Not sure what to try next - sorry long post!

Some of you may know that Leon has been diagnosed with an extremely sensitive stomach, as soon as he has anything out of the ordinary...or sometimes if something scares or upsets him, his tummy becomes ulcerated, it really drags him down and, each time, I fear I am going to lose him

I started him on Chappie at the end of last year and it was like a miracle, he ate it with relish and his motions became solid for the first time in months, we've had a couple of hiccups since then but, thankfully, with lots of care and medical intervention we seem to have kept his bad bouts to a few weeks rather than months.

When he had his last bout, about a month or so ago, he was taken off all his arthritis medicines and was fed fish and rice, boiled eggs etc. They didn't give him any antibiotics this time and he has managed to fight it off himself. At the moment, he will have one session of firm motions and the next could be watery or cowpatty...I just never know what we are going to encounter on our walks.

The problem I now have is that I had started giving him fish fingers with some dried Chappie as I felt they have a bit more substance than just the white fish, which he had started to become picky over. However, he is becoming very choosy over his meals, he wont eat his Chappie in either wet or dry form, if I try to hand feed him he will take a small mouthful then spit it out. He has now started turning his nose up at fish fingers but will eat eggs in any shape or form, but I don't think thats good for him to have too many of them. He had some roast beef yesterday which he gobbled very quickly so I knew he had enjoyed that, and it didn't have a bad effect on his tummy either.

He won't eat if he's hungry, he has become very lazy and will just lay there with a rumbly tummy rather than spend time eating something he doesn't want, the rumbly tummy then becomes colitis so it is a vicious circle.

I am so worried about him, he is well in himself and bouncy at times, but he seems lacking in energy, which is hardly suprising, for his morning walk he just goes to the end of the road, does what he needs to do and then heads for home. I am still taking him out 3 times a day, sometimes he wants to walk and walk but others he just wants to empty his tummy and come home to his sofa.

I need to try him on something else, another food that I can add his fave things to but soemthing that isn't going to upset his tummy..but I cannot afford emotionally to try him on things incase it upsets him, so would be grateful for some advice on things you have tried and that work on sensitive tummies.

I have been giving him Arnica as he developed a limp on his shoulder, he seems fine on that but the Devils Claw I'm not too sure about, he was loose for a couple of days so I stopped that first and it seemed to clear up The limp has almost gone now and he doesn't seem to be in pain at all with it. He has been managing to keep taking his Cosequin each day, either wrapped in a bit of sponge cake or mixed in with some egg.

I'm not worried that he is in pain, just fading away in front of me, I would rush him to the vet like before if I thought that they could do anything about this, I just don't want him prodded and poked about when I feel it is just an issue with his taste and what he fancies to eat. I've possibly made a rod for my own back by giving in to him with these foods but he is coming up 10 years old and I fear that I may only have a short time left with him...I've seen this too many times before with my other English Setters...they just suddenly give up...but I'm not ready to let him go yet

Sheree , do you think he is being picky with his food, because of the upset tummies... (rather like the chicken and egg situation) rather then going off one food then another.

Have you tired adding Aloe Vera juice to his food,, (make sure it is the good stuff, some you buy from the supermarket and such are diluted ) or if he wont take that, a pro.biotic supplement or drink/yoghurt's once a day.

This will hopefully help his gut work in a less harsh way.

The Aloe Vera juice is easily added to food on a daily basis... but ofcause he has to like it..(mine don't bother they hoover their food down regardless)

A supplement may be a better way to go for him.

I get mine from "forever living"

https://distrib.foreverliving.com/re...k=shopCategory

Just less of the Chappie may be the solution. If the dog never did eat very well, and has seen the vet since the problem existed, you may be over feeding it. A vet check still won't hurt. Many dogs will snarf down more than is good for them and look for more. Others refuse to eat more than than they need. Evaluate the dog as illustrated in this link, You may want the vet to confirm your judgment. Adjust the dogs food and exercise as needed to reach its ideal body condition. Some German Shepherds and other breeds may refuse to eat enough to completely hid their ribs. As long as you are feeding a concentrated, meat based chow, the best thing is to accept it.

The worst thing you can do is to bribe a dog with rich foods into eating more than it needs. Instead, Put down the dish with what the dog should eat, and give it 15 minutes to eat. Then take it up. Do not give it anything to eat until its next scheduled meal. In a few days, it should be eating what it needs. Continue to check its ribs and adjust the food as needed. This is not easy. I had a Shepherd go 3 days on a few nibbles. I was a wreck, but she was fine. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. Unfortunately, in too many cases, it is less than the package says, and less than the owner thinks the dog should have. Many dogs are quite good at holding out for tastier chow. Like kids, sometimes it calls for tough love.

Poor old Leon

Max is a fussy eater, and will sometimes starve himself, and end up with a very rumbly tum and tummy ache.

