Help Needed! Some advice would be much appreciated :-)

[sstewart2010]

Hi all,

okay so here is the issue that I am having...right now we have Leroy on a beef and rice bland diet, this has only been for the past 24 hours as he had an upset stomach and was vomiting (doing much better now, has gained his appetite back!!). Before this bland diet we had him eating fromm's pork and applesauce food but here lately he has been licking his paws a lot, itching his face excessively and he was STINKY! I am talking horrible gas at times and just getting stinky again within a short time after bathing. I am thinking that pork is not his friend! I have tried the fromm's beef fritatta before this but again he was itchy and stinky and really didn't seem interested in eating it most of the time. I really feel Leroy would benefit from a different kind of protein and I think it's time for a new food. I plan on feeding him the beef and rice for a few days, just in the past 24 hours I have noticed he is definetly less itchy and stinky and less red. I want to know what you guys think here, when I am ready to slowly transition him back to regular food should I use the food that I was previously using (fromm's pork and applesauce) or should I use one of the new foods I thought we would try? One idea I was looking at was the GO! Sensitivity and shine duck recipe dry dog food. I would greatly appreciate input from any of you guys, thanks in advance!!

 

[Casper]

Defintely do not go back to the Fromm's pork and apple Sauce, if you think that was the culpritt. I had a scenerio with Rocky when I first got him, He wouldn't eat for 4 days, I took him to the Vet, The problem as it turned out was from going to what the lady had fed him before, which was Purina Large Kibble, and I gave him Purina small Kibble, but there was some other changes in the food as well, I didn't match it exactly, had a huge problem. I fed Rocky Rice and juice, or attempted too, with Hamburger, or with chicken, heck I tried everything, including hand feeding, he didn't want anything. I took Rock to the vet, The vet gave him some medicine to calm his stomach, I gave him that 2x a day for 4 days, all in while, Providing him Rice with hamburger mixed in, trying to get him back to eating, when he started eating, he went straight to Blue Buffalo Sensative food Kibble, No Grain. He did well on it, but still didn't have his appetite, for a long while I had to hand feed, and try everything to get 2 cups of food down him a day, 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup in the evening. When I adopted Rambo, Rambo was on Blue Buffalo Salmon Kibble, heres the funny part, I went to Pet Smart and picked up 24 lb bag of Salmon for Rambo, when I got it home, I put it in the pantry unopened, and continued feeding Rocky his blend, any time the pantry was open, Rocky would attack the Salmon bag of food, trying to get it open etc.... When I had Rambo Home, Rocky wanted nothing to do with his Sensative food, but wanted the Salmon, so I waited until the bag was nearly empty, and started the 3 days of 75% old 25% new, then 50/50 for three more days, then 75%/25% old, finished the bag, and went straight to 100% Salmon, Rocky I swear inhales the Salmon, and so does Rambo, when they finish eating, they exchange bowls and lick the left overs, dust I guess, but anyway, both are on the same Kibble, and the Salmon is so good for their coats, plus I use a couple of squirts of Salmon Oil in the morning feeding for them both, plus the Blue Buffalo Salmon Mix, Grain free is a 6 star food. I think if I were you, I'd continue the rice and meat your using, and transition your baby into the kibble you want to use, and transition him slowly, to make sure it has no ill effects on your baby. One more thing I want to mention, is it usually takes a while for the food your using to show ill effects, most of what I've read has been 4-6 weeks to get all the old out of the system, and really see the effects of the new, unless it's an allergy or something. So seeing it show up so shortly, really surprises me. Anyway, in my opinion only, and I'm sure many others will have some better ideas, or have been through exactly what your describing and will add to this thread, is a slow transition from what he's eating now. to his new food, again remember their stomachs are very sensative, I found this out day 1. The other thing I want to mention here, and I'll tag the other two that I had this conversation with, [MENTION=4688]Baconator[/MENTION]atar and [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION], waking up in the morning on an empty stomach will also cause a vomitt of sorts, white-yellowish flymm, So what Bacanator suggested, was plain Rice cakes at bed time, at least they have something on their stomach, a light something to get them through the night till morning feeding. It's worked for me, and for them, just another idea. Hope this helps.

