Colitis questions

I would imagine that if the medication were going to work, you'd see results fairly soon.  Are you continuing to feed the cottage cheese and rice?   From what I've read, the rice needs to be cooked almost to a mush consistency.  There's a great site that has a lot of information on dietary issues and inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, etc.  The link is below and you need to join the group to be able to participate, but it's not a big deal.  Just my guess, but I'd be checking into a dietary change to deal specifically with this issue.  I'm not sure what that mgiht be, but Monica Segal ([linkhttp://www.monicalsegal.com]www.monicalsegal.com[/link]) who owns the k9kitchen site, actually does diet consultations and it might be something to consider.  Good luck and I hope Max feels better soon.
 
[linkhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/join?yguid=252471306&finish=sub]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/[/link]

Thanks, Cathy.

I guess I am just worried about what the diagnosis might be if his medication doesn't work... Colitis seems to be their first guess, but if this doesn't work, they'll have to look at other possibilities, which probably are bad news.... Right?

Yes, we're continuing the cottage cheese and rice, and Max is enjoying that!  Any opportunity to eat "people food" with permission thrills him. 

How do dogs get colitis?  Is it always from eating something they shouldn't?

Honestly, anything with an "itis" at the end means inflammation and so, the term "colitis" simply means the colon is inflammed.  The reason for the inflammation can be varied and difficult to detect though.  Sometimes it's intermittent and this type of medication will get it under control.  Sometimes it's stress related.  The fact that it hasn't cleared up with the meds doesn't  necessarily mean  something dire is going on (at least to me but I'm absolutely not a doctor).  I know that many people live their whole life with colitis and struggle to find the right diet and/or medication to deal with it.  They do manage it though and I'm confident that you'll be able to get a handle on this too, but you're probably going to want to get really educated about it and that's why I recommend the k9kitchen.  Monica's own dog had some problems similar to what you're seeing, so if you join the site and google "colitis" you'll find some helpful information.

Yeah, I'm actually at work right now, and I haven't spoken to my mom all day, who is staying home with Max at the moment.  I'll update all of you when I get home and see how he is. And I will definitely check out k9kitchen!

Oh, another question.  This may be a coincidence, but is it possible that whatever is wrong with Max is something humans can get as well?

is it possible that whatever is wrong with Max is something humans can get as well?

 
I can't say with 100% certainty, but I think it's highly unlikely.  Even if it is a doggie flu, most viruses won't transmit from dogs to humans or vice versa.  There are exceptions, but I think they're very rare and you probably have nothing to worry about in that regard.

Actually, there are many diseases that can pass from humans to dogs. Research 'zoonosis' diseases. The list ranges from worms, to anthrax.
Has your vet done a fecal on him? It could be some sort of internal parasite. I would assume that they have done one.

Actually, we just dropped off the fecal sample yesterday, so we're supposed to get the results today.

However, he had no more "accidents" yesterday... Though we didn't see him have ANY bowel movements all day, so that may not be good either, though it may just be a reaction to the changes in diet/medication.  He seemed more chipper yesterday, and very hungry (we didn't feed him too much, because the vet said to take things slowly, even with the rice/cottage cheese/chicken diet). 

When our Dalmation developed colitis, we put him on Eukanuba Low-Residue and that helped immensely. It is a prescription diet only available through vets. My sister, who works at a vet clinic said they fed it to all the dogs they boarded because it greatly reduced the amount of diarhea from stress and diet change that most of the boarded dogs used to get.

[linkhttp://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=PL&productID=24]Eukanuba Low-Residue[/link]

Many people don't care for Eukanuba, but I have always had very good results with this diet for our dog. The ingredient list is heavier on grains that I would normally feed, but it worked extremely well for our dog's digestive issues. I think the Super-Premium foods I had tried for him before was just to rich for him as he got older. Or maybe he just raided the trash can one too many times[]

Thanks for the suggestion!  Am I understanding correctly that sometimes colitis is a long-term, chronic condition that requires significant dietary changes, while in other cases, it's caused by bacteria or stress or something that can be dealt with and will go away?

The way I understand it,  if it's stress-related, you'll probably deal with it off & on for the life of the dog.  Many things stress our dogs out and it's not always avoidable.  Even then, I still think that diet can help keep things under control to some extent.  If it's a bacterial issue, then I would guess that medications, such as antibiotics could relieve the problem completely.  
 
I've also seen the reference to "low residue" foods quite often, so you might bring that up with your vet too.

Am I understanding correctly that sometimes colitis is a long-term, chronic condition that requires significant dietary changes, while in other cases, it's caused by bacteria or stress or something that can be dealt with and will go away?

Yup. You got it!

Actually, most vets will treat it initially with an antibiotic like metronidazole and a bland diet. For mild cases, that alone will usually clear it up.

For more chronic cases, you may need longer-term diet changes. Our Dalmation's colitis was initially brought on when he gorged himself on trash. He was so sick he wouldn't eat his breakfast. I honestly thought that he was going to die because he had NEVER in 9 years refused the tiniest morsel of food. Ever.

We tried the antibiotics and bland diet, but the diarhea kept flaring up. We put him on the Low Residue for a couple years and haven't had a problem since. He's on "normal" food now (Nutro) with no problems. I probably would have kept him on the Low Residue, but my sister quit from the vet clinic where she was getting me the food at a discount[sm=blush.gif]

Hello, I'm new to this site but found it after searching my dog's health problems. I have a 1-1/2-year-old male cocker spaniel who has recurring bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. After seeing several vets, I was told he has colitis along with some type of bacterial infection, although all his blood work, fecal cultures, and urinalysis are negative. He is on Metronidizole and chloramphenicol (for salmonella which he doesn't have). This is his sixth bout of "colitis" and bacterial infections. I believe he may be getting sick so much because the vets prescribe antibiotics so much. Anyone think there may be some truth to that? Our vet bills are outrageous, exceeding $1100 this year alone.

