Colitis

[Xmasha]

Our lab puppy started with a bit of blood in his poo . So we took him to the vets , vet initially thought it was just him straining/ pushing too much and said not to worry. Anyway it got a bit worse so we took him back and different vet diagnosed Colitis . So prescribed panacur and prebiotics. This cleared him right up . However I’ve just found a bit more blood in his poo .
So will be picking up more prebiotics later .
I initially thought it was caused by eating the horse /cat poo ,since then I have kept him on a lead and not let him get to those tasty morsels . So perhaps that was a red herring ?

Should I consider changing his food ? Or adding a prebiotic as on ongoing basis ?
Thanks ?

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Our old little furry terrier always without fail used to get blood in his poo after he'd dug out a mole. The silly little guy always had to try and bite the dang thing, and then realised how obviously foul they tasted, but unfortunately we then had the upset tummy and blood-in-the-poo thing, inevitably. Always used to happen over a bank holiday too.........

He had a super-sensitive little tum bless him, and also we found that if we walked him in some of the local popular dog-walking areas, we'd also have problems.

Do you have moles where your pup could have accessed OP? I've got a Dachsie pup and no doubt the little monkey will soon be discovering stuff he shouldn't - he's already realised that Guinea Fowls & cats-cr@p is tasty... along with Frozen Horse Poo.

 

[Xmasha]

Thanks MJ2BT , That’s interesting, as we took a little walk down the drive the other day and there were a few mole hills that he had a mooch around . No sign of a mole but perhaps he picked up something from the soil ?
What did you give yours to get over it ?
Why oh why do they enjoy eating poop ?

 

[Morwenna]

My old boy was really prone to colitis. If you can rule out him having eaten something he shouldn’t then it may be worth looking at his food. Mine couldn’t tolerate grain but also went loopy on too high a protein content so it was trial and error to find a food he could tolerate. He was on probiotics daily and when he had flare ups a few days of boiled white fish and potato and pro-kaolin paste usually did the trick with a trip to the vets if it didn’t. His was often stress related so we could guarantee a flare up after bonfire night, new years etc.

 

[Xmasha]

My old boy was really prone to colitis. If you can rule out him having eaten something he shouldn’t then it may be worth looking at his food. Mine couldn’t tolerate grain but also went loopy on too high a protein content so it was trial and error to find a food he could tolerate. He was on probiotics daily and when he had flare ups a few days of boiled white fish and potato and pro-kaolin paste usually did the trick with a trip to the vets if it didn’t. His was often stress related so we could guarantee a flare up after bonfire night, new years etc.

Thank you .
I think I will pop him on a supplement then . My local pet store recommended a product , so will give that a go .
I’ve tried to stop him eating stuff he shouldn’t . We’ve stopped him eating the cat poo by keeping him in a lead in the garden ( the cats go in the bushes ) we make sure he can’t get into the stables , but there always the odd tiny morsel around . However, he’s now found blinking rabbit poo ?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Most Labs seem to have an iron constitution but that is no consolation to you.
Our current yellow bitch had a very sensitive digestive system as a pup, she was absolutely fine with socks(!) but grain and beef caused her problems. She would eat something for a few days, then refuse it. She had intermittent diarrhoea/constipation. We tried feeding her just about every dog food on the market, interspersed with many meals of white fish/chicken and rice as each one upset her. She often appeared to be hungry and enthusiastic to eat until the dish was in front of her. She sometimes looked so worried at meal times, she realy looked as if she was going to burst into tears. We had her spayed aged 2 1/2 and that sorted her out. A year on and she hasn't looked back.

For your pup, I would start with fish and rice with the prebiotic and add in small amounts of the grain-free kibbles that are available until you find one that suits. There are some kibbles that only have 5 ingredients, so that could be a good place to start.

Good luck!

 

[Xmasha]

Thanks PAS . Maybe a daft question but He’s currently on 85g of royal cannin maxi puppy x 4 times a day should I give him the same weight of fish and rice ?

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Thanks MJ2BT , That’s interesting, as we took a little walk down the drive the other day and there were a few mole hills that he had a mooch around . No sign of a mole but perhaps he picked up something from the soil ?
What did you give yours to get over it ?
Why oh why do they enjoy eating poop ?

He had antibiotics from the vet and on his advice we fed him some cooked chicken with some boiled plain rice for a bit till his little tum was a bit more stable. Also he had some eggy-rice. These are always my "go-to's" whenever I've got a sickly/poorly dog now.

