Stitch

Yep I was aware that the roll contained small bone...I could tell that when I was cutting it but I so hoped that it would be OK...but its not. Unfortunately this is what happens when you try new foods, you have to try them out before you know. I have really tried to avoid changing foods because of this. I will find out about Meals for Mutts and see how that goes but I know my poor girl will be off her food for about 24 hours now. Thank you for the recommendations Sueang.

Not good news this morning...rumbly tummy and mucus poos so back on metrozine and probably back to the vet. I don't know what I am going to do now!

Thanks for your feedback Sueang, I noticed the little pieces of bone in the crocodile but so far my girl hasn't reacted to them. I will have to hope that it continues this way as I really don't have an alternative at this stage. Probably picking the bits of bone out isn't really an option as the fats from the bone would have been absorbed into the meat. I was thinking that I may have to buy a few rolls at a time, cut them up into portions and then freeze them, in case the shop runs out at any time. My girl started to get IBD at an early age so I have had many years of trying to find a dry dogfood she could cope with. Probably most dry dogfoods are OK for most dogs but not my old girl but I take on board what you have found with TOTW and also the rotation. It is a good idea and I will definitely follow up on that.

That's good to hear about Prime 100 having been around for a while. Mackiemad I have always fed BARF to all my dogs, still do for my others but dogs with IBD can't/shouldn't have bones and BARF has crushed bones in it. Bones = Marrow = Fat...a big no-no for my old girl. So far ie. three servings of Crocodile and no disasters yet. The tummy was a bit growly last night but nothing more The good news....she has pretty much stopped itching! Yep, that quick....amazing! No problem identifying what was causing the itching in her case. So hope new food continues to be OK

I will make a note of those two medications Powerlegs just in case something goes wrong with this new food. What concerns me about a new dog food brand is that I will be depending on a food manufacturer that may or may not succeed in business. However from what I have seen of the crocodile & tapioca roll it looks like a quality product...lovely and clean colour with a great smell....so let's hope it becomes popular and stays on the market. It has the paws up from my old girl who polished it off in very quick time....could definitely be compared to a vacuum cleaner really. She must be feeling like she has been let out of prison!!

Yes it is difficult. I know the signs now after all the years and products I have tried. Stomach growly sounds are my early warning to get out the Metrozine! It would be so wonderful to find a food that is a perfect fit for her. Thank you for your help.

Well FPAudrey I have just gone and bought the Prime 100 Crocodile and given a small amount to my girl. Luckily I was able to source it locally. The Prime 100 rep said not to change over gradually but to start feeding it straight away so I have. Of course my old girl who has been desperate to eat anything else than Hills I/D cans gobbled the crocodile up in about 3 seconds. Now, the waiting game to see how it effects her! I really hope it is OK.

Well that is certainly different. I will definitely have a look at the ingredients of that one. Thank you

Hmmm, that will take a bit of planning. I have gotten in the mindset of trying not to upset her IBD which holds me back from taking risks of feeding different foods. If she has a varied diet I won't know what causes her a problem if she gets sick....and that can happen very quickly with terrible results. She can't have oil or fat in her diet. Vets say all the usual suspects of protein are out. I just don't know where to start!

It's difficult when you don't 100% know what protein source is definitely not suitable. I know chicken has been blamed by the vets as has all the usual proteins that go into dogfood which is why kangaroo was recommended. I was giving her eggs but that definitely made her sick....but not at first. Seems like it has to build up in her system before trouble starts. The issue is that IBD/S is treated one way and food allergies are treated another way. She has the double whammy of having both problems. Currently I have stopped the Z/D dryfood and she is just having I/D cans. The irony of having to feed canned dogfood when I have striven over the years to only feed BARF to all my dogs is not lost on me!!

My 14yo has had IBD/IBS problems for years now and I have previously fed her on just about every dog food brand that was on the market trying to find one that doesn't aggravate her condition. I have even cooked up kangaroo mince (novel protein) for some considerable time only to find that she developed problems from that too. She has been on Hills I/D cans and Hills Z/D dry for about 2 years now. She tolerated it quite well but occasionally still gets bouts of IBD which I manage. I have a permanent supply of Metrozine and Amoxyclav on hand so I can treat her immediately problems occur but Hills dog food seemed to be the best fit I was going to get for her. Unfortunately for the past 2 weeks she has been getting increasingly itchy. I have seen this problem before when I was feeding her Royal Canin Hypoallergenic dry....she was OK on it for about 6 months until the itching started. Once I changed her onto Hills Z/D which is their hypoallergenic variety the itching stopped. Now she is obviously developing problems with Hills. Is there anything new on the market ie miracle food, that I can feed that not only helps with the IBD but also isn't hydrolysed. Both RC and Hills have the protein source hydrolysed so it isn't supposed to cause allergies however it seems like it is not going to be suitable for her long term.

I love Dobes .... we have had two in the last 12 years. The first one had to be PTS at 7 years old due to Wobblers. The second one had to be PTS at 5 years old due to cardiomyopathy. Are there any breeders that are able to produce a Dobe free of these two issues. I want another Dobe but I don't think I could go through the heartache again!

Frenchs Forest Vet Surgery had/has a VERY good puppy preschool. I took two of mine there about 12months ago when they were about 4-5mths old....many puppy preschool places won't take them at that age. I was very selective as I didn't want a puppy preschool that thought it was OK to mix large puppies with smaller puppies. Some smaller pups can be easily overwhelmed if they get monstered by another bigger or more aggressive pup and it can affect their development. The class was very well supervised and their methods were pleasant, sensible and practical plus the pups had a great time. They are located in a strip shop at Petrie....not that far away from Redcliffe really. Other than that you could try Pine Rivers Dog Training Club but not sure if they still have their puppy preschool. If not you could always attend their Beginners Class.

