Ok, I'll keep updating this post as we go along

Yes, transition back to dog food will be slow. I planned on starting with a couple of tablespoons of canned TOTW to start. And if she does well on that amount for several days, then add a couple more tablespoons (backing off the eggs and carrots as we add more regular food). Dr Jones recommendation is 4-6 weeks to transition over to a different food/brand, so it'll be nice and slow, and if at any point she goes back to diarreha, we back it off.

I'm not sure why Dr Jones wants to do the canned TOTW salmon to start vs kibble TOTW, but I'll ask the next time I talk to the Dr.J as she wants to keep in touch every week for the next few weeks to make sure Ginger is doing well, and she can address any set-back immediately if they occur. (I'm so glad I found Dr Jones! - and I'm so glad Val mentioned a holistic vet!).

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Hi C-
I know I'm way late in getting to this thread and that you have some solutions that seem to be working (YAY!), but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in anyway...

Another Holistic Vet practice here in Denver (if you need another 2nd opinion) is Pets on Broadway - they've been awesome to my friends' dogs and Nikolai had a great well-dog checkup with Dr. Akers. :-) They really seem to know their stuff, they're very friendly, great with animals, and I would highly recommend them.

If the carrots get old or stop working as a way to add fiber to Ginger's diet, try a little bit of canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling!). My first husky was a super picky eater and we ended up making lamb/pumpkin/barley food for him. Sort of as a bonus, Thanksgiving is coming up so canned pumpkin is easy to find and usually on sale. ***Edited to add: Ahh, I just caught up with the earlier posts in this thread and see that you know about this, so you can totally ignore this point. ;-)***

Last, but not least - I saw that you were having trouble finding a store that carried Wellness CORE's fish formula... Pet Station on Colorado Blvd. has it and if you sign up for the Natural Living newsletter, they send all kinds of great coupons for Wellness products. :-) (They also carry TOTW and THK in store...)

Hope you're havin' a great day!
-K

I did find Pets on Broadway but when they called me back, all they basically said was, 'Bring your pet in and we'll check her out' and that ended the 2-minute call back from them. But when Dr Jones called she actually talked to me and gave me some info and after 15 minutes of talking to me, she then said, '...if you would like to bring your pet in....' Dr Jones is closer, not to mention one of the partner vets own a Sibe herself - so that's how I ended up with Dr. Jones.

I have tried pumpkin before all of this, but too much can also cause diarreha in Ginger's case, and too little didn't help.....she's my special girl!

We haven't gotten back to regular dog food just yet, but the limited-ingredient dog foods that should work well for Ginger can be found at Chewy's Bonetique which is less than half mile from my home and they have sample packets or trial packages they hand out before I buy a bag of dog food.

I totally forgot about Chewy's - that is close to you and another great store. Been a long while since I was there, but YAY for them being awesome, too.

Dr. Jones sounds like a great "fit" for you and Ginger. So glad you found each other. :-)

Just a quick update...

Ginger has been doing really well so far. Last week, she was on eggs and carrots and she had a BM every day and sometimes twice in a day, and no more diarreha - it's been normal - YAY!

As of yesterday (Sunday) morning, I added 1.5 tablespoons of Orijin (fish formula) and backed off 1 egg and 1/4 c of carrots....and today, she's still good! YAY! I haven't had to add any probiotics or THK Perfect Form either!

I'll continue with her diet for the rest of the week, and if she continues to do well, I'll add in a little more Orijin and back off another egg and 1/4 c of carrots next week...

Excellent! Thanks for the update, sounds really great!

Thanks for the update!

Just another quick update....

Ginger is now on half eggs and carrots, half kibble and she's still doing really well AND she's been like clockwork - every morning between 6:30 and 7:30am, she has a BM! (She'll also have another later in the day almost every other day).

She's also gets her dental bone which is made with probiotics and prebiotics (no grain) which cleans her teeth.

What brand of dental bone do you use? I am glad she is doing well- Orijen is a great food, my favorite kibble and if I were able to feed kibble would be the brand I fed, and I'm happy it worked for you!

Yay Ginger! That's great news

Her 'belly bones' are:
Fido Naturals Belly Bone (Yogurt Bone)
reduces gas, diarrhea and vomitting - chewy dental care treats (since she doesn't like rawhides)

She gets the small one for now, and I'll give her the bigger ones in a couple of weeks, as I am now confident she'll still be just fine, thanks to all of you and her new vet.

I can't find a price on them, how much do they cost you?

The belly bones?
The large bones cost me $2 each and the small ones are $1 each.

The only place I have found them in Denver is at her doggy daycare. I checked online but I didn't see it on their website.

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http://www.petaction.com/petaction_naturals_belly.html

yes, it is...and the above link goes to the belly bones Ginger likes that cleans her teeth and soft on her belly.

I think I am going to purchase some of these, I think they carry them at Pet Choice Market so! Thanks!

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Great! I hope Koda likes them.

http://www.petaction.com/petaction_dental_toys_super-dental.html

http://www.petaction.com/petaction_dental_toys_superflex.html

These are chew toys that are designed to help clean teeth. Not for eating. But the Belly Bones are for eating.

I think I want to try to Super Dental bones and/or the Super Flex since Ginger doesn't like rawhides.

If Adobo is really likes to chew on bones, you might want to try the Extra Tuff instead of the Super Flex....?

If Ginger has an intolerance of chicken and beef, and the dental bones are beef and chicken *flavored*, am I OK to give it to her since she's only chewing it and not eating it? Or should I not?

I don't see an ingredient list on there which I wanted to see because a lot of the dental chews I see have grains in it.. but as for "flavored," I suppose it matters if it is artifical or natural?

The dental chew toys are made of:

Quote :

FIDO Dental chew toys were designed to reduce plaque formation in your dog’s mouth. Made from inert polyurethane, this product is safe to chew. If small pieces are digested; they will pass through your dog without harm. These bones are impregnated with a beef or chicken flavor which slowly releases throughout the life of the product, encouraging chewing. Discard or replace when ends are chewed off. This product is not indestructible.

They aren't eaten like the belly bones. It doesn't say if it is naturally or artifically flavored.

Maybe I should pass on it for now since I'm not sure....

Just another quick update....

Ginger is now on day 2 of 75% Orijen and 25% home cooked (1 egg and 1/4 c carrots), and she is still regular and like clockwork in the mornings. She also gets a regular size belly bone (instead of the small one). She'll be on this diet for a few more days and then she's 100% Orijen kibble. Yay!

I think sometime in December, I'll try some chicken so I know for sure if she has an intolerance of chicken or not...

Fantastic news!

It's been almost a week that Ginger has been on 100% Orijen and she's doing great and is still regular. Since Orijen has a higher calorie content, she's fed less (1.5 cups per day). She's been asking for more food so I've been chopping up carrots and putting it in her kibble to give her volume to fill her up a little more. For treats, she'll get her belly bone which is easy on her tummy and cleans her teeth, and she'll get a whole carrot since it keeps her regular and it's a low calorie food.

Orijen has a chicken and fish formula which I think I'll try (very slowly) in a few weeks when December rolls around. I figured sinnce she's doing really well on Orijen, I should stick to the same brand, and it also has fish, so I think it'll be easier on her tummy if she really does have an intolerance to chicken. (Orijen has 2.5 lb trial bags which costs only $3 so big bonus there on cost).