Gibbys stomach-UPDATE

Poor Gibby and his sensitive tummy.  You know some dogs have cast iron tummies and some have quite delicate tummies.

dyan

I do think I should be able to give my dog different forumals of the same food brand from day to day.

But, its different protein sources, right?  Its that frequent switch that could play havoc on a sensitive stomach.  Find one and keep it.  Some dogs just don't need the variety; and as you see with him...may be worse off. 

Stick with one for a few months and see how he does.  Have you noticed if he pukes more so on one type of protein source?  If so, don't choose that one for your test.

Good luck, poor Gibby. 

If the food was *totally* undigested after 7 hours I would have asked for a blood test (a pretty danged big blood panel -- one that would show microalbuminaria, etc. in the urine) to check his kidneys.  Now if it was somewhat digested that's a different story.

Dyan, I'm just throwing this out there.  But, is it when you put the topper on that has veggies in it?  Because I know with Willow, it doesn't matter how cooked they are she usually can't digest them.  And, she will also vomit much later after eating and then is fine after. 

To answer everyones question.......

Lori...I haven't found any reason for anything.  Seriously.  I play guessing games...but there is no rhyme or reason for any of it at all....

First he almost NEVER throws up real food. In the year and a couple months that I had him maybe 2 or times.  NOT COUNTING....when he ate the foam corners from my mattress.....or when he ate his kong...... or his other toy that I used to stuff........or even when I used to let him chew a rawhide while in the bathroom with me while I got ready to go to work.  One day he threw up and DH was home and told me there was bits of rawhide in it and I never gave him another one.          One morning he vomited a couple hours after he ate breakfast and it was just liquid...so usually not food at all.  And usually never at night....its almost always been during the day.  He gets his topping only in the evening at supper.  I used to give him a raw egg...and then I got the brainstorm that maybe he was having trouble with that so started scrambling them...then thought maybe he was having trouble with that so started not giving them at all.   THATS the way things go.  

Callie...no that food wasn't totally looking like it went in....but I just figured by then it should not have been food at all.  But those Pig Ear look alikes were in it.....so I have to kind of wonder about them.

As far as the formulas...does one seem to cause more problems than another???  Same guessing game.    I gave him the new lamb forumla  ( yes different protein sources.... lamb, chicken, duck, ) for breakfast on Monday and he got sick that day about noon........so I figured...HHHmmmm wonder if that did it. I kept giving it to him for the next couple of days and he was fine...didn't get sick NOR did his poop get soft or anything.   The day he got sick at night was the day that I switched over to one of the others that he had been eating......so there goes the new lamb food theory.    And when I think of it...I didn't always change formulas...he was on the large and giant puppy formula for the most part. And before that when I first got him it was Pedigree ( yes....I promised the breeder I would....but broke the promise after a couple of weeks )

But yes......I have stuck with the new lamb...and he has had nothing since..... and I will just stick with it for a while. If he seems to be doing better....I will try one of the others. Even at that...when I used to change formulas on Bubby...it would be that I would do a whole container ( I put the different formulas in cookie jars or plastic containers and leave the bag in the cool basement ) at a time which would be about a week on one formula. With Gibby...I have been changing each day.

Another part of the guessing game is that somehow I think he gets sick more on Saturdays than anything. Now we go out every Friday for dinner...or golf.  I always think...did he eat something??? Of course that would be besides what I know he ate...like the kong....lol!  Maybe it is something like hot dogs......we do fill raw bones or a kong with things like kibble,, hot dog.... dog bisquits....with some peanut butter...just to let him know that its FUN when we leave him for a while. He doesn't eat anything except whats inside then goes lays down on my bed to sleep. But then I also thought it might be because he is upset because of being left alone.

 Emma used to be a puker, and I quit with all the treats and variety. She's 5, and was seriously slowing down, and it scared me. Bloodwork all normal, no apparent reason except touchy tummy. She's totally fine, now, on Hills ZD. She hasn't puked in 5 months!!!! She used to puke a couple of times a week, or better. I'm slowly adding back one food, at a time, to see exactly what it is she tolerates and doesn't. Poor kid was allergic to rice! Geez!!!

Honestly, I think he'd really benefit from an elimination diet. One of the simple kibbles would be a fine place to start. I know cooking for a dog that big is a ridiculous chore, but what about feeding something like one of the Natural Balance formulas, with nothing but that protein and that carb (they have biscuits, canned, AND now they have food rolls with duck), for 8 weeks, and see if it makes a difference?  If it doesn't make a difference, then you know what WONT work, LOL. I was totally shocked at how well Emma adjusted to only eating one thing. She loves it, and thinks it's awesome. We just told her how great it was, and she's totally fine with it.

jennie_c_d

Poor kid was allergic to rice! Geez!!!

