Mucus in poop? Not again...

[Amy Clayman]

Hi there brain trust!  I am mom to Roxie rose who is 17 weeks old. We transitioned her to blue buffalo large breed puppy at 10 weeks. She had giardia at 12 weeks and went on metronazidole and it cleared. Stools had been just fine until last monday we took her to her first grooming. She started having looser and looser ones. I just attributed it to the stress of the first groom at first. She ended up having ear infections (the groomer didn't tell us to use the ear solution after her ear fur pluck) and the vet did a stool test then. Nothing was found but he put us on metro again thinking she had picked something up. That was wednesday. It's now Sunday. Morning poop is okay but gets looser as day goes on. Yesterday and today I found mucus in her poop. Question is, could this be her food?  Still just getting used to it?  We give her BB mini biscuits as treats along with some zukes treats for training but that is not new. We did get her a deer antler last week and she likes that. Could that be it??  I feel as if she was fine, it's probably not food. But worried. I just want her to feel better!!  She is acting, eating and drinking fine. Coat is gorgeous and full.  Skin is aok. She has been eating a bit more food lately so maybe that could be it?  Too much food for her little digestive tract? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Metronidazole on it's own is not a reliable way to clear giardia. You really need Panacur, too. many people have had this problem of not being able to completely get rid of the giardia, and it keeps coming back. The metro will firm up the stools enough that it seems the giardia is gone, but when you discontinue the drug, the stools get loose again.

Even if she is clear, antibiotics are hard on a dog's GI system, and it often takes a long time for the bacterial balance of the gut to get healthy again after you stop them, especially in a young puppy with an immature digestive system.

It also common for the dogs to keep reinfecting themselves, especially if you have not been diligent about disinfecting all areas where the dog has pooped with bleach, even outdoors. Standing water in the yard, even puddles,  is another source of reinfection. Giardia takes 10-14 days to show up in a stool culture, and may not show up in every sample.

Things like a new treat or a deer antler may cause loose stools, but that goes away within a day or two, it doesn't get worse. She wasn't really ever on the food when she didn't have giardia, so it's hard to know if that would be causing her a problem if her GI tract was healthy. But this is absolutely the wrong time to change her food and cloud the issue with another variable; food changes in themselves can cause GI upsets, and you won't know what is to blame.

I would insist that the vet give you Panacur, and in the meantime, stop all treats and chew things other than her regular food. Try giving her a little plain unflavored fat-free yogurt with her meals.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

I would vote for giardia again.  It can be really hard to clear up in puppies.  Try addin a spoonful of canned pumpkin to her meals to keep stools firmer, but soft.  Giardia is only shed in feces in a certain stage of development, so fecal tests are not always positive.  As long as she seems okay just keep her butt really clean, pick up her poop immediatley and treat the area with clorox so she doesn't reinfect herself. 

[Willow and J]

I was waiting for more experienced doodle parents to chime in, but after Giardia is ruled out, it may not be a bad idea to try a different kind of food. Willow had gone through typical sensitive puppy stomach stage, and we were finally able to stabilize her with grain-free food (Orijen large puppy), sweet potato (Sam's Yams) as treats, and adding yogurt and/or pumpkin on her kibbles. When we made the switch, the person at the premium dog food store thought grain-free, especially Orijen may be a bit too "rich" for Willow if we are changing the food because of digestive issues. (Willow had been on Wellness puppy, and Artemis puppy, both are considered very good, but not grain-free before the switch.) But it seems like every puppy is different, and Willow has been on grain-free since then.

We didn't give her bones or antlers before she was older (1yr.+). Willow occasionally had not so great poos with Greenie type of treats, including Zuke's, so we stopped doing that and instead, we started brushing her teeth.

Hope Roxie gets better soon!

 

[Amy Clayman]

Hi guys!  This is my NINTH attept at replying to this thread.  I have given up on being able to do some from my ipad, so now am at my desktop.  Hopefully it will go through.  At any rate, she is a LITTLE better but not too much.  We have cut down treats to only 3 per day and still give her the antler.  I didn't want to cut everything out, because then we have no idea what is causing the problem.  I am going to ask about Panacur.  I really don't thinbk it's the food, as she was doing great there for a month, and then suddenly back to loosie goosie.  Nothing else changed for her.  So, I wll make follow up with the vet for Friday and ask about Panacur.  When I look up the indications for Panacur however, it says it is indicated for heartworms, not giardia.  Is it now indicated for other things (e.g. giardia)? I just want to have info correct so I don't lose credibility with the vet.  Hehe.

Thanks again to all who responded.  :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Panacur is definitely used for Giardia.

[Shannon and Finn]

Finn had giardia and was treated since he was having very smelly gas, lethargy, low appetite and stinky poop.  He was treated with panacur and we haven't had any issues since.  I did spray bleach on his poop spots after each clean up and sprayed down the pooper scooper and anything it may have touched to try and prevent re-infection.  It's incredibly tough to get rid of in the yard and house, particularly in puppies who tend to step in their own doo and then run around the yard and house so they can re-infect themselves.  We also used yogurt in his food.  Good luck, the panacur and bleaching really worked for us.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Actually, Panacur (fenbendazole) is used for other types of worms, like roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms,  but not for heartworms, which are not in the GI tract like the other types of worms, but rather in the circulatory system.

But it's also the most effective treatment for giardia:

http://www.vetinfo.com/canine-giardia-treatment-panacur.html:

Treatment:

No drugs are approved for treating giardiasis in animals. Fenbendazole (50 mg/kg/day) effectively removes Giardia cysts from the feces of dogs; no side effects are reported, and it is safe for pregnant and lactating animals. This dosage is approved for controlling and removing Toxocara canis , Trichuris vulpis , and Ancylostoma caninum in dogs. Recently, a combination product of praziquantel, pyrantel pamoate, and febantel decreased cyst excretion in infected dogs. Fenbendazole is not approved in cats, but may reduce clinical signs and cyst shedding at 50 mg/kg/day, PO, for 3-5 days. Albendazole is effective at 25 mg/kg, PO, bid for 2 days in dogs and for 5 days in cats, but should not be used in these animals because it has led to bone marrow suppression and is not approved for use in these species. Giardia- infected calves may be treated with albendazole or fenbendazole. Oral fenbendazole may also be an option in large animals and some birds. Metronidazole (25 mg/kg, PO, bid for 5-7 days) is ~65% effective in eliminating Giardia spp from infected dogs but may be associated with acute development of anorexia and vomiting, which may occasionally progress to pronounced generalized ataxia and vertical positional nystagmus.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/21300.htm