Since we picked up Benster from the breeder, he has always had a funny tummy. Pooping more than he should and struggling in that area and also some sickness. A few months ago it all came to a head with him not being able to keep down food or water, back and forth to the vets, it was a nightmare! Our vet is excellent, they suspected possible "inflamed bowel disease". He prescribed a super high dosage of Prednisone, 50mg initially which in the first instance made him worse, but then as the dosage came down Ben has been better and better, this is also twinned with moving him onto Royal Canin Veterinary Gastro Intestinal dog food. Anyway, he has been grand for 2 months, better than ever, everything working like a well oiled machine. He has remained on the steroids although on an ever decreasing dose. Last week he had another check up, they reduced the dosage further to a tiny 15mg every other day (he has been on 15mg a day for a month up until now). Since moving to this dosage he doesn't seem quite right.. he was sick the other morning (bile, not food) and he isn't eating properly again, he is ignoring his food and isnt particularly fussed about it. He is fine in himself and hasn't been sick again, neither as his other end been an issue, but he just doesn't seem hungry.. has anyone else had anything similar with their lab? Or any experience of Inflamed Bowel? Poor dude, we'd do anything to make him all better!
Hi. Sorry to hear your lab has suspected IBD. Lucan my 8yr old suffers with IBD. He was diagnosed a couple of years ago after having stomach pain/sickness and a bout of suspected pancreatitis which he took a long time to recover from. The vet decided to do an endoscopy, biopsies were taken of his stomach and small intestine and the results confirmed Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Lucan unfortunately doesn't do well on steroids, he loses masses of weight even on a small 5mg per day dose, so for him they're very much a last resort. He is kept stable on a diet of Royal Canin Hypoallergenic DR21 which has hydrolised protein and no meat at all, and is medicated with daily Zantac and occasional Buscopan if he gets a painful stomach. It sounds to me as though the reduction in steroids may have dropped a little too fast and your dog's symptoms may be starting to flare, or he is suffering a sore stomach perhaps from excess acid caused either by his IBD or the steroids themselves. I think a trip back to the vet or a phone call may be in order. IBD is such an unpredictable disease and affects each dog differently. My advice, from experience, is once you find a diet and meds that work don't be tempted to change a thing. There is also a Facebook group you may find helpful https://www.facebook.com/groups/11164787803/ although be aware a lot are from the USA. Not sure whether that link is going to work but you can find it by searching on Facebook for Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disorder (IBD). Let us know how you get on.
I’m sorry that you’re struggling with IBD. My dog was diagnosed earlier this year at nearly 4 after I went to the vets in desperation. There are many forms and it seems that it can only be diagnosed by eliminating other reasons for the symptoms. We have always had a struggle with him and food and he has had several bouts of horrible gastroenteritis, starting from very young. He can’t cope with a lot of drugs and has been always very thin despite feeding him well on the best food I could find. My vet wanted to treat him as conservatively as possible. He had an extended course of antibiotics (Metronidazole), probiotics and complete change of protein. He is doing very well on this regime and my vet was delighted that it has been so successful. We did not do the biopsy as it was obvious that we had managed to improve him without and he is very anxious so we don’t look to do any more procedures with him than is absolutely necessary. I think that I have been very lucky, both with a very sympathetic vet willing to listen and that he responded so well. My vet thinks that it’s caused by an over growth of bacteria in the gut which causes a disruption in the absorption of nutrients in the food and some specific protein intolerances. My dog is now fed almost entirely on fish.
Thank you everyone for your responses! We are in a bit of a strange situation now.. to give some context: As I said from when we picked Ben up he was always fussy with his food. When the vet moved him to Gastro Intestinal food and put him on steroids his appetite came rushing in and he for months now he has been eating all of his meals (whilst on steroids). Now his steroids have been reduced to only 15mg every other day, his appetite has gone again and he has gone back to his usual fussy self. Now.. he is "going" fine and hasn't been sick (classic signs of IBD), and everything my husband and I eat he wants.. if you gave him your meal it would be gone in seconds flat (we haven't done this obviously, but the eyes and drool tell the story!). I assume that now he is on a low steroid dose, his appetite isnt as high and his fussyness has returned? His symptoms havent, so I am wondering if we just have a very fussy spoiled boy! It is worrying me, as it was great when he was eating all of his food.. we knew he was happy and feeling good, but now I dont know if he has a sore tum, or is just being a pain in the bum! Eugh!! The vet has asked us to monitor him to see if symptoms worsen, they havent and its been a week now. He is eating, but nothing like he was!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/292537937935806/ This is a different IBD group for dogs. These people have found raw feeding to be a god send for their dogs. I'm on it and a CIL group. My dog has CIL but our Vet would like us to go back to raw. For what it's worth, prednisone did not help my dog at all and some others in my CIL group found the same thing. We have found as well, every dog is different, there is no set protocol that works for them all. In our case a change to home cooked novel protein and novel carb provided instant success and a start to recovery. ONe thing many of us have in common, on both boards, is a Holistic/Integrative Vet. Good luck.
