A quick history on this puppy of ours. We added a family addition last week Tuesday, and when I got the puppy home (we had snow on the ground so this really helped) I noticed that she had some blood in her urine. She was 15 weeks old at the time. I was told by the breeder for her that she had been exposed to a pup (not one of the breeders) that had Giardia. She was put on Safeguard dewormer granule packets for 5 days. The following day, Dec 31 2014, I had her into the vet for the blood in her urine. It turned out the breeder had given her the last dosages for her puppy shots, she ended up on this dewormer, and finally our vet put her on amoxicillin 250mg x2 a day plus a probiotic. Well finally the dewormer is finished, but the probiotic doesn't seem to be doing a darn thing for her soft stools. I am thinking that she has had so much in her system that its beyond stressed. I am going to be doing rice and boiled hamburger for a few days along with plain pumpkin and yogurt for a treat in addition to the meds and probiotic.

Now the question: I am almost out of the probiotic that the vet gave me. I have Florajen (human refrigerated probiotic) can I use that when the vet probiotic is gone?

Thanks and sorry the history is so long. Its been a long week.

Hi Mary,

I think you are right that the pup just has had so many meds through her system that she needs a break. Did you dose with the probiotics at the same time as the amoxicillin? IME it doesn't work well to use probiotics while the dog is still on antibiotics - the antibiotics just kill off the "good" bacteria that the probiotic is trying to regenerate. I give probiotics to help re-establish the gut flora after the course of antibiotics is completed. Could that be why you are still seeing soft stools?

I would not use a human probiotic - human and dog gut flora are different. I'd go with your proposal of a bland cooked diet with pumpkin and yoghurt for a few days, watch carefully for dehydration if poop is still liquid, and just give everything a chance to settle down. You said you only got the pup a week ago, and the stress of adjusting to a new strange environment (and diet) can also contribute to an upset gut.

JMHO. Good luck and keep us posted.

If the pup had hookworm or whipworm the diarrhea you are seeing may be from damage to the bowel - - when this heals ( a few days) the bowel will be once again able to absorb liquid and the diarrhea will quit.


She is a lovely looking pup.

Such a beautiful pup!

Hope she feels better soon

Thank you so much! We decided to stop the antibiotics, and started with the bland diet today. I just hope she feels better soon since I feel so bad for her.

It is generally advisable to finish (completely) a prescribed course of antibiotics. Stopping short can potentially leave the last (and heartiest) bacteria behind, to return with an even worse infection.

I would finish the full course of prescribed antibiotics. Continue with the bland diet. And when the antibiotics are gone, resume the probiotics. JMO.

(At a minimum, call the vet and ask if it is okay to stop the antibiotics. Don't just do this on your own.)

I second Tracy's post on the general importance of completing a course of antibiotics. However - you said your pup had been exposed to giardia and I'm assuming that's why the amoxicillin was prescribed? Did your vet do a fecal to confirm that your pup actually has giardia?

I'm no vet. But amoxicillin (or any antibiotic) would do nothing to treat giardiasis. Giardia are protozoa-type parasites. The vet must think there is some additional bacterial infection. (or it could just be a "can't hurt, might help" prescription.)

I'd still give the entire course of antibiotics as prescribed. Continue with small bland meals. Re-introduce a probiotic after the antibiotics are done.

Diarrhea in dogs is no fun--but it is usually nothing terribly serious and resolves if you give the gut some time to rest. It won't be the last time you have to deal with it. Mine almost always present with diarrhea after a course of antibiotics. Just make sure the pup is drinking water and otherwise acts normal. Dehydration, or lethargy would be signs to immediately go back to the vet.

Keep us posted.

I agree with others that a course of antibiotics is not stopped partway without the vet's say-so (and normally, I believe that even with vet say-so, that would usually be in order to replace it).

Also, I give the probiotic doses, when I am using them, halfway between antibiotic doses so the gut is populated with good bugs at least some of the time, and I definitely continue after the course of antibiotics is done.

JMO, of course.



"I'd go with your proposal of a bland cooked diet with pumpkin and yoghurt for a few days, watch carefully for dehydration if poop is still liquid, and just give everything a chance to settle down. You said you only got the pup a week ago, and the stress of adjusting to a new strange environment (and diet) can also contribute to an upset gut."

Me too, in small frequent meals ....


Please post back. Don't continue indefinitely with the unbalanced-for-calcium diet for a growing puppy. After several days, if still needed, it should be balanced with calcium. This is simple, with (for example) ground eggshells, but it should be done carefully.

 Quote: Tracy Collins

I'm no vet. But amoxicillin (or any antibiotic) would do nothing to treat giardiasis. Giardia are protozoa-type parasites. The vet must think there is some additional bacterial infection. (or it could just be a "can't hurt, might help" prescription.)

I think the dewormer packets would have been for the Giardia and the Amoxicillin for a suspected UTI from the blood in the urine.