13 Year Old Jack Russell with sensitive tummy

[Nikki Dean]

Hello all, newbie here. I have just had to take our boy to the vets as he has been poorly. They diagnosed him as having colitis. We had noticed him being picky with his food. He is on kibble from Tails. We had to start adding water to it to soften. He then just started refusing to eat so we added a wet food to his kibble, also from Tails and then started with the symptoms of colitis. It was awful we thought we was going to lose him. The 1st vet we saw gave him an injection to settle his tummy and omeprazole which we have to give an hour before food and some paste to make his poo more solid. He still refused to eat. After a few days we took him back to the vets and saw someone different who gave him a tablet to help entice his appetite and some antibiotics/anti inflammatory tablets to help with his symptoms and to also help his hips and back legs. His appetite is building back up now but only because we are putting a little grated cheese in his food, Just happy he's eating. I am looking for advice on whether we should be looking at changing his food to something more gentle.

 

[JoanneF]

To be honest, Tails isn’t as tailored to your dog as they would have you believe. If you ask for very specific things (like low fat, chicken free and grain free for example) they can’t do it because they are just mixing several kibbles in different ratios.

Original Chappie looks terrible on paper but is fabulous for dogs with sensitive tummies, it might be worth trying that for a while, even just until he has recovered some more.

 

[Nikki Dean]

To be honest, Tails isn’t as tailored to your dog as they would have you believe. If you ask for very specific things (like low fat, chicken free and grain free for example) they can’t do it because they are just mixing several kibbles in different ratios.

Original Chappie looks terrible on paper but is fabulous for dogs with sensitive tummies, it might be worth trying that for a while, even just until he has recovered some more.

Thank you for your reply. I did read somewhere about Chappie but was unsure. Which biscuits would you put with it if any? I was also considering Butchers (gentle) from Pet at Home. Have you any experience with this one?

 

[JoanneF]

Chappie is complete so you don't need to add biscuits. I've never used Butchers but have seen people say they rate it.

 

[Flobo]

Chappie is quite under rated and does seem to really work for some dogs with sensitive tums.
If not I used a hypoallergenic wet food for my old boy, in a tray, I can't remember the name of it now but it was a senior, grain free one that suited him when he got sensitive. Forthglade do a range that is similar. I also added a spoonful of cooked buckwheat to his meals which helped.

 

[Nikki Dean]

Chappie is quite under rated and does seem to really work for some dogs with sensitive tums.
If not I used a hypoallergenic wet food for my old boy, in a tray, I can't remember the name of it now but it was a senior, grain free one that suited him when he got sensitive. Forthglade do a range that is similar. I also added a spoonful of cooked buckwheat to his meals which helped.

Brilliant. Thank you x

 

[TillyH96]

Definitely look at grain free brands and options, there's loads out there to try - raw and cold pressed could also be an option.