Colitis? Diet Help Please

[redddragon]

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Our little Bedlington x Wippet pup Elsie has been having irregular stools since we got her and we assumed it would just be her being a baby. The breeder gave us a menu for her of:

Breakfast - cereal or biscuits (softened with hot water) and some milk

Lunch - Butchers tinned meat or tripe or cooked mince

Dinner - biscuits (softened with hot water)

We had been feeding her this from the start, I mixed oats with a few biscuits for breakfast instead of the previous just cereal as i thought she was getting too much fibre but still with a little milk. Lunch she just had the tinned meat in jelly with maybe a little cooked rice or pasta. Dinner was biscuits.

Recently she has had VERY irregular stools, the odd one during the night being quite normal but then throughout the day they would get more loose but sometimes straining like she was constipated.

Within the last week she has had one or two stools that have been akin to snot, almost clear and sort of mucusy :x which is what has made me think she could have Colitis. From what I've read the most common cause of this can be too rich a diet or too much fat, dairy etc. We had bought a different tinned meat when the first one the breeder gave us ran out. It's quite rich, in a gravy sort of substance rather than jelly so I'm going to cut that out. I also cut out the milk from her breakfast this morning but my boyfriend checked up on her about 3 hours later and she'd done a 'snotty' stool again.

I would like some help and advice please

From the stuff I've read, advice is to starve the dog and just give it water. Is this right? I can understand it, like you wouldn't eat if you were ill, or only very bland foods. But I'm a bit concerned that it's a bit extreme for a 8 week old puppy, even if she was the biggest of the litter :unsure:

Is it right that I should cut out her milk? It does say that dairy products are quite bad but she's still only a baby :unsure:

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Plus any general advice on her diet, I know everone has their preferances but if theres anything definately wrong or missing please tell me

 

[ridgie]

Hi there,

you'd be better off buying a good quality complete and balanced dry puppy food from a pet shop (the more expensive ones tend to be better quality - you get what you pay for) and weaning her onto that slowly.

puppies can't digest cow's milk, so it's not great for them. Also, any change of food can cause runny stools, hence it's best to decide on a good brand (puppy diet) and stick with it. Good luck!

 

[debsy]

I also have a 1st cross Bedlington Whippet who suffers from the same complaint as yours and has done for all his 9 years; we went through all the diet stuff with advice from the vet. Still happened like you say my dog strains till his insides seem to come out. (Having said this he has never lost any body weight) On our last visit to the vet he did tests don’t want to scare you as your puppy may not have the same but we found out Jake had some irregularity with his pancreas I don’t claim to understand it but its something to do with chemicals released into the body. This isn’t life threatening and more tests can be done to find out how to proceed with treatment. I tried dry food and the condition got worse, I now tend to give Jake a bowl of cooked chicken in the morning (I agree with ridgie dairy products are the worst) bland seems to work for Jake a small dinner 1/2 tin say butchers dog food, stay away from the high fat content foods such as ceaser etc and 3/4 tin in the evening with cooked chicken. I have even fed him for 1 week just on cooked chicken and rice every day.

It seems with Jake that the symptoms come in spasms (when this happens Jakes tummy swells up slightly) and most of the time he is fine. He doesn’t eat well and needs to be tempted i.e. fork fed. When he cant be tempted I leave him and try later hard work but worth it.

I know a Lurcher that doesn’t want to eat sound mad.

Just to add, the vet seems to think that he has had it from birth and im not surprised one bit he was a rescue puppy and I wouldn’t tell you the conditions he was found in.

Hope this helps

Debsy and her boys Jake and Ben

jake_1.bmp

 

[jaybe]

Our little Bedlington x Wippet pup Elsie has been having irregular stools since we got her and we assumed it would just be her being a baby. The breeder gave us a menu for her of:  Breakfast - cereal or biscuits (softened with hot water) and some milk

  Lunch - Butchers tinned meat or tripe or cooked mince

  Dinner - biscuits (softened with hot water)

  We had been feeding her this from the start, I mixed oats with a few biscuits for breakfast instead of the previous just cereal as i thought she was getting too much fibre but still with a little milk. Lunch she just had the tinned meat in jelly with maybe a little cooked rice or pasta. Dinner was biscuits.

  Recently she has had VERY irregular stools, the odd one during the night being quite normal but then throughout the day they would get more loose but sometimes straining like she was constipated.

  Within the last week she has had one or two stools that have been akin to snot, almost clear and sort of mucusy  :x   which is what has made me think she could have Colitis. From what I've read the most common cause of this can be too rich a diet or too much fat, dairy etc. We had bought a different tinned meat when the first one the breeder gave us ran out. It's quite rich, in a gravy sort of substance rather than jelly so I'm going to cut that out. I also cut out the milk from her breakfast this morning but my boyfriend checked up on her about 3 hours later and she'd done a 'snotty' stool again.

