# Is it the food or the bully chews?



## SouthernNdN (Nov 17, 2010)

Nuhkia has been on Innova puppy for 2 straight weeks with no issues. However Saturday or Sunday I stopped by the pet store to pick her up more bully chews because she had gone through the other three. So instead of buying the bully twist as I had bought before I opted to try the Bully Stick and also picked up 2 Nylabones. 

I gave her one of the Nylabones the first night, which she had gone in about an hour and the next night I had given her a Bully Chew which was also gone with the hour.. 

Monday morning she was out of food, so I drove to the pet store to pick up another bag of Innova for her. The first bag in the first week she loved and had no issues at all. However when I bought a new bag of the same exact kind and gave her a bowl Monday morning she smelled it and walked away. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. So, after trying for a bit with no bites, I put a little water in to soften up the kibble thinking perhaps her mouth was sore. After a few minutes I got her to eat half of it. Well the same thing happened Monday evening as well. So, I'm wondering could there be something wrong with this last bag of Innova that I've bought??? 

The reason I'm asking is after her eating the nylabones and the new bully chews I noticed a change in coloration to her fecal. And now after giving her some of the kibble from the new bag of Innova she has liquid fecal, this started yesterday monring and has lasted into this morning as well.

Last Monday the Vet had given her a pill to flush out any parasites. I also started her on a heartworm pill to fend off hookworms et cetra, she did good the entire week, However after eating breakfast and dinner from the new bag of kibble yesterday her stools have completely changed!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I think, between the chews, the worming, and the new bag of food there's too many variables to be sure.

If you take the rest of the bag back to the pet store and say your dog won't eat it they might let you exchange it.

Also, for Dog's sake, buy your bully sticks online! What they charge for them at the pet store is highway robbery!


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## ZAYDA (Apr 22, 2010)

Stick with the food only and just wait her out. She will eat when her tummy is ready. Nylabones that they can eat are no good you want them to chew on it over weeks but be careful my girl got two cracked teeth on the white nylabones but back to your question....I think she will eat her food again as she did for 2 weeks just give her 2-3 days and if adding water helps then do it. good luck


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## SouthernNdN (Nov 17, 2010)

Erm, so I'm wondering now after doing a little reading if she isn't passing some type of tape worm or something of the sort. After looking at her fecal matter as soon as she goes, Every one looks the same with little white specks in it. And a few times it was almost mucus like. I know nasty! However this last time she went, the way it came out you would have thought there was a piece of hair the soft fecal was attached to in pieces. So, I'm assuming she is passing some type of parasite.

However the only thing that has me stumped is both the parasite pill the the heartworm were given Monday night and Tuesday afternoon of Last week. Does it sound normal to have this happening a week later and not right after taking those two pills?

Btw, 6:30pm came rolling around and she still wouldn't eat her kibble. So, I took some chicken legs out of the freezer, dethawed them, boiled and stripped them. I then made a batch of rice and mixed it together with a smidge of the chicken broth and Nuhkia woofed it down like no ones buisness! And after she slept all day, 1.5-2 hours later she was trying to run through the house like a mad man. I took her outside because she went to the door and she started rolling and flipping in the snow. So, I'm assuming after getting some food in her, she felt better. However, she has barely drank and water all day. Dehydration I'm a bit worried about. Refusing bother kibble and water.... My mother wants me to go grab some Pedialite for children and to giver Nuhkia a dose every hour just to keep her from dehydrating.

I'm confused atm, hopefully tomorrow will bring more promise and Nuhkia a bit more back to her old self....


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Mine like Gatorade, you might leave some out for her. Stosh was very sensitive to chicken, so you could try brown rice and cooked ground beef to settle her stomach for a few days, then slowly add the kibble


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I think they nylabones are causing her digestive upset. They are made of plastic! The white flecks could be the nylabone, at least it is passing. I would give her some digestive enzymes and probiotics, you can make a paste of it with yogurt and have her eat that before a meal.
Scrambled egg will kickstart the appetite and is fairly easy on the tummy if she goes off her appetite again.
Because she ate a bland diet instead of kibble the need to drink isn't there...kibble fed dogs drink alot more than a dog that is raw fed or given home cooked. Ice cubes are fun too!


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## SouthernNdN (Nov 17, 2010)

Stosh, Onyx'girl, thank you very much for your advice, I will definately try both of those!

Onyx, yeah, I had read different things on the Nylabones and figured I would try it, thinking it would last alot longer than the bully twist (which usually lasted 3-4 days before they got to small and I would throw them away). However 1 hour? I mean seriously, it was gone like nothing. I definately will not be giving her anymore of those, nor the Bully Chews that I still have left! She did wonderful on the Bully Chews. However I would love to find something that she can mouth til the cows come home and will be unable to destroy in like 1.2 seconds.

