Raleigh, Archie, Gus

[scoora]

Patti, You have done a great job with Tipper. She is lucky to have you.
I have wondered if Archie would have been with someone else if maybe things might not have gone in this direction for him. Maybe I screwed up and didn't do something right somewhere along the way. It is so frustrating. I want to help him and I don't know what to do. His regular vet and the IMS both say to take him to a nutritionist. We would have to go to U. of Pa. Then what if he doesn't eat the diet?
Archie is such a lovey dovey. I was sitting on the loveseat earlier and crying a bit. He came over to me and gave me so many kisses in my ear.

Archie seems to be a bit aggressive with Gus. Gus goes after Archie lots of times and bites his neck or tail or leg. When Archie goes after Gus it is not when Gus is bothering him. Just not sure what's going on there.

Archie vomited Thursday and Friday mornings. So on Friday I decided to have his weight checked. We went to the regular vet first. He was 20.4 lbs. a week before that and on Friday he weighed 20.0 lbs. He then went and pooped on the waiting room floor so I weighed him again and he went down to 19.6 lbs. I then took him to Valley Central where his IMS is and asked them to weigh him on the scale in the back that he had been weighed on the two times he had been there. On 1/21 he weighed 19.3 lbs., on 2/14 he weighed 19.6 lbs. and on Friday he weighed 18.5 lbs. I am so worried about Archie.

[molly muffin]

Hi Vicki,

I don't think you did anything at all that anyone else wouldn't have done. You followed all the normal steps and procedures and Archie just has some intestinal issues it sounds like. That is probably what I would be concentrating on at this point, trying to find a good balanced diet for him that works. I'd probably try some various proteins to see if any work better than others. If there is some place that you could get him tested for food sensitivities and any other possible allergies, that might be worth pursuing.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[scoora]

Hi Sharlene,
I am going to make some pork for Archie tomorrow. He eats venison, hamburger, steak, London Broil and a bit of chicken. He has also eaten some salmon. We have a dermatologist near by who does testing. I talked to someone recently who took his dog there. He said you can drop a thousand dollars in a blink of an eye there with the testing.

Do you think food sensitivities could keep Archie from absorbing the nutrients in the food?

I am beginning to wonder if Archie is going to have to be scoped. The IMS told me that runs $1500. I wish I wouldn't have to worry about money. I want to do what I can for Archie. It is so frustrating and it worries me so much. He is my sweetie. 9 months old and he has these issues. WHY?!

They say a raw diet works wonders for dogs with some problems. I tried a raw puppy mix but he won't eat it. The lady I bought it from said don't spend the money on allergy testing till you give raw a chance but he won't eat it. Gus isn't crazy about it either but Raleigh loves it. I told Archie's vet I tried it. She said I wouldn't give him that.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Sharlene,

Do you think food sensitivities could keep Archie from absorbing the nutrients in the food?

There is a disease known as EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency) where the pancreas does not produce the enzymes that break down food and therefore the dog is not able to absorb nutrients even though the dog is eating.

I have had diets formulated for my boys from Monica Segal. If my memory serves me right I think I paid around $250 for a diet from her. Here's a link to her website: http://www.monicasegal.com/ She also has a YaHoo forum called k9kitchen: http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/K9Kitchen/info

I am sorry that you are having this issues with Archie, it can be so frustrating and worrisome when they are so picky. Has an elimination diet been tried with Archie?

Hugs, Lori

[scoora]

Lori,
Thanks for the info. I will check it out.

What would you think an elimination diet would tell us? Anything besides allergies?

The IMS put Archie on Royale Canin Venison and Potato diet to see if it would make a difference. At the time Archie did not have diarrhea or hot spots so I wasn't quite sure what she was looking for. It lasted about 3 weeks. He gave me such a hard time after a while. He wouldn't eat it even with venison meat added. It is hard and expensive to get venison. I was lucky a neighbor gave me a roast and our local farmer's market sold venison patties. I still give me venison patties at times. I think I messed up that diet because he wouldn't eat the dog food.

I will check again but I think a nutritionist would cost me between $250 and $300. I will check out the links you gave me.

I will be checking Archie's weight again soon.

Thanks all help is greatly appreciated.

I still need to take the time and post Archie's latest blood work.

[scoora]

Lori,
When someone does a diet for your dog do they give you several options of what to put in the diet. Like different meats, different veggies? Just curious how it works.
Thanks

[Squirt's Mom]

Typically a nutritionist/ nutritional consultant will design a specific diet using specific ingredients that should not be altered unless required - as in the pup doesn't care for or had a bad reaction to something - and you go back to the person who designed the diet for correction / alteration. Our first "diet" was from UC Davis and it was a total disaster. It did not tell you how much to use in gram weight nor did it tell you what to use. It only gave lists of meats, veggies and fruits to choose from and guided me to use Tums! Squirt got sick from this diet. That is when I found our nutritionist and she has been eating that diet designed for her and has done very well with it.

[scoora]

Leslie,
So you actually took Squirt to a nutritionist? She saw Squirt in person?
From your experience it sounds like the nutritionist was a better choice for Squirt.
I emailed the nutritionist once and she answered me. Maybe I can get some specifics from her.
Thanks

[Harley PoMMom]

What would you think an elimination diet would tell us? Anything besides allergies?

Finding the food that the dog is allergic to is the only reason I know why an elimination diet is tried.

Monica sent me a very long form to fill out for each dog that I was having a diet formulated for. It did ask what foods that my dog liked to eat, plus a whole bunch of other questions such as if they had any health issues, what kind of bowls they eat/drink out of...etc...it was a looonnngg form to fill out.

[Squirt's Mom]

Squirt did not see either the nutritionist who copied and pasted that UC Davis diet nor the consultant who's diet she has been eating for several years now. The first one was in the same hospital where her tumor was removed so I assumed the woman had looked at her records - I was wrong.

The consultant we used also sent a detailed intake form and consulted with our vet which she used to design the diet.