Puppy had diarhea when we got him at 8 wks so we took him to the vet. The vet first prescribed Amoxi tabs. The diarhea didnt stop and we took him back a little less than a week later with a stool sample. We were told that our puppy had coxxidia (not sure on the spelling). The vet put him on a consistant dose of albon 250mg(giving 1.5 tablets 1 time a day). For 21 days... We noticed no clearing in the diarhea at all and called back and were told it could take the whole 21 days to clear it up and not to worry. After a little over two weeks we went back and asked to see a different vet. This different vet(at the same animal hospital) said that the problem was that the medication was not strong enough because the puppy was gaining weight. They put him on a 500 mg dose of albon and wanted to reweigh the dog every week to make sure that he was getting the proper dosage. After a little over a week there was still no improvement so we were prescribed metronidazole 250 mg 1 tablet twice a day in addition to the albon. We begin to see firming poopfor about a week and then it starts to looosen again. The vet checks the protein level in his blood and says it is a little low and prescribes prednisone 20 mg giving .5 tablets 1 time a day for 4 days. Poop is staying firm but puppy seems a little out of it the whole time on the prednisone. Now he has finished the prednisone almost a week ago, finished the metronidazole a day after the prednisone and has only a few albons left. The day before yesterday he had a looser stool and then since then he has had straight diarhea again. Stool sample this morning said no coxxidia and now they are talking about intestinal biopsy surgery? Any ideas about whats going on here? The puppies coat was pretty rough but has grown in nicely. He is gaining weight nicely and has great appetite as well as great energy but 2 or 3 times over this treatment he has been leery and nervous at night- 1 time throwing up( the night before we were prescribed metronidazole) He seems perfect other than this diarhea...

What are you feeding him? Many of our dogs seem to have some type of food allergies.

IS there any other Veterinary clinic in your area? I wouldn't do a surgery w/out talking to a vet from a totally different practice!

-We have been feeding him abady dry and raw since we got him. for a little while he was on the science diet which the vet said he needed but there doesnt seem to be a correlation between one food and diarhea or not diarhea. We have also been giving him raw beef on the bone.
- We are defintately lookinginto finding another vet in this area- I completely agree about more opinions before allowing any kind of surgery.
The most frustrating thing is that it has cleared up and come back twice making me think that maybe the medication he is on is treating for something else and only weakening what he actually has if that makes sense. I for got to mention the vet previously said something about "leaky intestines" and also something about how some dogs pass water without processing it and that could be causing the diarhea. thanks for the input so far!

abady dry Not sure I know what that is?

http://www.pinnaclepetsupply.com/which_di.htm
http://www.pinnaclepetsupply.com/best_in.htm

These are two links talking about the abady food... for me its hard to describe- its kind of like its own thing meaning i dont believe its like any other dog food. Under the puppy food section i believe i recently started a thread in referance to the abady food if you wanted to look at that as well. Basically i think that the general consensus is that the dry food feeders like it and the BARF feeders say its OK but all agree- damn is it expensive

Sounds to me like this is some kind of irritable bowl sydrom. Cindy Rhodes had a Mal pup last summer than sounds exactly like this case. She saved the dog but it was not an easy road. I will have her look at this thread - she knows as much about this as anyone I kow.

Just for the record - the Vet did the right thing as far as trying the different meds. In 99.99% of the time this works - then the others times you pull your hair out.

But I would strat by looking for a different food.

I had a similar experience when my pup was a few weeks older then yours. He had constant watery diarrhea. It was liquid. He was given different meds (I don't recall now what it was)with no change for about 30 days. The vet thought that it an irritated/inflamed bowl lining. Like your pup, he was full of energy, ate, drank etc. I honestly can't remember if it ever firmed and then went back to diarrhea during this time. Suddenly, it started firming and then very shortly thereafter out came a very good size rock in his poop. It apparently took 30 days for this rock to pass. My vet never once thought there could be an obstruction. This is just something else to consider.

The first thing I would do is take this pup to a good homeopath. Homeopathy can work wonders with dirrereah. Coxidia is a hard thing to find and get rid of. You will likley find that your dog may once again show symptoms when the body is stressed. I had it with one of my dogs as a pup. Came back when she whelped a litter of 10 pups. At this point this poor pup has been on a LOT of meds. It would surprise me if things were normal. If at all possible I would go completely raw and forget kibble at this point. Too many variables to deal with . As well, I would cut out the beef bones. I would grind all the meat you give (chicken necks/backs included) so that its body does not have to work as hard digesting and instead can just draw the nutrients etc out. I would also juice the veggies.

My guess is that this dogs vaccine history could also be playing a role here. What vaccines were given and when? It is my belief that some of the intestinal problems , irritable bowel etc we see are actually due to damage done by vaccines.

I think it is hard to know for sure what is going on. Right now, you will also not know if some of the problems you are seeing are due to the meds or the actual condition. That is why I recommened a homeopath. I have used homeopathy for many years with my dogs and have been very pleased with the results. Mind you haveing a good homeopath/vet makes a difference too.


I would also add some digestive enzymes to the food to help digest it better!! Do you know the history of this pup and the litter? Does your pups stool look mucousy? This *might* or *could* also be indicating a pancreatic problem.

My dog had that same problem at 8 weeks. Sometimes it cleared up sometimes it came back, at first it was coxidia like you, but then that cleared up. He still has the problem today, eats normally most of the time, is happy and has energy. I have him on a diet of lamb and rice soft food and lamb and rice dry kibble. Seems to help some, but its not where I would like it. Keep giving water to help with dehydration.