  I would like some help and advice please 

From the stuff I've read, advice is to starve the dog and just give it water. Is this right? I can understand it, like you wouldn't eat if you were ill, or only very bland foods. But I'm a bit concerned that it's a bit extreme for a 8 week old puppy, even if she was the biggest of the litter  :unsure:

  Is it right that I should cut out her milk? It does say that dairy products are quite bad but she's still only a baby  :unsure:

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Plus any general advice on her diet, I know everone has their preferances but if theres anything definately wrong or missing please tell me

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My 3 year old whippet suffers from colitis- runny stools with mucous & when really bad blood. She has had to have steroid injections a couple of times to settle it down, & been fed on chicken & rice. She is now fed on Hill,s sensitive stomach & I can manage it ok myself. Take her to the vet for a diagnosis.

 

[redddragon]

Well thankyou for your quick replies, more advice still welcome ofcourse )

She'll be going the vets soon for her first set of vacs so I will definately bring it up then if not before.

I'm still not 100% sure it is colitis, she's due for her next dose of worming syrup so it could be something to do with that maybe. My boyfriend should have given her that with her lunch so we'll see if anything changes from that too.

thanks again for advice so far )

 

[masta]

forget the cereals give some goats milk and start her on raw meat and bone chicken, lamb rib, lamb heart, beef mince anything that is selling cheap at the butchers you will have a different dog within 2 weeks :thumbsup:

 

[redddragon]

forget the cereals give some goats milk and start her on raw meat and bone chicken, lamb rib, lamb heart, beef mince anything that is selling cheap at the butchers you will have a different dog within 2 weeks :thumbsup:

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just goats milk on its own? 4 meals a day then, or is replacing a meal with goats milk ok?

sorry bout all the questions, it's the first puppy me and my boyfriend have had on our own so i just want to be sure we're doing what we should :wacko:

 

[jayp]

forget the cereals give some goats milk and start her on raw meat and bone chicken, lamb rib, lamb heart, beef mince anything that is selling cheap at the butchers you will have a different dog within 2 weeks :thumbsup:

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Have to agree here raw chicken with bone and skin minced, can be got from pets at home frozen, pups need protein to grow, raw green tripe is great but would stick to the chicken for a few weeks until settled on this, for treats give fish for dogs pure fish treats It may well be the dairy or cereal that dosnt agree with her

:thumbsup:

 

[alfyn]

forget the cereals give some goats milk and start her on raw meat and bone chicken, lamb rib, lamb heart, beef mince anything that is selling cheap at the butchers you will have a different dog within 2 weeks :thumbsup:

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Have to agree here raw chicken with bone and skin minced, can be got from pets at home frozen, pups need protein to grow, raw green tripe is great but would stick to the chicken for a few weeks until settled on this, for treats give fish for dogs pure fish treats It may well be the dairy or cereal that dosnt agree with her

:thumbsup:

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I agree,but i would personally stay off any form of milk until her tummies settled down,& then,if you must,just goats milk :thumbsup:

You'll have a much happier dog in a week or so,but make sure you don't overfeed her otherwise you'll end up back to square one!

If you want any more info,just pm me :thumbsup:

 

[masta]

forget the cereals give some goats milk and start her on raw meat and bone chicken, lamb rib, lamb heart, beef mince anything that is selling cheap at the butchers you will have a different dog within 2 weeks :thumbsup:

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just goats milk on its own? 4 meals a day then, or is replacing a meal with goats milk ok?

sorry bout all the questions, it's the first puppy me and my boyfriend have had on our own so i just want to be sure we're doing what we should :wacko:

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no dont replace a meal with goats milk, with pups i normally give a little am and pm the problem with a pup that starts to have digestive problems is that you can start chopping and changing the food and end up in a worse state, start with the chicken i buy thighs and chop into small chunks then introduce lamb heart or minced beef once you have her stable and happy

 

[redddragon]

wow thankyou for all the advice

Chicken is definately the most popular option then, with more interesting meats later on, and no milk for a while and then only goats.

I'll be passing this info on to my boyfriend later on, he's of the opinion good biscuits is all she needs so he went and bought a bag of BETA puppy food yesterday which we've introduced in with her previous biscuits.

If i feed her chicken can i alternate with biscuit meals? she does seem to like them. Or could the biscuits be the problem?? Im quite stuck because i don't want to keep changing her diet like you've said but i dont really know how to eliminate whatever is upsetting her :wacko:

How about if i give her chicken twice a day and biscuits once, then swap one of the chicken meals for a different meat after a few of weeks? Do you think she'll be getting all the nutrients and protien etc that she needs? Apparently you're not supposed to mix complete food with anything else as it screws up the balance???

This is my boyfriend's argument, that a complete puppy food means she is definately getting everything she should and at the right levels

:huh: :unsure: :huh: :unsure:

 

[masta]

wow thankyou for all the advice      Chicken is definately the most popular option then, with more interesting meats later on, and no milk for a while and then only goats.

