Bloody stools

Question
Some background: she's a 6yr. 6lb. chichuahua. Has always had a problem with eating,(low blood sugar,no interest,regurgitation) and gets diarrhea from chicken. For about a year,I'noticed blood once in a while but now it's more often. If she gets diarrhea, it is red and mucousy. Sometimes stools will streaked
or a little at either end and it could be red or blackened or just a mucus coating . Had bloodwork done 3x's in last 2 mos. One
had pancreatitis which cleared up with antibiotics, another had a high white blood count, low glucose and
low chloride. The last test shows everything is OK. There seem to be no parasites in stool samples. She
is up to date on all shots and is on proheart. Inflammable bowel is suspected and taking a steroid
has been suggested (prednisone). Could this be the
problem and are drugs the right answer? I would like an alternative, something that will not cause more problems. Thank You so very much for your time, I don't know what else to do to help her.  

Answer
I would double check with the vet that her electrolyes--Sodium and Potassium--were ok to rule out ADDISON'S disease.

As far as Inflammatory Bowel...I would suggest trying her on a natural diet such as that made by Verus-- Fish & Potato or Venision & Potato and she how she does with that first before trying steroids.  Many times diets will "fix" the problem. And usually for IBD, I will use Flagyl (Metronidazole) and save steroids for a last treatment. Also, giving her a bit of plain yogurt daily can be beneficial as well as mixing digestive enzymes (such as Prozyme) into her food.

And consider switching her to Interceptor or Heartgard instead of the Proheart, since they cover intestinal parasites (just in case).

GOOD LUCK!