 

[Texas Carol]

He could be having a problem with the carb source, potatoes as I believe it's
in those foods you mentioned he's been on, one reason he might be 'stinky'
as being yeasty. Nutrasica makes a kibble w/no potatoes~uses chickpeas as
carb...@Sherry...has used this w/great success for her FIVE bullies. I think it's
about the same price as Fromm's, possibly a little less.

Give 1 TBSP of pure pumpkin w/his meals to help firm up poo (not the pie mix).

Bath him, rinse really well then mix 2 cups cheap white vinegar and fill rest
of gallon plastic pitcher w/water, pour over him from neck back and leave in.
You can towel blot if you wish, I put towel on floor and leave Cami in b/room
to air dry. Vinegar smell will go away when dry and leave him smelling great w/
soft fur. This will relieve yeasty itching. If scratching a lot, put T-shirt on him to
protect skin.

Good luck w/right food search, let us know how it goes!

 

[sstewart2010]

Defintely do not go back to the Fromm's pork and apple Sauce, if you think that was the culpritt. I had a scenerio with Rocky when I first got him, He wouldn't eat for 4 days, I took him to the Vet, The problem as it turned out was from going to what the lady had fed him before, which was Purina Large Kibble, and I gave him Purina small Kibble, but there was some other changes in the food as well, I didn't match it exactly, had a huge problem. I fed Rocky Rice and juice, or attempted too, with Hamburger, or with chicken, heck I tried everything, including hand feeding, he didn't want anything. I took Rock to the vet, The vet gave him some medicine to calm his stomach, I gave him that 2x a day for 4 days, all in while, Providing him Rice with hamburger mixed in, trying to get him back to eating, when he started eating, he went straight to Blue Buffalo Sensative food Kibble, No Grain. He did well on it, but still didn't have his appetite, for a long while I had to hand feed, and try everything to get 2 cups of food down him a day, 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup in the evening. When I adopted Rambo, Rambo was on Blue Buffalo Salmon Kibble, heres the funny part, I went to Pet Smart and picked up 24 lb bag of Salmon for Rambo, when I got it home, I put it in the pantry unopened, and continued feeding Rocky his blend, any time the pantry was open, Rocky would attack the Salmon bag of food, trying to get it open etc.... When I had Rambo Home, Rocky wanted nothing to do with his Sensative food, but wanted the Salmon, so I waited until the bag was nearly empty, and started the 3 days of 75% old 25% new, then 50/50 for three more days, then 75%/25% old, finished the bag, and went straight to 100% Salmon, Rocky I swear inhales the Salmon, and so does Rambo, when they finish eating, they exchange bowls and lick the left overs, dust I guess, but anyway, both are on the same Kibble, and the Salmon is so good for their coats, plus I use a couple of squirts of Salmon Oil in the morning feeding for them both, plus the Blue Buffalo Salmon Mix, Grain free is a 6 star food. I think if I were you, I'd continue the rice and meat your using, and transition your baby into the kibble you want to use, and transition him slowly, to make sure it has no ill effects on your baby. One more thing I want to mention, is it usually takes a while for the food your using to show ill effects, most of what I've read has been 4-6 weeks to get all the old out of the system, and really see the effects of the new, unless it's an allergy or something. So seeing it show up so shortly, really surprises me. Anyway, in my opinion only, and I'm sure many others will have some better ideas, or have been through exactly what your describing and will add to this thread, is a slow transition from what he's eating now. to his new food, again remember their stomachs are very sensative, I found this out day 1. The other thing I want to mention here, and I'll tag the other two that I had this conversation with, @Baconatoratar and @JAKEISGREAT, waking up in the morning on an empty stomach will also cause a vomitt of sorts, white-yellowish flymm, So what Bacanator suggested, was plain Rice cakes at bed time, at least they have something on their stomach, a light something to get them through the night till morning feeding. It's worked for me, and for them, just another idea. Hope this helps.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post and for the great advice! Leroy is like how Rocky was with Rambo's food when it comes to what the other dog in our house eats (and as much as Leroy loves it I cannot feed him Purina Dog Chow, lol). I will definetly try the snack before bed thing, I think it's a great idea as I have noticed stomach issues with him happening upon waking up in the mornings. Leroy is our first EB and I just really want to do what is best for him, all of you guys have been great when I've had questions!

