Constipation/colic?

[Guest]

I worry constabtly about Rocky (my Jack Russell) and am positive I will give myself an ulcer, but he's my baby.

To make a short story long; about 6 months ago Rocky used to suffer from (what I thought) was Colic, about once a week he would wake up very mopey, with a very 'gurgly' tummy and was off his food. There was no diarhea, no vomiting, his nose was wet and shiny, he wasn't dehydrated and it generally cleared up by lunchtime and he was ready to eat again when 'dinner time' came. Then in January 2007 I found a tumour which he had removed, but while he had the stitches in he was not allowed to take prednisone which he was on to keep his skin irriatios under control. I had to give him phenergen if he had any skin out breaks. I also decided to try putting some flaxseed oil into his main meal which had fantastic results on both his skin and the so called Colic. The gurgly tummy came to an abrupt end! I was ecstatic to say the least, I hated seeing him in pain with a gurgly tummy. So for 6 moths now he has not taken a prednisone tablet until last week. I don't know how, because I am quite vigilant about fleas as he is allergic to the flea saliva, but he managed to get a flea bite. Of course I had a hell of a job trying to alleviate the itch and ended up on the Prednisone for nearly a week. After stopping the tablets when the irritation was gone, he woke one morning and I could hear the familar sound of his tummy 'gurgling', at first I thought it may have been because he was hungry, but he turned his nose up at any thing offered, even treats and I could tell he had tummy pain. Fortunately I had some Buscapan on hand (my vet recommended these to stop the spasms)and he came good within an hour or so. I was hoping that was going to be an isolated incident, but about 5 days later the same thing happened again. I have not given him any more Prednisone and am hoping that this is the cause of the upset tummy. Can anyone give me any information or had any experience with Prednisone causing tummy upsets.

I know he can live with the "Colic" as he did for nearly 7 years before the tumour removal, but after 6 months without it, I just hate seeing him go through it all again.

His diet consists of Boiled chicken mince , with rice and mixed vegetables, quality dried biscuits for "seniors" (he is 14) as well as a raw chicken wing to keep his teeth clean. Twice a day he has a slippery elm tablet and a yakult once a day also. He is not overweight, but he's not skin and bones either. Apart from a low grade heart murmer he is very active and very healthy.

Anyone with any info would be greatly appreciated.

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[cowanbree]

Sounds very similar to what my old boy had. He was diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome and put on all sorts of specialized diets. Nothing really seemed to work so in the end I just started giving him 2mls of scourban daily. Never had it again. Not something I would recommend for a young dog but Brody was well into his teens by the time I decided to try this and I thought what did I have to lose. He had a far better quality of life on it and lived until 16 ½ years

[Guest]

Thanx cowanbree!

Rocky is nearly 15 and apart from the last 6 months, he has been living with this problems for about 7-8 years that I can remember. I've had him to the Vet's and he's had numerous tests, all to show nothing amiss.

What is "scourban"? I've never heard of it before. Is it a US product?

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[kamuzz]

Might be worth looking at this thread

[Poodle wrangler]

When I googled 'prednisone side effects', indigestion was listed as a common side effect.

It's usual in humans to reduce the prednisone dosage gradually over a few days to avoid other side effects.

Hope your dog is better now he's off the medication.

I've read elsewhere that dogs can have some difficulty digesting veges and many puree/ mash/ blend them for their dogs. But if something's working well, don't mess with it!