Is a vegetarian diet safe for my dog with Addison's disease?

Addison's Disease cannot be cured, but it can often be managed with life-long medications. It does usually require frequent vet visits for monitoring in the future. However, it can be life-threatening if a dog is sick when it is first diagnosed (or the suspected diagnosis). Without aggressive treatment, dogs can easily die from dehydration and shock caused by the effects on their fluid volume. Here is a great article on Addison's Disease and what to expect from diagnosis and treatment: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=608

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sorry to hear about Cooper’s allergies! Unfortunately, no, it is not safe to put a dog on a vegetarian diet, as they will not be able to absorb enough protein from non-meat sources and will be prone to malnourishment. The best option for dogs with severe food allergies is to be put on a hydrolyzed food such as z/d or Royal Canin HP. These diets break down the proteins into small enough molecules so that the body’s immune system doesn’t react to them. They are a bit expensive, but absolutely worth the cost for animals who need them! They are prescription only but most vets carry them, and many vets have an online pharmacy option where they can ship directly to you. Hope this helps!

As long as the Natural Balance Vegetarian contains an AAFCO statement on the bag it should be balanced for Halo. Although because dogs should really eat some form of meat I'd recommend trying one of the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient diets instead. Choose a protein Halo has never had before like venison or rabbit and feed that strictly for at least 8 weeks to know if it is working. If the Natural Balance diet does not help you may want to talk to your veterinarian about a prescription hypoallergenic diet like Royal Canin Hydrolyzed protein or limited ingredient. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and good luck!

It sounds like Sherry has been through a lot. With intermittent low grade fevers, I think it would be time to pursue more advanced diagnostics. This would be xrays of the chest and abdomen, and then moving on to ultrasound. Based on your zip code, I think it would be important to rule out Coccidioidomycosis, which is a fungal disease. I'm not saying that is what she has, but it can cause seizures, lethargy, fever, and more, and I think it needs to be ruled out. To encourage her to eat, you can try warm baby food, just make sure there are no onions or garlic in the ingredients.

It is possible to make a balanced vegetarian diet for dogs, and if you are interested in this I would check with your vet first to make sure your vet feels it would be safe to try for Cooper. I typically recommend Royal Canin's Vegetarian diet since it has gone through feeding trials. If you are interested in formulating a home cooked diet it may be more difficult to make something balanced, but would certainly be possible particularly if you do have access to fish or game. You should ask your vet for referral to a veterinary nutritionist who can help formulate a balanced recipe.

Dogs are omnivores and can get enough nutrition from a balanced commercial vegetarian food. If you would like to try a meat diet, you could consider a novel protein diet. A novel protein is one that Buddy hasn't eaten before. You could consider venison, bison, fish or duck. Natural Balance makes a number of limited ingredient diets that you could consider. https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/special-category-limited-ingredient-diets Another option would be to try a hydrolyzed diet. Those would be prescription only and would be more expensive, but might be a good option as well. I am attaching a handout with more information about diet trials for food allergies below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952600 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Given the progression of her symptoms I recommend you get her reassessed by your vet to determine the underlying cause; unstable addisons, pancreatitis, kidney/liver disease and dietary sensitivities can all cause intermittent vomiting and can all be managed once diagnosed accurately. Your vet will likely want to run blood tests to assess what is going on and diet manipulation a change in her regular prescription may be required