brought our little guy home today .... diarrhea?

[Jenn Suchniak]

quick update!

we got appa into the vet tuesday am with a stool sample, and he does indeed have giardia!  we are medicating him, and hoping these yucky bms will be a thing of the past soon!  

he's adjusting well.  two (pee) accidents in the house yesterday, so far none today.  we've been trying to keep him up and running a lot.  still having a lot of night waking.  his crate is down in the living room.  i'm trying to decide if i should buy a second crate for our room, or move his up every night, and back down in the morning.  but other than that, we are enjoying our little 8 pounds of fluff! thanks again everyone!

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hello all!  we brought our appa home today, he's a smidge under 8 weeks.  he's has one round of vaccinations and two dewormings.

his breeder said she had him on purina puppy chow (i know, i know - i do plan to change this,  but planned to wait the recommended two weeks before starting the switch to some better grain-free stuff). she gave us a baggie to start him off with.  i went to pick up a bit more on the way home and noticed it was actually purina little bites, not the puppy chow.

so anyhow!  we picked him up at 1pm, he ate a cup of food at 6pm, and finally pooped around 8pm.  it was yellow and not firm enough for me to pick up, really.  i did, but it left a bunch on the grass, too.  then at 9:30 he had a small wet yellow poo in the house while dh was on pup duty and i was putting the 2yo to bed.

is this common on the first day home?  should i take him in?  poor guy.  i also should mention we had a 3.5 hour car ride home, so maybe a nervous belly?

[Jenn Suchniak]

that is good to know - hopefully it passes, and without needing any medication, poor guy.  the worst part (besides feeling bad for him) is that i have to go out there with buckets of water after every bm since we are in temporary housing for another two weeks (townhouses kind of like apartments - we have no hose, but do have an unfenced grassy area out our back door).  

my thought is to transition over to quality grain-free kibble, and then start to split it with some real food.

injection .... are you talking about vaccinations?  he's supposed to get his next round in 2 weeks (per the breeder), but i will talk to the vet about it tuesday for sure.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Jenn, since you are taking buckets out to rinse the area anyway, add some bleach to it.  If he has Giardia that is how you have to clean the area to kill the 'bugs'

[Jenn Suchniak]

great tip!  thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would not change a thing with his food right now, as dreadful as the current food is. If you introduce more variables, it will make it just that much harder to know what is causing problems if this should continue.

He's been through enough changes for the moment. Let at least one thing, his food, be familiar to him. Nutritionally, he will survive another 2 weeks on the Purina. The grain-free idea is a good one, and waiting two weeks is perfect.

Whatever you do, I would not introduce vegetables until the stool issues are resolved. And once you do start changing his food, only change one thing at a time.

[Jenn Suchniak]

oh, i agree!  i am not changing anything for now. lord knows i don't want to add anymore belly issues!  :)

[Carol and Banjo]

Jenn, You've gotten great advice from folks more knowledgeable than I.    Just wanted to welcome you and say Appa is an absolute doll.    I hope things clear up without complications.   These first few weeks are exhausting but it does get better.  I lost 5 lbs when we first got Banjo!   It seemed I never sat for more than a few minutes.    Believe me the extra diligence and work in the beginning pays off in the end.    Keep us posted!

[Jenn Suchniak]

thanks carol!  i am keeping my eye on the prize (a happy, well trained, well adjusted DOG), lol.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Carol, Have you come upon a new weight loss program? Get a puppy lose 5#? You're gonna make a fortune with this one. ;o)

[Carol and Banjo]

Bonnie, I wish I could say that those 5 lost pounds stayed missing!

[Bonnie and Kona]

;o)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Jenn, he is so stinking cute! And looks so sweet. I am a bit familiar with giardia as both my doodles have had it a few times. Since he is experiencing diarrhea, you might see it light in color, very smelly and sometime mucousy. Not all dogs get diarrhea with giardia, so it certainly could be the stress of everything. There are two very effective MEDS that the vet. Will probably prescribe, whether or not there is a positive stool. Bring in a fresh sample with you tues. however, the cysts don't always show up in every sample , so false negatives are possible, therefore the vet may give MEDS "to be on the safe side". The two we have found most effective are Panacur and Albon. I always ask for the Albon, as it is a broad spectrum antibiotic and clears any other bad bacteria that may be lingering as well.
One word of caution is that the vet will probably "prescribe" a special diet, of the RX Science Diet that they just happen to sell there. T his is absolute garbage and if you have to switch to a "special" diet, you might as well use chicken and rice. Much more nutrient dense, let alone affordable. There is a post on " when to say no to the vet" regarding these prescribed foods, in the food group I believe. You can search for it. I can't get the link easily on my iPad. Maybe Karen will rescue me here.
So that is all the preparation I think you need going to the vet. Be an educated consumer and ask questions. BTW... They will probably tell you to keep him on Purina. Tells you what they know about pet food. Glad you are here on DK. You will be a great doodle mom because of the great info here. Good luck.

[Jenn Suchniak]

thanks!  i've read a lot in "the food group," so i will figure out a way to nicely pass on science diet if offered.  hopefully they don't kick me out (we've been dropped by a ped. before for not following their kid immuniz. sched, lol!).