# Strange vet visit



## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

I took my 17 week old into the vet clinic today. I had to go here because his regular vet is out of town. The last couple of days he has had diarrhea at different times. Stool will be solid all day and then maybe at night in his crate he will have an accident. This morning I took him out and his stool was also runny. He is eating mostly drumsticks and pork neckbones. I did add in a few natural jerky treats this week while training. Anyway, the fecal came back fine and the vet said that I should switch to eukanuba or a high protein puppy diet. I gave him the "you're an idiot stare" and then asked what needed to be done that was realistic. He said that the stool has a lot of fat in it. He gave me metronidazole and then said to go to petsmart and buy probiotics called Fortiflora. Thoughts please. Thanks


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Most vets don't know enough about nutrition, end of story.

I'd take a step back and only do bone-in chicken and turkey for a while. Maybe the pork necks are the issue. The one time I've had big problems was when we tried split pigs feet. And while mine do fine on pork necks.... a lot of dogs don't. So I'd try cutting out the pork necks for a while and when you reintroduce pork later, do ribs instead.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Fortiflora is crap, IMO. Does more harm than good for a lot of dogs. If you want good probiotics, get them at the Vitamin Shoppe. It's where I get mine...


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## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

Name of the packet from vitamin shoppe?


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

committed2excellence said:


> Name of the packet from vitamin shoppe?


It is Vitamin Shoppe brand called Ultimate 10 Probiotic. He gets one capsule every morning. I just break it open and pour the powder on his food...

But I change it up with every bottle. After this one is done, I will change to a different one. I do this to introduce different healthy bacteria to his digestive system.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

i know people (including me) don't feed pork neck. i did for a little while and they didn't agree with my dog. Also, maybe you are doing too much fat? Maybe not enough bone?


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## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

Thanks. Off to the Vitamin Shoppe


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## leilaquinn (Sep 7, 2011)

So far pork neck was the only thing that has upset Luigi's stomach since switching to pmr.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I give Culturelle as a probiotic.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Along with the probiotics I'd go back to only bone heavy chicken for several days until your seeing solid stool on a consistent basis. I would also be feeding a bit less until the diarrhea is better. Try chicken wings (if they aren't too small for your dog) and chicken backs. Turkey necks are also a good choice as they are bone heavy....


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I'm with everyone else on the chicken only. I would make sure that every little bit of fat is removed for now too. Maybe you could try chicken backs as well. I know those really helped Dude when he was transitioning. 

I don't know much about probiotics so I'm not much help there. In 21 years I've never had a dog get sick at all outside of my grandfather's (I lived with them so I considered her mine) dying from bloat while we were out of town and a friend was caring for her.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Honestly the vet saw "fat" in the stool because it's fairly common with dogs eating rich diets. And raw is rich compared to the generic crap that most dogs consume. Nothing really to worry about.

I'll jump on the bandwagon and say to cut out pork neck bones (I've never been a fan, and don't recommend them) and stick with bone heavy chicken for a week solid. Also cut out treats if you can. 

Once he's stable for a good few days, slowly start adding in some bone in turkey or pork ribs (not country style...).


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

It seems a vet will 100% of the time prescribe metrinazole for a stomach upset, and then you have to do the probiotics to counteract it.

I normally just don't give the metrinazole. I've never had a reason to wish I had given it.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

xellil said:


> It seems a vet will 100% of the time prescribe metrinazole for a stomach upset, and then you have to do the probiotics to counteract it.
> 
> I normally just don't give the metrinazole. I've never had a reason to wish I had given it.


That's because Metronidazole is like.. a miracle drug for stomach issues LOL. Piper was on it all the time when she was on kibble.. I ended up buying it myself (you can get it as fish antibiotics without a prescription) because I was so sick of going to the vet only to be told "Metronidazole & probiotics". It worked wonders for her, but it never really solved the main culprit, was more of a band-aid than anything.

I agree with the others though, go back to just chicken and maybe some turkey necks. I remember when I made the mistake of buying pork necks.. ugh. Those things were so annoying, I ended up selling the case to another raw feeder!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

kady05 said:


> That's because Metronidazole is like.. a miracle drug for stomach issues LOL. Piper was on it all the time when she was on kibble.. I ended up buying it myself (you can get it as fish antibiotics without a prescription) because I was so sick of going to the vet only to be told "Metronidazole & probiotics". It worked wonders for her, but it never really solved the main culprit, was more of a band-aid than anything.
> 
> I agree with the others though, go back to just chicken and maybe some turkey necks. I remember when I made the mistake of buying pork necks.. ugh. Those things were so annoying, I ended up selling the case to another raw feeder!


Isn't it an antibiotic? I felt weird giving them antibiotics when the vet couldn't confirm infection.

I can't even remember what happened to Rebel when I gave him pork necks but it was bad enough that I started a thread about it here. The advice I got was stop the pork necks. I did, and he was fine after that.

