Thank goodness!

I can imagine your relief, Susan!

Hi Susan,

Good to hear that the specialist thought cancer unlikely. Have you ever tried Mojo on a raw diet? My experience with multiple GSDs (my own and foster dogs) has been that as a breed they are prone to gastrointestinal problems, and many are intolerant of grain. American-bred GSDs seem to be worse in this regard.

For example: my previous GSD (American-bred rescue) came with a warning from the rescue folk that they had tried several different kibbles and he still had bouts of chronic diarrhea. I transitioned him to raw and the problem went away in a couple of weeks and never returned - he spent the remaining 6 healthy years of his life on a raw diet and died of heart failure. My current GSD (German-bred) has a more robust stomach and can eat a high-quality grain-free kibble w/o problems for short periods when traveling, though he's on raw the rest of the the time.

Just a thought. As others on this board can testify, too many vets know nothing about nutrition and will prescribe Rx kibbles because they don't know any alternative. Getting the dog off processed food sometimes resolves gastrointestinal problems when nothing else will.

But--if a raw diet is considered it should only be after the dog is well and completely OFF any antacid or acid-suppressing meds.

If a balanced home-cooked diet is something you want to think about, Susan, I can direct you to specific recipes devised by a PhD (in canine nutrition) named Lew Olson. LB carries her book, http://leerburg.com/9000.htm , but several special diets, including easily-digested bland diets, are available online as well.

As Tracy said (good catch, Tracy), no raw diet for a dog on antacids or any med that suppresses acid production.

Just a thought but has the dog been tested for EPI?

My older GSD was diagnosed with this a couple of yrs ago.

Loss of weight, smelly, runny stools, stool eating.

Little throwing up though.

He's fine now with daily enzymes. Just old and worn out like his owner.

Hi again Susan,

Tracy and Connie make an important point about stopping antacid medications and allowing the dog's digestive system to resume normal acid production before moving to a raw (or home cooked) diet. I'm going to politely disagree that the dog must be completely "well" before you start the transition, though. How do you define "well"? Of course you don't subject an acutely sick dog to a sudden diet change. However, if you wait for diarrhea, sporadic vomiting, or other symptoms of chronic intestinal distress to disappear while continuing to feed what is causing the problem, then you will wait forever.

Lew Olsen - as Connie suggests - is an excellent resource for information on alternative diets. I do think that a grain-free home cooked diet might be worth trying as a first step, especially as all that diagnostic work has come up with nothing conclusive. If you want to pursue this, I'd be happy to provide more information, and there are others on this board also with experience of home-prepared diets.

Sorry for misspeaking. I agree completely with Sarah's clarification. I only meant "well enough not to be on an acid-suppressing med." A diet change may very well be part of the answer in helping your dog recover, and I am a long-time raw feeder and proponent of raw feeding for dogs. I'm not qualified to prescribe it to you or anyone else, but am always happy to help others who are interested in learning how to do it.

I think we are totally on the same page, Tracy - thanks for the clarification.

Just wanted to clarify that home-cooked doesn't fall into the "not with antacids" category. (The caustic stomach acid is a major defense against food-borne pathogens that may be on raw meat.)

IMO if a dog has stomach issues cooking the diet is important, to eliminate the surface pathogens which are rampant in todays meat.

A trial of pancreatic enzymes is safe and can be diagnostic. Meat cannot be digested if the pancreas is not functioning correctly.