Precious Buster is an angel...

[CraigM]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

We feed Buddy (our diabetic basenji) the Royal Canin diabetic formula. It is a prescription food, but the kibble is bigger. He was insanely well regulated on that food so I highly recommend it.

Another advantage (?) of Royal Canin Diabetic Formula is that it makes HUGH poop piles! No trouble finding them in the lawn, you'll trip over them! LOL.

[hiwaygal]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

I just looked up the Royal Canine and I noticed it has corn. Buster also has IBD and I have to watch what we feed him. I need something like grain free. Thanks for the suggestion

Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize!

I wasn't thrilled with the ingredients, but the results were amazing for us.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any grain free foods that are especially good for diabetics. We have fed the Before Grain stuff, and another one I can't think of the name of...I'll see if I can find it...

And yes CraigM - da poops are nice and firm!

[Judi]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

I know when I took some of the Blue Buffalo grain free in for my vet to look at he thought the fat content was too high. good luck!

[k9diabetes]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Hi Debbie,

Does he eat better if you embellish the food a little with something or does that not change his mind?

Natalie

[debbie]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Hi Natalie. I missed you. If I put goodies in it he eats the goodies. I went out and bought some other food and he ate it for a couple of days and now he is throwing up. His IBD kicked in. I am right giving him I/D and nothing else. I am at square one with him. I have to find a grain free food. I am thinking about BK grain free.
His arthritis is bothering his back legs when it gets cold. His sight is going too. He is getting old on me.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

It looks to me like this is something Buster is just going to do sometimes. He's had several of these bouts now of refusing to eat his food and throwing up or diarrhea.

When Chris refused his food, he would, like Buster, eat something new for a few days, maybe a week. And then he'd refuse the new food and we would move on to another one, which would last a while and then he would refuse that.

This happened intermittently and seemed to come and go on its own schedule. I don't think anything we did changed it.

Some meals if Chris flat out refused to eat anything, we just said okay and let him skip that meal. Gave him about 1/3 or 1/2... I can't remember which now... of his usual insulin dose and tried again at the next meal and injection time.

If Buster will eat something like boiled white meat chicken and white rice or cottage cheese, sometimes a bland diet like that can help get his system settled down. In which case he might be willing to go back to his regular food once he feels better. Meat baby food if he likes that is another possibility. Both the cottage cheese and the baby food can be used to keep him from picking other foods out unless he's very very persistent. Chris wouldn't eat white rice by itself but he would eat it mushed up into cottage cheese.

I went back to your thread's beginning - May 2009 - and see that he wound up with diabetes after long periods of being on steroids for what was thought to be IBD.

Could be that his IBD or chronic mild pancreatitis or allergies - or a little of all of that - just flares up sometimes regardless of what you do and when it does he rejects the food he eats when it's bothering him. So far, he's always eventually gotten back on track.

Will he be getting any Flagyl or other medication for his IBD?

Our cat Katie has IBD and right now we are using just Flagyl with her. We may eventually have to step up to prednisone but I'm holding off as long as possible on that. Fortunately, cats do better on pred than dogs but I'd still rather avoid it.

Natalie

[debbie]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Yes Buster does do this to me. Every few months. I guess he is doing what Chris did. Maybe it is something they do as they get older.

I gave him about 1/3 of his dose yesterday morning with no food and let his tummy settle down. I think the vison was not good for him. I bought a grain free new food BG (I think it is made by Merrick). I gave him a couple of kibbles and he liked it.

Last nite I gave him 3/4 cup of I/D in can. He gobbled it up. Cut his dose of insulin. This morning he was hungry again. Gave him only 3/4 of I/D and some of the new food. I will do this maybe till tomorrow morning then gradually change him over. I dont want him throwing up again.

I did the cottage cheese thing for months and months and now he wont touch it. I use to give it to him in his food.

Now I never thought of meat baby food. I have to remember that one.

Yes I do think his ibd, and everything else he has does just flare up. I would say a couple of times a year. I give him Prilosec, and sulificate (to coat his tummy) and give him the canned I/D when this happens. I do not give him the flagyl.

When his IBD flares up I change his protein and it seems to work.

[farrwf]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

I dont want him throwing up again.

Yes I do think his ibd, and everything else he has does just flare up. I would say a couple of times a year. I give him Prilosec, and sulificate (to coat his tummy) and give him the canned I/D when this happens. I do not give him the flagyl.

When his IBD flares up I change his protein and it seems to work.

Have you heard of Cerenia®?

Otis had an episode a couple of months back where he wouldn't eat for about 1 1/2 days, and was vomiting anything he ingested, and then some.

Vet couldn't find anything wrong and gave him an injection of Cerenia® and sent us home with some tabs.

He started eating again when we got home, and I've given him a tab when I've suspected nausea as the reason for him boycotting his meals. Seems to be working for us.

It's not an appetite stimulant but, it removes nausea from the equation.

