Hi All,
My name is Shannon and I'm a clinical Pet Nutritionist. I have client that came to me for help (4/2023) with their 8 year old CKC, adopted in February of this year with chronic watery stools and occasional vomiting. Bruno came from a breeding situation where from 1/22 - 2/23 he received 17 doses of "dewormer", 6 annual vaccines, 12 months of parasite protection, & 12 doses of Ivermectin. Within the 30 days he was in the rescue, he received anesthesia, antibiotics & pain meds for neuter/dental & 2 rounds of antibiotics & steroids for an ear infection + 4 more vaccines & prescribed Pimobendin 5 mg for Grade 3 Heart murmur. He was on Purina Pro Plan, over weight at 18.6 lbs, his coat was dull with dander, anemic & he wasn't eating much. From April to may, we slowly transitioned him from kibble to canned to Viva Raw, introduced probiotics and omega 3 fatty acids & detoxed his liver. By early June, BEAM is good. He is eagerly eating the raw diet, full of energy, his coat had improved, weight was decreasing slowly, poops were solid & healthy & vomiting has subsided. In early August he was taken to his regular vet for jaw muscle pain, & was tested for MMM. The test came back negative but steroids were recommended any way. His weight had leveled out and was stable at 16.5 lbs consistently for last 3 weigh ins. Within a couple days, jaw pain subsided and the owner never started the steroid but had already scheduled an appointment with an Internal Medicine specialist on 9/6 that she decided to keep in the hopes of completely ruling out MMM. At the 9/6 IM appointment, they did an ultrasound and bloodwork & with the absence of pain, ruled out MMM, no further testing necessary. However, at this appointment, he had now been diagnosed with borderline PLE based on past symptoms from before June, /weight loss which was intentional & decreasing RBC, Albumin, total protein & thickening of the intestinal wall. Also diagnosed with stage 1 Kidney disease & a small bladder stone that "will pass on its own". PLE being the biggest concern at this time.
My question is, since Bruno currently has no PLE symptoms, has improved so much in the last 6 months, his weight has stabilized at an average weight for his breed & is in a much better physical & emotional condition, is it possible for a lower fat raw diet to be helpful in reducing the advancement of PLE? Or is a low fat vegetarian kibble diet as prescribed by the IM doctor his only hope for controlling this dis-ease. I cannot wrap my head around that but I also do not want him to decline and there is not a lot of information on raw diets for PLE as most dogs will already have been experiencing symptoms upon diagnosis. I appreciate any input you may have. I have attached a compiled list of his last 3 diagnostics. 2 different vets, 2 different normal ranges.
My name is Shannon and I'm a clinical Pet Nutritionist. I have client that came to me for help (4/2023) with their 8 year old CKC, adopted in February of this year with chronic watery stools and occasional vomiting. Bruno came from a breeding situation where from 1/22 - 2/23 he received 17 doses of "dewormer", 6 annual vaccines, 12 months of parasite protection, & 12 doses of Ivermectin. Within the 30 days he was in the rescue, he received anesthesia, antibiotics & pain meds for neuter/dental & 2 rounds of antibiotics & steroids for an ear infection + 4 more vaccines & prescribed Pimobendin 5 mg for Grade 3 Heart murmur. He was on Purina Pro Plan, over weight at 18.6 lbs, his coat was dull with dander, anemic & he wasn't eating much. From April to may, we slowly transitioned him from kibble to canned to Viva Raw, introduced probiotics and omega 3 fatty acids & detoxed his liver. By early June, BEAM is good. He is eagerly eating the raw diet, full of energy, his coat had improved, weight was decreasing slowly, poops were solid & healthy & vomiting has subsided. In early August he was taken to his regular vet for jaw muscle pain, & was tested for MMM. The test came back negative but steroids were recommended any way. His weight had leveled out and was stable at 16.5 lbs consistently for last 3 weigh ins. Within a couple days, jaw pain subsided and the owner never started the steroid but had already scheduled an appointment with an Internal Medicine specialist on 9/6 that she decided to keep in the hopes of completely ruling out MMM. At the 9/6 IM appointment, they did an ultrasound and bloodwork & with the absence of pain, ruled out MMM, no further testing necessary. However, at this appointment, he had now been diagnosed with borderline PLE based on past symptoms from before June, /weight loss which was intentional & decreasing RBC, Albumin, total protein & thickening of the intestinal wall. Also diagnosed with stage 1 Kidney disease & a small bladder stone that "will pass on its own". PLE being the biggest concern at this time.
My question is, since Bruno currently has no PLE symptoms, has improved so much in the last 6 months, his weight has stabilized at an average weight for his breed & is in a much better physical & emotional condition, is it possible for a lower fat raw diet to be helpful in reducing the advancement of PLE? Or is a low fat vegetarian kibble diet as prescribed by the IM doctor his only hope for controlling this dis-ease. I cannot wrap my head around that but I also do not want him to decline and there is not a lot of information on raw diets for PLE as most dogs will already have been experiencing symptoms upon diagnosis. I appreciate any input you may have. I have attached a compiled list of his last 3 diagnostics. 2 different vets, 2 different normal ranges.
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so I'm choosing my battles wisely, holding firm on the lower fat raw diet & probiotics. For now.
