I think my dog has Colitis.

[Naomi]

I am a proud owner of a female Boxer named Brandi. She is currently 11 months old. I have been experiencing problems with her bowel movements for as long as I can remember. I started researching colitis on the web and she has all of the symptoms to a "T". I have even had to rush her to the emergency vet about a month ago because she had a significant amount of blood in her stools. Most days she will have a one firm movement and then she will proceed to have 3-4 movements in the next few minutes that are mush... some days they are just liquid. They are also slimy and coated with mucus. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I am religious about not varying her diet (she is currently on Nutro Max for Puppies). She doesn't get table scraps, wet dog food, or dog treats (except for Nutro Dog Bones and an occasional shank bone).

My question is- I am going to change her diet. I read that dog food high in fiber and low in fat is reccomended for dogs with colitis. The only dog food I have seen people reccomend on websites is Hills Science Diet. I am concerned about switching her to this brand. I have heard that their food has a lot of perservatives and additives that are not good for dogs... I am not sure exactly what. Is this true? Does anyone know of any other dog food brand I could check out? Does anyone have any other reccomendations about what I should do for Brandi?

She looks so uncomfortable, especially tonight. She has been having a rough day. I just want to do what's best for her. If you have any advice I would love to hear it. Thank you!

 

[muttersley]

I don't know if you can get this where you are but I always gave my old girl Gemma, who suffered terribly from colitis as she got older, James Welbeloved chicken and rice complete meal. It is completly natural with no additives and preservatives. It does sound like your baby suffers the same but she is very young. Won't your vet run some tests on her?

Good luck and love to Brandi.

 

[Brutus and Amaya's Mom]

Naomi,
As a mom that has been through colitis I would say your diagnosis is probably accurate. Amaya has the same symtoms you are describing. She would go to the bathroom 5-6 times a day with blood and mucous in the stools. When she was really bad she would have accidents in the house or in her kennel. The poor baby just couldn't control it. She was so miserable as well...she acted happy but spent her life outside.

We tried to treat the diarrhea at first. She had 2 rounds of shots but after a week or so we were back to square 1. The vet finally put her on metronidazole (flagyl). She had to take this for about 2 months before we successfully weaned her off the medication.

Amaya was started on Hill Prescription ID diet when her symtoms started. It is only sold by vets and is made for intestional problems (hence the name...intestional diet). It is pretty expensive..about $34 for 20 lbs but I am a definate fan.

Amaya has been off medication for a few months now and her colitis is controled through diet. She eats the ID and Hills prescription treats. We only give rawhide or other treats on special occasions and watch her carefully.

Since treatment the poor girl went from 25 lbs to 45 lbs in 2 months. Once she was able to keep the food in her she took off. Feel free to email me for more info. I hope you have as good of luck as we did...colitis can be terrible.

 

[Naomi]

Update on Brandi

I took Brandi to the vet today. He said colitis is difficult to diagnose and she is a little young to have it. He put her on Metronidazole because he didn't like the amount of bacteria in her stool. We are going to try and solve the problem by changing her diet and not meds. I rather not give her any if I do not have to. The vet wants me to put her on Hills I/D. I have some concerns about this because of the ingredients in Science Diet foods, but I am not going to protest at the moment. My vet thought it was good stuff. We will see how she does on it and if she is doing better try and switch her to something else. If that doesn't work I guess I will stick to using Hills. She definately likes it. She just ate her whole bowl. I will keep you informed and let you know how she is feeling this week. Thank you for your help.

 

[Brutus and Amaya's Mom]

I hope the meds and food work. Like I said...I am a fan of hills. It may not be the most natural but for special conditions like colitis, low protein diets and hypo-allergenic I think its the best you can buy without doing a barf diet. Barf is probably the best but I can't do that at this point and the ID has worked great for me.

 

[Brutus and Amaya's Mom]

Oh...also FYI...Amaya had colitis last summer when she was less than 6 months old. She may have been young but she had it.

 

[Naomi]

Thanks

Thanks. I appreciate your input on the dog food. I hope she doesn't have to stay on the special stuff and she will get better on her own. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

 

[Brutus and Amaya's Mom]

Amaya is still on ID. Mainly because I'm scared to change anything since shes been okay and off meds. I'm thinking about trying to wean her off after another 40 lbs bag. I'll let you know

 

[Marilyn]

colitis

I have a 2 year old black brindle boxer who has also suffered from colitis from a very young age. He has been on Medical Gastro Formula for the past year and a half after trying a number of other high end brands including Nutros. The Gastro Formula helped his problem with loose stools but it did not completely cure it. I just discovered a new product by Science Diet called Science Diet For Sensitive Stomachs about one month ago. The results have been amazing. He is 100% better. I can't believe the change in him. I was also interested to hear from a Doctor friend of mine that colitis in people will sometimes result in skin tumours. As boxers suffer from skin tumours, I was wondering if there was any correlation between colitis and skin tumours in boxers. Has anyone else heard this?

 

[Naomi]

Update on Brandi

I wanted to let everyone know that Brandi seems to be doing better on the Science Diet ID. However, I am switching her off of it because my vet wants to try her on regular dog food again. A friend of mine was using Eukanuba, but switched to Premium Edge because it had less additives and was pretty bland for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Her dogs did well on it. I will try it, partly because I cannot afford to keep Brandi on Science Diet (poor graduate student) and partly out of convenience because it is offered at the local pet store. I will keep you informed to see if works! Thanks again for everyone's help!
naomi