[pgcor]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Hi Debbie - we are smack dab in the middle of this with you. Same thing with Pip. Sometimes I really believe the weather has something to do with this? I've never received any particular advice from the Vet that can help with these bouts of not eating and dropping bg's.

Like Natalie said, they come on unexpectedly and after a week or two he seems to get better. Nothing I do seems to help.

I know this is stressful, so I wish I had some advice. I watch your posts to see what you're doing! I know this sounds gross, but when Buster throws up does he re-eat it? Sorry....

Pam

[debbie]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Pam. No well not all the time he does. Maybe sometimes he might. He gets so bad he just lays in the grass and doesnt move. He eats grass before he does it though. It might be the weather. I think it happens to him around the same time every year. I know for a fact he did this to me between thanksgiving and christmas last year.

[debbie]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Yes I give him Cerenia. It is the only thing that works for him. Did they tell you Otis has IBD or anything.
When Buster does this throw up thing or stop eating his food I know it is time to change the protein. That is the only thing I find that works. I give him i/d in can and a little of a new food. I give him Cerenia and slowly get him back on track. Never mind his sugar is totally out of whack along side it.

[farrwf]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Yes I give him Cerenia. It is the only thing that works for him. Did they tell you Otis has IBD or anything.
When Buster does this throw up thing or stop eating his food I know it is time to change the protein. That is the only thing I find that works. I give him i/d in can and a little of a new food. I give him Cerenia and slowly get him back on track. Never mind his sugar is totally out of whack along side it.

No mention of IBD. Otis' bouts are intermittent and only last from one to a couple of meals. They've become important now because of his diabetes. Although, he seems to be easy to get back into sync once he begins to eat again. Kinda like you have to "go with the flow".

Otis can get very finicky about his food at times, and won't eat simply because he's being fussy. The problem with him is that if he misses a meal it can drag out for a couple of meals because when he has nothing in his stomach because of missing the first one his stomact can go "sour" and he will as often as not spit up either a foamy, yellowish or thick clear mucus.

He's been like that since a puppy. The trick has been to do whatever it takes to get him to eat and get something in his stomach. A for instance ... This morning as soon a we woke up I took him outside for his toilet and suspected we were going to have one of our "miss breakfast" days based on how he was acting. Came back in the house and put some of his ground chicken on a plate ... and he turned up his nose and headed for the den.

I brought him back into the kitchen and cleaned the fold on top of his nose (daily ritual with a Pug) and cleaned his eyes & gave him his eye drops. He hung around after that so I "primed the pump" with some bits of chicken jerky and went through the ritual of moving up his "food chain" until he was eating his WD kibble. Worked today.

When it doesn't, he can have very bad days.

Back to the Cerenia ... nowadays if he won't eat I'll get some Cerenia down his throat, and he will be hungry again in a few hours. I seems to head off his self inflicted nausea and get him back to "normal".

Like you, I put his sugar on the back burner until he's eating again.

[jjefferjo]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

Hey There
have you tried pepcid before a meal and do you use a probiotic and or digetsive enzymes.
When goes a few days without the pepcid he has spit up usually before a meal.
Haven't in very long time as he gets 5mg pepcid twice a day just to avoid that
Also gets Animal essentials which is a probiotic and digestive enzyme.
Jj

[Shellie]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

He's been like that since a puppy. The trick has been to do whatever it takes to get him to eat and get something in his stomach. A for instance ... This morning as soon a we woke up I took him outside for his toilet and suspected we were going to have one of our "miss breakfast" days based on how he was acting. Came back in the house and put some of his ground chicken on a plate ... and he turned up his nose and headed for the den.

I brought him back into the kitchen and cleaned the fold on top of his nose (daily ritual with a Pug) and cleaned his eyes & gave him his eye drops. He hung around after that so I "primed the pump" with some bits of chicken jerky and went through the ritual of moving up his "food chain" until he was eating his WD kibble. Worked today.

.

Oh Otis! I had to chuckle at this...I go thru the same thing quite often. I like the concept of 'priming the pump'! It seems like Hank won't eat if I don't do the whole 'ritual' thing with him. First a walk then we have to have to feed the kitties then we have to eat some cheese (must have an appetizer apparantly) then perhaps we might eat our breakfast.

With fussy or tummy problem pups, it's a process. Hank gets a pepcid in the morning and gets mirtazapine (a serotonin uptake that stimulates appetite as a side effect) in the pm. Seems to help.

[debbie]

Re: Buster has diabetes and IBD

I give Buster Prilosec only when he is having one of his bouts. I try to give him the sucralfate to coat his tummy daily.
Buster does have his routine too. He goes out to do his business and then looks at me to eat. If he goes and lays down I know we are in trouble. He also know I put everything but the kitchen sink in there for him to eat too. I guess he figures the longer he holds out the better the food will be when he eats.
I did give him probiotics too but stopped them also. Think I will try them again. I am hoping this new food wont make him throw up. So far so good, but I am changing him slowly.