He won't eat anything cos he's in so much pain when this happens (once or twice a week)

I tend to give him plain natural yoghurt on its own until he's actually got something in his tummy, then I mix a bit of the yoghurt with his kibble. Sometimes a couple of charcoal-bonio's will settle it down as well...

Sorry to hear Leon is still having some problems.

As you may remember Ollie started to get upset tummies last year while on his raw food, so I had to change him.

He is now on Symply pet food the light as he does find it hard to keep his weight off and suffers with his joints so keeping him at a reasonable weight is hard work. The Symply is a kibble with no added ingredients and the meat content is high I do like him to have some crunch with his wet food and the combination of the two also helps to fill him up and stop him stealing when out on walks his poop's are nice and firm and and not nearly so big or so many so what he is getting must be doing him some good.

He also has the Natures Harvest wet food and or Wainwrights wet food both of which he loves. The Natures Harvest do a senior and they all have added glucosamine in them which I find helpful.

As IC says charcoal bonios are good Ollie had these sometimes and they helped to firm him up he now gets the odd one or two as a treat, he also gets along with some other stuff a tsp of natural yoghurt every evening meal.

Here is the link to symplypetfoods.co.uk. But cannot find a link to Natures Harvest or Wainwrights to have a browse if
you google them they come up though.

Ollie also still gets his two chicken wings or lamb or pork ribs for after his tea to keep his teeth clean and he loves to have a good old crunch.

With selkie I tried everything too she went through the same thing. In the end I moved her to a bland kibble Jwb fish and rice at first now skinners salmon and rice which has added glaucosamine for her arthritis. she also has glucosamine tablets and green lipped muscle suppliment (thanks kingbenny) which have kept her on the move. Then mix something really tasty on top. Her favourites are tuna (in spring water not brine or oil) I soak the kibble in the water from the tin then share the meat with the other dogs and natural yoghurt. Though we have taken to mixing in gelert tripe. It's stinky and watery so soaks with the kibbles perfectly and doesn't upset her tummy. Avoid cake and bread as wheat gluten can add to the problem try rice based things instead.

I hope something works for you...

Hi Sheree I think with elderly dogs who are ill or with tummy troubles you just have to do the best you can. I have spoken to vets about this in the past and they agree forget about a balanced diet and let the dog eat what it will and what suits.

I would feed Leon small tasty meals three or four times a day . If he is ok with rice and will eat it I would use that as a base and add tasty things like mince (as you say he is ok with beef, or lamb mince) sardines in oil with the oil removed which have a strong flavour and most dogs like (just a teaspoon added to the meal can help )/chicken/ cottage cheese/ scrambled egg /will he eat a little tripe mixed in with rice?

Poor Leon and his tummy

I've heard slippery Elm is good for digestive disorders/colitus . I think you get it from health food shops?

Also yakult or natural yoghurt can help balance his bacteria in his gut, but if dog colitus is anything like human colitus i'm not sure giving him dairy produce is a good idea? As I know in humans one of the main flair ups for colitus is dairy produce.

I hope he's feeling better soon xx

Labman did you bother to read Scorpio's post at all or did you just cut and paste the same old quote regardless.
How can Scorpio give her dog less Chappie when he refuses to eat it note...
If you want to stave your dogs I guess that is up to you, we already know from your previous posts that you underfeed puppies and deprive them of water to prevent them from soiling in their tiny crates when shut in them for 16 hours a day. It isn't helpful to suggesting that people with elderly sick dogs should starve their dogs too.

The 'concentrated meat based chow' you are forever promoting is made by Purina isn't it , haven't they been involved in pet food recalls and poisoning allegations? It is the last thing I would feed any dog let alone a sick dog .

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/04/pet_food_recall18.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/ralston.html

Interesting article on which multinational makes which pet food and what is in it.
http://www.greatdane-dogs.co.uk/?p=p....get.the.facts

When buying a pet food I would stick to one produced in this country not one made in the USA and filled with additives to give it a long shelf life then shipped over here to provide dogs with the minimum nutrition for the maximum profits.

Oh Sheree, poor Leon, it can feel never ending with these oldies of ours, know that you are doing your best for him and it is such a delicate balance, the slightest thing can send them out of whack, with Scratch the roo company went out of business and am trying other sorts and it seems to have upset the balance a bit (am waiting to see if it settles back down, as he isn't too bad).
I was talking to a lady yesterday and she has a very bad colitis dog that the vets had done everything for and said the only option they saw was pts, but she tried him on something (I can't remember what ) but I will be seeing her tomorrow and getting the name of it for you, as it apparently has fixed him up.
Not sure how you feel about exclusion diets, or if you have tried them, but it helped Scratch no end. Sometimes it can be the preservatives that can set them off even before the type of protein is taken into account.
I know it can feel like an endless journey, and as soon as you think you have found an answer and start to smile, it ends in tears again.
Hugs to you both xxxxxxxxxx