Hi all, my 20 month old male has been diagnosed with Colitis and I wondered if anyone has been through this with their dog and are now in a 'stable' condition?

About 6 weeks ago we discovered an abscess on his bottom and immediately took him to the vet, this was cut and cleaned and we were extremely vigilant in keeping it clean and giving him his antibiotics. He had diarrhea on/off for a few day, then seemed to settled, then it came back. we cut out any treats, only fed him his usual Royal Canin and on vets advise added a little natural yoghurt. On reading through different web sites we also ordered some Pro-Fibre and various other probiotics but apart from a few of the tablets, have not really started giving him these products yet as we wanted him to be more settled with his food first.

The diarrhea has come back again today after being good for a few days on a diet of plain brown rice with a litle I.D. mixed in. The vet has diagnosed Colitis and given us Canikur paste and R.C. Intestinal low fat food. He has said that there is an issue with the lower bowel and absorbing protein and so absolutely no treats are to be given.

What I would like to know is has anyone succesfully tackled this? What are you feeding? Do you give treats? Any supplements? Any extras such as white fish?

Any advice would be so gratefully received as apart from this problem he is a very happy, healthy dog. Thanks

So sorry your dog is suffering with this problem.....I have no experience of this subject but worth reading through this website and maybe giving them a ring  for some advice , have heard such good things about it

http://www.karenruggles.co.uk/probiotics_pages/probiotics_using.htm

Thanks for that info STARRYEYES, we actually have some of the probiotic/prebiotic grains and tablets but because his tummy has been so upset, we have been afraid to overload it.

He had his first proper poo in weeks this morning!!

This was after a few small meals of RC Intestinal and some of the Canikur paste. Fingers crossed he is on the mend now - we've been really worried.

Hi bostontea.  I am quite new to computing (being only 75 years of age).  There is a page called Bedlington Terrier with colitis, which contains (or did) loads of posts from people with dogs with this problem, including my own jack russell bitch, Bella.  She, like my Dobermans before her, was on a natural diet, i.e. raw chicken wings etc., after I rescued her at aprox 12 months old.  She was fine for about 18 months then it all went pear shaped and she was diagnosed with colitis.  She now has a very small portion of chappie for breakfast and a handful of James Wellbeloved for tea.  Probiotic granules on her brekkie and a tablespoonful of probiotic yogourt after her tea.  Since 31.12.09, dare I say, she has been O.K more or less.  If you can find the board with all the other posts there are lots of opinions on diet. Interesting reading.  I get my granules from Nutrecare by  return of post.  Good Luck.

Hi bostontea

the term colitis is used to describe the symptoms which result in the colon being inflamed or overworked - IME there is generally a reason behind this which needs to be diagnosed rather than the condition treated symptomatically.

Dietary intollerances and/or stress can bring on these symptoms.  If it is a dietary based intollerance then it is better to establish what the dog can and cannot tollerate so that when problematic ingredients are identified these can be removed entirely from the dog's food and treats.  OTOH if stress related this too has to be addressed and whatever situations bring about a stressful reaction avoided.

Using a pro-biotic product or combination of products is without doubt a useful idea however if an ingredient(s) is being continually fed to the dog which it has an adverse reaction to, then the symptoms will continue and, over time, cause damage which could be far more serious than current problems.

Personally I would want to establish the specific cause of the problem

best wishes, Teri

Moody, thanks for the info...I found the bedlington terrier thread, lots of good suggestions on there - I think we've tried them all! would be good to know how all the dogs are getting on now.

Teri, at first we cut out any treats (even bought some probiotic ones but cut these out too), then stopped adding anything (usually small amount of chicken or fish) to his dry Royal Canin, then took away chew sticks, dental sticks etc. Tried and stopped yoghurt, did a 24 hour starve followed by brown rice and are now on RC Intestinal Low-Fat with a little Canikur, which fingers crossed seems to be working (3rd morning of good poos!)

We did think of stress as last year on hoilday he had part. bad diarrhea which we put down to travelling, different house etc. but I can honestly say he must have the most stress-free life of any dog. He gets a long morning run, then dinner and either sleeps till lunchtime or wanders about the garden with his brother (whom he adores), then a run, then sleep/garden, another run at teatime followed by dinner then more sleep/garden. He gets loads of attention, has secure space away from his brother and seems very happy. He has no issues with other dogs and is well socialised.

Hopefully this new food is the answer but we will be watchful of anything that could be causing him to become stressed.

Thanks for the reply.

I find that Hills I/D tinned or kibble works best with my TT who get awful colitis/IBS and has done all her life. In fact she is just recovering from bads runs, and some sickness which she never has usually, so think she's picked up a bug of some sort. I've treated her by starving for 24 hours then 4 small meals of I/D tinned with 1 tespoon yoghurt on one meal and probiotics on one of the other. she's had 4 small meals for 2 days and is now on 3 meals of i/d tinned, again with yoghurt and probiotics. I will continue this till the weekend and then start to add some tinned Chappie, as this is also gentle and easily digested. What I am doing seems to be doing ok as she is now back to normal.
Hope this helps.
anndee

Thanks for the reply.
He's now had a full week of prize-winning poohs! Very strange that the sight of a decent pooh can make me feel so happy!
I've kept him on RC Intestinal all week and he seems to enjoy it. He seemed to be going off it around friday so I sprinkled the tiniest bit of dried liver on it and he wolfed it down. Last night I cooked up some white fish and gave him a little through his RC - he gets his dinner in two sittings and he actually ran around dancing and barking for his second helping - something he has never done, even when steak was on the menu.
I'll definately continue him on this food as it is working well.
Hope your girl is feeling better soon.

Hi Bostontea.
I'm so pleased that things are going the right way for you.
Safi has also picked up but I'm going to stay schtum as when I start to think/say things are going well she takes a turn for the worst!! ;o)
I'm keeping her off complete for a while as the Hills i/d tinned and the Chappie seem to be suiting her.
Hope all stays well
Anndee

hahaha love the comment about the sight of a decent poo - I think I have become Barney's stalker as I follow him out in the garden almost every time he goes out and come back in dancing and skipping when its a proper poo !!! hahahhaha

Hope all our doggies are doing ok- Barney seems to have settled now, for the time being !!!

Anna

Agree with Anndee about the Chappie.

I had a dog on Hill's ID for many years, and she often had Chappie mixed in for variety.  It does seem to be very gentle on the tum.