# Dog chronic diarrhea & ibd - best food



## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

Hi guys, I'm looking for opinions on best food for dog with chronic diarrhea and IBD. My dog is 11 months old and is having diarrhea since he was 3 months. He's been diagnosed with giardiasis (twice) and recently with IBD. He's been taking several antibiotics including metronidazole and being wormed with panacur regularly. He recently had colitis and bloody stools. We've tried Eukanuba intestinal, James wellbeloved, Orijen - on which his stools were okay but he had reflux, then we moved to Acana lamb and apple - diarrhea, Acana Pacifica - diarrhea, now he's on Barking Heads fish n delish but he doesn't seem to be doing to well. I've read many reviews of Orijen and Acana and Barking heads and they seem superior dog foods and I would really like to stick to them. However my dog doesn't seem to be doing well while eating them as his problems are ongoing. I've also realised the above foods have quite high fat content - around 20% and 16% for Barking Heads. I was wondering if switching to Royal Canin Sensitive (tapioca and duck) would be a good idea. It has low fat content - 9%, and is designed for dogs with IBD. The only thing that worries me is that in practice RC seems to be lower quality - has less meat etc. I just wanted to get some opinions on RC, is it actually worse? Thanks!


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## Blackadder (Aug 25, 2014)

It would depend on how you define "worse". In terms of ingredients RC is certainly (a lot) worse than some of the other brands you mention but, for one reason or another these didn't suit your dog so....
If you try RC & find it helps your dogs symptoms & he does well on it, does that make it "worse" than Orijen? I would argue that in your case it's better... because it suits your dog.
If you find something that works for you & your buddy does it matter what it says on the bag?


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## totallypets (Dec 30, 2011)

You've tried lots of different foods in a relatively short time. For a dog with a sensitive tummy that isn't a good idea. If you try the RC food and it suits him then stick with that, but introduce it slowly, mixing in a small amount to the food he is currently eating and building up to more RC and less old food. 

The dog that I look after who has been diagnosed with IBD eats only Purina HA, it isn't a particularly 'good' food, but he does well on it. You might find that he does better on wet food rather than dry, or that soaking his food in water before he eats it helps too.


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## Doggiedelight (Jan 27, 2015)

In situations like this you need to forget about the lists of 'top dog foods' and just find one that suits your dog. The 'better' dog foods as you know are higher in protein. Some dogs just cant handle this. Some dogs will do better on middle of the range food.

Also to note some foods including Orijen include PEA FIBRE which is a “nutritionally functional fiber.” It is an insoluble fiber and it has certain laxative effects. It can cause some dogs to have loose stools. 

A good dog food is only good if its good for YOUR dog!


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Justine.Watson said:


> Hi guys, I'm looking for opinions on best food for dog with chronic diarrhea and IBD. My dog is 11 months old and is having diarrhea since he was 3 months. He's been diagnosed with giardiasis (twice) and recently with IBD. He's been taking several antibiotics including metronidazole and being wormed with panacur regularly. He recently had colitis and bloody stools. We've tried Eukanuba intestinal, James wellbeloved, Orijen - on which his stools were okay but he had reflux, then we moved to Acana lamb and apple - diarrhea, Acana Pacifica - diarrhea, now he's on Barking Heads fish n delish but he doesn't seem to be doing to well. I've read many reviews of Orijen and Acana and Barking heads and they seem superior dog foods and I would really like to stick to them. However my dog doesn't seem to be doing well while eating them as his problems are ongoing. I've also realised the above foods have quite high fat content - around 20% and 16% for Barking Heads. I was wondering if switching to Royal Canin Sensitive (tapioca and duck) would be a good idea. It has low fat content - 9%, and is designed for dogs with IBD. The only thing that worries me is that in practice RC seems to be lower quality - has less meat etc. I just wanted to get some opinions on RC, is it actually worse? Thanks!


If your dog is ill then the best food is the one that works. It's all very well and good wanting to feed the "best" but if it goes right through them then it's not the best.
For our dog who nearly died from IBD, the best food is Chappie original tinned. He's been on this for 8 of his 10 years and he will remain on it until he dies. It's the best food for him.
Have you tried settling his tum on just bland white fish and rice which you cook yourself?


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

totallypets said:


> You've tried lots of different foods in a relatively short time. For a dog with a sensitive tummy that isn't a good idea. If you try the RC food and it suits him then stick with that, but introduce it slowly, mixing in a small amount to the food he is currently eating and building up to more RC and less old food.
> 
> The dog that I look after who has been diagnosed with IBD eats only Purina HA, it isn't a particularly 'good' food, but he does well on it. You might find that he does better on wet food rather than dry, or that soaking his food in water before he eats it helps too.


Totally agree. My old collie (14 yrs old next week) was diagnosed with severe food intolerance at about 3 yrs old. She is also fed Purina HA and she hasn't had diarrhea for at least 3 years now. It certainly wouldn't be my food of choice but it works. The single source protein is soya. I add a very small amount of tinned Chappie to her dinner just to make the Purina a bit more palatable. I also use the Purina for treats out on a walk as she simply can't tolerate anything else.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

Thank you for all replies. That's truth, I should look for a food that works best for him. It's sometimes a bit confusing, it seems like better quality = better health but obviously it's not the case. 


rona said:


> Have you tried settling his tum on just bland white fish and rice which you cook yourself?


