caught between a rock and a hard place

[Shalista]

So some of you may have seen Bax's story the other day about being sick after his dog class. I took him to the vet and the vet took one look at the pile of poop Bax generously left him on the floor and said "Oh, Colitis again Eh?"

Bax has had Colitis probably 5 or 6 times in his life. i talked to the vet about it and he says its because he's a high strung dog. the only long term managing of it is a high fiber diet (which hes been on before and its basically nothing but grain)

However he's currently on the dental dog food (also basically grain... and... "chicken by product")

So my choices are a dog who poops blood or a dog whos teeth rot out and NEITHER of these options have much meat in them.

 

[JudyN]

If they are the only options, I'd go with tooth rot. Older dogs who have lost all their teeth do remarkably well and can still eat biscuits, etc. And though high-fibre food may not be ideal, it's better than pooping blood.

Other things to consider, if you haven't already:

1) Getting a second opinion from another vet
2) Addressing his nerves, maybe with medication (natural or otherwise)
3) Diets you've not tried before, e.g. fish & potato.

Ultimately, I'd want to have a dog who is happy, relatively relaxed, and has a comfortable stomach, even if whatever it takes to achieve this could lead to a shortened life in the long term (due to a less than ideal diet, or medication to keep him calmer), rather than one who is eating the perfect diet but isn't comfortable.