Need suggestions for problem with my mutt, Bear.

[..]

As some of you may know my mutt Bear has started having siezures.

Phenobarbital is kinda keeping them under control.

 BUT he's driivng me crazy whining all day asking for food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food.

If I don't respond to the whining he progresses to full scale barking at all times of the day.

Sleeping with earplugs is not an option because I need to hear him if he starts to have a siezure, dogs are very confused once the siezure has passed and will walk around and around bumping into anything

I can't just give him what he's asking for because he'll be a tub o' lard within a week or two.

Is there any kind of appetite suppressor I can give him?

On the plus side the meds have given him a very soft and shiny coat.  

[Chrisj CMA]

Britman, I didnt see where you said what you are feeding him, but some of the better dog foods have higher or lower calorie values you can get.  If he needs more volume of food, maybe a lower calorie version with more frequent but smaller portions.  Or, if you already feed him several times and dont want to increase the frequency, maybe a higher calorie food would satisfy him more.....

[..]

Good suggestion. I'll take a look at what he's eating and try to do a food comparison. The problem is that there's a body of thought that links dog siezures with too much protein consumption so I don't want to feed him too many carbs cause then he'll really bulk up.

He's 13 1/2 years old and about a 1 1/2 mile walk is his limit now before he's starts to get tired.

[X Ring]

Beneful has a Healthy Weight version.  Have to feed it to my Mom's dachsund or she will be fatter than she already is.  With those stubby legs her belly is only 2 inches off the ground.

[..]

Beneful has a Healthy Weight version.  Have to feed it to my Mom's dachsund or she will be fatter than she already is.  With those stubby legs her belly is only 2 inches off the ground.

Looks good BUT has more protein than http://www.pedigree.com/really-good-food/product-page.aspx?id=1058

I've just found this. http://www.pedigree.com/really-good-food/product-page.aspx?id=965 which is much lower in protein.

Thanks for your suggestion which got me searching.

Anyone else got suggestions?

[Strider]

We feed one of our dogs who has a weight problem with Pedigree Weight Control.

Also had an overweight Cocker Spaniel one time that the vet suggested we feed raw cauliflower to - and he loved it.  Could basically eat all he wanted of the stuff.

[..]

We feed one of our dogs who has a weight problem with Pedigree Weight Control.

Also had an overweight Cocker Spaniel one time that the vet suggested we feed raw cauliflower to - and he loved it.  Could basically eat all he wanted of the stuff.

Holy Moly did ya have to wear a gas mask 

I have a cabbage in the fridge. I'll see if he'll chow down on some.

Any update on a KLR possibility? I've got lotsa web sites if you need any info.

[Strider]

   Cabbage?

For some reason Christopher Marlow (the Cocker) LOVED the texture of raw cauliflower.

We were also suppose to take him to a lake to swim - vet said that it was low impact and burned a lot of calories - but he didn't take to swimming as big as he was.

Concerning the KLR - still looking at thinking.  Went and checked out the Vstrom 650 as well.

Thanks Paul!!!  The other site you turned me onto is way cool - some of those folks really RIDE!

[..]

 Cabbage?

For some reason Christopher Marlow (the Cocker) LOVED the texture of raw cauliflower.

We were also suppose to take him to a lake to swim - vet said that it was low impact and burned a lot of calories - but he didn't take to swimming as big as he was.

Concerning the KLR - still looking at thinking.  Went and checked out the Vstrom 650 as well.

Thanks Paul!!!  The other site you turned me onto is way cool - some of those folks really RIDE!

Bugger it. Cauliflower.

[Minnie Miles]

Get him some weed to calm him down that will also supress his appetite

[Lyn-Del]

You don't say how much, if any, training he has.  If he has some basic training, whenhe whines, asking him for several behaviors -- not one or two, but several.  Make him work, and reward him with a great flourish -- and ONE Cheerio.  If he speaks on cue, ask him to bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark, etc., until he is obviously good and tired of it himself, and reward him with a great flourish -- and ONE Cheerio.

Many dogs who are demand barking will give it up when they realize exactly how much work it will take to get one measley little Cheerio.

And it's fun, messing with their minds!!!

I've been the seizure route, and it's not fun, but it's worth the trouble.  I still miss the big galoot, and he died in 1994.

[..]

Get him some weed to calm him down that will also supress his appetite

Had the opposite affect on me back in the day 

[..]

You don't say how much, if any, training he has.  If he has some basic training, whenhe whines, asking him for several behaviors -- not one or two, but several.  Make him work, and reward him with a great flourish -- and ONE Cheerio.  If he speaks on cue, ask him to bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark, etc., until he is obviously good and tired of it himself, and reward him with a great flourish -- and ONE Cheerio.

Many dogs who are demand barking will give it up when they realize exactly how much work it will take to get one measley little Cheerio.

And it's fun, messing with their minds!!!

I've been the seizure route, and it's not fun, but it's worth the trouble.  I still miss the big galoot, and he died in 1994.

This afternoon I went upstairs and put the whoooo, scary, might fall on me dog gate across the bottom stair. He whined for a while and eventually went to sleep. I'll have to try this again.

