Taco - chronic colitis

[VitaL]

hello,

1. Your pet's name: Taco
2. Approximate age: 7 years
3. Sex: male
4. Neutering status: neutered
5. Breed: unknown, might have some Jack Russel Terrier
6. Approximate weight: 21lbs. he lost 4 pounds since he arrived at the shelter
   
   
7. What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood): I'm fostering Taco for a week now. (I'm committed to fostering him until he fully recovers and find his forever home). He's been mostly sleeping, recovering. I did engage him into tug a war a couple of times, and he tried to play with my dog. On walks he is curious and sniffles a lot. Since it's been very cold here he didn't like long walks. He's been very shy and lethargic most of the time. But I'm starting to see him slowly picking up on energy, settling down, feeling at home and testing boundaries (e.g., getting into our bed in the morning). At night he sleeps on the pillow next to me. He wraps himself into the blanket like a little cocoon and sleeps tight through the night.
   In terms of appetite, he is always ravenous, gabbling his food (I use slow feeder) and constantly looking/asking for more food. Because, he is very malnutritioned and underweight, I try to feed him smaller portions but more often, about 4 times per day
   
   
8. Diet: It appears that Taco was on Hills gastric biome for 6 years. At the shelter, Taco had combination of the bland diet (rice and chicken), 1/2 cup Hill's i/d from the can + 1/2 cup of Hill's kibble (presoaked). Since I got him, I stopped the kibble and kept him on Hills i/d wet food. In addition I've been giving him homemade lean turkey with sweet potatoes, chicken with pumpkin, homemade chicken broth
   
   
9. Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication: Taco had all conventional vaccines, Revolution for fleas and heartworm. I convinced shelter to skip his last Revolution dose though. Currently, Taco is taking only probiotic
   
   
10. Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time: Taco's owners got divorced. He stayed in one house and then was moved to another house. Based on medical records, Taco has been pooping blood and vomiting since apprx. September. Ex-owner reported Taco's behavior being abnormal as well - destructive when left alone and lethargic. When he was surrendered beginning of November, Taco had major meltdown, was withdrawn, always shaking, barking a lot. He pooped a lot of dark red blood, was straining and crying in pain.
    Since I got him a week ago, he has been having pudding-like poops and holding it well, no urgency. Three days ago, shelter's med director insisted I added pre-soaked kibble back to his diet to firm up his stool. About 4 hours later he had dark color watery pudding-like poop followed by drops of blood. He had flare up for about 24 hours. I stopped kibble as well as wet i/d and has been keeping him 100% on bland diet of chicken, chicken broth, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, a little rice.
    
    
11. Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc? I suspect food and stress are contributing to his condition
    
    
12. Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them)
    Taco was diagnosed with chronic colitis. Vet run blood, fecal, urine tests and did xrays. The infectious cause was ruled out. I can attach his medical record.
    
    
13. Current and previous treatment:
    Previous: For the treatment ex-owner was giving him metronidazole (inconsistently) and trazodone (didn't help). At the shelter, Taco took metronidazole for 14 days and probiotic (proviable)
    Current: reiki, soothing music, essential oils ( Transition from AnimalIEO), probiotic (going to switch it from Proviable to Purina or MitoMax), GastroElmPlus blend (slippery elm, dandelion, marshmallow root, milk thistle)
    
    
    Thank you to Dr. Jeff and Dr.Christina for support and valuable recommendations you've already made. With your support and support of this community I feel more at peace, and confident I can provide this little angel with what he needs to heal.
    
    I'm taking Taco to integral vet Dr.Barbara Royal on Jan 3rd. Till then, I'm wondering what can I feed him.
    
    
    

 

[Dr. Christina]

Thanks for a great post. Very complete.

First, once the stools are back to soft but able to hold them - consider that excellent and be very patient. This dog has been through so much that it may take weeks to months before his gut gets totally repopulated. Maybe try one round of Animal biome capsules (fecal transplant).

Love to have @Dr. Sue Howell chime in on foods. Till your appointment, offer different foods and feed each for a few days to see if settle well or not. The bland diet you are feeding is a great base.

Your appointment is soon, so I would not order a lot of supplements - just keep up the loving, frequent short walks (is he wearing a coat? and maybe booties? ) just to sniff some fresh air.

Great that he is now playing, even a little. Be patient. Be patient. Set intent that he is completely healthy now and will show more and more symptoms of his well being as time goes on.

Dr. Christina

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Vita-

Thanks so much for fostering Taco and for making your wonderful post!

I suspect food and stress are contributing to his condition

Yes! Time, support and gradual introduction of a fresher diet and more exposure to nature via sniff walk and even just hanging out in the yard will help.

Diet wise, it sounds like you're already doing great. Let's see what Dr. Royal says on 1/3. Yes, it would also be nice to hear what Dr. Howell says about foods.

