Guest mtnbluebird Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 So Folsom went Camping in August, drank some pond water, and was tested positive for Giardia. On August 28 he started a 5 day regimen of Flagyl, he got a little better then got worse. We took him back to the vet on Sept 10 and the new vet (different woman than who saw him before-she seemed much more knowledgeable) put him on a 10 day regimen of 1750mg of Flagyl a day. He's tested negative for Giardia now but he's still got diarrhea, and has had it the whole time on the second round of medication. He's only a day and a half off the medication. He took a dump on the rug this morning. (We only have a rug in one room, ONE room! ARGH!) So now my SO wants to try a new food, we have him on Canidae. We've only had Folsom 2.5 months, he's been through 1 bag of Canidae and then they changed the formula and his second bag is new formula Canidae. He's not had a firm poop on the new formula yet. So should we go back to the vet? Change his food to something else? He had a great time Camping, but now I'm seriously regretting it. He hasn't had a sold poop since! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stlgrey Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I think that possibly my girl has been exposed to Giardia as well. We tried flagyl with no luck and she was put on Pancur twice. She is currently being evaluated for lymphoma though since we can't really tell why she keeps losing weight and has diarrhea. I did have a solid stool immediatley with her on ProPlan Sensative Stomach formula. Just a thought. I am hoping something works for you and this GT community is awesome at having information to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Harry702 Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I've heard of quite a few people having trouble with the new Canidae formula. I'd consider giving Folsom's tummy a rest. Fast him for 24 hours (no food/treats/etc.) and then start feeding him a bland diet (1/3 boiled chicken breasts or ground beef, plus 2/3 cooked rice) for at least a few days. Start researching what you'd like to switch him to, and after a few days of bland diet only, you can start mixing that in with his chicken and rice(slowly). If, after about a week or two of this treatment, you see limited or no improvement, I'd head back to the vet. Good luck. The big D is no fun for anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I would Panacur him again. Then try the bland diet for a few days before switching foods again. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suzy Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'm assuming Flagyl is an antibiotic? If so, antibiotics can play hell on intestinal systems because they kill good bacteria and well as bad. After our crew came off the track and when they get antibiotics, we do a round of probiotics to get the good bacteria back in their systems. The probiotic round should last as long or longer than the antibiotic round did. Our probiotics came in powder form so you can just sprinkle it on their food or make a paste with water and put on the food. Good luck! Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'm assuming Flagyl is an antibiotic? If so, antibiotics can play hell on intestinal systems because they kill good bacteria and well as bad. After our crew came off the track and when they get antibiotics, we do a round of probiotics to get the good bacteria back in their systems. The probiotic round should last as long or longer than the antibiotic round did. Our probiotics came in powder form so you can just sprinkle it on their food or make a paste with water and put on the food. Good luck! Suzy Flagyl IS an antibiotic, but it is also absolutely FABULOUS for stopping diarrhea! It's the standard treatment in dogs with giardia. George just went throught this, as the kitten I purchased came complete with round worms AND giardia. Plugged him up like you would NOT believe. I'd switch foods for sure, but I agree with Lindsay--another round of Panacur, bland diet, THEN change the food. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mtnbluebird Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 What is "another round of Panacur"? More medicine? Even though his last stool sample (September 17) came back negative? I'm going to call the vet tomorrow too (not open Mondays) to get her advice, at the least I'll need a vet appt to get another round of medication. She told me at our last visit that if Folsom was still having diarrhea then we could have flared up an underlying GI issue, and she mentioned she was treating another Grey with IBS for 6 months now (I really really hope it doesn't come to that). The chicken and rice diet is killing my grocery budget, we don't usually eat a lot of meat because it's expensive. The dog gets more fresh meat then we do!!! Fasting is like pulling teeth around here too, because my SO feels bad and still doles out the milkbones ::sigh:: We spent sooooo much time picking Canidae too, the choices out there are overwhelming :-/ Thanks for the advice! Much much much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest longdogs Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Flagyl is effective at killing off some bacteria that can cause diarrhoea, thereby stopping it, but it is also a known possible side-effect of the drug. In this case it is being used to treat Giardia not a bacterial infection and Giardia also can cause diarrhoea. Either the Flagyl, the Giardia or both are likely to be contributing. Giardia can be hard to shift and you are likely to be stuck with the problem until the infection is gone and the Flagyl is stopped. With luck that's where you are now. The next step is fasting and a bland diet for a few days as suggested. It doesn't have to be chicken if it is costly. The trick is to boil or microwave whatever meat you use to remove as much of the fat as you can. I generally use ground beef and microwave it. You can also use cooked white fish. I find greys like those with a strong fishy taste, usually not a prime species and therefore inexpensive if you have access to a market. If you don't see a rapid improvement the Giardia is probably still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 1750mg of flagyl a day is way too much! Try 5 days of panacur and see how he does. Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Panacur again, even if the fecal sample is negative. Giardia is small, and whipworms only shed eggs every few days, so they are notoriously missed on fecal samples. You don't need a prescription for Panacur. You can order it online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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