Picky Eater With Ibd

[inugrey]

Salem has been diagnosed (without biopsy, and no I'm not getting one) with IBD. She has becoming increasingly picky about what she puts in her mouth. We can't really switch out foods to make things interesting because she'll end up with a blow out. She is really losing weight down to the upper 50s and she should be around 65. She maybe could be less since she's losing muscle mass as she ages.

 

Anyway, does anyone have any fool proof ideas for getting her to eat the prescription food she doesn't like? Or are there other foods on the market that work for IBD? Thoughts on add-ins that won't cause problems for her tummy?

 

 

[KF_in_Georgia]

I'm not going to be much help, except perhaps with this suggestion: Grind the offending kibble and mix it into an add-on that she can tolerate. I had to do that for a few months because my boy licked all the add-on yogurt off his kibble and left the kibble in the dish. I sent three cups of kibble through the food processor every morning, and I was relieved every night that we'd gotten through all three cups; at least I could be sure he was getting balanced nutrition.

 

If she can tolerate something like Ensure (it's sweet), that might work. Sam adored Ensure. He also liked fruit-flavored yogurt, and it didn't give him problems.

[Remolacha]

It really does depend on what she is sensitive to. Unfortunately, the only way to find that out is trial and error. Yogurt and Ensure are good choices if she can tolerate dairy. Some people have had good luck with nutritional yeast (didn't work for me) or a strong smelling cheese like Parmesan (Bill's shaky cheese) Sardines, although not too many at one time.

[inugrey]

What a great idea to mix in the kibble with a food processor! Then I could use hopefully a small bit of the add-ins but still get the food down. I

[cristar]

Have you considered home cooking for her? We tried many different types of kibble and

in the end, the only thing that worked was the cooked ground turkey, rice, carrots (cooked) and green beans (cooked).

She was eating 15 cups a day and even then I couldn't get her to gain weight.

I feel your pain...

[Batmom]

If her regular food is one of the NON-hydrolyzed protein types, you might be able to feed some fresh-food versions of the same ingredients (e.g., chicken), and/or get some crumbly freeze-dried versions to use as food topping (e.g., salmon, liver).

 

Most dogs like the canned foods better than the dry. Especially if you warm them up a little in the microwave.

 

If you grind kibble in an Osterizer or similar, it will make a heck of a noise. That's OK. The important warning is, it takes a LOT of water to make ground kibble easy to eat. If you don't get it soupy, it quickly turns into this bizarre, cementitious mass that is very hard for a dog to lap up.

 

I can imagine your frustration and hope you can find something to get her eating better.

[vjgrey]

Lucy has also been diagnosed with IBD (also without a biopsy but by an internal med specialist). Two simple things have worked REALLY well for us, in addition to her B-12 shots: I reduced the size of her meals and feed her three times a day instead of twice. For some reason, she seems to get overwhelmed by a full-sized meal in the bowl, and she'll just walk away from it. I also sprinkle a very small amount of parmesan cheese ("shaky cheese") on her food. It doesn't upset her stomach, and I think the smell makes it more appetizing for her.

Edited January 10, 2014 by vjgrey

[Guest Fasave]

Agree. I had an IBD who was diagnosed through endoscope. I had to home cook for him to turn him around. I worked with a nutritionist who developed a diet for him that provided a fair amount of options for variety but it was still trial and error. I would recommend a nutritionist versus trying it on your own if you go this route. I needed to add calcium, vitamins and fish oil to the mix which is often lacking in home cooked meals. His "recipe" was mostly millet (he didn't do well with rice), turkey thighs and then I could mix in a little of another novel protein like rabbit (comes in cans). Good luck. I know how frustrating this road can be.

[vjgrey]

If you decide to go the home cooked route, Virginia Tech will consult with your vet and design a diet just for your hound. I think their fee is $150. I'm definitely going that route if/when Lucy stops tolerating dry food.

[inugrey]

These are very helpful ideas. Thank you!

[Guest greyaspet]

My good friend's dog has IBD he went from 72 pounds and is now down to 52. She just had a feeding tube put in this week and still trying to get the hang of it. My question she has not asked the vet is, is this disease cureable? Does it come and go? What is the long term prognosis for the boy? He just turned 8 on Christmas.

[Guest Fasave]

I can only talk to my experience and what I gathered was that it was manageable.......for a while. Every pup is different. My boy passed away at 9 (almost 10) but he had other issues going on as well. It's a pretty frustrating disease. I hope your friends pup turns around.

