Author Topic: Change in diet need help!  (Read 428 times)

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Offline Willowr

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Change in diet need help!
« on: May 26, 2014, 07:12:07 PM »
Hi all.

Our little 7 month cocker was diagnosed with campylobacter a few weeks ago after we noticed she wasn't eating, pooing lots and becoming very thin.

Our puppy was on super dog puppy (continued as given from breeder) and the vet gave us antibiotics and a probiotic feed and told us we should consider changing her to a "better quality product with less bulk" (the vets words not mine).

The vet gave us a sample of pro plan puppy which she has been enjoying and we have seen a big improvement in her eating and she has put on weight. Can anyone recommend a good quality, affordable feed that we can wean her onto? With previous dogs we have used skinners and burns but I recall that being very expensive.

Cheers.
Dave

Offline elaine.e

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Re: Change in diet need help!
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2014, 07:19:47 PM »
Have a look on this website http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/. It will help you distinguish between the good and bad dog foods, and also has a directory of dog foods, giving them ratings.

Offline Sirius Mum

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Re: Change in diet need help!
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2014, 08:38:33 PM »
There are many good foods out there and I think sometimes it's trial and error finding the right one. We are using Lily's Kitchen puppy food which Sirius adores mainly because our last boy loved it. He had a very sensitive stomach but was pretty much stable once he was on LK. On his off days we would starve him for a day and then feed plain rice and chicken in 3 smaller meals and gradually switch back to the usual two meals as his poos recovered :005: the other thing we sometimes used was scambled egg but that was more a return to food he had as puppy.

Elaine has already posted the link to a great website. Good luck and I hope your little girl is feeling much better very soon  :D

Offline Mircass

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Re: Change in diet need help!
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2014, 09:18:29 PM »
Hi Dave - I hope your dog is better.  My 8 month old cocker  was diagnosed yesterday with campylobacter which has come as a relief as he's had bouts of loose, mucus-y stools since January (after two ineffective doses of anti biotics, a new vet bothered to do a test of his poo).  He's been well in general, no loss of appetite and there was no weight loss until two weeks ago when he lost 1/2 kg in 10 days.   Just the continuous bouts of slimy poo and one episode of pooing blood.

I've read up on campy now and there's some confusing aspects such as the antib's to treat it will only make his poo non-contagious but won't treat the underlying issue that's causing the bacteria within his gut (which my vet also said).  But then suppose he caught the bacteria from a contagious poo and therefore has no underlying problem??   Some sites say the antib's will cure the problem so I'm hoping they will do the trick for him.  I've also read owners recommending feeding dogs garlic for good bowel health (which if given in sensible amounts is not poisonous contrary to what I originally thought).  Ralph is being given a powder pro-biotic with his food and he's on a restricted diet (white fish & potatoes) to eliminate any food intolerance but his poo hasn't improved so I may put him back on Nature Diet (or look through the excellent site Elaine posted a link too).

What has been your experience with your pup's health since the diagnosis? Did she just have the one bout or were there signs earlier?

Thoroughly enjoying my first cocker dog.