gooster Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Over the last few months or so, Ted (Mini schnauzer) has started to have a few problems with his tummy. He has always had a few tummy issues and food sensitivities, but about 4 months ago he would scream with pain if you touched his tummy and it kept going quite hard. We took him to the vets, where he had blood tests, urine tests and x rays done which were all normal. The vet did notice he had a lot of gas in his intestines, so he might be getting trapped wind However now he has began to struggle to get on the sofa and beds. He'll stand there and paddle his front feet and then launch himself at the sofa, but sometimes still not be able to get on. I was concerned it was his back or his hips, but he doesn't appear to have any twinges on his back when you feel it, and he can still lie like a frog with his back legs behind him. Yesterday he struggled to get on the bed, and when mum went to touch his tummy he screamed and spun around to try and bite her. I still think it may be a trapped wind type problem which is why he is reluctant to stretch and why he doesn't like his tummy being prodded. He is fed twice a day on burns fish and rice with a bit of tuna in oil mixed in. Anyone got any ideas or experience of this?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 It sounds like he has become more allergic to either his food or something in his environment. How old is he? When did he last have his vaccinations?? Any other changes in his life?? Gas in the gut suggests that he isn't digesting his food properly. Burns is made from a great deal of brown rice which tbh dogs aren't designed to digest - I would look at some other form of food. If you don't want to home cook how about NatureDiet or natures Menu?? Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 (edited) I would have thought blood tests etc might have shown something if it were the case but possibly early signs of liver disease / problem was my first thought. Any problems with stools (eg slimy, diarreah) vomiting, dehydration etc ? (could indicate pancreatitis) Ulcers? Any possibility of having eaten a "foreign body" / obstruction somewhere ? Good luck in identifying the problem & a successful recovery Edited December 30, 2010 by Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Not sure about the sore tummy issue, but the inability to get on the sofa etc might be front legs rather than back end. Lily could still do the frog leg thing with her back legs even though her front legs had horrendous arthritis. Sometimes it's really difficult for the vet to test joints as the dogs can hold their very tense, we found that a physio was better at spotting the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted December 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 He is nearly 7, last vaccinated in June this year. I seem to remember we have tried nature diet but he didn't get on with it. However that was before we discovered he was allergic to chicken, I've just looked on their website though and there is a variety now that eliminates all meat proteins. Suppose it could be worth trying to source some of that for him. His poo can be quite hit and miss, his first one is usually ok, but then it goes quite soft and runny for any subsequent ones. Not really known him to be sick on a regular basis. As for arthritis of the front legs, he doesn't really tend to have any other mobility issues and runs around like a nutty puppy on his walks. He does tend to bunny hop a bit when he is running, but he has done this since a puppy and it has been checked out by physio and he's fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Perhaps he is allergic to the Rice rather than a meat source - personally I would eliminate that before I started eliminating meat proteins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted December 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2010 Only problem with trying to eliminate the rice is that naturediet has rice in it too. Don't have time to cook feeds for him, plus he lives with mum and dad during the week whilst I am at work, so anything to do with his feeding needs to be simple for them, as they have 4 dogs!! Been doing some research and pancreatitis seems to match to some of his symptoms, also mini schnauzers are predisposed to it as well. I think I will have a chat with my vet again. Most websites say to feed a low fat diet, which Burns is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted December 31, 2010 Report Share Posted December 31, 2010 I'd also suggest trying to cut the rice out of his diet for a bit and see if that helps. It's difficult because a lot of foods for dogs with sensitive stomachs are rice-based, but some dogs really don't tolerate it well. There are plenty of good foods available that don't contain rice - Fish4Dogs and Wafcol Salmon and Potato might be worth a try, or JWB I think do some rice-free 'flavours'. I'm sure there are others people could recommend. You could mix in raw green tripe to make it more interesting if he's a fussy eater. Hope you manage to sort things out for him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Thanks, have gradually swapped him onto naturediet lite over the last few days. He doesn't appear to be showing any obvious squirty bum reactions to it. Have sent my vet friend an email tonight to ask her advice about pancreatitis. I have asked her what she would suggest to do next. All the others are very jealous of Ted and his new food!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenOldie Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I use Nature Diet , Natures Harvest and/or JWB for old dogs or dogs with tummy issues. I tried my old lab on Burns and he suffered bloating and gas;it's an excellent food but doesn't suit all dogs. Hope you and your vet can resolve this poor boys problem, it must be a worry for you to see him like this. Good luck. Sally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Just thought I should update you all on how ted is doing. He was still a bit sore on the lite naturediet, and his poo was still a bit mucousy. We then decided to try him on naturediet sensitive, which (touch wood) has been brilliant. He's now charging around everywhere like a nutter again, he can jump on the sofa and bed and his tummy hasn't been hard. His poo has gone back to that of a normal dog, and he seems much better! Thanks to everyone for their advice, hopefully he will continue to tolerate the naturediet and his problems will stay away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 I'm glad he appears to be feeling happier / better on the new diet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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