calliecritturs
Posted : 12/28/2012 1:42:37 PM
Kimw30
Hey I have a rat terrier dog who is 4 years old and her name is Prissy and currently she is on Purina EN dog food because the other ones we tried made her have diarrhea. she has a rash on her stomach and chest and she is very constipated, I dont know if it could be the food. Any suggestions on Purina EN dog food is it a very good dog food for a dog. She is so skinny because she will not eat the food now, I think she doesnt really like it that good, but even when she is eating the dog food she is still real skinny.
Kim, this could be a LOT of things. If she has routinely been constipated since you have switched her to this, then it's not a good food for her. The rash could be (and likely is) a lot of other things, including a contact allergy (poison ivy,poison oak, night-blooming jasmine, wandering jew, and even St. Augustine sod -- and she doesn't have to lie on ANY of those but merely lie on carpet where someone has walked who had, themselves walked on those things in the past YEAR!!).
My point is this -- vets may often jump to a food allergy first -- but it's only one of FOUR kinds of allergies that are likely and a rash over a large area like that is typically a contact allergy rather than food.
The other thing you need to consider is having her thyroid checked. Typically we think of low thyroid causing weight gain, but my bassett/beagle mix is a dog I struggled to keep weight on for YEARS. She was horribly skinny despite the fact that she ate well -- and I found out her thyroid was **low** and as soon as we began supplementing it, the weight leveled out and has stayed fine since!!
Since she is a rat terrier, I wouldn't bother with a regular lab thyroid test, but rather have the test sent either to Michigan State or to Dr. Dodds at Hemopet. Those are breed specific thyroid panels and with a high energy breed like a rat terrier I wouldn't waste the money on a regular lab thyroid test. You want the Thyroid 5 panel at Hemopet -- http://www.hemopet.com -- I have found it extremely helpful (altho Michigan's is fine as well -- they actually use Dr. Dodd's protocols as well).
And incidentally -- for a small dog like that you may want to consider homecooking. I cook weekly (and just portion it out) for all 3 of my dogs. I know instantly when an ingredient bothers them and I never have to worry about what the food is preserved with or what the meat source is -- because I *KNOW* -- I added it myself!! You don't have to do it every day -- you can cook once a week and just portion it out. That way you don't get a dog who is under nor overweight -- because you're consistent with it.