Oliver has giardia - and I have a few questions

[LarryL]

I thought I'd move this out of the food group and start a new thread as it is no longer food related.

Oliver is a little over 3 months and has been with us for two and a half weeks.
A day after changing food he had diarrhea - after getting a stool sample to the vet, he tested positive for giardia.

We have been adding a bit of mashed sweet potato to his food to firm him up a bit.

The vets office initially gave me metro, but thanks to DK I requested Panacur instead.
They gave me 3 little baggies of powder - a 3 day supply.

Question 1: I know I'm supposed to give a probiotic either two hours before or after he takes his meds. Yesterday we bought all natural fage Greek yogurt - is this a probiotic? Or is yogurt & probiotic not the same?

2: how often should we give him yogurt? Just once a day before or after his meds??

3: I asked the guy at the vets office if in a week or two I should give another stool sample, but he said he would just take more Panacur in two weeks. This sounded weird to me as I dont want to give him more meds than necessary - am I right for thinking that?

4: as far as cleaning, I know to be diligent with his poop cleaning. Is the only way he can reinfect himself by eating licking his poop???

5: he just got his booster shot yesterday - should I avoid taking him outside until this passes?

6: how cantageous is he to other pups? We have a puppy socialization class on Wednesday that I now think I should cancel?

Lastly, I will take as much advice & recommendations as possible!

Thanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Larry, if that's all he is getting for a meal, he's not being overfed, he's being underfed, badly. The homecooked food has less than half the calories of the kibble.  I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what you are feeding him. Are you saying that his dinner was only 1/4 potato with a TBS of rice and 2 TBS of chicken? 

[LarryL]

That sounds worse than it was.
Since I only really measured the kibble it's hard for me to be exact with the other measurements.

Trying to be as specific as possible, his dinner yesterday was close to a cup.
It was potato, rice, chicken
I'm probably off w the exact measurements but his 1 cup bowl was practically full.

I do not think I'm under feeding him, because he eats 3 times a day - doesn't really ask for more - and sometimes doesn't eat it.
He skipped breakfast today which was 1/2 of the kibble mix + a 1/4 potato

I didn't know that the calories in chicken was half of kibble.




What should I feed him?
Kibble wise I'm at what they packaging says.
If I want to add potato to the kibble - do I still give half a cup + potato?

If I wanna do just chicken & potato 3 times a day - what's the portions like?

I still have so much more to learn :-/

[LarryL]

I just fed him again.

1/2 cup of boiled chicken
1/4 cup of sweet potato

He got 3\4 of a cup of that mixture, and licked the bowl clean

Is that appropriate?
Should he be having more per serving?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One cup of Orijen Puppy contains 490 calories.

One cup of boiled white meat chicken 200 calories. 

One cup of cooked sweet potato contains 180 calories

A half cup of chicken + a quarter cup of sweet potatoes = 145 calories

A half cup of Orijen = 295 calories

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Sorry.. Maybe my question didn't come out right.. Also, how much does Oliver weigh? It may seem like you are feeding a larger amount of food, but think calorie-wise. Kibble is much more calorie dense than home cooked food. Also there will be less poop, due to there being less waste to be excreted from the body.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

A definite no to twigs and grass!! That can also cause diarrhea..among other things, obstruction, etc..

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Also, just bc there is no visible poop on the sod, or the twigs the cysts can still be present, unless you are disinfecting. But in any case, no twigs!

[Jennifer & Truffle]

Karen - I tried replying to your last response, just underneath, but no link to reply appeared.  In any case, as I'm killing time waiting for daughter to finish her art class, I noticed the calorie count you indicated for Orijen.  We are an enthusiastic Orijen-feeding family (thanks to you!) - and I spend way too much thinking about whether or not Truffle is getting enough food. I believe 1 cup (120 grams) of the food contains 490 calories - which brings the chicken/potato calorie count into even starker contrast.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you Jennifer! You caught that just in time for me to edit it! I was giving the calorie count for a half cup of Orijen Puppy, not a whole cup!!! 

[LarryL]

So if a half cup puppy orijen is 490, and Oliver needs a half (3 times a day) that's 245 per meal.

So it should be more like,
3/4 cup chicken 150c
1/2 sweet potato 90c

So roughly around there???

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, except it would be a half cup of sweet potatoes, not half of a potato. There is too great a disparity in the size of the potatoes. I bake the potato in the microwave in 7 minutes, let it cool, peel it with my fingers, and mash it with a fork. Very fast and easy. Just keep a container of mashed sweet potatoes and another container of chicken, and measure out what you need at each meal. It doesn't need to be heated before serving. 

 

[LarryL]

Yes that's what I meant -

3/4 c chicken
1/2 c potato