My dog has gas and runny poop. Should I fast him for colitis?

If you intend to transition to a new food, do it this way: I would fast Lou for 24 hours and then put him on bland food for two days, such as boiled white rice and boiled white boneless chicken meat, fed in small quantities over several feeds and then transition back to regular food slowly over a few days. This should work.

Hello. It never hurts to do a small fast to help settle the stomach. 12 hours should be fine & then re-introduce food slowly, maybe 1/3 of the ration followed several hours later by another 1/3 & remainder in the evening. It might be easier to fast both dogs overnight, that way no one feels left out. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes, probably a bout of colitis. I would not be overly worried. Just do as you normally do by withholding food for a 6-8 hours. The only other thing I would suggest is a 30 day course of a probiotic. You can use any probiotic made for dogs but I recommend Fortiflora. One packet on food daily. It is very palatable so dogs usually eat with no problem. This will not hurt anything and may help to balance the normal flora (bacteria) in his GI tract. ( 1800petmeds.com/Purina+FortiFlora-prod10376.html ) Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes.

Colitis is usually due to dietary indiscretion (not to the quantity ingested) , but an infection is possible as well. As a first approach, I would suggest to start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice vomiting, lethargy or inappetence.

Based on your description, Wade may have a condition called colitis. This is an inflammation in the large intestine most often caused by a change in diet, eating something they are not used to or a stressful event. It can be secondary to many other things. It often results in diarrhea/loose stools and straining to defecate. If he's acting normal otherwise, you can start by withholding food for 12-24 hours, then introducing a bland diet of plain boiled chicken and white rice. You can also add some canned pumpkin puree as the fiber can help to firm up the stools. As long as the stools normalize, you can then start mixing in his regular dog food. If the diarrhea continues despite these things, I would recommend taking him to a veterinarian for an exam. They will most likely recommend a fecal exam to look for parasites and sometimes when colitis doesn't resolve on it's own, they are treated with an antibiotic.

It is probably stress colitis. I suggest you give him one dose of Immodium (loperamide) if you can find it there. JUST ONE DOSE - no more; one 2mg tablet. Next, withhold all food for 8 hours to let his intestines rest. Nothing. Water is fine to have available at all times. After 8 hours, you can start feeding him small amounts of his regular food every few hours (instead of one or two larger meals he gets). Finally, if you can, get him a probiotic I would feed him that for the next 2 weeks minimum. It must be one made for dogs. No human products. Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes.

Usually the first line approach would include a bland diet as you already started. A probiotic can be given as well (like pro-kolin) to help to re-establish normal intestinal bacterial flora. Usually this helps to speed up recovery. No other meds are needed for mild and uncomplicated colitis cases. Remember to gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitely recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!