[Cheryl G]

My dog (chihuahua 6 years) has been diagnosed with stress induced colitis. My vet has her on Hills Prescription Diet I/D with stress. It’s very expensive for long term. She has also had complete blood work up done as well as ultrasounds and has no allergies or tumors, but does have an aversion to high fat diets.
Any suggestions for dry dog food would be helpful.
Thank you.

• This topic was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Cheryl G.

[Susan]

Hi Cheryl,
I have a stressful Staffy I rescued 5 yrs ago, he was dignosed with Colitis & anixietys then 1 yr later he had an Endoscope & Biopsies done, cause I wanted to know what is causing his problems, the only way the vet can really know what is happening in your dog stomach & bowel is the biopsies, biopsies results tell a vet so much information plus they look around the dogs stomach etc, Patch has gotten heaps better these last 2-3 yrs he’s in a strict routine, feed same time every day & feed 4 smaller meals instead of 2 large meals a day, I try & not change too much in his life, (BUT we have just moved)
Patch no longer shakes & trembles when there’s a thunder storm, we had bad thunder storm last night & what I do now is Patch the cat & I all get into bed, I turn on my TV a bit loader then usual & when it thunders I look to the ceiling or out the window I point & say go away naughty thunder, go away also the thunder doesn’t seem to bother my cat & I tell Patch look Indy isnt scared, he looks at the cat & see’s her nice & calm, what happens after he has his stress attack (Anxiety) this is when his IBD starts to play up, I’ve been in Hospital the last few days & Patch had to stay at my daughters place & his routine was put out he was whinging & crying waiting for me at her front door, I told my daughter just get him into his routine as much as you can, I came home yesterday afternoon from hospital & today Patch is eating grass & not his happy self, so he must of really stress while staying at my daughters place & since I moved here 1 month ago Patch has been getting up thru the night, tippy toeing thru the house it’s a wierd thing he has done since I got him 5 yrs ago, he tippy toes some night he gets up he walks so slow on his toes so he doesnt wake anyone up, I’d say he has some discomfort & can’t sleep & changes beds, he reminds me of Goldielocks & the 3 bears, as soon as Patch seen me packing boxes to move he became unwell & anxious all over again the tippy toe thru the house re started his Poos are fine nice & firm he has started having his stomach pain again his acid reflux is going good, it depends what I feed him with his acid reflux playing up he’s on 20mg Losec every morning for his acid reflux which has really helped him, wet canned foods all seem to give him acid reflux so I cook & freeze small meals, its ends up being cheaper then buying the vet diet wet canned foods, sweet potato & pumkin is very good for stomach & bowel, I boil sweet potato & some pumkin first I peel & cut in small pieces boil then cool then I freeze them, Sweet Potato & Pumkin stay OK when frozen & you take a piece out & it thaws pretty quickly, I also make rissole balls lean turkey mince or lean beef mince add 1 whisked egg & some chopped parsley mix all together & make 1/2 size rissole balls & bake on a foil lined baking tray in oven turn over 1/2 way & drain any fat water that comes from the rissoles at the moment he’s eating “Nutro Essentails” Lamb & Rice Weight management kibble cause the fat is 9%min & he does good on Lamb, Nutro Australia has reformulated their formula’s the Nutro is on Special & 1/2 price cause its new so I thought I’ll give it a go, the Nutro has sought of constipated Patch, cause he eats 4 meals a day Im feeding 2 of the larger meals the Nutro Kibble & the other 2 meals are smaller & I’m feeding him his cooked meals Rissoles with the Pumkin & Sweet potato all mashed together & this has fixed things up in the poo department, he’s doing 1 poo morning & another poo in the afternoon, I never thought Patch would ever get constiped, normally he has the opposite problem Diarrhea, before I moved I was feeding him a kibbles with the fat 15% & under, but since moving he has started doing his mouth suckling noises & I do not know why he makes this sound & what is wong with him?? in the past he has done real WELL on “Canidae” All Life Stages Platinum, Canidae Pure Wild Boar & the Pure Meadow Senior formula is pretty good aswell, the max fat is 10.80% in the Pure Meadow Senior dry formula & it has everything an aging dog needs, I emailed Canidae & they give you max % on fat protein etc….all ingredients are source from local farmers & Canidae grow their own veggies, here’s Canidae’s site scroll down a bit look to your eight & you’ll see the pages the Platinum is on page 5, there’s also their “Canidae Pure Petite” Small Breed formula it has low fat low protein & only 5 ingredients..
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
Patches vet has put Patch on “Gabapentin” 100mg last year for his IBD & Anxieties, I open the Gabapentin capsule & tip out 1/2 the Gabapentin powder as it seems to drug Patch up a bit so I make it 50mg instead of 100mg capsule, the vet said Gabapentenin is good for Anxieties, IBD, IBS & other health contions & this drug does not irratate the stomah or bowel like other medications can do, she said this is why is very good for dogs with IBD you could ask your vet about the Gabapentin 50mg & do what I do open capsule & tip some powder out into a empty capsules you buy empty capsules at te chemist, it makes Patch sleep thru the whole night & he doesnt move & doesnt get up & change beds through the night but the next day he seems very washed out & I dont like seeing him lik that so I dont give hime what the vet recommended 2 times a day poor dog would be too drug up need to get my scales out & weight the capsule & give him only 20-30mgs only when he really needs some pain relief & your girl is very small so she’d need a lower dose then Patch weights 18kgs around 40lbs….

