My Weim has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Please help!

atlasblue

I have a 6 1/2 year old Weimy with a long history of food issues. He now has been diagnosed with IBS and I'm having a hard time deciding what and how much to feed him. There is so much false info out there, and the vet just wants to give him steroids.

I've been hearing about no grain diets, but fear that might be unhealthy in the long run. I have tried every dog food known, yet he still has flare ups, though not as bad.

Please tell me what I can feed him if you have experienced this or have any firsthand knowledge. I'm going to put him on lean meat and potatoes for about one week and gradually start introducing foods into the mix. I want to be certain that I'm not nutritionally starving him from something he needs.

Also, he is 118 lbs. The vet says that because he is so tall, long and broad that he's only overweight by about 10 pounds. A great deal of internet surfers don't believe me, but he is purebred and still has his waistline clearly defined. All the vets agree he is the largest weim they have ever seen.

It's hard on him to exercise a lot, due to scar tissue in his lungs. He's full of energy, but I have to try and keep him from playing too hard outside.

I love him so much and I'm desperate to get this IBS and food allergy issue under control without starving him of basic nutrition. Please, any advice appreciated.

simis · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:46 pm Post subject:

Have you considered raw? We don't feed that way, but a number on ppl on here do and swear by it....

iris · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 3:03 pm Post subject:

Hi there! I am sorry to hear about all the trouble you are having. I have a questions though mainly because i suspect my 14month old Rocky has IBS as well:
What symptoms does your boy have?
We feed raw, but before i go into raw i want to be able and compare symptoms.
Thanks,
Iris

weimdawgs · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 3:23 pm Post subject:

I am so sorry you are going through this with your boy. Why are you afraid to go grain free? Some of the grain free foods are as close to raw as you can get without actually jumping in.

I really think raw would be best for him. You can get him a supplement that will give him everything he needs. There is tons of information on here about raw feeding.

Good luck and keep us posted.

anne · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject:

Somewhere on this forum, I posted with permission a story about a Weim named Chaucer and how his owner has managed severe IBD. Try searching using the search function on the home page.... I'll try to find it in the mean time..

iris · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:17 pm Post subject:

Ann was this the one about Seacure? We got a couple of days ago and just started using it.

anne · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:51 pm Post subject:

Yes...

And here is the post
http://www.weimaraneraddict.com/discussion/for-dogs-with-poop-food-problems-vt11821.html?highlight=chaucer

greydogs · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:31 pm Post subject:

our boy vishnu was diagnosed with IBD after years of intermittent (bloody) diarrhea, gurgling stomach, throwing up bile in the early morning.
and bloat. when he bloated, they did a biopsy and diagnosed the IBD>

we had tried many foods, kibble, grain free kibble, honest kitchen freeze dried food, home cooked food etc.

after the surgery, they fed him canned venison in the hospital and he came back and his poops were perfect. later we switched to canned wellness lamb and he continued to do great. (we added enzymes and probiotics and some yogurt to this).
since he needed 4 cans of food a day, we decided we might as well try raw. he has now been on raw (nature's variety) lamb only - other meats don't work as well. with enzymes and probiotics and yogurt and he has never been better.

you just will have to see what works for your dog. vishnu still gets a few dog cookies every day, without any ill effects.

atlasblue · Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject:

I just wrote a long post and now it's gone.

I will have to re-type later as I am out of time, but thank you to all that replied and I will (again) address the questions asked as soon as I can.

weimdawgs · Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:54 pm Post subject:

atlasblue · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:07 am Post subject:

I have switched Atlas to homemade dog food and he is doing great! No more IBS symptoms at all! I believe pumpkin and yogurt have made the difference. He has no problems with chicken, beef or turkey. I'm still researching nutritional needs for him, but since I started this diet I've had no runny poops and no stinky gas. The constant cooking of the dog food is kind of a pain, but well worth the effort! No more accidents when I'm gone, no more 3-4 times wake-up calls in the middle of the night and my house smells good for a change! he no longer grosses out my guests...except for nosing them in the butt! Laughing

scrbear11 · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 1:13 pm Post subject:

What are you ingredients are you putting in his homemade diet? I'm doing half homemade half kibble right now, will probably switch over to 100% homemade as soon as I'm comfortable doing it, and as soon as I run out of kibble. So far my dogs have been great on the half and half, and I'm very happy about it. The constant cooking is a pain, but it's cheaper than kibble!

peppernaei · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 1:22 pm Post subject:

My friend was recently given this diet from the vet for her Ridgeback but she finds it's a ton of food to prepare.

Best Bet Diet for Dogs
One of the following: three hard boiled eggs or one cup 2% cottage cheese or 1/3 lb (pre-cooked weight) cooked chicken, turkey, beef or other meat source.
Half cup of lightly steamed or raw veggies (ground to the size your dog will consume)
Two cups of long grain cooked brown rice or potato with skin
2 tbsp of sardines in tomato sauce
2 tbsp of canola oil

You must add a canine multi vitamin with calcium to this recipe and we suggest Rx Essentials for dogs. This is an all natural vitamin and you should follow the directions on the label. Other supplements may be required for other health problems. This diet provides for the nutritional requirements of a 30 lb dog and should be portioned according to your dogs weight and health status. If your dog can handle a variety of ingredients it is best to use varied sources to ensure a complete diet.

How does this compare to others?

iris · Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 11:51 pm Post subject:

Just an update!
We have been using Seacure on a daily basis with a raw diet and life and never been better. Rocky does int fact have IBS!

scrbear11 · Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:42 am Post subject:

Zuna was diagnosed with probable IBD two weeks ago. My vet had me switch her cold turkey to Hills z/d and she immediately started doing so much better, but the last two days she's been vomiting and has had diarrhea. So back to the vet we go...

I think I'm going to start her on seacure.