The veterinarian evaluating our 10-year-old Cocker Spaniel at the emergency hospital looked furious. When he mentioned that the dog might have Crohn’s disease, I laughed and shook my head. It wasn’t funny, he interjected. He said his daughter had Crohn’s disease and had really suffered. I told him he didn’t understand, explaining that I also was a Crohn’s patient. The irony of the situation was just too much to warrant a straight face even in the middle of an emergency.
What is Crohn’s Disease in Dogs?
Crohn’s disease is a rare disorder that affects dogs and human beings. While it’s not considered a fatal disease in humans, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), the prognosis is a lot more guarded for dogs. It can kill.
Vetinfo indicates that the inflammation it causes involves the pet’s stomach and intestinal lining.
As is the case with human beings, the cause of Crohn’s disease in dogs remains elusive. Most experts link the human variety to some defect in the patient’s immune system. Among the potential causes associated with canine Crohn’s are autoimmune issues, heredity, infectious agents and nutritional issues, PetEducation reports.
Crohn’s disease is one of several types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in dogs. Vets often refer to it as regional granulomatous IBD. It can be controlled but never cured.
Signs and Symptoms
The symptoms that caused you to bring your dog to a vet might have been pretty dramatic. While some dogs appear to be just off their food, slowly lose weight or appear listless, others are clearly in acute pain.
Our Cocker was bleeding and both ends and vomiting. There was mucus in his stool. His “attacks” always occurred on Fridays. Within 14 months, he was hospitalized over three separate weekends.
After an examination, the emergency vet said he thought there was fibrous or scar tissue in the dog’s intestinal tract. He explained that an intermittent pattern of both diarrhea and vomiting when a dog had not ingested anything peculiar was typical of Crohn’s disease. He recommended taking the dog to a specialist in veterinary internal medicine for a definitive diagnosis.
Diagnosis
If a vet suspects Crohn’s disease, you can expect several diagnostic steps. The first is an analysis of a stool sample to rule out a bacterial infection, worms and parasites. Ordering a complete blood count (CBC) is also standard. However, most dogs with Crohn’s disease have normal CBCs.
Assuming everything is negative and your dog is still in distress, the vet will want to take X-rays or perform an ultrasound exam to look for enlarged lymph nodes, excess gas, and thickening or scarring of the walls of the digestive tract. However, the only way to really know that the inflammatory cells of Crohn’s disease are present is a biopsy during an endoscopic procedure or exploratory surgery.
Your dog will undergo general anesthesia for an endoscopy or any surgery. If there is no evidence of Crohn’s disease, attention will probably turn toward potential food sensitivities.
Treatment
Because of the age of our Cocker and other health problems, the internist recommended not putting him through endoscopy. She made a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease based on other findings.
Our first step in treatment was to gradually change his diet to a mixture of half low-residue dry food and half sensitive-formula dry food. He initially received an antispasmodic drug, along with a combination of the antibiotic metronidazole to kill any bacterial overgrowth and a corticosteroid to calm inflammation. He took metronidazole periodically until he passed away from old age at 14 ½.
Your vet might recommend a number of other therapies. Among them are the use of cobalamin, a B vitamin, and certain types of worming to kill any infestations that might have escaped detection during a routine fecal analysis.
Some dogs respond to omega-3 fatty acids, prebiotics and probiotics. Vets also commonly prescribe medications like Imodium to control diarrhea. Some pets might require sulfasalazine or even immunosuppressive drugs.
If you have a dog with Crohn’s disease, you can expect periodic ups and downs. Vets typically tweak the treatment to try to tailor it as closely as possible to each dog’s needs.
Sources:
http://www.ccfa.org/info/about/crohns
http://www.vetinfo.com/crohns-disease-in-dogs.html
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2090&aid;=305
