Ok so about 3 weeks ago Nanook had diarrhea and vomiting. Took him to the vet and they gave us some meds and did a fecal test. He was positive for 2 different types of bacteria. They gave us meds for those. We just took another sample to them and now he has a different bacteria and roundworm. *sigh*

We have him on his heartguard and we also have him on the Prey Model (Raw feeding).

Now for my questions:

1) We got our heartguard from 1800 pet meds. The Vet told us that they can't guarantee that they are correct as they've seen fraudulent meds from their suppliers and they recommend we get his heartguard from them or their online pharmacy (of course). Has anyone else bought from 1800 pet meds before?

2) He's been on his raw diet since we got him, and I continue to get badgered by the vet about not feeding him a raw diet. They say that if I absolutely must that I should cook it and then give him vitamins and fruits/veggies.

I'm a little upset that he's still sick and I want him to be better. I've done a lot of research already on the raw diet (did before we even put him on it) and I know the benefits, but I'm almost to the point of putting him on kibble just for the peace of mind that it's not his food. On the other hand I don't really want to lose the benefits of having him on the raw diet. The other thing is we just bought the full year of his heartguard and has been on it for only 3 months (before we were getting it from the vet). I've also thought about getting a new supply from the vet, but don't really want to waste the money that we spent on the supply we have now. I just don't really know what to do atm and thought I'd reach out for some ideas/support/etc...

i get the same story from the vet on the HG from 1800 but i do buy it from the vets online pharmacy as it is a bit cheaper. i would see if 1800 will take the meds back. are you doing just HG or HR plus? we do the plus as it covers more things. but sierra still picks up bacterias from drinking water on our hikes, or eating things like poop. i have started giving them both Greek yogurt to help their tummys and so far so good.

I use ivermectin and inject it into a treat and then feed it. It works very well.

Can you give me a run down of what you feed?

Puppies are VERY sensitive and you may need to switch back to just one protein, probably chicken, for a month or so. Teddy can't handle all the variety like my adults can. If I give him something too rich he gets cannon butt.

Don't be afraid to feed raw. You are making the decision you find best for your animal. Many veterinarians simply lack the knowledge about raw to actually form an unbiased opinion.

Sorry for the delay in replying... been a busy weekend. We use HG+. We've also gone ahead and bought new HG from the vet (better safe than sorry). After talking with Amy I think we may know where he picked it up. A few weeks ago he saw another dog eating dirt at the dog park and since then we've been trying to break this habit he's picked up of occasionally eating the dirt at the dog park. I think this is where he may have picked them up, but again you never know. Megan, we feed a variety of things, but lately we have in our freezer the following: Beef heart, chicken quarters, turkey wings, pork shoulder/butt, Pork kidney, pork (or beef can't remember) liver, salmon, white bass and we just ran out of some other fish that I can't remember atm. We will also give him some marrow bones occasionally as a treat as well as some peanut butter. Along with this we try to give him some coconut oil every once in a while as well as some pumpkin puree (this is usually in the form a a frozen treat with some plain yogurt that my wife makes for him during the summer). I've reaffirmed my dedication to raw now that I think I have a better idea where he might have picked up the parasite was just tired of being lectured every time I went to the vet, but guess that's just what I have to deal with. We've looked into a holistic vet, but they're on the East side so I'm not sure if Amy wants to drive all the way over there, but we'll see. Jennifer and Megan thank you both for replying.

A note: You mentioned eating dirt, on the farm most of the animals will eat dirt if they are short on minerals in there diet. I do not know if this is true with dogs, never really noticed one eating dirt. However it might be something to look into and I think could be managed holistically, not something I know about but others on the forum do.