One big issue people have is with their dogs are stomach upsets are symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, straining, inability to change diets successfully and the dog losing weight. All these issues cause the dog’s owners much stress, worry and anxiety.
On visits to their veterinarian, they can get a variety of diagnoses and medications. They may get offered antibiotics, anti-nausea medication, anti-inflammation meds, given allergy tests, special prescription dog foods, told to feed novel proteins, do an elimination diet and at last resort, sent to a specialist for more testing, diagnosis and medications.
Often just changing diets can improve things for a short time, but soon enough the same symptoms reappear. And again, another diet is tried, often with worse results. What is the answer?
Please note, even if Inflammatory Bowel Disease is called a ‘disease’, it is not. It is not a virus or a bacterial infection. It is more a condition or a syndrome, caused by a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract lining. “Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition (greater than three weeks) caused by inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Middle aged dogs of both sexes are equally affected”. (Cornell Veterinary)
Generally, it can start by a virus or bacteria and if the inflammation continues, a poor diet too laden with fiber is recommended that causes more irritation and dry dog food can also be irritating to the intestines.
Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs, Revised: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals!
Lew Olson's newly revised book is filled with an abundance of new topics and information. Whether you are new to home feeding or a seasoned raw feeder, have a senior dog or a new puppy, a pregnant mom or a toy breed, this book presents all the information you need to make the best nutritional decisions for your dog.Dogs, as carnivores, have a short and simple digestive tract. High fiber diets put an extra burden on canines, for them to try and digest them. They are built to digest animal fats, protein and some bone and fur. They have much more digestive juices than humans (omnivores) and a much shorter intestinal tract.
When we eat, food goes quickly through the stomach and lingers in the intestines. We are better at digesting fiber. But for dogs, food lingers in the stomach, and zips through the intestines. So high fiber diets often appear to firm stool (fiber absorbs moisture in the colon) but continue to irritate and keep the inflammation active in the digestive tract lining.
IBD tends to affect anxious or stressed dogs more frequently, or sometimes the owner keeps changing the diet and this can make the situation worsen. When the digestive tract becomes inflamed, it has difficulty digesting fats and fiber. The lining has become permeable causing issues. Some recommendations include low fat, but often this means poorer protein sources and higher fiber and carbohydrates, which are equally difficult for dogs to process.
Treatments of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications and high fiber are only band- aids, and the inflammation continues to worsen. Your vet may recommend a scope but it only shows if the intestinal tract is inflamed and the treatment doesn’t vary. They may prescribe steroids and antibiotics, but those are both temporary fixes, and you don’t want to leave any dog on steroids very long.
So now what? The sensible answer might seem to be to help heal the inflammation and damaged intestinal lining. I will outline some steps that can assist with that. It is important to feed a low fat, low fiber diet. Moist food for dogs is best, so I suggest a home cooked or a raw diet.
It is equally important to feed frequent, small meals. This lessens the load for the dog’s digestive system to handle for each meal. For instance, if you fed 8 oz twice a day, feed 4 oz four times a day. To this, add:
- 1,000 mg of l-glutamine per 10 lbs of the dogs body weight. L-glutamine is used for premature babies, to help put an immature digestive tract into working condition. It not only repairs a inflamed digestive tract lining, but is a great supplement to use after surgery. It could be used from 8 to 16 months.
- You can find this on Amazon, use the powdered. Bertes Digestion Blend. This blend contains probiotics, digestive enzymes, all animal based (what dogs need) to help digest fats and animal proteins), NAG, and l-glutamine. Start at half dose for two weeks and then go to normal suggested amounts after that.
While often you will see articles stating IBD cannot be cured, I have seen it happen time and time again. The first dog I saw it work was with my Rottweiler many years ago. I was desperate to find help for him but very little was written about it. I happened to run into a friend who was a pediatrician MD. She told me about l-glutamine and other treatments used in premie babies. It made sense it would also work for dogs, and it did.
I switched my dog to a raw diet, with no carbohydrates. The bone content worked well to keep stools formed. Indeed, the dog went two steps forward, 3 back, then 3 forward, two back and four forward.
After 8 weeks, he never had another incidence. His intestinal lining healed, his weight came back along with his hair loss and his stools remained normal.
Use raw diets with NO carbohydrates (no fruit, no grains, no vegetables). Use low fat raw, such as chicken necks, backs or turkey necks with no skin, green tripe, any heart meat (pork, pork, turkey, chicken) and other low fat red meat. No fat yogurt and cottage cheese, and no eggs for a few weeks. Generally, you can go back to normal meals in a few months.
If a raw diet isn’t for you and your dogs, I would recommend the low glycemic, low fat cooked diet in my book. It can be equally effective and help your dog heal. It can be discouraging in the beginning with some dogs, but please stick with it. I did and it will pay off!
See Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs, by Lew Olson.
Last, let me address my friends in Canada and Europe. Often you ask what you can use in place of the Bertes Immune and Daily Blend, as they are not available in your countries. While I can’t offer a total substitute, I do recommend this.
- A human B Complex with Vitamin E and C.
- Small dogs ¼ human dose,
- medium dogs ½ human dose,
- large dogs ¾ dose and
- extra large dogs, human dose.
- Acidophilus, plain NO prebiotics please, at same dose above.
- And fish oil capsules. 180 EPA, 120 DHA per capsule. One for small dogs, after that two per twenty to thirty pounds a day!
Hope this helps and please don’t forget my Consult Service?
Problems with trying switch to a raw or cooked diet?
You dog has special health needs, such as liver, kidney or heart issues, Addison’s or Cushing’s, IBD, cancer or bladder stone issues. I can also help with puppy or senior diets, recovery from surgery and help with building a better immune system! Just let me know.
Email me (contact) with a detailed description about you dog, health issues if any, breed, neutered or not, medications the dog is on, and supplements and the consult is $99. I look forward to hearing from you and finding good solutions for your dog!
Lew Olson
K9Nutritionwithlew.com