Yep, I have found over the years that it only takes a slight tweeking of the dogs environment to produce a totally different outcome. It really helps when we can share ideas on a forum like this. I think for the bowl to be truly non skid it would need to be bolted to the floor....she ends up pushing it into the corner herself!

The slow feeder bowl arrived a few days ago....and it is a success!! She realised she cant bury the food now, having tried and failed, so she ends up eating it all. Only problem is that the non-skid bowl aspect of the bowl still skids but at least the food isn't on the floor any more. :)

Hmmm, time will tell about the food bowl but I have to try it. Some days the food disappears with only a small amount of pushing...other days she gets the non slip mat that is underneath the bowl and puts it over the food in the bowl...and other times most of it ends up being pushed onto the floor. It isn't as if she is overfed, it is just that she is old and has ongoing gut problems. Even though she has issues eating her food initially, the food will usually all be eaten within 1 hour. I guess she is hungry but also feeling a bit off at the same time. With all her problems she is very much loved so I try to do the best for her and work around her funny ways!

I looked at those ones Veh but chose the blue non slip slow eater bowls mainly because they were non slip plus they were available in Australia so I didn't have to wait too long for them. It may be that I will end up with a range of food bowls though as those look really interesting. :laugh:

Lasagna dishes are no obstacle as she can push dry and wet food up a right angle dish and over the top! I have ordered one of the slow feeder dishes .... it looks like it may stop the nose getting right into the bowl. Thanks for that idea DDD.

Yep, that's what I do however I was hoping that someone may have some brilliant idea so that I didn't have to lurk. She hates me lurking or any noise around her when she eats.... sigh! Sorry, DDD looks like we posted at the same time. I will race off and have a look at a slow feeder.

I have a 13yo senior citizen who has a very restricted diet due to an ongoing medical problems. Unfortunately she is on Hills z/d dry and also the I/d canned food....so choice of diet or variations are not an option. Her appetite is not always the best but I can usually get her to eat the dry food.... she does go off the canned on a regular basis. I always know that she needs a break from the canned because she puts her nose in the dish and pushes the food around similar to burying it. As you can imagine this creates a yucky mess on the kitchen tiles. She also does this with the dry food but as I feed that separately it isn't as big an issue as the canned food. I have tried putting the non skid dog dish on a non slip placemat but she works at it until the placemat covers the food and the food coats the floor. She gets the food over the floor as well as all over her nose and in her fur....then she wipes it on the loungeroom carpet!!! Can anyone think of something that I can do to stop this or at least stop the dry food from being pushed out of the bowl and around the floor?

Or you could buy frozen/ready made BARF....all you have to do is defrost it. Brands include...Leading Raw...Big Dog...Dr.Billinghursts. They are not expensive unless you are feeding a BIG dog, they are balanced and dogs love them. Benefits include small poos, shiny coats and you don't have to prepare it!

Sorry for the late reply, my computer had a meltdown and I am only now up and running again. Honey has vitamins and minerals but not in great numbers however it also contains minute amount of amino acids, protein, lipids, various enzymes and other constituents. So far efforts to measure these levels have been unsuccessful so that is a bit of an unknown as is the fact that some nectars contain as yet unknown substances with antibacterial properties. We all know that honey is derived from the nectar of plants but this is where it becomes interesting. Manuka honey is produced in NZ from areas that a specific type of plant is grown ie Manuka (tea tree). This plant has high antibacterial and antifungal properties. Antibacterial and antifungal properties are also present in just about all nectar from many other plants....maybe not to such a high degree but still very effective. In Australia they have found a similar Australian native tea tree which is just as good as those used in the production of Manuka honey but everyone knows the brand name 'Manuka' as the advertising and marketing of their product has been so successful. We live in an area verging on huge amounts of native vegetation especially Paperbark trees so that is where our bees generally get their nectar and pollen from. In order to find out how our or anyone else's honey compares with Manuka honey the honey would have to be sent to a lab to get tested...something we haven't done yet. Some of the things that have been attributed to honey....and that means ALL honey are that it enhances the immune system, reduces inflammation, stimulates cell growth and has an antioxidant effect. Heating honey to 65C extends its shelf life and stops the honey from crystalising or 'candying'. Most bee/honey hobbyists don't heat their honey so it remains "raw" or what is called "cold spun". The downside of that is that Raw honey will crystalise much quicker BUT the good thing is that all the enzymes etc. won't be killed off and will still be in the honey. Keep your honey at room temperature, not in the fridge and remember...there is absolutely nothing wrong with 'candied' honey...it just looks and spreads differently. So, buying your honey at your local farmers markets, etc. will probably ensure that you get the 'good stuff'! Just ask the person selling it!

What is in the doggy dough? Is it made up especially with the medication inside?

Dog is on a restricted diet so it makes it very difficult to disguise the tablet in food.

I have to use a pill popper twice daily to give medication to my dog and the one I have is less than perfect. The pills don't help either as they have a dry surface and the dog is very resentful. Combine all that with a pill popper that has the usual pencil like thin pusher and the tablets have about a 50% chance of going down. The perfect pill popper IMO would be one that has a larger end on it so it pushes the whole tablet and not just one little part of it. Does anyone know where I can get a better pill popper than the one I currently have? It is standard white number with a blue rubber end on it.