Malnourished Boxer running out of ideas

[fortifiedwithtea]

Boxer bitch will be 4 in October. We are first time dog owners. We thought getting KC registered dog would ensure a healthy dog, how wrong could we be!

she is allergic to everything environmentally and food. We have had her allergy tested and tried allergy therapy, cost hundreds and didn’t work.

She also has chronic pancreatitis. One major flair up.

we are feeding her the game variety of Butternut box. She is having 3 pouches a day. Been on it a decent length of time but now she has started to drop weight again. Poo is black. Blood tests reveal its not pancreatitis those levels are high end of normal. Weighs 23kg, looks very skinny.

Daughter (24) considers her , her dog but my DH pays for all food and vet care.

Daughter asked vet for a print out of most recent blood test. Basically results show dog is malnourished. Vet says because she is allergic to the meat her body is not absorbing the nutrients.

what do we do now? The dog’s health is affecting our daughter’s mental health. She is obsessed and worries about the dog all the time to an extreme degree. Daughter wants to refer dog to a specialist. I put my foot down. We can’t afford a Noel Fitzpatrick type vet. When I say we have paid out £1000’s I am not exaggerating. Daughter thinks the dog will waste away in front of our eyes to the point she will have to be pts. I think we just need to find a way to get a few more calories into her.

anyone got any suggestions?

Have you tried feeding an insect based food?

The protein is different to meat and can be used quite well in dogs that aren't able to eat a more traditional foods.

Have you tried cottage cheese and yogurt?

Also steamed butternut squash?

Not a lot of calories, but something that my dogs have always loved.

Have a look at the contents of silk balls, see if she can have them.

I mean satin balls !

Eggs?

As an aside, Butternut box is very pricey for what it is.
There are better priced options out there.

Here's the insect based food

percuro.earth/products/adult-medium-large-breed-insect-dry-dog-2kg

What is the meat in the food you are feeding? Our previous dog had all sorts of food issues and dropped weight very easily but lived to a good age once we worked out that raw beef mince didn’t cause any problems. We fed this twice a day with the occasional treat or sneaked cat food without any more problems. The vet always said it shouldn’t work but it does so just go with it. Fed raw and wolfed down very happily twice a day and never an issue with weight again.

My dog can’t stomach any meat. Causes severe vomiting. The only thing we have found to work is white fish.

@ToBeOrNotToBee thank you so much for the link! Insect protein had not occurred to me and very relieved it doesn’t mean a freezer full of creepy crawlies 😁

@NotLovingWFH Butternut box game has venison and I think a bit of duck but don’t quote me on the duck bit.

Butternut box do a pork based pouch, which would be fine for her allergies but the high fat content would flair the pancreas.

Very allergic to chicken
medium allergy to salmon

low allergies to white fish but tolerable

allergic to all grain and egg.

We had a cat with allergies. We had to feed her on cooked chicken only at one point as it is most likely to be tolerated.

The vet also recommended James well beloved food as low allergenic.

@CleverQuacks we are currently giving her home cooked white fish and potatoes but she’s still hungry. We had to do that because vet wanted a poo sample without any red meat. Wanted to know whether black poo was result of red meat in her diet

I'd just start feeding her meat. Whatever meat she isn't allergic to, from the reduced section where possible! Plus the odd dollop of plain low fat yoghurt, and some grated veg (or just carrots and brocolli stalks and apple slices as crunchy snacks).

(not any kind of specialist dog dietician but that's what feels right so it's what I'd do)

@Rainbowshit tried James Wellbeloved and Millie’s Wolfheart neither of them suited our boxer but thanks for the suggestion.

What is she like with rice & Veg?

My uncle had a boxer that couldn't eat meat. It was fed on a special vegetarian food from the vets as I remember....

Our dog sees an allergy specialist vet in Leicestershire, and it isnt super vet type prices and has been very useful. Suggest to your daughter that she pays , you have to put your money where your mouth is! Our dog is allergic to eggs, which are common in prepared pet foods. The vet suggested finding a supplier of exotic meat, like alpaca, but once we learnt to avoid eggs that wasn’t necessary. I would suggest you keep the dog on home cooked food. White fish, sweet potatoes, peas. Any new food introduced gradually.Our dogs love crispy potato skin, just baked in the oven in some oil, which could give some calories. Also watch out for environmental allergens. I know someone whose dog can only be walked at night in pollen season.

Your vet should be able to tell you how much a referral would be... it won’t be Noel Fitzpatrick prices, his specialities are expensive compared to others anyway and he is expensive even among those.

Puppy food is more nutrient dense so I'd switch to one which she can tolerate. I'd add grated dried liver, tuna and sardines if she can tolerate those. Also cottage cheese and yoghurt.

Have you tried puppy milk as a supplement or one of the goat based milks for puppies? I'd imagine they are designed to be nutrient dense, easily digested and well tolerated.

I tried loads of fancier brands of food with my dog before I realised she doesn't tolerate chicken very well. I always came back to Skinners which is the food she was weaned on. I then top with a salmon based wet food from Skinners or something from the list above.

Not all pork is high fat. There's a very old myth around pork, fat content, and suitability for dogs.

What is the full list of allergies? And is this a list your vet agrees with?
(i.e. not something random off the internet - I'm a bit suspicious of high/medium/low allergy lists as that's the default format for a lot of quacks claiming to diagnose human allergies and intolerances)

What nutritional advice has your vet given?

Have you got a list of everything you know she can tolerate? - meats, veggies, fruit

A dog with extreme allergies will almost certainly mean having to prepare the food yourself, but you will be able to batch cook and freeze. But the key step is to get beyond what she can't have and work with a list of what she can. And get nutritional advice from the vet.

Enzymes on food help it to be absorbed, such as Lypex, but what has your vet suggested? They should be advising you.

There’s some good advice here.
Check out the Facebook page “Daft Boxer Club UK.” It’s for Boxer owners and will be helpful with diet advice and support.
Our last (sweet and gentle) rescued Boxer could only tolerate Venison & Duck.

Our similar boxer we used to have had the Fish For Dogs white fish variety

My setter is allergic to some things, and extremely fussy with food (probably because it made him feel rubbish). We’ve tried BNB, raw and lots of others. He’s been on anallergenic Royal canin for a while now, and is finally back up to a proper weight.