My dog with irritable bowel won't eat rabbit food. What can she eat?

If your vet suggested another protein, then I think it would be safe to make the switch for Trixie. Be sure to the switch slowly to avoid GI upset. If you do get GI upset, then changing protein isn't a good idea, and I would go back to the rabbit and pea. Best of luck, I hope this helps.

If it doesn’t irritate her gut/cause vomiting or diarrhea, she can have both. Rabbit and duck appear to both be proteins that agree with her GI tract. Royal Canin is my favorite brand too! Good luck!

Theoretically Trixie could do any of the hydrolyzed diets. Royal Canin carries a hydrolyzed protein diet very similar to the Hill’s diet. Purina also carries a formula as well called HA. Most likely Trixie would do fine on any of these. Make sure any diet transition is slow over the course of 5 to 7 days. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions!

Hello, and thank you for your question. I'm sorry to hear that Chi has been unwell. If IBD is suspected, we should always try out a limited ingredient hypoallergenic diet (such as rabbit, venison, or kangaroo), for a minimum of 8 weeks with NO other treats or table scraps. However, since Chi's appetite is not the greatest, it will be a challenge to find a hypoallergenic diet that she likes. It sounds like the medications that were prescribed are appropriate for the suspected illness. Carafate is a gastroprotectant that is used to minimize gastric ulcers - it should not worsen diarrhea symptoms. Two other suggestions which I would discuss with your vet: 1) try a different type of anti-diarrhea antibiotic, such as tylosin. 2) consider weekly treatments of vitamin B12, as many dogs with IBD are B12-deficient. 3) try again with steroid therapy such as prednisolone, or try a different immunosuppresant such as cyclosporine. I hope this helps, and that Chi feels better soon.

I'd be concerned that the color of Ripley's diarrhea is due to blood, but given she ate some rabbit food, this could be irritating her GI tract. I can give you a home remedy to see if that helps. Withhold food for 6 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, you continue to see blood in her feces, she starts vomiting food, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.

It is common that dogs will develop diarrhea from a sudden food change, but it can be challenging to do a slow diet change when they stop eating their regular diet. If Chi won't eat a bland diet, adding cooked white rice or cooked white or sweet potato to a diet may be a good option for her. I think at this point, you could continue the previous food since she was eating it well or try to introduce a new limited ingredient diet if that was what your vet had recommended. Sometimes 95% meat diets are too rich for dogs alone, but Chi may tolerate it with white rice or potato. However, you may also need to talk to your veterinarian about medication for the diarrhea since she has IBD and those dogs will sometimes have a harder time getting their diarrhea to resolve with diet change alone. I have included a handout with more information on IBD below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=598 Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Chi feels better soon. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Yes, if your dog has a sensitive GI tract. Dogs won't typically get infected with rabbit parasites. They are usually species specific. Withhold food for 12-24 hours. Allow small amounts of water or unflavored PediaLyte. Resume feeding a bland diet ( boiled boneless / skinless chicken and plain white rice) in small, frequent amounts. Continue feeding until the stool is normal. Transition slowly to the regular diet afterwards. If the diarrhea does not resolve, see your veterinarian. Submit a stool sample to rule out other intestinal parasites. Try to restrict your dog's access to rabbit stool.