Chappie is an excellent food for delicate tums if they are not intolerant to cereals s.g wheat/gluten as it is low in fat. It is also excellent for bladder stone problems.
The problem is you don't know what you are treating. If this was the first time she had been like this I would say put on a diet with no cereals in and change her protein source and see how that works, and I still think you should be doing this as that would be a treatment for IBD. But its not the first time, its been an ongoing problem.
You don't know if she has IBS or IBD which are different things or something totally different and the only way to rule out or confirm IBD properly is an endoscope.
Allergy tests are ok but they can't test for everything, but useful to do, but doing those first all takes time and I would worry that if it is something like IBD then its delaying treatment.
I have to say I would still be going down the endoscope route, they are nothing to fear, Milo had it done several times, but it gives you an immeadiete answer, so you can hopefully rule anything awful out or get on and get it treated without delay. Allergy tests can then be done at the same time to give you a bit more info on what any intolerances may be.
Sending you lots of hugs as I know you must be worried out of your mind, and some gentle hugs to Zena and I hope she feels better soon.

Thanks Bev, yes I know you're right. The only reason for their reluctance at this moment in time, is the fact that she gets so stressed out with them, its' not good for her condition, we need her to get over this first. This guy really is one for saving me money, even telling me that blood tests will show them nothing UNTIL they get the results of this faecal test. I can only follow his advice. The fact that Zena is not too lethargic or sick looking probably gives him a lot of indication of what's going on. He also told me about that dew pond dip she had, the timing would be right, i.e. 10 days like Harvey already mentioned, and it's not so much the water, as the fact that she went under it, into the mud coming up black, it's the mud that worries him, so maybe she swallowed a lot of it? When I take her out she's absolutely normal, it's just at home that she's a lot quieter and not quite right yet. Thanks Bev.xxx

Although Dylan never had the vomiting, he did have the most sensitive tum ever. I know Chappie isn't classed as a highly nutritional food but it's got Dylan through to his grand old age and now he can eat whatever he likes with no side effects. Also Alfie had that awful bout of constant runny poo last year, and he also has dry Chappie with P&H raw minced chicken mixed in and he is fine. I'm a big believer in not messing around too much with dogs food. Their natural diet is so basic it's trying to match that.

Oh Helen, I am so sorry that you are having these problems with your precious girl. Would it be worth contacting her breeder to see if anyone else has had a similar problem?

Lots of love to you and Zena xxxxxx

Thanks Claire, glad to hear old Dyl's doesn't have to suffer anymore with his tum. I've already asked my breeder way back, she never got back to me, but then she was busy with another litter, so maybe I'll give her another prod!

I'm dreading breakfast....... It's gonna be Chappie again though with my tin of sardines for the pills just to gain the interest. xx

Poor Zena, hope she manages to keep the chappie down until she gets the benefit of the ab's.

I feed raw and I feed mince, it might be a way to go, you dont have to give bones, it is already in some of the minces. It is not as difficult and complicated as some people make it out to be. It has sorted Anoush's dodgy tum out. She had the GSD tum from a puppy, I did loads of research and that's when I went "raw".

I really hope and pray you can get to the bottom of all this, as it's not nice for Zena or you when they are sick And you can really do without all the extra stress right now.

Sending huge hugs for Zena.
xxxx

Oh H, I'm sorry that Zena is going through this again. I had hopes that the abs would sort it quickly. It's good that she has been ok on her walk, so fingers crossed that she recovers soon, and you can get to the bottom of the problem and get it sorted for good.

Gastritis, inflammation of the upper gastro-intestinal tract, is more common in dogs than many people realise, more so in working than pets but any that are stressed can become symptomatic. If your vet has given you a Proton-pump inhibitor, you describe a drug to coat the tummy, such as lansoprazole or similar this will ease things over the next few days by reducing the production of acid and so acidity of the stomach. It sounds like there is problems further down as well, colitis, which the antibiotics may hopefully help. These sort of problems are notoriously difficult as the cause can be difficult to pin down and hence the treatment, plus they are usually self limiting and so half way through a treatment you get resolution and the treatment gets the credit when in reality it was co incidental. Id stick to the Chappie if its going well, finish the course of antibiotics and then review.
Hope it all settles soon.
Regards s

I’ve added a general piece on colitis if its any help.

First let me say I am not a vet and this is a layman’s prospective.

