Colitis

[Shamas mom]

Shamas has colitis. He got it while on vacation, and the vet started him on Metronidazole the day we got back. this stopped the overnight accidents, and he was good as long as he was on it...but within 24 hours of finishing the meds, he's having accidents again. So the vet wrote him another script.

I suspect he's got an upset digestive system from the years of stress and being an anxious dog. It's not uncommon for him to have bouts of diarrhea. Last winter he had mucousy poo too. Just not with accidents, and it only lasted a few poos and wasn't with accidents. I learned of it when I cleaned the yard, after the ground thawed. I now learned that was possibly a bout of colitis too?

I'm thinking I might change him to Natural Balance Limited Ingredient, rather than the Fat Dog formula....and check the caloric value to set his diet restriction. I might have to move Trixie onto it too, except for what I hand-feed her(he keeps breaking into her pen to steal the puppy food that she's not finishing because she'd rather eat what he's having)

Alternatively, I'll top her puppy food with some wet, to get her to gobble it up. I still feel like she's a bit young to let her move to an all life stages..she's not fully grown yet.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Rory has colitis and has for many years. I've had to manage him carefully to keep him a healthy weight. There are lots of things to consider with this type of diagnosis. Food stress, medication and allergies all seem to be important contributing factors to flare ups. I use a good low fat food with no grain eggs or chicken. I use omeprazole and buscapen daily for his stomach pain. I do use metronidazole if he has a bad attack it does help settle things down. When he has a flair up I use pro kolin just to help his gut to function more normally. When he is in the bloody diarrhoea and vomiting stage I put him on a very bland gentle diet. I use streamed skinless boneless white fish only and slowly add whatever kibble hes using bit by bit every day until he back on his kibble. Low fat is very important fat really sets him off.
Check with you vet that any pain meds aren't contributing to his stomach issues. Rory can't tolerate anti inflammatory medications they make him very ill very quickly.
It sounds like he may have had it for a while from what you describe but it can also be things like tummy bugs or parasites.
I hope you can find out what's wrong. If it is colitis careful consistent management is the key to keeping him well.

 

[Shamas mom]

Check with you vet that any pain meds aren't contributing to his stomach issues. Rory can't tolerate anti inflammatory medications they make him very ill very quickly.

I suspect the pain meds are a major contributing factor. Vet says hold off reumecam until he feels better(which I've already been doing, feeling that NSAIDS would only upset his tummy more) and cleared me to continue his injections weekly, instead of going monthly. He was supposed to do weekly for the first four weeks, then go monthly....but with the injections, he's not Needing the Reumecam. Without them, he was taking Nsaids roughly every 36-48hours.

I'm hunting for a good low fat food, and also while I'm at it looking for a food for the puppy that'll be less likely to bother his tummy if he gets into it. I'm thinking putting the two of them on a Chicken and brown rice formula might help? I'd do Salmon and Sweet Potato but the other two people in the house have bad Salmon allergy. If the dogs eat it, they become allergic to the dogs. Not sure if this is real or perceived-but it bothers them, so I avoid salmon even in dog food.

I've made it clear to the others he's NOT to get people food any more, unless it's from a list of approved foods for his teeth(carrots, celery, cooked chicken)

In- office Stool sample was run clean last week at onset, and his blood tests are recent. We CAN check again for Giardia, etc...but we did run that test clear only a few months ago too, when he had a bout of diarrhea not too long after we got Trixie(if we recall, she had Giardia)He's on Nexguard Spectra for parasites too. I feel like the stress of the trip paired with use of Reumecam hurt his tummy.

The vet named it Colitis, which as I research online is more the flare-up than the undelying cause....seems to me that Colitis is simply irritated, inflamed colaon/bowels. So the trick now is to get him through this bout and see if we can find the underlying condition.

@Jelinga you're right in that he's had an underlying digestive issue for a long time. Since we got him honestly. He poops often, and had frequent bouts of soggy poo. He has skunk farts, and gurgly tummy. It's always been that way. We've tried different foods...so far the one that caused the least digestive issues was the Hills for post-surgery, that they gave him when the painmeds/antibiotics made him vomit. After that, Hills dental. But after his tooth came out, we stopped Hills dental, as it was scraping his gum where he was missing the tooth. He became reluctant to eat. Also, while on Hills, he was having his Anal glands expressed every couple of months. Which was only an issue while on hills food. His poops were too small to do the job naturally I think. he has frequent samples, urinalysis and bloodwork done. Everything always comes in good. He's also known to "stress-poop" which is literally as I say. Something will stress him out, and he'll poop, right there on the spot

 

[SwampDonkey]

No chicken and brown rice would be a bad food to use. No grains or chicken. Chicken is a food that a lot of dogs are intolerant to and rice is just a filler. I never use either, you are looking for a simple food with not too many ingredients and something that you've not used before. He needs to let the inflammation from the colitis calm down and then start to gently introduce kibble. I did try raw and it was a bit hit and miss so eventually I found boiled/steamed white fish was the best food for him to have as I carefully reintroduced his kibble. All dogs are different so it's finding the best way for his digestive system to slow down.

