Case study : Senior Dog Sidney

Meet Sidney : our superstar senior dog

Case study by Nicole Plows, RVN

Sidney has presented multiple times over the past few years with gastrointestinal issues, commonly diarrhoea. Occasionally this resulted in him being hospitalised. He’s had tests and investigations ruling out neoplasia, endocrine diseases and any other critical conditions. The working diagnosis of Sidney’s chronic diarrhoea is inflammatory bowel disease and chronic enteropathy.

After his last episode of diarrhoea in 2024 and his hospitalisation, I decided to change his diet to Hills GI biome.  This was partly to help nourish the gut’s microbiome and sooth the digestive tract but also as a plan to stick on this diet long term to help prevent these bouts of gastrointestinal upset and reduce the probiotic supplements he was having daily.

Sidney also suffers from osteoarthritis. Due to his gastrointestinal issues he can’t tolerate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and therefore he was prescribed monthly Librela injections. Every 3rd injection is done by a veterinary surgeon and the rest are done by the nurses, this give me lots of opportunities to check in with Sidney (and his owner)!

Treatments

A. Monthly Injections

B. Dietary Management

Once Sidney started on the Hills GI biome he loved it! Unfortunately, due to his age he has got some dental disease and therefore prefers to have the Hills GI biome stew on top of his GI biome kibble to help soften it. I also decided to swap him onto the biome mini as he seemed to prefer the smaller kibble size and could manage this better. Rather than being fed two bigger meals, I suggested that Sidney has three to four smaller frequent meals to reduce the digestive overload and improve absorption. Sidney is very sensitive to any treats or food other than his biome and therefore I advised his owner to stick to the biome even for his treats.

C. Exercise Regimen

Activity	Frequency/Duration
Controlled walks	2× daily, 10–15 mins
Hydrotherapy	Bi-weekly – low-impact, joint friendly
Avoid	Stairs, slippery surfaces, high-impact play

Although Sidney can’t walk very far, it’s still very important for him to have plenty of mental stimulation to keep his cognitive function active. I suggested that Sidney should have more frequent short walks if he’s tolerating it, I want him to enjoy his walks and keep muscle mass as well as keeping his joints mobile and active. I also recommended to Sidney’s owner that he takes part in hydrotherapy, this is low impact but a great source of exercise and mental stimulation for him. Due to Sidney’s osteoarthritis, I suggested that he avoids stairs, slippery surfaces and lots of vigorous play.

D. Nurse Clinics

Clinic Type	Frequency	Purpose
Weight Clinics	Monthly	Monitor weight and BCS
Mobility Checks	Bi-monthly	OA pain scoring and gait assessments
GI Monitoring	Monthly	Track stools, appetite, tolerance of diet

Weight clinics:

Every month when Sidney comes in to see me I weigh him. I think it’s really important to keep a track on his weight to ensure that he’s not gaining weight which could potentially exacerbate his osteoarthritis. I also like to track is weight to ensure he’s not drastically lost any weight as this could be suggestive of a disease process or incorrect feeding of his GI biome. I check in with his owner about how much she’s feeding him based on his hills quick reco and ensure his weight is stable. Here is his weight graph which is pretty stable.

Sidney’s Recommended Feeding Guide