Going RAW, gradual change from kibble or go full raw from day 1?

[pcchenard]

Well so much for Lola doing good on the Stella & Chewy's Raw Coated Lamb kibble. I came back from vacation and she is worse than she has been in a long time even after a Cytopoint shot. She goes back in on Friday for another shot (4 weeks after the first one). After 4 years of this (she didn't seem to have any issues until after she turned one year old) I'm at my wits end.

Here is a list of all of the foods I have tried over the last 5 years. All but one has been a kibble.

Blue buffalo chicken
Taste of the Wild - High Prairie Puppy
Fromm - Beef Fritatta
Taste of the Wild - High Prairie Canine
Pioneer Naturals Grain & Potato Free Whitefish
Dr. E's Grain & Potato Free Duck RX Dog Food
Natural Planet[emoji769] Rabbit & Salmon Entree Grain Free
V-Dog
Hill's Prescription Diet z/d
Zignature Kangaroo
Taste of the wild Pacific Stream Salmon
Acana Duck & Pear singles formula.
Carna4 Grain Free Duck & Carna4 Flora4 natural probiotic
Fromm Pork & Peas
Primal Raw Frozen Patties - Beef
Stella & Chewy’s Raw Coated Kibble - Lamb

She seemed really constipated on the Primal Raw Frozen Beef, but maybe that is just how they poop on raw food (like large rabbit turds)? Her skin issues did seem to be improving but I switched her back to a kibble because of the constipation and the fact that I was going on vacation. She also had a anal gland impact and rupture a little less than a year ago so I'm concerned about her stool being too small and not expressing the glands properly. But I do want to give Raw food a try again. If anyone has any suggestions for a raw brand and protein to try I'm all ears. I think the only common protein she hasn't tried yet is Turkey, but I find it hard to believe that she is allergic to ALL of the proteins that she has tried. Which would mean it has to be something else causing the issue.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on what raw food to try.

 

[helsonwheels]

[MENTION=10711]pcchenard[/MENTION] that’s a lot of brands. Question is how long would she stay on each change?

Regarding raw n pooping, yes when dogs eat raw it’s like hard little nuggets. You need to add fiber like frozen green beans or berries etc....how long did you stay with raw?

 

[pcchenard]

Most food changes were no less than 60 days with no symptom improvements, but a couple were abandoned due to extreme constipation after 30 days.

She was on Raw for about a month and I stopped the Raw food simply because I was going on vacation and was concerned about the hard poop and the fact that someone else would have to deal with the raw food, which I was still learning about myself. But I want to give Raw another try for a longer time period. I'm just not sure what brand and protein to try.

 

[helsonwheels]

Most food changes were no less than 60 days with no symptom improvements, but a couple were abandoned due to extreme constipation after 30 days.

She was on Raw for about a month and I stopped the Raw food simply because I was going on vacation and was concerned about the hard poop and the fact that someone else would have to deal with the raw food, which I was still learning about myself. But I want to give Raw another try for a longer time period. I'm just not sure what brand and protein to try.

I don’t know what you guys have in the US but I’m sure [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] n [MENTION=16619]Cbrugs[/MENTION] can help you on the brands. I found a place where I go buy it frozen in 1/2 pounders. So both my dogs are 50lbs and the get a pound a day plus their treats. I’m pretty sure if you stick to raw you will eliminate a lot of issues with Lola. But don’t forget to also give fiber as veggies n fruits.

 

[2BullyMama]

I buy a from local provider made to order.

Some good national brands are
Vital Essential
Stella and Chewys
Answers
Primal


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[pcchenard]

I buy a from local provider made to order.

Some good national brands are
Vital Essential
Stella and Chewys
Answers
Primal


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Thanks! I'm going to give Stella and Chewy's "Stella's Super Beef" frozen patties a try. I'll report back after she has been on it a while.

 

[Cbrugs]

I rotate between Vital Essentials, Tucker's, Answers, NW Naturals, and Primal. I also get ground up rabbit locally through a raw food co-op.

 

[Hankster]

since we're talking raw i was thinking of doing something different AGAIN.. What if i got my own meat source,(like some grass feed something) and added it raw (i used to do this but cook the meat and add) to one of the new Honest kitchen base mixes. They have a coupl of new ones i see. Has anyone used raw this way?

 

[helsonwheels]

since we're talking raw i was thinking of doing something different AGAIN.. What if i got my own meat source,(like some grass feed something) and added it raw (i used to do this but cook the meat and add) to one of the new Honest kitchen base mixes. They have a coupl of new ones i see. Has anyone used raw this way?

Cheaper if you buy your own veggies than HK base.

 

[Hankster]

Cheaper if you buy your own veggies than HK base.

yea, i was also thinking................ I am doing a bit of juicing of carrots, beets apple and ginger type drink (thats for me ) and have lots of that fiber stuff left. I know for the dog to absorb it needs either slight cook or very ground type thing..... wondering how i could incorporate this into special meals for the Hankster.

 

[helsonwheels]

yea, i was also thinking................ I am doing a bit of juicing of carrots, beets apple and ginger type drink (thats for me ) and have lots of that fiber stuff left. I know for the dog to absorb it needs either slight cook or very ground type thing..... wondering how i could incorporate this into special meals for the Hankster.

Hankster is use to eating veggies so I would simply add some of your juice in it n freeze in ice cube trays. No need to cook it as it’s like eating the veggie raw. Use them as treats or add to broth n again in ice cube trays.

 

[Hankster]

yes! perfect to freeze!! I get kinda lots at a time and doesnt last forever so that would be the answer. tks,,,,, sometimes ya just gotta ask

 

[pcchenard]

Please don’t derail my thread with other discussions.

Lola had her second Cytopoint shot last Friday. We continued the Apoquel for two days after that and she has been off of it since Monday. Throughout this week she has gotten substantially worse. Fire engine red armpits (for lack of a better term) and her feet have gotten much more red and inflamed between her toes. And her vulva is also red and itchy. The vet gave me a cream for her vulva which seems to help but it is short lived. I wipe her down twice every day with Chlorhexadine and I’ve also been rubbing coconut oil on her to help keep the skin from drying out and getting too irritated.

The Stella and Chewy’s frozen beef seems to be making her worse but after only a week on it I don’t know for sure if that is why she is worse. But I am tempted to try a different protein.

The Cytopoint shots obviously are not doing anything for her. The vet is suggesting we do blood allergy tests which she said was recommended by Michigan State University after she called the dermatologist there and talked to them about Lola. They recommended the blood tests first because of the risk of sedating a Bulldog with no airway support as they do for their skin allergy tests.

I’m really at a loss here. I do not want to give her Apoquel anymore but that is the only thing that seems to be working. However the Apoquel does not work as well as it used to which has me worried as well.

Are the blood allergy tests worth doing? They are quite expensive (about $450) and I’m tight on cash but I’ve got to do something. Lola is miserable. Should I try a different protein, like Turkey, or finish up the last 5 days of the beef hoping for an improvement? I think Turkey is one protein she has never had.

I’m also wondering if coming off the Apoquel is causing her immune system to over react since it was suppressed for so long? Maybe things will settle down with more time? That’s probably wishful thinking and I don’t want her to get worse by waiting it out when maybe I shouldn’t, but it did cross my mind as a possibility.

Thanks for any input.


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[helsonwheels]

[MENTION=9157]ddnene[/MENTION] had a bloodtest done with her results.. she might help you there.

Also here’s a link with an updated on apodquel...

https://vitalanimal.com/apoquel-dog-1/

 

[pcchenard]

I’ve already read the Vital Animal blog post but thank you for sharing.


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