[Rae1]

Hey all,

I have been battling stress colitis in my pup now for several months. In fact, she has had stress colitis since she was a baby. I've heard two different opinions about it from the vet:

1) it is from the food that the dog eats and/or
2) it is from the dog being in a stressful situation.

Scouring the information on this site seems to yield the same two results as well. I have tried switching my pup to several different foods but haven't found one that works. Usually, my dog will start on a food and is fine (her stool is solid) but then a stressful situation occurs and bam! The latest switch was to THK about two months ago but this last episode of Stress colitis has been the worst I've ever seen my dog go through. She hasn't had a solid stool in two weeks even with meds that are supposed to firm her up.

The vet has her on antibiotics to try to help the GI tract but I'm at that point where I can't even socialize my dog without an episode flaring up. I was hoping to have her in classes by now for just basic obedience and training then graduating up to more fun/difficult classes that I hear everyone talk about on this page like Agility. She goes to one obedience class and she is a mess.

I would love to know everyone's opinion. I need any help or advice I can get because I feel like it's affecting her quality of life either way. Either A) she doesn't get to be out in the world experiencing all of the things with me and then she drives me crazy when I get home because what should mentally stimulate her and wear her out is not an option anymore or B) she gets to have those fun moments of being a dog and experience the world but it costs her in having horrible stools and not feeling 100% for at least a week or two.

 

[Suzy25]

My advice would be to stick with a food that she was doing well on, before the stress colitis came along and messed up her system. changing the food often will just cause more issues.

buy some slippery elm powder, (i dont believe it is expensive) dose it properly and start giving it to her during her bought of colitis. (you can google more info on it, it is fantastic for stomach and GI issues) some people use pumpkin to settle the stomach but that has it own range of issues sometimes that you can avoid with using the slippery elm (which also works better anyways)

do mental games with her in your house, tire her out mentally, and do short outings after she has had some good mental exercise, focus on teaching her to be calm, take a calming walk around the block, doing mental exercise during it, if that is to much for her just sit outside the front of your home. basically, slowly build up the distractions and business of the world around her from a level she is comfortable with, very slowly to places she is uncomfortable. doing a lot of confidence building games inside and outside the house to help her as well.

All those little things can make major differences in a dogs comfort level in all different situations. go at her pace, dont let people or other dogs meet her im public (usually they great wrong, owner doesnt mention the dogs not friendly, etc.. basically it can be stressful for perfectly healthy dogs)

also, make sure the vet as gone through other options like inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel disease etc...
Antibiotics can help to a point with the GI tract but i think getting her on the slippery elm powder will help, sometimes going on a steroid like prednisone can lower inflammation of the GI tract and help her keep regular.

Is she on Metronidazole right now?

 

[Thecowboysgirl]

Have you tried Forti Flora? It's good stuff.

Is it training treats during class or just being in the class that gives her diarrhea?

 

[NaughtyNibbler]

You might want to try a CBD oil product (oil or pill form). I understand that some humans get a good result from using it. Many of the online sellers market a product specifically for dogs.

I understand that the root cause of colitis in humans can be related to an overactive immune system. I'm thinking that can be the case with animals as well. Even if it is stress related, CBD oil is supposed to help with stress issues as well.

Most people don't get their dogs a colonoscopy, so many times the root cause is a guess by the vet. Even with scope exams and biopsies, it can take a few rounds to get a definitive diagnosis (which was my experience).

Using CBD oil can be a bit of an experimental effort in regard to dosage and results, but it could be worth the effort. There is a lot of info. to read online. It can take a little trial and error, but can be worth the effort.