At the moment she has a leg bone I would assume, which is big and heavy as all get out. She naws on that now since I won't give her any more Bully,s however I've heard those are teeth breakers and not good. Not to mention she loves to evidently hear the sound of it hitting the tile floor when she drops it out of her mouth, which I'm waiting for her to eventually crack!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

If your local grocer or meat processer has raw fresh(not smoked) beef knuckle bones or soup bones, those are great for pups. The cartilege is good for the ears, and the bone is more spongy than the weight bearing bones. Feed in the crate if you don't have a good spot to give it, but supervise. And don't let it dry out, wrap/fridge it for another chew session.


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## SouthernNdN (Nov 17, 2010)

Onyx, awsome, thank you very much! And thankfully I have hardwood floors throughout, so any mess she creates I'm good to go. However today she decided to throw up on the living room rug. I cleaned it up while she pawed at me thinking I was playing. An hour later she was standing straight up scratching at the entire rug and then started trying to bite it. No idea what that was about, but 1 word and she stopped.


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## Whitedog404 (Mar 25, 2010)

Your dog actually ATE the Nylabone? Is that common? I'm asking because I've yet to have a dog like them. I just wasted $13 on one last week and it's lying in the yard.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Wow, your dog ate a plastic Nylabone in an hour? Are you sure it wasn't one of the edible ones? Because that is scary.

The Bully sticks always cause runny poop here. We have pretty much stopped giving them, and if we do, we take it away after about 15 minutes. We limit it to once every couple of weeks, but honestly, I can't remember the last time they had one. They love their Nylabones. We get the yellow-ish colored ones.

The worm pill usually works in less than 24 hours. If you are seeing something a week later, it's not related.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I missed how old your dog is. Bully sticks have caused poop problems for my dog. And gas. After several months of bully sticks (one a week) she threw one up. No more for her, she will survive without them. It looks like your dog had a wide variety of treats in a short time, which would always be a problem for my dog. As advised above, revert to dog food until pup is on an even keel.


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## SouthernNdN (Nov 17, 2010)

Yes, the Nylabone she ate was one of the edible ones. I didn't know until after the fact that Nylabone actually made a plastic one.

As for the Bully Chews. The first few she had were the Bully Twist with nothing added in the middle, with those she did fine. And it usually took 3-4 days for her to naw them down to something to small for her to have, at which point I would throw it away. But when I gave her the actually Bully Stick with the additives inside, those didn't sit well with her. She actually did get gas before the runny poo's. Let me tell you, the gas she got from those are no joke, considering it started while on a trip 1.5 hrs away from home. lol

Thankfully after giving her a meal of boiled chicken and rice, and a scrambled egg the next day with her dry kibble under neath, all is well. Her poo is back to normal and actually looks better than before. hahaha

Again I want to thank everyone for thier awesome advice, it's been greatly appreciated and used.

Also for the age. She'll be 4 months on Jan 2nd.


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## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

I would stay away from Nylabones, but I've never had a problem with bully sticks. My dog gets them weekly, no digestive problems. If your pup is blowing through them that quickly I would try antlers. I've never tried them, but I will soon hopefully. They last much longer then regular chews; I've heard of some large ones lasting MONTHS, even for power chewers. Don't buy antlers from the pet stores though, it's cheapest to buy them off of Ebay as whole racks. Some people warn of being careful of the sharp points, but I don't consider it a big deal.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

maybe your dog doesn't like the Innova. my dog/pup
stopped eating his food 2 times. after switching brands he ate with no problems. i feed my dog kibble, can, beef, chicken, organic yogurt,
veggies, fruit, fish, oilve oil, coconut oil, organic flax seed oil.
sometimes we feed him just kibble. i'll throw 2 whole chickens
in the pressure cooker. when they're done i'll go throw them
and squish all of the bones and remove any sharp bones, add
more water. i'll freeze some of the mix. it makes a nice additive
for the kibble. when it comes to bones i only give my dog
femur bones (beef), center cut.

when you took your dog to the Vet did you take a stool sample
and urine sample with you? you gave your dog heart worm pills.
i thought a dog had to be tested before you can give them heart worm pills.


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## SouthernNdN (Nov 17, 2010)

Doggiedad. The Vet had given a parasite pill as well as a heartworm pill. I had asked if there was anything that was needed before we showed up, they responded with a no. The vet that I am using was very nice, she checked her teeth, ears, eyes, listen to the heart lungs stomach et ceta, then onto the hips and joints in the legs. 

I then pointed out a spot on her leg that was missing hair on either side of the same leg. The vet looked at it and stated that more than likely a littler mate had bit her and is must have had bacteria on the spot, however from checking it further and using a black light she stated there was no reason to mess with it and that it had already scabed and looked to be healing nice.

As for the kibble I'm feeding her. Well it seems to be hit or miss lately. Sometimes she go crazy on eating her kibble and other times she''' smell it and walk away. I end up leaving it down for about 20-30 mins and if she hasn't touched it by then I put it up for later. I have thought about trying another kibble however it seems to be a toss up between 3-4 other types, anything from Royal Canin to Wellness et cetra. I have thought about adding in a little raw to the kibble, when I add something to the kibble she seems to take to the Innova better, however I have alot of reading and studying to do before I do that. I plan on having the discussion with my Vet in the next week or two when we go back for another check up. And if they aren't keen on Raw then I will find a local mentor to help with that area.


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