[Kaimanaulalena]

Dog has been refusing dry dog food, and has become thin, ate boiled rice with meat for maybe 3 days, refuses that now gave chicken broth which she drank, but only ate a little of plain yogurt. Her manner has been upbeat, as always- I began to get more worried on Thursday, Feb 11, called vet Fri, and they are out of office until Feb 22. I have given beef bones, in the past. Could she have an obstruction? Stool is darker and smaller than usual

[DrBill100]

I had a similar experience with my small puppy. Unfurtunately they never discovered the problem and by the time they operated she had a damaged liver. Didn't show up on their lab tests. Whether that was a cause or result is questionable. Make sure to provide plenty of fluid

[Cat1864]

Is there another vet you could call? Did your current vet leave an emergency number?

How old is she? Were her stools different BEFORE you changed her food? How long ago did you give her the last beef bone?

Changing her food will change her stools. If she isn't eating much then there won't be much coming out.

[Lucky098]

If your dog isn't eating a lot, the stool isn't going to look normal. As long as its solid, and not runny or water-like, then she should be OK with her organs.

... What kind of food did you get? And how new is the bag? I had a case one time where the dog food company changed their formulas. My dog didn't like it at all.. I had to switch foods.

Will she eat treats? Human food? Does she pick at her food?

[Kaimanaulalena]

If your dog isnt eating a lot, the stool isnt going to look normal. As long as its solid, and not runny or water-like, then she should be ok with her organs.

... What kind of food did you get? And how new is the bag? I had a case one time where the dog food company changed their formulas. My dog didnt like it at all.. I had to switch foods.

Will she eat treats? Human food? Does she pick at her food?

Thank you so much, I so appreciate all the kind animal lovers giving us help.

She would eat human food, but not much in the beginning. Finally she started eating a little of the b.rice/chicken/cottage ch/hamburger mix I cooked up. After about a week, our vet got back from conference and squeezed us in- By then dog was less boney and was still lively. Dr. couldn't feel any bones or objects in her GI tract. Stool exam found protozoa which he thought could have come from polluted stream or puddle. He said that could cause vomiting and make her not want to eat. He prescribed meds for a week.

She is eating her regular food again, and getting weight back- still lean. Dr said if she's eating reg. kibble I didn't need to keep with the b.rice mix. Seems like dogs (we own 2) didn't like the Kirkland dog food from Cost-Co. But the ing sounded great. I buy dog food without corn- makes very foul smelling excrement. Meats- lamb or chicken, or animal by products are the first ing. then meats, grains...

I would like to know what animal by products are? Some byproducts really seem fine for dogs. Fur and feathers sounds bad-indigestible, or simply roughage. But humans eat pigs feet and chicken feet (not claws). Gizzards are byproducts that are OK w/me.

[Kaimanaulalena]

Is there another vet you could call? Did your current vet leave an emergency number?

How old is she? Were her stools different BEFORE you changed her food? How long ago did you give her the last beef bone?

Changing her food will change her stools. If she isn't eating much then there won't be much coming out.

Thank you so much for writing. She is better now. We waited to see the vet, and kept offering a mix of cooked br. Rice mixed w/ gr beef and some chicken. I added a bit of cottage cheese. She didn't eat much but kept active.

By time vet saw her she was eating more. Vet found protozoa in stool, so prescribed 1 week of meds. He said protozoa found in the soil can cause vomiting- (she vomited a few times), and upset stomach so they don't eat. He thought it might be from polluted water- even a puddle. I haven't seen her drink from a puddle, and we actually clean her water bowl daily- I have thrown her dry dog food on the grass so she can hunt for it, in case she was bored. She is eating kibble again, looks better. Stool still very dark. Our other dog- the stool is normal color. Her behavior is normal, though- active playful, affectionate

[Cat1864]

Kaimanaulalena, thank you for coming back and giving us an update. I am so glad that she is doing better. I hope she has a speedy recovery. :)

[Lucky098]

Animal byproducts are the bits and pieces of animals. This can range from feet to the digestive organs. In other words the nasty stuff that isn't even accepted for human consumption.

A good food that my dogs really like and is a very high quality holistic food is Innova. No fillers or byproducts.

You never want tl judge a food on protein content first. Always look to see what the three first ingredients are and if it's a recognized meat from an animal.. . in other words not animal byproducts or bone meal

[shazamataz]

You never want tl judge a food on protein content first. Always look to see what the three first ingredients are and if its a recognized meat from an animal. .. in other words not animal byproducts or bone meal

The pet mince I feed is basically ground chicken carcasses, do those count as by products because they have bone in them?
Some people class liver as a by-product and that is great for dogs.

But yes there are a lot of companies that will use feet, beaks and feathers, Give a dog a whole chicken and they will eat everything but those 3 things, so why put them in dog food?

My MIL's Silky often catches birds in the backyard and she completely plucks them and then eats everything but the head and feet... I even caught my dog Prada eating a bird and the first thing she eat was the stomach... BLECK!

[Kaimanaulalena]

Animal byproducts are the bits and pieces of animals. This can range from feet to the digestive organs. In other words the nasty stuff that isn't even accepted for human consumption.

A good food that my dogs really like and is a very high quality holistic food is Innova. No fillers or byproducts.

You never want to judge a food on protein content first. Always look to see what the three first ingredients are and if its a recognized meat from an animal. .. in other words not animal byproducts or bone meal

Our cats and dogs tried and liked Inova- once it must have been old, as cats wouldn't eat it- and it is expensive, so switched to Science Diet- (they never liked Iams, and Max kitty caused our older cat to have bloody stools, and she resisted eating it, basically refused. I gave it to the dogs, as it was another meats first ing feed. A year later, it was one of the recalled contaminated foods. I go back and forth from health food store to feed store, but after our dog was refusing to eat, I researched the contaminated feeds online and a number of great sounding foods had contaminated grains. One of the raw blends had salmonella. I think Inova is raw. Someone wrote that in the old days, before dog food was available, they ate table scraps. At least you know what their eating!! I don't always eat what a dog should eat, or would want to eat. Dogs don't eat salad or what have you. We do give treats like avocados, and coconuts sometimes, and beef bones (cooked) I fear the spoilage of raw bones, but I suppose cooked ones spoil too.

By the way, how do you get a photo into your message? Where do I find that option?

[Lucky098]

As far as I know innova has never been recalled. Innova evo is the raw alternative formula. Science diet, iams, euk. and nutro Max are low quality foods that were recalled among other foods during the mass pet food really all in 2008 I believe. You could always try natural balance.

Cooked bones of any type is bad for your dog. Cooked bones splinters.

[Kaimanaulalena]

Thank you, I will check Innova again. I thought all they offered was Evo, I ordered it over the phone from a local distributer- Regarding bones, do you recommend feeding those large soup 'knuckle' bones uncooked?

[Lucky098]

Try going to The Healthiest Pet Foods in the World – Natural & Organic Pet Food – Natura Pet Products its innovas main website. It will also show store locations.

I give my dogs rawhide flips or the natural tendon chews ( I forget the name of them). I'm not a big fan of raw or cooked bones.

[KISS]

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