Metronidazole and dogs

[melz]

Hi all. I went to the vet today for Mozart's diarrhea and vomiting. According to the vet, I've been doing a great job at keeping Moe hydrated. Everything seems to be in good condition according to him. Nothing found in his stool... Told me to prolonge the fasting until tomorrow morning (he's been fasting since Saturday night) Monday morning I have to boil some hamburger meat and cook white rice and give him a bit at a time.

On top of that, though, he prescribed Metronidaloze for Mozart. 2 x 250mg tabs - which Moe has to take 1/4 of per day for 5 days.

My question is.. what does that medication do exacly? The doc didn't really explain.. just said "i'll give you meds that you'll give to Mozart which will help eliminate the diarrhea" He thinks that it could just be something that mozart ate that was out of the ordinary and gave me the emergency # for an animal hospital in case it gets worse.

Also... what's the best way of giving this pill to a dog. I just gave him 1/4 for today:squished it into dust and gave it to him w/ water using of the seringe... but Moe wanted to bite my hand off. (he didn't act that way with pepto)

Pls help.
Thx.

[badger]

He's probably reacting to the bitter taste. I suspect the vet gave them to you in case his diarrhea is of bacterial origin, he's covering all the bases, so to speak. Did they do a stool test for worms?

[StaceyB]

Stuff it in a piece of cheese, peanut butter, chicken, bread. You choose, all work fine.

[Lucky Rescue]

I just went through this with my foster kitten, who had severe diarrhea, cause unknown.

He was on Metronidaloze also and unfortunately it can cause nausea, vomiting, lethargy, lack of appetite and even diarrhea!

And yes, it tastes absolutely horrible, so you have to try and stuff it whole down the animal's throat. The taste can panic them and even make them foam at the mouth.

[BMDLuver]

Metranidazole is a common Rx for diarehea. It helps to kill any bacteria and is a common Rx to treat Giardia. I would suggest giving your little one some probiotic plain yogourt in conjunction with this. It will help put the good bacteria back in his system and also buffer the ill effects of the Metranidazole.

[Sneaky]

Metronidazole - I am not sure why this medication would be
recommended for diarrhea. This is actually an anti-parisitic medication,
used to treat worms, and other undesirable parasites.
I have used it commonly to treat a common worm in my aquarium
fish. One of the warnings on the fish medication is that if dogs/cats/other
animals ingest it, "this medication can cause serious diarrhea and/or vomiting in household pets. Please ensure this medication is kept away from pets and small children. If ingested please contact your local poison control centre",
and under product information it says "for the treatment and control of infectious intestinal parasites such as camallanus worms, roundworm, and other segmented parasites".
Hope this helps you! It worked excellent on the worms my guppies had by the way.

[Lucky Rescue]

I now know this med is used for the reasons stated by BMDluver. I"m no vet and am sure it has it's place, but I have to wonder at it being prescribed for an already emaciated and sick 7 week old kitten.

[shannonRN]

Metronidazole is an anti-infective that works against certain anaerobic bacteria and protozoa such as Entamoeba and Giardia by disrupting their ability to produce proteins. Some of these critters are normal to the intestinal tract, some are not, and most of them can cause severe diarrhea if things get out of balance. The vet is just trying to treat the most common culprits.

I'm sure you've taken an antibiotic or two in your day, and chances are, it gave you diarrhea and made you nauseous. They pretty much all do--it's just an expected side effect. It seems nonsensical to treat diarrhea with something that causes diarrhea, but you have to treat the underlying cause of the diarrhea in order to nip this in the butt. (No pun intended)

Here's to better health in the near future

[melz]

Originally Posted by badger

He's probably reacting to the bitter taste. I suspect the vet gave them to you in case his diarrhea is of bacterial origin, he's covering all the bases, so to speak. Did they do a stool test for worms?

Yes, fecal test was done, no warms, all was ok - although I still have doubts.

But there was no stool at all yesterday after I gave him the med. Then again he had been fasting since Sat night so that would explain it. I gave it to him w/ the seringe again this morning. He didn't like that and spit most of it out. heh. I figured as long as I got a bit of it in its good...?

I also gave him boiled hamburger meat and some rice this morning. No vomiting as of yet. I split the already small portion in two just to see if he would vomit it. So I gave him the first bit, then took my shower, got myself all dressed up - he wasn't sick so I gave him the other 1/2. All seems good so far. I'll give him time to digest and take him out in about 30 mins or so.. and then again 30 mins after that just to see.

Cross your fingers. He doesn't have that much energy, probably from not eating. i cut off his treats but instead gave him ice cubes as treats so he could get his water at the same time. He's having a blast with those! LOL he seems more happy with ice cubes than with actual milk bones!

well I'll post back later.

[melz]

Originally Posted by LuckyRescue

I just went through this with my foster kitten, who had severe diarrhea, cause unknown.

He was on Metronidaloze also and unfortunately it can cause nausea, vomiting, lethargy, lack of appetite and even diarrhea!

And yes, it tastes absolutely horrible, so you have to try and stuff it whole down the animal's throat. The taste can panic them and even make them foam at the mouth.

Thanks!!! Whew, its a relief to know this. I won't worry as much.

[melz]

Hi guys

Again looking for feedback. Moe's been taking his Metronidazole since Sunday. He ate white rice with boiled hamburger meat yesterday and again a bit this morning.

Now, during our walk, he positioned himself for #2 but nothing came out! He was like that for a good 2 mins. Is it normal for him to be constipated at this point? He hasn't been sick since Sunday, his happy go lucky behavior is slowly coming back. He just hasn't pooped since Sunday morning and I was wondering if that was normal with this medication.

Is there anything i can give him to help him out?

PS. Thanks for the pill in a piece of food tip! Worked absotelutely great this morning. I shoved his 1/4 pill in a piece of hamburger meat and he devoured the food like there was no tmrw!

[BMDLuver]

You can give him a tbsp of canned pumpkin, not the one with spices in it. Canned pumpkin works as both a laxative and binder depending on the dog's current situation, so basically it works as a natural regulator.

[melz]

I gave Mozart a tiny bit of Olive oil with his food last night. Worked wonders. He pooped this morning! I was kind of worried though because the stool was pretty dark in colour - which i was told could mean blood. So i brought it in to the vet for tests to be sure. I haven't heard back yet so I'm hoping that means good news? Or bad and probably testing more?

meh. I'll give them a call in 30 mins if I don't hear anything. I know Metronidazole can cause blood in stool so I just wanted to be sure all was ok.

[Tigger]

Not to be too graphic but it normally looks like a congeled jelly with blood in it when it comes out the back end along with the poop.