Postings by Hippo

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Hippo 1102996     Barked: Sat Dec 1, '12 10:22pm PST  Hello Everyone! It's been almost a year since I've been on the forums. Hippo had bloat surgery almost a year ago. The first month was a strict schedule of feedings and medications. I had an entire wipe board dedicated to his schedule. Some medications had to be given with food, some before, some after. Every 2 hours was some sort of medication. Today he gets Prilosec OTC about 2-3 times a week (still has acid reflux issues), that's pretty much it. Well, aside from other preexisting medications. Hippo wound up suffering some damage with is ability to absorb nutrients from food and starting looking pretty thin/ muscle atrophy. I tried feeding him more food, but he was eating double of what he was pre-bloat, and I'm a bit paranoid about him eating too much. I began playing with foods to see what would work. I tried duck then venison, which showed some results. The best for Hippo turns out to be Bison meat. I've been feeding bison for 3 months now, and he has gained back weight and is starting to gain muscle mass back. Oh, he also gets some yogurt on his food too. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Fri Dec 23, '11 1:23pm PST  Hi everyone, happy holidays! I've been feeding my dogs a ground raw diet (grind up bones, organs and muscle meat together), or taste of the wild kibble if I'm in bind for time for three years now. My oldest and most beloved dog, Hippo got GDV or gastric torsion Sunday night. His stomach torsed and then filled up with gas (instead of bloating then torsing). Luckily I caught it right when it happened and we were able to get him to a vet who could do the surgery and gastropexy in time to save his life (running total right now is $6000). I think feeding him a raw diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids helped save him too as his heart suffered no trauma pre and post-op. I did everything in my power and during his lifetime to prevent GDV with a raw diet, making him wait to be active after eating, even keeping his stress down, but alas no one really knows the cause (if there is one cause or many causes) yet besides genetics which may be involved. His stomach torsed at 1:10 am, seven hours after he ate. He wasn't even active that day either. Thinking of writing up a post/informative guide of some warning signs (you read about it, but many people still don't know it's happening when it does) and steps to take to find a vet who can do the surgery and what to expect pre-surgery (they had to Trocar, or insert a needle into Hippo's stomach to relieve some of the pressure from the gas) and post-surgery. At any rate because of the trauma from the torsion, surgery and the fact that he had some post-op complications with gastric motility and acid build up I must feed him a cooked diet for the next few weeks or possibly for a few months (he's nearly 10 years old). The first few days was boiled chicken, he only licks at cottage cheese and refuses to touch yogurt (thought I wish he wold eat it as it would help him digest his food). Any nice blander balanced recipes out there since he's getting sick of chicken. I'm very familiar with raw recipes and how to balance that diet, but organs are a bit too rich for him yet (unless there are some organs out there that I am un-aware of). Going to start eggs and maybe a little hamburger this afternoon as he's tired of boiled chicken. He's pretty picky eater still. He would normally dance if he could for yogurt, but now he doesn't even want to give it a lick. I have to feed him 4 meals a day right now. Again, looking for formulas that would balance the diet or recipes that are balanced. Bland or easy to digest is good. Posting here because of the communal and peer-reviews knowledge you guys all have! my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Foie Gras

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Sun Oct 3, '10 6:20pm PST  yes, you can feed plain ol' duck liver as an organ! my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Foie Gras

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Sun Oct 3, '10 12:28pm PST  There are ducks not kept in small cages (they get to roam some), but they are still force fed corn by a tube. The only way to get Foie Gras is to disease the liver. To stay on topic, you could probably feed very small amounts to a dog. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > And the winner is ...............

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Sat Oct 2, '10 2:19pm PST  Congrats Mississippi and Hounds you guys are amazingly awesome!!!!!!! CONGRATS ON WINNING, you guys certainly deserve it. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Wed Sep 29, '10 1:14am PST  I once had a grey that I fed raw (he died of bone cancer over 5 years ago). When he was younger and much more active I would feed him about 3.5-4% of his body weight. When he was older and more sedate, 2.5% was adequate. Yes, they do need a little more food then some other breeds the same size. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > Seriously? Raw = more energy??

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Tue Sep 21, '10 8:13pm PST  Hippo gained much more energy on raw. He plays just as much as he does at the age of 8.5 compared to when he was 3. He's been on raw for almost 2 years now. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Raw Food Diet > A question for the raw feeders with older dogs

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Fri Sep 17, '10 10:27pm PST  Hippo is 8.5 years old. Ok, it's not an OLD dog, but considering he's 110 lbs and was born with pretty severe hip displaysia (and had distemper when I rescued him as a puppy) he ages much faster. He too is also missing a carnassal molar (had it removed because he broke the tooth). I feed him ground raw (ground bones, meat and organs). He just just fine on it. He doesn't care to chomp on bones. The only meat bones he likes are chicken/turkey necks and wings (which help keep his teeth pearly white). Honestly, raw is awesome. When he started on over a year ago his energy levels went up, and his hips didn't hurt him as much either. Cartilage from chicken knees and feet and feet are a great natural source of glucosamine and chondrotin. At the age of 8, he acted like he did when he was 4. Before raw, he was on a high quality kibble, but even then. he picked at it. With raw, he always eats everything, and he's doing great at maintaining a healthy weight. It's way easier for a dog to be at a healthy weight on raw than it is on kibble. You don't have to worry as much. Best of all, their poop is much smaller and it doesn't stink nearly as much. The grinder I use is the Tasin 108. You can buy it at onestopjerkeyshop.com for under $200 shipped. It grinds chicken, rabbit, turkey (you'll have to chop the bigger bones up) and fish bones/meat. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Food & Nutrition > New Nature's Domain Food

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Fri Sep 17, '10 1:23am PST  Uno, the Turkey's ingredients are the exact same as the Salmon's (except turkey as the meat ingredient). As far as meat percentages go, the salmon's is anywhere from 30-40% meat by weight (I'm guessing the Turkey's is the same). my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Hippo 1102996     Barked: Wed Sep 15, '10 12:01pm PST  Nature's Domain dog food (grain free dog food sold at Costco, which is made in the same factory that Taste of the Wild is in Lathrop, CA) has a new flavor out, Turkey. Price is $27 for a 35# bag. I saw this at Costco on Monday night. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

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