does anyone know exactly what this is and is it a life long problem ?

It's often used as a general term by vets to describe common symptoms of the gastro-intestinal tract such as repeated runny bowel motions, particularly if accompanied with straining and mucus where no bacterial cause is diagnosed.  The GI system needs rested and depending on the severity of the "attack" your vet may prescribe meds to sooth the lining of the gut eg. from something mild like Zantac for coating acidic tummies to steroids for inflammation of the intestines.   It is similar to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in humans and can be managed by diet (more specifically avoiding certain ingredients in diet) - however you should always seek veterinary advice because the symptoms commonly labelled collitus also mirror those of several quite serious problems and it's essential that the correct diagnosis is made and then appropriate treatment regime established.  It is also a very painful condition for your dog so vet supervision is important for his comfort.   *NB*, ANY blood presence - fresh red, dark black or appearing as "coffee-granules" in stools or vomit should be treated by a vet immediately.
regards Teri :)

Colitis is a symptom rather than a condition in itself, so a dog with this tendancy may develop the symptoms through a variety of causes a reaction to a particular food, an infection or stress.  Without a temperature I would not have been inclined to commence antibiotics as I feel the clinical indications of infection are not there but having gone that route I would recommend a spoonful of yoghurt each day and for about 3 days after the course finished as Metronidazole is inclined to give an upset stomach in itself, this will replace the necessary bacteria in the gut as the antibiotic is busy killing them along with any unwanted ones.  Only a little yoghurt is required as too much milk products can also cause problems :rolleyes: and the good bacteria soon multiply when in the warm gut, if you imagine keeping yoghurt in a bowl of warm water instead of the fridge you will get what I mean :)  I hope he improves soon :)

THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPLY CLIDE HAS BEEN TO THE VETS THIS MORNING HIS TEMP IS NORMAL AND I TOOK A SAMPLE  AND THE VET JUST SAID IT WAS CILITOUS(SP) AND GAVE HIM SOME TABLETS AND TOLD US TO FEED HIM JUST CHICKEN SO FINGERS CROSSED HE SHOULD IMPROVE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS

Hi Dylans,

Glad Clide doesn't appear to have anything too serious wrong - they do like to worry us, don't they :)  Will keep everything crossed here too that he's feeling better soon.  A bland diet for a short period usually does the trick letting any internal irritation get time to calm down.  Out of interest, what are the tablets he was prescribed?

Teri 

HI THE TABLETS ARE (THE FIRST LETTER OF THE NAME IS MISSING) THINK THEY ARE METRONIDAZOLE....

Hi again Dylans,

Metronidazole is an excellent antibiotic which has anti-inflammatory properties built in and also fights infection against certain specific gut bacteria so I'm sure your vet has covered just about every angle :P  -  ( I did not mean to imply that he hadn't - hope it didn't read that way!)

Good luck to you both,
regards Teri :)

NO 1IT DIDNT SOUND THAT WAY AT ALL IM JUST GRATEFUL FOR ANY HELP AND ADVICE,I LOVE CLIDE SO MUCH I JUST PANICK IF HES NOT WELL AND COLITOUS SOUNDED ABIT SERIOUS,THANKYOU AGAIN FOR HELPING ME BUT MY MIND AT REST....DEBB

No problem Debb - please keep us posted on how he gets along :)

regards, Teri