Puppy with the itchy skin and loose stool

[Lindsey Holt]

Hi all,

Jake is 11.5 weeks old and has always been a frequent pooper (4 to 6 times a day). However, on Sunday he has some soft stool that isn't really very formed.

TMI - sort of like "soft serve"

Since then his stool has been pretty soft.

Since we brought him home we noticed that he tends to itch or scratch himself quite a bit.

I asked the vet initially and she didn't seem too concerned and saw no sign of fleas or infection or irritated skin.

Do you all think this is related?

I brought him in today and she said it could be his food (Pedigree Puppy, which is what the breeder was feeding him), we have planned on switching him.

She also suggested a course of Metronidazole in case of colitis or some other bacteria in his gut.

She is going to order a probiotic for his food.

She also gave us prescription shampoo for him (Duoxo).

What do you all think?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Douxo is a great shampoo for itchy skin, but it's not a prescription. You can buy it online and probably for a lot less than the vet charged. I usually order it from Entirely Pets. 

Some puppies are itchy. He's way too young to have any type of allergy, so if he doesn't have fleas or mites (I'm hoping the vet did a skin scraping, as mites are not visible to the eye), I wouldn't worry about it. 

A better food with a better Omega 3 fatty acid content might help, too. 

I'm not a fan of giving metronidazole to puppies without a clear diagnose of some type of infection or parasite. It often causes chronic diarrhea after it's discontinued, due to killing off all of the good bacteria along with the bad, which creates a bacterial imbalance in the gut. Did your vet run a fecal test? And you definitely need to give a good probiotic any time a dog is on antibiotics, and for several weeks afterward. You can also order the probiotics online yourself. Many vets sell Fortiflora which contains some lousy ingredients and is overpriced.. I'd order Proviable DC online, it's the best probiotic made for pets on the market. 

[Lindsey Holt]

Thank you so much for the info on Duoxo, I will order it online.  Do you use it all the time of just when they are extra itchy?

I didn't have a fresh stooll sample for them but they ran it 2 weeks ago and it looked great.

I looked on Amazon and the proviable DC is $33 on Amazon for 80 caps, is that a good price?

Do you just do once a day for the probiotic or twice a day?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've never ordered or used Proviable, but a lot of people here do. I'm sure there's dosing info in the packaging. That price sounds pretty good.

My guy has Atopic Dermatitis and the Douxo shampoo was recommended by his dermatologist. We never use anything else. 

I would absolutely have another fecal run, especially before giving any drugs. Most parasitic infections have a 10-14 day incubation period, so the fact that the last fecal was clear means nothing.. You need to be sure of what you're treating. If it's giardia, metronidazole is not the preferred treatment. Panacur is much safer and much more effective. 

[Kamela & Beckett]

Which Duoxo do you use? My vet recommended I not bathe Beckett with it as he didn't have a specific skin condition to be treated (I'm using it for general itchiness/ environmental and maybe food allergies). The vet said Duoxo can dry their skin out. You don't find this to be the case?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

OMD, not at all! The opposite is true! It's extremely beneficial for dry skin and dry coats, lots of people here whose dogs have no particular skin conditions use it just because it's so good for their skin and coats.

I use Douxo Calming Shampoo, that's what the dermatology specialist recommended and I swear by it. You have to leave the lather on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing to get the full benefits. 

[Kamela & Beckett]

That explains it. I got the wrong one, not the calming. I need to get some of that.

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

Hi Lindsey, I order Proviable on Amazon and that is the best price I've seen, especially with free shipping. I have an itchy girl, 6 yrs old, and I've tried several types of shampoos, including Duoxo. It did help initially, but not enough to warrant the cost for me. I bath her a lot by some standards, using Tropiclean Oatmeal now. And the frequent baths help some. She also gets fish oil everyday. This all keeps the itching down to about half of what it is without doing these interventions. I really think some doodles are just itchy creatures. idk.