Sick dog
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Sick dog
My brother just called me and he has a dog who is nursing a litter. They are 5 weeks old today. She was fine yesterday and nowshe is in pretty bad shape. he said she can hardly walk. her back legs don't seem to be working hardly at all. she vomited this morning. and right before he left to take her to the vet she was howling like she was in pain. he is at the vet right now. anyone ever sen anything like this?
I had a friend lose a dog 4 weeks ago who presented the exact same way. The vet said that the pups has just basically sucked her dry of vitamins & minerals her body needed & that she had a severe potassium & calcium deficicency (sp?). She died the next day. Hope your buddies' dog does better. 
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." - Ephesians 2:4-5
low calcium
i have seen it 2times in dogs and alot in dairy cows a lack of calcium and some times phos is what causes it
I'm glad your brother's dog is doing better. Milk fever is a layman's term for calcium deficiency. The shot he gave her was probably a calcium shot.
I think what caused your brother's problem was not the food but letting the pups nurse too long. Many breeders I know start weaning at 3 to 4 weeks & have them completely weaned off at 5 weeks. Most I know also suppliment the gyp by feeding a quality feed like Diamond or Black Gold & suppliment w/ canned dog food for extra calories mixed in milk for extra calcium.
As for the dog food, don't let that vet fool you. Many vets get a kick-back from selling certain foods. Science Diet is one of them & the Purina "Chow" series of food is another. Last time I looked, Puppy Chow was a corn based feed, while many Diamond foods are based on meat meal. Feeds like Ol' Roy, FMV, Rex, Kibbles & Bits & the like are also corn based. That alone should tell you what kind of feed Puppy Chow is.
Many dog food companies use corn meal as a primary ingredient b/c it's cheap & easy to come by. But I say this: How many dogs have you ever seen grazing in a corn field when he can get to a nice chunk of meat? We all know if given a choice, a dog will choose meat over corn every time b/c dogs were not biologically programmed to eat primarily corn, they are biologically programmed to eat primarily meat! That's why corn based feeds make dogs poop so much. Their bodies aren't set up to be maintained on corn, so they eliminate most of it as waste.
Now don't get me wrong, corn feeds like Puppy Chow are alright if you're bringing up a household pet & don't mind picking up a lot of poop & I'm sure generations of dogs have be successfully raised on the "Chow" series of foods. But Puppy Chow (or any other corn based feed) is in no way, shape or form superior to Diamond or any other meat-based feed.
But ... don't let dog food companies fool you by putting out feeds like Purina ONE, which says "real meat listed as the first ingredient!" That's all well & good, but dog food ingredients are listed on the bag by WEIGHT. A chicken breast is going to weigh more than 5 cups of corn meal. As such they can list chicken at the 1st ingedient b/c it weighs more by volume, when the feed actually contains mostly corm meal! When looking for a good food you want meat meal as the 1st ingredient, not meat. It's just a marketing ploy Purina uses to dupe unsuspecting buyers.
And just as a side note, both Diamond adult & Diamond puppy have more calcium than Puppy Chow!
But the important thing is the gyp is back on her feet!! Good luck w/ her! I apologize as well for the rambling, but it just tees me off to no end when vets misinform clients & put the welfare of the dogs they're supposed to care for in the backseat just to line their pockets!!
I think what caused your brother's problem was not the food but letting the pups nurse too long. Many breeders I know start weaning at 3 to 4 weeks & have them completely weaned off at 5 weeks. Most I know also suppliment the gyp by feeding a quality feed like Diamond or Black Gold & suppliment w/ canned dog food for extra calories mixed in milk for extra calcium.
As for the dog food, don't let that vet fool you. Many vets get a kick-back from selling certain foods. Science Diet is one of them & the Purina "Chow" series of food is another. Last time I looked, Puppy Chow was a corn based feed, while many Diamond foods are based on meat meal. Feeds like Ol' Roy, FMV, Rex, Kibbles & Bits & the like are also corn based. That alone should tell you what kind of feed Puppy Chow is.
Many dog food companies use corn meal as a primary ingredient b/c it's cheap & easy to come by. But I say this: How many dogs have you ever seen grazing in a corn field when he can get to a nice chunk of meat? We all know if given a choice, a dog will choose meat over corn every time b/c dogs were not biologically programmed to eat primarily corn, they are biologically programmed to eat primarily meat! That's why corn based feeds make dogs poop so much. Their bodies aren't set up to be maintained on corn, so they eliminate most of it as waste.
Now don't get me wrong, corn feeds like Puppy Chow are alright if you're bringing up a household pet & don't mind picking up a lot of poop & I'm sure generations of dogs have be successfully raised on the "Chow" series of foods. But Puppy Chow (or any other corn based feed) is in no way, shape or form superior to Diamond or any other meat-based feed.
But ... don't let dog food companies fool you by putting out feeds like Purina ONE, which says "real meat listed as the first ingredient!" That's all well & good, but dog food ingredients are listed on the bag by WEIGHT. A chicken breast is going to weigh more than 5 cups of corn meal. As such they can list chicken at the 1st ingedient b/c it weighs more by volume, when the feed actually contains mostly corm meal! When looking for a good food you want meat meal as the 1st ingredient, not meat. It's just a marketing ploy Purina uses to dupe unsuspecting buyers.
And just as a side note, both Diamond adult & Diamond puppy have more calcium than Puppy Chow!
But the important thing is the gyp is back on her feet!! Good luck w/ her! I apologize as well for the rambling, but it just tees me off to no end when vets misinform clients & put the welfare of the dogs they're supposed to care for in the backseat just to line their pockets!!
Last edited by MSU Dawg on Sun May 29, 2005 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." - Ephesians 2:4-5
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Bluehound76
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 5:28 am
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Bluehound76
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 5:28 am
I agree with MSU dog. I have a litter of six that are almost four weeks old. The bitch is on Diamond 26% protein, has had no supplements, and ran rabbits for about a half a day Friday. The pups are almost weaned. They gobble down the Diamond dog food, when soaked, and have started eating the dry food.
IMO, most of the folklore about how to raise a healthy litter of pups was started back when it was difficult to find a good balanced dogfood. There has been so much research by Ralston Purina and other organizations that there is nothing, IMO, that needs to be added to dog foods.
I know that is not how many feed their pups but it works for me and has for about thirty years. I can't remeber the last time I lost a pup after the first week.i
Glad the bitch is ok. Good luck with your litter.
IMO, most of the folklore about how to raise a healthy litter of pups was started back when it was difficult to find a good balanced dogfood. There has been so much research by Ralston Purina and other organizations that there is nothing, IMO, that needs to be added to dog foods.
I know that is not how many feed their pups but it works for me and has for about thirty years. I can't remeber the last time I lost a pup after the first week.i
Glad the bitch is ok. Good luck with your litter.
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Bluehound76
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 5:28 am