It seems weird because he eats alot of pork and it's just pork and bones, but for whatever reason they don't seem to agree with alot of dogs.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

xellil said:


> Isn't it an antibiotic? I felt weird giving them antibiotics when the vet couldn't confirm infection.
> 
> I can't even remember what happened to Rebel when I gave him pork necks but it was bad enough that I started a thread about it here. The advice I got was stop the pork necks. I did, and he was fine after that.
> 
> It seems weird because he eats alot of pork and it's just pork and bones, but for whatever reason they don't seem to agree with alot of dogs.


Yeah it is. It's useful for stomach flare ups too.. something about it usually calms everything down. It's definitely the "go to" drug of choice for most vets if a dog comes in with an upset stomach or diarrhea!


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## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

Thanks for the input. Strange on the pork though. The other dogs 14 yrs and 14 months do fine and the little guy had been doing well on them for a while. I will play with some things and monitor him



kady05 said:


> That's because Metronidazole is like.. a miracle drug for stomach issues LOL. Piper was on it all the time when she was on kibble.. I ended up buying it myself (you can get it as fish antibiotics without a prescription) because I was so sick of going to the vet only to be told "Metronidazole & probiotics". It worked wonders for her, but it never really solved the main culprit, was more of a band-aid than anything.
> 
> I agree with the others though, go back to just chicken and maybe some turkey necks. I remember when I made the mistake of buying pork necks.. ugh. Those things were so annoying, I ended up selling the case to another raw feeder!


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I am really getting more and more disappointed with vets. If your pup has tummy upsets - slippery elm or pure aloe vera work wonders. If it is parasites there are many gentle remedies. I would also stick with chicken and probiotics of bovine colostrum for immune system.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Metronidazole is an antibiotic AND Sucarlfate (slippery elm derivative) that fights infection (indescriminately- kills good and bad bugs) and coats the intestinal lining. This is why it's a "miracle drug" with a dual purpose. Honestly, I think it's an easy fix or bandaid for vets to use...yes it works, but it doesn't get to the root of the problem if things keep reoccurring. 

The antibiotic in metronidazole causes breaks in DNA sequences not only in bacteria but also in the intestinal lining cells of the dog's tissue. It's NOT a good drug to put dogs on for long periods of time.


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## committed2excellence (May 2, 2011)

Tell me more about the elm and aloe, quantities also please



Liz said:


> I am really getting more and more disappointed with vets. If your pup has tummy upsets - slippery elm or pure aloe vera work wonders. If it is parasites there are many gentle remedies. I would also stick with chicken and probiotics of bovine colostrum for immune system.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

DaneMama said:


> Metronidazole is an antibiotic AND Sucarlfate (slippery elm derivative) that fights infection (indescriminately- kills good and bad bugs) and coats the intestinal lining. This is why it's a "miracle drug" with a dual purpose. Honestly, I think it's an easy fix or bandaid for vets to use...yes it works, but it doesn't get to the root of the problem if things keep reoccurring.
> 
> The antibiotic in metronidazole causes breaks in DNA sequences not only in bacteria but also in the intestinal lining cells of the dog's tissue. It's NOT a good drug to put dogs on for long periods of time.



When Rocky was a pup they wanted to put him on Metronidazole every single time he had diarrhea. You would have thought the stuff was M & M's the way they handed it out! I threw the last prescription away and never let them prescribe it to him again. He really did NOT tolerate it well and I hated the idea of filling him up with toxic medication for simple bouts of diarrhea. 

This is why we only go in to the vets for a heartworm check every 18 months.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Slippery elm is AWESOME for loose stools. I keep it on hand at all times now. I got it at my local health food store, and just give 1-2 capsules (not sure how much is in each one, I'd have to check) if I notice anyone is really loose.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

committed2excellence said:


> I took my 17 week old into the vet clinic today. I had to go here because his regular vet is out of town. The last couple of days he has had diarrhea at different times. Stool will be solid all day and then maybe at night in his crate he will have an accident. This morning I took him out and his stool was also runny. He is eating mostly drumsticks and pork neckbones. I did add in a few natural jerky treats this week while training. Anyway, the fecal came back fine and the vet said that I should switch to eukanuba or a high protein puppy diet. I gave him the "you're an idiot stare" and then asked what needed to be done that was realistic. He said that the stool has a lot of fat in it. He gave me metronidazole and then said to go to petsmart and buy probiotics called Fortiflora. Thoughts please. Thanks


he exercises quite a bit doesn't he?

what is the relationship to his exercise/training and his feeding times.....please?

also, if he is eating mostly pork necks and drumsticks, he is getting an awful lot of bone...

he might have an irritation.....i'd give probiotics of bovine colustrum ...not the fortiflora..

i'd also get some slippery elm bark or pure aloe vera juice from super supplements to coat his intestines and stomach for a day or so.....and back off the bone a little bit....

start over...like everyone else said.....chicken......


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## Imgliniel (Sep 1, 2011)

here is a decent page on slippery elm

Slippery elm

I have also used it in a horse with VERY bad ulcers with excellent success, and recomended it to my sister when she was having stomach issues (she has bad migraines and was taking way to much asprin etc, not good for your tummy)


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