My 8 month old home bred boxer bitch managed to demolish a rubber toy of which some she manged to swallow about 2 months ago, as a result she was sick a couple of times and brought pieces of toy up.  We took her to the vet who gave her a thorough check up and agreed there was nothing left inside. However over the course of a couple of weeks she was sick again and a few small pieces of toy came up again. We then started to notice blood in her poo, so back to the vet.  Liquid paraffin, antibiotics etc etc have been tried but still the blood continued.  1st poo sample showed campylobacter but nothing showed after course of antibiotics and 2nd sample.   I decided that after all the antibiotics her gut was probably stripped bare so started a course of probiotics, which have actually helped but she started to lose weight, seemed itchy and has redness between her front toes. She had been eating a raw diet her whole life as have all my other dogs which I have been feeding for over 15 years and have never ever had a problem, they have all thrived on it actually. My little girls gut has obviously taken a real beating from the toy and antibiotics which they believe has upset her gut so much she isn't absorbing any of her food.  She would eat a meal and would poo about 5 times after - never runny but huge piles of it streaked in blood. My vet called the Veterinary college and discussed her symptoms and they now think her colon is inflamed, so after a detailed scan and x-ray she is on a hypo allergenic veterinary diet (which tastes and smells of nothing) and course of Metronidazole. The food isn't going down too well, after 45 minutes with her head in the bowl all she has done is chew it into small bits and spit it out.  She seems quiet but not ill but I am obviously at my wits end and so very worried about her. Has anybody had anything similar and what did you do to treat it.  I am wondering if, after reading loads about it, to try her on fish4dogs.  It seems very good and all reviews been favorable but i don't want to do more harm than good but at the same time she must eat something.  Any advice would be very welcomed.

If she was mine I would try Chappie original tinned, it works well for damaged intestines so it is worth a try, there is nothing to scratch or irritate the linings of the digestive tract so it is well worth giving it a try. Almost anything having pieces of meat, bone, skin or scales may not be digested by the stomach and is therefore passing pieces of food into the bowel where it can cause damage, Chappie is firm but contains no solid food. Is she drinking in a normal manner or is her intake low.

You could try taking the food the vet has given and putting it through a food processor with water or water & goats milk to turn it into a more liquid meal but if she is not interested in the taste of the food she may not be prepared to eat it. You could also try cooking chicken and using the meat only process that to a thick soup as that may be more palatable and then try adding in other soft smooth foods such as Chappie or indeed some of the smooth cat foods.

Thanks Jackie, She is drinking well.  We tried her on Nature Diet, which she was on for about 3 weeks, after advice from the vet but that seems to have made it much worse.  She was having the chicken and rice variety so I wonder if that has just aggravated it, so am a little reluctant to try chicken.  I have tried moistening it but without any luck. Feel like we are going around in circles but I know I will probably have to try a few different foods before we find the right one.  Thanks for the advice, its another avenue to explore.

Soft tissue damage can take a long while to heal properly so if you can get her stable on something like Chappie then give her about 4 months for the lining of the intestines to heal and regrow you may be able to put her back onto her original food should you so wish.

Not the same condition I know, but my GSD had inflamm. bowel disease and her intestines were raw. The specialist put her on Metronidazole and tinned Chappie original. It worked very well and eased her until eventually she could eat virtually anything ( approx 2 years on Chappie)

Not the same condition I know

It is not the condition so much as the damage done to the tissue of the bowel so yes the way forward is to heal that damage, we all know how painful it is to have stomach acid go through the bowel and I am sure it must hurt the dog as well as damage the lining of the intestines.

She has actually started to eat the prescription diet but we had a massive "explosion" yesterday which the vet thinks could me the Metronizadol and has suggested she stop that for now. A firmish deposit was left this morning so maybe we have turned a corner, didn't appear to be any blood in it so I really hope things are improving. Will take her in to get weighed on Wednesday then I will have an idea if things are improving, then maybe re start the Metronizadol again. Thank you for your advice, much appreciated.

A week on from the start of the prescription diet and she is now eating it quite well (with lots of encouragement). Her weight as gone up too, so an improvement there. She has started back on the Metronizadol yesterday, vets advice, but we are seeing much more bright red blood today. She is well in herself, wants to play and is drinking well too. I know this wont get better over night but I don't think we are seeing an improvement in that area at all. Spoken to the vet again today who thinks we should carry on as we are for at least another week. I am so tempted to throw away the prescription diet and get some chappie but i just dont know what to do for the best. I trust my vet who is very good but I am having doubts if this is the best treatment for her. I'm worried sick about her and am thinking all sorts of terrible things that could be wrong with her. Does this sound like a serious condition or should I follow the vets advice and carry on as we are or ask for a referral. I have no experience of this at all so don't know what to do next. Advice/thoughts would be very welcome.

