emmah1979
Well-Known Member
So Molly my cocker spaniel was fit and healthy until she turned 4 but since then she has developed some sort or irritable bowel problem. Approximately once a month she goes off her food, becomes very depressed, has a very gurgly tummy and diarrhea. This lasts for usually 48 hours and then, like someone has clicked a switch, she is suddenly bright and full of beans again and hungry! She is now 6 years old so this has been going on for 2 years.
Numerous trips to the vet during the first few bouts of the illness didn't reveal anything serious and it was put down to a sensitive stomach. I subsequently became a dog food 'expert' and changed her food from Bakers (apparently very bad) to Arden Grange biscuits (not so bad and hyperallergenic) and good quality food pouches (Nature's Choice, James Wellbeloved and Prestige).
The only other food she might get is freshly cooked chicken and rice during the first couple of days after she's been ill, raw mince every so often and occasionally some leftover meat from the sunday roast (but not pork as that makes her ill).
Nevertheless, regardless of how careful I am with her food she is still ill every month or so and there's nothing obvious in terms of food that seems to trigger it.
When she was in the vets the other day having her annual innoculations I mentioned to the vet how I had changed her diet and yet it didn't seem to help very much. The vet said that the illness was probably due to irritiable bowel syndrome rather than a specific food intolerance (although the diet helps). In other words she is always going to be prone to having these flare ups.
Does anyone else have experience of this type of illness with their dog and any tips that might help?
Other than a bad couple of days a month Molly is fit and healthy, I just feel so sorry for her when it flares up because she's so down in the dumps.
Numerous trips to the vet during the first few bouts of the illness didn't reveal anything serious and it was put down to a sensitive stomach. I subsequently became a dog food 'expert' and changed her food from Bakers (apparently very bad) to Arden Grange biscuits (not so bad and hyperallergenic) and good quality food pouches (Nature's Choice, James Wellbeloved and Prestige).
The only other food she might get is freshly cooked chicken and rice during the first couple of days after she's been ill, raw mince every so often and occasionally some leftover meat from the sunday roast (but not pork as that makes her ill).
Nevertheless, regardless of how careful I am with her food she is still ill every month or so and there's nothing obvious in terms of food that seems to trigger it.
When she was in the vets the other day having her annual innoculations I mentioned to the vet how I had changed her diet and yet it didn't seem to help very much. The vet said that the illness was probably due to irritiable bowel syndrome rather than a specific food intolerance (although the diet helps). In other words she is always going to be prone to having these flare ups.
Does anyone else have experience of this type of illness with their dog and any tips that might help?
Other than a bad couple of days a month Molly is fit and healthy, I just feel so sorry for her when it flares up because she's so down in the dumps.