ames

[/QUOTE]I just saw where you replied to this Ames, sorry for the late reply. He eats Orijen Puppy (grain-free) which I've been told is the best. We have probiotics from holisticpet.com and were using it for a month to try to get rid of the weak stomach. I will use it after we clear this up. I give him salmon oil once every Friday (2 squirts, again from holisticpet.com). Do you mean canned pumpkin? I just want his stool to harden up.[/QUOTE]

Yup I get real pumpkins in the fall. I'm so excited they are back in season finally. The little ones not the big jackolantern ones. I just wash it and put some olive oil on the outside and back for 1-1.5 hours on 425. Til you can put a knife in it like butter. Let it cool for a few hours and put it in a food processor without the skin and seeds. When no fresh pumpkins are around I used the cans just make sure it's not the spiced pumpkin pie cans. It helps keep the poops regular, not too hard not too soft.

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mark896

Wow, first of all, thanks for the overwhelming responses from everyone. I can tell the people on this forum really care about their dogs and I really appreciate it. This is my first dog and I want to make sure he's perfect.

I will cut back, performanceknls. Understand, he's only fed twice a day, but I agree, he should be eating as soon as we put the food in the bowl. We are going to meter back to 3 cups a day. We are also going to continue the antibiotics. Between these two measures, I think we'll find a solution. If not, there's always the vet, and a less protein-rich dog food. Again, thank you all for your help.

Mark

KMdogs

3 cups sounds more appropriate, with as rich of nutritional value Orijen offers you may even find yourself cutting back further. The guide on the bag is simply a reference guide, of all the years i've only fed one dog that required exactly what a company recommended.

Sometimes you feed less sometimes you feed more, however unless something is wrong (i.e parasites) there is no reason you should be feeding any where near 5 cups.

Free feeding has a few pros however 9 times out of 10 it has far more cons, many dogs will eat all the food you lay in front of them.. Whether its one cup or 10 cups, very few have i worked with will actually eat what they should being free fed.

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performanceknls

Never say never!! My dutch shepherd ate over 5 cups a day and weighed 45lbs! I could never keep weight on her till the very end! RIP Weitzen

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Skye

My dog had the same issue until I added more fiber to her diet. At first I added canned pumpkin (not the kind for pies, plain pumpkin). Thay seemed to work pretty good. I started giving her "missing link" which has worked like a miracle for her poop, skin and coat. I also give her apple cider vinegar (braggs) to boost her immune system and coconut oil for her skin/coat and immune system. Missing link is amazing!

mark896

Well, we finished the week of antibiotics, and his stool is as runny as ever.

He has an appointment with the vet tomorrow to find out what we can. In better news, he is completely used to our new routine, and eats immediately when we set the food down. We give him 1.5 cups in the morning, and 1.5 in the evening. Orijen still, but I'm starting to fear that it is too rich for him and we'll have to get something milder like Acana. Thanks for all of your help and we will keep you updated.

Odin`s_BlueDragon

thanks for the update! although im sorry to hear that he is still having some issues. at least u got the feeding down and he eats all good now

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mark896

Well, he went to the vet this morning and they did a fecal sample. Right away, they noticed how strong the odor is and said it wasn't right. They weren't able to put an exact name to it, but told us that the bacteria level was extremely high. So they gave us, none other than metronidazole and IAMS Prostora. It was my wife who took him into the vet (I was at work) or else I would've told them we already gave him the metronidazole for a week. So NOW, I have no idea what to do. Should I continue the antibiotics???

Now I'm wondering if what I purchased on ebay was the 'real deal', but get this--the pills from ebay have the EXACT SAME markings as the ones from the vet.. If I continue to give him the antibiotics will it hurt him?? UGH this is frustrating

performanceknls

It's the real deal, it was fishzole right? It's the exact same thing!! So this happened to one of my dogs where the normal dosage of Metronidazole didn't work! He still had the runs just like your dog and that was 10 days of treatment. I took a stool sample in at that point thinking it was something else. They found the same thing and overgrowth of bacteria. We doubled the dose and that did the trick. How much does your dog weigh? Poor Monson had the runs for like over a month till we got it all cleared up.

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mark896

Thanks so much for responding quickly, I'm at my wits' end. He is 58 pounds today, and 7 months old. Should I double the dosage? Today is Thursday, is last dose was Tuesday. What do you think?

performanceknls

WHat are you giving him now? or I should say what did the vet prescribe and was it how much you were giving before?

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mark896

Vet prescribed exactly what you said--1 x 500mg tablet twice a day. That's what I gave him for a week, per your advice. I haven't re-started the Metronidazole, was going to give it to him here shortly with dinner.

performanceknls

You can double the dose. The high end of dosage for metronidazole is 7-14 mgs per pound. So if your dog weighs 58 lbs x 14 that is 812 mgs so 1000mgs is ok.
The reason you can start off low is most the time that will cure it! if not time to up it and go for 10 day not 7. So give with food two 500mg pills twice a day. I have never had an APBT have a reaction to this med it is pretty safe in bigger dogs (puppies I'm more cautious like under 12 weeks) but as always you need to know the side effects so you can stop meds right away and go to the vet.

Overdoses are seen at much higher dosages and in smaller/younger dogs but if you see


Signs of metronidazole overdose in dogs include drooling more than usual, coordination problems, lack of appetite, strange movements of the eyes, being more tired than usual, loss of vision, strange trembling and seizures. There is currently no test available to warn that the dog is becoming overdosed.


Then you know it's related to the meds. Again I am not trying to scare you I just think it wise that owners know overdose signs of meds if you are at the higher end. You can never say never, ya know?

All in all this should help clear it up and all in the safe range for a dog that size just always give it with food to avoid tummy upset. Good luck and don't forget when you're done with the meds put him on a probiotic since you are really going to strip the gut of all bacteria, the good and the bad! Also try to make his food the most simple as you can and avoid any supplements till he's done with treatment.

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mark896

I understand the risk and will double the dosage. Like I said, the vet also gave us Prostora by IAMS, though I'm not sure exactly what it does. I have some of this:

The Wholistic Pet

Is that what you are telling me to use after we clear it up? If not, what do you recommend?

performanceknls

Oh yeah that is GREAT! I have not used it myself yet but heard great things about it. Keep us posted on how it goes

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