Sensitive tummy issues

[jasperpaw]

I have a couple of questions on sensitive tummy problems, Jasper who is nearly 12 years old had a bad attack of colitis with sickness about a year ago which resulted in a vet visit, since then he has a sensitive tummy, I have spoken to the vet about it last year and he recommended a probiotic that you sprinkle of his food which I have been using once a day, he said also it was probably his age, he for a few months has had to get up in the night to do a poo, even though he has 2 good walks a day, it seems he just can`t hold on. I have just changed him to Chappie dog food as I read it was good for sentitive tummies, he has improved a little, but I am wondering if it is a good food to keep him on permanently. Secondly Ollie my younger cavalier who is nearly 2 yrs old seems to have quite loose stools at the moment, he is on James Wellbeloved chicken and rice and also a small amount of chappie or other tinned or fresh chicken, it seems to me that JWB is upsetting him, he was on Royal Canin and used to be fine, bit surprised if it is JWB as it is supposed to be hypoallergenic etc. I feel I need to take him of it, has anyone had any experience with sensitive tummies and what dried food would they recommend. Forgot to say that Jasper is a fussy eater so I can`t give him dried food, where as Ollie will eat anything.

[Brian M]

Hi Pam

If you feed kibble a phrase I heard a few years ago on here sticks in my mind ,"Burns make firmer pick ups" .Burns was
the kibble of my choice before I put the girls on RAW and it does get a good write up and was quite easy to obtain so
lets hope you have less broken nights sleep and the tummies of your two little ones soon settle down . The probiotic
we now use is a teaspoon nightly of Goats Yogurt on their tea .

[jasperpaw]

Thanks Brian, at the back of my mind I was going to look at Burns for Ollie, will have a look at the weekend. It is getting me down with Jasper getting up almost every night at about between 2 - 4 pm, I will need to take Jasper to the vets in about 3 weeks time for more medication and check up of his heart, so will talk about his tummy problems again, he is such a good dog really and never has accidents in the house so we know in the night he has problems when he wants to go out, luckily is some ways he does sleep in our room so we hear him make little woofs at the door. Oh the joys of having dogs my husbands keeps saying.

[sins]

Holly and Ivy are on JWB lamb and rice and have no issues at all.
I give them the lamb and rice in preference to the chicken recipe.I'd stop the chappie for a while and keep him away from anything with chicken in it. I just found royal canin too expensive in comparison.Arden Grange is another food with similar hypoallergenic formula to JWB.
In Jasper's case,maybe have a chat with the vet about a prescription diet like Royal canin gastro enteric.It's used in long term management of pancreatitis and persistent dodgy tummies.You have to really feel for him at his age,he's such a great little dog.
Sins

[pippa]

I use JWB lamb and rice and find it very good, two of mine still get loose stools now and again, but both of them will pick up and eat in the street or in the garden if birds flying over drop anything and I need eyes like a hawk for them!

I use Johnsons diarrhoea tablets when they get a bout and then pro kolin for a few days afterwards to help the tummy and bowls get back to normal.

[Ruth]

My ruby boy was prone to colitis, I changed him from Royal Canin to Naturediet (wetfood) and added a scoop of Protexin granules every day and he hasn't had a problem since and that was three years ago.

[MadeleineSarah]

My Oliver had slightly loose stool all the time and the vet recommended changing to a brand with less protein in it.
So we went from Royal Canin 27% to Wainwrights 22%.
Now we have much better deposits!! lol.
I am also careful with his treats he was on little meaty things which had high protein levels. Not any more.
I also used to put a bit of meat on top of his biscuits but I mix very little in now and put a bit of oat bran in as I read about that on here.

M&O

[Charlifarley]

I think it's a matter of trial and error - it was for us anyway. When I just had Trapper I fed him Burns and he did very well on it but it didn't suit Bosco at all - colitis, runny poos etc. So after a few different options, we have settled on JWB - the lamb and rice flavour. It's possible that chicken is what is causing your problems - some dogs can be allergic to it.

[jasperpaw]

Shirley, I don`t feel that chicken is causing Jasper`s problem, he has had chicken for many years without any problems, I just feel that with the problem with the bad colitis last year and his age, his bowels are getting sluggish, I just have to manage it somehow, I have tried prokolin and pro-soluble powder. Ollie is a different matter with the looseness, as you say it will be trial and error with the food I try, they don`t really get any treats and are wormed regularly, I just have to find some kibble that suits him. Thank you all for your replies.

[jasperpaw]

Took Jasper back to the vets yesterday for his 3 month heart check up and more medication, we saw the Vet that specializes in hearts,he was very pleased with him and said how well he was doing really for a 12 year old dog in a breed that are not known to have a long life, brought up the subject about the tummy issues again and he said that just as the heart weakens so does the other organs and he feels it is down to his age, I mentioned about using Chappie long term, it does seem to be working well on him, and he felt that if it helped there was no reason why he could not stay on it, still feel I may use it as only part of his diet, I think it will be trial and error. So hopefully we will jog along nicely for another 3 months until his next visit.