Dogs with Crohn's disease

Cussypat1974

Has anyone any experience with this horrible disease in their dogs? My 6 year old collie cross has it and I would love somewhere to share experiences.

LucyBliss

My dogs don't have it but I do. So I am desperately sorry that you and your poor dog have to deal with it. It's a rotten disease.

Have they put your dog on meds?

lorebringer

Are you referring to IBD? Dogs don't get Crohns in itself but can get IBD. I have Ulcerative Colitis and it's a motherf*ker, wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. One of my dogs gets intermittent colitis but it's not a chronic problem and is more of an irritation issue. I also know someone with a dog with IBD and they have handled it quite well.

I'm assuming your dog has been put on Imuran (which can be used in dogs) or something similar. Generally, your dog will be on and off medication depending on the state of the disease at the time (so for example, on for 6 weeks, off for a while, on for another 6 weeks etc...). If you dog is particularly bad, they may be left on a maintenance dose lifelong and then upped when they are going through a bad patch. Your vet may also put your dog on initial meds and then wean your dog down to a lower dose over time - it really depends on how your dog responds to the medication and how well/bad they are doing at the time.

In dogs with IBD, food is really important as food that does not agree with the dog irritate the GI tract and cause a flare up. There may be a period of trial and error (and frustration) when it comes to food, some will agree with your dog and some won't. Lots of dogs are intolerance to certain ingredients in food (eg. wheat, soy etc.) so this also needs to be considered.

Feel free to pm me with any question etc.

Themadhouse

I have a cat that has ibd. The poor girl suffered terrible for a while. We switched her food to a grain and wheat free food, one with no meat dirivitives. The vet told me to avoid any red meats in her diet.
I imagine with a dog too it can be controlled diet wise.
Hopefully you will get some good advice.

carleigh

My dog had collitis for the last 18 months of his life, and was on constant medication for it, along with meds for his underlying illness. His weight fluctuated alot, and we found that eating chicken and fish helped him. He didnt have any red meat until the last couple of weeks that he was alive, as the vet said to let him enjoy his last days doing the things he loved, and eating his favourite things.

dakota2010

Hey. My dog had constant bouts of on and off diarehha. She cannot maintain a normal weight; she is underweight. Her coat for the first time this year was shabby. I went back to the vets and they conducted a number of tests inlcluding all types of blood tests and a fecal test. Results came back, all normal apart from elevated eosinophils, which is an EPI test as far as Im aware. Therefore she has been privisionally diagnosed with eosinophils endometrium, which is a less common form of imflamatory bowel disease. She was placed on high dosed steroids to make her hungry to beef up her weight and Science Plan i/d Gastrointestinal Health. Food is extremely important in conditions like this. She has to be monitored and if she does not improve, she has to go to UCD for further help. I hope this helps you a wee bit...

Cussypat1974

Wow! I am very impressed with the response! But very sorry for all who have this affliction..... It is utter **** (pardon the pun!).
Jack is 6 now and he got me (NOT the other way round!) when he was 4 months. he had runs, put down at first to puppy worms and puppy tummy...... he was then diagnosed with IBD. various diets were tried and for about 3 years he did amazingly well on a raw food diet. it goes against all science of course, as involves red meat and he ate lots of heart during that period, but was in great shape. then all of a sudden, it stopped working about 2 years ago. Steroids have zero effect, so he is indeed on lifelong imuran. he also gets occasional courses of flagyl when the flare up is particularly bad.
his diagnosis is actually crohn's disease and it does exist in dogs. my understanding is that the diagnosis depends on the extent of the inflammation, but correct me if I am wrong!
But basically, I have a mop and bucket of bleach on hand 24/7. my couch is covered with plastic and easy-wash throws from penny's. and i no longer sleep in my own bed. The couch is destroyed already and the bed and matress are new and, ironically, we bought a 6 foot bed to give jack more room...... BUT..... making that 6 foot bed is bloody hard work as I am short and have to crawl across it! doing that every day on top of the couch plus all the extra laundry would kill me ha ha!

Cussypat1974

all food allergy options have been explored with jack over the years. processed dog food sets him off big time. other than that, he is not reacting to any particular meat source. I currently feed him oily fish (omega is good apparently) and chicken or duck in a gravy made with psyllium husks. the latter really does seem to help him, but it has to be well hidden or he will not touch it!
does anyone think a daily dose of cod liver oil would help? he has erosion of his villae (not sure of that is the right way to say it) so has trouble absorbing nutrients. so I feed him as much good stuff as possible. he is on the up at the moment. 2 weeks ago he was dreadful! it is so frustrating!
the most important thing to me is that he is happy. he is never gonna be well like my other dogs of course, but he is still a happy lump and loves his grub and tries to steal chocolate and plays with his bubble wrap. there have been times when I have wondered if it would be better for him to have him euthanised, and my vet said that if he was sent to UCD they would do that, but so far I do not regret anything. he is still happy to be alive. as my vet said, humans walk around with sore arses all day long! Lol. I am not making light of it, my cousin has the same thing and I have even taken his unused imuran for jack! But he is a young lad and he is not comfortable discussing it at all, so i talk to his mother.