Pierre
is a nine-year-old West Highland Terrier. He has had stomach issues his entire
life. For years, it was the occasional vomit of yellow bile. His stomach would make
a gurgling noise, he would whine one time and that was all the warning we
usually received. To be honest, we didn’t worry too much about it. He would eat
and be perfectly fine. It wasn’t a problem until it was and then it was just
scary. You can read about that episode in Our Poor
Little Guy.
Over
the past two years, we have been extremely diligent in not allowing Pierre to
eat anything other than his prescription food, prescription treats and boiled
chicken breast. He has been doing great until a couple of weeks ago. His stomach
started making noise around 3:00am and by 3:10 I was in the backyard with him
while he threw up and started having diarrhea. His stomach was full to touch
and he had gas. We were shocked and disheartened. He had been doing sooooo
well! I still had medicine from his previous bout of “gastroenteritis” which
stops the two main symptoms. We continued this for another day before deciding
to call the vet.
They
did a complete blood workup, x-rayed his stomach and I also brought a stool
sample for testing. Pierre was given subcutaneous
fluid (under his skin) while he was there. We left him there and picked
him up a couple of hours later. He was already feeling better when they brought
him to us. We kept him in his kennel in the living room so we could make sure
he was okay. If he got sick, we could control the mess to his bedding. (Both
the boys love their kennel and will go sleep in it anytime its in the house) He
was only sick one more time.
The vet called the next morning to check on
Pierre. He was acting like his normal fun-loving self so she would call back
with the test results.
The fecal result was negative for parasites, so we were waiting for the test
for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We all were fairly certain it would come back
positive. The lab needed more blood, so we had to take Pierre back up for another
blood draw.
We
received the news yesterday that Pierre does have IBD. I’ve done some quick
research on the subject and this is what I know so far…
What is IBD?
Inflammatory
bowel disease causes the inflammation of the intestines and chronic symptoms
that are related to the gastrointestinal system. Veterinarians don’t really
know the exact cause and that is one of the reasons Pierre was diagnosed with
gastroenteritis. The culprit is believed to be an abnormal immune system
response to normal inhabitant bacteria in the intestine causing inflammation.
It can affect dogs of any age, but it is seen more often in middle-aged and
senior dogs.
What are the Symptoms
of IBD?
• Diarrhea
• Weight Loss
• Depression
• Chronic intermittent
vomiting
• Gas
• Abdominal pain
• Rumbling and
gurgling stomach
• Bright red blood in
stool
• Unable to get
comfortable
• Panting/rapid
breathing
What is the Cause of
IBD?
This
is a tough one to answer because there are several factors that could be the
cause. Hypersensitivity to bacteria and/or food allergies are thought to be a
major influence in this disease. Food sensitivities include meat proteins, food
additives, artificial coloring, preservatives, mile proteins, and gluten (wheat).
Pierre’s current prescription food and treats both contain wheat which is what
probably caused his flare-up.
Pierre
has been dealing with this since he was a pup, so I believe genetics also played a
role in his diagnosis.
How to Find Out if
Your Dog has IBD
Your
vet needs to know your dog’s history with stomach issues. Pierre has only been
seeing our vet for the last two and half years. We are very appreciative that
she recommended this test, so we have a diagnosis based on bloodwork.
A
complete physical exam, blood count, biochemistry profile and urinalysis will
be needed along with a fecal exam to rule out parasites. X-rays can show any
abnormalities. We could see the gas in Pierre’s stomach on his x-ray. There are
more in-depth tests that might be needed if a diagnosis is not obvious through
the lab work. Your vet will advise you of which would be best for your dog.
Is there a Cure?
There
is really no cure for IBD, but it can be successfully managed. The goal is different
for each dog in accordance with the severity of their symptoms.
For
Pierre, we are striving to stop his nausea, gassiness, and diarrhea long
term. He is currently taking an 1/8 of a teaspoon of Tylosin sprinkled
on his food twice daily. It is amazing how such a small amount of medicine can
make such a difference but so far, so good.
We
are also transitioning him to a prescription hydrolyzed food. That means it’s
made with hydrolyzed proteins that break down into tiny pieces so the can be
easily absorbed. This will have less chance of causing an immune reaction than
regular proteins.
In
addition to changing his diet, we are adding probiotics to his meals.
This
will be a lifelong issue but one that we will hopefully be able to control now
that we’ve identified the problem. Throughout the entire ordeal, Pierre has still
been the happiest little man ever!
Resources: PetMD
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