Tricky to feed miniature schnauzer - some suggestions needed please!

[nicky2512]

Hi. My 5 year old miniature schnauzer has been on a limited diet since he was little. His list of issues are:
allergic to wheat.
Pancreatitis.
Vomits if he goes too long between meals so little and often needed.
Can’t eat dry/hard food - will bring it straight back up.
Gets awful, smelly wind from more than a few spoonfuls of dog food.
Has severe colitis which flares up if he eats anything wrong, if anything upsets him, if his routine is disturbed, if he gets any other problems like sore ear.

After horrendous bother when he was tiny and his intestines were so swollen, practically nothing was going through (we almost lost him) trial and error led to the following diet:
Breakfast - some scrambled egg
10 am small amount rice crispies
Lunch - plain boiled chicken and 2 tablespoons burns egg moist food (needs wee bit of bulk to help keep going to loo)
3pm - spoon of rice pudding
Dinner - boiled chicken and rice
Supper - boiled chicken and rice.

This has worked great. He’s happy, healthy and an incredible wee boy who we adore. However in the last few weeks he has stopped eating his breakfast and the wee drop of dog food. Sometimes he will go right through until dinner before he eats.
He can not afford to lose weight and also on these days he’s so gurgly and windy.

He is really not bothered by food. He likes a bit of carrot or a green bean but he can take it or leave it.

The vet always said to only stick to one meat protein at a time but I’m wondering if there’s anything else I could try to tempt him.

I was looking earlier at forthglade grain free chicken and wondered if that was worth a try (only a tiny bit). Or is there anything else that might tempt him.

I don’t want to feed boiled chicken at every meal in case I put him of it too.

Sorry that was long but would appreciate any ideas. Thank you.

Leonberger. Sorry to be a pain but I cant see the food you recommended on Hills website. I must be looking in the wrong place. Will look again but I just wanted to check - is that something I can just buy and try or does it have to come from vet?
Thank you.

Sorry it’s Purina HA not Hills. You can buy Purina HA anywhere I believe, it’s probably cheaper online than from your vet.
The hills version is ZD however I find more dogs do well on HA for some reason!

Leonberger that’s fantastic thanks. I’ll give it a try. Will be fun persuading him to eat something different but I’ll have a go! Food has never interested him. He could walk past anything and not react.
Never had a wee dog like him!

@nicky2512 I tend to find soaking any dry food in boiling water for a little bit until it’s soft and warm helps tempt them a bit.

I do think it’s worth a referral to a specialist but lots of dogs live on diets for life with no issues, you just might have to get a bit creative!

Leonberger Thank you. Will speak to vet and see. But def trying that. It comes in tins so will try those.
Thanks again everyone for all the help.

Leonberger and others who helped on here - I just wanted to update you and thank you for your help. Purina HA has literally been life changing! He is a new dog. No more gurgling or wind and much more energy. He even seems to enjoy eating it which I really didn’t expect. Thank you so much. I really can’t believe it was never suggested by the vet.
Should have asked on here sooner!

Chappie do a chicken and rice tin - might be worth reading the label to check ingredients, but if it's suitable then I think it's the cheapest, and like other pistes I know people whose dogs have sensitive stomachs who love the brand

Also, check out Carnilove. Their semi-moist treats might be useful, and they do a whole range of wet, dry and treats. Although there can be chicken fat or salmon oil lurking in the ingredients. The venison & reindeer, and the duck & pheasant tins might be worth a look. OK - it's not single source protein, but they are closely related species!

One of my (dear departed now) MS had pancreas issues that started as a pup. It was so scary, he almost turned himself inside out and ended up on a drip once, he was so dehydrated. He ended up on the wet food vets prescribe for convalescent dogs but it is very low nutrient so it wasn't a long term solution for a young dog. Through trial and error, he ended up with Vitalin dry food which had actually been recommended for my brother's bull mastiff who had other food intolerances. We kept him on that for the rest of his life and he was mostly fine. We had to be very strict with treats or tidbits- NONE ALLOWED - which was hard with two other dogs. Luckily he ate like a donkey in terms of fruit and veg, he'd eat absolutely anything and would jump on the table or into the courgette patch and just help himself to whatever he fancied! He was the most fabulous, even tempered, laid back, lovable dog and I still miss him every day

@nicky2512 I’m glad he’s feeling better!!

He must have some sort of underlying allergy or food intolerance. Sometimes it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly what too so you end up having to rule out almost everything which is what HA or other exclusion diets do. The ingredients are sort of purified so as not to cause an allergic reaction which is why it differs to a normal hypoallergenic diet. It’s perfectly fine to use long term if he is happy and I’ve seen lots of dogs eat it forever without a problem! Much better than being constantly unwell anyway.

Hope he continues to do well

Thank you @Leonberger, I really appreciate your help. I just can’t believe the difference.
I’m so glad I asked for help.