Question:
Greetings to all,

I would greatly appreciate any comments your combined experience can provide.

Over the spring, my Aussi Shepard/Blue Healer mix (Bailey - Now 6 years of age ) began having severe diarrhea (including blood in the stool),stopped eating, vomiting (A mystery since she had stopped eating), and experienced severe spasms in her abdominal area. The spasms, did not double her over, but they were intense enough to immobilize her (Picture yourself doing only an 1/8th of a sit-up....repeatedly and that is what she looked like).

Naturally we my wife and I took her to our vet, who referred us immediately to a renowned vet hospital in the area. After close to a week at the vets (and an $1,800 bill), Bailey was doing better - but the cause was never determined. I was told they tested for everything under the sun, but to no avail.

Bailey is in good spirits, and plays outside on a daily basis (catching stick is her favorite pastime) but her health has continued to decline. Her coat is getting progressively thinner and even bald in spots, her weight as dropped dramatically (Pronounced Spine and hip bones) and she still experiences frequent abdominal spasms (much milder than previously noticed). Her activity level is hampered even more so, now that it appears that she is having some severe arthritis in her hips (we are giving her a supplement for this).

Currently her condition does not seem to affect her mood, in any way. So I have not explored the possibility of "Putting her to rest". But I do notice that she has developed a voracious appetite. She is currently getting fed Iams mini chunks - (I keep her bowl full). But I do notice that her stool (very plentiful and solid) looks exactly like Iams mini chunks, only chewed up (Very Grainy, light brown in color). Which leads me to believe that she is not digesting this food well. I would take her back to the vet for more testing, but I still haven't recovered from the last bill. (Please don't judge, I certain would if I could).

What supplements, dietary change, home remedies can I employ to make her life more comfortable or to curb her declining health?

Jeffrey

Answer:
Iams isn't great... If it was me, I'd switch to something completely different... For examples, these two:

Innova Evo RM
Solid Gold Barking at the Moon

Or if those are way out of your price range, Canidae has an ok Lamb and Rice one...
Canidae Lamb and Rice


They'll all be much more expensive than Iams, but well worth it. You will feed less and your doggy will probably end up much healthier.

Answer:
So sorry to hear about Bailey.

Just a thought--do you know if they did an intestinal biopsy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Answer:
I understand that you can't afford more vet bills, but if you're able to get those paid off and DO want to take her in again, I recommend getting a second opinion or asking this referral vet for ANOTHER referral. Did this vet specialize in gastrointestinal problems?

How is her water intake? It's crucial that Bailey gets a lot of fluids or she is going to die of dehydration. Diarrhea quickly leads to dehydration. She'll end up crashing quickly and needing IV fluids to keep her alive.

Did you notice her skin problems and weightloss before or after or around the same time as the stomach problems? I'm wondering if like you said, she isn't getting any nutrition from her food due to this stomach thing, or if there is something else going on that is possibly shutting down her entire system.

Unless she has some kind of extremely rare disorder that the vets don't even know to look for, I can't see how they could come back with absolutely nothing.

Hopefully the change in diet will work... good luck.

Answer:
Thanks for the responses!

I have been using Iams only because I thought it was a quality food for her. So I will defiantly look into a few of your recommendations Prin.

I will have to pull all of Bailey's paper work from her Hospital Stay to see exactly what tests were run. But as glitterpack mentioned, After the fact, I actually did seek out a vet that specializes in the "gastric region" for dogs. When my finances permit, I do plan on setting up an appointment.

But untill then I will try a change in diet.

Thanks again.

Jeffrey

Answer:
Originally Posted by glitterless

How is her water intake? It's crucial that Bailey gets a lot of fluids or she is going to die of dehydration. Diarrhea quickly leads to dehydration. She'll end up crashing quickly and needing IV fluids to keep her alive.

Did you notice her skin problems and weightloss before or after or around the same time as the stomach problems? I'm wondering if like you said, she isn't getting any nutrition from her food due to this stomach thing, or if there is something else going on that is possibly shutting down her entire system.

Her water intake is Normal, and she rarely suffers from diarrhea (unless she manages to snake some food from my 2 year old sons lunch when he drops it all over the floor!)

Her skin problems defiantly began to occur after the stomach problems. So my hope is that with a better quality food that is more digestable, she can add some much needed weight and start regrowing some hair!

Jeffrey

Answer:
maybe she caught a bug and is over it now (we humans get that sometimes ). bailey needs superconcentrated nutrition, easy to digest and gentle on the stomach. Please don't feed her any grains, which are essentially fillers in commercial dog food, hard to digest and provide very marginal nutritional values. Try a grainless kibble like Innova Evo, Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon, Nature's Variety Raw Instinct. It costs more but you need to feed less, your dog will poop less and put those calories to good use instead of just defecating them on your yard

remember to transition carefully over a period of days, slowly add the new food and reduce the old, not to shock her system. Holistic foods do not contain stool hardeners like the cheap brands do (Iams, purina, etc). I also highly recommend you add some Prozyme http://www.prozymeproducts.com/ to her meals, this will increase the food's digestibility, your dog will gain some much-needed weight and her coat will grow plush and beautiful again.

Want to make her REALLY healthy and muscular? mix in some real foods to the kibble once she's stabilized. Plain yogurt. Cottage cheese. Holistic canned foods (try Innova 95% meat). Eggs, raw or cooked. Canned oily fish packed in water, such as salmon, sardines, mackeral, and occasionally tuna. Cooked boneless meats.

Remember the old adage, to avoid processed foods as much as possible and eat plenty of whole, fresh foods? same goes for dogs. it's not normal for any animal to eat a dry processed food from a bag for their entire lives (would you do it? or make your kids do it? i thought not!). Based on that logic... the sky is the limit

Answer:
Have you looked into holistic food for Bailey? Maybe also a holistic vet? Sorry I can't be of more help than that.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Moopy
But as glitterpack mentioned

hehe Sorry, that made me laugh.

If you can't find those at a dog food store near you, let us know what you can get and we can help you decide.

Answer:
I agree with the advice above. I would also recommend getting a grainless food that doesn't use chicken as a protein source. Chicken is what Iams uses so would recommend trying something different. Years ago my lab had a really bad reaction to a bag of Iams and that triggered all sorts of allergy issues with her. Hopefully a change in food will work wonders for your baby.

I also agree with the digestive enzymes and possibly probiotics which have worked wonders for some members. Also to add to your food choices I recommend Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue (grain free) if it is available in your area.

A final note is that to find many of the suggested foods you need to look at the smaller pet stores that cater to "holistic" type feeding. Phone around or check the websites for the products. They often have links to where you can buy the product.

http://www.timberwolforganics.com/

Answer:
Originally Posted by technodoll
I also highly recommend you add some Prozyme http://www.prozymeproducts.com/ to her meals, this will increase the food's digestibility, your dog will gain some much-needed weight and her coat will grow plush and beautiful again.

I did find several suppliers in our area for both Innova and Solid Gold, The Innova seems to be a better value, so I'll give that a shot first. It might also be worth while to let others know that Prozyme offers a free sample of their product to first time customers http://www.prozymestore.com/freesample.htm .

Thanks again for the tips- I'll be sure to post back in a few weeks to let everyone know how the diet change pans out!

Answer:
that's great news! good luck, moopy!

Answer:
I'm sure you had tests run for everything under the sun but did they test for Cushings disease? Some of your friends symptoms COULD be indicative and it may be worth looking into.
I agree with everyone that a better food is a great way to go... so many things can be helped by a good diet!
Good luck.
Hope you can settle for a "meow" of support, no dogs in my family at the moment

Answer: