Dogs need adequate food to grow and develop. The right diet also reduces their risk of disease and illness. Ensuring they eat the right types and amounts of food is crucial for their health. Many dog owners have difficulty managing their dogs’ diet and feed them just by giving generic snacks and human food.

The consequences of not giving your dog the right nutrition might lead to some dire consequences. The main ones include pain in the stomach, which could be a sign of inflammatory bowel disease.

What is Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs?

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in dogs is a condition caused by irritation around the stomach and intestines, which results in the inflammation of these organs. The cause of this disease is relatively unknown, but some factors can be kept in mind to prevent the risk of your dog getting IBD. 

While it can be challenging, the main point of focus is managing your dog’s diet, which travels through the gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs

IBD’s symptoms can manifest anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract. Common symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease in dogs are:

Diarrhea

Frequent and loose stools, or diarrhea, can be a sign of IBD in your dogs. With this comes dehydration. Due to the excessive ejection of loose stool and water, your dog needs to constantly drink water to stay hydrated.

Vomiting

Vomiting is the act of ejecting the contents from the gastrointestinal tract. When your dog has IBD, it may have a hard time swallowing its food due to the inflammation surrounding its stomach and the blockages caused by the narrowing of the pathways. This results in vomiting.

Weight Loss and Loss of Appetite

IBD comes with weight loss and loss of appetite for your dog. When your dog’s gastrointestinal tract is inflamed, it may lead to vomiting and loss of appetite. This leads to weight loss for your dog.

Abdominal Pain

Due to the swelling of the gut and other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, pain may follow. Inflammatory bowel disease causes stomach cramps to occur in dogs due to the inflammation present.

What Can I Feed My Dog With Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Feeding a dog with IBD requires a precise and careful selection of ingredients to ensure the disease does not worsen. Here are some of the foods you can feed your dog with inflammatory bowel disease:

Specialized Dog Food 

If your dog has inflammatory bowel disease, the main foods you can feed it are novel protein and hydrolyzed protein dog foods. These foods give your dog good nutrition without causing any further complications. Choosing food without common allergens is key for starting things off.

• Hydrolyzed Protein Dog Food

These hydrolyzed protein dog foods are foods that have their proteins broken down to make them unseen by the dog’s immune system. This allows them to consume proteins without having to suffer from any reaction the immune system might have. 

Some top choices for hydrolyzed protein sources are Hill’s Hydrolyzed Protein Dog Food and Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein Dog Food.

• Novel Protein Dog Food

Novel protein dog food contains unique and uncommon sources of protein that are not always available for your dog. Due to this protein being new, your dog will have a reduced risk of getting infections or allergic reactions that will trigger the immune system. 

Also, these proteins may contain amino acids that would not be present in common sources such as chicken and beef. One of the top choices would be Nutrisource’s Lamb Meal and Rice Recipe and Purina’s Pro Plan Sport Performance 30/20 Salmon & Cod Dry Dog Food.

Home-Cooked Diets

Home-cooked meals are also an option for your dog, considering the control you have over what it ingests. However, it is important to take note of the preferred ingredients that would make your dog with inflammatory bowel disease feel better. Here are some of the foods you can give to your dog with IBD:

• Novel Proteins

While there are specially formulated dog foods available, you can also prepare your own novel protein foods. Novel proteins are meats your dog has not eaten yet. The main ingredient would be unique meats such as lamb, rabbit, bison, and duck.

• Highly Digestible Sources

Dogs will have a hard time digesting fats and fibers, which is why foods such as fish, white rice, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin provide good amounts of nutrition that can help your dog in this condition.

• Limited Ingredients

Foods with minimal ingredients reduce the worsening of your dog’s upset stomach. Bland meats such as boiled fish and duck can be a good source of food for your dog. The trick is to minimize any possible reaction your dog’s immune system might have. 

What Can I Not Feed My Dog With Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

There are lots of dietary restrictions when it comes to your dog with IBD. Avoiding these foods will make it easier for your dog to recover and prevent any further complications. Here are the foods to avoid when feeding your dog with inflammatory bowel disease:

High-Fat Foods

Fats are the slowest nutrient to break down. Breaking down large amounts of fat may cause stomach pain for your dogs. It is important to give your dog foods that are easy to break down in order to avoid any stomach pain. 

Highly Processed Products

Processed food contains lots of additives that may cause reactions in your dog’s body. Components such as sodium can severely dehydrate your dog. Additives and preservatives in processed products can have the chance to irritate the gastrointestinal tract and increase discomfort for your dog. 

Dairy Products

When dogs with IBD ingest dairy products, they can get reactions in their immune systems due to the presence of allergens. Keeping these foods away can help them recover gradually. 

Raw Meat

Raw meat might seem like a good meal for your dogs, but due to the presence of bacteria, raw meat can worsen the effects of IBD. Since the gastrointestinal tract is already inflamed, further infection from raw meat sources might cause more harm than good. It is important to make sure your dog gets clean and fresh food to avoid any further complications.

How to Diagnose Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs

Diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease in dogs takes complex measures. Here are some ways veterinarians diagnose inflammatory bowel disease in dogs:

Physical Examination

A physical examination is conducted as a general overview of your dog’s health and well-being. This will be coupled with the medical history of your dogs. Through a physical examination, the veterinarian will be able to check for symptoms such as abdominal pain.

Laboratory Testing

Laboratory tests get a deeper dive into the condition of your dog. This reflects the situation on the inside rather than on the outside. Numerous tests are conducted to create more reliable results.

• Complete Blood Count

A blood test can present signs of inflammation and infection. 

• Urinalysis

Urine serves as a good measure for discovering any signs of IBD and assessing kidney functions.

• Fecalysis

A fecal analysis detects any pathogen and microbes that may be the cause of IBD.

Imaging

X-rays and ultrasounds can be used to gather information on any abnormalities present on the abdomen of your dog. These imaging techniques can provide detailed images of any walls, organs, and obstructions along the gastrointestinal tract.

Endoscopy

An endoscopy is a more invasive procedure that is used to confirm the presence of inflammatory bowel disease. This allows the veterinarian to visually examine your dog’s gastrointestinal tract and obtain samples from the stomach and intestines.

Treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs

Currently, there is no direct cure for inflammatory bowel disease in dogs. However, the use of medication and a prescription diet can aid in treating the dog. While these methods of treatment do not give the dog immediate relief, they do give a gradual recovery.

Medications

Antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, probiotics, and immunosuppressive drugs all serve specific functions but serve one common goal in treating IBD in dogs. The main selling point of medications is to slowly remove the inflammation present in the gastrointestinal tract and restore healthy gut conditions.

Dietary Management

Managing a dog’s diet is one of the most effective ways to treat its inflammatory bowel disease. Your veterinarian may construct a nutritional plan for your dog and instruct you on what to do. 

The use of novel protein and hydrolyzed protein dog food is a surefire way to get your dog healthy without triggering any responses from the immune system. Food with less fat and other additives can also be good to prevent any complications from arising. 

Conclusion

As your dog’s caretaker, it falls upon you to take the next step in understanding the condition it might have. Inflammatory bowel disease is no joke, as it can severely impact your dog’s natural processes, such as eating and running. 

By getting a grasp of IBD’s diagnosis, treatment, and dietary requirements, you’ll effectively know what to do the next time your dog’s tummy gets upset.