wallabokkie

Does anyone know of a really good vet in the Brisbane / Ipswich area? I am looking for a vet who has really good knowledge, experience and success in treating suspected Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Someone who can best advise me on diet and medication, maybe open to alternative treatments or diets I haven't yet considered and help my girl enjoy a long, happy and healthy life, She's only 4 and it makes me so sad and distressed when she's not well Thank you.

Thank you for sharing all that info, so nice to hear other peoples stories and realise I'm not as alone in all this I have been thinking. will also keep notes I think, that's a really good idea, you're lucky to have had such a supportive vet. i'm glad to hear also it took a lttle bit of trialling to get things sorted. that gives me hope. thank you. You're right. Wow! Is this similar. Except Annie got set off by Advance Turkey & Rice kibble, once the problem started. Any kibble. Yep, like you, we were up to the biopsy, too. But, with Annie responding so well to the natural diet, that's been put aside. Amazing thing is that your girl's problem got set off by eating a particular food, that made her vomit....marrow bone. And so did my girl....a strange textured dog treat. These are the things that's helped Annie do as well as she is now (& for weeks!!!!!!). I kept notes of what Annie ate & how her 'bowels' behaved & if she was depressed (she got 'down' after eating & seemed in discomfort, when the problem was bad). Just scribbled quick notes with the date. This allowed the vets & me to see the patterns over time. Like how it was after putting another kibble into the diet that's set her off. And how quickly the metragyl would work. The vets actually listened to me & worked along with me as Annie went thro' the tests & I tried different foods. Even tho' the blood tests, lab tests & scan showed nothing, I understood that 'nothing' actually meant 'something'! Like no sign of tumour. One of the vets actually took Annie to get the scan & watched while it was done, talking with the specialist. No waiting for a written report! Annie couldn't have had better care, than this. The breeder who raised Annie & the internations tibbie breeders were fantastic in supporting & giving their experiences & recommendations. All spot on. Also dogmad's experiences & recommendations proved spot on, too. Sweet potato is a super food. By the way, re the scooting. Early in Annie's problem, the vets checked her anal glands & they were mighty full. I asked if this could be related to a bowel condition & they said no.

Thanks westiemum, will look into the one you mentioned.

Have any of you heard of / tried Vets All Natural diet? Developed by Dr Symes (an Aussie Vet) based on raw food dogs would normally eat in the wild. he claims to have had success in controlling bowel diseases using this.

Wow Mita, your story sounds similar to mine! I have a 4yr old female Siberian Husky. Her problems started 2 years ago when I began feeding her marrow bone. This made her really sick and vomit. I was feeding her beef and vegies mixed with dry food, cooking it all for her, thinking I was being a really caring mum, but this too made her so very sick. She was in hospital on a drip. I stopped giving her anything like that and she has been eating dry food only now, Advance Turkey and Rice with very few problems until this year when she got into some of the other dog's food, and I was naughty and gave her some dog carob and cheese - this all put her in hospital again with the symptoms you speak of, rumbly tummy, sore bottom - she whimpers and appears to be trying to run away from her bottom, sloppy poos, it's awful. she too was treated with metrogyl and for the last few months I have made sure the Turkey and rice is the only thing she gets and it has been a lot better. I was really heartened to read 'dogmad's' reply to your post. To hear that with persistance and the right help and advice these dogs can go one to live a long and healthy life. I have been feeling extremely distressed by this condition. We also have had blood tests, faecal tests and ultra sounds and all signs point to inflammtory bowel disease with a biopsy being the next step fpr us too. I just want my girl to be happy and healthy. My only intention has ever been to give her the best life I possibly can. I have been really unsure what to expect, what else I can feed her, wondering is there medicine to make her more comfortable / prevent this problem? I hope to work more closely with our vet in the future to figure all this out. So thanks for putting this up and to dogmad for your information also.