[Paula W]

Hi everyone…. I have a six-year-old Shih Tzu boy (ChewieBahka) who has been having tummy troubles for about a month now. I’ve taken him to the vet twice in the past few weeks and the vet feels he may have colitis. I was given Forti Flora to add to his meal, Metronidazole (antibiotic), and Cerenia for his diarrhea. I fed a bland diet of chicken with rice. By day two of the meds he was feeling noticeably better, and didn’t need the anti-diarrheal.

He had previously been eating Hill’s Rx Science Diet D/D Egg and Rice kibble. I do not like this food at all. My other dog, my girl Lhasa Apso mix, Coco Latte’, (who I will post about later) was put on this food. I was told it was ok for Chewie to eat it also. (Really mad at myself for not researching into that further.)

His symptoms are as follows:

* Diarrhea – (Not watery, but not well-formed….almost like a cow patty.)
* Trembling (which I believe is due to the cramping he feels in his tummy)
* Periodic lack of appetite (He’s a foodie, so this is unusual!)
* Lethargy

His fecal sample was tested and the lab results saw nothing bad with it.
Temperature is normal. No dehydration. No vomiting. Chewie is about 1/2 a pound overweight, and has a very good appetite 95% of the time. He’s an active, happy, curious litte boy, but when his tummy is bothering him, lethargy sets in.

I was afraid that he may have eaten something in the back yard, and spent two days pulling every single thing I wasn’t sure about out of the ground. (Believe it or not, Chewie enjoys “gardening”. He watched me pulling weeds one day, and he mimics what he sees. He does eat them sometimes.)

I also think that stress contributes to whatever the problem is. My husband “threw me away last December”, and it was very unexpected. As you can imagine, depression/stress for me are very high. I know it transfers over onto my dogs. Coco handles stress pretty well, but Chewie is more of a gentle soul and it’s harder on him. Also, having nowhere else to go, I became a full-time caregiver to my mother who has dementia (a lot more stress.)

The meds helped, but his symptoms returned today (about two weeks later). The vet advised that if this happened we should look into doing blood work and changing his diet. He also suggested pumpkin and a high fiber dog food. I was wondering if anyone has had similar troubles with their dog, (or a diagnosis of colitis) and what you found helpful. I just want my little boy to feel better, and I’m open to all suggestions you might have for us.

I want to feed him the best possible food I can. What’s the best possible commercially prepared food I can offer him? Is canned food better? Dry? Raw or freeze dried? Should I home cook? I have a million +1 questions and would value your insights.
Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Did the vet do an x-ray to rule out an obstruction? If it was my dog I would go along with the blood work and other tests, a multitude of things can be ruled out.
Otherwise, I would keep the diet simple, if it is stress related it will resolve on it’s own.
Maybe a quality dry food, with a tablespoon of canned or cooked chicken breast (chopped up) as a topper…maybe add a splash of water.
I like Nutrisca Salmon and Chickpea for dry and wet, Newman Organics has Grain Free Beef & Liver (no grains) canned that seems to be easy to digest.
Wysong is worth looking into. What does your vet recommend?
Good luck

PS: I have used prescription foods when recommended by a vet and noticed no adverse effects, it just seemed bland and boring to my dogs, from what I could tell 🙂
Also, at age 6 (7 is considered a senior) a blood panel would not be a bad idea.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Hope this helps: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/

[Susan]

Hi Paula, what are you feeding that has made his symptoms returned again?? & did you stop any medications like Metronidazole & his symptoms have returned ??

My boy would get his colitis symptoms, sloppy jelly poos, sometimes with blood, rumbling/grumbling bowel noises about every 14 days & was eating the same foods he was good for 12-14 days then bad again, so vet put him on a vet diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” its a low residue kibble that gives the stomach & bowel a rest too heal & the fat is only 10% fat the protein is 23% fiber is 1.7%, he was put on the Eukanuba Intestinal for 6-9months… then I looked for a better kibble that had the same fat% Protein % & fiber % like his vet diet & had limited ingredients….there’s also the vet diet “Royal Canine” Gastro Intestinal Low Fat, wet tin & kibble…. maybe feed a wet tin food instead of a kibble….kibble is harder to digest…. I soak the Royal Canine Gastro Intestinal kibble in water till its soft, takes about 1 hour, then I drain all the water, then I add warm water & warm up the soft kibble, then I drain the water again & then I cuff my hand in the bowl with the kibble cuff in my hand & squeeze all the water out of the kibbles, then put the kibble thru a blender for about 5 sec… I’m starting to introduce the “Earthborn Holistic” Natural Ocean Fusion kibble, it has the least ingredients, no peas, no tomato pomace, no rice & no probiotics… Patch doesn’t do well on probiotics… you could feed your healthier girl dog the same or one of the grain free kibbles but look at the fat% & protein % as the grain free kibbles are higher in fat & protein & some dogs don’t do real well on a higher protein & high fat kibble.. the grain free “Meadow Feast” is OK for your healthy girl but I’d be careful with your boy as the fat is 15%min so max fat % will be about 17-18% fat, that’s too high for your sick boy… http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/us/dog_formulas/ocean_fusion/

Your probably better off without your husband cause it would of stressed out your boy, my dog gets stressed, so I have to have NO STRESS at home & when I’m stressing, I cant show my dog, I pretend everything is all good but its hard… I had to put my cat to sleep this morning & Patch was crying & crying, kept following me & watching what I was doing with the cat, I had to bring Patch with us to the vets cause he knew the cat was sick & wanted to make sure the cat was OK, he’s a real stress head & makes himself sick… they did everything together… I’ll have to get him another cat, a rescue middle aged cat from the pound…

I’d try a different vet diet for about 3-6 months to let his stomach & bowel rest & heal… No Hills.. then start to introduce a premuim kibble that’s if you want to feed a kibble but your better off cooking & freezing small meals or wet tin foods when they have stomach/bowel problems…. ask vet about the “Royal Canine Gastro Intestinal” Low Fat food… wet tin or the kibble.. feed the wet tin at night & the kibble for breakfast…. Patch cant handle high fat kibbles, the fat has to be 10% & under for a kibble & wet tin foods the fat % has to be 3% & under or cooked foods, some boiled chicken breast with some sweet potatoes…. then when your dog is doing good start adding some new ingredients & balance the diet…on Face book there’s a group called “Canine Nutrition and Natural Health” Cat Lane, does special diets for sick animals, if you can afford that or join the group & learn….

Pumkin made Patches poo more sloppy but the pumkin may help your dog, if the pumkin makes his poos sloppy, then your dog needs a lower fiber diet not a higher fiber diet….I feed sweet potato it has more fiber then the white potatoes but not as much fiber as pumkin…..watch the fat% in his diet….. also there’s “Canine Caviar” Special Needs its suppose to be good for dogs with stomach/bowel & Pancreatitis & is low in fat only 9% fat & low in protein..

Special Needs

[Hazel G]

Hi Paula,

We have a ten month old shih tzu called Percy who has suffered numerous episodes of colitis and HGE. Basically lots of vet trips, blood tests, medication, passing blood, not eating etc etc… we’ve now gone almost a month without a trip to the Vets’s since he started his new diet, Royal Canin, gastrointestinal wet dog food. Maybe this could help your little one, good luck!

[Author]

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