Hello all, Am very much hoping for some pointers on our 10 year old chocolate lab. In short, he's had tummy trouble on and off for years, mainly managed with ProKolin and Canikur, as well as trying different diets. So, last week he became increasingly fussy about eating his food with various medications in, ultimately missing several doses out, then over the weekend got very bad runs with a bit of fresh blood (not the first time) and was very agitated, just not settling at all. We called the vet, who is convinced it's a bad colitis flare up and put him onto antibiotics as well as suggesting we try a raw food diet. 5 days on and his stools are improving, but the most worrying thing is his character, for one thing he's extremely restless, pacing around a lot, seeming rather anxious, but what's worse is his odd reaction to very common situations and routines. For example, if you ask him to pick up a toy, which he'd normally enthusiastically do, he just looks at you rather nervously, or in the morning when he would normally give your hands a huge lick he now makes no effort to do so. He still seems to get pretty excited at walk time, but generally it's like living with a stranger :-/
OMG hurrah, a vet who has recommended a raw food diet. As a 10yo dog, if it continues, I think your first move should be to see if there are further tests that can be run at the vets. For example - a full blood panel to see how that is. A faecal sample, to see what's going on there. These are non-invasive tests which can give a lot of information. I'd be a bit worried that there is something else going on. If nothing else physically, there IS a chance that it's a 'detox' situation. I am never sure if there is any science behind this idea, but it is said that when a dog is first switched to a raw diet - particularly if they have had a lifetime of eating doggie junk food (kibble) - there will be a period of detox, during which toxins are released. The dog may also have more energy (which I guess could manifest as nervous energy) so it may be that the change in diet is affecting his behaviour. The other thought it about senility or dementia, but since this is quite a sudden change in him, I'm less inclined to think it's that... If it continues, speak to your vet.
