Colitus in dogs?

[littlemisslauren]

My 13 year old border terrier is poorly

He is my little baby and has been very healthy all his life so we are all petrified now he is ill. He started 'going to the loo' in the house a couple of days ago and I noticed bright red blood in it on wed night. I took him for his walk on thursday and he went to the loo twice. The first time there was nothing there! (I had my OH armed with poop bags because I was hungover!) The second time there was no poop but a blob of bloody mucus, he had mucus on his bum too

I called the vet immediatly and got him in an hour later.
The vet says she thinks it is colitus, he is on antibiotics and a rice and scrambled eggs diet then a check up on tuesday.

Just posting for vibes really and any experiences others have had with colitus?

This is the first time he has been ill and im so scared!

 

[Henbug]

my dog had colitus when she was only 6 months old, very scary as so young. TBH it wasn't a huge proble she was fine within a week. she was on antibiotics and something else aswell. She was starved for 24hrs and then was gradually put onto some ID (some kind of food with "nothing" in it the vets gave us for her), then this was mixed into her normal food and she was gradually put back onto her normal food again. It hasn't occured again since and this was the real worry, that it would be something that she was prone to but luckily this hasn't proved to be the case. Hope he is felling better soon.

 

[jumbyjack]

My 12 year old has had it for a few years now, sometimes he has a bit of a flare up and I give him Pro-kolin paste, you can buy it from the vet or online. I also give him some probiotic yoghurt every day in his food which helps a lot. Don't panic, it is manageable, you will have to find out what works for your boy as they are all different in what sets it off and how they react to various treatments.

 

[fmay]

It's very scary isn't it?

Our 9 year old border terrier has just started with similar symptoms and we are backwards and forwards to the vets with her to get a diagnosis.
We have been told that colitis is usually something that younger dogs develop.
Winnie has settled down now but still has days where she refuses food and makes awful smells

I hope that your border feels better soon.

 

[Oneofthepack]

My old lurcher had it when he was a pup and I nearly lost him he got so poorly but he recovered after antibiotics and a bland diet. One of my current lurchers Alf now has it and after a long week of being very poorly and on a drip for 2 days he has to stay on a special diet (Royal Canin sensitive) as if I deviate from it even slightly he gets sick again.

 

[ljpinkhorse]

Poor doggie

Hope the diet and the meds do the trick and he gets better soon .

Just a thought , but are you giving him frequent small meals rather than two larger ones ? As that can help with absoption issues x

 

[Nettle123]

Our old labrador suffered from this periodically, its certainly scary the first time you see blood. Our poor chap used to suffer severe stomach pain and would literally lie down wherever he was and not move until the cramps had passed.

Our Vet prescribed Salazopyrin, it worked brilliantly. One of the things he could not eat was chicken and rice, seems it doesn't suit all dogs. We used to feed him raw minced beef and plain biscuit when he had a flare up

 

[chestnut cob]

Our bitch has it. Our vet recommends giving her Zantac tablets (or it might be Xantac), you can buy it over the counter from the chemist. When it flares up, she is fed just rice, white meat, white fish and potatoes. Have to be careful which prepared feeds she eats as she has a v sensitive tummy too - she can't have the every day feed that the other dog has and is currently on a (v expensive!!) sensitive tummy food.

We find that dried food / biscuits are better for her than wet dog food, though when she has finished this bag of food she's going to go on a diet of meat, veg, eggs and rice with an all round supplement to make sure she gets all the vits and mins she needs.

You might find with yours that it flares up when the dog gets upset or stressed. Our bitch got an attack at the weekend with all the kids knocking at the door trick or treating, as it made her stressed, and same with the fireworks. It is manageable, you just have to keep an eye on them and as soon as they present with symptoms, put them on to plain food for a few days.

 

[littlemisslauren]

Thank you every1 for replying. I haven't had internet since i last posted!

My poor little man is getting worse

He is on small meals afew times a day. Some days he is barely eating. He has started lying down wherever he can and staying there for ages which is so unlike him.

He is in at the vets tomorrow so hopefully she can give him something for it

I have been keeping up his walks as per usual but cutting them a little short if he seems tired or just not quite himself. My mum dosnt think I should be taking him out while he is poorly. Should I be? He does seem more sleepy now hes not well but he loves his walks and still jumps into the car as soon as the door is open and turns into a puppy at the sight of his lead.

 

[fmay]

Keep us informed as to what the vet says. Winnie was operated on today for her 'colitis' and it turned out to be adhesions slowing the bowel down.