 

[sstewart2010]

He could be having a problem with the carb source, potatoes as I believe it's
in those foods you mentioned he's been on, one reason he might be 'stinky'
as being yeasty. Nutrasica makes a kibble w/no potatoes~uses chickpeas as
carb...@Sherry...has used this w/great success for her FIVE bullies. I think it's
about the same price as Fromm's, possibly a little less.

Give 1 TBSP of pure pumpkin w/his meals to help firm up poo (not the pie mix).

Bath him, rinse really well then mix 2 cups cheap white vinegar and fill rest
of gallon plastic pitcher w/water, pour over him from neck back and leave in.
You can towel blot if you wish, I put towel on floor and leave Cami in b/room
to air dry. Vinegar smell will go away when dry and leave him smelling great w/
soft fur. This will relieve yeasty itching. If scratching a lot, put T-shirt on him to
protect skin.

Good luck w/right food search, let us know how it goes!

Thank you for taking the time to respond :-) I appreciate all the help I can get! I am still looking into the food thing and I will let you guys know what I decide to go with and how it's going! the t-shirt thing also sounds like a good idea but a lot of the itching that he does is on his head, maybe he needs a cone lol. I just got some duoxo pads in the mail today, so we will see if those help along with a bath. it's been a couple days, still far less stinky than before going on this bland diet!

 

[cali baker]

Yes, definitely a slow transition to the new kibble would be best for Leroy. You could give half of the rice/beef along with half of the new kibble and then slowly taper off the rice/beef til you only have the kibble. I haven't heard of the Go!Duck food you mentioned but hopefully that will be a good one for your boy.

 

[Texas Carol]

Thank you for taking the time to respond :-) I appreciate all the help I can get! I am still looking into the food thing and I will let you guys know what I decide to go with and how it's going! the t-shirt thing also sounds like a good idea but a lot of the itching that he does is on his head, maybe he needs a cone lol. I just got some duoxo pads in the mail today, so we will see if those help along with a bath. it's been a couple days, still far less stinky than before going on this bland diet!

Of course, Shannon...y'all are FAMILY now we want you & Leroy
to thrive here. Itching is awful to watch them suffer and secondary
infections are a real concern. Yes, keep us informed, GOD bless!

 

[sstewart2010]

So I just went to petflow, ordered the 4.4lb bag of Nature's Variety Instinct Salmon Dry Dog food. I chose this brand b/c it is grain and potato free and they offer a small bag. I also looked into the Nutrisca Salmon dry dog food and it looks like a good choice but the smallest size they offer is 15lbs and I just want to make sure Leroy likes a new food and does well on it before buying a big 15lb bag:-) I am hoping that I made a good choice for our little guy, I will keep my fingers crossed that this works out!!

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi, I agree with everyone's comments above, and Carol gave you great advice. I also have a female Bully named Blossom, who is sensitive and suffers from food allergies, she is allergic to chicken, salmon, and grains, we changed her foods 4 times until we found Fromm's Beef Frittata. Both have been on this food for almost 12 months and are doing great. It is totally trial and error trying to find a protein source that works and that our babies tolerate. What works for one bully doesn't always work for another. It is frustrating sometimes but once you find it, it's good. One of the foods we tried was Go, and it us an excellent food, but our guys did not tolerate this food at all. With all the fruits and vegetables in it was too rich and they got diarrhea, and because it is chicken based Blossom was allergic to it. You want to choose a dog food brand that is a 4 star or better, you can check the dog food ratings on the forum. The ingredients that most bullies are sensitive or allergic to are chicken, salmon, grains, and corn, and fillers. A grain free food with a protein that they tolerate is your best choice. Good luck, and I hope you find a food that Leroy tolerates.