Bloody diarrhea

[jeanne & Lilly]

Lilly started panacur and metro last Saturday for giardia. Sunday she went to the vet for a sanitary clip and bath. She seemed really uncomfortable, I found most of the area is red from razor burn (I'm guessing.).
This morning I went outside to find Lilly had bloody diahhrea in the middle of the night.

Today Standing seems to be really uncomfortable for her, so she couldn't eat. I held her bowl, she sat and finally ate. But she is not drinking water even when I hold the bowl up for her. She seems a little lethargic, I guess I'd be too if I had diarrhea and razor burn.
How can I get her to drink?
She loves raw goats milk, is that an acceptable substitution for water, for now?
Thanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jeanne, it is crucial that lilly not be allowed outdoors unsupervised, especially while she has the giardia. You must clean up after her immediately when she goes, and disinfect the area with bleach, otherwise she will keep reinfecting herself. She may be drinking standing water outdoors or consuming something else that has been contaminated. That's how dogs get giardia in the first place, and why it can be so hard to get rid of. You also need to clean her immediately after she goes with wipes. Please do not allow her access to the otudoors unsupervised. I know it's a pain, but if she has to go in the middle of the night, someone has to go with her.

I would not be giving any kind of milk to a dog with diarrhea, let alone raw milk. A lot of dogs do not tolerate dairy products to begin with, and milk can exacerbate diarrhea in any case. You don't give it to kids with diarrhea, either.

Personally, if my dog was lethargic, not eating, and not drinking, I'd have her at the ER vet. Add a GI infection, medications, and bloody diarrhea to that and she really needs to be seen ASAP. Between the diarrhea and not drinking, she may be dehydrated.

[jeanne & Lilly]

I, as well as others I'm sure, really appreciate being able count on you Karen. Thank you.
She did eat lunch, right now she's eating peanut butter in her kong. Which now you'll tell me is not a good idea. Peanut butter finished and she drank a little water! I was thinking she didn't want to drink because standing is too uncomfortable on her razor burned bottom.

I did call the vet first thing this morning she said, 'well yes blood in diarrhea is a symptom of giardia.'

Since the vet didnt say anything about changing her diet, I fed her usual lunch. HK preference with chicken that I cook. Should she be only rice with the chicken???

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I would keep her diet as simple as possible...boiled chicken and sweet potato (or rice). By reading what you have posted, I also would have been at the vet today..but you need to go with your gut.  If you feel she is acting off, not eating/drinking..then I would take her ASAP..you do not want her to get dehydrated .  Did she eat anything besides her lunch and the peanut butter from the kong today?  Is there anything you can put on her bottom to relieve the razor burn?  Has her diarrhea formed up at all from the meds?  Are you giving her any type of probiotic/yogurt?  

[jeanne & Lilly]

She Had yogurt this morning. And I'll give her a little more 2hrs before her next dose of metro ( per Karen). I've been adding a lot of water to her meals, so it's soupy.
Ok dinner is finished. She drank her soup as I held the bowl, and hand fed her the chicken and rice. Yes very sloppy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The Honest Kitchen is good, it's got such a high water content that right now is important for her. Ordinarily I would say just chicken and sweet potatos or rice, but that would be for dogs who normally eat dry food. You can add either plain chicken or chicken and rice, either should be fine.

Another way to get dogs to take fluids is to add just a little bit of plain unsweetened apple juice to their water.

Some other owners have had success with frozen fruit juice bars...the ones with no added sugar. Some dogs love them. In a pinch, even a popsicle is okay...there's some sugar, but it's mostly flavored water. Just make sure nothing you give is sweetened with xylitol.

The only problem with the peanut butter is that it's extremely high in fat, and high fat foods also exacerbate diarhhea. You might try some plain unflavored fat free yogurt, she needs the probiotics anyway.  

[jeanne & Lilly]

Good idea, adding a little apple juice to the water.
Lilly has Greek fat free yogurt everyday, she loves it. Are probiotics in pill form better for her?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Not better. It would depend on the probiotic, they are only as good as the number of living cultures they contain. Some dogs won;t eat yogurt, some people give both.

[Holly Paterniti]

Jeanne.......I agree with Karen :)  Both Bear and Savannah have had bouts of giardia.  If you have anyway of getting Neutra Stat, which is like the chemical they use in the kennels (it is a commercial chemical found in hospitals and schools), I would definitely get some.  Since I work in a school system, the custodian gave me a little to use at home.  You only need 2oz per gallon of water :)  You want to use a cleaner with the chemical quaternary in it, which I found out Neutra Stat has.....bleach will do the job, I think, but when I looked up on how to clean and disinfecting areas contaminated with giardia that is what I found :)

My suggestion is to take her back to the vet because I know Bear and Savannah had to be treated more than once with the meds to get rid of it.......also they were on a VERY bland diet for a long while.  As soon as Lilly comes in from outside, immediately wash her feet off.  Bear seemed to get it everytime it rained alot and the water was sitting in the backyard, so I kept him from going way in the back of the yard.  It did take a little while before we got it under control. 

Definitely, would not give her any dairy........go back to the vet and they can give her something to help control the diarrhea........they should give a shot of the meds and then they will give you Forti-Flora to continue to control the diarrhea.  After all these bouts of giardia, I decided to start both of them on probiotics.

Both of the dogs are on IntelliFlora, which I found at PSCPets.com..........then I have been giving them Nature's Logic, which is an all food fortified supplement for dogs :)  Knock on wood, they have been doing well :)

I hope this helps?  Keep us updated on how she is :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't recommend Fortiflora, because it's a Purina product and is made with animal digest, a really bad ingredient. But a probiotic is important. Proviable and iFlora are two really good ones recommended by JD's internist. Ark Naturals Gentle Digest prebiotic is good too.

Good advice Holly!

[jeanne & Lilly]

We live in Las Vegas, so standing water is not a problem. Our back yard is concrete and white stone. So cleaning up is not difficult, I can see every bit of poop.
Thanks!