 

YIKES,,,allergic to rice.   

If he puked more....I would be working harder on this......  but he does puke too much. ANY is too much.  

Thanks for the suggestion..... I will look into that idea...... if what I am doing doesn't work.  I will HAVE to change food if this doesn't work.

It's just no fun for anybody, when they're touchy like that. I'm totally thrilled with Emma's new outlook. She feels SO GOOD, and she's even gained half a pound! Keeping weight on has always been an issue, for her, and now I'm having to cut back food. I'm thrilled!

I think some dogs just don't tolerate food switches well. Yes, many dogs can handle frequent changes and seem to have cast iron stomachs, but some don't.  If you're switching formulas/protein sources daily or even every few days, it may be that his system can't handle it. I know Aesop would be having the major poos. (different digestive upset, but still :p)  I'd try sticking to just one formula for a month at the very least, and see if that stops it. I dont' think most dogs mind the lack of variety

 I rotate brands and varieties every bag with my dogs, but I can't imagine doing that every day - even within the same brand I think there can be pretty big differences between varieties. 

I think you're on the right track with choosing a formula and sticking with it for a month or two without any switching, but you may also want to play around with your transitions to new varieties, too.  Instead of cold turkey, do gradual switch overs for the next few changes and see if that makes any difference.  Perhaps keeping a notebook for observations related to his tummy might help you uncover a pattern as well.

 Dyan, this lady will do a distance consultation by phone and she's very knowledgeable: http://www.betterdogcare.com/

You know I'm thinking maybe he's just too young for daily changes right now.  And, maybe stick with one thing until he's a little older then give it another shot. 

Yeah...you know....maybe I wasn't thinking about that...his age and the fact that even with Bubby..I didn't switch every day.    And your right Stardog....when I do switch..... I should gradually change over....something that I know to do when changing to another brand.....but with Gibby...maybe I need to do that if it ends up that he does okay on what he is on now.  I haven't switched him at all now for a week.  He is also on probiotics  supplement which is helpful too.

Anne....that is Lilian that you suggested..right?   I know someone suggested me talking to her before when I was making at attempt on home cooking for Gibson...which I could not do because I just couldn't feed him enough food for a fast growing dog..

I appreciate everyone input......you know.......sometimes I wonder how I could get thru raising a dog without you guys!!!

jennie_c_d

 Emma used to be a puker, and I quit with all the treats and variety. She's 5, and was seriously slowing down, and it scared me. Bloodwork all normal, no apparent reason except touchy tummy. She's totally fine, now, on Hills ZD. She hasn't puked in 5 months!!!! She used to puke a couple of times a week, or better. I'm slowly adding back one food, at a time, to see exactly what it is she tolerates and doesn't. Poor kid was allergic to rice! Geez!!!

 

Honestly, I think he'd really benefit from an elimination diet. One of the simple kibbles would be a fine place to start. I know cooking for a dog that big is a ridiculous chore, but what about feeding something like one of the Natural Balance formulas, with nothing but that protein and that carb (they have biscuits, canned, AND now they have food rolls with duck), for 8 weeks, and see if it makes a difference?  If it doesn't make a difference, then you know what WONT work, LOL. I was totally shocked at how well Emma adjusted to only eating one thing. She loves it, and thinks it's awesome. We just told her how great it was, and she's totally fine with it.

We went through the same thing with BF's parents' dog. We think he's also allergic to rice, and maybe something else.  First the vet said feed him nothing but rice and cottage cheese - no dice. So they then tried rice and chicken. Still absolutely terrible diarrhea. Then we tried Timberwolf grain-free kibble - a little better, but still not great (and even though it's grain free, there are a ton of ingredients in there). We tried chicken and we tried fish, and both made his stomach unhappy - at least at this point it was runny diarrhea instead of the absolutely explosive, unpredictable diarrhea he'd had before.

Finally we tried Natural Balance pea and venison and, lo and behold, no more digestive troubles!!!

Once we found something that worked, we didn't dare feed him anything else. He's quite happy, looks fabulous (his coat is better than Rascal's!), and all is well!

The Natural Balance was a real life-saver for us - might be worth trying!

The EP forumla that Gibby is eating right now is the Natural formula....this is the non-holistic one that I like to give him once in a while. It is actually the formula that was trial tested on Danes......and it has different protein souces in it...such as lamb meal, chicken meal and anchovie meal. The last food he ate when he puked all over the place was the Holistic Chicken Meal.......it also had pork meal in it.    THAT formula is new.... don't know if Bubby ever had it even.    Most of their formulas do have different meats in it...which is a reason I like it. But never know.........  I'll stick with this formula for a while and see if it continues okay.