Was woken up this morning at 4am, to the sound of my 7 month old Bully whimpering in his cage, which he is always very settled in.  He had literally chewed the plastic base in an attempt to get out, and when we let him out, it was clear why he was doing this - he had the runs!  I am sure this is my fault, because I am not that experienced, and while I have taken on lots of feeding advice, much of it has been conflicting!  When we got him he was on a pound of tripe a day, but we switched him onto tins, and he was fine with that, until an experienced breeder told us that never gives his dogs tinned food, but likes to feed them on pasta, chicken, tuna, etc.

He recommended that we try him out on some raw chicken, bones and all!  Must admit I was a little dubious about that as A)  I thought raw chicken could cause food poisoning as it does in people and b) I was worried about the bones sticking in his throat.  However, we were assured that it would be fine, but last night he had the skits as I mentioned, and he has had them again today, and has attempted to be sick, but not much came up.

I have rang the vet, and he just told me that for the rest of today, I should give him only water, and see what he is like tommorow.

Any more value anyone can add to this ,and once this is out of his system, should I revert

a)  back to the tins and the complete mixer
b)  The tripe
c)  stick with natural foods..

All help well appreciated..

Steve

Any change in food for puppies or adults should be done gradually & introduced in tandem with the previous food.

If you want to feed him a totally raw diet you need to ensure he gets all the nutrients he needs for correct growth

Add some sugar(glucose if you have it) & a small amount of salt to cooled boiled water today & then onto a light diet of cooked chicken or fish & boiled rice until he is totally firmed up & then gradually transfer him on to the food of your choice

In addition you could also add Some Bio Yoghurt to his food tomorrow, this will help to firm things up and settle his tum again :)

I was told that swapping from complete diet to raw chicken wings etc, you give small amount of the chicken (eg wing tips only) and build up gradually to the whole wings, this allows the dog's system to become accostomed to the change and avoids any trouble with the squits :D :D

HI,
I would put ur pup on a dry complete puppy food, some of the best are Pedigree and Iams, there are many to choose from but best to make sure they have at least 30% protien. This is much cheaper and good for your puppies teeth and digestive system.
I have a 14 week siberian husky puppy its either feed him 3 tins of puppy food, 6 pouches or 400g of dry food per day. Trust me its soo much cheaper lol and will have fewer stomach upsets from it. I buy a 6 kilo bag at a time for 7 pound lasts for 14 - 16 days, tins come in 3's and cost 1.58 per pack thats over 25 pound for 16 days, pouches well lol thats 2.38 per 8 so 48 pound for 16 days. Mind you this is partly due to his breed and considering hes only 14 weeks this is only going to get worse.
When puppies have the runs you will usually find your vets wont recommend starving them but depends on age etc. normally u make sure they have plenty of water and are feed little and often. Every couple of hours give him/her  boiled rice/pasta with small bits of boneless chicken. If it isn't cleared up within 24 hours take them to vet as they may need something to stop it quicker.
As for bones and puppies to me its a big no no, its a risk i personaly wouldn't take. Bones can splinter or become lodged in their throats. If you think your puppy needs something to get his teeth down a bit get him a hard toy that won't splinter or one of the substitute bones.

anyway hope all goes well and he is back to his normal self soon

cherrii x

>some of the best are Pedigree and Iams

It's no wonder the OP is getting confused. There is so much conflicting info regarding food. I personally would not feed either food to my dogs, in fact, Iams upset my boy's stomach terribly and he usually has a cast-iron stomach!!

Raw bones are fine to feed to dogs, it is only cooked bones that should never fed as they are potentailly dangerous.

Burns & James Wellbeloved are widley thought to be good complete dry foods. My dogs have also done well on Autarky in the past. If you want to feed a 'wet' food then NatureDiet is a million times better than Pedigree. It is a complete so can be fed alone but you can combine it with plain mixer biscuits for added 'crunch' if needed. Tinned Chappie is very good after an upset stomach and I always keep a few tins in the house just in case.

