[sandra c]

My cocker just turned 9 and I always fed him Rachael Ray dog food. He was going poop two and three times a day. I changed his dog food to Earthborn dog food about six months ago and it has been fine. He has had the loose stools for four days. On the third day and fourth day I was feeding him rice and baby food. Took him to the vet and he said he had coilitis and sent home with perscription. He seemed better after a week but he started having the dirreaha again so I took him back to the vet. He got a shot of penisillon and more pills. Dr. said call him back if he is not better in three days. It has been two days and he is still straining and with the loose stools. Doctor told me to have him eat his dog food again and I was putting baby food in it again. I can tell how badly he feels and he has already lost nine pounds. Could this be his food? What should I feed him now? I am at a loss for my poor little guy.

[Susan]

Hi Sandra,

Why hasnt the vet put him on a 21 day course of Metronidazole (Flagyl) tablets ?
Next time you see vet or ring vet ask can you pick up a 14-21 day course of Metronidazole tablets, you give 200mg every 12 hours with a meal….
Metronidazole is an antibiotic for the stomach & bowel it normally fixes whatever is wrong with the bowel, my 9yr old Staffy has IBD, years ago the vet said he has Colitis, I had to do food elimination diet to work out what ingredients he was sensititive too…
He can NOT eat boiled rice as the boiled rice irritate his bowel causing diarrhea…..

The new meat protein & carbohydrate vets recommend to feed a dog with stomach or bowel problems is a lean white meat with boiled Sweet Potato or boiled Potato as potato is very gentle on their stomach & bowel, I’d stop feeding the boiled rice & start boiling some Sweet Potato cut in small pieces & freeze in the freezer & take out 2-3 hours before you need to feed him or put in the fridge the day before….or I put the sweet potato pieces in the micro wave 10sec & they are thawed & ready & I add the sweet potato to my home made lean pork or lean beef rissoles balls..
Buy some chicken breast cut into small bite size pieces or buy some lean turkey mince low in fat & just bring to the boil, then take off stove drain out the water, meat will be cooked, don’t over boil the chicken breast pieces as they become tuff like leather, chicken breast pieces or lean turkey mince cooks very quickly…..

If you don’t want to cook then have a look at “Wellness Simple” Turkey & Potato dry formula, the Wellness Simple wet can foods are too high in fat, the Wellness Simple dry kibble is low/med in fat at 12%, Wellness Simple formula’s have limited ingredients or look at feeding “Natural Balance” LTD Sweet Potato & Bison dry kibble or the Potato & Duck dry formula, these dry kibbles are really good for dogs with stomach & bowel problems & I really think he needs to take 14-21 course of the Metronidazole tablets to heal his bowel… feed 3-4 smaller meals a day now he’s getting older, smaller meals are easier to digest…my boy eats 4-5 small meals a day, same time every day…..
He does 2 poo’s a day & takes the Metronidazole tablet on & off now, as soon as I see his poos getting sloppy for 2 days or when he starts his crying & whinging his stomach is sore or he has bad acid reflux, he gets put back on the Metronidazole for 14-21 days, the Metronidazole fixes everything up..

What Vet diet is your dog eating? he could be sensitive to an ingredient in the vet diet or the fiber isnt agreeing with him & could be causing the sloppy poos…
My boy doesn’t do well on any of the dry vet diets for Intestinal stress, the insoluble fiber is too high…….
I’d take back the vet diet for a refund if he isnt doing well on it or ask vet nurses can you change it for “Royal Canine” Select Protein, Potato & Rabbit dry kibble & a few matching wet can food aswell or ask for “Royal Canine” Gastrointestinal Low Fat wet can food, my boy does OK on the Royal Canine Gastro Intestinal Low Fat wet can food but not the dry kibble he starts itching & scratching from the ingredients in th edry R/C Low Fat kibble….
I feed the “Wellness Core” Large Breed dry kibble for some of his meals as it has no lentils or Chickpeas & it is high in omega fatty acids for his joints…
Vet diets are money back guaranteed if not agreeing with your boy & buy either the Wellness Simple Turkey & Potato or the Natural Balance LTD Bison or the Duck formula’s have the least ingredients wet & dry formula’s…..

[sandra c]

Thank you I am taking him back to the vet today and will make a copy of your letter to take with me. Thank you so much

[anonymous]

Good luck at the vets. Please listen to your veterinarian and let him do the necessary labs (blood work) and other diagnostic tests to help your dog.

Has he had a senior workup? Seniors are vulnerable to all kinds of stuff. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the food.

Give us an update.

[HoundMusic]

I’ve had a dog living with ulcerative colitis going on 2.5 years now. The particular type he has is an autoimmune condition, but colitis in general is irritated to a great degree by dietary fat. I don’t know which formula of Earthborn you’re currently feeding, but several of varities have the fat content around 18%, which is obscene :/ I would suggest keeping fat levels somewhere around 10%, possibly lower. Fat lubricates the digestive system, and a dog with colitis does not need any more incentive to go.

You might also want to ditch the baby food. It’s not suitable for this type of condition, unless the dog is physically unable to take solid foods. Overcooked chicken or lean beef with white rice should be offered for a day or so, just to give the digestive system a rest. Bone broth is also a great way to get in nutrients.

The experience I’ve had with colitis is that it is entirely food dependent. Bad as my dog is, he will remain entirely asymptomatic so long as I don’t change his dry food. Certain feeds also seemed to not just irritate the colitis, but cause further inflammation that led to kidney infections/blood in urine and enlarged prostate 🙁 So I learned the hard way that yes, food is a major – sometimes the only – influencing factor.

Thus far, my dog with UC can tolerate no other dry diet except for Pedigree. He literally went from 6 months of going upwards of 30x per day (yes, I counted) of soft poo/diarrhea and constant pain, to one rock hard plop within 12 hrs of being switched to the Pedigree Lamb & Rice. All dogs are different though, but the more “fancy”, unnecessary ingredients and fat content a dry food contains, the worse it’s going to be for a dog with colitis. Just my 2 cents…

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