Sick puppy .... please help!

[Panna1]

I have a 4 month old Wheaten who started vomitting and having blood spotted diarrhea about 3 weeks ago. He was treated with an antibiotic and his diarrhea went away but he was still vomitting once in awhile. He was tested once for parasites and also had blood work done. Nothing out of the ordinary came up. He continues to drink and be playful but in the past week his diarrhea is back and, although contains no blood specs, it's very explosive and he's had a severe case of it for the past 3 days. It's the consistency of water and it's yellowish in color. He's eating about a can a day of Medi-Cal Gastro and he continues to drink water. What should I do about this? Also noticed that his stomach was quite bloated and hard for the past 2 evenings but seems to go away in the morning and has not come back tonight. He was such a healthy puppy until three weeks ago and I'm at a loss now. Could it be parasites and he just needs a longer dose of antibiotics? Please help!!!! Thanks, Anna

Optional Information:
Age: <1; Male; Breed: Wheaten terrier

Already Tried:
antibiotics, MediCal Gastro, fasting, pepto

[~michelle~]

your pup need to go back to the vet
that amount of diarrhea can cause severe dehydration.
you can always feel free to go to another vet for a second opinion

[luckypenny]

I would take your pup in for another visit to the vet as soon as possible. Have his stool tested again for parasites. Antibiotics will not get rid of them if that is the problem. As michelle stated, dehydration is a main concern.

[angelinazzz]

you should go back to the vet its sounds a little bit like parvo..or maybe a gastro enteritis

[belindaloo]

Hello,
Sorry to hear about your pup's troubles. It's so hard to see them go through these things at such a young age.
I agree with most of these posts that you should get a second opinion. None of us could possibly diagnose the origin of the problem.

No doubt your first vet ruled out parasites with a stool sample. I'm sure blood work has also been done - which would tell you much more about what's going on inside. Standard vet response would be to increase fiber in your pup's diet in hopes of slowing down and stopping the diarrhea symptoms in a fairly natural way.

It's hard to fast a puppy because they're so hungry all the time but nature often will have the pup go "off feed" for a day and just have them on water so that their digestive tract gets some rest. Apparently your pup hasn't lost his appetite and it's very good that he's still drinking and rehydrating.

We encourage you to either ask your own vet to explore further possibilities or to contact another vet for a second opinion. I wouldn't delay too long if it seems your pup is lethargic at all.

Blessings,
Belinda

[hazelrunpack]

Hi, Panna1. Welcome to the Board.

I have to agree--a second visit to the vet is in order here. If your usual vet is at a loss, you need to seek a second opinion. There are a lot of things this could be and some of them are quite serious--only a vet will be able to tell you for sure.

Dehydration is a very dangerous thing in young dogs--it can actually be fatal rather quickly. So please get your pup back into the vet as soon as you can!

Good luck with your pup, Panna, and please keep us posted

And when you get your pup healthy again, I hope you post some pics of the little darling! I love Wheatens!

[belindaloo]

BTW, I just noticed that you'd already tried fasting - was this on your vet's advice? How long? Just curious. Also that you tried pepto bismol. Hmmm.

Can you remember what happened to set it all off 3 weeks ago? You didn't perchance get any vaccinations at that time? Boosters can set off some nasty chance reactions in some dogs (they sure did with my terrier when he was young). It might be something for you to explore with your vet.
Please let us know how he's doing.

Blessings,
Belinda

[Panna1]

Thank you for all your replies and advice! I think he might have gotten into something in the neighbours yard three weeks ago but we're not quite sure. My vet doesn't seem to be providing any answers and he did put him on antibiotics for one week and it seemed to help. Unfortunately, his diarrhea is back and it's very bad. I'm taking him to another vet today for a second opinion so I'm hoping something positive will come out of it. Has anyone had any experience with Giardia? Thanks again!

[belindaloo]

Giarrdea is usually contracted from the water, I believe. Do you know what exactly your puppy got into? Had they fertilized, etc? Your first vet must have had some reason to put him on antibiotics straight away before trying other stuff. Infection is the reason for antibiotics. So the blood in the stool was caused by an infection in the digestive tract. You might also inquire about an xray to see if something is caught in there - or at least a good, experienced palpitation by the vet if he knows you suspect something like that.
Is your pup still drinking well, eating well?
Sooo good that you're following through on this with another vet. Good luck and keep us posted on your dear pup!
Blessings,
Belinda

[belindaloo]

Actually Giardia does usually come from infected water or from other infected dogs. The fact that your pup had blood in the stools at first is not symptomatic for Giardia. Giardia does present in diarrhea, lethargy, but continued appetite. The development of Giardia affects the absorption of the food, so the dog/puppy will eat but gain no nourishment. The faeces will be watery with chunks of faeces, quite stinky and fatty. It could even be expelled forcefully, like you mentioned. The only way to know for sure is a series of fecal samples over a 48 hour period.
But again, because onset was with blood, I'd suspect something else first.
Still, I'm curious why the 1st vet went with antibiotics initially - there must have been an infection. Then it's finding out the cause of that infection.
You should take your vet records with you to the 2nd vet.
Good luck!
Blessings,
Belinda