food intolerance

Comment

Comment by Marjorie on March 6, 2012 at 2:18pm

Lucky you Ruth to have a vet in the family!  Good point about the organic meat I'll have to look at that. I think she is fine for parasites as I have had her on a worming program. I'm mainly trying to find out what is increasing hre LIPA levels. Her only symptoms at the moment are low energy, wanting to graze a lot and the occasional loose stool. Other than that you would never know she was ill. The acupuncture seems to be helping and we are moving from our chicken & rice diet to a pork and either potato or oatmeal diet at the end of the week. It willbe hard finding treats for her that are pork based with potato or oatmeal. I'll so glad when we get through the antigen diet process.

Comment by Ruth on March 4, 2012 at 6:55pm

Hi Marjorie
Oh my! Your poor baby has been through the ringer and so have you!
I will share this with my son who is studying to be a Vet to get the youth opinion.
I will say this, which I forgot to mention before.
I only use organic chicken and pork! If the chicken is fed wheat products or antibiotics, then Teena is also eating wheat and antibiotics!
I am sure your vet has checked for all parasites?
Even the unusual ones?

Comment by Marjorie on March 4, 2012 at 3:22pm

Hello Ruth,

First off I have to thank you for your prompt reply, I really appreciate any assistance. I also have to say what beautiful dogs you have. I'd have the house full of them if I could. My girl Teena is the one who I'm having the problem with. She had her second litter of pups just after turning three and my breeder retired her and gave her to me. Ever since I got her she has always had a bit of a touchy stomach and been a real grass grazer. I put her on Fromm 4 Star and she improved. Early last Sept. both she and my other dog Taffy got into something that made them both very sick with some kind of gastrointestinal upset. The were given antibiotics and a bland diet of boiled chicken/beef & rice. for the next couple of months they would be off their food one day and on the next. Taffy finally recovered, but Teena just could not seem to make a full recovery. I then went back to the vet and she had another round of antibiotics at the end of Oct. a week later she had vomited about five times that week, so again, back to the vet we went and a blood profile was done and her LIPA was up to over 3000 (should be 800 - 1800). Pancreatitis was suspected and she was put on a low fat diet. In early Feb. I took her back for a re-check  and I was very surprised when her LIPA was UP to now over 5000!!! We were told to stay on the low fat diet and she was put on ranitidine to help ease her stomach discomfort (she had taken up eating lots of pine needles of the forrest floor for fiber). I did some research and found out that Cavaliers are prone to pancreatitis, but also a special test needs to be done to confirm the diagnosis (which has not been done yet, as I have also been told that there are many things that can cause raised LIPA levels). I have also suspected a possible food allergy. So I took her to a vet who practices both Western and alternative medicine for a second opinion. She advised that there most likely is a sensitivity or allergy and her recent illness disturbed and weakened her system so that she is not able to re-gain balance. Currently she is on a home cooked rice and chicken low fat diet  and will then go to a series of home cooked antigen diets to determine any sensitivities. We have taken all wheat, sugars from her diet. The vet is also treating her with a Chinese herbal tincture and acupuncture. She explained that she has not been digesting her kibble well and that it has been taking a great deal of energy and heat from the rest of her system into her stomach in attempts to digest the kibble. She called it "fire in the belly"  which is creating an acid build up. This involves the spleen/pancreas meridians in Chinese medicine and leaves her other systems weak with little energy. The vet supplied me with a dog food recipe book which comes with supplements. If you do a search on Hilary's Blend dog supplements you will come up with the info. I'm also considering contacting Cat Lane at The Possible Canine (I'd recommend checking out her site too as she also teaches about nutrition) as she is suppose to be the genius of custom meals and solving difficult health problem in dogs.  So, at this point I'm still not too sure as to exactly what is going on, but I do believe that Teena does have a wheat sensitivity and that she does need to get any sugar out of her system for now so that any inflammation can settle down. I'm hoping to be able to do a home cooked diet for them long term that they will enjoy, won't break the bank and not be too complicated. At the moment it has been about a week and a half of the cooked chicken and rice and I already am meeting resistance. I think they think we have fallen on very hard times and are not too pleased.  Teena goes for her second acupuncture treatment this week, she was so relaxed during the last one that she almost fell off the table and she snored like a lumberjack that night so I know some deep healing was taking place. Sorry to be so long winded Ruth, but that's wher

Comment by Ruth on March 3, 2012 at 7:28pm

Marjorie
I am a crazy person when it comes to my dogs!
So with that said, I will offer the following:
The beef marrow bones are high in fat. You must boil them for
2 hours at least. Get the fat off. Rinse them. And the marrow will fall out.
That's ok. The beef taste is within the bone. Do not be afraid to rinse the fat and/or meat away,
These things are wonderful for the dogs to chew on because they can't eat them! Freeze them and offer
as required. Have your butcher cut them to the appropriate size for your pup.
Next, I cook everyday for my dogs. Boiled chicken or pork tenderloin, organic pumpkin, a bit of ID dog food
carrots, and some rice.
One meal a day only.
Cookies are ONLY Oliver Bentleys from Gerogia
Expensive but completely organic and keeps the stools a good consistency.
I am currently developing my own line of supplements with my Vet and
Scientists. I have been studying all the supplements out there
and none of them cater to the "toy breeds"
Mine are designed for cavaliers primarily.
However, there is a joint one out there called glcanAid
By TopDog. It is awesome!
I was so impressed by this med that I got the Vet who
Invented this stuff to collaborate for my cavalier line.

I hope that helps. Let me know.

Comment by Marjorie on March 3, 2012 at 11:41am

Hello Ruth,

I'm reading your post a year later, but it's very interesting. One of my girls is having a problem and we are currently on a home cooked diet. Are you using any supplement and if so what? Also, when you say the bone marrow, you do mean the bone too don't you? Is the marrow rich and high in fat to feed? Is the bone really OK cooked? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm looking for help.

Thanks!

Comment by Ruth on March 29, 2011 at 8:04am

Yes! I have 4 cavaliers that have food issues. I now only give them certain foods. The only treats they get are Oliver Bentley cookies from Georgia. I have my butcher cut bone marrow in small sizes, which I boil for 2 hours and then freeze. They get Wellness puppy food in morning, mixed with Priarie Kibble and boiled organic chicken at night mixed with boiled rice or boiled organic pasta! Thats it! Insane I know. I also will mix in some peas or carrots. Since I started this, their stools are better.

Believe me, I know I sound like I need a life and some therapy. But, they seem healthy and more "regular". The most important thing that I may suggest is the bone marrow. I found that all the store bought chewing bones tended to be the culprits in the digestive issues. Not only did they give them stomach problems, me gagging scares, staining issues, they were also adding up in costs. Bone marrow from your butcher is cheap, fresh and not hazardous. You can boil a whole bunch on the weekend- and do boil a long time- 2 to 3 hours depending on the size- and freeze them for the week. Just rinse with some water to warm up before giving if you want, but not necessary.