There are several different things that can cause Colitis in dogs.
Foreign Body Colitis is fairly common in dogs, although it tends to be intermittent in nature.
Some dogs have a condition called pica, which is a compulsion to eat things that are not actually
food. Unfortunately this condition greatly increases the chances of catching a temporary case of
Colitis. Dogs that are constantly eating grass can also fall victim to Colitis due to their body’s
inability to digest the fibers properly.
This is primarily a cause of colitis in dogs that have a breed-based oral fixation, such as Labradors.
If a dog has an oral fixation, it means that they have an instinctual desire to chew or carry objects
in their mouth. This often leads to the swallowing of foreign objects, and may cause colitis.
Another cause of Colitis can be parasitic organisms. There are many different types of parasites that can infect dogs, and many of these can result in colitis. Whipworms are one example, as they can take refuge in the upper colon. Another major parasite that causes colitis is canine giardia. The giardia parasite resides in the intestines and contributes to many gastrointestinal symptoms, one of which is colitis.
Colitis can also be caused by certain types of cancers, particularly lymphosarcoma and adenocarcinoma cancer. In layman’s terms, these cancers are characterized by tumors in any number of organs in the GI tract. A tumor can result in the obstruction of the small or large intestine, which may or may not require surgical intervention. However not all cancer needs to be removed surgically, and may instead be treated by chemotherapy or other anti-cancer veterinary procedures.
The last major cause (also generally recognized to be the most common cause) of colitis in dogs
is a bacterial infection. Exposure to certain bacteria may result in colitis. The
most common types of bacteria that cause colitis in dogs are those bacteria that affect the gastrointestinal
tract. These include Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia.
Out of these, Salmonella is the most common bacteria, as your dog can easily become exposed to it.
Salmonella is usually spread by a fecal-oral route, meaning that a dog will commonly ingest materials
that are contaminated by the Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella, like all bacterial infections of the
gastrointestinal tract, may cause irritation of the colon, and subsequent Colitis. Bacterial Colitis
is usually treated by the administration of specific antibiotics.