Follow up on Yeti's Vet appointment tonight

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

For some reason dk will not let me comment on my last discussion.  I took Yeti to the vet and she seems to think that his parasite was never gone even though his stool went back to normal for a couple of weeks.  She did a fecal exam and it came back negative so they are sending it to the lab for further testing (I do believe she mentioned Giardia and something else). 

He was also becoming pretty dehydrated so they gave him some fluids to help bring him back to life a little.  No wonder why he seemed so weak :(.

On top of the fluids they gave him, they also gave him nausea medicine to help his vomiting. We laid pretty low tonight and he seemed to be feeling better. At least no more throwing up (as of right now).

If tests from the lab come back negative she suggested an xray or ultra sound to see if something is blocking his intestines. I so so so hope nothing is.  This makes me very nervous.

If the lab comes up negative she said another possibility could be that our little guy has a really sensitive stomach. She suggested changing his food so i will be doing some research on the food page for a new food for Yeti.

We will find out by the end of the week at the latest what the lab results say, and will go from there.

[Lindsey Holt]

We had similar issues not involving bully sticks, but the diarrhea.

It turned out to be Jake's food.

We switched him to a DK recommended grain free food and added providable DC (based on Karen's recommendation). All is well now.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

She said that she's almost certain it wasn't the bully sticks. Basically what everyone else said, it can cause loose stool but not the diarrhea he is experiencing. If you don't mind me asking what food were you feeding him?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good luck.

[Judith and Addie]

I hope Yeti is feeling better soon, and you and your vet have everything under control. It is hard not knowing what it is that is causing our pet's problems.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I really think that a good probiotic would help a lot. Please order Proviable DC if you haven't already. 

I think the improvement in his stool was probably from the metronidazole, and it's very common for diarrhea to return and even get worse after the drugs are discontinued; that's because the metro destroys all of the good bacteria necessary for proper stool formation along with the bad bacteria. However, vomiting isn't usually part of that. 

If you do decide to switch his food, you'll want to look for a limited ingredient formula. There are lots of good choices, although none that are made specifically for puppies. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Our vet said the same thing about the limited diet! Do you think it's okay if they aren't specifically for puppies?
We have been on proviable DC for a couple of weeks now! I give it to him twice a day once in the morning and once in the evening.
If he goes on an antiboiotic you are supposed to give it to him two hours away from the antibiotic correct?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The limited ingredient diets are usually fine for puppies. Lots of puppies eat "All Life Stages" formulas and do very well with them. 

Yes, probiotics should be given at least two hours apart from antibiotics, and longer is better. But I personally would not give them unless the tests show parasites or an infection. There have been cases of dogs who developed ongoing digestive problems due to repeated courses of metronidazole as puppies. The safest and most effective treatment for giardia is Panacur, and there is veterinary literature to back that up.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Awesome! I told her I was more comfortable using the panacur and she said that would perfectly fine if his tests show up positive at the lab. Now it's just a waiting game I suppose.
Do you happen to know if he tests positive for giardia what they might want to perscribe for that? Does panacur treat that!?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, as I said above, The safest and most effective treatment for giardia is Panacur, and there is veterinary literature to back that up.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Alright thanks so much for your help :)

[Lois Maturo]

I have not had good luck with metronidazole either. One of my dogs had diarrhea so bad it got bloody.  I believe the cause of his was eating rabbit poop. Took him to the vet and they did the same as you.  Gave him fluids and nausea medicine. I refused the metronidazole.  His stool sample came back negative. I kept him on a bland diet for 3 days and   I used the proviable paste for a few days. I now give them the pills once per week.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The Proviable paste is Proviable KP, which is a good product too, and I think they sell packages that contain both the KP and the Proviable DC, which are the capsules.