Cooper's Journey: From Weight Loss to Healthy Gut Health

Who was well-behaved at the vet today? This guy!

Which is rare, though I was grateful. I was already stressed enough! We’ve been cooking for him for months now and have his formula down to a science (I’ve gotten requests for those deets, so I’ll share that in another post). He hasn’t yet put any of the weight back on from his bouts of sickness, so he’s still almost 20% underweight. But his “business” has been stellar, something that wasn’t true for the first nearly four years of his life. We were thrilled. Thrilled enough we actually debated if it would be weird to snap a cell phone pic of his good poops. (We decided it would be.)

Then, it started up again (skip to the next paragraph if this stuff grosses you out): bloody, mucus poop. Plus, he was straining a ton just trying to go. And having accidents in the house again because he just couldn’t hold it for more than a couple hours.

We were still feeding him the same recipe that worked so well, so this felt like a major setback. I got him into the vet today, and she suspects inflammatory bowel disease in addition to his food allergies and intolerances. We’re starting him on a course of Metronidazole to settle his gut. And, turns out, there’s been a major outbreak of girardia at one of the doggy daycares in town – not the one he goes to, but the dogs who go to that one probably walk in the same park and such. So, they’re running a test for that but suggested we start treating anyway.

So, the real issue: Inflammatory bowel disease in dogs is common, from what I understand. Or, at least, it’s not uncommon. She thinks this treatment will get his business back on track by Friday and to continue with his regular diet at that point. (Until then, we’re just feeding him boiled potatoes and a bit of quinoa.) It sounds like this is perhaps a “flare up” of the IBD, so if the treatment works and if this ever happens again, we’ll have a go-to solution.

Lastly, once all this is cleared up, we’re going to look into getting him on a probiotic. He can NOT eat yogurt, and I guess dogs need a different type of culture anyway. There seems to be imbalance in his microbiome, so the probiotics may help get his gut working again. {{Would LOVE any suggestions for brands/types that have worked for your dogs!!}}

I will say that it was wise of me to wait to write this post until after his appointment. Whooo, boy. I was a nervous wreck last night and all morning. I had convinced myself via googling (I know, I know) of all kinds of horrible scenarios. This, if the medicine works, is actually a relief. If I had written last night or this morning, this would’ve been a tear-soaked panic attack. So. You’re welcome for that. 😉

Have any of you experienced an IBD diagnosis? I’d love to hear what’s worked/not worked! And bonus points if anyone has suggestions for a probiotic!

New here? Welcome! We just launched our brand-new design and navigation. Poke around and make yourself comfy – don’t mind the dog hair – and please join the discussion in the comments or on Facebook!