Anyway, I'm going to start using nzyme.com products this week (the treats and the probiotic). Anyone ever use these?

kmarie,
 
I'm not terribly familiar with this - so I don't know if the vomiting is normal with colitis.  If they do have an infection, then I can understand the anti-biotics.  But, anti-biotics do kill ALL the "bugs" -- both the good along with the bad.  Which leaves the stomach in poor shape.  The "friendly" bacteria actually help the entire digestive system - so it makes sense that the anti-biotics could worsen this type of problem. (However, it may have been needed). So, I would definately use probiotics.  When I use probiotics after dosage of medication, I use the human grade kind that you find in the refridgerated section of a health food store. I, and others whose opinion I trust, believe in using human grade products for better quality control.   I get the refridgerated kind from a reputable store because heat can kill off the bacteria - and they must be "alive" in order to work.  For about a month, I will use this at each meal - but I split the capsule up and give about 3-4 billion with food. That's for my 35-50 pound dogs.  You may need to supplement for a longer period of time.  
 
 You do need to make dietary changes.  Monica Segal does have books, as well as a consulting service where she helps guide you to find the right foods for your particualar dog.  She would most likely advise a homecooked elimination diet.  You do need to read up on it / or get her advice because there are certain nutrients that do need to be given.  You may find her services well worth the cost.:   monicasegal.com
 
 
 In the meantime, I would question what food you are giving.  Most pet / grocery store foods contain ingredients which many dogs are allergic to.  You will need to stay away from these foods as well as the treats bought at these places.  The only decent food I would recommend at the chain stores is Natural Balance (Dick Van Patten's food).  HOWEVER,  I would urge you to locate - in person or online - a store that sells better name foods such as Solid Gold, Candidea,  Innova, etc.  The food I would most recommend is "California Natura lamb and rice" because it contains the least amount of ingredients.  If the dog improves on it, then after a few months you will need to switch protein sources to a chicken or a fish.  I would not start on fish because this tends to make some dogs stools runnier.  When you switch, you need to watch ingredients carefully.  Some chicken foods also contain turkey.  Your dog may be allergic to turkey, but not chicken.  Some foods contain flax, which a small number of dogs are allergic to.   Bottom line: you  *may* need to start homecooking.  Even the best of kibbles, with the least allergen types of foods can cause problems.   I think it may take a "TRUE" elimination diet - which means no treats or anything else.  You have to do a strict protocol in order to really judge what your dog can tolerate. Dietary changes, the right supplements, low stress levels could make a wonderful difference.  
 
  Having the runs and throwing up not only feels horrible, but makes you very tired as well.   Poor baby. I'm sure he's miserable, but it's so good that you care enough to take the time and effort to do research and figure this thing out so that he can be a happy little guy again!!  (vets are really great with some things, but they don't take courses in nutrition or courses in how to "head" off problems).  So things like this sometimes fall thru the cracks.  But, it's great that you have tested him. That's really important, of course.   One thing that I am curious about is that the cultures are negative.  So, are they giving the anti-biotics again because the think there may still be a bacterial infection that they can't test for?  OR, are they doing this just because they don't know what else to do?  I would ask this question and find out what the vet says.
 
One last thing:  The Whole Dog Journal, May 2006 talks about giardia.  Says it is way more common than most vets think it is. Paraphrasing: "Calebs had diarrhea for a day or two, but then it cleared up. He vomited once, and again a few weeks later.  The diarrhea came and went."  They did a float sample at the vets office. Negative.  After a few months, he started having bad gas and really stinky stools. Skin itched, achy joints after awhile.  Lost weight.  Bottom line: it was Giardia, but the in-house test is not reliable.  An "ELISA" test for Giardia antigen test must be sent off to an outside lab. And, you *might* have to repeat a negative test because even this better test can give a false negative on occasions.   The symptoms of itch skin and achy joints weren't figured out right away - they didn't seem to connect..  "if a dog comes in with skin and stomach problems, then you look for a gerneral inflammation problem.  Or if the dog is hypo-throid, then you re-check that first. With diarrhea, but no vomiting, then you would think about a foreign body.  Therefore, vets just overlooke Giardia as a potential cause of disease."  It's a good article that continues with advice about medications for this problem.  The Whole Dog Journal is a good magazine.   I wish him well soon!
 
 

chasza,
 
Thanks for all the info. I actually subscribe to Whole Dog Journal and had a stool sample from my dog tested for giardia twice. Both came up negative but I understand it is hard to detect. Our vet says the metronidazole will get rid of that. As for the other antibiotics, they gave those to him because "they didn't know what else to do." Well, he's off of those starting yesterday and already seems to feel better. His stool is more firm too. I will start the probiotics this week and hopefully get him on the road to recovery. My dog had a terrible skin condition last year starting when he was about 6 mos. - itchy, flaky, biting his paws a lot. Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice is the only food that helped clear that up. His coat is shiny and soft with not one flake. I hate to switch foods when he's doing well on it as far as his skin goes. As for his treats, we use the canned version of his food (Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice) and bake little "cookies" with it. They smell great and he seems to love them. I don't know how many more vets to see or what to try but any new info is wonderful. Thanks.