 - I was trying chicken and rice but this resulted in even worse diarrhea.
My vet took a stool sample to check for giardia - this seems to be an ongoing problem... He'll probably have B12 and pancreas tests done as well. I've switched him to Barking Heads almost two weeks ago and he got colitis yesterday. I'm not sure if it's because of the food and am a bit afraid of trying another food so quickly. But he's really unwell. We may need to go back to vet and I think he'll put him on antibiotics again. I'd really like to avoid it and to make sure we'll try the most suitable food because he's already very slim and exhausted. 
I've never considered Purina HA. Between Royal Canin Sensitivity (COMPOSITION: tapioca, dehydrated duck meat, hydrolysed poultry proteins, vegetable fibres, animal fats, beet pulp) and Purina HA, which of the two would be better to start with?


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## andrea84 (Aug 16, 2012)

My alfie has the same problems and like you I tried him on all different food and wanted what was best quality for him, but everything I tried went threw him! He is now on burgess sensitive salmon and rice, he has been fine ever since,so I have stuck to that good luck and I hope you find something that works soon x


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Justine.Watson said:


> Thank you for all replies. That's truth, I should look for a food that works best for him. It's sometimes a bit confusing, it seems like better quality = better health but obviously it's not the case.
> - I was trying chicken and rice but this resulted in even worse diarrhea.
> My vet took a stool sample to check for giardia - this seems to be an ongoing problem... He'll probably have B12 and pancreas tests done as well. I've switched him to Barking Heads almost two weeks ago and he got colitis yesterday. I'm not sure if it's because of the food and am a bit afraid of trying another food so quickly. But he's really unwell. We may need to go back to vet and I think he'll put him on antibiotics again. I'd really like to avoid it and to make sure we'll try the most suitable food because he's already very slim and exhausted.
> I've never considered Purina HA. Between Royal Canin Sensitivity (COMPOSITION: tapioca, dehydrated duck meat, hydrolysed poultry proteins, vegetable fibres, animal fats, beet pulp) and Purina HA, which of the two would be better to start with?


Oh I do feel for you as I went through all this with my bitch albeit she was a bit older. I tried so many different foods, she had so many different ABs, was tested for campylobactor and giardia more once once, etc. etc. It is so worrying and you get to the point where you simply don't know what to do or try for the best. I was actually referred to one of the veterinary colleges but I seemed to know more about the subject than the specialist I saw, who couldn't answer my questions.

When your poor dog was tested positive for giardia, how long was the course of ABs because it can be difficult to shift?


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## totallypets (Dec 30, 2011)

Justine.Watson said:


> Thank you for all replies. That's truth, I should look for a food that works best for him. It's sometimes a bit confusing, it seems like better quality = better health but obviously it's not the case.
> - I was trying *chicken and rice but this resulted in even worse diarrhea*.
> My vet took a stool sample to check for giardia - this seems to be an ongoing problem... He'll probably have B12 and pancreas tests done as well. I've switched him to Barking Heads almost two weeks ago and he got colitis yesterday. I'm not sure if it's because of the food and am a bit afraid of trying another food so quickly. But he's really unwell. We may need to go back to vet and I think he'll put him on antibiotics again. I'd really like to avoid it and to make sure we'll try the most suitable food because he's already very slim and exhausted.
> I've never considered Purina HA. Between Royal Canin Sensitivity (COMPOSITION: tapioca, dehydrated duck meat, hydrolysed poultry proteins, vegetable fibres, animal fats, beet pulp) and Purina HA, which of the two would be better to start with?


It could be that he is allergic to chicken or rice or possibly both! You need to check back the ingredients for the foods that you've fed previously and see if you can see any pattern.

With the dog I look after, he saw a specialist and following lots of tests was diagnosed with IBD. They put him on steroids and antibiotics and then he had to start a home cooked diet for 6 months I think from memory. The specialist suggested they feed him a novel protein; either duck, rabbit or venison with potato or sweet potato. They chose duck as it was the easiest to source, and potato. They only had one problem when he was on this diet which was when they ran out of potatoes and substituted with rice. Rice is definitely a trigger food for him. The specialist now wants him to stay on Purina HA now as everything is stable with no flare ups, but they can use liver and duck as treats as they have been established as not causing a problem.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

Twiggy said:


> When your poor dog was tested positive for giardia,


 - he's been tested 7 and then 2 months ago. He's having tests done again - results next week. He had blood tests yesterday for Pancrea and B12. My vet put him on Royal Canin Gastrointestinal low fat wet food. We're about to get dry food today BUT I had a look at label and it has rice and wheat... When he was a puppy I gave him Eukanuba with wheat and chicken and he was red and itchy and got ear infection. Then when I cooked rice and chicken he had diarrhea. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to put him on this RC low fat diet. When you look at description it is said to work for IBD, EPI etc etc but why there's wheat in it... I'm a bit skeptical........ He's unwell enough, I don't want to add skin allergy to it. But vet says he could be allergic to some other ingredients in Eukanuba, not necessarily wheat.

I was thinking about Purina HA or RC Sensitivity instead.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2015)

Neither royal canin or purina are good foods. In fact purina make the worst foods bakers for example has 4% meat nowhere near enough and a stupid qmount of send a dog bouncing of the walls e numbers.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

danielled said:


> Neither royal canin or purina are good foods. In fact purina make the worst foods bakers for example has 4% meat nowhere near enough and a stupid qmount of send a dog bouncing of the walls e numbers.


Yes, I know that. But everything else I've tried so far doesn't work. He was on orijen and acana, barking heads and jwb. He ended up with chronic diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and pain.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2015)

Justine.Watson said:


> Yes, I know that. But everything else I've tried so far doesn't work. He was on orijen and acana, barking heads and jwb. He ended up with chronic diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and pain.


