Dog Community

Recipe for dog with colitis

Posted : 1/3/2010 6:01:56 PM

Monty, who has ulcerative colitis, has been doing well on Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish for awhile now. However, last week he had a flare up right after I fed him from a new can, and he's now on ground beef and rice (and medications) until he gets stabilized again.

He probably had gotten into something else and that's what caused this latest bout of bloody diarrhea, but I find I just don't trust any commercial food 100% anymore. I'd really like to just keep him on homemade food. The problem is that his digestive system is so twitchy there are very few things he can eat - for example, we learned the hard way that he can't eat chicken. All the recipes I find online have too many ingredients and supplements.

Does anyone know of a good recipe (or two Wink ) that is extremely simple yet will fulfill his nutrition needs?

Thanks in advance. Smile

micksmom

Posted : 1/3/2010 6:25:13 PM

I don't know of any recipes, but my husband has UC. Some of the things he has to be careful with is, fiber, nuts and seeds, including fruits with seeds on them like strawberries. I'll see if I can find the list of foods to avoid the doctor gave us when he was diagnosed.

sl2crmeg

Posted : 1/3/2010 6:33:23 PM

I bit the bullet and paid for a consult with a nutritionist. She took an extensive history and I filled out a very long questionnaire about my feeding preferences, my dog's activity level, etc. It also came with 6 weeks (I think?) of 'backup' where she'd adjust the recipe as necessary. I used Sabine [http://www.betterdogcare.com/?page=nutrition] but others prefer Monica Segal or one more that I can't think of...totally worth the money, though!

calliecritturs

Posted : 1/3/2010 10:17:46 PM

Honestly you might find that it's NOT all just collitis & food-related. I've had tremendous good luck with TCVM (and Traditional Chinese Medicine for ME for the same thing).

It's not just the acpuncture. It's the exam. They compare the pulses from all over the body and can often zero in on a weak area of the body you may have no clue is weak. I'm NOT surprised you didn't have good luck with chicken -- according to Chinese medicine it is the *worst* meat you can try because it is so often association **with** inflammation and will actually cause inflammation to be worse.

Honestly altho Monica Segal is actually a friend of mine and I use her diets ALL the time -- her diets are NOT simple. I'd rather see you consult with a good TCVM vet and actually get some real input on what's going on -- they'll also counsel you on food and give you a diet assist with foods that may help you avoid further inflammation.

The pharmaceuticals they tend to give you for inflammation in the gut can be a never-ending story -- the drugs themselves are hard on the liver, and when the liver is upset THAT is gonna worsen the collitis so it goes on and on and on.

http://www.tcvm.com -- that's the Chi Institute and there is a locator on the left. If you aren't in the US there is a link UNDER the locator that has a ton of Canadian and other suggestions.

Feel free to email me if I can help you. I've fought that particular battle MANY times.

Monty's Mum

Posted : 1/3/2010 11:56:12 PM

Thanks to everyone who replied, Smile

I'm considering a consultation with either Sabine Contreras or Monica Segal, but I'm also going to look into TCVM. I'm intrigued with the possibility of actually identifying what is causing Monty's colitis. The traditional vets we take him to are wonderful and caring, but basically all they can suggest is accepting that he will always have this condition and that trying to lessen the frequency of the attacks is the best we can hope for. If there is a chance that the actual trigger(s) of the colitis can be identified, it's a chance I want to take.

There are two veterinarians listed on the TCVM site near me, so I'm going to research them a bit more and decide if I'll go that route.