Hope yours better soon X

 

[CanteringCarrot]

My puppy had blood in her stool and some of it was loose, but she was otherwise acting normal. The vet examined her and I brought in a sample of her poo. She ended up having Giardia. I did probiotics and 5 days of Panacur treatment, but that didn't kick it, so then she went on antibiotics.

I initially fed her boiled turkey or chicken and plain rice. I've done the same when my Lab has had stomach upset a few times in the past. I've fed probiotics or plain probiotic yoghurt in the past. Can't say if one worked better than the other, really.

Did they test for any parasites on the off chance that it's something like that?

I've had a cat before that got bouts of colitis, which presented as a bloody stool, usually triggered by her ingesting too much hair (she was a long haired cat) IIRC.

My Lab does not have an iron stomach and I am cautious about what I feed her. With her it generally comes back up if she doesn't agree with it.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would keep the meals quite small and light for 24/48 hours to allow any inflammation to subside and then be guided by him, tbh. They are such a worry when they are young, even with a minor illness.

I've just remembered ringing the vet one weekend evening because the pup had been sick several times for no apparent reason. I think she must have been about 5 months old. Vet and I agreed that monitoring was all that was needed and she was ok the next day but I think that would be near the beginning of her digestive problems, which did take a long time to resolve.
I hope you get your pup sorted out soon.

 

[Xmasha]

My puppy had blood in her stool and some of it was loose, but she was otherwise acting normal. The vet examined her and I brought in a sample of her poo. She ended up having Giardia. I did probiotics and 5 days of Panacur treatment, but that didn't kick it, so then she went on antibiotics.

I initially fed her boiled turkey or chicken and plain rice. I've done the same when my Lab has had stomach upset a few times in the past. I've fed probiotics or plain probiotic yoghurt in the past. Can't say if one worked better than the other, really.

Did they test for any parasites on the off chance that it's something like that?

I've had a cat before that got bouts of colitis, which presented as a bloody stool, usually triggered by her ingesting too much hair (she was a long haired cat) IIRC.

My Lab does not have an iron stomach and I am cautious about what I feed her. With her it generally comes back up if she doesn't agree with it.

Is you pup better now ?
Vets haven’t suggested testing his poo . They were convinced it was colitis . First episode his poo had gone loose just overnight , during the day it was sort of like the poo ? emoji in consistency. The blood was only really present in the late night /morning poo . So based on that they were convinced it was colitis .
I’ve given him boiled rice and chicken now , so will do that for a few days .
I popped over to our local independent pet store ( they actually make supplements etc ) they advised giving him an extra supplement aimed at colitis and offering him a tendon chew . They said they are brilliant for pups with this issue as the tendon chews are made of similar stuff to the stomach, so will help line it.
Stirling absolutely loved it and has chewed it for ages . So I’m hoping all this helps .
If not I will ask the vets to check his poo .
Thanks everyone you’ve been really helpful x

 

[Xmasha]

I would keep the meals quite small and light for 24/48 hours to allow any inflammation to subside and then be guided by him, tbh. They are such a worry when they are young, even with a minor illness.

I've just remembered ringing the vet one weekend evening because the pup had been sick several times for no apparent reason. I think she must have been about 5 months old. Vet and I agreed that monitoring was all that was needed and she was ok the next day but I think that would be near the beginning of her digestive problems, which did take a long time to resolve.
I hope you get your pup sorted out soon.

Thanks PAS , they are such a worry when they are young aren’t they ! But absolutely worth it

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Is you pup better now ?
Vets haven’t suggested testing his poo . They were convinced it was colitis . First episode his poo had gone loose just overnight , during the day it was sort of like the poo ? emoji in consistency. The blood was only really present in the late night /morning poo . So based on that they were convinced it was colitis .
I’ve given him boiled rice and chicken now , so will do that for a few days .
I popped over to our local independent pet store ( they actually make supplements etc ) they advised giving him an extra supplement aimed at colitis and offering him a tendon chew . They said they are brilliant for pups with this issue as the tendon chews are made of similar stuff to the stomach, so will help line it.
Stirling absolutely loved it and has chewed it for ages . So I’m hoping all this helps .
If not I will ask the vets to check his poo .
Thanks everyone you’ve been really helpful x

She's just finishing her antibiotics and we'll retest at her next appointment. She's doing well, and I hope it's really gone this time around. She presented very similar to yours, and of course my vet friend had me all paranoid about Parvo, but honestly, aside from the poo, she's been fine.

