Zoe update
 

thanks all for the good vibes....we are still not sure what is wrong. Zoe's fecal came back normal, no bacteria, no parasites and no worms. He checked for coccidia, said mice can pass it on to their babies and they could have passed it on when she ate them. She was clear for that too.

Vet gave her a good checkup, everything is good temp, heart lungs, eyes, inside mouth.

He said he believes that something is irritating her lower intestine, and that is what is causing the over production of mucus that I am seeing in her feces. Her abdomen is still soft, so he has ruled out any sort of blockage/foriegn object. He said that seeing she has only vomitted once, and is still passing stools, and keeping a bland diet down he doesn't believe xrays will show anything and he feels that right now her diarrhea is not a major major concern. She is hydrated and full of energy.

So he put her on 1000mg of Metronidazole a day (500mg twice a day) He said within 7 days I should see her stools firm up, if they don't totally firm up keep her on for another week. If the meds don't firm up her stools then in two weeks she has to go in for blood work. And we will go from there, he said if it comes to blood work, then x-rays and then if no answer then he may have to do a biopsy of her intestines, he said but that is getting way ahead of where we are now. Not to go worrying about major surgery just yet. He said sometimes these little mysterious things happen, and there are never any answers and they clear themselves up in a month or so.

So he said to try and get her to eat some yogurt with these pills. He said if she starts to vomit frequently, or gets super explosive diarrhea, or becomes lethargic then he wants to see her ASAP. He said not to freak out at the little bit of blood she is passing right now, that is normal with irritation. If there are any larger amounts of blood, straight to the vet.

:shrug:So that is where we are now. I don't know anything about Metronidazole, any one here have to use it before?

Thanks again for the good vibes....I was (well still am) worried.

We have used it and noticed huge improvement within a couple of days! Winston had similiar problems...we havent had that in a long time,,

Poor girl! hope she is feeling better :thumbs up

[QUOTE=dogcatharmony;807354]I don't know anything about Metronidazole, any one here have to use it before?[/QUOTE]

Metronidazole, sometimes called Flagyl, is a antibiotic and antiprotozoal medication that also has some actions on inflammation (cell-mediated immunity properties). It is a common medication for diarrhea and for infections against anaerobic bacteria. It is fairly safe, however since it does cross the blood brain barrier, it can lead to some neurologic signs in some pets. In some pets I have seen agitation which will quickly subside once the medication is discontinued or reduced in dose. In other cases more serious side effects can occur (as will most medications).

If your veterinarian recommended some yogurt for reasons of probiotic bacteria, then you could also consider a dog probiotic such as [URL="http://www.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=PL&productID=69"]Prostora[/URL] or [URL="http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/CanineProductDetail.aspx?prod=244"]Fortiflora[/URL]. Unfortunately there is not as much information on dog and cat probiotics as we would like. Yogurt, those with probiotics, might help or may not (some dogs have some lactointolerance). Either way, most dogs do find it tasty and can help with taking the medications. :dog:

Sorry I didn't see the earlier thread that Zoe wasn't well. I hope everything settles down for her. Pawsitive thoughts from me and the grrrrls.

Thank you Winston and Dog Dancer.

And thankyou Dr.Lee!

I highly doubt I will get any yogurt into her,she is a seriously picky dog. But I could get some probiotic to put in her bland diet. Funny thing, she normal will not eat rice, but she is eating it no problem now.

Someone told me cottage cheese too, I know she will eat a bit of that. Is that a good suggestion are should I scrap that idea?

I got one pill in her so far.....she refused anything i put the second pill in, she bit the peice of chicken that had both pills in it so one fell out.....now she is on to me. Can you give pills to a dog the same way you can with a cat? Put in it the side of the mouth way at the back, then hold mouth shut and stroke her throat?

And if I can only get one pill in........will that do anything??:shrug:

[QUOTE=dogcatharmony;807382]

1) Someone told me cottage cheese too...Is that a good suggestion...?

2) Can you give pills to a dog the same way you can with a cat?

3) And if I can only get one pill in........will that do anything??:shrug:[/QUOTE]

1) yes, low fat cottage cheese is typically easy on the tummy assuming there is no problems with dairy products.

2) yes but you don't have to put bandaids on yourself afterwards :laughing:

3) Depends on the dose and the individual pet but this medication does have a wide range of efficacy so, yes low doses can be beneficial.

:laughing:.........that is good about the bandaids.......ran out of those.

The pills are 500mgs (two 250mg pills) twice a day. She is a 68 pound dog.

