Need advice for my mom.....

[weenie]

I'm hoping you guys can help me out like you have done numerous times before. My mom is having trouble with her boxer and we think he either has a food allergy or she's got another dog with Inflammatory Bowel.

Every AM the dog throws up and has bouts of diarrhea and just acts sick until around 2pm. After that he seems fine and even eats. My mom has tried various types of food......lamb&rice, chicken&rice, Pedigree mealtime. Each time she switches him over he is fine for a few weeks and then all of the sudden the same symptoms crop up and he doesn't get rid of them until my mom starts to switch him over to another type of food (she switches over little by little).

If anyone has any insight or has had the same problem with thier dogs I would appreciate any advice that I could pass along.

Thanks,
Kris

[Mark]

Hi Kris,

I'll have a lash at it since Top Spin had a very similar problem.

I'm assuming that his reaction is after a morning meal . . . how long after?

The first thing we did was to feed him cooked white rice only for his next morning meal. If he had still reacted we would know that it was an intestinal or bowel disorder. He did not have any vomiting or diarrhea so then we focussed on the food. He was on Dr. Ballards, which doesn't have corn (we all know that can cause similar problems) and was a meat/rice mixture . . . seemed OK, but the food had to be the culprit. We changed all the kids to Nutro Max (I think that's the name) which has all the right stuff, meat & meat meal as first ingredients, no digest or corn products, plus it has Glucosamine to help protect the girl's backs and his hips. They love it and the problem stopped.

I learned the cooked white rice trick from a Catahoula board some time ago and it works great for all the kids.

Some of the more medically knowledgeable people on this great board of ours will probably have some other thoughts to share . . . but that's what we did.

Keep us posted,

Mark

[Owen's Mom]

http://boxerworld.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

Above is a link to Boxerworld.com bulletin boards. It would be a great place to get input on your mom's baby. I have a good friend w/a boxer and I know that when it's hot, Ruby has a hard time. She also vomits often, that's a typical boxer trait. They have a predisposition to bloat, so that's always a concern. They feed her half her food in the am and half in the pm. They try not to let her run around after eating, even crating her immediatly afterwards in order to digest. I'd also suggest a very neutral and basic food, probably California Natural. Let me know how things go!!

~~Amy & Owen http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/facelick.gif~~

<IMG SRC="http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=628165&a=4582128&p=20712697&Sequence=0" border=0>
Owen and Ruby.... Sometimes, Ruby lets him win <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm35.gif" border=0>

[Penny's Aunt]

I would also take a stool specimen in the to the vet to have a worm check, just to rule that out.

If the dog is only being fed once a day, split it into 2, or even 3 meals a day.

Try the rice suggestion, & cook it with some hamburger. If no improvement, cook it with chicken instead (in case of a beef allergy).

Try to avoid corn, wheat, soy, by-products, & chemical preservatives like BHT, & any food that says it contains "meat", which can be anything. Other sources of allergies can be dairy products & fish, & they CAN be allergic to beef, horsemeat, chicken or turkey. Read the labels carefully. You might try one of the few foods that uses meat that is prepared for human consumption, like Solid Gold.

But the fact that he's okay for a period of time sounds like he might be getting into something he shouldn't. Does he eat cat poop (esp old), chew wood, eat bees, or plants? I think every boxer I've known was a real chow-hound, & didn't discriminate between edible & non-edible. I assisted in a surgery on a boxer that had swallowed the big double end of a rubber chew bone.

Also, until you can get a handle on the cause, ELIMINATE ALL TREATS & CHEWIES, esp rawhides.

[weenie]

Thank you for all of the advice guys. Thanks Amy for the site, I referred my mom there. Well, here's the scoop.....

Mom switched him back to what he came home on when he was a puppy..... "Pedigree MealTime" I know I know I know, it doesn't have really great ingredients in it <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm6.gif" border=0>

He has been doing great for three days. He is back to his old self. My mom's vet always told her that you have to go with what works for the dog. I guess you can't force a dog on a premium dog food if its body just won't agree. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm18.gif" border=0>

Thanks again guys!!

-Kris

[Penny's Aunt]

I would tend to agree with that opinion. If it works, don't mess with it.

Another thing that can trigger vomiting & diarrhea is ABRUPT food changes. Any change it food should take place over a week or so, gradually increasing the new food & decreasing the old.

If he vomits again, she needs to check it fairly closely. I know it's gross, but she's a mother, so she's probably dealt with worse than dog vomit. Just poke it with a stick & see what's in it that shouldn't be.