best food for dog with sensitive stomach?

[FreshHappyEggs]

I'm taking her to the vet as soon as I'm able to. I can't believe I never noticed it before, but she has lost weight. She doesn't look skinny, but she used to be a little overweight and just looks normal sized now. Since she lost weight I also noticed a pointy bone like thing sticking out on her left side, just near the bottom of her rib cage. Have no clue what it could be but I'm definitely getting her checked out once I get over whatever virus has been plaguing me for the last 2 weeks and can leave the house. I am nervous to find out the diagnosis.

 

[3riverschick]

I'm taking her to the vet as soon as I'm able to. I can't believe I never noticed it before, but she has lost weight. She doesn't look skinny, but she used to be a little overweight and just looks normal sized now. Since she lost weight I also noticed a pointy bone like thing sticking out on her left side, just near the bottom of her rib cage. Have no clue what it could be but I'm definitely getting her checked out once I get over whatever virus has been plaguing me for the last 2 weeks and can leave the house. I am nervous to find out the diagnosis.

Oh, that pointy thing does not sound good.
Have you been feeding your dog those ****** Greenies? They can splinter off and pierce the stomach wall. Bad news. Also, do not feed your dog any processed chicken treats. They are a salmonella minefield. Just go to the grocery store and get your dog a soup bone(beef leg bone). It will be chilled, so warm it slowly in the microwave so the marrow is room temp, not hot.
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Hi,
My name is Karen and we bred collies for 15 yrs. Retired the kennel in 2009 and now we just have 2 senior bitches left, 8 and 12. (lost a 3rd senior girl to a tumor last Nov.) Ok, I am going to cast a severe warning out there. if your dog dies because you didn't heed me, don't blame me. Most all of the dog foods mentioned on this thread have a history of recalls. Some are virulent repeat offenders. Last March 2012, I lost my 4 1/2 yr. old smooth collie stud to tainted food from 4Health. It was a horrible thing to see as he struggled to live as the food took his life over a 1 hour period. It happened in the middle of the night and the ER vet was an hour away. I did not know it was made by Diamond because repeated searches on the Net did not disclose the manufacturer. I soon found out why. It was made at the Gaston, South Carolina Diamond Dog food plant, a repeat offender in salmonella recalls.
2 of my other 3 bitches got sick also. I went to my feed vendor, a retired breeder with decades of experience and said, what do I could do to heal my bitches. She said, put them back on Fromm. I did and they stopped being sick. Fromm is a family owned company and has never, ever had a recall.
Then I went back several weeks later and said, the girls are healed but they are not thriving. What should I do?She told me, move them to Earthborn. i had heard of the feed but never used it. Earthborn is a small family owned company. They have never had a recall They're the only dog feed company in America that has every production run tested at a 3rd party laboratory. I tried it and my girls are thriving. They eat 1/2 as much and do twice as well. Their senior metabolism handles it well. No yellow foam in-between meals.
If you have seniors, I would not move to Grain-Free. I tried it and had a tough time balancing the protein. Finally I went back to my feed vendor and we agreed that since they were seniors, they had lived too long with grain in their feed too take it away in their senior years. Now I feed them the Earthborn Adult Vantage and they do fine. it has some high quality grains in it which they are used too. Yes it is more expensive but the dogs eat 1/2 as much.
Now when you start to feed your dog Earthborn (reg. or grain-free), it will beg and act like it is hungry. I am convinced it is not hungry. It s going thru withdrawal from those cheap grains in the cheap feed it was eating. It craves the cheap grains. Not more food. Just let it pass and in a week or so, your dog will adjust to the new better food. Now I feed my girls their meal and they lay down for a nap instead of begging for more. Another thing you will notice is that your dog will start to trim up. Will lose the fat and put on trim muscle. One thing I do is put a raw egg on top the kibble.
My senior girls seem to like that. Just a treat for them, not needed for nutrition's sake. if your dog is losing its sense of smell due to age, check with your vet and put a couple of shakes of Parmesan cheese on top the kibble. My 12 yr. old seems to need that smell to get her interested.
Best,
Karen
Bellwether Collies (retired).
BTW, my feed vendor (Pet Supply Warehouse, Greensburg, PA) has become one of the largest sellers of Earthborn in the US as folk flock to it to escape the repeated recalls and sicknesses attacking their pets by their once trusted dog feeds of other brands.

