Two Husky Puppies-Coccidia and now urination issues.
I am writing this message to everyone because I am out of options. I have two husky puppies, 3 months old. I know this is a forum for OES, but I cannot find anything like this for my breed of dogs. They have had diarrhea since I the day I brought them home at 5 wks. They usually have diarrhea every 2-3 hours from the time they wake up and go to sleep. Well, at 6 weeks, the dogs were diagnosed with Coccidia. They were put on metronidazole and albon. The diarrhea cleared up the next day after being put on antibiotics. (It is important to note that the puppies were still having stools every 2-3 hrs). When the course of the antibiotics was over, the very next day, the diarrhea was back. Back to the vet. Now, I am also concerned because the puppies urinate every 30 minutes, sometimes 3 times in 30 minutes. One puppy urinates about 4 times, instead of just empting the bladder fully. I'm almost positive they have bladder infections, but the vet does not know even though I brought in urine samples twice!! He just talks about specific gravity of the urine (whatever that is!). |
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| I am so sorry you're having these problems.
I don't understand why your vet is unable to test the urine for infection. Did they send it out to a lab? The only thing I can help with is the "specific gravity" definition. It is a measure of how well your puppieskidneys are able to concentrate urine. If the puppy is drinking a normal amount of water, the urine should have some concentration to it. If the kidneys aren't concentrating urine, that would be an issue. That's my take on it. Did the vet say that the specific gravity was good? |
| Does your vet seem concerned about the situation? If you're not completely comfortable I would ask around for another vet's opinion. |
| I'm sorry that your pups are going through this. It sounds like you brought them home a bit earlier than the breeder should have released them. Young pups really should stay with their mom at a minimum of 8 weeks. Bringing them out into the world without all their antibodies can cause all sorts of problems. Have you talked to the breeder at all to explain the problem? |
| I would go to a new vet. |
| If you haven't already, you might start with another stool culture... send it out to a lab to have it tested. We ran into recurrent diarrhea in our pack a couple of years ago... Metronidazol and Immodium was used off and on for over a year and it would go through the entire pack. But it kept coming back. We originally called it the Spring Crud. Cultures always showed high levels of bacteria but never any parasites. A new vet recommended we put the entire pack on Panacur at the same time and it cleared up the problem once and for all. I am not saying this is what it is only sharing my own experience with recurrent diarrhea.
But you need to make sure you're cleaning up outdoors every time they poop. It doesn't do any good to keep giving antibiotics and dewormers if they keep recontaminating themselves. As soon as it hits the ground, pick it up and dispose of it properly. If it's too wet, wash it down with the hose and cover it with sand or dirt. We had to do this for over a year. What does your vet say about the "specific gravity" of the urine and does he say something should be done to correct it? Is it increased and causing the diarrhea or decreased maybe from drinking too much water or is it something else? Ask WHAT this means. Could it indicate a specific condition? Does further testing need to be done? Have him/her explain it to you... you're paying him/her to educate you in how to make your dogs well. If everything proves to be normal (peeing 3 times in 30 minutes is NOT normal), then you've got to remember that these pups are still very young... only 12 weeks so housetraining may not occur for a while yet. If you control what goes in you'll control what comes out. Do you free feed them (meaning leaving food out for them all day) or do they have 3 specific feeding times where you give them premeasured amounts of food? If you serve a dry food presoaked in water, they can get their food and some water at the same time so they may drink less. Just something to discuss with your vet to see if it's appropriate for you. Hopefully something here will help. If you're ever given the option to bring home a pup before 8 weeks of age, turn it down unless the pup has been orphaned. They miss out on a lot of socializing skills including bite inhibition. I've got one that was orphaned at around 5 weeks and came to us at around 6 weeks... they do miss out on some important things. http://www.oesusa.com/Meesha-Maggie/Meesha.htm Good luck. |
| Hi Everyone,
Thank you all for your replies. I wanted to add more detail to original post. We got the puppies at 5 wks old. We immediately took the puppies to the vet before we even brought them home. The vet performed a fecal parasite test and the results were negative. They had diarrhea as soon as we brought them home. They continued having diarrhea for the whole week. I wasn't too concerned at first because the vet told us that they could have diarrhea as a result of stress from living in a new environment. They had diarrhea every 2 hours (and still do now). At 6 wks, one of the puppies became very weak and the diarrhea persisted. The vet treated both for coccidia with Albon and were given metronidazole because the vet saw many white blood cells. The one puppy was especially weak, so I had to give him Pedialyte as well. At this time, they also checked for parvo which came back negative. The diarrhea cleared up within a day or two. However, as soon as the course of antibiotics were over, the diarrhea reappeared within a day. We took fecal samples back to the vet. Fecal samples were sent to the lab for a parasitology and routine fecal analysis. Salmonella and Camplyobacter were not isolated and no parasite was seen. However, the dogs still had diarrhea and they were again put on antibiotics for a second time. This time they were put on metronidzole (for one week) as well as a probiotic. I was also instructed to give them yogurt daily (with acidophilus). About a day after the dogs were put on the antibiotics, the diarrhea cleared up again. A week later, the