Pancreatitis, the Puppa and the BARF Diet

Today was a much, much better day. Topaz ate a bit this morning, took his am PB in peanut butter and just overall is acting so much better.

I tried to feed him a bit of banana and the turkey mix at dinnertime since he was acting really interested in food and was looking at me like..."where's mine" when I fed Onyx her chicken back.

We did his temp today:
10:15 am - 102
1:30 pm - 103.2
3:00 pm - 102.1
10:30 pm - 102.3

So even his fever is better.

I got a list of his blood work results and his WBC is elevated, one of his liver tests was slightly elevated and one of the thyroid tests came back a little low. (hmm...reason for the seizures?)

So he's on a different antibiotic for the high WBC and we decided against the flagyl. Oh, and the antacidy medicine they gave us...we just can't get it in him.

We are also going to really give a BARF diet for pancreatitis a try. So, tonight the hubbs was so nice to go out and get me some fresh veggies and a food processor and I made a "veggie goop" for him. I put broccoli, celery, carrot, cabbage and canned pumpkin. I also added in digestive enzymes and their supplement.

The entire time I was making it he was in the kitchen and seemed really interested in the smells of the veggies and everything. I even gave him a little to taste...and then we did the big test and gave him some with a little lean hamburger and were able to put his pills PB, the KBr, and even his antibiotic in there! And he ate most of it.

I think this will work out well. Tomorrow, or whenever the kitchen is cleaner I will make a fruity goop and also a meaty goop. And then I'll freeze them into small baggies and we'll feed him like that.

So...hopefully, things are looking up for the puppa!!!

No new seizures...just some thoughts..RAW Diet??

My husband and I volunteer on a regular basis at a local animal shelter. This weekend was the grand opening of the pet store that's located inside the shelter building. The pet store is called "The Pet Beastro" and they sell holistic, natural and raw pet foods and treats as well as some quality toys, collars, and beds. On Sunday I sat in on a talk about pet food nutrition. Now I know that since all of the pet food recalls last year and earlier this year, I for one, have been paying more attention to what is in the food I'm feeding our animals.

The dogs have been getting Canidae and the cats, unfortunately, are still getting a mixture of the crap that you buy at the grocery store. I have one cat, the little female, here that will NOT eat premium foods...however, we may just buy a bag of it...replace the junk in the feeder and not give her a choice BUT to eat the premium food. I think we're going to do that this week and see how it goes. I want to feed them all the best we can.

Ok, so this brings me to the little seminar/talk I sat through and the whole RAW diet thing.

It was really interesting...i mean what she was saying made sense and I really have to wonder if it would help Topaz. We're just about out of dry food, so we're due to buy some more. The 40lb bag of Canidae lasted us just about a month...a few days shy is how it will come out. But we free feed, so I don't know who's been eating what and if we fed at certain times, certain amounts I am sure that it probably would have lasted a little bit longer.

Anyway...so now we have to buy food this week. I am seriously considering giving raw a try. I never ever in my life thought I'd say that, but it doesn't seem as awful as it all sounds. I mean it's gross sounding to me and it will probably take me some time to get used to the whole fact that I am feeding my dogs raw meat, but I think we're going to give it a month and see how it goes.

I am worried about Topaz with his meds and the seizures and everything and unfortunately the internet is not the best place to get information about all of that because you do get such differing opinions and everything. I almost need to just stop reading the net, think about it, get my questions answered and go from there. I'd be better off.

And I do have a TON of questions: How to get a dog that gulps and doesn't chew to chew the bones? What about vitamin supplements? Do we need to go cold turkey and just jump into it? Will there be side effects to look for? What about Topaz and his medication, what effect will the food change have on him? How do I know how much 8 ounces is? Do I need a scale? What about veggies and fruits? Will this make them sick in the beginning?...and well, the list goes on and on!!

So... I will need to chat a bit with the Pet Beastro lady and see what she says. And well, we may be venturing into the scary world of RAW food. I don't know yet...I have a few days to figure it out.

Here are some links:
http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet_specific.shtml
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

Here's a site that talks about what is in pet food:
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Processing.htm

The jury is still out on this one. I don't know what to think about it all.

Later...H