Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog food forum > Feeding raw food to dogs & cats - B.A.R.F - RMB - Homecooked diet

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old August 21st, 2007, 11:09 AM
boerboel~lover boerboel~lover is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 2
Have a number of health issues and now breath smells like REALLY rotten meat!

Hello,
I am new to this board and decided to finally join as I have been feeding my 1yr Boerboel a raw diet for most of her life.

The last 3 weeks she has been having some strange health issues and I thought I would post here and see if any one has any thoughts.
First of all - yes I have seen my vet. But the bad breath thing is new and I will be contacting him today.

So Mia has had problems with a red puffy rash on her 'private' area for quite some time now. The skin has turned black (the vet said that was normal when rashes occur). She was on antibiotics and a steriod lotion, which did clear up the rash. It came back, the vet said to continue with the steroid lotion and wash and dry the area twice daily. Which I have been doing and the rash has not come back. He believed that the rash could have been caused because she has a bit of skin that covers her vagina and that could be holding in the moisture and that if it persisted he would remove that extra skin. I cannot remember what the procedure is called unfortunately.

About 6 or 7 weeks ago Mia developed a juvenile wart on the outside of her lip. Again off to the vet we go, he said that is common in young dogs; she could get more in clusters. They last 4-8 weeks and once she gets over them she'll never get them again. So about 6 weeks into having the one wart, she got a huge cluster of them, it seems like there's 30 of them. But so far they aren't too big and I am keeping an eye on them. The vet said if they get large, uncomfortable, or a concern he could remove them.

The last week, her ear was hot, red, a bit swollen, had a few scratch marks it looked like and had more ear wax then the other ear. So back to the vet, he cleaned the ear, took a sample. Also he said that it felt a bit thicker than the other ear. Said that it was not a yeast infection and said to put the steroid lotion on her ear as well. The scratches are gone, it isn't red, but still hot once in a while. Just keeping an eye on it too.

Also about the next day after being at the vet. I noticed that Mia had a few small bumps (two), at first I thought they were bug bites. But then I looked all over her body and found scratch marks or maybe small sores. Looked like skin irritation, and there were areas that looked a bit red and sore (under her 'arm pits'). Again to the vet we go. He said it could be some type of allergy, probably not food - maybe environmental. To see if it got any worse or better, then maybe do allergy testing or adjusting her diet. I had also noticed a small lump next to her last nipple (closest to her 'private area'). It was about the size of a peanut. He poked it with a needle, took a sample. Said that it was a pustule, and they can be caused from skin irritations and/or allergies. He gave her antibiotics again; said that there could be bacteria in the pustule and didn't want to take a chance with it. He said to give her the antibiotics twice a day for 2 weeks. She's been on them for almost a week, and it is gone. I'm going to talk to him about maybe stopping giving them to her.

So a lot has gone on with her lately and I am wondering if it all ties in together somehow.

But here is the part about the rotten meat breath.
She normally has dog breath (actually maybe better than some dogs). Last Wednesday I fed her lamb, which was frozen, then defrosted in the fridge for 2 days. It smelt fine to me (and I am really paranoid about meat being fresh). She ate at 5pm, then at 11pm she threw up. And it was the worst smell - like a garbage can full of meat that had sat in the sun for a few days. But she didn't throw up again and everything else seemed totally fine with her. Thursday I had to leave for 4 days out of town, so I don't know if her breath smelt like this then. My boyfriend was taking care of her and I only had him keeping an eye on the other issues (mouth warts, ear and lump). I came home late Sunday, and yesterday and today her breath has been so gross. Smells like her throw up.
So I am questioning the raw food thing. I had my boyfriend cook her food a bit before giving it to her, and I have been doing the same the last 2 days. I have also cut her portion down a bit. I have been adding some apple cider vinegar, and a few blueberries, and soy yoghurt (?spelling?) for good bacteria.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Any foods that are easy to digest? Any thoughts on supplements I should add, or maybe fast her for a day or two?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks!

Janae & Mia
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old August 21st, 2007, 04:54 PM
mummummum's Avatar
mummummum mummummum is offline
-
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: The Hammer
Posts: 8,534
Poor little Mia ~ thant's alot going on in such a short period of time ! The name of the operation you are referring to is an episiotomy (my Ceili who also has a hugely over-developed vulva had the surgery). If you can control it with daily washing and drying so much the better. There is also a powder call Neopredef (I think) which some people have had success with using ~ it functions like Goldbond does for people's feet.

I don't think her various illnesses are related to her diet other than to say that perhaps her immune system needs a boost. How about some Vitamin C and green tea leaf ?

On the food front, I would fast her restricted to homemade chicken broth for at least a day to let her digestive tract sort itself out. It could well have been something in the lamb. You may also want to have a good look in her mouth in and around her teeth and gums. Adding parsley can also aid digestion and therefore banish stinky breath.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old August 22nd, 2007, 09:16 AM
boerboel~lover boerboel~lover is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 2
Thanks for the reply!
It is a lot going on in a short period of time.

I spoke to her vet yesterday, he got the results from her urine culture, and they came back negative. However he did say the lab noted that there was ‘contaminants’ in the urine, but would not say what. I guess you need to pay another $190 to find that out – lol! But that they were not to worry about. Like you said about the washing and drying – that’s what I have been doing and the vet did say we could use a powder (probably the one you referred to). The Episiotomy, doesn’t really seem worth it to me at this point as she doesn’t have any type of urinary infection, and the redness and puffiness is under control 99.9% of the time with me cleaning and drying it. Don’t need to put her through the stress of unnecessary surgery.

I agree with the immune system needing a boost. I will add vitamin C and green tea leaf – I’m assuming you have given green tea to your dog and its fine? What dosage would I give? She’s 80-85lbs. I typically give her apple cider vinegar, a joint supplement, different fats (omega, fish, etc), and a general vitamin (called Bio Vites).

I will try the fasting for a day and see how she does – I’m sure a break would be fine for her. Homemade chicken broth (how do I do that??!!). Sorry, I’m not quite a homemade soup kind of gal!
As for her mouth – the only thing in there are the 20 or more juvenile warts that I mentioned before! Other than that her teeth are sparkling white! When I spoke with my vet yesterday, he mentioned that the stinky breath could be from the warts – he said that they do die off and could cause an unpleasant smell. And to clean her mouth (but doesn’t she kind of do that on her own when she drinks?), any way I will do some brushing. And try the parsley.
I did give her a small amount of pureed pumpkin which is also good for cleaning out the digestive tract, she didn’t have much of a difference in her stool though, so I will give her some more today.

Thanks for the advise – much appreciated!!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:35 AM.