How fortunate I am to have ‘met’ Lottie while speaking to her Mum Jo during a Zoom teleconsult. Lottie’s adoration for Jo was so evident as she covered her in bristly kisses while we spoke – I loved both of them straight away.
Jo’s own Mum had brought up Lottie as best she could, and she had passed just 8 months earlier, leaving Jo to look after Lottie and take on all the responsibility of her various conditions.
Read in Jo’s own words how she went from spending a fortune at the vets and buying various foods that never helped Lottie and her painful itchy ears at all to
“We have not been back to the vets for her itchy ears for 4 weeks and counting! Which is incredible with what we’ve been through!”
(and she really has been through a lot as shown below!)
“Lottie was my mum’s dog and she fed her Royal Canin hypoallergenic dog food (🫣) (for approx the last 2- 3 years as advised by vet) but she had human food as well….particularly toast as well as sharing in my Mum’s cups of tea!
When she was about 1 year she was on raw food but started bouts of vomiting 🤮
I’m not sure exactly when the ear infections started but prob age 2-3 years ?
My mum took her regularly to vets for ear drops (always her left ear)
From Sept 22 when Lottie came to live with me permanently – I have been to the vets A LOT !I Then took her to vets again in Dec 2022 as she had a bout of bloody diarrhoea (but she had scavenged something from the next door garden!)
Jan 2023 ear infection
Feb – May 2023 I switched her food to PurePet food – weird powder – which website said good for allergies and “hypoallergenic “ (Chicken, Beef , salmon but actually about 30 % chicken or beef and mostly potato and sweet potato”) Then ear infections stared raging again worse than ever.
March – ear infection x 2. Vet visits
April – bloody poo. Vet visit
I’m starting to think I am bad new dog parent!
May 2023 – left ear infection x 2 vet visits
May 23 – advised strict elimination diet (Purina Hypoallergenic dog food) – no treats
Managed 4 weeks then Lottie did not want to eat the bland food so I bought bag Hills hypoallergenic dog treat as sold at vets.
Then June 23 – ear infection – this time not itching but red /inflamed. More antibiotics .
July – given steroids for ear infection ! Currently weaning. 😫
Been advised by vet I need to follow a strict elimination diet for another 6-8 weeks as hypoallergenic dog treats are classed as a break in test and have to start from scratch. I also gave her 100 % salmon pate to help her eat anaemic kibble.
I also have paid for allergy panel blood test at vets and got the results today and they said it was actually an exposure test and the only thing 0 was beet pulp ! 🤷♀️.
Basically I can’t feed her Purina hypoallergenic for 8 more weeks!
Equally I don’t want to go back to vets for another ear infection, and be given more antibiotics and be told to give apoquel.
Sorry that wasn’t brief !!”
Jo had spent a fortune at the vets and it was only through desperation that she booked a teleconsult with me to find out if she could transition Lottie to plant-based as she had read about how other Border Terrier’s lives had transformed on a plant-based diet on the Just be Kind website.
“Shortly after our video consultation, I was transitioning Lottie over to Solo Vegetal…..from Purina HA pale pebbles which she had been eating for about 4 weeks with very little enthusiasm – in fact spitting them out because she knew before I did that they were very questionable as dog food!
Anyway, I had a follow up appointment booked with our vet for her ears, because she was weaning off steroids. I cancelled this appointment, sought a consultation with a skin dermatologist regarding Lottie’s ear infections. They recommended various hypoallergenic diets, royal canin anallergic (excuse my spelling ), the Purina pale pebbles (that Lottie was already on) ….but thanks to our video call, and your website, I asked whether a vegan diet would be considered ….
They replied with a leaflet about Solo …..whoop!We are now armed with lotions/potions and proper ear cleanser via the skin vet, but the diet has been the game changer…and we have not been back to the vets for 4 weeks and counting! (which is incredible as I was going to take out a loyalty card).
I’m just so grateful for all the information on your website.
I’m not really interested in reintroducing meat proteins after the 2 month elimination period to see which brings back the ear infections and intermittent vomiting issues.
We want to stay clear of these for life and we are absolutely converted to vegan dog food!PS: It is sad for me that I can’t share this with my Mum, but she would have been very open to the idea of Lottie following a vegan diet, and agree that it makes a lot of sense. She too had so many vet visits about Lottie’s ears! We would have laughed at the number of times I have been though🙄🥴
It is very important for me to look after Lottie xx”
“As a vet, I believe in a kinder, healthier way to feed our pets that does no damage to our environment, harms no animals and uses fresh, healthy plant-based ingredients for a balanced and delicious diet”
Arielle Vegan Vet
“If nobody changes then nothing changes but if somebody changes then everything changes!”
Arielle Vegan Vet
April just loves Give A Dog A Bean!
I have never seen such a manic reaction from two lazy dogs, they scoffed Give A Dog A Bean as if this was the first meal they’ve had in a long time
Beautiful Loki the Vizsla loves Give A Dog A Bean
He’s on Solo Vegetal, as I’ve always been a dry food feeder for convenience, but he goes absolutely nuts for your Give A Dog A Bean!
Arthur the Diabetic Labrador thrives on his plant-based diet
Just as in humans, the best diet when suffering from diabetes, is a balanced fibre rich, plant-based diet