 

[Xmasha]

She's just finishing her antibiotics and we'll retest at her next appointment. She's doing well, and I hope it's really gone this time around. She presented very similar to yours, and of course my vet friend had me all paranoid about Parvo, but honestly, aside from the poo, she's been fine.

So pleased she’s getting better.
I’d better do some googling about Giardia , just in case .

 

[CanteringCarrot]

So pleased she’s getting better.
I’d better do some googling about Giardia , just in case .

Yeah, it's probably not that, but who knows. Mine didn't have any other symptoms of Giardia. Just loose poo and blood (not constant/all the time). Usually the vets start with a poo sample, which I usually bring to the pups first appointments with me anyway (when we go for more vaccines), because worms and whatnot are very possible at that age too. It's generally an easy thing to do and not so expensive, IME.

Maybe yours will just clear up and that will be that!

 

[Xmasha]

We’ve now gone 24hrs without blood in poop and they are now normal consistency.
His tummy also looks more wobbly and less tucked up .
So , is it’s the chicken and rice helping or the probiotics? I guess it’s trial and error now .
So I will add some of his normal feed back in and see what happens

ETA , we also have less poos too

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

We’ve now gone 24hrs without blood in poop and they are now normal consistency.
His tummy also looks more wobbly and less tucked up .
So , is it’s the chicken and rice helping or the probiotics? I guess it’s trial and error now .
So I will add some of his normal feed back in and see what happens

What is his normal feed? I really would strip his diet back to as few ingredients as possible. He could be reacting to any single ingredient in kibble. So glad that he has improved.

 

[Xmasha]

What is his normal feed? I really would strip his diet back to as few ingredients as possible. He could be reacting to any single ingredient in kibble. So glad that he has improved.

Thanks PaS. He’s been on Royal Cannin Maxi puppy , it’s what the breeder recommended. She did have him on a younger version the weaning one , but said to give him the maxi puppy. What do you think we should try ?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Thanks PaS. He’s been on Royal Cannin Maxi puppy , it’s what the breeder recommended. She did have him on a younger version the weaning one , but said to give him the maxi puppy. What do you think we should try ?

I would have a look at Pets at Home, they have a good range all in one place, or a really good independent feed store. I wouldn't put him back on the food that made him ill.

I think Harringtons do a 5 ingredient grain-free kibble but I haven't used it so can't recommend it personally. It is very expensive but I wish I had found it while we were struggling with the yellow one, poor girl was 'off colour' for months, if not longer.

 

[Xmasha]

I would have a look at Pets at Home, they have a good range all in one place, or a really good independent feed store. I wouldn't put him back on the food that made him ill.

I think Harringtons do a 5 ingredient grain-free kibble but I haven't used it so can't recommend it personally. It is very expensive but I wish I had found it while we were struggling with the yellow one, poor girl was 'off colour' for months, if not longer.

Thanks for that I will pop out and have look .
Hope your yellow girl is good now x

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Thanks for that I will pop out and have look .
Hope your yellow girl is good now x

She has been in the best of health since she was spayed thanks. Her problems must have all been hormonal but you can't use that solution!

 

[millikins]

My standard poodle puppy was so worm riddled when I picked him up he was lucky to survive, he was in a terrible state, and this from a KC breeder. Got him through it but he suffered periodic episodes of colitis throughout his life. I spent a small fortune at the vets on steroids, antibiotics, pro biotics then the tedious rice/fish diet, none of which really seemed to help. Eventually I bought a bottle of kaolin and morphine over the counter, first sign of the squits he had 2 spoonfuls. Sometimes that was enough, occasionally he needed another spoonful or two in the day or day after. It worked a treat for him, he also lived on Chappie, nothing fancy. I never found what triggered his bouts, he could and did eat all manner of revolting things without any ill effect.

 

[Andie02]

Thanks PaS. He’s been on Royal Cannin Maxi puppy , it’s what the breeder recommended. She did have him on a younger version the weaning one , but said to give him the maxi puppy. What do you think we should try ?

That is most likely to be the problem, it's full of crap fillers. Dogs need proteins like meat / fish /poultry. Not wheat, wheat flour, maize, beet pulp, they cannot digest it.
A good probiotic daily would probably help.

