Evanger's #GetPetHealthy Nutritionist Question of the Week: Vegetarian Diet for Dog with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Every week we have a contest on our Facebook page, and invite Evanger's feeders to ask a nutrition question about their pet. Our certified On-Staff Nutritionist picks one question to weigh in on. Here are this week's question and answer.
Question from Bill George:
Our shih-tzu/poodle mix, Riley, was diagnosed with
I would like to try your Vegetarian complete balanced dinner mixed with some home cooked Venison. The vet told me he is more concerned about using a novel protein rather than the carbohydrate portion of Riley's meal, so my question is: Have others used the
Answer:
Before serving Evanger's Vegetarian dinner to a dog with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, it is important to have your veterinarian examine the ingredient list on the Vegetarian label, and gain veterinary approval.
If approved by your veterinarian, a very slow, gentle trial and transition to the complete balanced Vegetarian dinner should take place. Many dogs with gastrointestinal problems have done well on Vegetarian with a non-allergenic meat added.
But since we want to ensure your dog has the most trouble free experience possible, first mix 1/8 teaspoon Vegetarian with the existing dog food for one meal. While continuing to feed the same amount of meat and reducing other foods by 1/8 teaspoon per meal. Also, make sure to closely monitor your dogs digestion throughout this process.
If no problems arise, add 1/4 teaspoon Vegetarian to the same meal the next day, keep the meat, and reduce the other foods by the same amount. Don't forget to monitor your dogs digestion.
If there are no flare ups, add 1/8 teaspoon to all meals for one day, keep the meat, and reduce other foods. Continue to monitor digestion closely.
If there continue to be no problems, add 1/4 teaspoon of the Vegetarian to all meals for one day, keep the meat, and reduce other foods.
Maintain this protocol for several days. If the digestion looks good, increase the amount fed in all meals by 1/8 teaspoon increments. Continue doing so until all other foods have been replaced and you're feeding Vegetarian and meat only.
If problems arise throughout this process, stop immediately, and work closely with your veterinarian to prevent dehydration and other problems. Also, don't forget to contact your veterinarian before making any changes to your dogs diet!
We hope this helps alleviate the headache of home cooking and that Riley's condition improves!
Thanks for sharing your question! We host a #GetPetHealthy question of the week every Monday on our Facebook page. The winner receiving a FREE bag of JERKY TREATS, so check in on Mondays at http://www.facebook.com/Evangers.
Question from Bill George:
Our shih-tzu/poodle mix, Riley, was diagnosed with
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
earlier this year. The vet put him on a novel protein diet of Venison and either rice or potato, but my dog refuses to eat any canned prescription diet with these ingredients. So the vet suggested I home cook for him, which worked for a couple of weeks, but then started to refuse it. Later I could convince him to eat it by sprinkling cheese on it.I would like to try your Vegetarian complete balanced dinner mixed with some home cooked Venison. The vet told me he is more concerned about using a novel protein rather than the carbohydrate portion of Riley's meal, so my question is: Have others used the
Vegetarian dinner for dogs with gastrointestinal problems
and also with finicky eaters? Thank you!Answer:
Before serving Evanger's Vegetarian dinner to a dog with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, it is important to have your veterinarian examine the ingredient list on the Vegetarian label, and gain veterinary approval.
If approved by your veterinarian, a very slow, gentle trial and transition to the complete balanced Vegetarian dinner should take place. Many dogs with gastrointestinal problems have done well on Vegetarian with a non-allergenic meat added.
But since we want to ensure your dog has the most trouble free experience possible, first mix 1/8 teaspoon Vegetarian with the existing dog food for one meal. While continuing to feed the same amount of meat and reducing other foods by 1/8 teaspoon per meal. Also, make sure to closely monitor your dogs digestion throughout this process.If no problems arise, add 1/4 teaspoon Vegetarian to the same meal the next day, keep the meat, and reduce the other foods by the same amount. Don't forget to monitor your dogs digestion.
If there are no flare ups, add 1/8 teaspoon to all meals for one day, keep the meat, and reduce other foods. Continue to monitor digestion closely.
If there continue to be no problems, add 1/4 teaspoon of the Vegetarian to all meals for one day, keep the meat, and reduce other foods.
Maintain this protocol for several days. If the digestion looks good, increase the amount fed in all meals by 1/8 teaspoon increments. Continue doing so until all other foods have been replaced and you're feeding Vegetarian and meat only.
If problems arise throughout this process, stop immediately, and work closely with your veterinarian to prevent dehydration and other problems. Also, don't forget to contact your veterinarian before making any changes to your dogs diet!
We hope this helps alleviate the headache of home cooking and that Riley's condition improves!
Thanks for sharing your question! We host a #GetPetHealthy question of the week every Monday on our Facebook page. The winner receiving a FREE bag of JERKY TREATS, so check in on Mondays at http://www.facebook.com/Evangers.
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