Colitis? What food is best Raw - Commercial

[Jersey Boy]

My 6 month old Rottie has been having diarrhea since we brought her home. She is negative for coccidia and giardia and we have been feeding her Calif. Naturals Puppy, but she cannot avoid diarrhea without taking metronidazole 250 mg. She also took Eukanuba prexription low residue for awhile. She was taking 2 tablets daily and we have weaned he off to taking 1 tablet daily. When we tried weaning her to one tablet every other day as per the vet, she got diarrhea again. She is scheduled for an abdominal x-ray tomorrow and he wants to do a scope. I was wondering if a raw diet or some other type of food may help or be the answer because leaving her on prescription medication at such a young age and possibly indefinately seems bleak. The vet thinks she has colitis, becuse of the diarrhea and mucous that comes with it when she deficates without the medication.

Any advice or sueggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also, besides the diarrhea problem she is in good health and weighs 50 pounds, skin, and hair are fine - etc.

[BullDaisymom]

Well if colitis is what your puppy has...it will be there the rest of his/her life. Sometimes you can regulate it with foods that your dog will tolerate but there will always be reoccurances. The drugs are to slow down the digestive system and sometimes will be most benificial with the right foods for your dog. This diease is no different in animals then humans...I know because I have Crohn's ( which is the worse of the colitis " family" ). The diet will depend on the individual animal. Trial and error as for what to feed but word of advice...feed smaller amounts and more often. If you usually feed twice per day...feed 4 times but smaller portions. Remember...your pup will need to go out more often no matter what you feed him. This can also bring alot of pain. It's really up to you to find the right balance as what to feed....just do it in small amounts and wait to see how well your dogs system reacts to it.If you have your dog down to 1 pill per day and it's helping...stick with it....it cuts the inflamation down in the bowel. 1 pill per day and the right diet for YOUR dog isn't to bad. I wouldn't feed RAW meat or veggies just yet but do stay away as much as possible from high fiber..a small amount is ok and as time goes by you will see what makes your dog more comfortable and what " bothers" your dog. Everytime you try something "new" to feed your dog...wait and see what happens while you feed the things you know your dog can tolerate well or reasonably well. Do this ( adding new things ) once per week.You will know within 4-6 hrs as to if your dog is bothered by the new thing. This will be a long process, so try to be patient. If I can help any more please feel free to email me. GOOD LUCK

[Lola B Marie]

Sorry to hear about what you are going through. We have been at this diarrhea correction since day one and Lola is 1 yr. What the vet has finally diagnosed is severe bacterial over growth. This is now under control with amoxicillion 3xdaily. She also gets Tagament 2x a day for control of stomach acid. The idea is to remove the acid then kill the bacterial over growth. He determined this after extensive blood work and xrays which showed inflamation in her intestines and stomach. He definately did not want to scope. First he thought she had puppy colitis and we treated with all kinds of things but, after each treatment , she went back to diarreha. She has been on the present treatment and is pooping like a champ. Vet thinks this will kill the bacterial overgrowth. It sounds like your pup could have a similar condition. Good luck. If I can help in any way please write.

[StephanieandToby]

My BF's Akita had Giardia and was treated, but the diarrhea never really went away....he tried all sorts of things.
Finally, he went on a different antibiotic (Tylosin?) and switched from California natural to a bland food prescribed by the vet.
He's been fine ever since. We think the California Natural just didn't agree with him.

[Ninasmom]

I'm so sorry to hear about your puppy. If you do a search on BARF and raw foods, you will find many threads discussing this. Also, moondog is a great resource.

Currently, Nina is on Nature's Variety Prairie Freeze Dried Chicken. We've run out of dry foods for her and have switched to this. It is expensive, but worth it in my opinion. They also have Turkey, Beef and Lamb.

Good luck.

[rottnreba]

I have been feeding my rotti Nature's Variety kibble. I rotate between the beef, lamb and chicken. They also offer venison. The freeze dried is great for travel.

[LolaLaRue]

my cousins dog was just diagnosed with colitis her vet told her a low protein high fiber diet was best, the vet put him on science diet prescription WD for about 6 months to settle his system down and then told her to feed a senior food because they are lower in protein and maybe add some canned pumkin for fiber, ask your vet, she doesnt like the idea of feeding science diet but all the other foods are just too rich right now and its only temporary, good luck with your pup

[Snooze]

Jake is 14 months and has had very loose stool since we brought him home at 7 months. He tested positive twice for parasites and has been on a powdered medication twice. Colitis was a thought, as was IBS and food allergies. We were especially concerned b/c he didn't seem to be able to put on weight. We did a food "challenge" where you feed something like prescription IVD duck and potatoe and don't feed anything else, not treats, rawhides or human food. We did that for 8 wks and it seemed to make a big difference. Now we continue to feed him the duck and potatoe and we've added IVD treats. It seems to have made a big difference. He has put on 10 lbs in the past 5 month. We also noted that his diarhea was worse in certain situations, ie: immediately following an obedience class, contact with another dog, ride in the car....anything that was stressful to him. At 14 months he no longer feels stressed in most of these situations I guess b/c he doesn't get diarhea immediately following.

[BullDaisymom]

That's wonderful...stress can do alot to animals. I am so glad you found food and treats that don't bother him at all or very little ( at times). It's great you didn't give up on your lil tyke.