Big Mistakes, but a doodle owner gots to do what a doodle owner gots to do!!!!

[Wasseem Sidhom]

I have a confession to make...and I'm embarrassed, but I was at a loss of what to do...

My 7month old Cooper has had Giardia for 2 weeks now, and he was always on Orijen ever since we've brought him home.

Some times I mixed it with Pumpkin and other times with Tripe, yet other times with yogurt.  He used to inhale it.  Ever since the Giardia, he was on a hunger strike and the antibiotics would make him sick (that's when I was able to get him to take them) on an empty stomach.

Today, my wife brought a can of Purina Alpo.  And because I was at my wits end, I caved and cracked the can open which he inhaled in a matter of 5 minutes.

Hmmm, the hunger strike clearly wasn't because of a loss of appetite.  He at least broke the strike and I know how I can give him his antibiotics for the next few days. So any advice on a recommended canned food for my Cooper.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Any brand on our list that makes a canned food would be fine. I would try to choose one that is grain free and uses the same proteins that are in his Orijen. You might look at Wellness Simple Solutions or Wellness Core.

You will also need to order a good probiotics, since I'm assuming he is on metronidazole. Metronidazole will kill all of the good bacteria in his gut (necessary for proper stool formation) along with the bad, and when it's discontinued, many dogs get diarrhea, so you need to replace the good gut flora. Order some Proviable DC capsules ASAP, and use them for a at least a couple of weeks after the meds are discontinued. 

In the future, ask your vet for Panacur instead of Metronidazole. Much more effective and fewer side effects. 

[Minda and Callie]

I found out from Jenny in this thread about Wellness Ninety-five Percent topping.  I do as she does and add a tablespoon with their Orijen.  Both of my dogs love it and always eat their food now.  Thanks Jenny!!!

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/kibbles...

[Jenny Barnes]

Glad it works for your babies, also.  I buy the cans from Chewy.com for $27.00 / box of 12 cans. 

[Toni Clayton]

When George was taking meds for Giardia I used the Wellness puppy wet food...he loved it. I also use a probiotic, even still for him. Good luck. My husband had also brought home a can of Alpo...but it was only for a day or two that we used it. The 

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

George was on doxy a month or so ago, and we put kefir on top of her orijen, it's a probiotic drink that has the consistency of a smoothie, she loves it (the plain variety of course) and we still use it sometimes. It kept us from having to give her another pill in addition to her doxy and helped entice her. She thought it was a treat! It has 7-10 billion CFU, but Idk how that compares to proviable though. :) just another option you might try before canned food?

http://lifeway.net/Products/Kefir/NonFatKefir/NonFatPlain.aspx

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The kefir drink contains 7-10 billion CFUs per cup. Proviable DC contains 5 billion CFUs per dose. 

[Toni Clayton]

I want to add I gave him the wet food to mix the meds in...I'm pretty sure you should not give an antibiotic and probiotic within a couple hours of each other.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Right. Probiotics need to be given at least two hours apart from antibiotics, and longer is better.

With metronidazole, it's after the meds are discontinued that the probiotics are most important. 

[Wasseem Sidhom]

Thank you all for your wealth of knowledge.  I really don't want to abandon the Orijen as I do believe it's the best out there, so I'll try Wellness 95% as an additive first.Aside from the probiotic advice (thank you), I think what I'm hearing from all of you is to try to stick with his Orijen and attempt to give it with an additive like Wellness 95% or something similar.

Does anyone at all recommend abandoning Orijen and go wet?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Absolutely not. 

In terms of cost alone, feeding canned food exclusively is very, very expensive. And Champion Foods is the most reliable dog food manufacturer out there, with the highest quality products.

Personally, I don't even recommend adding the wet food. I don't believe in "tempting" a dog to eat by adding things to their meals. That's the way to create a picky eater, and relinquish control of the food bowl to your dog, who will continue to manipulate you over time. You are basically teaching the dog that if he holds out long enough, he'll get something else. What happens when he decides that he's tired of the wet food and goes on another "hunger strike" to demand something new?  A normal healthy dog will not starve himself. I understand that with puppies, and with dogs who are chronically or seriously ill, we feel desperate to get them to eat something. But it's a HUGE mistake to start trying to please your dog via the food bowl. 

[Wasseem Sidhom]

I admire your persistence.  So when your doodle is sick you're not tempting him with other supplements? or are you making an exception for puppies and sick dogs?

My plan right now (just to get his antibiotics into his stomach) is to shamelessly tempt him.  Once this course is over, I do like your approach :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When a dog is sick, you do what you have to do.

But my dog is sick all the time. He has two incurable immune-mediated diseases that require multiple medications and a special diet every day. And since a dog can't tell you he isn't feeling well, it's really helpful to have a dog who is not a picky eater or who has to be tempted to eat all the time. One of the ways that you know what's going on with a dog's health is by his appetite. When a dog who normally eats his food stops eating, that's a signal that something's wrong. One rule of thumb is that when a dog tells you he doesn't want to eat, believe him. In certain types of illnesses or situations (pancreatitis would be one, an internal blockage another), tempting a dog into eating can make matters much , much worse. So there are health reasons for not creating a picky eater, as well as practical ones. 

If your dog is on a medication that must be taken with food, then I would do whatever I had to do to get him to eat enough to tolerate the medication. 

But I certainly wouldn't be thinking about "abandoning Orijen" and switching to wet food, which is the question i was responding to. :)