Sick puppy with explosive diarrhea!

[Shoshana]

Peanut gets runny poop if she eats things high protein like rawhides or bully sticks.

She also gets them when she is very excited like when she's been in the car.

Not explosive - just very runny.

The best food we have found for her is the Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice. The guy at the pet store keeps telling us to go grain free but i am really afraid she will get runny again.

[PoopsterMuffin]

she definitely gets a loose stool when she's had a lot of excitement, like a long play date or an energetic ball session.

we just got back from the vets, and here's the news:
-he discovered a parasite in her fecal smear-despite having a fecal exam at a different vets 10 days ago that came back negative. he said that unless a fecal smear is done on site immediately, anytime a fecal exam is sent off site, it's generally treated with a chemical that separates the parasites from the stool, which can also kill down the number of parasitic eggs in the sample, so it's always best to get a fresh exam!
- i mentioned a concern about addisons disease, and instead of running the full test, he's testing her resting cortisol, which will determine if she's needs to have the rest of the addison test run.
- he also took blood to run, results to come shortly.
- he prescribed a course of Metrondazole (Flagyl) pills for the parasite, and once that is finished, if/when she has loose stool again, then to give her Sulfsalazine pills which act as an anti-inflammatory, and will help solidify her stool.
-and last but not least, nil-by-mouth except for the Prescription I-D dry food (3 cups a day). No treats, nothing else. Once she's more frequent/constant then we will see what the next step is with her food options, as she definitely has a weak stomach.

i'll post her blood results once i get them, and thanks for all your input.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

What parasite was it? (Giardia?)

[PoopsterMuffin]

the vet said her still sample was teaming with Protozoa

[Mooresmajestic]

Coccidia maybe? Or Giardia? Did they do a float or direct fecal test? If the vet didn't specify the type of parasite, find out. These two types are generally caused by different sources.

[Mooresmajestic]

Slightly off topic but still a fun factoid....

That "chemical that separates the parasite eggs from fecal matter" is....

Salt water.

You can actually make your own float solution if you have the concentration right. Done it, that's what happens when techs get bored on a Sunday at work... Chemistry is fun.

[Misskiwi67]

It sounds like the vet was describing Giardia - and metronidazole, even at high doses, is only about 60% effective for this if you expect a cure.

Or he could be seeing random protozoa, which are quite possibly a normal finding, and the metronidazole is awesome for diarrhea and your pup should do just fine.

[Shoshana]

Good luck!

Yes, playing with her pup friends is enough to get Peanut runny esp if she is drinking a lot of water. She has gotten better over time with the car - we try to take her places as often as possible. She's still a wild thing in the car tho. Especially if we don't put the radio on a country station.



My first dog sitting experience was with a dog that had Giardia. We gave her liquid meds (always fun as a dog newbie) and her gas could wake the dead. It was so bad it woke DH up and nothing wakes him up.

[PoopsterMuffin]

I'm happy to report that after the taking the flagyl course, Remi is feeling much better and now when we walk with her we only need a regular bag, rather than a bag of sand to cover the explosive diarrhea!
we also took her off chicken & poultry based foods and now have her on the Orijen Pacifica, which is fish based, and seems to be much gentler on her belly and she's thankfully stopped farting!

THanks again for all your insight & suggestions!