 We have it bad
We have two Yorkies - one is five years old and one is three. The five year old is a male who has been stricken with IBD for about a year. Right now he is in the midst of a really bad episode.
What we have learned: Food allergies are the most common cause. Foot licking, eye drainage that turns red, crimson colour on hair around feet and regular troubles with ear infections are common signs of impending IBD related to food allergies.
Treatment: We have discovered a vegetarian diet that we will try when Owen starts eating again. Right now he is not eating and is on his second day of steroid therapy.
Medications: Some people talk here about using Pepto Bismol when the dog has inflammation. This, we have learned, is not as good a treatment as using liquid Zantac which your vet can prescribe, but you can acquire from the human pharmacy (Ranitidine).
We have been lucky with our dog because he is a larger Yorkie. A week ago he weighed 10 lbs. and when he first got sick he was roughly 14. This past week he lost about a pound, coming down to 9.1 lbs. because he has not been able to keep food down, then stopped eating all together.
We believe we have discovered that he has an allergy to chicken, plus perhaps several other foods. Our hope is that keeping him away from chicken and feeding him this vegetarian diet in conjunction with the Zantac will lead to improvement.
In one past episode, he responded well to an antibiotic with a single steroid injection. I have seen some people here talk about reactions to steroids. In our case, the Prednisone actually caused instant and marked improvement in his deportment - taking him from depressed back toward normal behaviours. |