Have you found anything he loves to eat more than anything else? Taco's happiness is key to his re-balancing and recovery:

The Happiness Protocol in Your Pet's Life

At HA! we are committed to much more than helping pets become dis-ease free. We promote restoring and maintaining vitality, balance, energy, & happiness.

www.holisticactions.com

The Power of the Happiness Protocol for Healing Pets

Wow!! I just watched this (after getting off a client call about a super happy pup 1.5 years into genetic DM). I continued to get blown away by the awe-some healing ability of the body: Here's how I think it works: https://www.holisticactions.com/happiness-protocol/

www.holisticactions.com

Let's get him into tip T.O.P shape:

A Way To Connect Modern Veterinary Medicine And Ancient Wisdom: An Introduction To Terrain Theory - Holistic Actions!

www.holisticactions.com

 

[VitaL]

Have you found anything he loves to eat more than anything else? Taco's happiness is key to his re-balancing and recovery:

I think he would eat anything. He's very hungry all the time

 

[VitaL]

The Happiness Protocol in Your Pet's Life

At HA! we are committed to much more than helping pets become dis-ease free. We promote restoring and maintaining vitality, balance, energy, & happiness.

www.holisticactions.com

The Power of the Happiness Protocol for Healing Pets

Wow!! I just watched this (after getting off a client call about a super happy pup 1.5 years into genetic DM). I continued to get blown away by the awe-some healing ability of the body: Here's how I think it works: https://www.holisticactions.com/happiness-protocol/

www.holisticactions.com

What a wonderful inspiring story! Thank you for sharing.

 

[VitaL]

Taco's energy is slowly improving. I discovered he likes playing with squeaky balls. His poops are still the same. I'm trying to be patient and focus on one day at at time.
Thank you for support!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

You're welcome Vita.

Fantastic that his energy is improving! That means his physical symptoms will also gradually improve.?

 

[VitaL]

Hi,
While waiting for Dr. Royal appt on 1/3, I'm trying to figure out what fresh foods to start introducing.
I've kept Taco on bland diet (chicken with pumpkin or turkey with sweet potatoes, a little rice and home made chicken broth) for two weeks now. We've reached the point when his stool frequency has decreased but consistency is still the same - soft pudding. I know I need to be patient but I'm worried to keep him on the bland diet for long because he's already malnourished. I also don't want to reintroduce Hills i/d food. And, good news is I don't need to because shelter's med director is now onboard with me trying anything that can help him ( yay!).

My questions:
1) Is it safe to keep Taco on the bland diet for 3-4 weeks? ( we're on week #2 and one more to go before seeing the vet)
2) What fresh foods would you recommend trying for his condition (chronic colitis and undiagnosed underlying condition)?

Two food options I'm considering right now:
1) "A Pup Above" gently cooked. My own dog is doing well on it. The brand is new but it's on Susan Thixton's List 2023, and my vet approved it for my dog.
2) Home cooked food with added supplements. Which supplements to add? What recipes to try?


Thank you for all your help and support!
Vita

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Is it safe to keep Taco on the bland diet for 3-4 weeks

Yes.

A calcium/multi-vit. supplement like this can also help balance out any diet (and firm his stool):

ANNAMAET ENHANCE - Annamaet Pet Foods

A vitamin & mineral supplement formulated to balance your dog's home-prepared or raw diet.

annamaet.com

What fresh foods would you recommend trying

Great question! Maybe try avoiding chicken and adding a bit of the wild blueberry-organic kale smoothie to each meal:

Organic kale and wild blueberry smoothie

Hi everyone- Amelia just asked about diet recommendations for her pet with cancer, and I advised the 1:1 kale + wild blueberry antioxidant blend. It's been mentioned on this forum before, but here's exactly how to make it for cancer, arthritis, allergy and other general diet support: Steam or...

www.holisticactions.com

Maybe also try adding a pinch of Metamucil or other fiber to help firm up his stools.

There are lots of books of fresh food feeding recipes like from Dr. Becker:

Amazon.com: Dr Becker's Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats: Simple Homemade Food: 9780982533154: Becker DVM, Karen, Taylor, Beth: Books

Amazon.com: Dr Becker's Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats: Simple Homemade Food: 9780982533154: Becker DVM, Karen, Taylor, Beth: Books

www.amazon.com

But regardless of the recipe, it's best to vary them or to add the Annamaet Enhance.

 

[VitaL]

Thank you @Dr.Jeff!
Ordered the supplement and making kale & blueberry smoothie for the whole family today

 

[Dr. Jeff]

? ? ?

 

[VitaL]

I have an update on Taco. We had our appointment with integrative vet Dr. Barbara Royal. She was very thoughtful and thorough ( 2 hours appointment!).
It does look like his chronic colitis is one symptom of the severe systemic inflammation. Dr.Royal noticed that Taco had enlarged lymph nodes and said this was one indicator that something more serious was going on. He keeps loosing weight and his stools are not improving.

Side note (because I feel very frustrated): I noticed bumps on his neck when he was still in shelter and they told me these were most likely fatty tumors. Taco was seen by 2 different vets and was at BluePerl emergency and no one found these suspicious

So, current diagnosis or suspects are: Leukocytosis, Lymphadenopathy r/o possible GI biome imbalance vs. Giardia vs. Adrenal Dysfunction vs. Lymphoma vs. Infection (tick borne illness vs. other) vs. Neoplasia.
We're doing tests to rule these out (bloodwork, biome tests, ultrasound). Meanwhile, while waiting for the test results, Dr. Royal tentatively prescribed Prednisone, Doxycycline ( to try if he can tolerate that), Fera Probiotics. And, as expected, we'll slowly transition to a new diet. She recommended reducing carbs, adding healthy fats and good protein. We'll try gently cooked chicken from SmallBatch.

Our followup appointment is next week.
And, happy news is we are adopting Taco