After we got our puppy we put him on the raw food. I was feeding him Blueridge PuppyMix and was adding to it vegetables, olive oil and raw yolk. Also was buying chicken backs from Whole Foods (no antibiotics added), sardines from Fresh Markets.
So his schedule was rotating mornings with Ricotta cheese mixed with apple, chicken backs or sardines, and evening the PuppyMix with vegetables. From supplements just the fish oil capsules from Costco. No issues with anything, shiny coat, active and happy.
When he turned 4 month old it was time for the first heartworm medication. Vet gave him the Heartguard. After a week or so we started to see some changes in his behavior – more itchy/scratchy. That increased with the second pill.
Why am I blaming that – b/c nothing else was changed. He went through steroids and antibiotics b/c he was “eating” himself. Back legs almost without fur, the back all in patches. He looks like a straight dog now. And I see like dandruff on his coat (maybe it’s just a dry skin, or it is dry skin). Today is the second day that we started to see him vomiting. It could be nothing, maybe just too much fur is getting in his stomach when scratching.
So we started illuminating all possible causes: he got Comfortis to kill flees if any (he didn’t have any); checked him for mites – negative; I switched him from PuppyMix to Venison to minimize the risk of allergies; removed chicken. Now he eats Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast Lamb (only one protein source), Venison for dinner, and I still give him Ricotta once a week.
After 1 week nothing changed - still itching and scratching. Maybe needs more time to clear out? Just question from what...
Now he needs to get his next Heartguard and I think I will go with another med.
Does anyone was or is in the similar situation? Any suggestions are welcome – I need to get him better.
So his schedule was rotating mornings with Ricotta cheese mixed with apple, chicken backs or sardines, and evening the PuppyMix with vegetables. From supplements just the fish oil capsules from Costco. No issues with anything, shiny coat, active and happy.
When he turned 4 month old it was time for the first heartworm medication. Vet gave him the Heartguard. After a week or so we started to see some changes in his behavior – more itchy/scratchy. That increased with the second pill.
Why am I blaming that – b/c nothing else was changed. He went through steroids and antibiotics b/c he was “eating” himself. Back legs almost without fur, the back all in patches. He looks like a straight dog now. And I see like dandruff on his coat (maybe it’s just a dry skin, or it is dry skin). Today is the second day that we started to see him vomiting. It could be nothing, maybe just too much fur is getting in his stomach when scratching.
So we started illuminating all possible causes: he got Comfortis to kill flees if any (he didn’t have any); checked him for mites – negative; I switched him from PuppyMix to Venison to minimize the risk of allergies; removed chicken. Now he eats Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast Lamb (only one protein source), Venison for dinner, and I still give him Ricotta once a week.
After 1 week nothing changed - still itching and scratching. Maybe needs more time to clear out? Just question from what...
Now he needs to get his next Heartguard and I think I will go with another med.
Does anyone was or is in the similar situation? Any suggestions are welcome – I need to get him better.