I have to try different food to hide the pills in, I don't want her to stop eating the chicken/ hamburger thinking I am hiding a pill in it. I don't want to force them on her either, but she needs them, so if it comes to that well that is the way it needs to be.

AND I will be sure to let you know if I need a bandaid.........she does live with three cats..........

Yes. One pill should have therapeutic effects.

[B]DCH,[/B] I would just put the pills as far back as you can in her mouth and hold it closed until she swallows. Otherwise she will be suspicious of everything you try and feed her. If she puts up a fuss try smearing something yummy on your fingers so she can smell that ....I've used canned cat food and it worked but anything enticing should do.

Good luck ...I hope she is over this soon. :fingerscr :goodvibes:

Continued :goodvibes: for Zoe. Poor sweetie.
I hope she gets over this upset soon. :pray:

Sorry to hear that Zoe isn't feeling well. Hopefully, she is on the road to recovery.

I have used Pill Pockets (a meaty treat) to hide pills. When my kidney failure dog wouldn't eat anything, I did open her mouth, put the pill at the base of her tongue and blow a puff of air at her nose--it made her swallow. This was done in her final days and we had many, many pills.

My older dog was given a round of Flagyl last spring for stool with scant drops of blood and mucus. His stool sample was negative for parasites. What the vet thought caused this was ingesting large amounts of hair and passing hard hairballs in the stool. It irritated his intestine. I give some Laxatone weekly to help him pass the hair. My dog has long hair and licks his paws and the carpet. (We have addressed allergies throughout his life.) Just wanted to mention this in case Zoe has long hair. Hope she feels better.

Happy to hear that Zoe is on the amends. Still gonna send :goodvibes::goodvibes::goodvibes::goodvibes:'s for a speedy recovery! :thumbs up

Metronidazole is one of our staples here, DCH. (We order it by the 500 ct :rolleyes:) We've never had a problem with side effects (knock on wood, :fingerscr, kiss a toad, etc etc :o) and it's been quite effective for the intestinal upsets the Pack seems prone to!

More :goodvibes: for continued improvement in Zoe!

Just wanted to send along some more :goodvibes: for Zoe

Thank you for the good vibes and information.

I managed to get three pills into her yesterday. The second set I just put in her mouth and wrestled her until she swallowed. Didn't think she would fight like that:wall: Then she spent the next half hour dry hacking around the house.

Of course all the commotion started a cat fight........nothing too bad but everyone hates everyone right now....lots of growling and hissing.

The yogurt was a no go, but I was talking with the pet store lady and she said to go to the pharmacy and get digestive enzymes (she just happened to have sold the last of her probiotics).

I have lactobaccillus(active acidophilus) capsules that I take. Can I give these to her?? IF so how much?

She had a small small poop, very soft yesterday......should have been more with the amount of food she has put in. But she could have gone outside when I wasn't right there.

We use acidophilus capsules all the time, DCH. We split two of them sprinkled over 8 bowls...and even that small amount has done wonders!!!

Here's an exercise to try with Zoe. Take a small piece of tasty treat. Tell her 'open', take the treat and slide it into her mouth along the side. At first, you don't have to pry her jaws open, just slip it in there, and let her realize it's a treat. With luck, she'll start cooperating.

As she gets more comfy with having it dropped in the side of her mouth, start opening her jaw slightly and slide the treat toward the back of her throat along the inside of her mouth. If she cooperates, give her another small piece of treat to just crunch. So now she gets two treats if she cooperates.

The final step is substituting the pill for that first treat. Since you slide it through her mouth, past the tongue and into the throat, she doesn't taste it anyway. :shrug: Especially if the second treat is a yummy tasty thing. :D

Eventually, she'll start looking forward to pills because she knows she's getting a treat afterward. Depending on how quick she catches on, this might help for the metronidazole this time. But even if it doesn't, if you keep it up, next time you have to pill her, things will go much smoother. :thumbs up

Flagyl is what I had my gang on when they all had that bout of idon'tnowwhat! I helped them pretty much immediately after I gave it to them.

well we are on pill number five and she just went poop four times in the last half hour. Heck not even a half an hour, 15 mins more like it.

Sorry for discription, first poop was semi solid (slight bit of mucus), and then it went down to last poop was just liquid coming out (mostly mucus and yellow liquid):shrug:

I feel like a moron, I called the vet and left a message, he will return it as soon as he is not busy. I know he said wait seven days, but he also said that I should see improvement.