 

[FreshHappyEggs]

No I don't give her greenies or the chicken jerky crap. The only treats she will eat that don't upset her stomach is the milkbone marrow snacks. She will not eat any dog food now. She ate a few bites of salmon early this afternoon and she had half a can of tuna for dinner. So far she is keeping it down and she is acting much more like herself today. I am still going to get her checked out, hopefully by the end of the week. The pointy thing on her side is weird, but it doesn't move around. It feels like it's part of her bones and it doesn't bother her if you touch it. I wonder if it is some kind of growth on her bone or maybe it's always been there and I didn't notice it before when she was chubby.
Thanks everyone for your input. I will see what the vet says. I will ask her about the food also.

 

[res]

The pointy part may well be a bony or cartilaginous process on the end of her ribcage. Completely natural, and always present, but not palpable unless she has lost weight. I highly, highly doubt it is anything that has migrated from her GI tract. That's not generally possible without severe life-threatening side effects. Not what you are describing now.

Unfortunately, with her age, weight loss, vomiting, and anorexia, I am afraid she may have liver or kidney disease. Do her eyes, gums, or inside of her ears appear to have a yellow tint? She does need to see a vet as soon as you are able to. The vet will likely ask for bloodwork, which you should do. Sometimes they roll the bloodwork into "packages" that can be very expensive. If cost is an issue, ask the vet if they can test ONLY the important factors. Some lab equipment will let you run individual tests, some will not - it just depends on what brand of lab equipment they have, and their protocol.

I do hope she is okay, but no matter what, DO NOT feel guilty about what you have fed her during her life. You have obviously loved her, and she has lived a LONG time. You have done the best you could with the knowledge and resources you have had. Don't ever look back and wonder "what if" I had fed her that expensive food her whole life....

 

[Kernel Cluck]

Be careful of food recommendations from vets. Most are paid by suppliers to push their food. My wife managed a high end pet supply store for years so this is something I know a bit about. Most of the foods you see advertised as "healthy" are not so much. I have had dogs all my life and I have found that most dogs with sensitive stomach are really sensitive to the junk in their food.. such as corn and byproducts. I would find a pet store that specializes in high end food. You will find the extra cost will be well worth it if you figure in vet bills and all the anxiety about her upset tummy. Skip the big box pet stores. We also rotate our dogs food regularily. There is a lot of evidence that prolonged feeding of the same food builds up intolerences to the food. S/S (signs and symptoms) would be scratching, stinky skin, oily/dry fur, licking paws runny eyes or nose. Dogs have food reactions just like humans. Good luck...

 

[FreshHappyEggs]

The pointy part may well be a bony or cartilaginous process on the end of her ribcage. Completely natural, and always present, but not palpable unless she has lost weight. I highly, highly doubt it is anything that has migrated from her GI tract. That's not generally possible without severe life-threatening side effects. Not what you are describing now.

Unfortunately, with her age, weight loss, vomiting, and anorexia, I am afraid she may have liver or kidney disease. Do her eyes, gums, or inside of her ears appear to have a yellow tint? She does need to see a vet as soon as you are able to. The vet will likely ask for bloodwork, which you should do. Sometimes they roll the bloodwork into "packages" that can be very expensive. If cost is an issue, ask the vet if they can test ONLY the important factors. Some lab equipment will let you run individual tests, some will not - it just depends on what brand of lab equipment they have, and their protocol.

I do hope she is okay, but no matter what, DO NOT feel guilty about what you have fed her during her life. You have obviously loved her, and she has lived a LONG time. You have done the best you could with the knowledge and resources you have had. Don't ever look back and wonder "what if" I had fed her that expensive food her whole life....

