IBS in dogs

Question
My lab recently was diagnosed with IBS.  They want to put her on steroids for 4 month at least, possible for life. Also a diet change and antibiotics.  Are there any natural treatments for IBS?  I've added acidophilus to her diet, is that okay.

Answer
She should not be put on steroids for IBS, as it could risk increasing bowel inflammation. Chances she actually has IBS is pretty slim. There are a number of treatments for stomach issues in dogs, and I bet you anything she has a food allergy - probably to grain.

Dog's digestive systems are pretty hardy for the most part, provided its not abused. IBS is another term for a stress-induced inflammation of the colon, which only happens if the dog has an inflammatory reaction due to stress - often caused by food allergies, so technically often misdiagnosed in dogs. A detoxification diet has proven to be much more effective, and much more gentle to the dog's system.

The prescriptions of steroids is to counter the inflammation, but it hasn't been proven to work, and can actually cause greater damage to hormone production and her other organ systems over time.

Dog's digestive systems are not adapted to commercial pet food, even the vet-recommended/prescribed variety is still over-processed. Commercial food is found to be the culprit in 97% of all disease found in dogs.

Your dog's system probably cannot handle the corn, fillers, wheat, and the byproducts, etc found in commercial dog food.

What I would do if I were in your shoes is conduct a detoxification under the watchful eye of an animal naturopath or a holistic vet. You'll need to probably put her on a diet of oatmeal, brown rice, flax seed oil, and a high quality  protein, along with a vitamin supplement.

I am going to recommend a book for you. You should be able to find it at the library, but if not, I strongly recommend picking it up.

Its called the Holistic Guide for the Healthy Dog.

http://www.amazon.com/Holistic-Guide-Healthy-Howell-Reference/dp/1582451532/ref=...

it was written in partnership with a holistic vet, and includes a great diet that helps most dogs with senstiive digestion systems overcome their allergies and live healthy, long lives naturally.

Another diet you can look at is the BARF diet. BARF is a completely raw food diet that follows a natural, wild diet as closely as possible.

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

I combine the two diets for my five chihuahuas and my American Pit bull, and I also supplement with the only commercial dog food I find tolerable, Innova Evo.

Innova Evo is grain free - high quality protein based diet. The ingreidents are similar to that of the Holistic diet found in the book I recommended above.

Anyways, that would be my recommendation to you. Buy that book ASAP, detox your dog, and watch what she eats. Her body can rebalance itself naturally once given the proper diet.