Loose Stool/Health issues *Update

[laxhcky4]

I posted a while back about my new pup having Giardia and Coccidia. I medicated her for a week per the vets reccomendations. I was given Albon for the Coccidia and Metronidazole for the Giardia. A couple days after the medication was done, she had some more blood in her stool so we brought it in for another test and she still had Giardia. They gave me Metronidazole again for 2 weeks. That was finished on Tuesday. I keep telling people its the consistency of soft serve ice cream (sorry for the bad image and if you can't hit up DQ tonight)

Her stools are still soft after the medication was complete and last night and this morning were even more soft. I'm wondering what the next step is if anyone has any experience. She's a little over 13wks old and I have been feeding her Native #3 puppy since I brought her home at 7.5 wks old. The breeder had her on that when they were weaned. I have never seen her have a solid stool.

I feel like my options are:
1 - Get another stool sample - if it comes back positive, remedicate with different medication. The vets I have spoken to say giardia is really hard to diagnose and is often misdiagnosed. It can stick around for a bit and eventually her immune system will keep it in check.

2 - try to supplement her diet to see if her stool will improve. (any ideas of what to feed? I've heard pumpkin but not sure if that applies in this situation)

3 - Change foods

4 - Wait for a week or two and see if it improves.

She has basically been on medication since I've gotten her and I'm sure her system is just messed trying to fight everything off. If you have any other ideas/recommendations, I'm all ears. Not sure where to go from here. Thank you!

[big steve46]

Time will no doubt help. Probiotics for at least a month should help. Make sure you don't overfeed. I doubt you need to change feeds.

[mcbosco]

Time will no doubt help. Probiotics for at least a month should help. Make sure you don't overfeed. I doubt you need to change feeds.

I agree see if you can get Bac-Pac-Plus because it has both probiotics and ezymes. If you have a Vitamin Shoppe nearby or a good health food store they have a product for around $8 called Petdophilus but any decent pet store will have a good product.

[snips]

Would not hurt to try a different quality food. That pup should be healthy after that.....

[kninebirddog]

Might try safeguard for about a 5 day regime

Also at meal time add some baby Rice cereal I prefer the Gerber with some Plain Yogurt and cut back the kibble to about 3/4th of what the pup normally eats try this for a few days and see if there isn't any change in the stool

Oh PS when your pup eats how does she eat Super fast
If so get a cookie sheet and spread the food out .

[laxhcky4]

I have thought about changing feed but I figure it will take a week or so to figure out if that helps at all. We did cook up some rice last night and added that last night and this morning. She was kind of a finicky eater, would get distracted and not eat but she is much more focused now. Takes around 10 minutes to eat about a 1-1 1/4 cups. I am planning on picking up some pet dophilus, just trying to locate some. Thanks for the replies everyone.

[MikeB]

Those two bacterias are hard to get rid of. You might want to feed her boiled chicken or hamburger and rice small meals 2 or 3 time s a day. Try to get her stools normal before you put her back on regular dog food.

Also I suspect the Native #3 puppy 30/20 food is to rich for her system. To much fat maybe at least for now. Try the Native #1 that is lower protein/fat 24/14 maybe and see how she does with that.

[kumate]

I second the panacur for 5 days, Dante had the same symptoms did 3 days panacur no change, vet prescribed the metro 7 days no change. Did the panacur for 5days and started double dose bac pak plus and it straightened him right out. Within 24 hrs of the bac pak he had a solid stool and the blood started to subside.

Good luck

Jerry

[kninebirddog]

mikeb brings up a very good point...the food maybe to much for her system..I know when i was feeding Arkat their puppy food was way to much for little pups the fat was going though undigested..Needless to say I went right back to the premium adult food and pups stools got to normal real quick

as for the fancy labels probitoics if you want to go high tech just get activia ...save the time and money you can even go to a nutrition store.. if you go to a GNC also get some bentonite it is a clay that helps to absorb impurities from the intestinal system and also helps do some binding of the stool

Bentonite clay and diarrhea

In his book "The Clay Cure" (3), Ran Knishinsky discusses how diarrhea can be remedied through the use of bentonite clay because of its ability to bind stools. Bentonite clay can take effect right away by binding to irritants in the gastrointestinal tract. It's a good idea to mix the bentonite clay with 1 cup of applesauce, which not only makes the clay more palatable, but also adds pectin, which is another binding agent.

I had a dog that had a spastic colon and when we trialed he would have some issues the food we feed now has Bentonite in it and it took a bit for his system to adjust but he no longer has near the issues he used to have

When we go on the road I always get a couple dogs that get travel stress..and this is what I do is cut back the dry food a little add the baby rice and yogurt to the food and with in about 24-48 hrs the dog or dogs are back to normal if not I head to a vet


To add Panacur and Safeguard are the same ingredient Fenbendazole many times you can find the safeguard for a little less then the panacur

[laxhcky4]

I'm a beginner so forgive me but is the petdophilus and the Bac Pak Plus two seperate things? Would I only do one method at a time?

Is the Panacur really needed? She has had 2 stool samples and they didn't say anything about worms.

[mcbosco]

Bac Pac Plus & Petdophilus are two different but interchangeable products. Not knowing where you live one might be easier to find than the other. However, If you have a good feed or pet store nearby you can buy any Probiotic product they have, they are all very similar.

[1114]

Is the Panacur really needed? She has had 2 stool samples and they didn't say anything about worms.

My pup had giardia at around 10 weeks and 5 days of Panacur knocked it out...

[kumate]

I should have clarified i bought a big bottle of safeguard on and the same, no script needed and it will go out of date before i use it all

Jerry

[laxhcky4]

We had a week of diarrhea and took in a stool sample, this was 2 weeks ago. Didn't find Giardia but found she had Campylobactor (bacteria) and Clostridium (from what I understand, it is basically inflamation of the large intestine). The vet perscribed Tylan for the Campylobactor and Metronidazole for the clostridium. Vet also gave me the perscription I/D food which is a real bland diet. We also ran a dewormer through her just in case. We burned through that bag pretty quick as she's eating 2 cups twice a day. Shes had solid stool since we started the 10 days of medication. She has been off the medication since Saturday and she will be on Nutrisource puppy feed 100% tomorrow after mixing in with the I/D food. I have been giving her a probiotic once a day and will continue to do that for a while. I do think that the Native #3 puppy wasn't agreeing with her stomach and her stools have been solid so far on the Nutrisource. Thanks for all the help and advice!