to just home-cooked. I experimented a LOT with what worked. What I found was that all carbs (including rice) pretty much were a no go. He did best with protein (chicken or fish, organ meats), veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini) and fruit (apples and bananas). Also added oil, apple cider vinegar and brewers yeast. Eggs on occasion and oatmeal on occasion (Brogan loved the taste and it was easy on his tummy when he was having issues). What really, really didn't work (i.e. made him sick) was potatoes and anything dairy (including cottage cheese and yoghurt). Once you get in the habit of cooking, and especially if you have a bigger refrigerator/freezer, it's not that big of a deal. If you have an apartment-sized fridge like i do most of the time, it is more time-consuming. The nice thing was that Brogan and I pretty much ate the same things so I could raid his stash or he could raid mine. And he didn't have the same meals all the time (he had a rotation of 3-4 types of breakfast/dinners) so I'm always mystified by all the talk of having to change dog foods carefully. I really think that some sort of marketing propaganda from dog food manufacturers. I was worried about Brogan's teeth without doing the raw bones thing anymore, but he didn't have any issues. He had good gums but would get tartar, but I cleaned that myself once a month and then brushed a couple times a week. If you could do raw bones (chicken wings and necks are the easiest - even my toy poodle could eat those), then the tartar thing goes away as well. Agree with @snowbunny though on the cauliflower - and broccoli. Serious, serious wind. I used to cut those out of Brogan's diet at least a week before we flew because...well... human ears pop when cabin pressure changes and dogs fart. Broccoli + in cabin air travel do not mix.
Snowie seldom farts - only if he has a bad tummy, but so so seldom, once in a blue moon (then it's bad!!). And yet he eats a lot of raw veg - we are vegetarian so we cook a lot of veg and he loves the off-cuts. He also adores cooked broccoli and cauliflower and yet doesn't fart from that - even cooked brussel sprouts! Maybe we're lucky! Or it could be because the rest of his diet is raw meat and bones. Carbs are the worst culprits for causing gas. And roughage (raw veg) is good for moving things along, less time for making gas.
Hoo boy - my admiration for Snowy grows. I tried brussel sprouts with Brogan ONE TIME and our poor little flat was like a wind tunnel. And it was those silent and deadly ones. Never again.
Coco has never done a smelly fart. He gets raw cauliflower, broccoli and sprout peelings. He does noisy trumps, but never smelly.
Sometimes when Snowie is climbing the stairs to bed, you hear a little phhttt. Then my husband and I proudly exclaim, "How cute!" Noisy trumps - we'd love to hear those!! I think we'd collapse laughing!!
The silent ones are deadly - why is that so?! Snowie is not all daisies and roses; I have on occasion been about to fall asleep when a bad BAD smell (silent) has risen up from the floor on my side of the bed and then it's wild flapping of the duvet and much groaning from me first, and then my husband when it engulfs his side. And inevitably a midnight visit to the garden.
so funny....thanks for all the support - haven't tried cauliflower but lentils - that was a winner! Gadget was left at the refuge as a puppy - he was, they estimated, 2 years old. He was then adopted and cared for until last year - his previous guardian was a builder and Gadget spent alot of time on his own - tied to a tree. Since he's been in our family he has really changed and we are finally started to see some character - which is wonderful. Not so wonderful a return trip to the vet revealed there is a problem in his oesophagus - thankfully it's been caught early and sounds like a kind of diverticulitis? There's no obstruction there just a very small white pouch that appeared on the test they did at the clinic...the vet says we've caught it early and he's been given Phosphaluvet - aluminium phosphate. He hates it! So further questions if I may - any thoughts on food now? I tried rice again but he just can't keep it down. The kibble seems to stay down during the day but evening he's regurgitating. We've put his food bowl at height - will try the water bowl too - we've even fed him kibble piece by piece - he still regurgitates. Overall it is getting better compared to what it was - he doesn't appear to be regurgitating as much and it's mostly water/white mucus with some bits of kibble The distressing thing is he's losing weight and he was already on the trim side deliberately - and, you can imagine, he's so hungry and he's such a trooper. Everything else is good...energy on walks, interaction, stools...etc all great! Up for trying anything to make him more comfortable with food - not helped that he stresses about eating anyway...so grateful for any helpful tips or ideas! Thank you - can't tell you how wonderful it is to tap into all your support...we don't know any other labrador owners in our area.
I haven't tried it myself, but at zooplus you can buy proCani fresh meat. It is grinded meat and bones! I don't know where you live and if you be able to order from zooplus....
thank you Anne...we're in France and will check the website...getting quite worried now as the only thing Gadget's managed to keep down since yesterday is half a raw carrot...