Colitis means inflammation of the colon, the colons role is the absorption of water and salt, the production of various hormones and the fermentation of dietary fibre which produces short chain fatty acids (SCFA). It contains a large population of bacteria to carry out the fermentation process and protect against harmful bacteria. After this process the muscular colon moves the residual waste to the rectum for storage prior to emptying. Colitis is not uncommon in dogs and the reasons are not entirely known but it is thought to be generally an immune mediated reaction to such things as bacteria or parasites with dietary factors often being involved. If there is a found causative factor then treatment will be based around the diagnosis but in many cases no definitive cause can be found.
Some dog have functional diarrhoea often associated with stressors without physical changes to the gastric tract in line with IBS in humans. Canine IBS is most commonly found in working dogs but any highly strung animal can be at risk and removing the stress can often bring a cessation of symptoms but as this is only part of the problem a multi action treatment is often needed. Drugs are often required to bring about remission and the vet is where one needs to go as the first point of contact, as the underlying cause cannot always be found treatment is aimed a managing symptoms rather than cure and diet is also thought to play a major part. One method is the use of novel protein diets along with fermentable fibre and polyunsaturated fatty acids to give long term management.
Elimination diets, prepared at home, provide a new protein with an appropriate carbohydrate, usually rice fed exclusively for at least 4 weeks. Once symptoms settle other foods can be added and response noted to identify any hypersensitivity. No extras in the form of supplements should be used during this period. Over the counter hypoallergenic diets follow the novel protein route with a variety of sources available such as rabbit, fish, duck etc and come with the option of added fibre. A second novel protein can be substituted for the first after a few weeks and maintained in the longer term.
There is evidence to suggest that appropriate fibre has a role to play and that the fermentability of fibre is important in aiding nutrient absorption, colonic health and formation of the SCFA. Moderately fermentable fibre is suggested as best in producing adequate SCFA to maintain health and reduce incidence of colorectal tumours, commercial feeds use beet pulp to fulfil this role. In home prepared meals whole grain rice or the use of oats may be appropriate once symptoms are in remission. Another area with some evidence is the use of polyunsaturated fatty acids with studies showing a reduction in symptoms of some animals when fish oils is added to the diet.
Dietary intervention is not a cure but it may help but please bare in mind it is not an easy option. One of the biggest problems faced by vets in treating this type of illness is poor owner compliance in that treats, table scraps, supplements etc being introduced whilst still in the elimination phase which makes the exercise fail so if an owner is considering a dietary approach to management then I would recommend a discussion with the vet, proper plan and very very strict adherence to that plan.

How was breakfast H?

Did breakfast stay down?

It must be so difficult for you to see you poor Zena like this. When Max first came to us he had a really dodgy tummy, if it wasn't coming out of one end, it was coming out of the other He was no where near as bad as Zena though but I used to dread feeding him sometimes. He would eat his food and then I would sit down and look away from him, just watching him out of the corner of my eye, his face would sort of change - his eyes just looked different and he would start to drool, it would drip like a tap then his tummy would visible spasm. He would get worse if you looked at him so I would try to pretend not to notice, sometimes the nausea would pass, more often it wouldn't and he would go to the door and start throwing up. It was heartbreaking to watch.

Really hope you get some answers soon.x

Sadly, Zena's not too keen on the raw, I did try and try coz Georgie used to love his raw mince, whereas she always headed for the cooked! I really wish, and I will never say never Elaine. Thanks.xxxx

Thanks Gill, it's yet another one of my little nightmares, I wish I could help her more but when you can't put your finger on it, you really have no idea how to do that. I remember when the vet originally thought megaesophagus because of the sausage shape she would vomit up at the initial stages of eating a meal, and I used to sit on the stairs, with the Chappie rolled into balls for her just like he told me to do, and chuck them down her throat as she was stretched out with her front paws on the 3rd or 4th step, she must have thought mummy really has lost the plot mustn't she!!!!xxx

You may not be a vet, but you have given me a very informative, and very helpful post there for which I thank you.

Good! A WHOLE small tin of chappie with half a tin of sardines for the pills, all gone and stayed gone!!!xxx

OMG Jane, that could have been ME writing that with your Max there, that's exactly what she does! Sometimes, if I manage to catch her inbetween feeling sick, I rub her throat, and then I leave it a couple of minutes before offering her the next small plateful. I could never, ever give her an actual bowl of food as I know it would all come straight back up, even though she doesn't appear to be a gulper, quite the opposite in fact, it's just that I have to mash it all up, fork it to crumble it, and offer it in tiny helping on another plate, and then I end up with all that washing up after just one meal, anyone would have thought I'd fed an army if they walked into my kitchen!!!

Her little face screws up too, she holds it down to the floor, she drools, it's so, so sad, and I can't bear to be there, she doesn't like me to watch her, so I stay clear, and let her know it's not a problem, she's not been naughty, bless her. Then she comes over to me wiggling that tail asking for more, and then the next lot will always stay down, it's all so very strange, was Max like that too? What was his and did you cure it and how???

I still say it's some kind of worm/parasite because how come when I've given her a Drontil Plus, she never does this, she even eats differently, her whole body has changed when she's eating I can see it with my own eyes, and I know if I put half a dead horse on the floor for her she could eat as much as she wanted without chucking any up, so why is that then after giving her a Drontil??? Maybe, just maybe, all those normal wormers I've given her haven't killed them all, and they keep multiplying and the next wormer still doesn't get them all, or does it always?? Oh it's a complete nightmare is this.

She's had some lunch though, but ooooops I forgot to give her the medicine an hour before it Oh jeeeze! I gave her a salmon mousse from F4D with some potato and cabbage and she ate it, no funny face and it stayed down, now she's sleeping, let's hope it'll be ok then without the medicine tcht, what am I like!!!!

ETA: I just spent £50 online for some of that new equivalent of the SA37 which I used to swear by for all my puppies coz the vet said about extra vits especially those B's, some of that paste that you were talking about Sandymere for future occurrences coz it can be used for 3 days only, and I bought some digestive aids, so we'll see what happens when I start using those on a regular basis, it can but help.