long term diahhorea in Cockerpoo - could it be colitis? (vet says food allergy)

[NotOneThingbutAnother]

Has anyone else experienced this? Dog became ill beg. September and for 36 hours was in pain, pooing mucus etc. After that we had weeks of getting better then getting worse again, on and off, chicken and rice no use (pain was only first day he's fine since then bouncing around). Vet gave antibiotics, he got better, then he got worse and so on. Vet gave more antibiotics, probiotics, blood test and faecal tests. Vet reckons its a food allergy.

Since last Wednesday dog has had severe diahorrea again, passing just muscus (no blood) and getting up 6 times a night to go into the garden. Last night, it stopped, now he seems fine again. Due to see vet in the morning but I am at my wits end - why has this gone on for so long, surely the vet should have other things to try (he's nearly exhausted my dogs insurance pursuing this food allergy theory).

What now?

Colitis can be caused by intolerance to some foods in certain individuals. If your vet has ruled out other causes of diarrhoea then it isn't an unreasonable suspicion. Are you trying an exclusion diet?

What's the limit on your insurance?

That would depend a lot on what you have been doing to identify the allergen.

My previously pooey dog is doing really well on chappie as it is colour free, additive, wheat free, sugar free and egg free etc. Although I think it is not a 'rated' dog food as such, my vet recommended it and my dog has had no episodes since.

crap - its only £3k and the vet has already spent over £1k on tests, but my dog has already had all those foods excluded for weeks (test identified barley, corn, potato and rice) and tried prescription dog food, and it hasn't worked - that's why I don't think its an allergy ifyswim

Dud we tried the Chappie, he wouldn't eat it.

What about raw food?
Our dog was very sick food wise pretty much as soon as we got her home for a year - terrible smell, excessive moulting, pooing blood, liquid explosive diarrhoea, mucus covered poo, vomiting...
Perfectly fine in herself otherwise, the vet said allergy to meat (she had tried almost every food going), he recommended chappie as well but it made no difference.

We tried her on AMI vegetarian dog food, she improved greatly but then refused to eat it and got bad again.

She has been on a raw food diet now for a year and the change is extraordinary.

Colitis is a descriptive word meaning " inflammation of the colon" and any dog with watery mucussy diarrhoea with fresh blood is likely to have colitis, that tells you nothing about the underlying cause.
When the gut lining is damaged you are more likely to get food allergies developing. discuss with the vet what tests were done and how reliable they are ( blood tests for food allergy = not very! but possibly useful for an elimination diet) if the dog is potentially reacting to lots of carb sources, I'd try something like Simpsons 80:20 with a probiotic for the next few months.

It's hard to advise without knowing what tests have been done. I'm assuming your vet has checked a couple of separate samples for giardia and that you've tried a grain-free diet? Failing that, since your insurance still has cover, I'd request a referral.

Raw food might be worth a shot but it would be sensible to ensure physical illness is ruled out first.

Thank you everyone, this all seems very sensible - feel a bit calmer now.