Changing Feed Killed My Dogs

[salom]

I'm a little sad today. Maybe more than a little.

The last of my three dogs is on his way to the vet today with a sudden onset of painful tumors. He is thirteen years old, so he's led a full doggy life and really had the best of it. Two acres to run in with plenty of rabbits and squirrels to chase and holes to dig.

The other two made their trips over the last couple months. The first was nineteen years old! She was ready.

The second was the brother of the third, and he just went a month or so ago with the same sudden bloom of tumors.

I've just about convinced myself that changing dog food a few months back has something to do with their sudden inability to fight off whatever specific growth/cancer/fatty fibroid they had...whatever the hell it is (we don't pay for pathology on our animals).

They had been on the same brand of lamb and rice formula for their whole lives. Last fall or so we switched brands due to availability issues.

Now looking back I suspect that changing a long-fixed diet on aging dogs was probably a very bad idea. The little bit of chemical change I suspect threw off their immune systems/dietary balance just enough to allow whatever-it-is to take hold.

I'll never know for sure, of course. And I'm not regretting or blaming self for anything. It is what it is and it was what it was. They were good dogs; they did their job very well.

Dogless for the first time in almost 30 years. It's a little weird.

[bing]

I have a 14 year old Lacy I got from the pound when she was six months. She's been a great, loyal dog. The last few years she has become covered with quarter sized "tumors"; she licks them to the point where one became a hot spot. I took her to the vet, and the vet said they are infected hair follicles, and common in dogs. They really look gross. He said don't worry about them. My co-worker has a 16 year old dog covered with them. He said the vet said that the surgery to get rid of them would probably kill the dog. He (my co-worker) also said the corn in the dog food causes them. I looked at the dog food label, and EVERY dog food we sell has corn as the first ingredient.
Because my wife looks at dogs more as a food source than a pet, Silchie is going to her grave with these lumps.

She was getting canine bronchitis every winter; sleeping in the house has cured that.

edited to add ahe eats whatever table scraps are available, "supplimented" with dry dog food.

[Ludi]

I'm so sorry, salom.

[redstategreen]

I'm really sorry about your dogs.

[FlyingTurntables]

I'm sorry to hear that.

I only feed my dog Canidae dog food. The "grain-free" kind. It's made in the USA from USA-raised meat. The meat is human-grade, not left-over waste. My dog loves it. After the Chinese dog food scare a few years ago I started researching dog food and found Canidae to be about the best stuff out there that is still affordable. Bil-Jac also has a frozen real-meat dog food for about $1.25/pound. I mix it in with the Canidae dry food.

I just watched Food, Inc the other day and it talks about how much corn we feed to animals and how bad it is for them. Cows develop tons of nasty e. coli in their gut because they can't digest the corn as efficiently as grass. My dog only eats plants when she wants to throw up (besides nuts, she loves nuts), so I try and keep her on a high-protein and fat diet.

[SpringCreek]

That's terrible news Salom. Good luck, take care.

[salom]

Stopped and picked up a nice aged t-bone steak.

Tee and I just shared it for lunch. He got the tenderloin side. He's outside in the yard right now working on the bone.

For the moment he seems to be feeling mighty fine!

HB will be home in a couple hours and then we make the trip to the vet

[TWilliam]

Sorry about your friends salom. I've been dogless now for about 14 years; prior to that I'd had a dog for most of my life.

I only feed my dog Canidae dog food. The "grain-free" kind. It's made in the USA from USA-raised meat. The meat is human-grade, not left-over waste. My dog loves it. After the Chinese dog food scare a few years ago I started researching dog food and found Canidae to be about the best stuff out there that is still affordable. Bil-Jac also has a frozen real-meat dog food for about $1.25/pound. I mix it in with the Canidae dry food.

Good on ya, FT. Main reason I won't have another dog is because I can't afford proper nutritional upkeep. I only do 'man-size' dogs (hate ankle-biters) --Belgian Malinois being my favorite-- and feeding them isn't cheap.

I just watched Food, Inc the other day and it talks about how much corn we feed to animals and how bad it is for them. Cows develop tons of nasty e. coli in their gut because they can't digest the corn as efficiently as grass. My dog only eats plants when she wants to throw up (besides nuts, she loves nuts), so I try and keep her on a high-protein and fat diet.

I watched that a few months back, good doc. Also saw King Corn recently, and an additional point made in that one with regard to the feeding of corn to cattle was that six months of feedlot diet (most spend about three months at the lot before slaughter) which is largely corn and 'corn fodder' (basically the shredded stalks & husks of the plant) would be lethal. And this is a ruminant. Imagine the impact on a largely carnivorous omnivore...

[hermes]

I only feed my dog Canidae dog food. The "grain-free" kind. It's made in the USA from USA-raised meat. The meat is human-grade, not left-over waste. My dog loves it. After the Chinese dog food scare a few years ago I started researching dog food and found Canidae to be about the best stuff out there that is still affordable.

You might want to check in with the guys @ Bark-n-Purr. IIRC Canidae was also one of the brands which was recalled due to using Chinese crap in their food. I'm NOT sure of that though.

We feed our dogs Precise, as we're low on money this year... It's apparently a Texas-only brand.

