Both Ludo and Ricky mentioned they have colitis and I wanted to let you all know about my experience with this and just to help their moms be aware that it can have on going problems.
I started suffering with this after going to Colorado on vacation eight months ago and still suffer with it. The vet also thinks I picked it up from sniffing around where wildlife had been.
It has left my tummy and intestines extremely sensitive and it is why I have to now eat a limited ingredient diet ALL the time. My food is Venison and Sweet Potato and is made by Royal Canine. It can only be purchased from the vets and is rather expensive at $26.00 for a 5 pound bag.
Luckily after much hunting mom found Natural Balance L.I.D (Limited Ingredient Diet) it is also a venison and sweet potato food and I can tolerate that okay too. They also do a salmon and sweet potato but I don't like fish. We get that at Petco and it is $14.00 for a 5 pound bag. Because this food doesn't have all those fillers in it, I don't need as much, just a half a cup in the morning and half a cup a night. The bag says a dog my size should get 3 cups a day....but without all those fillers it is higher in calories so we found I didn't need that much.
The other thing we really found that helped is not to give me straight dry food. Mom always adds a quarter cup of water to my food. This stops the dry food from absorbing all the good bile in my tummy and also stops constipation. We have found that any food that has chicken, chicken meal or rice/ rice flour in it triggers off the colitis again. I also can't tolerate beef or lamb and even chomping on a yummy beef bone will upset my tummy now.
The mom spent over a $1000 dollars at the vets before they finally found what it was and it was only when they sent all my samples to the Vetinary School at Texas University that we finally got an answer.
The other thing that is very important is the bedtime cookies - I get two of them and they stop me from throwing up that icky yellow frothy stuff. There are cookies and treats available for sensitive tummys, you just have to read the ingrediant labels carefully. We have found some vanilla pretzel cookies at Petco (at the cookie bar) that only have 3 ingriediants and I love those and the girls in there know they are the only ones I am allowed to have. The hard thing for moms and dads is to be very strict about treats and table goodies - no matter how pleadingly we look at them.
Hope you guys feel better soon and please if it continues, talk to your vets and ask them about food sensitivies and if it could be triggering your upset tummies.
We are so sorry to hear about your tummy problems. Our mom mentioned pumpkin and oats are also tolerable. Pumpkin is a funny vegetable. It will harden stool if it is too soft and will soften stool if it is too hard. Great tummy regulator. Oatmeal is also very easily digestible.
ReplyDeleteOne other note... mom's cousins are both vet specialists for skin and internal. They give their patients treats made with oatmeal and KANGAROO. Yes, kangaroo meat. If you can get ahold of it, try it. Hope this info broadens your diet.
Have a great Easter holiday.
Tinkerbell, Oscar and Tucker
I love my bedtime cookie! Without it I'd throw up immediately after getting up in the morning and that's not much fun.
ReplyDeleteJosh
Wow! Thanks for sharing all that good information Reilly! We think you are lucky that you have a mom that does such good research. Your tummy won't take just anything! You're lucky you found something that you like and that likes you back! :)
ReplyDeleteWe're so sorry that you have tummy problems! They're sure no fun at all!
ReplyDeleteEver since Mitch started eating a BIG cookie at bedtime, his puking problems have ended!
Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch
Reilly - thanks for posting all of this information! We're not sure if I have any allergies or sensitivity to food - first thing we're going to try is adding some fiber to my diet. Mom wanted me to be feeling lots better before she tries something new.
ReplyDeleteI always have a bedtime snack to avoid the frothy vomit stuff like you told me to do some months ago!
Did you actually have the same bacteria in your system that I had when you came home from Colorado?
By the way, I don't know what happened to the white markings on my face! They just disappeared as I grew up!
Mom said her other sheltie Liam had bouts of colitis, so she tries to be careful of what us pups eat. We eat the Flint River Ranch baked kibble that was recommended for Liam's colitis. We seem to be doing really well so far, mom is really thankful. Colitis can make a pup really sick. Hope you continue to do better Reilly!
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