 

[Shamas mom]

Canine Gastrointestinal | Royal Canin CA

Complete and balanced food for adult dogs

www.royalcanin.com

This is what the vet has suggested. And it's hitting all the bases for potential allergens...so if there's an allergen at play, I'm going to have to hunt on my own for a food.

Off the bat, I'm thinking that finding a Shamas-compatible puppy food is a start. Because I can't be home 24-7 to make sure everyone picks up her bowl. I feed her in her pen and lock her in when I leave for work, but if she doesn't eat it all, and someone lets her out....he goes in and eats it for her. Hubby and I were talking about topping her puppy food with wet food to encourage her to gobble it up. He just gobbled her breakfast--at 4pm, as I was coming in the door from work. This would be about his dinner time and I guess he didn't want to wait :/

 

[Shamas mom]

No chicken and brown rice would be a bad food to use. No grains or chicken. Chicken is a food that a lot of dogs are intolerant to and rice is just a filler. I never use either, you are looking for a simple food with not too many ingredients and something that you've not used before. He needs to let the inflammation from the colitis calm down and then start to gently introduce kibble. I did try raw and it was a bit hit and miss so eventually I found boiled/steamed white fish was the best food for him to have as I carefully reintroduced his kibble. All dogs are different so it's finding the best way for his digestive system to slow down.

What about pork? I think I saw a Gastro varient of a store brand limited ingredient with pork as the protein. I think the only pork he's had is ham off our plates

 

[Jacqui-S]

That looks full of filler and low quality meat product to me, sorry.

 

[Shamas mom]

That looks full of filler and low quality meat product to me, sorry.

That's what I thought....I've used it short-term, during tummy upset but I always end up taking him off it. So I'm still hunting for a decent food

 

[Jacqui-S]

All about dog food website may help?

 

[Shamas mom]

Now THAT helps!

I've been going bag by bag in the pet store reading labels.

 

[Shamas mom]

Nutro Limited Ingredient Adult Review - All About Dog Food

See how Nutro Limited Ingredient Adult really compares on the world's most comprehensive dog food review site, All About Dog Food!

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

And if I'm avoiding Chicken in Shamas' diet...this looks like it works for Trixie..only it's not large breed. Is that an issue still at 7m? She should be about 3/4 grown. I've made a point to use Large breed food because it's supposed to slow growth rate so that they have time to strengthen bones as they grow

Taste of the Wild Puppy Review & Rating

 

[Lisa]

@Shamas mom I get Simba’s food at PetValu. It’s their home brand but they have various different varieties and I think they are pretty good. Simba has the adult large breed (turkey/salmon) but if Shamas can’t do poultry they have one that is for dogs with food sensitivities too

Limited Ingredient Diet Sweet Potato & Venison Formula Dog Food

Performatrin Ultra Limited Sweet Potato & Venison Formula offers your dog complete and balanced nutrition. Simple Ingredients, High-Quality Nutrition, we're keeping it simple while offering exceptional nutrition for all life stages and breeds.<ul><li>Limited Ingredient Diet (LID), single source...

www.petvalu.ca

 

[Shamas mom]

@Shamas mom I get Simba’s food at PetValu. It’s their home brand but they have various different varieties and I think they are pretty good. Simba has the adult large breed (turkey/salmon) but if Shamas can’t do poultry they have one that is for dogs with food sensitivities too

Limited Ingredient Diet Sweet Potato & Venison Formula Dog Food

Performatrin Ultra Limited Sweet Potato & Venison Formula offers your dog complete and balanced nutrition. Simple Ingredients, High-Quality Nutrition, we're keeping it simple while offering exceptional nutrition for all life stages and breeds.<ul><li>Limited Ingredient Diet (LID), single source...

www.petvalu.ca

I get our food at Pet Valu too. The puppy is on their Large breed formula, and Shamas was on the performatrin ultra for years until I put him on FAT dogs to get the extra pounds off. The chicken and Sweet potato. With the Retriever on the bag. We go to Pet Valu about 4 times a week, as it's in the parking lot where we get our evening coffee and walk the dogs after work.