Dog Community

My Neo...sick for nearly 4 weeks! Need some help

Beth

Posted : 4/25/2007 3:29:35 PM

Hello All,

I am a first timer to this board. It has come to desperation for me to try and figure out what the problem is with my Lab/Rott 4 year old Neo.

My family came out for a visit from Florida end of March for a week. My niece and nephew brough some sort of 7 day stomach virus along with them. After the fam left, about 3 days later Neo was vomiting just a yellow liquid. About a week later he stopped eating all together and also started having a runny stool which later had blood show up in it. His vomit also had little red spots of blood. I took him to the vet...who said there was alot of 'mushy' build up in the intestines, they quickly put him on antibiotics some oral and some through shots. He never has had a fever. His x-rays showed nothing in his system like a rock etc. All of his blood work came back negative for Parvo and Girardia (spelling) and all of his organs were working properly and his white and red blood cell counts were normal. 3 weeks into his illness he began eating again a bland diet I cooked for him of chicken and rice with peas and carrots. Slowly he began to perk up...wag his tail, want to run and play outside and his stool got back to normal. He was fine for a few days and now he is back to having a runny kind of mucus looking stool...same color and smell as when he is well. There is no blood in it right now...but there was a spot or two there last night. He also vomited again last night. He had started eating his dog food (Pedigree...he is picky and only wants that), but as of last night I have him back on a bland home cooked diet.

Does this sound familiar to any of you? Any suggestions? I am scared out of my mind because I don't want to lose my buddy.

janet_rose

Posted : 4/25/2007 3:55:45 PM

[color=#000000][font=verdana]My niece and nephew brough some sort of 7 day stomach virus along with them.

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I doubt that your dog picked this up.

[color=#000000][font=verdana]After the fam left, about 3 days later Neo was vomiting just a yellow liquid.

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The yellow liquid is just bile. It frequently happens when a dog has gone too long without eating. Some dogs even need a bedtime snack to stop this from happening.

[font=verdana][color=#000000]All of his blood work came back negative for Parvo and Girardia (spelling)

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Giardia can be very hard to detect.
[linkhttp://www.canismajor.com/dog/giardia.html[/link]>http://www.canismajor.com/dog/giardia.html]http://www.canismajor.com/dog/giardia.html[/link]
[linkhttp://www.critterchat.net/giardia_fands.htm[/link]>http://www.critterchat.net/giardia_fands.htm]http://www.critterchat.net/giardia_fands.htm[/link]

I would worm the dog with Panacur/Safe-Guard (Fenbendazole). [size=3]It is one of the oldest/safest wormers and also kills Giardia. Panacur is carried by vets and Safe-Guard is available elsewhere.[/size]
[link>http://tinyurl.com/earbk]http://tinyurl.com/earbk[/link][/size]
[size=3][/size]
Use a couple of tbs of plain (not spiced), canned pumpkin with meals to help to normalize the stool.

Beth

Posted : 4/25/2007 3:59:11 PM

Thank you janet_rose for the responce. I was even wondering if Neo has an allergy to his Pedigree....I will try everything you suggested and keep praying that he gets back to normal.

Cazzy

Posted : 4/25/2007 6:06:57 PM

It could be some thing in his pedigree...You could try changing foods and see if it helps

Beth

Posted : 4/25/2007 6:10:31 PM

Yes, as of last night...he is back on home cooked meals. I don't think I am ever going to feed him bagged dog food anymore regarless if this his problem or not.
I gave him the Sureguard treatment and pumpkin suggested by Janet_Rose....I have my fingers crossed that this eliminates his problem.

Cazzy

Posted : 4/25/2007 6:13:33 PM

Well good luck..I went through that with one of my dogs...a change of food did the trick

Beth

Posted : 4/25/2007 6:15:18 PM

Thanks! [

] I hope all of the above works for Neo. I hate him being sick...

jessies_mom

Posted : 4/25/2007 6:22:17 PM

Welcome to the forum; You need to ask the vet for Panacur; the Safe-Guard will not be enough to cure Giardia by itself. Giardia is not a worm but a protozoan and can be hard to cure; you need to have his stools checked 10 days after using Panacur to see if he'll need another treatment. I doubt if the Pedigree had anything to do with his illness. Homecooking is fine but it's more complicated cooking for dogs than people. They need 38 different nutrients and their needs are more specific than ours. If you're going to homecook, here's a link to some booklets sold by animal nutritionist Monica Segal; [linkhttp://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/productindex.php?cPath=25_26&osCsid=caa4087fb01de871c265c9902f2e9f6c]http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/productindex.php?cPath=25_26&osCsid=caa4087fb01de871c265c9902f2e9f6c[/link]
Please let your vet know that your dog is having problems again and see if her recommends using Panacur. I'l be sending healing thoughts; keep us updated.

Beth

Posted : 4/25/2007 6:28:14 PM

I will watch his stool tonight to see what happens and then take him in to see his Vet tomorrow.
Thanks for the advice jessies_mom

jessies_mom

Posted : 4/25/2007 7:20:36 PM

You're welcome; Jessie was treated for Giardia last October so I'm a little familiar with it. As long as you're only homecooking for a few weeks until his system returns to normal you don't need to worry much about recipes and supplements; the advice was if you decide to do it permanently. I sure hope your buddy gets better soon.

Misskiwi67

Posted : 4/25/2007 7:58:11 PM

If his stool is covered in mucus, he's probably got a large bowel problem and some extra fiber might help a bit while his internal bacteria recover from the antibiotics. Some probiotics might help as well.

janet_rose

Posted : 4/26/2007 1:17:26 AM

You need to ask the vet for Panacur; the Safe-Guard will not be enough to cure Giardia by itself.

Jessies_mom, huh?? Panacur and Safe-Guard have the same active ingredient.

janet_rose

Posted : 4/26/2007 1:23:07 AM

you need to have his stools checked 10 days after using Panacur to see if he'll need another treatment.

Giardia was not detected to begin with, so what is the point of another stool check? Giardia can be hard to detect.

Beth

Posted : 4/26/2007 2:10:10 AM

Once he returned to the runny stool, it is a bit slimey and mucus looking. His antibiotics have been finished for over a week now...it usually takes those 3-5 days to run through the system. My mom is a Pharmacist and when she told me that, Neo was right as rain on day 4 of completeling his medicines. She also says then his body could still be adjusting and healing. We also had a long car trip back home from Canada a few days after he seemed to be better so maybe this is also an issue...I don't know [8|]. He is acting like his normal self playing with his toys, following me around everywhere...chasing those imaginary squirrels, his only problem is some minor vomiting and not-so-minor runny stools....

I have so many great responces and suggestions. I am taking them all and running with them. What is probiotics? And where would I find them?

Beth

Posted : 4/26/2007 2:13:44 AM

ORIGINAL: janet_rose

You need to ask the vet for Panacur; the Safe-Guard will not be enough to cure Giardia by itself.

Jessies_mom, huh?? Panacur and Safe-Guard have the same active ingredient.

I saw that on the website covering Girardia that you gave me to look over. I ran right out and got the Safe Guard.
Neo also loved the pumpkin mixed in with his food! He was eating it up like a mad man. He has not had a bowel movement since he had his meal around 3pm (I want his tummy quiet at night). He was trying to eat some grass though...which I am having a tough time getting him to stop doing.