Colitis Question?

[JohnHugo]

Hi all, I just adopted a 14mo old BEAUTIFUL, sweet little girl. Have been going through testing and diet changes with her and all signs are pointing to colits, I've never dealt with this before, how long does it take to get over this and how much, ball park, does it cost to treat? It's my understanding this is something that she'll most likely have her whole life, it's just when it acts up and for how long it lasts? Is this something that is life threatening?

I'm wondering right now if my house is the best place for her, I work during the day and my roommate works also and right now she needs to be let out every 4 hrs tops. It's getting tough to arrange someone to let her out that often.

 

[Net45582]

Each dog responds differently to treatment. Diet change is something that is recommended too I believe. Is there a doggie daycare available in your area? Good luck!

 

[sgbtab]

colitis is a tough illness. gracie suffered from this illness. she would have at least 8-10 bloody bowel movements a day. the poor baby could not hold it to wait to go outside. I would alsways wake to poop. the only thing that helped her was a raw diet. I had tried all different kibbles and raw was the only thing that helped. I have some links on colitis and I hope this helps. if you have the time to take care os this sweet girl then go for it.
http://www.purelypets.com/articles/treatingcolitis.htm
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_colitis.html
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_inflammatory_bowel_disease.html

 

[JohnHugo]

unfortunately, cost is a factor also

I hate to sound like thats a big concern, but it is. I just taped my emergency fund almost completely at the begininning of the month on emergency vet visit and ultimately surgery to treat one of my boys who I ended up losing to infection. For what it's worth, keep your dogs away from corn cobs! I really can't afford $100-200 every week or two on testing and treatments, that's why I asked a ball park figure on what it costs to treat this.

So as much as I do love the little girl, I can't bankrupt myself in the process. Please don't think that I'm thinking of putting her down or anything like that, just thinking of trying to find a home that may be better set up to care for her. Thank you for the links on the treatments!

 

[Jan]

I would highly reccomend that you try a raw diet, before giving up on her. A lot of dogs with colitis have shown a remarkable improvement when fed a raw natural diet. Dogs are not meant to eat grains and some dogs digestion just can't deal with them. Raw is not an expensive way to feed. It costs no more than a good quality kibble and sometimes less depending of whether you can find good sources of food.

Please don't give up to quickly.

Good luck!

 

[buffylvangel]

Ibd

If you don't want to do all the shopping and stuff with the raw diet, try a product called Urban Wolf. It's a no grain mixer. There are several other no-grain mixers on the market that would probably work, too. For now, try feeding just meat with no grain to see if it firms up her stool. My baby was diagnosed with Inflamatory Bowel Disease. She's fine now. Even eats Timberwolf Organics kibble. Don't give up on her.

 

[MonkeyAndMax]

Try Back To Basics

We tried every food out there with our colitis boy and had UNBELIEVABLE success with a food called Back To Basics. Buy it at specialty food stores, not PetCo, etc. We were reluctant to try the food initially because no pet store food or vet food had worked to date. This food was like a miracle for us.

Good luck.