What food helps my senior Yorkie's constant diarrhea and IBS?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | neutered | 3.5 lbs
My 14 year old yorkie has always had a sensitive stomach but over the last year, it had gotten extremely bad. Constant diarrhea, constant trips to the vet, scans, operations and no one can figure out what the problem is. I'm told by my current vet that my dog has IBS but cannot give me food to help him with his issue. Is a raw diet a possibility? Is there something you can think it MAY be that the vet hasn't thought of?? We have ruled out cancer, tumors, all tests came back negative .. HELP!
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on July 24th, 2017
It sounds like it may inflammatory bowel disease but he would need biopsies of his GI tract to diagnose. You could try a hypoallergenic diet like science diet z/d ultra and talk to your vet about low dose steroids (budesonide is a good choice for GI issues) if you haven't tried this already. Also I would have him dewormed with a broad spectrum dewormer if you haven't already. I have had good success with this regimen in some of my IBD patients. It sounds like y'all have ruled out everything else. I hope this helps! if this doesn't work then I think intestinal biopsies are the next step.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on September 17th, 2017
You can try a small amount of canned pumpkin or low salt green beans to help him go to the bathroom. They also make canine probiotics that can help regulate the bacterial population to get things nornal again. you can also try low fat yogurt to help.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, I have a dog breed Yorkshire, 11 years old and she is having acute diarrhoea since middle of October and had been checked for many examination like giárdia, other viroses and stool tests and the vets couldn’t find anything. We did a ultrasound an
I'm sorry to hear Mariquita isn't doing well. Some things you hadn't mentioned were food allergies which could cause diarrhea if there is an ingredient in her food that is making her ill. Your vet can try a food trial with you that involves narrowing down the ingredients fed to her and then reintroducing them over time to see if any triggers the problem. There are also prescription diets available for sensitive stomachs and food allergies that may help with the diarrhea as well. In some cases, probiotics can also help such as adding plain yogurt or a little pumpkin puree to help firm up the stool. If the above suggestions don't help, another workup from your vet to see if there was anything else missed may help.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have a yorkie and she has had loose sometimes bloody bowels for some time now. Been to several vets with no luck to correct it. Had different foods, and meds along with probiotics. Seemed to have just started at once. She's about 5 years old now. A
If they have not done diagnostics yet, then it sounds like a good next step. Diagnostic options include bloodwork with a GI panel, intestinal parasite screening, abdominal ultrasound, or intestinal biopsies. Yorkies are prone to developing lymphangiectasia, which can be caused by IBD. It can take some trial and error in testing out different treatment modalities to find which would work best for an individual pet, but treatments often include some combination of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, anti-diarrheals, hypoallergenic diets (would need 4-6 weeks to test if this works), anti-parasitics, among a few others. You may want to choose a Boop by Petco consult so we can evaluate Maddie's medical history and help you make a list of things to discuss with her vet. Here is some info on lymphangiectasia: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1381 And IBD: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=598
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I’m beginning to think my dog has inflammatory bowel disease. This has been on angoing issue since August. She’ll eat something for a while and then she’ll have diarrhea a few days later. We thought it was a food allergy & put her on hyrdrolyzed prot
I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Snowball. Inflammatory bowel disease can be a frustrating problem to deal with. The only way to definitively diagnose it is via intestinal biopsies. Food trials with hypoallergenic diets can be helpful in cases of inflammatory bowel disease, but do not always solve the overall problem. Sometimes a course of steroids, supplementation a certain vitamins and even antibiotics are needed to get things back on track. Given that it sounds like Snowball has a sensitive stomach, I would not recommend feeding lettuce as it is difficult to digest. Oftentimes feeding a low-fat, easily digested diet can be helpful. If the diarrhea continues I would recommend having Snowball seen by your veterinarian. There are certain blood tests that can be beneficial to determine if any additional vitamins are needed and they can help you to develop a plan for further diagnostics or management of symptoms in a long term.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
hi my bull terrier goes to the loo way to much hes got a sensative tummy we have tried different foods ...hes now 4yrs old
Poor Dylan! If he has a sensitive stomach and gets diarrhea easily, he may benefit from a prescription GI diet that is bland and easy to digest, or a hypoallergenic limited ingredient diet such as Hills z/d or Purina HA - I would suggest talking to your vet about these options to see if he/she feels that they might be helpful. It's also possible that Dylan has some other underlying medical issue causing the recurring diarrhea, such as intestinal parasites, inflammatory bowel disease, Addison's disease, etc. I would recommend having a full check-up done by your vet if this hasn't been done in the past - he/she can do blood work or other testing if needed to check for these problems and get him started on appropriate treatment if needed.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
16 y.o. Jack Russell - colitis - been to vets - Flaygl course ran, Hills Digestive Care i/d low fat regular food 'works' - stew style of it causes diarrhea. No parasites. Still about once/week gets 'sick' - no vomiting, just diarrhea ending bloody.