Have you tried grainfree foods some dogs do better with grain free.


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## cbrookman (Jun 12, 2011)

Well, I first posted on here some years ago when my now 4 year old dog (a Flatcoated Retriever) was 4 months old, about his loose stools and runs etc and general intolerance to foods. I went on to gradually try all sorts of hypoallergenic, grain free, fish and potato based foods with varying levels of success. It became an embarrassment taking the dog out in public in case he had a bout of diarrhoea. After a further 2 years of varying levels of success with commercial foods I decided to swap to a raw meat egg fish and bone diet and have not looked back since. The dog is no longer bony, at one point I was concerned people may think he was a neglect case. It has taken 2 years to gradually gain 5 kg in weight and he looks a different dog. I would thoroughly recommend a raw food diet for dogs with dietary sensitivity.
Forgot to add, I had also tried using Probiotic supplements with some level of improvement. The dog suffered from terrible flatulence too (and we all suffered having to suffer him near us!) and the probiotic powder helped this a bit but nothing has been as effective as swapping to a raw food diet>


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## Blackadder (Aug 25, 2014)

danielled said:


> Have you tried grainfree foods some dogs do better with grain free.


I believe Orijen & Acana Pacifica are both grain free 

While I & probably 90% of the members here would agree that Purina & RC are not good foods in any sense that isn't really what matters. What does matter is finding a food to suit the OPs dog & help his symptoms, if that happens to be a Purina/RC product then so be it... & yes, I typed that with gritted teeth!


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

danielled said:


> Neither royal canin or purina are good foods. In fact purina make the worst foods bakers for example has 4% meat nowhere near enough and a stupid qmount of send a dog bouncing of the walls e numbers.


I agree with you and in normal circumstances would not feed RC or Purina BUT both Royal Canin, Hills and Purina produce a veterinary diet hydrolised single source protein which do work with cases with the OP's poor dog and my bitch.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2015)

Twiggy said:


> I agree with you and in normal circumstances would not feed RC or Purina BUT both Royal Canin, Hills and Purina produce a veterinary diet hydrolised single source protein which do work with cases with the OP's poor dog and my bitch.


Yes you are right, some of the not very good foods suit some dogs not others. I like you wouldn't feed purina, royal canin or any of the not good foods if I could avoid it. I'm able to avoid feeding the rubbish but others may not be.


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## 0310star (Jul 7, 2015)

I am currently having a bit of an issue with feeding, not quite the same as you but I have 1 dog that goes nuts on most dry foods (we are assuming grain related) and one that has quite a weak stomach and most things give him the runs. They were on Lukullus wet but they both needed their food upping (both young dogs under a year who had a growth spurt at the same time!) but upping the food gave them the runs and they always seemed to be starving! 
I spoke to Ness at Arden Grange and we have decided to give AG Sensitive a go as in theory it would tackle both of their issues. We were waiting for the sample she sent out to arrive and one of the dogs had terrible diarrhea so she advised giving them white fish and well boiled mashed potato to settle them and then switch from that to the AG. 

Today is day 3 of the home cooked food and its working well, had 2 days on Pollock and Mash and today they have chicken and rice. They both have settled tummies and have started having a few bits of AG sensitive added in. Today we are starting the actual change over to AG over a week or so, so fingers crossed it works.

To be honest, in your situation I also would say Raw could be the best thing for you to try. We used to feed raw to one of ours but she kept regurgitating after every meal so we had to switch her, but generally it is much easier as you don't have to be so strict on quantity and its mostly done by eye. If you aren't sure about making the raw food up yourself then look at Natural Instinct, its ready prepared frozen raw meals with all the veg etc added in already. I know someone with rescue dogs from Romania and Cyprus and she has great results on this!


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## teepee1972 (Sep 9, 2015)

I do think that some dogs might not do great with high fat and protein (however good it is for most dogs)

I would consider the vets kitchen senior? it has salmon as the main protein, but in moderate amounts and pretty low fat- it does have rice and oats though...


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

Thank you for all replies and suggestions. We've done some more tests - we've checked him for food allergies. It came back positive for almost everything: he can't eat chicken, fish, turkey, lamb, beef, all grains, peas etc etc. He's okay with venison, potato, carrots... Basically in theory there is no commercial food he can eat.

For the last month he's been eating Royal Canin sensitivity duck and rice. He's put on weight over 1kg, we're very happy about that as he looks much better. He is however scratching and chewing his paws, probably because of rice. He's also having reflux - he's burping a lot and smacking his lips. Is it because duck is high in fat and may cause GERD?
Anyway he seems to be doing better on wet food, his stools aren't perfect but they are not as runny as they used to be. The problem is with that I can't find food to feed him. Ideally it should be with venison, rabbit or duck(?), grain free and wet.
I thought about raw food but I'm worried about salmonella - I know dogs can handle it but f his intestines are inflamed getting salmonella wouldn't be great.
I found Natures Menu Country hunter succulent duck pouches - they're 80% duck, grain free. I got them yesterday and opened one of them - they seem very rich, they smell very strong, I'm not sure if they'll be good for his sensitive stomach! I thought about mixing them with some sweet potatoes but again they're very strong and I'm really worried about changing food again. I know he's allergic to rice so he probably shouldn't eat it but his tummy is so sensitive and his reflux got worse recently ...


