[Shawna]

Hi Jan f,

I think the issue for most opposing these foods is the, what we perceive to be, lower quality ingredients. It is not necessarily the food however that is helping but rather in changing the food you have eliminated something the dog was reacting to in the old food. My Pom gets ulcerative colitis from chicken. ANY food that has chicken muscle protein in it will set her off. She would actually do poorly on the W/D because of the “chicken meal” in it. Other dogs, like yours, will improve on it. Doesn’t mean it is the only, and certainly not the best, food for a dog with colitis though.

Marvistavet says this about colitis and foods
“Elimination Diet: Colitis can result from a food intolerance (an example would be lactose intolerance from which numerous people suffer). Intolerances can result from dyes, preservatives, contaminants or even natural proteins in the food. Similarly, colitis can result from an actual food allergy. The solution for these intolerances is the feeding a “pure” diet, ideally a home cooked food made with carbohydrates and proteins that are novel or new to the patient. An 8-10 week diet course is typically needed and no other chews or treats can be offered during the time of the trial. Food allergy cannot be diagnosed by blood test or skin test. At this time, response to elimination diet is the only test for food allergy or intolerance. Most people are not in a position to home cook an appropriate food for the pet. Fortunately, several novel protein diets and hydrolyzed protein diets have been developed. For more details on using an elimination diet, please visit our food allergy page.” http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_colitis.html

A “home cooked diet” is going to provide, pending it is balanced, much better nutrition than a food with an ingredient list that starts “Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Sorghum, Soybean Mill Run, Chicken Liver Flavor, Pork Fat, Soybean Oil” (personal opinion of course).

Edit — I don’t believe that these foods are necessarily harmful, at face value at least, but they do not supply the same nutrients from more species appropriate ingredients/foods.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Shawna.