[..]

Get him some weed to calm him down that will also supress his appetite

Gotta recipe for dog food with weed? Remember dogs can't eat chocolate so brownies are out! 

[..]

The old bugger is in his normal home defence pose at the top of the stairs.

Snoring and becoming deaf as a post BUT in his mind THE main home defender.

The best dawg I've ever buddied with. The only dawg I've had from being a puppy to an old geezer.

Darn it, I've got one of Strider's gnats in my eye, eyes.



He got his name just after my ex and I adopted him from the local humane society as a puppy. Took him for a walk around the neighborhood. A group of people came over a rise towards us and a young woman said "Look, he looks just like a bear."



I wanted a short haired, non shedding dog and ended up with a shaggy bugger who sheds enough to make a sweater a month.  

Here's a nekkid Bear.



75 pound Chow / Sheltie with a dash of Rottweiler.

[..]

 Cabbage?

For some reason Christopher Marlow (the Cocker) LOVED the texture of raw cauliflower.

My mutt chuckles at your raw cauliflower.

He guffaws at raw cauliflower soaked in chicken broth.

I swear the little bugger was sucking the broth off and spitting the cauliflower back out.

I bought some Science Diet dry (lower protein) food which I will mix with his Pedigree. Science Diet ingredient list is "better" than the Pedigree and so is the $$$$$ cost. 5lbs for 15 bucks. 

[Minnie Miles]

Get him some weed to calm him down that will also supress his appetite

Gotta recipe for dog food with weed? Remember dogs can't eat chocolate so brownies are out! 

NO NO NO you take a big drag on your bowl then hold his mouth shut and blow it in his nose

[asfltdncr]

I'll just bet that there are other medications that your Vet could try for siezures that hopefully won't affect him in the same manner.  I'll see if my wife remembers what we had our old dog on before passing.  It did not have any side effects like you're describing.
You know my present dog is 13 and lost his hearing almost overnight it seemed and it appeared that there was an adjustment period they go through.  I think it scares them and I've been told that when a dog's hearing is lost, it is very common for them to bark non-stop for a few days until they can adjust.  I still talk to my dog and treat him the same as before (he never listened anyway and I don't believe he can speak English-kind of like "W") in hope he will at least see that his environment is the same.  He seems to have adjusted pretty well to the hearing loss now with some personality change but playful when he isn't a floor matt.

[..]

I'll just bet that there are other medications that your Vet could try for siezures that hopefully won't affect him in the same manner.  I'll see if my wife remembers what we had our old dog on before passing.  It did not have any side effects like you're describing.
You know my present dog is 13 and lost his hearing almost overnight it seemed and it appeared that there was an adjustment period they go through.  I think it scares them and I've been told that when a dog's hearing is lost, it is very common for them to bark non-stop for a few days until they can adjust.  I still talk to my dog and treat him the same as before (he never listened anyway and I don't believe he can speak English-kind of like "W") in hope he will at least see that his environment is the same.  He seems to have adjusted pretty well to the hearing loss now with some personality change but playful when he isn't a floor matt.

The ole bugger has lost about 60% of his hearing and my whistle is lost on him. Still responds very well to hand commands.

[..]

Steamed cauliflower was devoured with much gusto once allowed to cool a little. 10 minutes over boiling water and what a happy chappy.  

Now I have to hope that there wont be a malodorous after effect.   The old boy has only ever erupted noxiously about a dozen times in 13 1/2 years. Well, that I'm aware of  

[Strider]

 

Good luck on the odoriferousness....... 

[Piper]

Steamed cauliflower was devoured with much gusto once allowed to cool a little. 10 minutes over boiling water and what a happy chappy.  

Now I have to hope that there wont be a malodorous after effect.   The old boy has only ever erupted noxiously about a dozen times in 13 1/2 years. Well, that I'm aware of  

Ha!
The S/O's retired service dog ate something one night, we have no idea what it was, that set off the gas detector in the basement twice.
The first time we ran around trying to find the source of the gas leak. The second time it was a cause and effect. He sat right under the detector and audibly let fly, then the alarm sounded. 
Butch is an American Bulldog/Boxer mix.
We discovered the hard way never to feed Butch shrimp egg rolls, ever. But that is a different story.

Butch also has an eating problem. He gets fed once a day a special diet because he is allergic to most common dog foods. He also decided that he likes range cubes and he is willing to "discuss" the matter with the bull when I feed the cows. So far nobody has been hurt but neither wants to back down. Butch has lost about 30lbs to about 120lbs. He constantly wants to eat and begs for food all the time. A firm word, a clicker, and being locked in the dog run tempers this behavior.
Once a dog figures out that they can manipulate you, it takes double the effort to break them of the habit.

[..]

The old bugger, Bear, will eat steamed cabbage as well so I'm gonna bulk up his normal food with steamed veggies. Will be good for me as well 

[asfltdncr]

I know that a body may be exposed to something for a long time and then, all of the sudden, it will reject it and you now have an "allergy".
I'm trying the approach on my dog that many of his problems may be involved with the food he eats.  Other dogs tolerate commercial foods and anything else for that matter, without problem.
I've found that there aren't a lot of "non-allergenic" brands.  I don't think that the foods that claim to be "holistic" are necessarily non-allergenic.
EXPENSIVE-but worth it if it works.
I'm trying a product by California Natural and it's available via internet.The brand has treats and canned dog food as well to give a little more interest to dry kibble.
With most of the commercial dog food coming out of a third-world country, you don't know what the f... you're getting anymore.  We're want to eliminate food as being any problem.

