Advice/Help- my Staffy has IBD

Hi,
After a few months of various tests/scans/unltrasound/medication it has been determined by a specialist vet that my 5 year old Staffy Archie has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He has other food allergies too, the main ones being Corn, Sweet Potato, Beets and Peanuts so taking those out and only looking at foods that are suitable for dogs with IBD the vet has come up with a shortlist. I've looked in to the ingredients of the foods on the shortlist but to be honest I'm a little uncomfortable with what's in them. For example, one of the foods suggested is Hill's Z/D Canine Ultra but the first and main ingredient is Starch! That just doesn't seem right to me!
At the moment we're feeding Archie on cooked chicken/fish and rice and he's on 300mg of Metronidazole a day and another tablet which he takes once at night (the name escapes me but it begins with an 'O') and the vomiting he was experiencing has almost dissipated completely. As he's been on this diet now for over 2 months the vet is suggesting that we carry on with the medication and start introducing one of the foods on her shortlist to see how he copes. I'm struggling a little and just wondered if anyone else on here has a Staffy with IBD and if they can offer any advice on foods that will help with IBD? The prescription foods just seem so clinical and unpalatable.....
Thanks

Sorry no experience with that one. Have you considered feeding raw? It's almost what you are doing now and lets you control the ingredients in the food.

Hi, yes he was on Nature's Menu frozen nuggets for about 2 years and his skin allergies really improved but about 3 months ago he started vomitting his food and even water he was drinking so we had to stop the raw.

No experience with ibd either hopefully you can eliminate food that triggers this and get to the route of the problem good luck

Blimey that sounds rough. Not something I've had any experience with either sorry. Hopefully someone will be along that knows something to help.

That's a shame about the natures menu as raw could be one of the best ways to go as you know exactly what he is eating. Do you know if the ingredients changed at all with the nuggets to cause the sudden vomiting?

We feed raw but more of a DIY style so we buy the meats and minces plain and make up his food packs. I know the natures menu nuggets have extras added like veg, fruit and rice which could have been a cause of the problems?

Would continuing with home cooked meals not be an option?
I know how you feel regarding the medicinal foods. I wouldn't even know what half of the ingredients are so would be really hesitant about feeding them.

That's odd about the frozen nuggets.. Zeus was diagnosed with Colitis (sounds similar to IBD) where he'd have regular flare ups, diarrhea, vomiting, would be off his food and lost a considerable amount of weight.

After trying 10+ different dry foods, I decided to move onto raw and have never looked back. He's not had a flare up in almost 2 years (touchwood), I can manage his weight and he's much happier.

This is what I feed him:

http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/product-country-hunter-venison-with-blueberries-1kg.aspx

The reason I chose Venison is because it was a protein he's never tried before (he'd always react to Chicken which we completely cut off, Turkey contained too much crude ash/bone which made him constipated and Lamb I would say is too rich to consume on a daily basis) and because it was a food that contained a single source of protein (mixed meat food also set him off).

Difficult to advise on specifics as every dog and instance of the illness is different. IBD can be a form of colitis if it occurs in the large intestine and can have many different forms and countless causes. I think the only thing to do is go ahead and try a new food for 2 - 3 months, feeding nothing else whatsoever, and see how that goes. Some of the foods sound unpalatable but if your dog likes it I wouldn't worry. Dogs aren't big on taste or looks, to them if it smells good then it is good.

Is there any way you can match up ingredients yourself, using a site like All About Dog Food? Then you wouldn't run the risk of trying a food that the vet recommends on account of getting a kickback as opposed to it being the right food for your situation.

I have the same issue with Bo. In fact I just got back from the vet with some more meds (Sulfasalazine) as his toileting has been bad since Sunday. Bo is on one single food and has nothing else, but the problem is anything can set him off so it's difficult to say if it's something in the food or something he picked up in the fields. I think this time he was set off by eating reedy grass on Sunday which caused irritation in the bowel. In dogs without colitis irritation wouldn't be a problem but if the bowel is prone to inflammation this kind of thing will set it off.

Dogface wrote:. I think this time he was set off by eating reedy grass on Sunday which caused irritation in the bowel. In dogs without colitis irritation wouldn't be a problem but if the bowel is prone to inflammation this kind of thing will set it off.

Zeus has been constantly doing this, whenever he gets a chance, he's eating grass. Any idea what it could be or why he's doing it?

goldie87 wrote:

Dogface wrote:. I think this time he was set off by eating reedy grass on Sunday which caused irritation in the bowel. In dogs without colitis irritation wouldn't be a problem but if the bowel is prone to inflammation this kind of thing will set it off.

Zeus has been constantly doing this, whenever he gets a chance, he's eating grass. Any idea what it could be or why he's doing it?

With Bo he just likes the taste. Normal, soft green grass is OK in moderation but that harsh reedy stuff causes havoc. I tell him dozens of times a day not to do it and each time he'll stop, only to do it again five seconds later.

I find they just seem to like eating grass if their tum feels a bit off. Mine have always done it if hungry as well. But it seems it has to be a certain type of grass, maybe there's a dietary link - others may know.

Yeah, I think that's what it is with Zeus, he probably just likes the taste of it.

The worst thing of it all is when it comes out the other end, most of the time, I have to pull it out!