[cello]

Our girl Lady was diagnosed through endoscopy last April with PLE - Protein Losing Enteropathy, and Lymphangiectasia. She is only allowed to eat special prescription ultra low fat kibble made by either Hills or Royal Canine. Both kibbles are like cardboard since they have almost no fat (ie. no taste) in them. She hates them. I too tried the grinding of the kibble, but took it to a new level by mixing the ground kibble with cooked boneless skinless chicken breast meat and broth and baking it on cookie sheets. We broke the sheets of food up into cookie size pieces and she ate them for a while. Finally her Internal Medicine specialist allowed me to add boiled plain pasta to her diet. I firmly believe that adding the pasta saved Lady's life. She finally started to gain back some of the weight she lost and now eats fairly well. Not great, but enough.

 

For us, we know that Lady will never truly be well again ever. We will be walking a fine line of balancing her nutritional needs and keeping her in what I guess could be called a remission or sorts. Luckily we have been able to reduce her prednisone dose from 40mg per day to 20mg per week. Fingers crossed that she continues to tolerate this new lower level that we started four weeks ago. About every third week she has an 'issue' and we have to give her Tylan Powder antibiotic for five days to calm her digestive track down again.

 

I wish you good luck. Having a dog with these kinds of issues is not an easy road. At the height of her illness I was spending about four hours each day trying to get enough food into Lady to keep her alive. Now I probably only spend about 30 minutes, so this seems like bliss!!

Carol Ann.

[Jiffer]

Wow! This is exactly what I've just been going through with my 9 year old female. She developed PLE/IBD in December so I'm trying to get her to switch to the RX diet: Kangaroo and oat. She hates it...

More than anything I just want to get her acsites under control. I'm thinking prednisone is our next step.

I have no advice but just want you to know you have company. Hang in there.

[tbhounds]

Wow! This is exactly what I've just been going through with my 9 year old female. She developed PLE/IBD in December so I'm trying to get her to switch to the RX diet: Kangaroo and oat. She hates it...

More than anything I just want to get her acsites under control. I'm thinking prednisone is our next step.

I have no advice but just want you to know you have company. Hang in there.

I agree with a corticosteroid being your next step but, please consider budesonide as an option. Edited January 15, 2014 by tbhounds

[greyhead]

I totally agree with tbhounds about the budesonide being preferable to the prednisone for greyhounds with IBD. It worked for Spencer for four years, and IBD is not what got him in the end.

 

Three or even four meals a day is what we fed. Always dressed his kibble with a gravy made from canned food -- in both cases, the simplest formulas available. And Ensure was great, but you have to start slow to avoid diarrhea; we started with a third of a bottle a day and over time increased to half a bottle twice a day. You want the original vanilla Ensure, not the newer (more complicated) formulations.

 

ETA: B-12 injections (sub-q at home) were immensely helpful in preserving Spencer's muscle, appetite, and sanity. The first two seem of concern to you, and I'd highly recommend B-12.

Edited January 15, 2014 by greyhead

[claudiav]

My Sarge has IBD and just had a feeding tube put in 10 days ago. The feeding tube saved his life.

He is picky and stubborn. He likes something for 3 days, then doesn't like it anymore. all the different changes made things worse, but when he can't afford to lose anymore weight, I would give in and try anything to get him to eat.

 

This past week has been so much better! He has returned to his old goofy self. He is getting up and following me around, getting on the couch to look out the window... all things that he was not doing when he got back from his 3 night stay at the ER vet. They stopped his prednisone abruptly, and he developed an internal infection. When we started Zeniquin (antibiotic) and reintroduced Pred, he improved overnight. He is doing very very well now. He is even eating on his own. What he can't finish, I blend into liquid form and put in his feeding tube. This is how I know he's getting the nutrients he needs. He's eating Royal Canin Gastro-Intestinal High Energy prescription food. It is high in calories, but good to his sensitive tummy. It is actually an IBD food. He eats about 2 cans of the wet food and 2 cups of the wet kibble. Like I said, whatever he can't finish, we blend and put down the tube. I can tell he's gaining weight. We go for weekly bandage changes and weigh in. I will find out how much he's gained this week, tomorrow. The tube saved his life... truly! He raced @ 78 lbs, I adopted him 5.5 month ago and have been unable to get his out of the 60s. When he was admitted to the ER vet Sunday the 5th, he weighed 59.5 lbs. I thought I was losing him that nite. He gained 2 lbs last week, and I know he's gained at least 2 or 3 lbs this week. he's doing so much better than the prior week.

 

Prior to the feeding tube, I had tried sardines, parmesan cheese, canned tripe, cat food, etc... nothing worked long term, and possibly caused the major flareup that resulted in his 3 day hospitalization.

 

Good luck to you.

[Guest wprubin]

Have any of you tried adding fermented foods, including home-made yogurt?

 

Lactic acid bacteria added to the diet may suppress the growth of organisms that cause problems.

 

If cow's milk is not suitable for your hound, try fermenting goat's milk.