I am trying to help my new GSD puppy (Czech/DDR) whose ailments haven't been completely diagnosed by my vet, yet.

It started when the breeder tried to send him to me when he turned 12 weeks but because of hot weather he was delayed for a week.

She took him to her local vet for his third set of shots, plus the rabies, and finally his first heartworm. That night she called to tell me he was very sick with a fever and off his food.

Her vet said he thought it was a reaction to the rabies vaccine. He went from 20lbs to 17lbs and the breeder kept him a second week to get him healthy and put some weight back on him.

He finally arrived at 14weeks and he was quite thin. I took him for a vet check the next day and the vet said he was still about five pounds underweight but to keep him on the Proplan puppy food and that his loose mucousy stools were normal under stress.

He barely ate at all and only if I held his bowl, encouraging him. Two days later his appetite was gone and the stool was now mucous and pink blood-tinged and his gut was literally talking to us with all the noise it was making.

I took him back to the vet who ran a scan on the stool sample and found a tiny amount of hookworms. They tested for Parvo even though he'd had his shots and mentioned it wasn't Giardia. She wormed him, put him on science diet I/D wet food and said to optionally feed him boiled rice and chicken, and gave him antibiotics to head off infection.

He seemed better and his appetite increased. I was advised to wait until he was having formed stools and phase in his Proplan again.

I waited and instead of feeding him a full meal of Proplan/science diet I tried to do a little marker training with about 20 kibbles of moistened proplan. About an hour later his stomach was making horrible noises and then his stool turned back into the pink mucous.

No more Proplan. Back to the science diet and though i could see a little strand of pink mucous mixed in, they were more formed and only slightly puddingish towards the end.

I tried mixing some rice and cooked chicken and his appetite doubled. After reading testimonials all over this site and others about raw feeding and the book "Raw Dog Food" I put in a little raw chicken and he chose to eat it first.

Now I am using rice,cooked chicken(no bones), and a raw chicken wing; he has gone up to 27lbs at 16weeks. He's still underweight but he is finally filling out and he has more energy.

The difference that small amount of raw I am mixing with his bland diet is amazing and he actually has prey drive even if it is only a few minutes at a time. There are still the occasional strands of pink mucous and his stools are not logs yet.


My biggest concern is trying to stabilize his digestive system. I am feeding the recommended bland diet it's just got a little raw mixed in.

However, the vet is not going to agree with me trying to give him a raw diet.

They only recommend Proplan or other commercial dog foods. The mention of raw feeding gets me a lecture on how dangerous bones are and how deficient the diet is to a growing puppy and bad for adult dogs. I have called around to three other vets in the area and none are advocating raw diets or even supplementing for healthy dogs.


I found the puppy menu here on the leerburg site and am going to order the alfalfa and kelp, the vit C and E, as well as the Salmon oil. I am wondering if I shouldn't be using a probiotic to help him while he's finishing out his antibiotics and afterwards. I fear that whatever the shots or the heartwormer did may be permanent or at the least could have caused a food allergy. All I can do is hope for the best in that regard.

He's due his fourth distemper shot next week and I'm worried that will send him back into another bout of intestinal problems.

I don't even know where to start asking questions. Try getting a vet to admit that a dog could have a bad reaction to vaccinations or that raw food is better than the commercial stuff they are paid to push on their customers.

I don't even know what happened to the puppy since his litter mates are thriving; he was too until his third set of shots.

Maybe some of you could shed a little insight on a good food to add in his diet to help his digestive system.

Could I use plain yogurt? Is ginger helpful for dogs? His hip bones still protude some and his ribs are slightly prominent, he has little muscle tone but all that is getting better since his appetite has increased. Is there a food that will help put weight on without causing more problems?

He seems hungry all the time and I'm not really sure how much is too much for an underweight puppy. I read the 10% rule on the puppy menu, which translates to 2.7lbs of food but he's still hungry. I don't want him to bloat or worse. Should I feed more meals like 4 small ones instead of three regular?

I am new to raw feeding but it 'seems' this is the perfect time to switch him over considering what I am already feeding him.

Sorry this is so long but it needed a backstory before I asked for advice.

I really wish I had a vet to consult about the issue but it seems that those in favor of a raw diet haven't migrated down South. I have so many other questions but I can't even ask about his strange prey drive until we get through his sickness. I can't expect him to be a normal healthy acting puppy until he's well.

Sam - soon to be convert from kibble-feeder to raw diet

Edited by Connie Sutherland (08/26/2008 06:47 PM)
Edit reason: paragraphs

I'm going to make paragraphs for you ..... this one time. A WELCOME to the board gift!

Most members see a huge unbroken block of dense type and move right along.

More later, but this: "He's due his fourth distemper shot next week and I'm worried that will send him back into another bout of intestinal problems. "

I would not even consider that vax with a sick dog who has already had one bad reaction.

Thank goodness I checked first...I was going to make paragraphs, too.

Welcome Sam!

You're in good hands with the raw "pros" on this forum. The only thing I would say is:

Please do NOT vaccinate your puppy next week. Wait until he is completely recovered from whatever has caused his illness and his system is completely back to normal.

Actually, he's fully covered for distemper right now and doesn't need a fourth vaccination at all...but that's a whole other subject. :wink:

So sorry, I didn't know. I hit enter to make a new paragraph, at least I thought I did.

Hi Samantha and welcome,

I'm sure other board members will have suggestions, but here's my 2 cents:

1. Back off on vaccinating this dog. Read this:http://leerburg.com/qavaccinations.htm.

2. You are taking the right steps, especially phasing in raw. Do not be discouraged by vets' opinions - the sad truth is that many vets are woefully ignorant about nutrition and know no better than to peddle Science Diet or similar junk. If you can find a vet who at least tolerates feeding raw (as I have) that's good, but don't count on it. It's your dog, and if you have done your homework and made your decision on this don't let them browbeat you. I have seen phenomenal improvements in dogs that I have switched to raw, BTW, including sick dogs and old dogs - I really do believe it's worth it.

3. Plain yoghurt is good, but make sure you get one without added sugar that has live cultures in it for full probiotic benefit. A little plain canned pumpkin may also help firm up stools. Antibiotics often disrupt the gut flora - I routinely give my dogs plain yoghurt if they have been on antibiotics, as it helps get things back in balance. I'd be cautious with ginger - I have used it, but IME it can irritate an already inflamed gut.

4. Some dogs are just intolerant of grain - my current GSD is one of them - and IBD and related gut problems are not uncommon in GSDs. Another reason to feed raw, IMO.

Keep us posted.