I’ve looked at the new Hills I/d Stress wet & dry formula’s when it first came out & I do not know how these ingredients would reduce stress in a dog???, it would make the dog do firm poos but that doesnt mean you have reduced the stress in the dog? Has the I/d Stress made your girl any better Stress wise since she has started eating the I/d Stress?? is she eating the wet or dry kibble I/d Stress formula?? When I looked at these are the ingredients below in the I/d Stress formula the “Beet Pulp” helps firm poo’s up, the Ginger for Nausea, the Vitamin B12, the B-2 in the Riboflavin & B-7 in the Biotin is good for skin & nails… B vitamins, and specifically biotin, help keep your skin, hair, eyes, liver, and nervous system healthy, so its probably the B vitamins reducing the Stress ….
You can give your dog vitamin B yourself, there’s the B-12 liquid you inject weekly or you get the Vitamin B capsules, if you go onto Face Book, put “EPI Dogs” in the search bar & there’s only 1 EPI group it should come up, if not I’ll give you the link, the ladies are all very helpful & know which brand to get, which brand is the cheapest & where to get it from….
I/d Stress ingredients
Brewers Rice, Corn Starch, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Flaxseed, Cracked Pearled Barley, Whole Grain Oats, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver Flavor, Pork Flavor, Lactic Acid, Ginger, Soybean Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Pork Fat, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Hydrolyzed Casein, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, Beta-Carotene.

I think with a dog who is very stressed out she needs a quiet environment, a strict routine, walked & I use to go to the dog Patch & sit on a seat & let Patch watch teh dogs all playing from afar we also would sit at te beach as he was scarred of the waves in the beging now I cant let him off his lead he’s a nut & loves teh ocean & just runs & runs along the sand & I cant catch him so we stop goingto the beach I ended up having anxieties I’d try the Vitamin B ask your vet & try one of the Canidae formulas, another brand I see people saying their dog who has stomach/bowel problems doing really well is the “Purina One” formulas.. I think you buy from supermarket… also there’s teh “Rescue Remedy”drops you put 1 drop on her tongue morning & night & 20mins before she is going to do something that will stress her out a lady that use to come & bath Patch said her 10yr old dog has really bad anxieties & the Rescue Remedy drops really works for her dog, she just feeds her dog supermarket dry kibble & raw meat…also have you tried teh “Freshpet” rolls & dry food? Ive also red people saying their dogs is doing well on the Freshpet roll..

[anonymous]

@ Cheryl G

How long has the dog been on a prescription diet? Is she stable at present? How long has she been stable?
I would discuss with your vet any concerns that you may have about the prescription food, you may not be able to get the criteria needed (such as low fat) from commercial food.
If the dog has been stable for at least 3 months, I would ask your vet if you can add something to the kibble. I hope you are adding a little water to it if you are using the kibble. Adequate water intake is important.
Have you tried the canned?

It all depends, was her colitis an acute attack? Or, is this a chronic condition?

Some dogs do remain on a prescription food for the rest of their lives and do well.
This may not be indicated in your case. Talk to your vet, I would get his approval before making any diet changes.
Good luck

PS: Dog food expense is nothing compared to vet visits, especially emergency vets.
So, if the cost of the prescription food is the only deterrent you have, I would reconsider.
Especially if the pet is doing well on it.
Science based veterinary medicine here http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2016/07/more-nonsense-from-holistic-vets-about-commercial-therapeutic-diets/

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