Ibd

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

My old man, Morgan, had mild IBD in his younger years. He was on Flagyl for approx. a year which controlled it nicely. I researched IBD and learned it was most likely a food allergy. I experimented with foods until I found LIfe's Abundance and he didn't need the flagyl anymore. Now Morgan is almost 13 years old and 26 months post amputation and chemo for osteosarcoma. His IBD seems to have come back despite being on the same food. He has never been a good eater, but the last several months he's gotten worse and too skinny. We've tried canned foods and lots of add-ons to his kibble. The Vet has put him on prednisone and flagyl which helped for a while. At this stage of his life, we won't put him through invasive tests but will assume we're dealing with IBD again.

 

I'd like to hear what has worked for others dealing with IBD. I tried to give him a turkey neck and a marrow bone today. It was the first time for both but he wouldn't touch them.

[Guest LynnM]

Ask your vet about starting him on Budesonide. It can be quite helpful.

 

Lynn

[GreyPoopon]

Blood tests for allergies. Some vets don't trust them, but they've helped me.

 

But it may not be the food: stress (and everything else) can cause flareups, so steroids and antibiotics may be the only options. We also use Tylocine a lot.

[Guest mandm]

I've got a youngish greyhound (5 YO) with suspected IBD, which is more or less controlled by diet. I originally fed cooked, lean meat with bone meal added for calcium. But I found that my dog digests raw meat & especially raw fat much better than cooked. After developing a taste for cooked meat, he didn't want to eat most of the raw meat that I offered him. So I lured him into eating by searing the raw food first.

 

My greyhound won't touch neck or marrow bones, even seared. He wants meat on his bones. Ground bone & meat might work well if Morgan is not used to dealing with bone.

 

My greyhound's raw diet is slightly modified to accomodate his very sensitive stomach. He gets less fat & organ and more bone than other rawfed dogs.

[dmswartzfager]

We tried budesonide and azathioprine for Blitz's IBD (at separate times). Neither really seemed to work and I got much better results with a change in diet, but those two drugs are possibilities.

 

Blitz was on Hill's z/d ultra-hypoallergenic for several months while we sorted him out. It did give him gas, but his stool was relatively firm for a kibble-fed dog. He's now on the raw diet, along with my girls.

 

Another food that worked was Nature's Variety frozen venison patties/medallions. I used that to transition him from the z/d to raw.

[Guest crazy4greys]

We tried budesonide and azathioprine for Blitz's IBD (at separate times). Neither really seemed to work and I got much better results with a change in diet, but those two drugs are possibilities.

 

Blitz was on Hill's z/d ultra-hypoallergenic for several months while we sorted him out. It did give him gas, but his stool was relatively firm for a kibble-fed dog. He's now on the raw diet, along with my girls.

 

Another food that worked was Nature's Variety frozen venison patties/medallions. I used that to transition him from the z/d to raw.

 

When Blitz was my foster, I tried different foods and found that Precsie Plus worked best for him and he had no problems.

[BrGreyhndz]

Raw diet worked for Nate.

[Guest momto5greys]

Rose was on 15 mg of pred, 10 mg Pepcid, and on Natural Balance Duck and Potato food. She was weaned off the pred after several months and is now just taking generic Pepcid (Famotidine) and eating the Duck and Potato food.

 

Back in 2005 she spent a week in ICU at the U of I and she got down to 43.3 pounds, this was down from 62. She has regained and maintained her weight since that time and is doing well.

 

 

[greyhoundgang]

What I've found to work throughout the years:

 

1. Raw food

2. Holistic meds - NOT prednisone - Acidolphilus, Slippery Elm - you can find holistic vets at American Holistic Vets

3. Digestive Enzymes - Greyhound Gang offers them - Medizym/Wobenzym & Prozyme

4. Acupuncture

 

As dogs age, and some become picker about food, I still always give them as much protein as they will eat. Eggs, Liver, Heart, Steak, Hamburger, Turkey. If they don't want to eat raw anymore, I'll cook it, and make sure all fat is removed before giving it. I fed my older dogs 4 - 6 times a day. They want smaller amounts usually, but I try to get as much food/protein as I can in them. Sometimes sprinkling with garlic powder, or something else tasty can help too.