Whatever you do, pick one food and stick to it for a period of time. All the chopping and changing is probably at the root of his upset stomach.

If you do a search on here you'll find loads of information on the foods mentioned, including stockists and prices.

Good luck :)

*edited* Raw feeding takes a bit of research and thought to ensure a balanced diet with all necessary nutrients. Again, a seach on BARF or RAW FEEDING will turn up loads of info on the subject.

yeah i think it is down to personal choice although even good vets will not recommend bones for young puppies. Pigs ears are something i wouldnt use either, we gave buster one when he was young and the effects were somewhat yukky lol.
i fed my pup wet until the expense got to much and his stools were a little on the runny side. He is now on pedigree complete dry and have had no problems until he ate the fruit bowl other day now that was a sickly sweet mess to clear up. I use dry as its more cost effective , good for keeping his teeth down and makes him have good sturdy stools. He is fit as a fiddle and loves his feeding times. i like to give him a bit of cooked meat on a sunday too his treat for the week :)
I'm looking forward to when he is a bit older to feed him on the new pedigree dry with chewy bits, im sure he will enjoy that :) i th

Pups can eat raw bones...mine has been having them since about 9 weeks of age and she's now a happy, healthy 6 month old who regularly eats RAW chicken bones, pork ribs, lamb ribs etc. Plenty of pups are weaned on a raw diet and thrive on it. After all, in the wild, pups are not set down a bowl of complete dry food while the adults tuck into a nice carcass ;)

A good food is one which your dog thrives on. I am fussy about what I eat with regard to artificial additives and I try to avoid processed food altogether so I don't expect my dogs to eat a food full of additives and rubbish either.

Okay, my partner has just had to whisk him off to the vet, as he APPEARS to have passed a small amount of blood, having just passed yet more skitters.  I hope this is not serious, as I am frantic here :(

On a brighter note, our insurers have agreed to cover the cost of his testicles being removed.  They have not dropped, and are right up inside him.

I will keep everyone posted...

Thanks for yor efforts...

aye they are expensive the pouches is rediclious, i popped to vets today to pick up his card. They told me that bones are definatley not suitible for a young puppy and also raw chicken can be real bad, maybe that is just personal choice too but from experience im listening to vet lol.  Tried pup on a few foods, seems happier on pedigree maybe hes a snobdog lol :)

everytime i get annoyed with him i think of if he was ill soon calms me down. long as he is healthy and pulling down my cupboards its fine or when i went in the kitchen and hed pulled my little ferns out of garden and made a forest next to his bed its fine....

i feel for you :( hope he is well soon

Thanks to all.  What a nice board this is :)

He has been to the vets, and was given an injection to take his temp down, and another for an antibiotic.  The vet also provided him with some gentle food, and he is to get just a couple of tablespoons of it for tonight, and then he is back at the vets tommorow.

There is better news in that my insurer has agreed to cover the £220 cost of him being castrated, and this will be done in three weeks time..

I would advise ANYONE that is ever thinking of getting a dog to get insured, it is worth it.  Mine is under a tenner a month, and already it has paid for itself :)

Let you know more tommorow...

Goodnight

my vet castrates for 25 quid lol :) not getting him done though as we are thinking of studding him , glad all is well :)

hi who are you insured with ?

I am insured with Sainsbury's.  £9.25 a month, and pretty comprehensive cover :)

>>I buy a 6 kilo bag at a time for 7 pound lasts for 14 - 16 days, tins come in 3's and cost 1.58 per pack thats over 25 pound for 16 days, pouches well lol thats 2.38 per 8 so 48 pound for 16 days.

Did i read that right? £48 for 16 days feed? ....Gosh that works out expensive LOL I have a 8mth malamute and it only costs me £39 for 30 days but then he is fed on burns and naturediet :D

Blimey!! I didn't notice that bit!

I can feed a large breed and a giant breed on naturediet for way less than that!! Even if Pedigree weren't rubbish, I still wouldn't feed it as it would be too expensive!!!