day after we ended the metronidazole, the diarrhea reappaered in both dogs. Again, fecal samples were taken to the vet. This time the vet said there was a bacterial overgrowth. The dogs were then put on Amoxicillin and Metronidazole (as well as continuing the probiotic and yogurt). The vet also instructed us to change their food. We changed their food from Nutro Puppy Food to Iams Adult Weight Maintaince. Fecal samples were also sent to the lab. However, the vet called and told us that NOTHING was seen from the lab results. I thought everything was going to be okay. Now, 2 weeks later, the day after we ended the 4th course of medications, the diarrhea reappeared. This was 3 days ago. We took the dogs to the vet again. Fecal samples were taken and the results still have not came back yet. The vet now thinks that possibly the dogs have food allergies or pancreatic enzymatic disfunction. They think the dogs may not be able to digest their food properly. So, the vet gave the puppies a Pancreatic Enzyme to take twice daily as well as acidophilus chewable tablets. The day after they started taking the enzyme, their bowel movements were solid. However, yesterday, they were back to diarrhea. Now, the vet switched their food again to Hill's Prescription Diet Ultra Allergen Z/D (thinking that they "could" have food allergies because the pancreatic enzyme did not work). I am so concerned about these puppies. It seems like nothing is working or helping them. Both dogs are having bowel movements every two hours. They have had bowel movements every two hours since they were 5 wks old (regardless if they were on medications or not). Both dogs have received their DHPP vaccinations at 6, 9, and 12 wks. They just don't seem to be getting better and I am very very concerned. I have tried to call the breeder and told her my situation and asked her if the parents had or have any health problems...she said she'll look up her medical records and let me know. She did say that the father had "some type of stomach infection" when he was a puppy and the mother always gets diarrhea only when she eats Ol Roy dry food. That's all she remembered. But now, she won't pick up any of my calls.  I also wondered if any of the other littermates have this problem but I doubt I'll ever get to talk to her.
I already did mention the problem with the urine...I actually asked the vet if they have bladder infections but he said he really doesn't know and can't say until other lab results from the fecals are in. But that doesn't make any sense to me because the urine wasn't sent off to a lab. I know he said he wants to wait to put them on antibiotics till we know what's with the fecal samples, but this urine problem has been going on too long. No lab results are in yet from the vet for the fecals. However, the in-house results show no parasite or bacteria. Strange. But I am really waiting for the official lab results. Do you all think blood work may be necessary? Are there actually allergy tests for dogs just like humans? I know this is a long email. I just wanted to be more thorough. I really really appreciate any suggestions. Thank you. Sincerely, Diana |
| Hello 6girls,
Thank you for your reply. I am cleaning up the poops and spraying with clorox clean-up afterwards. You mentioned that you put them dogs on Panacur. I assume this is an antibiotic, what is it used for? Did the vet say what the litter had? Ron, thank you for explaining the specific gravity. After reading your post and looking it up online, I am now concerned they could have kiney problems or could get kidney problems if the issue is not addressed soon. I do have the first urine test results for the boy puppy... he has a specific gravity of 1.008 (also pH of 6 and some white blood cells were seen). The vet said that this specific gravity value increased slightly the next day but I don't have the numbers yet (nor the numbers for my girl puppy either). What does this 1.008 sound like to you? Thank you for all your help. Sincerely, Diana |
Code: You mentioned that you put them dogs on Panacur. I assume this is an antibiotic, what is it used for? Did the vet say what the litter had?
Panacur is for parasites. We had doctored the pack of of 4 for recurrent diarrhea by using the Metronidazol. As you mentioned, it cleared it up every time but it eventually came back once the meds were discontinued. All the fecal tests showed were high bacteria levels... never any parasites. About a year later, we had switched vets and we went through another round of diarrhea in the now 5 member pack and had more "stuff" sent off to be cultured. Again, the same results... high levels of bacteria. I got so frustrated that I told the vet that this just was NOT normal and something had to be done. He mentioned that he had been to a seminar about a month before and this had been one of the topics. He called and spoke with the internist who recommended that the entire pack be placed on Panacur at the same time even though there were no parasites present in the stool cultures. That was the last time we had diarrhea in our pack and it's going on 2 years. Although they each got monthly Heartgard which protects them from heartworms and other worms, there was just something that it did not get rid of. Please note that I am NOT saying this is what your pups have... only that it sounds rather similar to what we encountered. I don't see any harm in asking your vet if Panacur (fenbendazole) might be tried. Please read the info at this address... it sounds kind of the same. The entire page talks about diarrhea and discusses other possibilities but also mentions Panacur as something to several of the answers by Dr. Mike Richards DVM. Source: http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/ddiarrhea.html Question Title: Loose stools in Lab puppy "..In almost can case of soft stools or diarrhea it is a good idea to examine a stool sample to make sure that there are no signs of intestinal parasites and to consider checking fecal smears for signs of bacteria associated with intestinal problems. If these tests are negative it is sometimes worthwhile to try one of the safer dewormers, such as fenbendazole (Panacur Rx) anyway, just to be cautious..." Hope you find a solution soon! |
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