Boxer dog acting strange after 3 days of diarrhea

[gcon]

My 3.5yo male Boxer developed Diarrhea on saturday (going on day 4 today).

Day 1: We restricted his diet and he had nothing but water. Acting completely normal.

Day 2: We fed him white rice and unseasoned boiled chicken at about half of the normal sized portion he would normally eat. Still acting completely normal.

Day 3: Same diet, but on this day he was taken to the vet because a small amount of blood showed up in his diarrhea. The vet prescribed an antibiotic(metronidazole) and dewormer (panacur; fenbendazole) but said otherwise that he was completely healthy and not dehydrated. Still very active and happy

Day 4(today): He is very lethargic. Normally he would run downstairs to go outside in the morning, but I had to call him many times and then coach him to walk down the stairs. It looks like he's in slight pain walking down stairs. His appetite, however is still in full force. He had been walking very slowly around the house, but as soon as I put the rice and boiled chicken in his bowl, he made a bee-line for breakfast and gobbled it up.

Does this sound like possible whipworms? what else could it be? Maybe he's just not getting enough nutrition and he's very tired?

Thanks for your help!

[bendyfoot]

dumb question, but did you get an ova-para test done (it's a more indepth fecal analysis than your standard in-house fecal float)?

[rainbow]

Did your vet do any blood work or fecal testing?

If not, I would definitely get him to the vet and have it done ASAP.

[gcon]

Thanks for the quick response guys.

We had no blood work done, however I did bring a stool sample in. The vet said that it would have to be shipped to the mainland for further testing. (we live in Hawai'i and they apparently have no testing facilities on island).

I called the vet again this morning to see if I should bring him in, but she was busy in surgery. They said she would give me a call back later to talk about it and see if I need to bring him in, however in the meantime while i'm awaiting her call, i'm busy seeing what the power of the internet can do for me.

Thanks again!

[bendyfoot]

The lethargy is kind of concerning. Has he been taking in enough fluids (water)?

[lUvMyLaB<3]

Just a thought, but maybe re check the dosage of dewormer that he got, a side effect of overdosing some dewormers is extreme lethargy, usually it will pass.. happened to my horse once...

[lUvMyLaB<3]

oh and I too would be worried about fluids, and easy way to see if he is dehydrated is to pinch his skin, it should flatten back down instantly, if it stays up pinched he is very dehydrated, if it goes down slow, he is dehydrated.. just check to make sure. Has the diarrhea lessened at all?

[niagarabeech]

Try FortiFlora. Article attached.

[gcon]

Thank you everyone for the advice.

Just an update, it's now 8pm on day 4 and while he's only gone #2 once today, it was solid! (compared to 6-8 diarrheas / day for the past 3 days).

His lethargy seemed to slowly go away throughout the day and by mid afternoon he was back to his happy self running all over the place and up and down the stairs. Right now he's sitting next to me while I type begging for another helping of his new favorite food (white rice & chicken is much better than dog food I would imagine).

If I don't update this thread tomorrow you can assume he's in the clear.

Aloha!

[hollywood1]

what is his weight

[TeriM]

Good to know he is feeling better . I would continue with the chicken/rice for at least one more full day and then gradually add back the kibble over a few days. Hope he continues to feel better .

[StarFootTink]

This is bizarre, I'm having a very similiar issue with my dog, male boxer, will be 3 at the end of august... Did your vet say what was wrong? today(monday june 8th)is the third day... it seems to have started friday night, he didnt eat his dinner, nor did he eat his breakfast saturday morning, and he wasnt as energetic or outgoing as usual and the diarrhea started about midday saturday...continued through sunday but it was still a little solid. Today/this morning 1am 3am and 5am he had to go out, couldnt see what it looked like, but this morning at 7am I had to really coax him out of the house and he was walking very stiff, mostly his back legs, and this time it was really loose/liquid form, he seems to be very lethargic, borderline depressed?...I've called the vet they said to start feeding him the rice/cottage cheese/boiled chicken...(he's been eating his regular food since saturday night...) and if it doesnt start getting better by tomorrow to call them back and bring him in...I'm keeping my fingers crossed...I hope everything worked out well for your dog!!