Food Woes

CarrotTheFrenchie · Sep 8, 2017

Forgive this insanely long post with LOTS of questions!

Soooooo the search for the right food continues!

I first switched Carrot to Small Batch which is dehydrated raw. I gave her more than the recommended amount of food but she still lost some weight. Carrot has a very defined waist and a large rib cage. We don't feed her a lot of treats but we definitely feed her enough. Yet you can still see subtle outline of ribs. Either she has a tape worm or she's built this way? My vet HATES any version of raw. He thinks it's too much protein and no carbs. So, I switched to a new food. This great LA based company called, Pure Food. It's human grade cooked food. She started on a turkey blend with whole wheat pasta, applesauce, green beans, broccoli and canine vitamins. She's now on another version with chicken, millet, quinoa, applesauce, cauliflower and green beans. On the new food she poos a little more (twice a day as compared to once a day with the dehydrated raw) but the poos are still good. However, she seems to itch more on the new food and she has more eye boogers. Although, she's always had these. Are eye boogers allergy related or just the norm?

Also, I've noticed Carrot has thrown up a few times on the new food. Can't tell yet if it's the food or the fact that on the days she's thrown up, she's gotten more exercise than normal? And when she's thrown up, she's thrown up what looks like undigested food. And this is at least 7 hours after she's eaten. Hard to believe she hasn't digested the food after that long? I assume she would digest more nutrients on the dehydrated raw?

Last question....Carrot RARELY drinks water anymore since starting on both new foods. I have to sneak water into her food! Do I need to worry about her getting dehydrated?

Jakeyjake · Sep 9, 2017

Some frenchies can just tend to be on the thin side, especially if they are very active. I would stick to a grain free diet if she seems to be itching from the turkey blend recipe. Looks like the chicken recipe is grain free from what you've listed. I think eye discharge could be related to allergies as well. Not sure about the vomiting though. I'm assuming you transitioned her to the new food gradually. I know it has been really hot in So. Cal lately so maybe the vomiting is due to excessive exercise and the heat. If there is a lot of moisture in the food she would drink less, so as long as she's peeing I wouldn't worry about it.

Alice Kable · Sep 9, 2017

Chicken is a common allergen, I'd try going back to the turkey meal. They sound really good. I have cooked for my dogs before and they LOVE it!

Is your vet concerned about her weight? Some dogs (like people) have a higher metabolic rate. You might try giving Carrot no added sodium broth instead of water. Not drinking enough water would concern me.

Cbrugs · Sep 9, 2017

I know when dogs eat raw, they don't need to drink as much because it already contains so much moisture. Jax eats raw and sometimes he'll go days without drinking. In that instance, it's nothing to worry about. Not sure if dehydrated raw is the same. Have you tried a frozen raw?

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Honeys Owners · Sep 11, 2017

Your dog should be getting enough water from drinking the dehydrated raw food you made into a stew. I would stick to grain free, eg. Spot Farms turkey dehydrated raw
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H8VO0FY/ref=twister_B01KNGHZR6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

CarrotTheFrenchie · Sep 12, 2017

The vet was a little concerned about her weight BUT, its because I brought it up AND I was telling him I started feeding her Dehydrated raw. Since he's anti-raw, I feel like his reaction was a little based on that. BUT, ever since I got Carrot I've seen a slight outline of ribs. Currently I feed her a cup plus of food at every meal. And her poos have been really good. Not too firm ,not too hard. Just right!

But, maybe I'll slowly start to increase and track her poos.

CarrotTheFrenchie · Sep 12, 2017

I haven't tried frozen raw yet. But, I'' be traveling quite a bit the next few months (with Carrot) so I think I will have to go back to dehydrated raw for a bit and just try to increase the amount she gets.

Honeys Owners · Sep 13, 2017

My dog lost weight too since I switched her to Only Natural EasyRaw and I hear a lot of dogs lose weight on Honest Kitchen as well. We have a dehydrated raw in Canada called Canisource Grand Cru that now comes in grain free turkey, or lamb and pork, so I'm going to switch her soon to that to see if she puts the weight back on. It's also quite a bit cheaper and can be served dry if you wish,for travelling, or rehydrated.

Cbrugs · Sep 13, 2017

Different brand? Different protein? Feeding more? Eye boogers can be allergy related. If Carrot is itching more, I would try a different protein.

Some dogs are just smaller than others.

2bullymama · Sep 14, 2017

Cbrugs said:
Different brand? Different protein? Feeding more? Eye boogers can be allergy related. If Carrot is itching more, I would try a different protein.

Some dogs are just smaller than others.

Agree -- it all sounds like an allergy... either food or environmental

CarrotTheFrenchie · Sep 15, 2017

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Going to slowly transition to a new food and once she's transitioned, I'll start increasing her food intake. Of course today she had blood in her stool and diarrhea! Which is either due to a piece of another dogs poo that she ate on Tuesday or something else she digested. Which means she'll have to go on a bland diet for a couple of days. I can't keep things out of her mouth! Arrrgghh. Here's a picture of my poor pup with her ribs showing

I truly think her months long struggle with Giardia did a permanent number to her digestive tract &#55357;&#56865;&#55357;&#56873;

Honeys Owners · Sep 15, 2017

Did she get a stool test? She may need to go on some metronidazole antibiotic since it cures a lot of stool problems. In the meantime give her some probiotics eg. Herbsmith Microflora plus or Proviable DC if you are not already doing so. Also keep her on some canned pumpkin to firm things up. She might be one of those dogs who throws up when her stomach gets too empty so you may have to feed more often, or it could be that particular food doesn't agree with her.

CarrotTheFrenchie · Sep 15, 2017

I took her to the vet today and she took one look at the picture I took ( of her lovely poo) and said, "that's definitely colitis" Sounds like the colitis might be the result of my giving her more treats than normal in an attempt to put weight on her! Sheesh. No treats for her for a week while she recovers and takes medicine.