Quote: betty landercasp

So, you were feeding raw and Cody became sick.

Yes. But (and I'm not saying you are implying this, Betty)--but was there a cause and effect? This is the point at which I believe Cody's vet is stuck.

Was it "Cody was fed raw and therefore he became sick?" I dunno. Doesn't sound like the vet does either.

Or was it "Cody was fed raw and ALSO became sick--because he drank puddle water, or ate a dead frog, or any of the hundred things that make dogs occasionally vomit?"

I know full well that not all dogs thrive on a raw diet, and there are some raw ingredients that some dogs don't tolerate well. There are also very good kibbles out there. I'm not trying to prosthelytize for raw feeding for all dogs.

But the seeming lack of scientific, logic-based thinking in Cody's case by his vet frustrates me. Where's the "if A, then B?"

From my sideline perspective I see a dog that has no symptoms of any allergy, who had a single episode of vomiting (cause unknown), who was given a course of antacid and bland diet and now seems healthy and normal.

Ugh. Vets and their food hang ups.

Just yesterday I went into the vet down the street to pick up food. While I browsed and read labels of the different formulas, one of the vet techs offered to help.

It was obvious that all the knowledge she had came directly from the companies that made the food. My questions had her all thrown off, it was like she never had taken any thought about the food on her own. She just relayed the retail selling points from the various manufacturers and was incapable of any critical thinking beyond that. Of course she highly reccomended Science Diet!

I picked up my bag of EVO, thanked her and left.

Personaly, like many people here, I would not feed my dog anything from Science Diet, Royal Canin or Purina. Even the "prescription" formulas are really not much better than Kibbles n Bits. It makes me sad, dog owners who are willing to pay that kind of money for special food do so because they care.

How can the vets not see that the food is full of garbage fillers? That it probably doesn't even have enough protein to support muscle mass?

Ugh.

From my Experience Sharon, you should look not only for a new vet, but a different type of vet. Even the nutritionists the specialists consult with seem to go right to something different in a bag. Here's a link to the AHVMA where you can search for vets practicing nutrition by state:
http://www.holisticvetlist.com/index.php

I love my holistic vet. Having a vet that's a partner instead of an adversary makes giving them your money a whole lot easier.

Dear Steve: I have been doing just that. My old vet was holistic. Unfortunately he is the only one in my area. There is one in SanDiego but it is over an hour from my house. So....My husband wanted a vet closer, but maybe now he may change his mind. He is as frustrated as I am. I had my holistic vet for 20 years! He was my partner and we worked together for my dogs good. He cared about people and dogs. He never pushed any food and only sold the best brands. His office is closed now since he died unexpectedly. So, I have been looking, but sadly, I have not found one yet.
Sharon

We do not know why Cody became sick. That is the problem. If I could have seen him eat something out on our property that would have solved the question. But it didn't. I know the vets are trying to help me. But I feel they are so focused on the food problem-me feeding raw- they can't think beyond it. Your perspective is correct. I also consider that he may seem normal and show nothing in tests but have something else going on. My perspective on that is that is the very reason I would not feed him a processed diet with preservatives. I do not think it will help his stomach or intestines. I believe and I may be wrong, if someone has a condition any condition affecting their health, they should eat the most fresh foods, to replenish their systems. So that is where my vet and I differ. He doesn't understand my reasoning. He just keeps saying parasites and not balanced. What he doesn't realize is that the food he is offering may look balanced but in my opinion it is plastic food. Not much real nutrition if it has fillers, sugar, preservatives. Why not just eat the real thing? Besides I can control the ingredients much better than a bag can. If Cody flared up again, what ingredient in the bag food would be the one that irritate him? I'd have many to pick from and to start all over eliminating. But if I fed few ingredients and few supplements I would know or at least have less ingredients to work through to find out what has caused a flare up. I hope I am explaining myself well.
I do know there are good kibbles out there, I can go on line and find many, but I am still faced with many ingredients, freeze dried, baked, etc, which means his elimination diet would not work with them. Boy!
Cody had eaten raw for 4 years, never a problem. I understand over time you can develop allergies to food. Found it interesting that they are keeping him on chicken-one of the things most likely to cause allergies. And in their foods they are recommending eggs, another of the things that can cause reactions in many who eat them. So....
Also I am thinking that the specialists at the emergency vet are so busy I wonder how much time they have actually thought this problem out. The specialist we see is very nice and she asked alot of questions, we saw her once and then the other internists but they are so busy I am wondering if they have time to think about it much. My new regular vet is receiving their reports. So, maybe things will improve when he takes over. I don't know. thanks for your input, sharon

We really do need an answer to this:

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I might be confused about this, but I think that he was on raw for a long time with no incident once the late-night snack ended the early-morning bile vomiting. I think he had only one vomiting event (besides the bile-only vomiting that cleared up by avoiding empty stomach).

Is this accurate?

Sharon's post above: "Cody had eaten raw for 4 years, never a problem."

More specifically, the fact that all but one vomiting episode was the result of empty-stomach.

In other words, Cody doesn't, and never did, have a stomach problem and Sharon should just resume feeding raw.

So, was this a case of just empty gut syndrome in the morning after all?

It seems most of us have been there at one time or another with our dogs vomiting bile in the mornings, and it was easily abated with feeding a small snack at night or in the early morning.

I would for sure resume feeding raw if this was the case.