[klm42005]

Hi guys, I am fairly new here and have only been a Basset mommy for about 8 wks...my male basset is just about 15 wks old named Woodrow Hayes (baby Woody to his mom). The 2 important questions that I have is 1. He seems to have the hiccups alot...daily in fact if not several times. My concern is is if this is normal and could it probably make him pre disposed for Bloat?
2. I have read lots on Basset's and saw several options for his feeding....I am concerned with all the fillers and preservitives in purchased puppy foods and was wondering about feeding him cooked, natural vegetables and meats. The book on Bassets that I purchased actually have several very wonderful recipes that don't even sound that difficult...any one have an opinion on this topic..

I have loved your website and thoroughly enjoy reading about everyones basset babies...

thank you for the responses in advance.

Kristi aka Baby Woody's mom

 

[Kirska]

1. Anabelle is 8+ years old and gets the hiccups at least once every few days. I believe it is normal. I have never heard of it being of any concern, but I could be mistaken.

2. I don't think it is as simple as purchased vs. home cooked. There are quite a few high quality purchasable foods out there, but generally you won't find them at a local grocery store. These foods should be just as healthy, if not more so, for a dog than a home cooked meal. Some are available for purchase at specialty pet stores and others you can order online.

A well balanced diet can be fed through all stages of life. Here is a website that rates various foods: Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost The higher tier foods should be very healthy with few or no fillers. You will notice that the big grocery brands like Iams, Pedigree, etc will all fall in the lowest tiers and are the least healthy. There is a puppy food listed in the 5 star range here: Dog Food Reviews - Innova Puppy Dry Puppy Food - Powered by ReviewPost

One of the most significant benefits for dry food is the natural teeth cleaning. You can also consider mixing dry food and fresh food.

By the way my dogs eat what is considered a 3 star food (a step above grocery store brand) and do really well on it. I knew my mutt before we adopted him and he was being fed cheap food. The difference is very significant now that he is on a better food. His allergies, coat, thyroid disease, and behavior have all seen improvements since switching to the better food.

A note on price, the foods are more expensive but you will feed less per serving because they are so much more nutritious. So the price difference in the end isn't as daunting as it may seem.

 

[klm42005]

Thank you so much for the link....It is very informative and I even forwarded it on to others...I may be a little more sensitive to the commercial food than others...my sister lost her beloved Pet (by dog food sold at her Vet's office) by that past dog food scare from china....it destroyed her kidneys and after several terrible seziures they had to make the difficult choice to let her go.......she only feeds her new dog (a golden doodle) home cooked meats and fresh vegetables....

I appreciate the info and plan to try one of the much higher quality (6 star) brands with a little homecooked mixed in...

God Bless you and your "babies"
Kristi

 

[MollyMcFrecklesMom]

Molly had hiccups all the time when she was real small. She's almost 7 months and rarely gets them now. She simply grew out of them. Some of them were kind of rough, so I guess she's pretty glad they have gone away...though she did have a spell last night

 

[lrash]

Olive had them all the time as a pup as well. She is one and still gets them about once a week. I think there is an old wives' tale that says you get the hiccups when your growing.

 

[Boomer's Mom]

Boomer used to get the hiccups a lot when we brought him home; he seldom gets them now.

 

[mhvonalmen8908]

Both of mine got hiccups when they were younger too. Virga is 7 months and she doesn't get them with the same frequency as when she was younger. Doppler is over a year old and he doesn't get them at all anymore.

As for the dog food, mine both eat IAMS. They do well on it and it's not too expensive. We decided that we wouldn't feed them the most expensive food (because we just couldn't afford it) but we also don't feed them the bottom of the barrel food either. Our dogs do well on it so we don't feel the need to change it.

Good luck with Woody and many memories are sure to be yours!

 

[Kirska]

Here is another useful website The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare?
This page in particular is good The Dog Food Project - Identifying better products

 

[klm42005]

thank you to everyone for the great advice....Woody is even more spoiled than my children...I did upgrade him to a more wholistic dog food (wellness) and he seems to adjusted great to it...I am even buying the senior formula for our old dog since it has glucosomine and chondrotin for his joints...as for his hiccups, I find them adorable but am very relieved that there is no connection with bloat...

again, thank you all so much for the responses

 

[Flushy's Lover]

ok for the 2nd one wat we did 4 my basset was gave her pedigree soft dog food then like when she got that good mix a little bit of dog food in it(hard kind) till your basset can eat just hard food and flushy turned out ok!

 

[Arry]

Lucy is a about the same age and had the hiccups at a well puppy check. The vet said it was completely normal, and they usually outgrow it. He said most puppies do it. I read something the other day as well that had a list of things not to be alarmed by in puppies and one was hiccups.

 

[klm42005]

Sometimes when Woody gets the hiccups it reminds me of when my "other" children were little...he comes to mom to be held and petted....he hiccups so hard at times you feel for him...mostly he seems to get them just before he settles for bed..

Thanks again for all the diet advise....I have definitely put him on a much better (higher quality) brand then he was on...in just the week he's been on it his coat even seems much softer and shinier....

He is my first Basset and I am reading up on everything I can get my hands on about them.....just like a first time "MOM" :}