[My3B's]

We adopted Baxter 2 years ago. He was a rescue from a shelter and he was approx 1 years old. He is a border collie mix. When we adopted him he was pretty underwieght but being a stray we just figured he was malnourished. Well he had 4 - 5 stankin' puddles of poop per day. You just can't scoop puddles !! At first we thought it was just nerves.....new home....etc but after a few weeks and no improvement I decided to try a different food. Another 6 weeks with no improvement.......and did I mention the gas
So now I look for a high quality, mimimal ingredient food.......read expensive......and we try that. Another couple months go by still no improvement. So now I am researching foods. I found a really informative site called "the dog food project" which takes you through how exactly to read dog food labels. It was an eye opening experience and I would recommend it to any dog owner who wants to ensure they are feeding a quality food. But in my research I also discover the raw prey model diet. Out of sheer desperation I decide to give it a try. within 2 weeks he was much better and within 1 month completely normal. We put the other dog on the diet too and have never looked back. Me and my best friend who is a vet tech were joking about me ending up with the "celiac" dog. I had a vague idea of what it was......a sensitivity to grains was what I thought.

So fast forward 2 years and here we are, myself and 2 of my kids being tested for celiac disease and contemplating a gluten free diet...........well at least Baxter fits right in....

The irony of it all!!!!

[rinne]

Sounds like he was paving the way for you.

Doctor J, a vet, has lots to say about wheat and dog food, I think all dogs may be Celiacs.

Here is a link for you: Doctor J

We have a border collie cross, they are such great dogs!

[DingoGirl]

Hi 3B, and welcome!

Well, dogs/cats/ animals (and humans) were never designed to live on grain exclusively or predominately, and (cheap) grain is the main ingredient in mainstream diets for animals in this country. My late dog had seven years of diarrhea until she went on a gluten-free diet.....it cleared up within two weeks and she lived two years beyond that, after cancer and chemotherapy 10 years prior. I scooped mostly liquid poop piles for years from my poor girl.

Anyhow, check out this veterinarian's site - he is a HUGE proponent of a grain-free (mostly) diet for our pets - the site is undergoing maintenance but still has lots of stuff to read:

http://www.dogtorj.com/

I'm so glad your dogs are feeling better!

[DingoGirl]

Hi Rinne! Looks like we posted the same thing at the same time!

[Adelle]

Both of our dogs and both of our cats can't do gluten. In fact, One dog can't have any grains, the other can't have grains, pork, or beef!! LOL! Ninja is our allergy boy! When we adopted him he was almost BALD and had all kinds of D (they were feeding him 4 cups/day of Science diet and he weighed under 40 lbs!). But now he's all kinds of beautiful! We feed raw now because it's just easier than finding food they can both eat!! Animal allergies are more common than we think!

[Janessa]

My cat was having lots of problems when I first got him and finally figured out wheat was making him sick about 2 years before I figured out I couldn't have gluten. Now we have all our cats on a grain free diet and everybody is doing great

[Angels~Exist]

Wow! I guess that's the result of having gluten in absolutely everything! Humans AND animals get over exposed! Glad you and your pets are getting better!!

[EJR]

My3B's, on Feb 20 2009, 06:40 PM, said:

We adopted Baxter 2 years ago. He was a rescue from a shelter and he was approx 1 years old. He is a border collie mix. When we adopted him he was pretty underwieght but being a stray we just figured he was malnourished. Well he had 4 - 5 stankin' puddles of poop per day. You just can't scoop puddles !! At first we thought it was just nerves.....new home....etc but after a few weeks and no improvement I decided to try a different food. Another 6 weeks with no improvement.......and did I mention the gas
So now I look for a high quality, mimimal ingredient food.......read expensive......and we try that. Another couple months go by still no improvement. So now I am researching foods. I found a really informative site called "the dog food project" which takes you through how exactly to read dog food labels. It was an eye opening experience and I would recommend it to any dog owner who wants to ensure they are feeding a quality food. But in my research I also discover the raw prey model diet. Out of sheer desperation I decide to give it a try. within 2 weeks he was much better and within 1 month completely normal. We put the other dog on the diet too and have never looked back. Me and my best friend who is a vet tech were joking about me ending up with the "celiac" dog. I had a vague idea of what it was......a sensitivity to grains was what I thought.

So fast forward 2 years and here we are, myself and 2 of my kids being tested for celiac disease and contemplating a gluten free diet...........well at least Baxter fits right in....

The irony of it all!!!!

We had a cat that developed severe diabetes. His blood sugar readings were skyhigh. We decided to try removing all grains/carbs from his diet after giving it is some thought. Obviously cats don't eat grains in their natural state. And voila within a week or so his blood sugar levels went back to normal. No more insulin shot and pokes in the ear to read his blood sugars. The diabetes never returned. Apparently cats have very little insulin in their system as carbs and grains are not a part of their natural diet.

Joyce

[tiredofbeingsickandtired]

both of my dogs are on a wheat and corn free diet and they do fabulously! I was using California Natural (love this brand) but $ has been a factor so I went to Natural Way (Lassie) food, still wheat and corn free and the dogs still do great. It was amazing when I made the change from wheat and corn, my big dog lost 15 pounds and his skin/digestive issues cleared up so fast.

[PattyBoots]

I have a soon-to-be 10-year-old diabetic wiener dog who takes 7 units(!!!!) of Vetsulin twice a day. We feed him a small amount of regular dog food with home cooked brown rice, boiled chicken, cottage cheese, and a little bit of fiber. He was getting too skinny without the dog food because I was afraid to feed him too much rice and chicken and I'm just SCARED of Science Diet and the whole "prescription food" thing. I see that the grocery that I frequent keeps the Lassie food and I believe I will try him on it. I can't bear to lose him; he was my dad's dog and Dad died in 2005 and then he was my mom's dog and she died in 2007, so he's really (people call me goofy but they can go to hell) my only remaining family!

[psawyer]

PattyBoots,

The key thing to consider in what you are feeding to a diabetic dog (or cat) is the amount of carbohydrates. Grain free foods are often touted, but many of them are high in carbohydrates--just not from grain. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, green peas and other carb sources are common in grain-free foods. A dry food should be at most 20% carbohydrates.

My personal recommendation to you would be to go to a pet specialty retailer and buy a low-carbohydrate grain-free food. Taste of the Wild is grain-free (and thus gluten-free) and has a carb content less than 20%. It will cost more than the stuff you can get at a grocery store, but if you want the best for your dog, it will be worth it.

In any case, go easy on the rice. It has a high glycemic index value, meaning that it is absorbed into the blood as sugar quickly. Are you monitoring his blood glucose levels?

We have a 13-year-old diabetic cat, and I am myself a type 1 diabetic, so this is stuff I live every day. Oliver weighs 22 pounds, and is currently on 5 units a day of Lantus, evenly divided between morning and evening injections. Lantus works well with cats, but not with dogs, by the way. Some cats go into complete remission after treatment with Lantus--we're not there yet, and may never be.

I am in the pet food business. I own a pet specialty retail store in Toronto, and if you walked into my store, I would make the same recommendations.

[G-freegal12]

I now feel much better knowing dogs may even have this...LOL