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## Blackadder (Aug 25, 2014)

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/wet_dog_food/wolf_of_wilderness

This has Wild Boar, Reindeer & Duck recipes... no grains or peas.

eg:
Arctic Spirit:
66% reindeer hearts, liver, lung, tripe, 28.8% meat stock, 2% blackcurrants, 2% cranberries, 1% minerals, 0.2 % wild herbs (dandelion root, nettle, ribwort, common yarrow)

It's not cheap but he's unlikely to have had Wild Boar or Reindeer before so it may be worth a try.

Edit: Scratch the Duck, it's got Beef in it.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

BlackadderUK said:


> Edit: Scratch the Duck, it's got Beef in it


Do you mean Natures menu succulent duck has beef ?


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

BlackadderUK said:


> http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/wet_dog_food/wolf_of_wilderness
> 
> This has Wild Boar, Reindeer & Duck recipes... no grains or peas.
> 
> ...





Justine.Watson said:


> Do you mean Natures menu succulent duck has beef ?


Sorry, you meant Wolf of Wilderness.

And what do you think about natures menu succulent duck and adding some sweet potato? http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/product-succulent-duck.aspx
Or is duck too fat for a dog with reflux? At some point he was eating RC GI low fat - he had no reflux but had diarrhea (the food had chicken in it).

I'm trying to find food that I can get in a pet store to avoid waiting for deliveries and risking we'll run out of food. If not, I'll need to go online but anyway would rather avoid it.


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## Blackadder (Aug 25, 2014)

The food you linked too contains 7% oils & fats, not particularly high especially if you're going to bulk it out with sweet potato, carrots etc. If you can get it locally then it may be worth a try but then you always have the risk that it will upset the progress you have made.... it's a toughie! If it were my dog, given the scratching/paw chewing, I'd try it but that's only my opinion.


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## Tanks mum (Dec 1, 2015)

My boxer decided to eat a cushion last year and it ended up stuck. He had surgery by a specialist gastroenterologist. He was also diagnosed with IBD and need vit b12 jabs monthly and folic acid.

He changed our food to Trovet VPD it has one protein venison and potato and it cleared him up instantly we have been using it ever since and no more diarrhoea issues since. We purchase it from our vets but you can get it from bowmeows website I've used them before and they are very good.

I hope this helps


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

Thank you for advice. I bought pouches of Natures Menu duck and had to return them - they are very 'rich' and my dog got very unwell after eating them... He's back on RC sensitivity. He had another flare up recently - after a visit in a grooming salon. I can't get it under control now - first he had diarrhea with mucus and blood, now his stools are very 'shiny'...


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

Tanks mum said:


> My boxer decided to eat a cushion last year and it ended up stuck. He had surgery by a specialist gastroenterologist. He was also diagnosed with IBD and need vit b12 jabs monthly and folic acid.
> 
> He changed our food to Trovet VPD it has one protein venison and potato and it cleared him up instantly we have been using it ever since and no more diarrhoea issues since. We purchase it from our vets but you can get it from bowmeows website I've used them before and they are very good.
> 
> I hope this helps


Is it easy to soak this food? I have an impression that he's doing better on canned food - he's put on weight a lot since eating RC cans so I'm afraid to go back to kibbles...

Have you ever heard of Billy and Margot food? They do venison with carrots and apples. Looks good but I can't find any reviews of it so I'm not sure if it's worth a try.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

I would not put much stock into allergy testing if I were you, one wonders how dogs have survive for centuries if food allergies were as common as some would have you believe.

http://www.2ndchance.info/allergytesting.htm


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

You can feed plain rabbit, but do a bit of research re rabbit starvation, not sure if it's entirely correct, but I think I recall reading that it's so low in fat, it isn't good to feed just rabbit and can be very dangerous on its own.

I know it may cause issues, but have you tried an elimination diet? I would take advice on this so you don't cause more problems.


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## Blackadder (Aug 25, 2014)

smokeybear said:


> I would not put much stock into allergy testing if I were you, *one wonders how dogs have survive for centuries if food allergies were as common as some would have you believe. *


That might be because before the introduction of processed, highly concentrated commercial food dogs were fed table scraps or ate what they could scavenge, they would have had a variety of food items, any food intolerance would be a minor "blip" as it could be days before that dog came across the same problem causing food....
Today dogs are generally fed the same food day after day, any intolerance is going to be exacerbated by continuous exposure.

Also, decades (centuries) ago dogs didn't live so closely watched as they do now, they tended to roam & a case of the squits wouldn't be noticed.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

cinnamontoast said:


> You can feed plain rabbit, but do a bit of research re rabbit starvation, not sure if it's entirely correct, but I think I recall reading that it's so low in fat, it isn't good to feed just rabbit and can be very dangerous on its own.
> 
> I know it may cause issues, but have you tried an elimination diet? I would take advice on this so you don't cause more problems.


I was looking at Wainwright's rabbit and veg: http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0877/wainwrights-trays-adult-grain-free but it has a high fat content - my dog tends to gulp and smack his lips a lot so may have reflux... I could try plain rabbit but we travel a lot so I'm looking for a food that would be easy to transport.

I'm looking at raw food as well but same problem - travelling. Have anyone tried any raw food? I've heard dogs are doing great on raw but because my dog has very sensitive stomach I'm afraid he won't be able to deal with all bacteria that can be found in raw meat.

And Billy and Margot anyone? This one looks really good but I really can't find any reviews... https://www.monsterpetsupplies.co.u...gle-shopping&gclid=COzZvYuZjsoCFZadGwod4yILfw


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

If he were mine I'd be starting him on a food with a smallish ingredient list. The likes of Acana and Origen are great foods, but because their ingredient list is quite vast, if he is having trouble with a certain food type and that intolerance is contributing to his IBD symptoms, you won't know what is causing the problem.
How was his IBD diagnosed?

