Food Switch

[Maddie]

Hello everyone! We just switched Willy to Steve's real food frozen PREY diet, and he loves it!! However, we have noticed some new behaviors since switching him, and were wondering if anyone had any input.

First, he has been obsessed with eating grass. We're not sure why this is- maybe because of a lack of fiber?! Does anyone have any ideas on why this is, and how we can help it (or just let him eat it)?

Second, he has gone crazy about his food bowls. Since feeding him raw, if we put any bowl down (even with water in it, or nothing, or food, etc) he will pick it up, and run away with it. This has become a problem because we can't put water bowls down anymore! We runs away with the water, and spills water EVERYWHERE. It's starting to get very irritating, because it's a lot of clean-up and hard to give him water to drink!! Does anyone have any solutions? 

Thanks in advance!!!

Madie + Willy

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need a new vet. There is not one single thing you have described that is in keeping with any kind of allergy symptoms. Not lethargy, not sneezing, and not diarrhea or any other stomach symptoms. In addition, giving Benadryl to a dog who is already acting lethargic and sleeping a lot makes absolutely no sense, since Benadryl will exacerbate those symptoms. Even in dogs who have been properly diagnosed with seasonal allergies, (Atopic Dermatitis is the correct name for the condition) Benadryl is not given; second generation antihistamines like Zyrtec and Claritin are more effective. But none of what you are describing sounds like any type of allergy. And a food switch would never cause lethargy in an otherwise healthy dog.

I also suspect that the "bloodwork" your vet ran was a standard CBC and chem panel, and that won't show things like digestive disease, thyroid disease, or heart disease. Sudden lethargy is a serious symptom in a young dog, and needs to be properly diagnosed. This is not related to food. 

You might ask your friends & neighbors for a referral to a different vet, or you might ask your current vet for a referral to an Internal Medicine Specialist. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One thought just occurred to me: Is there any possibility at all that Willy could have eaten something he shouldn't have? Something outdoors or some non-food item? 
And did your vet do a fecal test?

[Maddie]

Okay, thanks so much! We actually didn't go to our usual vet when we got the bloodwork done- we ended up going to the emergency vet because he seemed really off, and we wouldn't be able to make it to the vet because of school work. I had a feeling he wasn't a very good vet, he was also trying to tell us that kibble is the best food, etc.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The worst vets in the world are the ones who work in the veterinary ERs. They are either brand new out of school with no real experience, or they are such bad vets that they can't get or keep jobs in regular vet practices with normal hours. In fact, their incompetence is what killed my Jackdoodle. I try to avoid them at all costs. 

[Maddie]

No fecal test. There is a possibility he could have eaten a non-food item, as he has done that before and sometimes spends time outside (usually with supervision but sometimes alone for 5 or so minutes).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, so the diarrhea may be related to either an intestinal parasite, for which you would need a fecal test, or an indigestible  foreign body sitting in the gut. That can and has happened to many of our dogs here. I think your next steps should be asking for an Xray and a fecal test.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, and you may want to ask your vet about additional blood work that might pinpoint the issue. 

[Maddie]

Okay, thank you so much! Do you think the diarrhea could be caused by the food switch? Also, do you think we should keep him on the orijen puppy or switch him back to the raw food? He wasn't having any diarrhea on the raw food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If the diarrhea only started after you switched back to the kibble, I would go back to raw. 

However, my suggestion would be to go with an Honest Kitchen formula. The least expensive way to do that would be to buy one of their base mixes and add your own chicken, beef, turkey, or whatever you choose. 

I'm also wondering if perhaps the Steve's diet wasn't nutritionally complete, or if possibly the feeding amounts were too low. That could cause lethargy. 

[Maddie]

Okay, thank you! The steve's was AAFCO compliant for all life stages. We were originally feeding him 1.5 patties a day (12 oz) but then went down to 1 patty after he gained a few pounds. He's 25 lbs right now, and we thought that he was getting a good amount.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't like the feeding guidelines based on percentage of body weight, especially for puppies. How old is Willy? At 25 lbs, an adult dog should be getting 625 to 750 calories per day, depending on activity level. A puppy needs much more, as much as twice the number of calories per day, depending on the expected adult size. One 12 oz patty of Steve's Prey diet contains 456 to 540 calories, depending on which protein it is, which is nowhere near enough for a 25 lb puppy. Was the weight gain excessive? Did the vet think he was too heavy? Growing puppies do gain weight fairly rapidly, but they usually need to. 

[Maddie]

He is 15 months and neutered. The vet didn't think he was too heavy- however, we saw about a five lb weight gain but aren't 100% sure about the exact amount, because our scale is kind of broken. His ribs also felt harder to feel, and we usually check once a week, and he also looked like he was gaining a bit of weight. However, I'm not 100% sure. He's definitely not super overweight or super skinny right now- I think he's currently a good weight for his size.