Im new here-- but I can really use some help from experienced doodlers!

[Sara Blitman]

Hi, I've really been learning a lot from all of the posts I have been reading, but I'm having a issue with my puppy that I haven't seen in other discussions. My puppy Chloe is 11 weeks. She is super cute and cuddly. She's also pretty active. Crate training is going well, though as did pee in the crate once when I moved her into a bigger crate (she was outgrowing the one she flew in). In other words she's happy and acts just like a puppy should.

When she first came home her first stool seemed normal. Ever since then she has had very loose diarrhea like stool. The breeder recommended pumpkin which does help a little little but not much. If I don't give her pumpkin at one meal watch out! I switched her food to Orijen which seems better. Could this be a genetic defect? I called the vet, but since the first stool was ok they weren't concerned. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks so much

Sara

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Has she been tested for internal parasites like giardia?  Orijen is a great food, so it's probably not that.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Sara, it's likely your pup could have Giardia and sometimes it takes more than one sample for it to show up. I would take another stool sample to the vets to be tested. Did you switch her food slowly as sometimes switching foods too fast can also upset a puppy's GI system?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd bet money that she has giardia, it's very common in doodle puppies. It has a 10-14 day incubation period, so I'm very surprised by your vet's comments, as it rarely shows up immediately when the puppy comes home.

You need to get a couple of stool specimens in to the vet for testing. The giardia cysts don't show up in every sample, so try to get a couple. And if she's positive for giardia, insist that the vet give you Panacur. Insist on it. In the past, it was believed that a drug called metronidazole (Flagyl) was the best treatment for giardia, but that thinking has changed, and if the vet doesn't know that giardia can show up after the first couple of weeks at home, he may also not be up on the best treatment, either. Do not buy Rx food from the vet,either. If she's positive for giardia and on antibiotics, you will need to give her yogurt and/or probiotics while she is on the meds. Don't buy those from the vet either.

We have lots of info here about giardia; it's not fun, and it can be very difficult to get rid of. Let us know what the fecal tests show and you'll get lots of help here. :-) Good luck. 

[Sara Blitman]

We did switch the food slowly so I don't think it's that. And they did test her for giardia which was negative. Maybe they missed it though. I have a vet appointment in a few days. Can I wait till then for the retest or should I insist that the vet retest her stool tomorrow?

[Star and Goldie]

I agree with others that it is likely Giardia. Goldie had it as well. In most cases it's not that "they missed it", it's that there are not any cysts shed into stool at that time.  You can get several negative tests when they may in fact have it so even if you get a negative Giardia test don't rule it out. Sometimes they test for parasites but don't run the specific Giardia test so make certain that it was not just a regular parasite fecal check they did.

I would not wait. I would insist on having it checked again. All you need to do is collect the sample and go drop it off. If it's Giardia you really want to start treating it right away because it can wreak havoc on your poor puppy.

As Karen said, there are several discussions about it here. You can search for Giardia and you can also search "loose stools" or even "diarrhea" as those are all topics that are covered often here.

Keep us posted. you have come to the right place for guidance! There are some members with extensive expertise in these areas (like Karen) who can really help :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with not waiting. If she does have it, everything that the stool touches is contaminated, and it will be that much harder to get everything disinfected and keep her from recontaminating herself. Star is correct that it doesn't always show up in fecal test, especially early on in the infection.

[Sara Blitman]

And thanks for all the help and immediately replies:))

[April Cliber]

Hi Sara,

It's either Giardia (as mentioned) or Coccidia. Because of the timing, I'm guessing coccidia, but I certainly could be wrong. :)   

Coccidia is a one-celled organism that lives in the intestinal tract.  When a pup is stressed--adjusting to a new home, they are especially susceptible to the effects (loose stool) of coccidia.  A 10 day dose of Albon will take care of it.  Like someone said, not every sample will show coccidia and/or giardia.  You can ask for it to be sent out to a lab, which is typically more accurate. 

Having said that....don't freak out.  This is pretty common, treatable and the best breeders deal with it at times.  It's been an especially wet spring and summer in most of the country.  So much crud is in the ground and brought to the surface when it's so wet.  It's not fun, but you will get through it! 

 

[Jane Smith]

Sounds very familiar.  When Lucy arrived she started to have loose stools after two days.  She did have Giardia.  We got that cleared up, but still had loose stools,  we tried switching food, still loose stools.  I then start feeding her chicken and rice, and still loose stools. After almost three months of this, it dawned on me that the common denominator was chicken.  We started her on Taste of the Wild Lamb, and within two days she had solid stools.  Neither of my girls get anything with chicken.  If they do, instant diarrhea.  I hope you get answers soon.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Good point about the protein source - if it's definitely not giardia, try switching to a food with a different main ingredient.  Luna can't handle chicken either.

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Libby has an allergy to animal proteins - it took the vet quite some time to figure it out and it was very frustrating because they always say chicken and rice when the diarrea starts.  Now she's on food with no real animal protein and it's like night and day.  All tummy issues are resolved.  The allergies also led to lots of ear infections, which she doesn't get anymore, thankfully.

[Patty]

My Rocky had the same issues when he first came home. I used pumpkin and that helped but I didn't feel it was a good solution for the long term. I ended up changing his food a couple of times. Guess his stomach can not handle chicken very well. We ended up with a Lamb and rice food and that did the trick. Good luck.