[Emakala]

Our 7 month old Doxie JRT pup, Rutgar, saw the vet yesterday for his vomiting problem. The vet is running a stool sample now and will get back to us if he sees a parasite problem. He doesn't think that's it. This little guy looks great, but hasn't grown. His appetite hasn't been good and he's not thin, actually, according to the Purina scale, he's just right. The vet thinks he should have grown more and thinks the pup might have swallowed a foreign object which causes intermittent distress to the digestive system, but he really doesn't know. He suggested we may want to take x'rays or even possibly do exploritory surgery. Neither of which we can afford on our budget. He has put Rutgar on a perscription diet of 'Gastro' canned food which he's eating with real gusto, even carries his bowl around when he's finished! That's great, and today we'll see if he can keep it down. Dinner stayed down last night, but we can't afford $60.00 a month to feed him. I'm hoping that after this 12 day trial run that he may be able to pass any foreign object IF that is causing the problem, and he will be able to return to a less expensive food. I was feeding Purina Puppy Chow with a bit of Actrium (canned IAMS equiv.) just for flavor, although he wasn't too excited about it. Can anyone suggest a plan for returning to a 'good' quality but less expensive food at the end of this 12 day trial run?

[labman]

Other breeds are not quite as bad as Labs, but many of them do get into trouble gulping down things they shouldn't.

I am very supportive for the regular chows, such as Purina, for most dogs. They offer a carefully formulated diet using lower cost ingredients. The larger softer stools are not that big of a problems for most owners. For a light eater, one of the concentrated, meat based chows would be a good idea. They need to eat less, and the taste may be more appealing. The Pro Plan I feed may be cheaper than some other brands. A 37 pound bag for $30 should last your little mix a long time. You might look a private label food too. In a agricultural area, the feed stores often have a good dog chow. Look for meat as the first ingredient, and AAFCO test methods.