How to transition dog food after colitis without stomach upset?

Hello, sorry to hear abut Lou. Indeed this may be a flare up of his colitis and a bland diet may help rest his GI tract enough so that he doesn't have a full episode of colitis. A fast should not be necessary if he is eating ok. Ultimately, it sounds like Lou may have intermittent GI sings long term and he may benefit from a diet trial, prophylactic medications and probiotics to improve her overall, longterm GI health. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Gradually over 4-5 days. Mix the old food with the chicken and rice adding more and more percentage of old food (first day 25% old food + 75% chicken and rice; second day 50% old food + 50% chicken and rice and so on).

Yes, you should have transitioned her slowly over a few days from the rice and chicken to the new food. So start all over again: Fast Meisha again for 12 hours, then feed bland food such as boiled rice with boiled boneless white chicken meat in small quantities over several feeds a day,. Do this for a day, then start replacing small quantities of rice with her Blackhawk food over the next two days until she is at the normal quantity of her regular food. If the diarrhea does not go away by the end of the third day, or your Meisha is lethargic and dehydrated,you will need to take her to a veterinarian for an exam.

It could be the brand of food or it could be the individual bag of food. Fast him for 24 hours then feed a bland diet in small, frequent amounts. Begin with 1 tablespoon every hour and gradually increase the amount. Feed bland until the stool is totally normal then transition slowly to the regular diet. Transition over 7-10 days. Consider a veterinary probiotic to promote a healthy gut. Brands include Bene-Bac, ProViable, ProStora or FortiFlora.

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.

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!

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.