I didn't start the cod liver oil till a few months ago and, there are days I forget unfortunately. The gas hasn't worsened on it. I often wonder if it could GET any worse! The diarrhea only occurs with a diet change or if she eats something 'rich' (a treat other than a dry milkbone type thing from the vet, which she seldom gets, or a chunk of firewood she discovers before I do) so it's not a normal occurance. But it's still worrisome because she doesn't need that on top of all the problems she already has. I will stop the cod liver oil completely though and wait to get the salmon oil.

I truly appreciate your input ladies!

Dogs can develop allergies or intolerances to foods over time.
Humans are much the same way- I know several adults that suddenly became lactose intolerant after a lifetime of consuming dairy.

I assume you're referring to Iams Healthy Naturals? In the brown bag?
I know I'm really beating this kibble thing to death, but this kibble especially is awful. There is virtually no meat content, tons of grains, and the use of both corn and beet pulp as fillers.
Beet pulp is especially distressing, as it is believed that its use may unduely stress the liver and kidneys.

The Acana was a great food, aside from the Kelp, which is very good for dogs, but may or may not be an issue for her.

Iams ProActive Health Large Breed, green bag. I assume it is no better. I just emailed my husband to pick up a bag of the Acana...we can slowly switch her back to that while we use up the last of this bag, probably have just under half of a 30 pound bag so I can do the swap very slowly.

The cod liver oil was started just a few months ago...I can dig out a definite date but I think early Febuary-ish would be close.

When you switch diets (and thus she gets diarrhea) how are you switching diets? Cold-turkey, gradual transition over a week, two weeks, a month, etc?

Humor me here...

What if the health problems your dog is having are being caused or made worse, by her diet?

I understand your concern about her developing diarrhea as a result of a switch to raw.
But what if that switch made a dramatic difference in her health?
What if there was a way to switch to raw, without causing severe digestive upset? I'll bet Connie knows how.

The dog is clearly having issues digesting kibble- as evidenced by the gut sounds and gas. Diarrhea is unsettling, and can be dangerous, but done correctly the switch to raw doesn't have to elicit that response.

What if her gut is so sensitive BECAUSE of the kibble?
One of the benefits of a raw diet is the development of proper gut flora that aids in correct digestion of food. It also reduces the stress on the dog's immune system, when so much energy no longer has to be put into digesting such a difficult, ultimately indigestible food.

I have to say I agree with Alyssa. If I were you, I would try the raw. One nice thing about feeding raw is less poop, better health, better teeth, and very digestible. You are stressing out about the bad gas and I believe it is related to kibble. I have had dogs on kibble before some of them had a horrible gas. Now my dogs are on raw and don't have bad gas. Very rare they would get smelly gas only from giving out dog treats.

We have always switched her gradually...usually I try for two weeks.

I do understand what you're saying, I really do. I am basically beyond terrified that such a drastic change will cause her to get such severe diarrhea we won't be able to deal with it. Her health is so compromised at this point that something like that might kill her. I know I don't know enough about the raw diet, otherwise I'd feel as confident as you, I've read alot about it but now, when push comes to shove, I am second-guessing it.

Something I should add: When we saw the vet on Wednesday and her lymph nodes were all huge she upped her Pred from 50 mg a day to 200 mg for three days, 150 mg for three days, 100 mg for three days and 50 mg for a week. The nodes under her neck have decreased in size by maybe 40% but she now has swelling near the back of her mouth and under her chin. She is drooling occasionally. She is not particularly active but happily eats and drinks, goes outside with the others and snoops around. Mostly just wants to laze around, snoring quite loudly.

I guess what we need to do is find out if there is a herb that can help with the lupus symptoms while we battle the tummy troubles that must be related to the Pred (an assumption because that's when the gas started).

But would the kibble be the cause of something that started, suspiciously, right after starting Prednisone? Up until then she had no problems with the kibble--apart, like I said, from dietary changes or food she shouldn't have gotten. She went months and months without a bout of diarrhea or upset tummy when I controlled her intake--meaning nobody snuck her a tidbit and all 'nibbly' stuff in the yard was cleaned up before she could find it.

Ideally, yes...I would switch her to raw, right now, today. Realistically I am not ready for that. I need to do more research to ease my worries and also seek out reliable sources of raw products, we live in the boonies and I will have to order large quantities in advance to make it at all economical. And I believe she needs to be stronger to tolerate that change. Is it so terrible for me to gradually switch her back to the Acana and consider the raw diet down the road instead? I want to do SOMETHING that will benefit her, will that help her at all?

Back to the lupus rather than the tummy troubles...do you know of any herbs or natural products we can try?

I understand your concerns for your dog, and your heart is so clearly in the right place.

However, I think you're actually looking at this backwards.
Rather than view this as "the dog must be stronger before I can start raw", the more accurate view is "the dog will become stronger because it is on raw".

The combo of kibble followed up by Prednisone may have been a one-two punch that pushed her body's ability to cope beyond the breaking point.
One or the other might have been managable, but the combo was just too much for her.

I would definitely recommend Acana over the Iams, by a LONG shot.
If you feel like you need more time to research Raw, and you are willing to make the switch back to Acana- DEFINITELY go for it.

The Acana is a very healthy kibble, as far as kibbles go, I'd recommend it highly.

How far is your nearest butcher store? Thats your best bet for sources of food, should you decide to make the switch to raw down the road.

Have you considered this:
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/perfect_form.shtml
to help with the stomach upsets?

Leerburg carries it, if you are interested:
http://leerburg.com/form.htm

I truly, truly appreciate your help. I am glad you understand my concerns. You do make (another) thought-provoking point, this time about my thinking backwards about the situation. I am going to do my best to research and read and ask advice of our vet and anyone else I can find who has an opinion about this raw diet stuff. I will go ahead and start the gradual switch back to Acana, starting tomorrow.

I am going to print off that product you posted the link for and see if I can find it or something similar locally. While I'd love to buy from Leerburg and support such an amazing community the exchange rate and duty charges are a problem.

There is a butcher about 10 minutes from us, in the nearest small town, but--can you believe this--they don't carry chicken. Well, they do but it's brought in, frozen, from the butcher in the city. So it's not economical to buy it there, I'll have to place a bulk order in the city and divide it into meals myself to freeze in advance. So I might as well do that with the other raw items the dogs can have and maybe get a discount for my loyalty. I may also be able to order the weird bits, ha ha, from the local Hutterite colony. I'm going to the farmer's market on the weekend and will ask then.

Regarding the raw diet...we have hunter friends who would be willing to get an elk or moose or deer for us, could I incorporate a large amount of one of those meats into a raw diet?

I am happy to announce that the swelling that was moving down her face seems to have improved. By alot. She looks more like herself. Her jowls have become more 'jiggly' rather than puffy as well. The lymph nodes are still large but have decreased in size since this morning I believe (I check about twenty times a day, ha ha).