Hi
we  got our  dog basil a bordercollie/springer spanlel x from the stray kennels when she was 9 months old ,she is now 2  1/2 . She has  ever since we had her bought up her food undigested  sometimes straight after  a meal but not every time sometimes it would  not happen  for a few weeks and then she would be sick again.( she is fed on jwb lamb and rice)as she has a tendency to be slightly hyper after feeding
carried on feeding her the jwb as per and a couple of weeks ago she was very sick all night and the a day after she did a very bloody diarhea so straight to the vet for steroids and antibiotics  a course of antibiotics  and was told no food or water to shut her system down completely and start her on chicken and rice but only after she has kept water down( which she did after i caught her drinking from the leaky tap)
at this point the vet is talking about testing for addisons amongst other things
last week she was sick again but this was just before t time and she chucked undigested food from her morning feed amongst it some peas my husband had given her
she was fed half a bowl of jwb as she was fine and she kept it down,then on weds she was given a small bowl of leftover rice and was sick within 10 mins
i spoke with the vet who know thinks bas has a biscuit intolerance so we are feeding her hills prescription and sensitivity and so far so good,i have noticed that she is a lot calmer and doesnt nibble her feet now.
what i would like to know is there an alternative  to the hils as it will be quite expensive in the long run
thanks in advance and sorry if i have waffled

I wonder if it's the grain in the kibble that she's intolerant of?  If so, then any 'normal' food that uses rice perhaps, or potato as a bulk agent would probably do.

BTW I too have a Spaniel x BC, and she's the sweetest dog you could ever wish to meet - she's nearly 13 now, but still gives my 4 year old ESS a run for her money ;)

Hi Shadnbasil,

You could try moving her onto a different source of protein and carb than she's had previously, ie. avoiding both lamb and rice in the kibble.  Wafcol do a hypoallergenic range, Salmon & Potato, which works out around half the price of Hills prescription diet.  It's available from Pets at Home, costs around £8 for a 3kg bag and £37 for the 15kg size. They also do a Salmon & Corn range which is cheaper, but personally I'd steer clear of using a diet containing grains.  It's important to avoid giving any other foods, treats or titbits if changing a diet - the less ingredients you put into your dog the more chance you have of determining what she can tolerate and what she reacts badly to. 

Running a panel of bloods with urine and faecal tests will help to give your vet a fuller picture of what your girl may be suffering from. 

HTH,
Good luck and keep us posted,
Teri :) 

after 2 weeks of hils prescription and royal canin sensitive tinned food we introduced a handful of hils prescription dry food to her diet ,3 feeds later she is frantically licking her lips and the floor and the snow outside , i quickly got an antepsin into her.
and after a reasonable night (i was expecting to be up every half hr) she was feed a small amount and is fine so looks like its gonna be tinned meat from now on
any recommendations i have never fed tinned food as i was told once it contains high levels of water

Re tinned food, as a guide most of it around 75-80% water.  Has your vet determined any food source in her diet that disagrees with your bitch?  Saying she is not able to take "biscuit" isn't really an answer as the kibble will be made up of many different ingredients and any one or more of these could be causing the problem.  Therefore, you could move her onto a tinned food and find the same ingredients in that anyway

Has your vet not suggested an exclusion trial?   This is where a food is selected with low, preferably single source, protein and bulking agent.  As a rough guide excluding all dairy, wheat and beef as a minimum.  This must also extend to no treats or titbits of any kind either so needs the whole household on board :(  This is why I suggested the Wafcol Salmon & Potato - minimal ingredients.  Good moist foods are Nature Diet - in plastic trays rather than tins - and also tinned Chappie (used to be vet's first choice before tinned prescription diets ;) )  Good luck, keep us posted

Teri :) 

Just re-read your original post ;)

Did your vet test her for Addison's or did he decide to try the diet route first?

Teri

just aquick update ,basil started being sick after 3 meals having the hils kibble in with the meat,the vet hought it might be best to try her on tinned meat for 8 weeks to see what happened and so far so good ,
She has been on chappie since and is slowly gaining the weight back .
She was sick the other night but we put that down to her getting in the fridge and eating a tub of marg.
someone has suggested that she would be an ideal candidate for barf but it looks so confusing
no test for addisons it looks like the kibble was the problem

Hi again,

Thanks for the update :)  I'm glad that you've found a food that Basil appears to be settled on - with his previous problems, to have turned the corner and now seeing a weight gain is a big plus! Well done!
As to switching him to a raw source diet - (although if it ain't broke now why fix it ? ) I think much will depend on what he was allergic to in the kibble so you would need to know the actual ingredients of the kibble being used previously to avoid using the offending ones again.
Eg. if chicken was the protein in kibble Basil was intolerant of (though raw v processed of same foods can produce different reactions) you *may* have to decide to never feed chicken in a RMB or BARF type diet (plenty of alternatives of course ;) ).  Likewise it could have been eggs, dairy, gluten, soya, fatty meats such as lamb, tripe (or grains - rarely used in raw diets) - so you need to have more of an idea of the specific allergens in the previous food hence avoid where possible including them in a home prepared diet.
Fortunately there are many on the forum of much greater assistance to you on *species appropriate foods* than me - good luck with whichever action you decide on anyway!  Regards, Teri :)     

Hi

Glad things are getting better.  I too have a Sprollie as the cross is known and he is one of the best crosses I have ever had.  He too has food problems with a wheat intolerence but we managed to get over it.

I would highly recommend the wet food Naturediet.  It is very good quality and the dogs seem to love it. 

Claire

Hills would be the last food i would feed a dog with yours problem. Their prescription foods are even worse and much more expensive than their regular line :(

Glad to hear things are looking up for your girl :) Keep us updated :)