We have friends who feed their dogs chicken meat from WalMart. They buy a big frozen package of chicken quarters @ 4 whole chickens for only $10. They feed the dogs the raw chicken meat (the dogs eat it bones and all) and it's turned out to be cheaper AND more healthy for them than anything else they've tried thus far. We've considered this seriously as an option.

[FlyingTurntables]

Good on ya, FT. Main reason I won't have another dog is because I can't afford proper nutritional upkeep. I only do 'man-size' dogs (hate ankle-biters) --Belgian Malinois being my favorite-- and feeding them isn't cheap.

Yep, I calculated that my German Shepherd costs me almost $1000 a year in food and vet bills.

You might want to check in with the guys @ Bark-n-Purr. IIRC Canidae was also one of the brands which was recalled due to using Chinese crap in their food. I'm NOT sure of that though.

I've only been using Canidae for 3 years and I don't remember their food being recalled. It's virtually organic. You can check out their ingredients here.

http://www.canidae.com/ingredients/thefinest.html

Canidae was recommended to me by the trainer where I got my German Shepherd. I buy it from Dog Stuff on Hwy 183 at Ohlen Road. Those people are trainers and use it for their dogs.

[salom]

Tee got a shot and a bottle of steroids. This morning he seems to be more comfortable. As long as he's comfortable we'll string him along.

The big mass is on his shoulder but it isn't right in the joint. Actually it's under his shoulder on the rib cage about in the equivalent of an armpit. His brother was finally done in by one that was all in his...ankle I guess you call it. It was right on his "heel", which of course in dogs is up in the air, not on the ground...if you call it that.

I was on the fence as to whether or not to let it play out a while. We let his brother go with the same treatment, and within about a week he couldn't walk. The damn tumors just took off on him.

We won't let him suffer. I don't expect this phase to go for long. After all, thirteen years is pretty good for a lab/hound mix.

Interesting dialogue on the feed. Years ago we went with good quality lamb and rice. Our dogs lived very long and healthy lives on that diet. Yeah I know grains aren't natural for dogs, but rice seems to be the least problematic, and as long as you use a variety that is low on corn products you can do well.

We've always gone with the open bowl of dry food approach. Start 'em that way as pups and they will self-regulate just fine. None of our dogs were overweight. I've heard some insist on once or twice a day feedings, which is fine as long as you get the quantities right. I think the dogs tend to "finish their plates" when that appraoch is used, so if you overfeed just a little bit they will gain. The psychology of the always full bowl seems to work. None of our dogs chow and gulp their food, which is how I've seen scheduled-feed dogs approach the bowl. Ours would hit the bowl lightly throughout the day. Seems to work.

The little girl (dachsund, beagle, and who-knows-what) went 19 years on that diet and was chasing rabbits right up to the last.

[General Doom]

My sister has an English Mastiff, amazing dog, who is 12 now. He was not doing well a year ago, and we thought he was about to die. She had some stuff done for him at the vet and they recommended switching feed to Nutro Ultra to see if it would help clear up some skin problems. He has "youthened" by at least 2 years since she switched, and he no longer has any trace of that yucky dog smell (before this he really smelled awful). So when we got our puppy a few months ago, I started him on Nutro Ultra. Seeing Thurston's recovery totally sold me. I just checked the Bark-N-Purr site and it is one of the brands they carry, so hopefully that further recommends it.

Sorry to hear of your doggie problems, Salom. I still miss my last one, who died over 6 years ago.

[FlyingTurntables]

That's interesting about Nutro Ultra. I think I'm going to check it out. My dog has skin allergies and it may help.

[Newfie]

While not a dog story, I lost my pet bird over the weekend and it really hit me hard.

It was a lorikeet and I really screwed up. Thinking back over what happened I should have seen he was sick earlier in the week, when I did see he was down I didn't get him to a vet right away. Then he picked up a bit but then went downhill again.

I'm mad at myself for my ineptitude. I really know better and have no good excuse.

Birds tend to go down hill quickly and you have to be on top of things. Still I feel really bad about this. He really was my little buddy. If you have never had birds then you don't know how expressive and personal they can be.

Now I am torn about getting another bird. Part of me wants to in the worst way but I also want to be able to take off and do some travel that would make bringing the bird difficult.

[FlyingTurntables]

Just an FYI, I went by Bark N Purr on Saturday and asked for the Nutro dog food. They said they don't carry it any more and I asked why. They said they had two issues with ingredient quality in the past (including the 2007 recall), so they didn't trust it and quit carrying it.

I'm going to stick to Canidae for Angel. It's virtually organic, is all American-made, and has been recommended to me by several trainers in Austin.

[General Doom]

Just an FYI, I went by Bark N Purr on Saturday and asked for the Nutro dog food. They said they don't carry it any more and I asked why. They said they had two issues with ingredient quality in the past (including the 2007 recall), so they didn't trust it and quit carrying it.

I'm going to stick to Canidae for Angel. It's virtually organic, is all American-made, and has been recommended to me by several trainers in Austin.

Thanks for the heads up on that. I'll look into it further.

[rattleshirt]

Personally I feed Purina Dog Chow. It has never been a problem and in my family I'm the only one who doesn't buy the walmart stuff... That said I plan to feed meat when available and cooked grain/fish/milk goop the rest of the time when I am on the farm fulltime.