[..]

Bloody hell. Steamed carrots and steamed tomatoes as well.

I've fed him Pedigree dry food since he was old enought to eat it. Same brand for about 12 1/2 years.

[..]

Steamed cauliflower was devoured with much gusto once allowed to cool a little. 10 minutes over boiling water and what a happy chappy.  

Now I have to hope that there wont be a malodorous after effect.   The old boy has only ever erupted noxiously about a dozen times in 13 1/2 years. Well, that I'm aware of  

Well no steamed cabbage for the mutt today BUT I belive the previous feedings have finally caught up with him 

I had to air the house out this evening and it's only 38F outside and I've got bronchitis. There was no way I could have sat with that effluvial miasma wafting through the house. 

[Lyn-Del]

I know that a body may be exposed to something for a long time and then, all of the sudden, it will reject it and you now have an "allergy".

I've found that there aren't a lot of "non-allergenic" brands.  I don't think that the foods that claim to be "holistic" are necessarily non-allergenic.

Most of the foods designed for allergies are "novel" foods, foods that normal dogs haven't eaten before.  That's how lamb and rice came out -- but everyone switched to lamb and rice thinking because it's special, because it's recommended for dogs with allergies, and they thought that meant their dog would never develop allergies.  Then dogs became allergic to lamb and rice.  Now, in readily available commercial foods, you can find almost anything.  And the "novel" allergy foods are expensive due to ingredients like duck and venison and rabbit.

Those of us who feed raw foods found that dogs may be allergic to the processed form of the meat, but don't have issues with it raw.  But with raw foods, you have to be careful to keep calcium and phosphorus levels balanced.  Of course, on an old dog it's not nearly as important as it is to have something he can and will eat.

[..]

Canned green beans?

Who would have thought it?

Canned green beans!

I zap them a little to warm them up and he scarfes them up. This could be THE solution.

It's a good thing cause the smell of cabbage was starting to tick me off.

[asfltdncr]

There's little value in green beans and vegetables don't satisfy what a dog needs. 
They need among other things, protein, starch, amino acids.
My 14 year old dog lost his appetite.  At that time, I switched away from commercial dog foods and started feeding him a "limited ingredients diet" (less to be allergic to).  By the way, allergic reactions can cause seizures, ear infections, inflamed bowels, and a host of other problems.
The bottom line is that kibble is probably the worst form of food for a dog but one we all use for a variety of reasons.  Kibble is the most-processed form of dog food.  Stay away from all those vegetable-looking foods.  That makes you feel better but it is just dye and more trash to make your dog sick.

[Lyn-Del]

Did you catch the part where the dog is demanding more food than he can/should have?

Canned green beans (preferably no-salt) have been used for years to give bulk without calories for dogs. 

And canned Solid Pack pumpkin (Not pumpkin pie mix) is a good aid for both diarrhea and constipation in dogs. 

The fact that dogs aren't designed to digest veggies doesn't mean that they can't benefit from them in other ways.

[..]

Did you catch the part where the dog is demanding more food than he can/should have?

Canned green beans (preferably no-salt) have been used for years to give bulk without calories for dogs. 

And canned Solid Pack pumpkin (Not pumpkin pie mix) is a good aid for both diarrhea and constipation in dogs. 

The fact that dogs aren't designed to digest veggies doesn't mean that they can't benefit from them in other ways.

If I give him too much canned Solid Pack pumpkin will he end up in a Snoopy comic strip?

[Stude]

 One of my older show dogs was a Cocker Spaniel she too started having siezures around the
age of eight. My vet said it was sparked by excitment, the dog knew when she won a match
because of the fuss the club members as well as myself would make over her. I don't remember
what the pills were he had me give her but she would go for an hour walk drink a lot of water
eat her meal at 4:00pm watch TV with us then out like a light by 10:00pm. I think your little
buddy bear might be eatting because he is board... take him for a walk when he barks a 20 min.
walk will curb a dogs hunger pain... plus he will catch on to the trick that barking will get him a walk.

 

[Stude]

 That dog was a money maker...   
You should have taken a video of that and sent it to A.F.V.

[..]

One of my older show dogs was a Cocker Spaniel she too started having siezures around the
age of eight. My vet said it was sparked by excitment, the dog knew when she won a match
because of the fuss the club members as well as myself would make over her. I don't remember
what the pills were he had me give her but she would go for an hour walk drink a lot of water
eat her meal at 4:00pm watch TV with us then out like a light by 10:00pm. I think your little
buddy bear might be eatting because he is board... take him for a walk when he barks a 20 min.
walk will curb a dogs hunger pain... plus he will catch on to the trick that barking will get him a walk.

 

He gets walked but about 1 1/2 miles is his limit due to bad hips.