 

[Xmasha]

That is most likely to be the problem, it's full of crap fillers. Dogs need proteins like meat / fish /poultry. Not wheat, wheat flour, maize, beet pulp, they cannot digest it.
A good probiotic daily would probably help.

You could be right. I put him on boiled rice and chicken , which at first I thought was ok , as no blood . But his poos then went really loose and was doing quiet a few . So I’ve switched him to boiled rice and fish .
I was a bit worried I was changing too much so whizzed him over to the vets last night. So , vet has suggested we remove chicken from his diet ( the puppy food is a chicken based one ) to see if he’s having a reaction to that . She said it’s common for dogs to be sensitive to chicken . Well I never !
In the meantime I’m collecting poo samples over 3 days for them to analyse. If he settles on the fish diet before hand , we have our answer. If not hopefully the poo test will shed some light .
So far we have no blood , and his last night poo was must firmer. ?

 

[Xmasha]

My standard poodle puppy was so worm riddled when I picked him up he was lucky to survive, he was in a terrible state, and this from a KC breeder. Got him through it but he suffered periodic episodes of colitis throughout his life. I spent a small fortune at the vets on steroids, antibiotics, pro biotics then the tedious rice/fish diet, none of which really seemed to help. Eventually I bought a bottle of kaolin and morphine over the counter, first sign of the squits he had 2 spoonfuls. Sometimes that was enough, occasionally he needed another spoonful or two in the day or day after. It worked a treat for him, he also lived on Chappie, nothing fancy. I never found what triggered his bouts, he could and did eat all manner of revolting things without any ill effect.

It’s really odd isn’t it , and so hard to find out what’s causing the issue. Great to hear you found something that helped , and if none of what I’m doing helps I will look into the kaolin. Thanks ?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

It’s really odd isn’t it , and so hard to find out what’s causing the issue. Great to hear you found something that helped , and if none of what I’m doing helps I will look into the kaolin. Thanks ?

We had a Rottweiler bitch who could only eat a salmon and potato kibble, unfortunately, it's so long ago that I can't remember the brand.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

You could be right. I put him on boiled rice and chicken , which at first I thought was ok , as no blood . But his poos then went really loose and was doing quiet a few . So I’ve switched him to boiled rice and fish .
I was a bit worried I was changing too much so whizzed him over to the vets last night. So , vet has suggested we remove chicken from his diet ( the puppy food is a chicken based one ) to see if he’s having a reaction to that . She said it’s common for dogs to be sensitive to chicken . Well I never !
In the meantime I’m collecting poo samples over 3 days for them to analyse. If he settles on the fish diet before hand , we have our answer. If not hopefully the poo test will shed some light .
So far we have no blood , and his last night poo was must firmer. ?

Yeah, the chicken intolerance is more common than I thought and allegedly seen quite a bit in my puppy's breed. So I used boiled turkey and rice for her, but I don't know that she actually has an allergy. Her kibble is Lamb and rice, and my Lab does well on a Lamb and rice formula too. They do get other meat snacks as well. Mostly beef lung, liver, and some fish.

I'm not a fan of Royal Canin. I suppose it works in many cases, but I find their ingredients to be mediocre for the price.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Yeah, the chicken intolerance is more common than I thought and allegedly seen quite a bit in my puppy's breed. So I used boiled turkey and rice for her, but I don't know that she actually has an allergy. Her kibble is Lamb and rice, and my Lab does well on a Lamb and rice formula too. They do get other meat snacks as well. Mostly beef lung, liver, and some fish.

I'm not a fan of Royal Canin. I suppose it works in many cases, but I find their ingredients to be mediocre for the price.

We used to have a cat that was chicken intolerant, although his relatives could eat it with no problem.

 

[Xmasha]

Just a little update. after he went on boiled fish and rice the blood stopped, but so did the poos. he only did 1 poo per day, I was a bit worried ( new years day) so gave him a little of the puppy food he was on mixed in with the fish and removed the rice. . Poos came back completely normal and since then ( im touching wood as i speak ) have been fine. I have added a spoonful of goats yoghurt, as id heard thats was easier on the tummy than cows yoghurt.
Is it possible he needed a tummy reset ? I am going to change his food at some point, just need to do some research to find the best one. Thanks for all the suggestions/advice.