Thank you for your kind words.
I think you may be right about the pointy thing. If it was coming from her GI tract it would be causing her a great deal of pain because of how far it stick out. She doesn't seem to be in any pain.
There is no yellow tint, and she has went 2 days without vomiting. She will eat a few bites (of people food) at a time. I am hoping to find out that maybe she just had a virus. I just recently learned that dogs can catch many of the same illnesses us humans get and I have been sick myself for a couple weeks.
It's also possible she could have some type of worms, although I don't know how easy those are to get in an older dog, plus she doesn't spend much time outdoors. She doesn't roam around loose outside either because she thinks she is the boss of the big dogs across the street...lol.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Agree about being careful with food recs from vet. They sell what they get paid to sell. Make sure to do you own research. I would pick a grain free feed with as few ingredients as possible and without chicken or poultry meal as dogs as commonly allergic to that. I have a dog with a very sensitive stomach and have been happy with Merricks grain free duck formula. In the past I have used Taste of the Wild and California Natural grain frees as well -- they are a little cheaper.

She is itchy? Does she have redness between her toes?

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/

But, unexplained weight loss is always a good thing to look into. If it is worms it is easy to get rid of.

 

[FreshHappyEggs]

Agree about being careful with food recs from vet. They sell what they get paid to sell. Make sure to do you own research. I would pick a grain free feed with as few ingredients as possible and without chicken or poultry meal as dogs as commonly allergic to that. I have a dog with a very sensitive stomach and have been happy with Merricks grain free duck formula. In the past I have used Taste of the Wild and California Natural grain frees as well -- they are a little cheaper.

She is itchy? Does she have redness between her toes?

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/

But, unexplained weight loss is always a good thing to look into. If it is worms it is easy to get rid of.

She's not itchy and I don't see anything abnormal between her toes. I did notice her sliding her butt across the floor the other night. That's the only time I've seen her do it, so I don't know.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[salt and pepper]

I do a combenation of 4- health dog food, and Diamond naturals. No corn, soy or wheat, I know Taste of the wild is good, but it is PRICEY!

 

[3riverschick]

The pointy part may well be a bony or cartilaginous process on the end of her ribcage. Completely natural, and always present, but not palpable unless she has lost weight. I highly, highly doubt it is anything that has migrated from her GI tract. That's not generally possible without severe life-threatening side effects. Not what you are describing now.

I agree. If it was something like a migrated Greenie, your dog would be in much deeper distress.

Unfortunately, with her age, weight loss, vomiting, and anorexia, I am afraid she may have liver or kidney disease. Do her eyes, gums, or inside of her ears appear to have a yellow tint? She does need to see a vet as soon as you are able to. The vet will likely ask for bloodwork, which you should do. Sometimes they roll the bloodwork into "packages" that can be very expensive. If cost is an issue, ask the vet if they can test ONLY the important factors. Some lab equipment will let you run individual tests, some will not - it just depends on what brand of lab equipment they have, and their protocol.

Our local Humane Society has a vet clinic 2x a week run by a retired vet. They do tests for very little money. I took one of my girls there who had a bladder infection. The visit ; complete blood panel test, and perscription which healed her was only $61. total. Something to check in your area. It would have been much more expensive at my personal vet

I do hope she is okay, but no matter what, DO NOT feel guilty about what you have fed her during her life. You have obviously loved her, and she has lived a LONG time. You have done the best you could with the knowledge and resources you have had. Don't ever look back and wonder "what if" I had fed her that expensive food her whole life....

I agree. Am sure you love your dog and have done very well for your furkid over the years. I was sharing to point out there are better feeds to help your dog recover and eat in its senior years. I learned the hard way and was sharing so others didn't have to learn like I did. I miss my Dukie every day. It is not right people should have to mourn their dogs when all they were doing was trying to feed them a quality feed.
Best Regards,
Karen