With my GSD I had a referral  and that was the best thing to do. ( Dick Whites) they put the camera down inside ( sorry not up to technical terms ) and saw that she had so much scar tissue that if it had carried on much more her intestines would have become too 'leathery' to work and there would be no cure. It sounds as though your dog may not be as advanced as this but please ask to see a specialist before too much damage is done.
My vet tried so many things that by the time I saw the specialist it was nearly too late, however Dick White wonderful and worked out 3 different types of treatment, luckily the first one tried worked.
Please don't wait.

How long had your dog been poorly before you were referred? Did you ever find out what started your GSD's problems? I will speak to my vet.  Where is Dick White based? Sorry so many question but I am beginning to get desperate.  Thanks for you input.

My dog was poorly for about 3-4 months before being referred during this time my vet tried everything he could but it didn't work. Dick White is in Suffolk but he won't be the only specialist, he was within my area ( about an hours drive) but I'm sure your vet will know who to refer you to. I really don't know how it started but she had always been a bit iffy and picky with food and this all started up at about 1 year old.
Where do you live as I am sure the knowledgeable people on here will know of excellent specialists that cover your area.

I have checked and Dick White is at Six Mile Bottom, which is only about half an hour from me. We are very close to Cambridge so not far from the RVC either. My vet has spoken to the specialist at the RVC who advised the treatment he s on now. I have decided that if we have no improvement by Friday (two weeks after starting prescription diet and antibiotics) then I will ask for a referral. As she isn't insured I know it's going to cost a fortune but I have to get her better no matter what the cost.

I wish both you and your dear doggy well and hope he gets better with the treatment he is on now. I know my treatment at DW went into several thousands as she was kept in for 2 days but she was insured so it didn't hurt too much.
But like you when one of my other dogs had Parvo at 6 weeks old (when I picked her up from the breeder), this was during the first 15 days of the policy so wasn't covered. The vet asked me if I wanted her put down and I said that I wanted the vet to do everything possible as if she was his very own dog, so that cost me well over £1500. Insurance or not we will find the money somehow, thats because they are our babies.

Please let us know how you get on, I'll keep fingers crossed for you.

Zuma was in DW in Feb this year, ended up with diagnosis of Acute Gastritis, luckily he is insured but the bill for his treatment was:-
Service Provided              Amount
First Consultation - Medicine            192.19
Radiography & Interpretation            175.63
Additional Plate                             35.13
Hospitalisation - Large Dog - Half Day             33.56
Sedation Large Dog 30-49.99kg                           52.69
Ultrasound - Abdomen (227.48            241.13
Service Provided on 23/02/2012
Daily Examination - Medicine              48.38
Catheter Care & Redressing                6.68
Hospitalisation - Large Dog              66.84
Sedation Large Dog 30-49.99kg Excluding IV Placement        31.49
Laboratory - In Clinic              170.98
Medications                  73.00
                                                                                       Total                         £1,127.70
May give you a guide on charges but hopefully the present treatment will work and you won't have the extra stress

nothing to advise just to wish your boy a good recovery... its very hard ...we love them so much.

R~

Thank you all so much for your good wishes, its very kind.  As for cost of treatment, well.....I will find the money somehow.  Not sure how at the moment but she is so very special to us that no matter what, we will do our very best to make her better.  The breakdown of Zuma's treatment is reassuring, obviously I realise my pups condition is probably not the same.  Although it is a lot of money it isn't as bad as I expected.  I hope so much she improves without the need for extra treatment and will keep you posted.

one of my dogs has been diagnosed with IBD and she was on chappie complete with winalot meat and my vet said she has to have imodium every day, i have recently changed her to wagg sensitive only and she does seem alot better. she has not had so much flatulance and seems alot more settled

Update on my little girl.  She was referred to the RVC who were very good and looked after her really well for her three day stay.  She has had numerous blood tests, a scan, x-ray, a camera to check whats going on inside and a biopsy, the results of which should be back early next week. All test have come back clear with nothing abnormal found. This is obviously good in lots of ways and rules out lots of other nasties but we still don't know what the problem could be. We have been advised to continue with the prescription diet until the results are back. The specialist did mention HUC (Histiocytic Ulcerative Colitis) Does anyone have any knowledge of this condition? I have read a few articles and know the prognosis is much better now than a few years ago, although she has had blood in her poo she has not had any of the other symptoms related to this condition. From what she was saying it is something that can only be diagnosed from a biopsy so when her results come back we will know one way or another but I want to have as much information as possible if this does prove to be the problem. I would be grateful for any help and advice.

Thanks