culprit

several weeks ago, my 1 y/o male pit/lab mix, Manu, came down with
frequent, very liquid stool. my vet determined this to be caused by the
bacteria, clostridium. he prescribed amoxicillin and a smooth muscle
relaxant, which seemed to work. near the end of his treatment, my 1 y/o
female APBT, Lola, came down with similar symptoms, and was treated with the
same medications. this treatment also seemed to work well. about a week
after Lola's treatment ended, Manu came down with it again, and was treated
with the same medications. he's about a week into his treatment, and once
again, Lola has diarrhea and mild vomiting.

my concern is this, are they passing this back and forth between them? is
there anything we can do to help this? we've cleaned their bedding
thoroughly, sanitized their food and water dishes, and are bathing them both
regularly. what can we do to stop this cycle? i'm concerned that my vet
keeps prescribing amoxicillin. is it possible the bacteria are becoming
resistant to it?

the other question is, today, Lola's diarrhea looked milky, almost like a
very thin custard in it's color and consistency. i've never seen stool look
like this before. does anyone know what could cause it? we have another
vet appt this afternoon.

They both eat California Natural Chicken and Rice, and Lola's is
supplemented with Salmon Oil for her skin.

thanks,
-kelly

modebbuh

Could be according to what I just read here.

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vme/cagl/Projects.htm

Also noticed that probiotics should be given to help the gut recover. Here is
another blurb about treatment other than the Amoxy your vet is using.

http://www.petsvetsandyou.com/pcl/articles/c100010/q10000053.htm

Sounds like it could take a long time, but if your babies are continuing with
this cycle I could think another med is appropriate.

Deb
Shi the Svelte
Ge****e, Scurry-Stalker & Baby Lover
Hank the Tank

cate

I don't know what this is, but I'm interested, because Orson has regular
bouts of diarrhea.

Do you know what purpose the muscle relaxer was for? We've never been given
that for his runs.

does anyone know what could cause it? we have another


Good luck!

Cate

sharon

Did the vet do a culture on the feces? Just wondering how the vet came to
the diagnosis.

suja

YIKES!! Poor girl. Can you call the vet to give an update and see if
they can move you up? In the meantime, here is some info just so you
know about all the other possibilities:

http://www.cm-d.com/buckeye/tech_manual/8_39.html
http://www.joebattsarm.com/labradornet/diarrhea.html (a checklist, might
be handy)

Make sure they stay well hydrated, and hope you get this under control
soon.

Suja

culprit

it's supposed to slow down the movement of the intestines. it's called
Loperamide, and it's in Immodium, i think. it doesn't seem to make her
tired or anything, i think it only affects the digestive tract muscles.

-kelly

culprit

thanks for the links, i'm bringing the checklist to the vet so i don't
forget anything.

well, we're off to the vet, wish us luck!

-kelly

culprit

well, it's clostridium, again. this time we got metronidazol (sp?) so
hopefully it will go away for good this time. we also picked up some "IVD"
food for sensitive stomachs, i'm hoping this will help as well.

as an aside...
we went to a new vet today. based on some of the decisions the new doc at
our old clinic was making, i decided i didn't want to work with him any
more. the new vet was surprised he had used amoxicillin at all, let alone
for several courses of treatment. i tend to agree with the new vet on this,
so here's hoping it works out.

-kelly
(putting the new steam cleaner together)

culprit

fyi- the new vet recommended a teaspoon of plain yoghurt with each meal,
she said it will help prevent future soft stool (Lola also had regular
bouts). she also said a digestive enzyme mixture can help as well.

we'll see how it works...

-kelly

cate

Yeah, I should start him on that.

Cate