Community ClicksGreyhound’s eating habits stump owners, vet
Dear Dr. Fox,
My wife and I adopted a greyhound earlier this year.
He’s 3½ years old and weighs 80 pounds.
He’s an extremely muscular animal and has a great temperament. But he has one issue that has everyone stumped, including our vet: Every three to four weeks, he begins eating grass in order to induce vomiting.
Shortly after, his stomach begins making loud noises that last most of the day.
He doesn’t throw up.
His stools get mushy later but no diarrhea.
He also doesn’t eat or drink during these episodes.
It eventually subsides, and he’s fine later in the day.
He has been on a special diet of EN Gastroenteric food since we got him.
We give him no table food, and we’re extremely careful to be sure that he doesn’t eat anything off the ground while walking him.
We also have no other pets at home.
Our vet suggests some sort of irritable bowel syndrome, but has not really diagnosed it.
Any thoughts?
— J.N., Estero, Fla
Dear J.N.,
Hats off to you for adopting a discarded racing greyhound, which often arrive in poor condition as a consequence of the too often abominable treatment by this money-driven industry.
I hold this dog-racing industry largely responsible for the spread of canine influenza across the United States that their dogs first contracted from infected racehorses at the same track in Florida.
Have the veterinarian check the dog’s liver function, and start a course of probiotics and prebiotics, which help the good bacteria flourish, such as vegetable fiber in oatmeal and sweet potato, and the nutritive ingredients in aloe-vera liquid, all of which will help improve the intestinal bacterial population.
Dogs often self-medicate with various herbs, including couch grass and elm leaves.
They also eat soil and feces when they have “dysbiosis” — a disturbed gut bacterial colony that can be a precursor to inflammatory bowel disease, liver and other health problems.
For details, visit my Web site.
So the answer may be to transition your dog gradually to a whole-food diet, beginning with such basic ingredients as ground lamb, sweet potato and brown rice.
A teaspoon daily of brewer’s yeast and fish oil mixed into the dog’s food may also prove beneficial, and 500 milligrams daily of glutamine if the digestive problems persist and all parasitic and bacterial problems, notably Giardia and Clostridium, have been ruled out.
Questions about liquid aloe
Dear Dr. Fox,
I have a 6-year-old Lab/beagle mix who has had many problems — the latest being two mast-cell tumors.
The tumors were removed on separate occasions, and the surgeries were successful; however, we were told that we needed to be diligent about checking for lumps.
Our veterinary oncologist has recommended that the dog be put on 4,000 milligrams of fish oil and 10 milligrams of Pepcid.
She suggested Pepcid because dogs with mast-cell tumors tend to get ulcers, and the fish oil helps discourage the return of the mast cells.
Also, a friend of mine in Florida said that her holistic vet uses food-grade liquid aloe in diets for dogs that have had cancer.
Neither my vet nor vet oncologist have heard of this before, but from what I’ve read on the Internet, it makes sense.
What do you think of using food-grade aloe as a supplement?
And how much should a 45-pound dog drink?
— J.L., Falls Church, Va.
Dear J.L.,
There are many treatments that can be integrated into a holistic therapeutic regimen for your dog’s cancer.
I concur with what the two veterinarians recommend: You can give 1 tablespoon of aloe vera in your dog’s food twice daily.
I would also recommend New Chapter’s anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor Zyflamend and anti-cancer Immortal Mushrooms combination of beneficial fungi. Daily treatment with a mild antihistamine may also be beneficial, along with a super-antioxidant supplement such as N-acetyl-L-cysteine and alpha-lipoic acid.
Above all, avoid any treatments that may compromise your dog’s immune system, such as “booster” vaccinations and spot-on anti-flea drugs.
Feed your dog a whole-food diet rather than manufactured dog food, good nutrition being the first medicine.
