Colitis

[Stitch]

My vet diagnosed my 6 year old desexed bitch with colitis (as mentioned in previous threads) and I have been working through it to find out what is the optimum diet for her.

To give some background, she had always been a dog that threw up every now and then, plus she also got a bit bloated with occasional diahorrea and stomach upsets.

About 10 months ago she started to get all the above symptoms but much more regularly.

After the vet diagnosed colitis, I changed her diet to Eukanuba Low Residue Diet and the symptoms decreased markedly, she still got a bit of bloating but that was about it.

Recently I tried her on BARF Kangaroo but she went from pooing every 12 hours to pooing every 2 hours (during the day) when on the BARF.

Obviously BARF did not suit her so I put her back on the Eukanuba and everything has settled down again.

My question is, if Colitis or Inflammatory Bowel Disease is described as being a stress/anxiety related how is it that in my girls case everything can be OK if she is on dry food special diet and NOT OK when she is on BARF (or any other food for that matter).

To my way of thinking, Colitis or IBD must totally be diet related in my girls case or else the problem hasn't been diagnosed correctly.

What do you think??

[puggy_puggy]

I really don't have any suggestions about Colitis but with the kangaroo some dogs can find it to rich.

Was it only kangaroo that you were feeding and how much?

Edited July 8, 2009 by puggy_puggy

[Stitch]

1 Sachet of Dr.B's BARF

I am just trying to understand a diagnosis that seems to be blamed on anxiety/stress but which in reality is due to or can be controlled by diet.

Edited July 8, 2009 by STITCH

[redarachnid]

My 11yo girl has colitis. I've never heard of the stress/anxiety angle! I only know it as diet related.

[Rappie]

Stress and anxiety are not the only causes of colitis, food intolerances can also be a factor. Sometimes also the problem may not specifically be food, but while the intestinal tract is inflamed and 'leaky' the body can react to things that it would not normally react to - so feeding a low residue or hypoallergenic diet is often part of treatment even if it's not strictly a food allergy.

Additionally, colitis is a symptom as well as a diagnosis - the name is not specific to a cause, it simply means that the colon is inflamed. Also, inflammatory bowel disease is distinct from irritable bowel syndrome. IBD (as opposed to IBS) is something that is diagnosed after taking biopsies from the intestine and getting a histopathological diagnosis.

[Stitch]

Your darn right Rappie, it my girls case it definitely isn't stress/anxiety related but yet the vet still pushes that angle.

I even got given a print out on Colitis and IBD which again says in the initial paragraph that it is a stress/anxiety related problem but then goes on to talk of food (protein) intolerances.

It explains that allergies are usually to the protein source and that a dog can have one source of protein for many years then develop an intolerance or allergy to that food. The elimination diet that the dog should go on suggests that you try a protein source that the dog has never had. In my case, my girl had never had kangaroo meat and as kangaroo is really low in fat it was suggested that it may suit her.

As I said earlier Kangaroo BARF made things much worse, although there was no diahorrea. I then put her back on the Eukanuba Low Residue which is based on chicken and she is OK now. She has had chicken for many years, plus I also give her a little boiled chicken with juices along with the Eukanuba. It is obvious that chicken was not the cause of the problem initially.

Is it then reasonable to presume that it is not the protein source but something else that is the problem?

Obviously nothing that is in the current Eukanuba Low Residue - what else is there that could be causing the problem? Fat?? Fibre??

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I've just been to the vets with a dog with digestive problems. She's only 4.5 kilos and pooping 4 or 5 times a day, mostly inside (she has other issues unfortunately). It's been very loose and/or runny and she leaves a pile and then loads of smaller bits and blobs.

I've tried a few changes in diet such as more dried food but she seems to get an attack for a week or two and then recover on the same diet. In the last 2 days, I had some improvement when I added half a teaspoon of slippery elm powder to her dinner and she produced a firm poo (outside !).

I lost a dog with IBD in February, his condition was managed with diet and medication. When it flared up he'd spend a week in the vet on a drip. To be honest, I'm dreading having the same problem to deal with again and this dog is young as well so it would be for many years.

My vet recommended trying the IBD diet, Ultra ZD, like my old boy had and some medication for colitis. Hoping something works because it's hard to cope with.

