My Dog is Sick - I need your thoughts

[sheila44]

New to the forum - thanks for letting me in!

I have two dogs, both GSmutts, both rescues from dog pounds. The older of the two is about 10. Her name is Arabella and her nickname has always been "Ol' Irongut" because she has been able to eat anything without ever being sick...until recently. The younger of the two is about 3.5 years and has always been sick. I finally found food that agrees with her and the older starts getting sick. I have been feeding Diamond Lamb & Rice for about six months (we've gone thru about 60 lbs) I supplement w/ baked chicken.

About two months ago Ol' Irongut starts getting diarreha in the middle of the night, starts slowly, once per week and builds up to three times per night. I get some meds from the vet (bacteria infection fighter, can't remember the name) and it clears up. It came back again last week so I started the meds again and I switched foods. I had some crappy Iams lying around for emergencies and the diarreha stopped. Now she has red blotches on her belly! She has had this previously and it was diagnosed by the vet as coming from dye in her food. This was when I first got her and I was stupidly feeding her Gravy Train.

Sorry this is so long. I'm at my wit's end! I'm on a very tight budget, as it is now their food costs way more than mine. I can easily get a cheaper brand for Irongut, but I'm now concerned about the blotches and what in the food could be causing it and how common the mystrey ingredient is. Thanks in advance for any advice given.

[BabyHusky]

It seems like Arabella's condition is more food oriented than anything else. Depending on where you live, you can go raw. Feeding your dogs raw can be and is a lot cheaper in many states. Many people have talked about Walmarts selling meat, etc.

Theres definitely no one on this forum that will ever recommend anything like Iams or less. The cheapest dry food that has been recommended to those with a low budget was Kirkland dog food from Costco which is a lot better than those petsmart brands. What did you feed before the Diamond Lamb and Rice?

[sheila44]

Because my younger one has always been reactive to food, we have been through several brands. ChickenSoup, NutroNatural, Halo. I have done a lot of research and I started supplementing baked chicken to reduce the kibble she was eating. I didn't give Halo much of a chance because it was so expensive. So far Diamond is the only one she has not reacted to. I switched Arabella to chicken, rice and yogurt this morning. But I also studied her blotches more last night. There is one in her armpit that is not so much a blotch as a bump - sore. We are going to the vet tonight. No appointment yet, but we ARE going tonight. I will update tomorrow when I know more.

Thanks for the reply.

[whiteleo]

I would say that your dog is probably having some sort of allergic reaction to the grains that are in the dog food. My female use to get puscles sores on her stomach, they got better when I switched to Innova, but they were still there, just not as bad. They are totally gone, now that she's on a raw diet. But if you can't do raw, there are some great grain free kibbles out there. Instead of baking the chicken, trying giving it raw.

[BabyHusky]

how'd the vet visit go?

[Doc]

for the money I think Costco's Kirkland Signature Kibble is great - I use the lamb, rice and vegetables.

Natural balance is more expensive but a good product also.

[sheila44]

The vet said the spots do not look like allergic reactions, but they do look like contusions. "Have you been kicking her?" Ha! He knows that I have a long list of people I would rather kick than any dog I know, especially my own. He asked if she had been tied or chained up lately. (Yeah, right!) Or maybe fallen off the bed? (Now that's more like it.) No fights with other dogs. A wrestling match with her "sister", but none have gotten out of control with any yipping or staggering away. Plus she always ends up being top dog. So he thought and he thought and we decided we would just wait and watch them.

I was also there to get more HartGuard. He tried selling me some new stuff IverHart, he was really pushing it. I told him I would stick w/ the HartGuard. Wonder if he gets a kick back on this as well as the Science Diet....

Thanks again for your replies and support.

[RawFedDogs]

I'm sorry your dog has those problems. I wish I had some expert advice for you but right now I don't unless it is a diet problem. I just want to correct a misstatement you made that I see a lot on all the boards. Vets don't get a kickback from the products they sell, they make a profit from selling them just as any other business makes a profit off the products they sell. Does he get a bigger profit off the IverHart than off the HartGuard? Don't know. Possibly. Just wanted to clear up that any product you buy from any business makes a profit from that sale.

[EnglishBullTerriers]

The vet said the spots do not look like allergic reactions, but they do look like contusions. "Have you been kicking her?" Ha! He knows that I have a long list of people I would rather kick than any dog I know, especially my own. He asked if she had been tied or chained up lately. (Yeah, right!) Or maybe fallen off the bed? (Now that's more like it.) No fights with other dogs. A wrestling match with her "sister", but none have gotten out of control with any yipping or staggering away. Plus she always ends up being top dog. So he thought and he thought and we decided we would just wait and watch them.

I was also there to get more HartGuard. He tried selling me some new stuff IverHart, he was really pushing it. I told him I would stick w/ the HartGuard. Wonder if he gets a kick back on this as well as the Science Diet....

Thanks again for your replies and support.

OK, I just read something that might be why she has the red bumps!!
When my dogs scuffle and Titus in laying ontop of Owen, Owen is under him pushing up on Titus' belly to try to get him off!! Does this sound about right?? It really only takes one scuffle to make a couple of marks, especially if your dogs are larger. Hope that this helps a little.