Would you pls forward stories about your westie and digestive problems like colitis, or irritable bowel.  As it is, our dog is 5 and has infrequent bouts with one or the other (not fully diagnosed yet).  Vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite...  common enough symptoms of his problem, but our vet hasn't zeroed in on the root cause yet; food allergy, small or large intestine, which form of colitis etc.  Our dog is eating a terribly processed food, smells like damp cardboard, hates it.  Pls relate your stories of similar situations (westies or other breeds) and what homeopathic remedies or foods you found to be beneficial.  I am also curious about adding enzymes to his meals to help in the digestion.

Much appreciated.
Lagos

Hi Lagos,

Has your Westie been tested for pancreatic problems?  This can be done by blood tests.  There are several conditions which can affect the pancreas and cause symptoms similar to those you describe.  As well as regular tests I would ask for a specifc *TLI* test to be carried out to rule out a condition called EPI which if diagnosed can be managed (although not completely cured) by the daily addition of a powder supplement to an affected dog's diet.   I've only met two Westies "personally" and both of these unfortunately suffered from this condition :(  Having said that both, folllowing diagnosis and treatment, made remarkable turn arounds.

If all the bloods for common disorders have already been carried out and exclusion diets have not helped, has your vet mentioned having a biopsy carried out?

HTH, Good luck,  Teri

My white min poodle has colitis, and after many expensive trips to the vets and many expensive varieties of foods later I found that the easiest and almost cheapest thing to feed her was the only thing that has worked!  She gets raw tripe and wholemeal biscuit twice a day and has never looked back.  I have to be really strict though and give her absolutely no treats or extras of any sort at all as the slightest deviation from this diet sets her back.  It may be worth a try on your dog.  But as I said absolutely nothing but tripe and biscuit.

Anything is worth trying :) unfortunately it is trial and error as what suits one will not suit another but it is certainly worth starting with something that has proved successful elsewhere.  It is a useful comment about no deviating and no treats, if your dog ends up on a very plain diet it is tempting to treat them a little but it can be disasterous although sometimes a treat of a specific type can be narrowed down for instance Nellie was fine with a couple of Shapes but nothing less plain.

Hi Lagos,
I found a great natural product (in fact more than one) on the website http://www.first4pets.co.uk/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi which has natural remedies with no drugs and no nasty side effects.  My Boxer Barney had a bout of loose stools and indigestion problems which the vet didn't get to the bottom of (no pun intended!) and the Nzymes AntiOxidant Treats did the job.  They have also cured chronic itching and scratching and given my dog a very glossy coat.

There's a page on cross referencing conditions with natural remedies (their products) and this can be found at http://www.first4pets.co.uk/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?pg=condition_product_xref

Hope this helps.
Best Regards, Dave.