My 9 year old Dobe is suffering from colitis, my vet has prescribed Salazopyrin, however i am in two minds whether or not to give him the drugs. Earlier this year my dog was prescribed Rymadol for pain relief for his hind leg (possible damaged ligament) he subsequently needed a blood transfusion due to the rymadol causing internal bleeding from stomach ulcers this and the fact that he has blood that does not clot very well nearly cost his life. As you can see I am in a serious dilemma!!! I want to treat his condition, but am now scared to give him any drugs in case they cause any adverse reactions. Help Please!!!!

Have you discussed his history and your concerns with your vet and asked if sensitivity to one would indicate sensitivity to the other?

SB

My Lab had collitis for three, four years and we tried everything. We managed to stabilise but not cure it by putting her on James Wellbeloved but then came across Nature Diet Lite. Within 24 hours we were amazed at the difference. Solid poos for the first time in years and a much happier girl. She has remained like this now since she has been on it !

I have recommended it to quite a few people now and only one dog so far as I have been informed has shown no signs of improvement. Maybe worth a try as feeding a high quality natural food compared to drugs would be a definate benefit :)

HTH

Lucy

Hi Lucy Thanks for you responce, I haven't heard of Nature Diet Lite before, can I get it from pet stores? It's certainly worth a go. Jets on John Burns fish and brown rice at the mo.:-)

Try here

http://www.naturediet.co.uk

They will be able to help you find the nearest stockist. If it suits Jet then it is cheaper to buy bulk from them directly ! That is what we do !

Let us know how you get on !

Lucy

Thank you I will. Lisa :-)

i think you'd be best ringing your vet and voicing your concern.

I personally feel colitis is treatable without drugs as it is mainly caused by food intolerance or a nervous condition.

We tried everything and at one stage were even considering having Min PTS as she was so poorly with it. Nature Diet has seriously made such a difference and highly recommend it :)

Lucy

I know of one dog who had colitis, it got so bad the only food he could eat was the science plan & he got very depressed. They changed him over to the Picairn diet & his colitis disappeared over night.
http://www.drpitcairn.com/

Christine, Spain.

Hi
My dog,age 13, also suffers bouts of colitis. We are currently seeing a homeopathic vet,by referral, as she has leukaemia, and has other problems relating to this.
She DID eat NatureDiet Lite, but when she has colitis, she won't eat anything much at all. She isn't interested in raw food, tinned food, ANYTHING!
Her colitis, we think, was due to Rimadyl being given when she had to have biopsies taken earlier this year.
The only thing that clears it up, and very quickly, is Salazopyrin. The homeopathic vet said it would be good to get her off these tabs, so she didn't have any for 5 days last week.
By Sunday, she was pooing blood, and feeling very poorly.
Sunday, we gave her 2 lots of half a tablet again, and by Monday, she was better. Today, and yesterday, she's had her maintenance dose of half a tablet, and is once again eating, and trotting about, quite happy.
The only side effect with these big yellow tablets, so I understand, is that they can cause Dry Eye in certain dogs. They have an anti bacterial action on the bowel, and a small amount of anti inflamatory to calm down the bowel,and make them feel better.
It's actually a human medicine, given to patients with Crohns Disease and inflamed bowel disorders. Even children are prescribed them. People stay on these tablets for years, but have their blood checked periodically.
We have decided that our dog will stay on these tablets, because they do work.
If you are still worried, have a word with your vet and ask lots of questions about any possible side effects etc.
You might find your dog will only need them when it gets a nasty attack of colitis, but they definately work, and fast, so it may be worth trying them.
Good luck, hope this was of help,
Sami

Hi folks,
My 12 week old lab has just finished a course of antibiotics because of colitus, he had blood at the end of a poo and it was very runny. i need to know is it only colitus if there is blood present or can it be colitus if he just has sloppy poo?

Hi Becksmommy,
There doesn't have to be blood present for it to be colitis. Your puppy sounds very young to have this though - are you sure it's not just a dietary upset or something? When we got our puppy last year, the breeder gave me a bag of Beta puppy food to take home - well, he just had the runs constantly, and there was a bit of blood in too. Changed his food, and no more problems. (he is now 18 months).
Hilda

Hi Sami
Thanks for your reply it's nice to know people care.

Hi,
My friend's dog, also aged 9, was diagnosed with colitis, and lost loads of weight as everything went through her. Anyway, for about 6 weeks she was great on Naturediet Lite, then it started again, and she didn't put any weight on either - looking really ribby. She is now on Wafcol Potato & Salmon, has put weight on, and so far no problems with it going through her. So there are a few choices of foods, it's just finding the one that works!
Hilda

Hello everyone thankyou for your replies they are really appreciated. I'll let you know WHEN I get some joy. :-)

Colitis, unfortunately, is a rather common problem in dogs.

Years ago I had a GSD that suffered from colitis. She would be okay for months and then suddenly and for no apparent reason the colitis would come back. Eventually I discovered that switching to another brand of food - any brand -- would fix the colitis until the next round. It seemed like she developed an intolerance to whatever she ate for a long period of time.

The colitis went away entirely when she was about nine years old, perhaps her entire system started to slow down and that helped. She was on Purina Pro Plan for the rest of her life (she died when she was just about 13), along with my other dogs. I do not use Pro Plan now, I use NatureDiet.

Colitis can be frightening. I had a Yorkie that would come down with it when she was under stress - like when left too long at the groomers. Once I brought her back home and she squatted and just poured blood. After that incident I solved her colitis - I bought a pair of clippers and did the job myself! :-)

Stacey

Try Quantum it is excellent