If it is persisting you may need an ultra to measure and look at the intestines or. A biopsy for a diagnoses. persistent diarrhea can be a sign of cancer or inflammatory bowel or a food allergy You can feed boiled chicken and rice or continue with the I/D, I know it is expensive but it does help. You can also try a hypoallergenic diet such as royal canine rabbit and potato. The goal of a hypoallergenic diet is a single protein and single carb to not make their GI track work as hard and decrease allergies You should also add a probiotic to the diet as this will help return normal bacteria population to the gut Sometimes a low dose of cortisone can help get rid of inflammation to help also
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My senior dog keeps having spells where she has diarrhea. We have not switched her food and she is on a sensitive system diet.
Diarrhea can be a symptom of many illnesses, so if your dog has had chronic diarrhea and a diet change hasn't helped (such as being on a sensitive diet like you stated), then it is a good idea to schedule an appointment with your local vet. Your vet can check for problems such as parasites or illnesses that may be causing digestive upset. Your vet may also recommend a senior blood panel to help check for any senior-related illnesses that may be causing the symptoms you see. Be sure to collect a sample of your dog's stool if you can before your appointment. In the meantime, offering something such as some plain yogurt, or even boiled chicken and rice can help soothe a minorly upset stomach, however an appointment is needed to address the underlying cause of diarrhea.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
What is the best brand of food for a dog that has inflammatory bowel disease
Most cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) require hypoallergenic diets composed of hydrolyzed proteins (proteins broken down to the point where they will not stimulate the immune system). These diets are prescription based and include Royal Canin Ultimano, Royal Canin HP, Science Diet Z/D and Purina HA. In some cases of IBD, a dog can tolerate a novel protein diet (one protein source and one carbohydrate source) after a period of time on a hypoallergenic diet. Some novel protein diets are prescription based (such as Science Diet D/D), but others are available over the counter (such as Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet). Most cases of IBD also require some form of corticosteroids for management in addition to the diet change. Before making any changes in Peaches' diet, be sure to consult her vet to make sure this is appropriate for her case. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have a 17 year old jack russell that has had the following symptoms over the past 2 months: blood in feces, vomiting, lack of appetite, weight loss and is lethargic from time to time. We took him to the vet yesterday and the Dr. said that he could
I am sorry to hear about Tyson. The two main rule outs we would have in his case would be inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cancer of the intestinal tract (such as GI lymphoma). Unfortunately it is impossible to tell which of these is present without additional testing. The next step would be an ultrasound of the abdomen. It is possible they may find changes supportive of one disease or the other, but it is also possible the changes might not differentiate the two and a biopsy may be needed. The question you need to ask yourself is if your dog did have cancer, would you pursue aggressive treatment (i.e. surgery and chemotherapy). If the answer is no, then it might be worth trying to treat him as if he has IBD to see if there is any improvement. This treatment usually involves a diet change and putting the dog on a steroid such as prednisone. Often dogs with cancer will temporarily improve on prednisone as well. Here is an article with a little info on this: http://www.veterin
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi we have an american bulldog that for the last 2 months she has had cronic diarrhoea which she has had blood tests which showed very small chance of small intestine bowel disease, still samples came back clear but they have put her on B12 inj
If you have not done a good trial already, I would recommend a diet such as Royal Canin Ultamino and feed this for at least 4 weeks and see if this makes a differencr. If after the diet trial there is no difference, I would recommend adding in a probiotic such as Purina fortiflora which can be found online or at your local pet store. If the diarrhea is still there, I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound. If this is inflammatory bowel disease, Bonnie may need to be on drugs such as Budesonide and Azathioprine. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
5 month old puppy. Chronic diarrhea for a month. Worms tested twice and said it was negative. Dewormed with pancor anyway and stool got regular for about a week. Back to diarrhea again. Can she need another deworming or could she possibly have I
Inflammatory bowel disease is not common in a puppy but it could be dietary intolerance from something in the diet. Other potential causes include Giardia, bacterial overgrowth, or pancreatic insufficiency. Your veterinarian likely has a ‘next step’ already planned. I recommend to discuss Mable!s diarrhea with your veterinarian. They may want to try an antibiotic and a probiotic along with a bland diet to see if that resolves the diarrhea. They may also recommend protozoa testing, a fecal culture and/or pancreatic enzyme testing. A diet trial with a hydrolyzed protein is another potential option. Since there are many causes of diarrhea, each one needs to be worked through. I hope this helps and best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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