If chicken and rice is causing the problem, consider replacing rice with potato (skin, boil, mash) and trying that. \
If he is suffering with IBD like symptoms related to irritation of the intestines or intestinal lining, you might want to add gastrointesinal protectant such as diarsanyl plus (see below) to his homecooked bland meals to reduce the irritation and aid healing.
http://www.ceva.co.uk/Products/Products-list/Diarsanyl-Plus
Keep him on your small, bland home cooked meals for as long as you need for the symptoms to start to fade.

My go-to foods for my IBD, intolerances dog (alongside carefully selected raw components) are the following:

Wainwright's Adult Salmon and Potato (Wet).
Ingredients:
Salmon (76%), Rehydrated Potato (8%), Minerals, Seaweed, Chicory Root.
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/wainwrights-adult-salmon-with-potato-395g

Fishmongers finest wet foods (Ocean Fish, Salmon and Trout varieties)

Ocean Fish variety ingredients:
Ocean Fish (70%), Rehydrated Potato (20%), Vitamins, Minerals, Seaweed.
(as above available from PAH)

Naturo Adult Grain Free- Chicken and Potato with vegetables
Ingredients: Chicken 60%, Potato 26%, Carrots 5%, Peas 5%, Minerals, Sunflower Oil, Salmon Oil, Dried Tomato, Dried Kelp, Dried Basil.

*also the salmon and potato variety.

Wainwrights Grain Free wet foods (especially Turkey variety for my dog).
(as above available at PAH).

ETA: Wainwrights grain free wet has a rabbit variety. If that is a meat type that he is not allergic to you might want to consider that.

Ingredients: Rabbit (72%), Peas (5%), Carrots (2%), Sweet Potato, Seaweed, Vitamins, Minerals, Alfalfa, Flaxseed, Chicory Root, Yucca, Parsely, Rosemary, Garlic
Sold at PAH again
Test the water slowly. I'd start on one meat type to start with. Stick with it for a bit, once you know your dog is ok with it, then tentatively try another meat type.


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

Two of mine are on raw, but I'd be worried starting yours on another type of food would cause problems. It is, however, fab for an elimination diet, chicken for a week, then beef etc. If he's allegedly allergic, I'd go with lemmsy's ideas of few ingredients so you can pinpoint something he can tolerate and do well on.


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

Justine.Watson said:


> I was looking at Wainwright's rabbit and veg: http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0877/wainwrights-trays-adult-grain-free but it has a high fat content - my dog tends to gulp and smack his lips a lot so may have reflux... I could try plain rabbit but we travel a lot so I'm looking for a food that would be easy to transport.
> 
> I'm looking at raw food as well but same problem - travelling. Have anyone tried any raw food? I've heard dogs are doing great on raw but because my dog has very sensitive stomach I'm afraid he won't be able to deal with all bacteria that can be found in raw meat.
> 
> And Billy and Margot anyone? This one looks really good but I really can't find any reviews... https://www.monsterpetsupplies.co.u...gle-shopping&gclid=COzZvYuZjsoCFZadGwod4yILfw


Some other options

Lukullus (does have some rice in it)
http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0624/lukullus-tins

Lily's kitchen- venison and rabbit terrine
http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=361671

Or if you do want to stick with duck:
http://www.harringtonspetfood.com/products/UK/adult-dog-food-wet-duck

It does still have a small amount of peas in it. That said, Smokeybear offers sound advice re allergy testing and its accuracy.

Is he ok with Salmon?


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## 0310star (Jul 7, 2015)

After the issues I stated above, My 2 have been on Arden Grange sensitive dry for about 2 months now and I have to say I have not had 1 runny tummy, no itching etc from either of them. Both really shiny too that people keep commenting.

I know they do that in a wet and dry version so could be worth keeping in mind?


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

lemmsy said:


> How was his IBD diagnosed?


 - we've done almost all tests possible (pancreatitis, liver, stool etc etc) and all of them came back fine. He had ultrasound which showed thickening of bowel walls characteristic for IBD. He didn't have biopsy - we're a bit afraid to do it, he reacts really unwell to every medicine we give him, really everything even probiotics. I know we need to do it to confirm but we would rather avoid it if we could. We're thinking about doing endoscopy instead.
He was actually really unwell last night, he was vomiting bile (even though I'm feeding small and frequent meals), had flatulence and today he has diarrhea again.
My vet wants to give him steroid injection (he was on prednisone tablets before and had horrible diarrhea and lethargy). He also wants to change his food to RC Anallergenic. I have an appointment with vet today and I really don't know what to do. If he has ulcers, reflux or SIBO he may get worse after steroids and this is the last thing we want.
I'm actually thinking if I should ask for antibiotics instead (they used to help, for short term but maybe that's better than steroids?) and try that anallergenic food (it's really awful!). Then if it helps I could start reintroducing food, maybe start home cooked diet with venison and sweet potato.

Also everything got worse after that visit in a grooming salon two weeks ago! Maybe he's got an infection...


