Ginger - nutty no more. Keeping calm with Nutrix
Ginger is our chocolate lab rescue dog and we adopted her in Dec 2011. She is a high energy working breed and as nutty as a fruitcake but adorable.
We noticed early on that she snapped her jaws together on occasions and as time progressed she started biting at imaginary flies and chomping at the air. Over 6 months, it grew worse and it was distressing to watch. We took her to the vet and she suggested that she may have 'petit mal' which like epilepsy, results in fit like seizures. If this was the case then Ginger would likely be required to take barbiturates long term. The vet suggested that we keep a diary of her episodes over the next two weeks and report back. However, after a week it became obvious that her 'fits' were worst after eating. I studied the internet and read as much as I could about 'petit mal'. I read several blogs on different sites where owners had reported vast improvements in the reduction of symptoms simply by changing the diet of their dogs to include no wheat or cereal and as little additives as possible. We were feeding Ginger on a high quality (expensive) kibble and thought we were doing the right thing for her. I googled 'no wheat or cereal dog food' and came across Nutrix Pet Foods. To be sure, I ordered Hypoallergenic Lamb and Rice which has no wheat gluten and is additive free. It was less expensive than the shop bought brand and it was delivered next day.
Amazingly, almost immediately and certainly within a couple of days Ginger was practically free from chomping and fly biting episodes. We had some of her old dental clean up sticks which was a great treat for her and we gave her one after the third day and immediately she was chomping again. Lesson learned, I ordered 'Snack Bones' treats from Nutrix, which Ginger loves.