Chaucer has Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD)- he's almost 7 years old now, and there was a time that I thought he wouldn't live this long, so I know how scary and worrisome it can be.

Chaucer had digestive problems almost from day one. He never had a normal stool, he could never gain weight...In the beginning, I wrote it off as the food change. Then I wrote it off as "oh just something about that food". My vet at the time assured me that my puppy was healthy, and I didn't have anything to worry about. By the time I had tried 2 or 3 different types of food, I started to realize that something was wrong, regardless of what the vet said.

So our journey through IBD began. He was always horribly underweight. At his lowest point, and the time that I truly thought I was going to lose him, he weighed only 42 pounds. My vet had me try elimination diets, he tried different medications, I kept hearing "Let's try this" or "I think we should do this". And while we played these guessing games, my dog got sicker.

When Chaucer was about a year and a half old, through advice of the weimaraner list I belong to, I told my vet that I was done guessing about what could be wrong with my dog; I wanted a definitive diagnosis. He referred me to a veterinary specialist. The specialist did an endoscopic surgery (This was so many years ago, I don't remember the name of the procedure), in which samples of his intestinal tissue were taken, and sent to a lab for testing....the diagnosis was IBD.

The specialist recommend Science Diet ZD and a long-term dose of prednisone. The one thing I absolutely 100% rock solid refused to do was put him on long term prednisone therapy. I didn't want to fix the immediate problem, only to lose him to organ failure in a year or two.

The ZD was a failure...his health took a nosedive while on it, and his stools were black and tarry - I had never seen anything like it.

At this point, I decided to try a holistic veterinarian. I had heard so many wonderful things about natural diets and holistic care. My holistic veterinarian spent a long time listening to me, and learning about every nuance of Chaucer's illness. This was the first vet that I felt really listened to me. It was a refreshing experience. She recommended a home-prepared diet based on Dr. Pitcairn's book.

Chaucer did O. K. on this new diet. His stools were better (but still not normal), and while he remained a bit thinner than I would have liked, he wasn't skeletal. But he wasn't thriving.

Then I discovered Seacure. I read about it in Whole Dog Journal, and promptly ordered some. I do not exaggerate when I say: This supplement was a miracle for Chaucer. I saw a difference in Chaucer almost immediately after giving him his first dose of Seacure. His stools were firmer, he had more energy, and he started to gain weight.

However, the slightest upset in his diet would still cause him to crash...my father fed him a piece of sausage one day, and in the fallout he lost eight pounds and it took me 2 months to get him stabilized again. The Seacure would lessen the time and severity of his "downswings" but they were still a reality we were fighting against.

Then I met the vet I use now. He suggested that we run a food-allergy panel on Chaucer. The results were a bit surprising - Chaucer is allergic to quite a few things...The SPOT test was able to help us determine exactly what foods he was allergic to. One of the most ironic? Oatmeal. The base ingredient of the home-prepared diet I was feeding him.

Along with the SPOT test came a list of commercially prepared foods that did not contain ingredients that Chaucer was allergic to. I switched his diet to one of these foods (California Natural). I kept him on the Seacure, and I attribute his "recovery" to both of these.

He weighs a very healthy 76 pounds today. He can have treats and bones, both things that were off-limits for most of his life. I no longer have to be as vigilant about everything that goes into his mouth. I can give him a piece of whatever I am eating, if I want to. Until you have a dog that absolutely cannot have treats, you can't possibly know how good it feels be able to give your dog a great when he performs a command. Yes, I do still keep an eye on what he's eating, because the possibility of another flar e-up is very real...but for now, things are looking good.

The first advice I would give to anyone who suspects IBD in their dog is to find a vet that will work with them and that they are comfortable with, and get a definitive diagnosis. You need a vet that will LISTEN to you, not just gloss over your concerns and observations - no one knows your dog better than you, not even your vet. If you think this is food allergy related (and it very often is), have the SPOT test done (no it isn't definitive, but it was the turning point for Chaucer and I highly recommend it).

If you can, put the dog on Seacure. (Whether this is allergy related or not, Seacure will help).

If you can calm the dog's system down long enough for it to stabilize, the dog will be "almost normal." I recommend keeping a bottle of Seacure on hand to give if the dog gets ahold of something that might be a danger.

If you don't want to run the SPOT test, you need to put the dog on an elimination diet. fast him, then start him on just rice and chicken. Then slowly add in other ingredients. Watch him closely, see how he is effected by the new ingredients. I know this sounds sick, but if you go this route, I recommend keeping a "food and poop journal" to help you be even more aware about what is going in and coming out of your dog.

If you want to simply try changing dog foods (but again, how do you know what he is allergic to unless you run the test or do the elimination) I recommend California Natural. it's a limited ingredient food, most dogs with food allergies can tolerate it. Stay away from rich, fatty foods. Stop giving treats (at least until you have this under control).

I'm not the best writer in the world. I've tried to give an as-accurate-as-possible account of what I went through with Chaucer.