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## Westie Mum (Feb 5, 2015)

Justine.Watson said:


> I And Billy and Margot anyone? This one looks really good but I really can't find any reviews... https://www.monsterpetsupplies.co.u...gle-shopping&gclid=COzZvYuZjsoCFZadGwod4yILfw


We are currently doing an elimination diet with our boy Westie and he is doing really well on the Wolf of Wilderness from Zooplus, Arctic Spirit which is Reindeer as it has very limited ingredients but is still a complete food. http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/wet_dog_food/wolf_of_wilderness/wet/480836

He also has the Billy & Margot Venison which he loves!! A few more ingredients in there and is twice the price of the Zooplus one. I've just ordered him another 12 cans of this actually.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

0310star said:


> After the issues I stated above, My 2 have been on Arden Grange sensitive dry for about 2 months now and I have to say I have not had 1 runny tummy, no itching etc from either of them. Both really shiny too that people keep commenting.
> 
> I know they do that in a wet and dry version so could be worth keeping in mind?


Thanks, I was thinking about this one too. But his blood tests showed his allergic to fish! He seems to be allergic to everything... I'm not sure how accurate they are though. Maybe would be worth trying Arden then.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Justine.Watson said:


> He was actually really unwell last night, he was vomiting bile (even though I'm feeding small and frequent meals), had flatulence and today he has diarrhea again.


Probably because you tried another food 


Justine.Watson said:


> Also everything got worse after that visit in a grooming salon two weeks ago! Maybe he's got an infection...


They may have given him treats. If I had a dog this ill I wouldn't leave him anywhere except the vets. I'd stay with him.



Justine.Watson said:


> For the last month he's been eating Royal Canin sensitivity duck and rice. He's put on weight over 1kg, we're very happy about that as he looks much better. He is however scratching and chewing his paws, probably because of rice. He's also having reflux - he's burping a lot and smacking his lips.


Why oh why do you want to change it if it's working? The foot thing could be unrelated and the burping may be because his stomach has started to work properly. Dogs die of this and if you've found a food that keeps him stable then please pleas please,stick with it. At least for a few months to allow the stomach lining to heal.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

rona said:


> Probably because you tried another food
> 
> They may have given him treats. If I had a dog this ill I wouldn't leave him anywhere except the vets. I'd stay with him.
> 
> Why oh why do you want to change it if it's working? The foot thing could be unrelated and the burping may be because his stomach has started to work properly. Dogs die of this and if you've found a food that keeps him stable then please pleas please,stick with it. At least for a few months to allow the stomach lining to heal.


I've not tried another food, he's still on ROyal Canin Sensitivity duck and rice, nothing else.
I don't want to change it but if he keeps having diarrhea/reflux I'm not sure if it's actually working. That's why vet wants to put him on Anallergenic and I'm just looking for an alternative because I know it's a horrible food.

I spoke with people at the groomer and told them not to give him any treats as he has stomach problems. But of course, can't be 100% sure they've not given him anything.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Justine.Watson said:


> For the last month he's been eating Royal Canin sensitivity duck and rice. He's put on weight over 1kg, we're very happy about that as he looks much better. He is however scratching and chewing his paws, probably because of rice. He's also having reflux - he's burping a lot and smacking his lips.





Justine.Watson said:


> I found Natures Menu Country hunter succulent duck pouches - they're 80% duck, grain free. I got them yesterday and opened one of them - they seem very rich, they smell very strong, I'm not sure if they'll be good for his sensitive stomach! I thought about mixing them with some sweet potatoes but again they're very strong and I'm really worried about changing food again.





Justine.Watson said:


> Thank you for advice. I bought pouches of Natures Menu duck and had to return them - they are very 'rich' and my dog got very unwell after eating them... He's back on RC sensitivity. He had another flare up recently - after a visit in a grooming salon. I can't get it under control now - first he had diarrhea with mucus and blood, now his stools are very 'shiny'...





Justine.Watson said:


> I've not tried another food, he's still on ROyal Canin Sensitivity duck and rice, nothing else.
> I don't want to change it but if he keeps having diarrhea/reflux I'm not sure if it's actually working. That's why vet wants to put him on Anallergenic and I'm just looking for an alternative because I know it's a horrible food.
> 
> I spoke with people at the groomer and told them not to give him any treats as he has stomach problems. But of course, can't be 100% sure they've not given him anything.


?????
I can only go on what you post. From this it looks as if you tried Nature menu sometime after 15th December?


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

rona said:


> ?????
> I can only go on what you post. From this it looks as if you tried Nature menu sometime after 15th December?


Sorry, should have explained it better - I've basically opened one pouch and it was very rich and strong smelling, I gave him tiny tiny bit on my finger, he basically just licked it and started burping and gulping almost straight away. I've never properly changed him over to that food. He seemed unwell after tasting a bit of it so I gave up and returned it and continued with royal canin.


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## Dimwit (Nov 10, 2011)

Justine.Watson said:


> I've not tried another food, he's still on ROyal Canin Sensitivity duck and rice, nothing else.
> I don't want to change it but if he keeps having diarrhea/reflux I'm not sure if it's actually working. That's why vet wants to put him on Anallergenic and I'm just looking for an alternative because I know it's a horrible food.


At this stage it may be best for him to have the anallergenic food.
My dog has just been referred to a specialist to investigate his frequent bouts of colitis/gastritis and part of their plan for him is to probably put him on a hydrolysed protein/elimination diet. It is not my first choice but I can see why it may be necessary.
In the case of your dog with potentially extensive allergies it sounds like you don't have many alternatives. There should be nothing in the diet that he will be allergic to and it will give his system a chance to recover until you get to the point where you can slowly start to introduce different protein sources.
You could carry on trying different types of food but the risk is that you will just prolong the illness and end up doing more harm than good.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Dimwit said:


> At this stage it may be best for him to have the anallergenic food.
> My dog has just been referred to a specialist to investigate his frequent bouts of colitis/gastritis and part of their plan for him is to probably put him on a hydrolysed protein/elimination diet. It is not my first choice but I can see why it may be necessary.
> In the case of your dog with potentially extensive allergies it sounds like you don't have many alternatives. There should be nothing in the diet that he will be allergic to and it will give his system a chance to recover until you get to the point where you can slowly start to introduce different protein sources.
> You could carry on trying different types of food but the risk is that you will just prolong the illness and end up doing more harm than good.


