Irritable Bowel Disease (breeders, stomach, natural, food)

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by darstar

IBS is quite common , in people. The best treatment for now , is Pentasa. Some what expensive , but , it does help. Not a fun thing to have , but , we live with it.......

It's really common in dogs, too. I'm surprised there aren't more people jumping onto this thread.

[jasape]

Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!

Just in case anyone else visits this thread looking for information --

Last night I went and bought some powdered probiotics for dogs at Whole Foods. Tonight, I went back and go the following:

* Slippery Elm Bark
* Digestive Enzymes
* L-Glutamine
* Virgin coconut oil
* Primrose Oil

I sprinkle the probiotic in her water and on top of her food. The virgin olive oil is an oil that dogs with IBS and Pancreatitis can tolerate.

I found these items listed here and this a great website for someone who has been dealing with any type of related digestive disorder in their dog:

Specific Conditions

Sounds like you're on the right track. My dog has IBS and just recently got over a second case of major diarrhea. Probiotics help a lot to restore normal flora, but I also reccommend kaolin and pectin to stop the bouts of diarrhea first. And it's usually good to abstain from feeding for the first 24 hours to let the animal clear it's system.

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by jasape

Sounds like you're on the right track. My dog has IBS and just recently got over a second case of major diarrhea. Probiotics help a lot to restore normal flora, but I also reccommend kaolin and pectin to stop the bouts of diarrhea first. And it's usually good to abstain from feeding for the first 24 hours to let the animal clear it's system.

Thank god! Someone else with the same problem. Please don't go away!

My dog is undergoing a terrible bout of diarrhea right now. It's the worst yet, and I can't get it to go away.

I'm afraid to completely abstain feeding, because she is so thin right now. What are Kaolin and Pectin? Are they better than rice? Do you feed rice? What do you feed your dog?

Where do I get Kaolin and Pectin?

I'm worried sick. We were up four times again last night.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!

Thank god! Someone else with the same problem. Please don't go away!

My dog is undergoing a terrible bout of diarrhea right now. It's the worst yet, and I can't get it to go away.

I'm afraid to completely abstain feeding, because she is so thin right now. What are Kaolin and Pectin? Are they better than rice? Do you feed rice? What do you feed your dog?

Where do I get Kaolin and Pectin?

I'm worried sick. We were up four times again last night.

have you gone to the Vet . ? Find a good one , quickly .

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by jasape

Sounds like you're on the right track. My dog has IBS and just recently got over a second case of major diarrhea. Probiotics help a lot to restore normal flora, but I also reccommend kaolin and pectin to stop the bouts of diarrhea first. And it's usually good to abstain from feeding for the first 24 hours to let the animal clear it's system.

I'm going to research the Pectin and Kaolin. Today I gave my dog something called DiarSanyl for the watery, foamy, horrible diarrhea. It's basically Montmorrillonite and electrolytes.

It has stopped the watery diarrhea, but if I stop giving it to her, I'm worried the diarrhea will start up again. If it doesn't work, I'm going to have to withhold food for an entire day to let her system heal.

I take the dog into the vet tommorrow. I'm going to talk to the vet about ruling out whipworms and pancreatitis. I also want to see about putting the dog on a round of antibiotics. Last time we did that, for some strange reason, she did really well.

I'm also looking to try different sources of protein. I stopped at a few stores tonight looking for rabbit meat -- very low in fat --- but looks like I'll have to order it online. Very expensive! (For reasons unknown, dogs with IBD can show sudden improvement when you starting feeding them a different protein source.)

Woofers

P.S. Here's a link to the medication I'm using to stop the diarrhea. DiarSanyl. It's made in France:
http://www.healthypets.com/diarsanyl.html

[Woof Woof Woof!]

In case any one else ever reads my lonely thread, my dog is doing well this morning. No diarrhea, and I was able to feed her a full meal. If I can get her system working okay, I'm going to stuff her like a sausage to try and get some extra weight on her. That way, if this happens again, she'll have a little bit to carry her through. She is perky today. We'll see how things go. Maybe the priobiotics and slippery elm are helping. And thank goodness I learned about the coconut oil. Best thing about it is it smell wonderful and I can use it as a hand cream!

[luvmycat]

Thats great shes feeling better! Yes, virgin coconut oil is aweome, I use it to make soap, body butter, and doggie shampoo bars as well as eat it! It has so many wonderful essential fatty acids...great job troubleshooting and helping your dog in the kinder, less invasive manner, especially because shes older. Are you still going to take her to the vet today? Maybe since she is doing well its better to let her enjoy feeling good at home so she can recuperate even more...sometimes I think going to the vet makes them worse due to all the mental stress involved! Im so happy shes doing well, that makes my day!

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by luvmycat

Thats great shes feeling better! Yes, virgin coconut oil is aweome, I use it to make soap, body butter, and doggie shampoo bars as well as eat it! It has so many wonderful essential fatty acids...great job troubleshooting and helping your dog in the kinder, less invasive manner, especially because shes older. Are you still going to take her to the vet today? Maybe since she is doing well its better to let her enjoy feeling good at home so she can recuperate even more...sometimes I think going to the vet makes them worse due to all the mental stress involved! Im so happy shes doing well, that makes my day!

I took her to the vet today at a cost of $200. The vet took blood and made me buy some kind of special Purina food with high fiber. I hate kibble. I wish to god there was some type of homemade diet for this with specific instructions to follow. I had to buy the kibble because my vet was getting short with me, which everyone does eventually, so no surprise.

[miu]

In my area, the grocery store chain Market Basket sells rabbit meat (for humans). The stores cater to the Portuguese community. When my family lived in Portugal, we were given two live rabbits at Christmas time by our maids. Being American, of course we couldn't eat them and instead, kept them as pets.

[luvmycat]

I hate that so many vets recommend Purina...its one of the worst brands of dog food IMO...(many dogs are allergic to corn gluten meal & soy, plus those lovely by-products...ugh!) My new little guy was also being fed Purina, so I had to buy some too because I dont want him to have tummy issues from switching foods when he has so much going on already! If you have to go the kibble route, I really like Pinnacle...they have a peak protein formula that is very low in grains, (also have duck/potato, chicken/oat & a trout formula) the ingredients are excellent, and all my animals love it. Hey, if people get short with you, thats their issue...you are going to great lengths and expense to ensure the health and comfort of your baby, so dont let them bring you down!