Xerxes

[rdryan]

Well, did boiled, boneless, skinless chicken breast and rice for both meals today and so far, no regurgitation. A couple more days of this and then I will start adding the new kibble in and see what happens.

 

[cinnamon roll]

Best of luck!

 

[rdryan]

Scratch that. Had his breakfast of chicken and rice and regurgitated half of it shortly after.

He's completely fine otherwise but you can see he is losing weight from losing half his meals.

 

[cinnamon roll]

OH NO!!!!! Now what??

 

[DMikeM]

Have you tried just plain raw meat? Like a chicken leg or thigh, or maybe a hamburger patty? Is he on any Probiotic? Might try a tablespoon of cottage cheese followed up by a chicken thigh or a lump of ground beef.

 

[rdryan]

He was on a probiotic a while back for his runny poop. Didn't help. When I switched him to grain free salmon food, the poop firmed up and he did great for a few months and then the regurgitating started.

I have been thinking of going RAW but need to investigate sources other than the grocery store because it would be incredibly expensive to buy the meat from there.

I am going to have to get moving on that quickly I think because he isn't improving.

 

[DMikeM]

I have been buying chicken at 89 and 99 cents a pound and pork at 1.99 per pound. Best beef has been 2.99 per pound. These are grocery store prices. Just to find out if it will help him a whole fryer (chicken) usually goes for pretty cheap. If it works then you know what you need to do.
All the best hope things improve quickly.

 

[DMikeM]

Here is a FB group for looking for suppliers if you are interested.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/118405634857097/660716830625972/?notif_t=like

 

[rdryan]

Wow. Those are great prices on meat. Where we live, a whole chicken runs about $11.00. A package of 4 pieces of bone in chicken breast is anywhere from $12 to $20.

I'll check out that Facebook site. Thank you.

 

[musicdeb]

WOW! Your meat prices are crazy high! I pay 96 cents a pound for pork steaks and $2.09 a pound for boneless chicken breast. Titan will not eat the chicken leg, thigh or breast with bone but he will eat pork chops with bone. *scratching head*

 

[rdryan]

That's at the grocery store, I haven't had time to look into the local butcher or wholesale place but our groceries here in general are ridiculously high. A 4L jug of milk is $8.

He seems to be doing much better with the food change. He's about 3/4 new food and although his stools are soft at the moment, he hasn't regurgitated in the last couple of days. So here's hoping it continues and the stools harden up. There is no fish or chicken in this new food and no grain.

 

[musicdeb]

Keep us posted on Xerxes. Hope you find a good source of meat for the pup that doesn't cost a mortgage payment.

 

[rdryan]

Well, it has been several days since he has done any regurgitation. His poop is still soft and his farts just plain old stank! But I am hoping we are onto something with the new food. I started the switch to TOTW. It was the only food I could find with no chicken and no fish at all and it seems to be working. Of course the switch isn't complete yet but so far, so good.

 

[musicdeb]

Great status report! Keep it up, Xerxes!

 

[rdryan]

Well still no regurgitation but he has a pretty good case of the squirts. He's still getting both foods, I am still making the switch and trying to do it as slowly as possible. He has never had firm poop, used to be like mashed potatoes and now is like watery pudding. Can't even clean it up, just gotta use the garden hose on it.

Going to add some rice to his meals to see if I can get him firmed up. But how long does it usually take them to firm up after a food change?

 

[musicdeb]

It can take up to 2 weeks depending on the pup.

Amount per feeding:

Day 1-4 ¾ cup of old food and ¼ cup of new food.

Day 5-9 ½ cup of old food and ½ cup of new food.

Day 10-14 ¾ cup of new food and ¼ cup of old food

Day 15 Start 100% of new food

 

[rdryan]

We are at the 50/50 mix point right now and just going to leave him there until he firms up and then move forward. Going to add some rice tonight and do that for a few days. I have never had a dog that had so many issues. Between all the food troubles and the some people and other dog issues, some days I really question my thinking in taking him on. I am still recovering from back surgery and may be facing another and it can all get overwhelming at times. But he also has so many good qualities that make me love him at the end of the day.

Thanks for all your help and info.

 

[musicdeb]

I hear ya and I'm sorry to hear about your back issues. Most people who adopt or rescue a mastiff do not fully research the breed to see they can have some health issues. Titan is allergic to a lot of things, has intermittent ear infections in one ear only and requires a lot of maintenance. I call him my "high maintenance baby." I love Titan and would never give him up but some days I'm ready to release him into the wild because he's so high maintenance.

You're not alone. I hope you have someone who can help you if you have another back surgery. You will find keeping the pup will be a life of unconditional love, loyalty and protection.

 

[rdryan]

We did do a lot of research and asked the previous owners a ton of questions and spent an afternoon with him to get to know him. We knew he had trouble with chicken but were told the food he was on was working for him.... LOL NOT. And we were told he was leery of young men. Total understatement. LOL He was also apparently great with other dogs and was awesome with our little one. We took her with us when we went to meet him. But from his first walk in our neighborhood, other dogs were obviously an issue. He literally had run out of time. If we didn't bring him home, he was headed for a shelter.

I can't see ever not having him. Just gets overwhelming at times. I wasn't supposed to have surgery so soon after getting him as I did. I was scheduled for 7 months down the road but got called in earlier. It's not looking like the first one was a success, so I may have to go have some hardware put in to keep everything in place. I do have help. My husband is able to get time off for the worst part of healing and my adult daughter lives at home and is awesome at doing what I can't.

 

[musicdeb]

The same with Titan, if I had not rescued him, he was headed to a high-kill shelter. Once I made the decision to take him, I then did research. I was asking myself, "what are you doing?" But I couldn't let him go to the shelter because it was not socialized or trained, they would have euthanized him.

Good to hear that you have help at home if you have to have the 2nd surgery.

Keep us posted on yourself and Xerxes.