Loose bowels after Antibiotics -- Help!

[Danni & Jedi]

Hi All,

Wasn't really sure where to put this post, but I need some advice. My GD pup Jedi is 23 weeks. His poop was just fine until he caught a mild kennel cough at daycare and went on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory for a week. His stools turned to "soft serve" and "chocolate shake" before our eyes. I wasn't alarmed - he's fine, has an appetite, drinks water, wants to play, etc. However... it's been well over a week since he finished his meds, and although the cough is gone, the loose bowels aren't! 

After his kennel cough meds stopped I expected the stools to firm up in a day or two but that didn't happen. Last Friday, I decided to call the vet about it when we observed him still making soft stools, but appearing to strain a bit and squatting for a lot longer than usual. Vet prescribed mitroconazole (4 days) as well as 2 days of a "bland diet" (i.e. canned food). We followed the diet recommendations and started administering the meds 2x daily per instructions. Plus we have given pumpkin at every meal.

It's the 3rd day of the meds, and this morning he went out and made... even more watery poop! My question is, what can I do to help him firm up and get back on track? 

** I should add that he was on Blue Buffalo Lamb and Oatmeal before the antibiotics, but midway we got our petflow order and it was a Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice and we just fed him that since we know he likes it (that was what he ate previous to the Lamb just makes him poop more stinky so we changed to Lamb.. when we switched from Chicken to Lamb poop wasn't affected). He also gets bully stick, chicken jerky, freeze dried liver, or turkey cold cut as treats. All of them are natural without additives. 

UPDATE: I went back to my records, and the first meds that Jedi were prescribed for cough were Temaril and Clindamycin. After I called back about his digestion, he was prescribed metronidazole. He finished the Temaril and Clindamycin, but I've discontinued the metronidazole. 

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/loose-bowels-after-antibio...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Dogs must always be on a good probiotic any time they are taking antibiotics. The antibiotics destroy bacteria, including the good bacteria in the gut that is necessary for proper stool formation. It's very common for a dog to have ongoing issues with loose stool & diarrhea after taking antibiotics. Probiotics must be used to replace the good flora (bacteria), and they typically need to be used for several weeks after antibiotic treatment. 

I am pretty sure you mean metronidazole and not "microconazole". :) If so, I'd stop it immediately. It's an antibiotic that really wreaks havoc on a dog's GI system and should never be used without a very good reason. If there is no infection present, you don't want to give antibiotics, yet many vets prescribe it automatically any time a dog has loose stool. . Many dogs have ongoing digestive issues after courses of metronidazole. 

Probiotics must be given at least two hours apart from any medications.

I'm also pretty sure the "canned food" bland diet the vet recommended is Rx garbage. We have lots of information about this in The Food Group, including why you should refuse rx foods almost any time your vet recommends them. They contain no medicine or therapeutic ingredients, and the ingredients they do contain are usually the worst ones you can imagine. I would stop that too.

Order a bottle of Proviable DC capsules today. In the meantime, start giving him two tablespoons of plain nonfat unflavored yogurt 2-3 times per day, until the probiotics arrive.

The food change in the midst of the antibiotics may have contributed to the problem. 

Bully sticks can also be very hard on a dog's stomach. 

Instead of the Rx "bland diet", I'd feed a homemade bland diet consisting of 50% plain boiled white meat chicken and 50% plain white rice or plain cooked mashed sweet potatoes. If you use the sweet potatoes, you can omit the pumpkin, otherwise continue it. Be sure to give the yogurt until the Proviable arrives, and then you can omit the yogurt. I'd avoid giving him bully sticks or anything with a high fat content until the stool firms up. 

[Danni & Jedi]

Omg! Thanks Karen the detailed advice, and I will join the Food Group after hitting send. 

 I've lurked in the Food Group, and my instinct was to refuse the canned dog food recommendation (I know better), but I was too scared to stand up for myself, frankly. I won't take that recommendation ever again, as I pay for canned food that I know is crap and it doesn't work. As for the "M" antibiotic (I honestly could have gotten the name wrong, I'll check when I get home and update), I will discontinue also. I'm not a fan of over-medicating, despite my ignorance/naivete as demonstrated by this post, and I take probiotics myself! I will not hesitate to give them to Jedi. 

Re: the food change, I am still aggravated at stupid petflow! Instead of trying to return ship a heavy box of dog food, I decided to "go with the flow".. still not sure I did the right thing there, but we were out of food, 

**Off to the grocery store for yogurt, chicken, rice, and yams!**

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Danni, keep us posted, I hope to hear that he's doing better. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Karen,
I'm curious about the proviable DC. Is there a minimum age for a pup to take this? I'm wondering, we brought Maci home today at 8 weeks. No stools yet, but I just wanted to know.
Also, can the proviable be purchased online or is the vet's version better?

[Danni & Jedi]

No minimum age was listed on the packaging, and the small dog formula can be given to dogs less than 20 lbs. Also checked google and no definitive answer, but some of the testimonials on amazon were of people claiming successful use on new puppies and kittens. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We've had people in TFG using Proviable with puppies as young as 9 weeks, and no problems, only good results. It's just the same kind of good bacteria that is naturally in their guts.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And please join us in The Food Group. :)

[Judi Kilpatrick]

Hi Dani, sorry that Jedi is going thru this. I don't have anything to add to Karens recommendation other than to say that lots of us have dealt with similar issues and it's quite an awakening to realize that vets still give the metro to pups when it has such lasting side effects. One of my pups had soft poop since he came home from the breeder, long story but many, many poop tests and expensive lab tests later we determined he has a sensitivity to chicken. That was good news and an easy fix but early on our vet just assumed it was giardia and prescribed metro., I stopped it the 3rd day when he started vomiting and pooping water, it took over 2 months to get his stool back to some sense of normal, had also refused the RX food the vet wanted to give him. Eliminated all treats, stuck with the proviable dc probiotic, canned pumpkin or cooked sweet potato..initial food/kibble change to get him off chicken and have stuck with it, he's 7 1/2 months old and still has the occasional loose stool but nothing like before. Don't get discouraged, hopefully this will clear up soon but reality is it could take a while, hang in there and keep us posted.

[Danni & Jedi]

Thanks Judi... I never thought of eliminating all the treats... it's hard because he's so cute and such a cheese-monster, but I am willing to do what's best until we can see a change. Frankly, my backyard can't take anymore either -- we can't scoop what he leaves and it hasn't had time to harden in these torrential rains we've been having :(

[Judi Kilpatrick]

I know it was really hard and the watery poop junk was awful, I wish Jedi a very speedy recovery for your sake as well!

[Danni & Jedi]

Thanks -- just getting good recommendations is half the battle. The vet was pretty useless, but I should have been prepared for that (considering what I read on this site).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I also just noticed that your vet prescribed an "antiinflammatory". If that was prednisone, I'd find a new vet pronto. All these meds really sound like overkill to me, and steroids should never, ever be used unless there is no alternative. Many dogs don't take any drugs for a bout of kennel cough, a mild case will usually go away by itself, and at any rate, antiinflammatories would have nothing to do with a respiratory virus. 

Steroids can also be very hard on a dog's stomach; it's usually a good idea to give antacids when a dog is taking it. But in your case, they really should not have been given at all.