Subject: Chocolate Labrador Retriever with sensitive stomach
From: Cynthia (USA)
Labrador Retriever Name: Reese and Hannah
Reader's E-mail - Cynthia Writes:I have 2 female chocolate labs who seem to have issues with any kind of bagged dog food out there. My 4 year old literally will have rectal bleeding from just changing the bag of the same brand. I have now been making their food, which seems to be working....(I'm keeping my fingers crossed!)
I make boiled pasta with boiled beef and add a small amount of plain yogurt to the mix. As a treat, I give each of them raw carrots. I want to make sure their diet is balanced, but at the same time do not want to set off their digestive tracts to bloody diarrhea time and again.
Do you have any suggestions for balanced homemade diets for dogs with sensitive stomachs? I have searched far and wide to only find differing opinions. Any help would be gratefully appreciated by my two chocolate girls!
Cynthia
All About Labradors Blog Answer:Hello Cynthia,
The information given here is to help you learn more about your Labrador Retriever and not to replace your veterinarian's advice.
DisclaimerThank you for visiting All About Labradors and for your e-mail. I'm sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your two chocolate Labrador Retrievers.
For help in answering your questions, I have turn to a wonderful new friend. Her name is Teri and she runs a wonderful blog titled
Doghealth1.com. I've come to know Teri through articles we both did in regards to dangers of pesticides in pet flea and tick products. She done an outstanding job with her information using a holistic, natural approach to dog health and nutrition.
I wrote Teri and asked is she could give me some help with a question in regards to balanced homemade diets for dogs who have sensitive stomachs. Teri quickly e-mailed me back with an answer before I let her read your e-mail and then after she read your e-mail, sent more information to further elaborate. Below you will find both e-mail answers from Teri:
A sensitive stomach may mean different problems mainly with food digestion. I am not sure if the dog in this case is vomiting or rejecting the food, or has gas or other problems with the bowels.
For a sensitive stomach I would give the dog Aloe Vera Gel which is available in most health food stores.The gel will heal ulcers, inflammation, heart burn and soothes the stomach acids.
I do not know what size the dog is and I assume we are talking about a Labrador so I would give the dog: about 4 tablespoons in the morning and 4 at night for 1 week. See if this helps and I am sure the dog will feel better. I would give it about 1 hour before a meal so that it has a chance to coat the stomach. I healed myself from an ulcer with plain old Aloe Vera Gel.
If the dog is having gas problems which means it is not digesting its food well and this goes for older dogs over 8 years of age onwards I would think that there are not enough enzymes produced to digest the dog food. I would therefore recommend digestive enzymes also available at the health food store. Now I know there are companies that sell these over the Internet and I have them in my Resource Section on my front page under Only Natural Pet Store on the right hand column about half the way down the page. These digestive enzymes go to work to help the dog digest it's food and ensure that they are getting the nutrition from the food through proper digestion.
Now the very first thing I would do is to examine the ingredients of the dog food. If you are using commercial grade pet food sold at the usual outlets they will make your dog sick if not now, eventually. I would switch to an organic food if entirely possible because it is better quality ingredients.
The commercial brands have so many chemicals that are causing cancer, diabetes and other illness in our pets that the veterinarians would be very happy to treat these sick dogs. Even vet recommended pet foods were recalled in 2007 for having melamine and rat poison in their products which shows you that there are no inspections or regulations on pet foods. Anything goes in them including sawdust, kerosene, dead animals and stuff you don't want to know about.
If you wish you could try making your own dog food and I do this myself:
Get 1 package of chicken gizzards/ with chicken livers or heart and sauté in olive oil with a little garlic powder. Add 1 cup of frozen green beans and one cup of cooked brown rice. Mix together and feed your dog.
You can mix and match meals like this and your dog will not only be happy and healthier, you will save thousands of dollars in vet bills.
As a treat give them raw, meaty bones from the farm if you can get them, or from the butcher, and let your dog knew on them for a while especially get the ones with bone marrow still in the bone, this is full of vitamins and minerals for your dog.
We have to get back to basics with dogs, because over 50 to 100 years ago, there were no dog food companies - dogs just ate table scraps and wild animals. We have not progressed in today's dog food, it is actually poisoning dogs everywhere and the cancer, diabetes and illness of our pets is always rising each year.
Well I can't stress enough how important good food is for your dog.
Hope this helps .
Take care
Teri
http://www.Doghealth1.com
Here is the second e-mail Teri sent:
I try to cover all the bases since I didn't know exactly what the problem is but after reading this question, I know it is the type of food your reader is using, and they are ALL very toxic and dangerous.
She is wise to make her own dog food at home, and really if the dog's bowels are bleeding there is a cause and effect. I wonder if she has taken the dog to a vet, that sounds like it could be worms. I am not a vet, but sounds very serious and I would stop that bagged food she is giving them.
Aloe will work to heal the insides - that is the stomach and bowel linings so it will help to heal the damage. I would ask her to get to a holistic vet in her area as soon as possible for testing. I know worms can cause bleeding also and there are natural worming products she can use.
There is a formula if you can find it in my archives that deals with making your own dog food but basically I use this one:
60 % protein ( raw meat, raw kidney, raw liver, chicken gizzards, chicken, and raw meaty bones)
20 % vegetable (green beans, carrots, peas, spinach, anything but corn)
20 % grains ( brown rice only, bulgar wheat, bran, quinoa, etc)
Mix this all together in a batch to make meals for the dogs.
These dogs should be given digestive enzymes until they get better, their stomachs are not digesting food.
For Breakfast I usually give my dog: (medium size) 3 tablespoons of low fat cottage cheese mixed with 2 tablespoons of Flax Seed Oil), this is an anti cancer recipe, and also heals dry skin, and builds the immune system. You could tell her to do this too.
take good care
Teri
http://doghealth1.com/Great information from Teri which I think will be very helpful with your Labrador Retriever's problems. I have recently read an article on the benefits of oats for dogs that I also think may be helpful for you:
Benefits of Oats for dogs and cats -
http://www.petstyle.com/cats/health/benefits-oats-dogs-and-catsAs far as the rectal bleeding goes , there could be a number a reasons why. Some problems include:
1. Constipation
2. Colitis - inflammation of the colon which can cause diarrhea and/or constipation
3. Worms
4. Proctitis - inflammation of the rectum
5. Problems with the sacs located around the anus
6. Rectal fissures
7. Rectal polyps
I would definitely recommend an appointment with your veterinarian. Make sure you bring a stool sample with you.
I hope this will be of help to you Cynthia. Please keep me informed and if you do visit the veterinarian, please let me know what they state about the bleeding.
One last thing, what is the name of your Labrador Retriever girls?
Take care of yourself and your Labrador Retrievers,
Fay
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