*fingers crossed*

[ksmith]

I spoke with the vet this morning. We decided to feed Gaby the venison wet food because it was the only food she was interested in, it was a protein we were planning to try with her anyway, and, most importantly, she needed to eat.

I don't want to speak too loudly, but after three small meals of the stuff, she's a different dog. She's eager to eat. She's barking at King and chasing her tail. She wants to chew bones again. She isn't just curled up on the couch sleeping. Zippy Whizbang is back.

We were pretty sure the issue was an intolerance for beef, with the marrow bones not helping major bigtime and the beef jerky treats I had given her over the two previous days serving as the last straw. It's possible that chicken is an offender as well, so she will never be getting that again. For now, fingers crossed, it's Bambi for breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.

Thanks to folks for your good thoughts. I know they helped.

Comments

[bevhale.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad Gaby is feeling better. I know how wretched it is when one of your furpersons is sick and you don't know what to do for them. Whoo hoo for Zippy Whizbang's return.

[(Anonymous)]

So glad she's feeling better. I've lived with a yorkie with a touchy tum for 10 years, much like what you described except both ends. Any change from the regular diet, or any serious upset/stress will set him off. It has been a learning experience.

Jody in PA

[(Anonymous)]

It's probably not the beef. It's probably byproducts from the processing of the beef... in particular, a third-world insecticide.

In underdeveloped countries, one of the cheap, marginally effective insecticides used on grain crops is an all-too-familiar ingredient: Cottonseed oil. "Edible" cottonseed oil is supposedly processed to remove the nasty bits, but the processing isn't all that effective, and the allergic-human reaction to those poisons (gossypols) is disturbingly similar to the Gabasaur's. (I've got one of them in the family: And just try convincing me that his reaction to eating a burger from BK or Hardee's/Carl's Jr.'s reflects an "intolerance to beef proteins"... after you look at my grocery bill.)

The real hint that it might well be the cottonseed oil: Almost all commercial jerky and jerky treats is now processed, at one point or another, using cottonseed oil.

--Jaws

[torrilin.livejournal.com]

*crosses fingers*

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The treats I fed were Solid Gold. The canned foods Gaby reacted to were from an Illinois company called Evangers--the only stuff in the food was the meat itself and enough water for processing.

The SG treats also contain beef liver. The first time I tried to serve Gaby pieces of beef liver, she sniffed them, then tried to roll in them. I thought at first that she had never been fed soft food before, but maybe she knew that to her system, this stuff was crap no matter how it was processed.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

So far, so good...