Edited July 8, 2009 by dogmad

[Rappie]

If the dog is stable on a chicken based food, then it's unlikely to be an allergy to that. A sudden diet change can induce a bout of colitis, even if the new food is reasonably benign. Similarly, foods that require more 'work' from the gut to be digested can upset things as well. I can't say I know how long the protein chain length of kangaroo meat is, but this can be a factor also in whether or not a dog will react. It's how the hypoallergenic diets with hydrolysed protein work - if you break down the protein chains into tiny bits, the body just considers it as "protein" not "chicken" or "beef" etc. Large chain proteins wont fit through the intercellular gaps in the normal gut, but they will fit through the larger gaps in an inflamed one and potentially aggravate the situation.

The tricky part of gastrointestinal problems like this is that there is often not just one factor involved but several. This is where taking biopsies and getting a histopath diagnosis can sort things out - the body can have 'inappropriate' immune responses even to things in the gut. Without further investigation, it seems like it would be better to stay on a diet that works.

The other tricky thing is defining 'stress' - it can be behavioural stress (anxiety), environmental stress, stress from the disease itself - which in turn depresses immune responses. Although it's a contributing factor I wouldn't say it's the main cause of colitis. It might affect conditions based on a physiological abnormality like eosinophilic enteritis by making them worse, but they are not caused by stress, and not neccessarily fixed with diet.

[redarachnid]

Without further investigation, it seems like it would be better to stay on a diet that works.

This is what i told you, several days ago!!!

If it ain't broke don't fix it!!

I would never consider changing my girl's diet just coz i felt like it or i wanted her to be on the same diet as the others.

I think you need to accept the diagnosis, whatever the cause, and continue with the original food and lifestyle that does not upset the dog.

My colitis girl has been thriving on the same soaked dry food, day in, day out, for 4yrs now.

[Stitch]

Thanks for that extra info Rappie, it was very interesting.

I think what got me was that label ie. anxiety/stress related, in the first paragraph and the first thing that was mentioned by the vet.

Of course, it is better to leave her on a diet that is working however I don't think it is a perfect fit as she still has issues which I haven't gone into. The dry Low Residue may be the best I can do for her but I can see it isn't a perfect fit which is why I had to try the kangaroo diet.

Not having had this problem in any other dog doesn't help, as I haven't experienced how good or bad she is actually travelling compared to others. Reading other peoples experiences does tend to give my girls condition a bit more perspective though so thank you all for that.

[poodle proud]

I cant tell you much about dogs but even in humans the cause of IBD and colitis in particular is unknown. There is a tonne of research being done in this area at present. Some say it has links to diet, others say it's stress/anxiety and the one I stick particularly close to is that it is an autoimmune disease where the body sees the cells of the bowel as foreign and begins to attack them as an immune response just in the same way as if you had a cold.

Medications like prednisone, methotrexate, imuran and others reduce that immune response and thus the inflammatory process that can cause the ulceration, bleeding and irritation.

In my personal experience with this disease diet made no difference whatsoever. However it also depends on the severity and as you say whether or not the diagnosis is actually correct. Many with generalised IBD DO respond badly to some foods and not to others.

One thing that has been found to be particularly beneficial is the use of probiotics. In Humans a probiotic called VSL #3 is having tremendous effect. If you could use this for your dog or find a suitable alternative I would think it would only help and wouldnt have the side affects that steroids do. As with humans however a slow introduction would be less likely to cause an upset tummy rather than rapidly changing the intestinal flora.

I would also be getting a second opinion. They diagnose colitis in humans with either a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Until they do that they are just guessing. Is this an option for your dog? I would think that this would only be possible at a specialist veterinary surgery but others in that field would be able to tell you.

Most of all as others have said if you have found a diet that your dog settles with I would be counting my lucky stars and hanging onto it for dear life

I Hope you find something that helps your dog

p.s Just to add I am not a vet or vet nurse but am a medical professional with a personal experience of this disease and know that many medications used in animal diease have their origins in human medicine.

[daccydog]

Hi Stitch

we have spoken before about this dreadful disease Collitis

my boy has now been on science diet zd for about a month now , with hopefully success at last (maybe )

he is a changed dog and lot more happier and settled , his motions are still not 100% but slowly getting there

The last attack he had, he was so sick we thought we were going to lose him, I honestly think its not a stress/anxiety problem with my boy but a immune system problem ,

I also really like the sound of slippery elm for the digestive track , but wouldnt be game enough to try anything new at this stage

I have spent a lot of money on vet bills , and even got a second opinion , and nothing changed , i know its quite overwhelming when your dog suffers from this disease

good luck with your dog

DD