Special Diet

I too am quite interested in the quantity you are feeding at each meal.  Also, do you give your pugs vitamin supplements or is this diet complete?
Thanks,
Shelly

Owned by 4 pugs

I would also like to know quantity and if this is a complete meal without supplements.  My Pug is diagnosed with Pancreatitis.  This is in addition to her Pugencepholitis(spelling?)  She has been doing quite well since DEC ‘06 - She is now 6 yrs old and after all we’ve been through we hope we don’t lose her to pancreatitis.  Her siezures are somewhat under control thanks to an awsome neurologist in Boston.  Time to get her food under control too.
Thanks for your “pug mommy tips” I too need to walk her more etc. and take better care of her.  Please let me know about the diet.
Thanks,
K.O.‘s mommy

Seasons greetings !  We have two special needs dogs. One is a 11 year old Pug with a bad back (mobility issues) and a Cocker/Poodle that is 14,deaf and practically blind. Otherwise both are in great shape. We have been making their food since the big “pet food scare” and they seem to be healthier for it. I too am wondering about how “complete” your dogs diet is. But at the same time I’m wondering if we are adding to many ingredients. We use oatmeal,brown rice,lentils,carrots,kale,a pound of ground beef,wheatgerm,calcium citrate,zinc,and kelp powder. This is a variation of a vegetarian dog food recipe that a friend of ours has been using for years. Personally I feel the extra time and effort that goes into making your pet’s food is well worth it. Our dogs are healthier and happier and we feel better knowing exactly what is in the food. No more surprises.
V. Bennett

This recipe is not 100% completely balanced.  It is really hard to create just one recipe that has all the nutrients that your dog requires.  Instead, we work closely with our vet and change things up pretty frequently to make sure our pugs get all the vitamins they need. We’ll add in some different types of veggies, mix in some supplements, etc.

I think your best bet is check with your vet and they can offer you specific suggestions based on the age, breed, activity level, etc of your dog.

In terms of what type of water, We use regular filtered water for our pugs.  I would say check with your vet to see what type of water they feel is best.

When Brodericks blood test came back with the pancreatic section 4 times normal, we did a snap test for pancreatitis which was negative.  All things aside, I had a sick dog that did not want to eat and drank very little.  I found your recipe and while he is still not interested in the entire mix with meat and oatmeal, he is heartily chowing yogurt and pumpkin for flavor, sometimes in a bowl, sometimes watered down in a nursing bottle.  When he recovers I will continue to feed this recipe to both pugs and the cattle chow dog in addition to low fat kibble.  They love this food! It is easy to make and set aside to mix for each serving.  Thank you, thank you, you may have saved Broderick a week in the hospital on IV now that he will take fluid, and the other dogs are crazy for pumpkin food. Well done, you!

Well, the problem with Broderick Pug did not turn out to be pancreatitis as originally thought.  It turns out he chewed the small top off of a Kong (like a rubber beehive) toy. It did not present like a foreign object, because the hole at the top allowed food and water to pass through.  The dog food I made kept him nourished, hydrated and alive until the Kong toy passed into his small intestine and burst the intestine. We got him immediately to the vet and they took 5 inches of dead bowel and resectioned it. I got the top of the toy back from the vet.  It sure is stinky after sitting in his stomach for a week or so.  I found this diet very useful as a recuperating dog food for him, as he had to start on soft foods, and I could control exactly what he got, and we knew he loved the flavors. So thank you again, I believe in this recipe.
Sincerely grateful, Sue Pugma

Rose, our sincere condolences on the loss of
Sanibelle. I have heard from my vet that high fat diets can cause pancreatitis.  Because my dogs were rescued from a neglectful home, they were not fed properly for their first 4 months. They now have hypersensitive digestive systems that respond poorly to high protein feed as well as high fat.  I tried Natural Choice duck and potato but it ran through like mustard, so we dropped that for Nutro Light Bite, which works better for them. That is the extent of our experience with potato and gut inflammation.
Again, much sympathy to you about your beloved pug.  Don’t blame yourself.  You did the best you could with the information you had at the time, and did everything you could to help her.  I believe that the dogs know that, and she would not want you to beat yourself up over it because she loves you still.

My boxer “Waldo” has Pancreatitis. He was diagnosed last March. Since then, I switched dog food to Lifes Abundance holistic human grade kibbles. He seemed to be doing far better until this last month. He’s had 4 bouts and I need advice on what type food to feed him that is low in fat & protein but still is human grade, top quality & free of chemicals/preservatives.

Please someone help me.