This. ^^^
I do wish people would realise how bad this can be, we've just had a PFer lose their dog to this and we very nearly lost ours when he was young. Absolutely nothing but what you know works must pass their lips, ours can, even now, 8 years on, have a relapse if he picks up something that has been dropped by a person, it doesn't have to be large, just a trigger.

Even when my OH is very stict with people about giving him treats, there's still some that think it'll be ok just one..........no it won't and your groomers must be made aware of this. It isn't just an upset tum. It's life threatening


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Justine.Watson said:


> Sorry, should have explained it better - I've basically opened one pouch and it was very rich and strong smelling, I gave him tiny tiny bit on my finger, he basically just licked it and started burping and gulping almost straight away. I've never properly changed him over to that food. He seemed unwell after tasting a bit of it so I gave up and returned it and continued with royal canin.


So it's not the RC which is causing the burping and gulping?

This is getting very confusing!


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

rona said:


> So it's not the RC which is causing the burping and gulping?
> 
> This is getting very confusing!


He's been gulping and smacking his lips for the last 4 or 5 months. He's been on prednisone for 3 days (and had diarrhea and was lethargic). He's been on metronidazole 3 times and there was a slight improvement every time but only for short period of time. 
Then he was on Royal canin intestinal low fat - very bad diarrhea. Then we moved him onto sensitivity control duck and rice - he's put on weight and his stools were better. After few weeks they started to get soft again. After grooming everything got very bad. 
Gulping and smacking his lips started when he was a puppy, there are days when he's better and days when he's worse like recently. 
When trying famotidine or omeprazole he had diarrhea. 
I wanted to try Natures Menu succulent duck because he had blood tests last month and they came back positive for rice - which is in royal canin sensitivity he's on just now. But the natures menu food was very rich. His episodes of vomiting and gulping used to happen at night, after giving him a bit of the natures menu he started gulping straight away. 
On royal canin sensivitity he got better, he's put on weight But it's still not perfect, he keeps burping, smacking lips and having soft stools.

Vet wants to try anallergenic to rule out food intolerance.


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## Westie Mum (Feb 5, 2015)

Poor boy - he is a westie too i read on a previous post ? 

My own boy doesn't have tummy issues but was super itchy and turned his feet brown within a few days from the excessive licking, after months of issues with his anal glands. 

Vet was more than happy to stick him on tablets for the rest of his life at 3 years old or subject him to the hydronised foods and look baffled when I didn't seem happy, plus carry out all sorts of allergy testing. 

When I pushed to see the practise owner, the recommendations were very different. He didn't want Oscar on tablets either lomg term and openly talked about the hydronised foods being chicken feathers and advised against allergy testing for food as they are not reliable. 

Having read up about elimination diets in between appointments, I discussed this with our vet and he was happy for us to go down that route using a complete novel protein (we started with kangaroo but changed to venison as there are quite a few pure venison treats he could have aswell) and I am so happy we did. We are a couple of months down the line now (it's a very long process and nothing must be rushed) and so far we know Oscar is not allergic to kangaroo, venison (with varies berries) or peas ! He has not had one crumb of anything else ..... That part is super important. 

Anyway, I just wanted to say that you need to 100% trust your vet (they do not know an awful lot about nutrition tbh) take the allergy test results with a pinch of salt and find a food that suits your boys tum and stick to it for at least a few months (no other proteins/treats) and any change afterwards needs to be very very slowly. That said, if you find his optimum food, there is no need to change it at all really. Yes variety is the spice of life but some cannot tolerate the spice  

Also just be careful to not swop foods too quickly initially (takes a good week to swop between brands/flavours) or feed too much, both result in the squits which may have nothing to do with IBD. Many dogs manage IBS/colitis very well on normal good foods without having to spend the rest of their lives eating hydronised stuff, esp at 11 months old. 

Just my opinion, of course


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## Westie Mum (Feb 5, 2015)

Also meant to add, as he hasn't been fully diagnosed with IBD yet, has the vet tested for Addisons disease ?


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## Sacrechat (Feb 27, 2011)

My dog is prone to a dire rear, so she is on Chappie and Orijen dry and it works wonders for her. One of my cats also has a dire rear and no food I have tried has helped and then someone on here mentioned giving him pureed pumpkin. I can't believe the difference it has made. He was pooping diarrhoea several times daily and now we only see a loose stool once a week. I read the reviews on Libby's Pureed Pumpkin on the Ocado website and a lot of people are using it both for their cats and dogs with huge success. It's worth considering if none of the foods work.


