Colitis Diet - Recommendations

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

George Cooper — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 11:27:17 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]

[quote user="George Cooper"]It is also useful for those exhibiting the so called “housekeeping” signs, where the addiction of All-Bran is like flicking a switch in resolving it.[/quote]

Sorry George 'housekeeping??' give us a clue?

[/quote]

hi - and apologies for the late response. “Housekeeping” is a term used to describe issues with gastric function. I picked up on it at a CPD session run by I think Jimmy Simpson from Edinburgh. If you Google it, it is also a term used in human digestion.

Presentation in dogs (I’m uncertain about cats) is intermittent, which is why owners tend not to perceive a problem; it can, however, presage an explosive case of v & d, possibly even pancreatitis with a debilitated pet. There are half a dozen signs, most of which, on close questioning, the owner will recognise, and I’ve found that if three or more have been seen, there will be a distinct benefit from All-Bran. I used to use W/d exclusively as it appears that the extra fibre levels sorts the situation.

The six individual signs that are seen are:- lighter coloured stools that are “splodgy”, rather like a Mr Whippy ice-cream; intermittent, yet frequent, vomiting - usually first thing in the morning prior to the family getting up, and finding a tiny yellow or green frothy spot or two, usually the size of a 50p piece, or two, and no more; preying position - stretching the anterior abdomen, often after eating, but it can be fairly frequent, and owners (and vets) can often put this down to normal behaviour; one of the prime signs is deafening borborygmi where the dog turns round to see what is making the noise - and this will often go with a day of being completely off food, occasionally, though frequently monthly, and most owners will acknowledge having heard this; grazing on long stem grass is another frequent and ostensibly normal canine habit, yet with housekeeping it takes on bovine levels and often is associated with the noisy gut days; and the final little bit of jigsaw is the passing of solid stools first thing, which then become lighter and looser as the day progresses.

As you can see, many of these signs fall into the “normal” spectrum of behaviour, yet when added together and when treated with alteration of diet, will completely disappear.

of course this is all one vet’s observations, but in this practice we recognise this, and that Kellogg’s ought to be marketing Allbran accordingly!

give it a go!

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Anthony Todd — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 16:14:03 GMT

[quote user="Linda Filshie"]Was this not covered "BITD"? [/quote]

Not that i was aware of , and I can't recall seeing cases.

[other dinovets may disagree]

I was on the cusp of traditional meat/fat based diets and the advent of cereal based diets for small animals which may explain it.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 15:43:34 GMT

A hypoallergenic diet (RC hypoallergenic, RC anallergenic, RC gastrointestinal salmon and potato based kibble).

I've found the Protexin ProFibre tubs to be useful. One CPD event I went to said that psyllium is good for these sorts of cases and it contains that.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Thomas Johnson — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 15:28:28 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]

What is everyone recommending for a dog with colitis signs (pretty common)

Ideally they need a high soluble fibre diet, such as carrageenan/seaweed, but that comes from my nutrition degree.

An of the shelf alternative as well as a prescription choice would be appreciated

[/quote]

Hills w/d is marketed as high in fibre to help dogs with colitis.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Neil Wheadon — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 21:31:03 GMT

[quote user="George Cooper"]It is also useful for those exhibiting the so called “housekeeping” signs, where the addiction of All-Bran is like flicking a switch in resolving it.[/quote]

Sorry George 'housekeeping??' give us a clue?

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

George Cooper — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 18:22:17 GMT

Discovered that the addiction of a handful of All-Bran to the normal diet works a treat, so much so that I’ve stopped trying to sell W/d at all and suggest it instead. We now have literally dozens of dogs passing little plugs two or three times daily, without any hassles. It is also useful for those exhibiting the so called “housekeeping” signs, where the addiction of All-Bran is like flicking a switch in resolving it.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Linda Filshie — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 15:32:50 GMT

Tenesmus, increased frequency, small to normal volume, often features mucus and fresh blood. Cf small intestinal d+ - minimal straining, often large volume, frequency only slightly increased, no fresh blood/mucus but may have melaena if upper GI bleeding. Cf enteritis - aspects of both.

Was this not covered "BITD"?

As far as the original query goes it depends. Would quite happily reach for sensitivity control or i/d in 1st instance, if a chronic case probably w/d or add pro-fibre. If suspicious of food allergy given hx or other signs z/d or Purina anallargenic.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Anthony Todd — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 14:08:58 GMT

I think I called them all "diarrhoea" or just "enteritis". Can someone tell me what the distinguishing diagnostic characteristics of "colitis" are.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 13:48:09 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]What is everyone recommending for a dog with colitis signs [/quote]First you need to diagnose whether this is a fibre responsive colitis or it is IBD or dietary intolerance or a true food allergy all of which fit in one big melting pot. Unless you've made a diagnosis by intestinal biopsy you'll find most fall into the latter categories so I would start with an exclusion or hydrolysed diet and save the fancy ingredients until later if still unresponsive, you do after all want to treat the cause not just the symptoms.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Iain Richards — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 13:25:13 GMT

Chappie. Never failed me.

RE: Colitis Diet - Recommendations

Julie Innes — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 11:15:55 GMT

The only thing that worked for my chronic colitis beagle was Chappie! Cheap as chips, but lots of fibre. I know it is thought to be a "poor" quality food, but the problem is that high quality these days seems to equate to high protein , which isn't necessarily helpful for dogs with colitis sometimes