My mothers dog is now 3yrs old.because of digestion problems 2yrs ago, vet advised boiled chicken, fish or scrambled egg.The dog for obvious reasons is not putting on any weight at all and is continually hungry. Quite often his stomach swells and goes hard, constipation is also a problem. when it does get hold of ssany other type of food, he is sick for the rest of the day. The vets dont seem to be a lot of help at all. Do you have any ideas or suggestions as to how my mother can go about giving him some more nutritious food? Have you any ideas as to what the problem may be?  Thanks , Chris

Did the vet ever carry out any x-rays, barium swallow or anything of the kind? 

Hi Chris...I wish I was a vet - then I could help you further, unfortunately I'm not :(  - however, I would like to say, welcome.  I would persist with the vet and even maybe get a second opinion?  Your mother's dog is what is important right now and you need to be happy with what the vet is saying to you...If not then you should seek further advice.
Sarah

I have learned one thing. Constipiation is an allergy reaction for people. That's our Doc told us everytime. Now i do not know anything with this. HAve you tried to add olive oil to the food? Try to add a little bit of olive oil in it. MAybe this will work.

Good luck.

Your mum needs to take him back to the vet & insist on him running some tests & giving you a diagnosis, if the vet is not interested then change to one who is. 2 yrs is too long for the dog to be kept on a light diet without knowing why.

Christine, Spain.

i feed my yorkies on dry food, if i was giving him chicken as  a treat i would mix it with a bit of butchers complte or other dog food, just a small portion,  to make it balanced then add a bit of small bite biscuit then if he does not eat pick it up and try later if hes hungry hell eat it .  i would never just give my 4 yorkies just chicken i find dry food is the best i have had yorkies for 11 years.  when i give my lot chicken it upsets there stomachs makes them loose .also maybe get a second opinion from another vet if you do change and try to eukanubia the green bag,or pedigree complete with chicken and nugett is what i give mine now or there is plenty to choose from i am sure you could find something 4 yorkies all shapes and sizes one very tiny only weighing 4 lb

First of all it is necessary to understand what exactly are the digestion problems of the dog.  What are these, did he fail to put on weight, malabsorption, diarrhoea etc etc?  "Digestion problems" cover a multitude of sins and is not specific enough!

If the dog is only eating chicken, fish or egg then it is not getting the right ingredients and his diet would be seriously calcium deficient!  Constipation would be expected in this type of diet as there are no fats in it!

I would go straight back to the vet and ask for a proper diagnosis rather than guesswork.  It is possible to have allergy testing done in order to ascertain if the dog cannot tolerate certain proteins.  You cannot treat the problem without knowing what the problem is!  Once the problem has been identified (the cause of the symptoms) then you can start to treat it. 

It is possible to feed a dog on raw or cooked chicken/fish/egg however it will need a source of calcium for bone health; either raw bones or something else.  This diet is inadequate for any dog for any longer than a few days!

Hiya ,thanks for your reply, yes I agree digestion problems do cover a multiple of sins,unfortunately ,thats exactly what it is, a multiple of sins! After about 9 or10  months of eating normal dog food, he started being sick with dihorrea. Then he started bringing up blood, blood also in faeces. Was taken to vet as amatter of course ,vet said he is probably allergic to tinned food. Diet was changed ,with no result. Xrays showed no problems.Symptoms persisted. Dog was operated on,intestines inspected for blockage, none found.Was put on a special dry diet,which worked fine for a few months then the symptoms started again!   Tried a few vets,none seem any the wiser. Dog is obviously not putting on any weight with what is also obviously a totally inadequate diet.So if you do have any ideas as towhat the problem could be,or,what could be tried to get some nutrition into a ever hungry,cikly little dog,I would be very grateful.       Thanks, Chris.

"probably" is not a diagnosis; it is a guess.  The dog needs correct diagnostic tests.  Can you work out a mathemetical problem without knowing the numbers involved?

ps i forgot to mention  my yorkies like a bit of raw veg esp carrot and  sometimes shape biscuit as a treat when there watching telly, a good mixer is minni bites although a bit fattening i had to add this thats what mine are eating now raw carrot

Hiya people,thanks for all your replies.please see message above. Any further comments/suggestions welcome. Chris.

chris i am asking around some other yorkie owners that i no

i have made some enquires from someone with a yorkie with similar symtoms and this is the reply i got this morning please check this with your vet  first though

"This dog has livershunt, I'd bet almost anything that is what the problem is. They need to get a bile acid test and he needs to be put on lactalose and Hills Science K/D right away. I am not a vet or anything just the mom of a livershunt survivor.
Lydia

i have been doing some reasearch on liver shunt it seems to have the same symtoms as your mothers yorkie  please read this http://www.earthsangels.com/html/livrshnt.shtml