My baby Buster, 10 years old, became sick this past Saturday. We thought it was his stomach because he has had some problems in the past. Our vet would give us something to settle his stomach and he would be fine.  This time he wouldn’t eat and when he tried to drink, he would throw it all up. It was scary as I never saw him quite this sick. We called emergency vet and they said to watch him over night. To not give him food or water for 12 hours and check him in the morning.  Try some water then and see if he could keep it down.  the next morning, we tried and he couldn’t, again throwing all the water up violently, to where he almost fell over.  We rushed him on Sunday morning to the emergency vet. By then he was pretty lethargic, breathing heavy and not our normally energetic Buster.  The vet took him in back and took xrays to be sure he didn’t swallow anything.  She said the xrays looked fine but that he was very dehydrated. She said she was going to get some blood taken and get him on fluids. I asked to go back with her and she asked that we stay and wait. Next 10 minutes or so, she comes out to tell my husband and I that she has to perform CPR on our baby. By the time we went back in the room, our baby was gone. The Dr. was performing CPR and there were many syringes on the table. It was horrible.  She couldn’t really tell us what happened. Our regular vet has requested the report and tests, but nothing will bring our baby back. We had to leave him there and covered him with his favorite blanket. We had him picked up and cremated so I can keep his ashes. My sister is now showing me all this information about foods and things we should not be giving our babies.  Our Sammy, also a pug is 5 years old and I want to be sure I’m doing everything right with him.  I am heartbroken and miss my Buster so much.  He was beautiful and daddy’s boy for sure. I just want to tell you all that they are so precious and do all you can to avoid making them sick with things we can prevent.  I don’t know what happened, hopefully, my regular vet will shed some light on what happened to my boy, but I will be sure I try better with my Sammy. I hope I didn’t do anything to cause my baby to get sick. I just can’t stop thinking “what if”???

My vet called and after looking at the report, believes that Buster had pancreatitis and was dangerously dehydrated when we brought him in.  Thks for the advice although I’m not always sure that the vets know that much about what foods are best for our babies.  Thanks

Hi - I was wondering about the “secret recipe” - is that the amount each Pug receives 3 times a day, or is that the total amount each Pug receives a day?

My parents have a Pug - the second one they’ve had (the other lived to be 12). He weighs at least 30lbs!!!!! He is fed twice a day - each meal includes rice and one boiled skinless chicken thigh. Pugsley was recently diagnosed as being in congestive heart failure and having a UTI. He was treated with medication and seems to be doing well now. The vet wants him to lose weight but my parents feel that the amount of food he is receiving is the bare minimum he could survive on. What do you think?

Dan, only give Nellie boiled white rice until the appointment.  She should have absolutely no fat in her diet and if she’s vomiting after eating chicken, then there’s no use in giving it to her anyway.  And don’t give her too much rice at once, either.  Boil about 2 cups of rice and leave it in the fridge to use until she goes to the vet.  Put a little bit of salt on it but not much.  I would see how she keeps that down (and I would start with a couple of tablespoons at a time) and give it some time.  If she keeps that down for a couple of hours, then give her a couple of more tablespoons.  Gradually build up until she eat a cup at a time.  My pug, Alfie, went through this and that’s the only way we could stop the vomiting.  If Nellie starts with diarrhea, you can try Pepto-Bismol.  They really hate it but it does work.  I use one of those plastic syringes to squirt it in the inside of his mouth.  Let me know how she’s doing.

Well, Nellie was misdiagnosed.  She didn’t have pancreatitis, but had eaten a tampon.  After a surgery to remove 14” of her small intestine then another surgery to repair the scars that didn’t heal, Vet recommended that 4 year old Nellie be put down.  I miss her.  Thanks all for your support.

Sorry to hear about the loss of Nellie. Just cherish the memories and she’ll be in your heart forever.

My 8 year old Pug Mr.Pugsley was just diagnosed with pancreatitis 5 days ago.  He is drinking and has not vomited but he is very very weak and it takes all he has to just drag his back leg….  Lots of shaking when he is in horrible pain.  I am just giving him his regualar Senior dog food and water…. Today is not one of his better days.  I had to bring him to work with me…he is under my desk right now.  Is this normal with pancreatitis to have a couple good days and a couple bad days?

Our 10yr old pug Benjamin was diagnosed with Pancreatitis last Friday.  He was very lethargic, high temp, panting, and vomiting.  We rushed him for an emergency ultrasound at which time he was admitted into the ICU at Vetrinary Referral Services in Exton Pa. (near Philadelphia). Vet said he would need to be admitted for a few days and that the chances of his survival were touch and go. Ben was also diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia from the excessive vomiting.  He received IV fluids to bypass pancreas to give it a rest. Received IV antibiotics, and Nebulizer treatments for lungs. Ben has also been gradually losing his vision.  Which is a newer stressor for him.  He was also diagnosed with hypothryoid 2months ago.  He went from always weighing 21 pounds to a whopping 26lbs.  It seemed like he had gained the weight overnight.  So needless to say it was confusing to differentiate if Ben was lethargic from hypothyroid or something else. So now after spending 4 days at hospital in ICU, he was discharged back home.  Ben started on a low fat diet of canned food called ROYAL CANIN DIGESTIVE LOW FAT.  My dog has been home for 4 days and hates this food.  No matter how I try to disguise the food, he won’t eat it.  My husband and I are going to try this meal that you have suggested.  I will give his a very small portion to see if he can handle it.  Thanks for listening and any advice will be much appreciated.  the Houstons

Tammy _ I wondered if your questions as to pancreatitis will not get to some OBPer that might be able to help you through this, since you are appearing on an outdated comments section Maybe you would want to bring this in today’s current comment in hopes of help.  I have no experience with the disease but I know some do.  Good luck with Piper.  Our furbabies are all so important to us.

Pug hugs
from the Swamp Pugs.