[GizmoMom]

My dog had been having diarrhea on and off. I took him to the vet on Monday, and he was prescribed Metronidazole for 10 days, along with Fortiflora and bland diet of chicken and rice.

The fecal test came back negative for giardia and parasites.

It’s only been 3 days, but his diarrhea has stop. Can I take him off the meds and put him back on his regular food? He was eating Ziwipeak lamb, venison and tripe.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[theBCnut]

What they say is if you start antibiotics always finish them. Only the resistant ones are left at this point and you don’t want them to come back stronger than before, so go the full course. Then do probiotics for 2 weeks after that.

[GizmoMom]

Thanks for the answer.

[Nancy M]

I have a 6 week old mini Aussie puppy, weighing 3.2 lbs., just diagnosed with a confirmed case of Giardia, but no result on the Coccidia, so he is being treated with both meds; Albon and Panacur suspensions. My daughter just got this puppy on Friday, it is now Tuesday. Things are little improved, especially during the night, when he seems to have more urges to poop; mostly soft – runny, or nothing at all. Doesn’t want to eat the I/D diet, so put him back on the diamond puppy dry, which he started the day she got him. So as of this morning, have been giving him back, small amounts of the kibble, with a tiny bit of cottage cheese or yogurt mixed in.

My questions are this…..what kind of food should he be eating right now and wouldn’t the metronitizole work better than the Panacur? I had a puppy with this about 3 years ago and the Panacur didn’t work. Not until we did a good dosage regimen of the Metro, did things improve; almost overnight.

Please respond with suggestions and HELP! Thanks!

[InkedMarie]

Honestly, I’d call a holistic vet. I’d say call the breeder but since they let a pup go home two weeks early, I’d have nothing more to do with them. I wish I could help but the youngest pup I ever got was nine weeks & I wouldn’t do that again (just me, not much into puppies)

[Nancy M]

First, yes we have and they have been cooperative with what little information we would even depend on. And yes, to me 6 weeks is too early for sure. However, you get what you get. My daughter (married with children and certainly old enough to know better, even though she has had two other pups at 6 weeks that did just fine) was “hellbent” on having this puppy…..exactly what she was looking for, it was the only one they had and then hating to leave it in such a noisy, chaotic environment, contributed to a decision to be reckoned with now. In my opinion, even though the facilities were very clean and very nice, it fit too many of the criteria of a puppy mill. So again, you get what you bargain for. I told her not to do it, but she did. Now she has to work for a few days and I get the puppy. Ain’t parenthood wonderful? No matter how old and educated they are……still a stupid thing to do. If it weren’t for my grandson, I wouldn’t be doing this!

But anyway…..thanks for the response. Not only do I think all breeders should be more conscienous of how they operate, they should all make sure they start these meds prior to weaning and then furnish their buyers with the proper meds for continuing them. I don’t doubt this can be a common problem, even in the best of environments. These puppies get so stressed, it’s just almost a certainty that this can develop. My last puppy was 12 weeks old and still got it……and a very severe case. And I’m with you……NO MORE PUPPIES FOR ME! Getting too old for this stuff.

Thanks again!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Nancy-
I’m really sorry about your situation. I have had the same experience. Only we got two puppies too young with giardia. I’m surprised that they prescribed Albon. Typically it is metronidazole and panacur. Just to let you know, you can get those meds so much cheaper online or at a Costco or Fred Meyer pharmacy. You do not need a prescription for the panacur. Anyway, my pups were given Albon when they had coccidia. Yes, they have had them both. I’m still crossing my fingers at two years old that they don’t get it back. Feed them as much high fiber whole foods as possible. Some of the holistic remedies that were recommended were pumpkin seeds and garlic. I’d be careful on how much you give to such a young pup though. And yes, I do think the panacur is necessary to rid the buggers. I would even give them an extra day or two of it than what the regular recommended duration is. Also probiotics are really important also, especially enterococcus faecium. Oh my gosh, good luck and let us know how it goes. I’m with you on being too old for the puppy thing ever again! Lol!

[Nancy M]

Thanks so much for your comments! I really appreciate hearing peoples experiences with this. For starters, with this pup, the test was positive for the Giardia, but there was not enough of a sample for the Coccidia test, so the vet is just treating for both. Good decision! Apparently, the Albon is for the Coccidia and the Panacur is for the Giardia….but, like I just told my daughter, the Panacur did not bring good results for my 3 year old dog, when he had this really, really bad as a puppy. It was not until I used the Albon AND the Metronitizole together, that I got a speedy turn-around. But vets are always reluctant to use the Metro, especially on young puppies like this (even mine when he was even quite a bit older than this one is), due to the side affects it can have. While I totally respect that, sometimes you have to consider the affects and lasting illness from not using it. If it were my puppy, I would already be using it…because I keep it on hand. But my daughter doesn’t want to go against the vet. I understand that, because I was in the same spot at one time, but finally listened to my breeder. Within a few days, he was almost back to normal. Before that, I went from vet to vet, and nothing worked. The poor puppy was very, very sick for the first 4 – 5 months of his life, not to mention the havoc it caused in my life, but I finally got to the point I thought I would lose him. Thank goodness for my very involved and caring breeder, because what she had been telling me all along, worked!

My daughter now has the puppy since she’s not working for the next 4 days. She is also seeing what I’ve been talking about, still and again, very loose stools, very little, if any water consumption, decreased energy and playfulness with much more sleeping than before. I told her to call the vet again, since she had told me if he’s not getting better by weeks end, she will probably go with the Metronitizole. So, I’m waiting to see if she’s going to finally give in.

This Giardia and Coccidia, together, if not just even one by itself, is absolutely a nightmare for pet owners and their poor little victims. I’m not so sure that my adult dog, even at 3 years old, hasn’t suffered or acquired some health issues from all he went through. It’s just horrible! Another reason against any future puppies! And who knows how many of them end up suffering with this, on and on, at the hands of uncaring or irresponsible breeders or pet owners. Very sad.

So thanks for your response….was nice talking with you.

[theBCnut]

Many times when using panacur for giardia, they recommend using it for a set number of days, going off of it for a set number of days, then repeating. The worst case I have heard of took 4 courses before the puppy was finally clear. Part of the issue with Metronidazole is that some strains appear to be immune to it.

[Melissaandcrew]

I have always used the albon for 10 days-coccidia- and metron for giardia. Never had qiick resolution with panacur.

[theBCnut]

I’ve never heard of a quick resolution with panacur, just that in some cases it works when the Metro didn’t. I’ve never had Metro not work either.

[Nancy M]

Thank you all for your responses…very helpful and pretty much supports my thinking. Thanks again!

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