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## Justine.Watson (Jun 8, 2015)

Westie Mum said:


> Poor boy - he is a westie too i read on a previous post ?
> 
> My own boy doesn't have tummy issues but was super itchy and turned his feet brown within a few days from the excessive licking, after months of issues with his anal glands.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for all the info.
We're not giving him any more medication so that's good, and we ended up going for hydrolyzed diet (with feathers!). I'm not sure if I like it, I started adding a bit to his current food just to swap slowly and he doesn't really want to eat it! I'm thinking about stopping it now before I switch him completely and he just won't eat it... Maybe venison would be better. 
Or should I try to make him to eat it and after couple of months when his stomach calms down (hopefully) try to move him onto venison or raw food? I'm really very confused... The other thing I don't like about that hydrolyzed diet is that it's kibbles and he's always been doing bad on kibbles. It was when we moved him onto cans when he's put on weight and started to look much much better. But his stools are still pretty soft, plus gulping is a bit worrying. And sometimes he seems to be in pain, he just lies down and groans...

He's been tested for Adisons and it came back negative.


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## Britton Bullie (Jan 5, 2016)

Justine.Watson said:


> Hi guys, I'm looking for opinions on best food for dog with chronic diarrhea and IBD. My dog is 11 months old and is having diarrhea since he was 3 months. He's been diagnosed with giardiasis (twice) and recently with IBD. He's been taking several antibiotics including metronidazole and being wormed with panacur regularly. He recently had colitis and bloody stools. We've tried Eukanuba intestinal, James wellbeloved, Orijen - on which his stools were okay but he had reflux, then we moved to Acana lamb and apple - diarrhea, Acana Pacifica - diarrhea, now he's on Barking Heads fish n delish but he doesn't seem to be doing to well. I've read many reviews of Orijen and Acana and Barking heads and they seem superior dog foods and I would really like to stick to them. However my dog doesn't seem to be doing well while eating them as his problems are ongoing. I've also realised the above foods have quite high fat content - around 20% and 16% for Barking Heads. I was wondering if switching to Royal Canin Sensitive (tapioca and duck) would be a good idea. It has low fat content - 9%, and is designed for dogs with IBD. The only thing that worries me is that in practice RC seems to be lower quality - has less meat etc. I just wanted to get some opinions on RC, is it actually worse? Thanks!


I don't know if this will help you but I have a 8 week old pup. He had blood in his poo with diarrhoea. Took him to the vets and turns out he had worms so they gave us loads of meds including the metronidazole. We got told to SLOWLY change his diet- he was on scrambled eggs and wet tinned dog mix. Have changed to chicken and rice with dried dog biscuits over the last few days and it seems to be working a treat so far! Hope this helps?!


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## Dimwit (Nov 10, 2011)

My understanding of the hydrolysed protein diet is that you switch your dog straight onto that and feed it exclusively (no treats or anything else) for the period of time suggested by your vet (probably about 6 weeks) before introducing other foods.
Given that your dog has had ongoing issues I would take the vets advice regarding the hydrolysed protein diet (given that the protein is broken down into its constituent amino acids, that fact that some of the protein comes from feathers would not really be an issue for me) rather than trying yet another food source that could prolong the problem or make it worse.
The fact that this is in kibble form should not be an issue either as the diet is designed to have nothing in it that could trigger an immune reaction (unlike other commercial kibble diets you might have tried) though, obviously if you have any concerns over loss of weight/condition you should discuss it with your vet.


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## Barbaraandsky (Jan 4, 2016)

My dog was suffering from ongoing diarrhea, discharge from the her eyes, ears and nose since I got her and although I kept her on the food she was on at the breeder's. So I tried a number of dry and wet foods, hypoallergetic and sensitive varieties, nothing helped.We went to the vet, had everything checked, including blood and thyroid, because her coat was getting really dull and she more and more apathic. 
What helped in the end was switching her to raw meat/offal/bones approximately 1 year ago (Tessa is now 19 months old) and all symptoms cleared within a couple of weeks. I must admit that I would not have chosen raw without Tessa's health issues due to my prejudices based on lack of information, but I am not looking back at all and most importantly, it is what works for her. And look at her coat now!


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## Westie Mum (Feb 5, 2015)

Justine.Watson said:


> Thanks so much for all the info.
> We're not giving him any more medication so that's good, and we ended up going for hydrolyzed diet (with feathers!). I'm not sure if I like it, I started adding a bit to his current food just to swap slowly and he doesn't really want to eat it! I'm thinking about stopping it now before I switch him completely and he just won't eat it... Maybe venison would be better.
> Or should I try to make him to eat it and after couple of months when his stomach calms down (hopefully) try to move him onto venison or raw food? I'm really very confused... The other thing I don't like about that hydrolyzed diet is that it's kibbles and he's always been doing bad on kibbles. It was when we moved him onto cans when he's put on weight and started to look much much better. But his stools are still pretty soft, plus gulping is a bit worrying. And sometimes he seems to be in pain, he just lies down and groans...
> 
> He's been tested for Adisons and it came back negative.


I think (as much as I don't like hydrolyzed) that if you've gone down that route for now, you'd be best sticking with it. He needs to have a nice settled tum and better poops before anything is changed again. The swopping his diet continually is just going to make it worse. If he was mine, I'd want at least a couple of months of him being well before I attempted to change anything.

You could either soak the kibble so it appears like a wet mush (pour boiling hot water onto kibble and leave it to soak into the kibble so it becomes almost like how weetabix looks when it's mushed), takes about 30-45 mins to fully soak in, keep stirring it - stinks but does make it almost like wet food).

Or, 1 if not all of the hydrolyzed food comes in tins aswell, you could add some to the kibble (my other Westie will only eat kibble with wet food mixed in).

Am glad he has tested negative to Addisons. It's often mistaken in the early stages for IBD in westies, so thought I'd mention it just incase.

And when things have calmed down, maybe we can see a photo of your boy


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