I don't know if I am stressing her out giving her pills....or if something else is wrong. She wasn't too interested in having lunch, could be a couple different reasons for that, 1. she had too much poop in her to eat 2. she was busy playing with Dex 3.She doesn't trust what I am offering her.

It's so hard to explain, she is a super smart dog......and a whole ball of stubborn. She doesn't eat pill pockets, she doesn't eat peanut butter, she doesn't eat cheese whiz (yes i tried it even though it is icky). Her favorite treats are green milkbones (can't hide a pill in those) and cow hooves. Having to give her pills makes me crazy!!!! Why don't they make some of these meds in liquid........I do believe that it would be easier to put a suppository up her behind than give her pills too.:wall:

I have a question.....can I crush these pills up?? My mom just called and said she cooked a turkey today, I can have the bones (Zoe loves turkey broth) and some meat.

Or is this just me not being patient enough for the meds to work?

I used to have problems giving pills to Jasper but a neighbour told me to take a piece of weiner and cut a little hole, put the pill in and put the piece I cut out back in and now Jasper takes his pills without a problem.

Ask the vet if you can get it in liquid. I know the flagyl I give my cats comes in liquid, much easier, and I noticed Dr. Lee said that what you are giving Zoe is the same thing as Flagyl.:shrug:

Does Zoe like cream cheese? Any other kind of cheese that is soft would work. Just mold it.

Okay, this may sound weird, but does Zoe like bananas? Our puppy was willing to take pills inserted into a small piece of ripe banana. (On the other hand, Sunshine eats cardboard so maybe not a good example.)

DCH, I'm sorry to hear about Zoe not feeling well.

When Tegan needs pills I wrap a slice of processed cheese areound it. Works every time. :D

I hope that zoe will get better soon and the cats will settle down.
:grouphug:

Debbie

ha ha....turkey works. She loves it so much she only chews the first bite, then she just opens her mouth and wants you to throw it in. I took some of the dark meat (a little greasy, but oh well) wrapped up two pills and fed her some white. She got into it, gulped the two peices of dark, then I gave her some rice and a little cut up white turkey for her supper. Plus I hid the pill bottle upstairs, came down with the pills in my hand instead of the whole pill bottle.

Oopss forgot the acidophilus.....dang, will remember that for tommorrow's lunch. Vet called back and said it could be 3-4 days till I see a big improvement. That right now with the first poop being really soft, but formed is good.

Mind you she is rather cranky with Dexter. She gave him a good scare earlier, had the teeth out. I didn't like that.

:laughing: yay for turkey! :D Good thinking to hide the pill bottle that way she doesn't suspect a thing.

Zoe might just be over reacting to Dexter because she's not feeling so great :shrug: I would try to separate them for at least a couple of hours a day until Zoe's poop issue clears up - give them a little break from each other :pawprint:

LOL ...good thing Zoe loves her turkey. :thumbs up

What if you bought some ground turkey and made her little meatballs .....do you think that would work? :shrug:

Sending lots of good wishes for continued success and hope her poops are back to normal soon. :fingerscr :goodvibes:

I agree with Growler. Maybe separate them for a bit. Zoe is bound to be a little cranky.

:thumbs up awesome idea rainbow.....turkey meatballs.

The only thing is turkey bland enough for her diet right now? I thought it was high in fat....well depending on what meat of the turkey. Seeing I have just been cooking boiled chicken/hamburger and rice for so long (:D it's been my supper too), turkey meatballs sound absolutely wonderful.

I found a half eaten milkbone in my computer room, think she was hiding it for a rainy day. Very well could be the culprit to the extra poopies today.

And she apologized to Dexter, went and nuzzled him on the bed, but I will keep them separated when I see her being moody.:shrug:Could be she didn't want him anywhere near the kitchen because the turkey is all hers? Finally something with a bit of taste. But she got a bit moody with me just after her walk when I went to unclip her leash, she got the ears down and tucked her head down with those eyes. I gave her a big bowl of water and told her to lay down outside and cool down. I will keep her in the bedroom with me tonight and the kitties can roam the rest of the house. They won't like it, but it's the way it has to be.

There's a chart on this website comparing turkey with beef ....

[url]http://southernfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa090802b.htm[/url]

:thumbs up thankyou rainbow....off to the butcher's tomorrow for ground turkey! Meatballs....YUM

[QUOTE=dogcatharmony;807986]:thumbs up thankyou rainbow....off to the butcher's tomorrow for ground turkey! Meatballs....YUM[/QUOTE]

LOL ....don't thank me until Zoe approves. :D