Kaytlin and Cooper's Page

Hi Kaytlin! Love your new profile picture!  Cooper looks so big beside the kitty.  Congrats on getting a new job.  What will you be doing?

Linda

Glad to help in any way. I just hope Cooper has something else, and something easily treated. Please keep me posted.

One more really good article, which gives an extensive overview of the diagnostics and variables:

http://www.walthamusa.com/articles/cgistomach.pdf

Hi Kaytlin,

Here's a really good general article on IBD in dogs.

http://www.2ndchance.info/inflambowel.htm

As you will see, IBD can take many different forms, and there is no one treatemnt method or diet that works for all of them. So it's important that you know what type of IBD your dog has before following any advice from anyone other than your IMS or the vet who is treating your dog. In some cases, the rate of digestion needs to be sped up, and in others, slowed down. So even a harmless herbal supplement can actually be harmful if it produces the opposite result from what your individual dog needs.

In many cases of IBD, there is a B12 deficiency and/or SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth); Cooper's blood work should give you cobalamine and folate levels which will indicate whether Cooper has these issues. Cobalamine deficiency and SIBO are related to malabsorption issues resulting from bacterial overgrowth, excessive acid secretion, and/or ulceration of the GI lining which prevents nutrients from being absorbed. All of these factors play a role in choosing the right diet for an IBD dog. In some cases, even plain old probiotics make matters worse.

Just some extra info to shed a little light on the reasons why anecdotal info from others about "what worked for my dog" needs to be taken with a grain of salt. This is one reason why this is such a difficult disease to deal with- there are so many variables and no one-size-fits-all approach.

I really hope she doesn't have it.

Hi Kaytlin,

I'm glad the Les Poochs brush is working well for Cooper's coat.  :-) I love the photos of Cooper with the cats! I have a few cats as well, and they all get along just fine with the doodles. One of my cats chases the dogs around the house - it's funny to see the role reversal.  :-)

Any job opportunities yet Kaytlin?  Thinking of you and wondering how you are adjusting to the Soo :)

Linda