  I'll be passing this info on to my boyfriend later on, he's of the opinion good biscuits is all she needs so he went and bought a bag of BETA puppy food yesterday which we've introduced in with her previous biscuits.

  If i feed her chicken can i alternate with biscuit meals? she does seem to like them. Or could the biscuits be the problem??  Im quite stuck because i don't want to keep changing her diet like you've said but i dont really know how to eliminate whatever is upsetting her    :wacko:

How about if i give her chicken twice a day and biscuits once, then swap one of the chicken meals for a different meat after a few of weeks? Do you think she'll be getting all the nutrients and protien etc that she needs? Apparently you're not supposed to mix complete food with anything else as it screws up the balance???

  This is my boyfriend's argument, that a complete puppy food means she is definately getting everything she should and at the right levels

:huh:   :unsure:   :huh:   :unsure:

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If you are feeding a complete use a high quality one like Nutro i wouldnt feed Beta these are the ingredients-

Ingredients

Cereals (min. 4 % rice )

Meat and animal derivatives (min. 4% Chicken)

Vegetable protein extracts

Oils and fats

Derivatives of vegetable origin (min. 0.5% beet pulp)

Minerals

Vegetables (min 0.5% Chicory)

the first ingredient is the largest and as you can see its Cereal! and 4% chicken!!

If you feed raw/bone she is getting everything she needs (what happened before complete was available??) but if you still want to feed a complete i would get Nutro puppy and feed a little as her last meal pm

 

[ridgie]

chicken, mince, heart etc (ie meat) does not constitute a balanced diet, especially for a puppy that needs the correct levels of vitamins and minerals etc to grow - if I was you I'd stick to a high quality complete puppy diet. Adding a little bit of meat to it is no problem, but add a lot and you will no longer be feeding your puppy a balanced diet.

 

[masta]

chicken, mince, heart  etc (ie meat) does not constitute a balanced diet, especially for a puppy that needs the correct levels of vitamins and minerals etc to grow - if I was you I'd stick to a high quality complete puppy diet. Adding a little bit of meat to it is no problem, but add a lot and you will no longer be feeding your puppy a balanced diet.

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Do these look like they are having a "unbalanced" diet all raced,lure coursed and worked

7 month pup

Dixie at 9 months

Actions speak louder than words i would not reccomend anything that i didnt have 100% faith in

 

[redddragon]

well theres certainly plenty of options, thankyou all for your advice so far

Elsie is off to the vets this afternoon for her first set of vacs so i'll also mention the problem shes had and get yet another opinion ) but at least know wether shes just got a sensitive tum or if she's definately got colitis

 

[merle1]

Have you tried James Wellbeloved Puppy I have

put mine on it. & her stools are firm

 

[redddragon]

she was on welbeloved when we got her but we went to see the vet the other day. she was given an injection to sort her out and some probiotic paste to add to her food. we were told to just feed her chicken and rice for a week too and she seems to be a lot better

Thankyou for all the advice though!!

 

[redddragon]

Bit of an update, we took her the vets last week, who recommended sticking her on boiled chicken and rice for a week until she was better, since then she improved vastly, and we'e introduced other veg: mainly Carrots and Broccoli along with lots of chicken and some rice.

Also had her on a bit of porridge and occasionally scrambled eggs, today we had her on bacon too which she was most impressed with

However, trying to introduce a bit of complete back into her diet over the last couple of days has set her off with a touch of diarrohea(sp?) again. Personally I suspect an intolerance to wheat or gluten.

Have removed the complete and given her a dose of scrambled egg to calm her down again, just wondering what other veggies are best for pups? Also is there anything we definitely shouldn't be giving her?

Any help appreciated, cheers!

 

[jayp]

Bit of an update, we took her the vets last week, who recommended sticking her on boiled chicken and rice for a week until she was better, since then she improved vastly, and we'e introduced other veg: mainly Carrots and Broccoli along with lots of chicken and some rice.
Also had her on a bit of porridge and occasionally scrambled eggs, today we had her on bacon too which she was most impressed with 

However, trying to introduce a bit of complete back into her diet over the last couple of days has set her off with a touch of diarrohea(sp?) again. Personally I suspect an intolerance to wheat or gluten.

Have removed the complete and given her a dose of scrambled egg to calm her down again, just wondering what other veggies are best for pups? Also is there anything we definitely shouldn't be giving her?

Any help appreciated, cheers! 

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Hi, glad shes a little better, i think leave well alone, dont give complete as its obvious this is upsetting her carry on as you are for amonth at least before trying anything else

remenber she is getting more vitamins etc from food she is digesting properly than anything which goes straight through her

and like masta and debs and many others all our dogs are fed raw from 8 week pups dogs are not grazers they are carnivores

good luck and dont worry sounds like you are doing a good job :cheers: