How Can I Know If My Dog Has Inflammatory Bowel Disease? Is IBD Life-threatening in Dogs?
Is your dog or cat vomiting and diarrhea more frequently than usual? You should consult your veterinarian since your pet could be suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
What exactly is IBD? Inflammatory Bowel Disease in dogs affects the gut or digestive tract, causing it to become inflamed regularly. The lining of their digestive tract gets damaged by the inflammation and prevents food from being properly digested. Several triggers like food allergies, parasite or bacterial infection, a weakened immune system, or your dog’s breed can contribute to IBD. Inflammatory bowel disease also occurs in cats. Inflammatory bowel disease in cats occurs more in purebred and Siamese breeds.
IF YOUR DOG HAS IBD, YOU MAY OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS:
Chronic Vomiting and Diarrhea
Chronic vomiting might occur if your dog’s stomach is inflamed. Inflammation may be caused by irritants in your dog’s food and snacks. Your dog may also have diarrhea if the inflammation is mostly in the small intestine. Traces of blood (either black or bright red) may be found in your dog’s vomit and stool.
Weight loss and poor appetite
Your dog may not be eating because of their IBD symptoms. Consult your veterinarian if you detect a decrease in your dog’s appetite, resulting in weight loss. They may appear lethargic or have a slight change in appetite at the early stages of IBD. The importance of early intervention in the treatment of IBD in dogs cannot be overstated.
DOG BREEDS AT RISK OF IBD
These include Weimaraner, Basenji, Soft-coated wheaten terriers, Irish setters, Yorkshire terriers, Rottweiler, German shepherd, Norwegian Lundehund, Border collie, and Boxer. However, this does not mean that any breed is immune to IBD.
INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IN DOGS TREATMENT
Although there is no cure for IBD, inflammatory disease in dogs can be managed in various ways depending on the severity of the case. In mild cases of IBD, an exclusion diet might be used to treat the condition. An exclusion diet is aimed to eliminate substances from your dog’s diet that they have previously encountered.
Probiotics can also be used to influence the bacterial population in the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics are live bacteria used to improve the composition of the gut flora when the normal bacteria populations are disrupted. Inflammation can be reduced with prescription medications such as antibiotics and steroids (preferably only after we have performed biopsies) if none of the preceding techniques are successful and do not alleviate symptoms. Because each dog’s case of IBD is unique, determining the best treatment plan may need some trial and error.
Further, it is essential to remember that while normal IBD in dogs treatment might not provide a cure, it can efficiently manage the condition throughout your dog’s life.
STEM CELL THERAPY
Stem cells are a type of cell found all over the body and get activated when something needs to be repaired. IBD can be treated with stem cell safari because it is an immune-mediated disease, and this applies to your dog too.
Stem cell treatment helps the immune system to reset and stop attacking the gut lining. The body tolerates normal bacteria in the gastrointestinal system.
In IBD, these bacteria are not tolerated by the gut. However, because these bacteria are required to digest food, difficulty arises where once there was tolerance. This difficulty causes the individual gut villi to thicken and stack up, preventing the absorption of critical nutrients. Stem cells reduce inflammation and mend the stomach by stopping this reactivity to bacteria in the gut.