Yet another loose stool problem which finds us clueless.

TigerBeatle · 08-25-2007, 03:30 PM

Our Great Dane (Konrad) is 3 years old and he has had loose stools (very much like cow flops) for a little over 4 weeks now. Three weeks ago the vet found Giardia in his stool and so treated Konrad with Metronidazole 500 MG 5/day x 5days. This did little to correct the issue. We are very good at keeping his weight at or around 145 lbs in the summer but he is slowly starting to lose some weight (3 lbs so far) which has never happened in the past and this really has us concerned. The vet seemed to dismiss this weight lost because it was so small given his overall weight but it isn’t normal. In all other respects Konrad is his usual wonderful self. He is playful, sleeping normally, eating, drinking and urinating as usual. Besides the slight but steady weight lost and the loose stool there are no other symptoms that we have noticed.

Background detail: We live in Colorado and Konrad is exposed to many different Giardia sources (water/soil) because he goes everywhere with us, fishing, backpacking, camping, you get the picture. He has always been exposed to Giardia so we know what that is like and have treated it successfully in the past. (Konrad has had the Giardia shot as well and that seems to help some.) We doubt this current issue is limited to a simple case of Giardia. Konrad had a similar episode with loose stools about 6 months ago and after many expensive tests it was decided that it was Giardia and a food allergy so we switched to Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue. All was well for about 4 months and then his stool became loose again. Last time this all happened the vet used a shotgun approach to diagnose the problem which all but broke the bank.

We would like to return to the vet on Monday armed with some knowledge so that we could at least narrow his focus on a few probable areas and avoid that devastatingly expensive test-for-anything-and-everything approach the vet used last time. Any ideas will be more than welcomed. Thank you.

CrzyBritNAmerica · 08-25-2007, 05:50 PM

We have several dogs that come to our vet clinic that have recurring or ongoing Giardia. There is a dog right now who has so far still had 3 positive fecal exams and has been on metro three times! The doc told them that they would treat with metro one more time, but to also keep the dog on a bland diet, so chicken and rice or boiled hamburger and rice. Also try giving some plain yogurt (plain, not vanilla).

My Bridgette was on metro for 10 days a while back and she still had diarrhea after the treatment. We kept her on a bland diet for a week and gave about a 1/2 cup or so of plain yogurt and it cleared up right away. It's worth a try, but if you are still concerned or its not clearing up ask your vet if there is anything else you can try as metro is clearly not helping. It often takes two rounds of metro to clear up giardia...it's not totally uncommon with some dogs at our vet...some are carriers of it.

TigerBeatle · 08-25-2007, 06:20 PM

Our vet did tell us to give the dog some yogurt but after two days we stopped because his runs got really bad but we gave him vanilla not knowing that we shouldn't. I will get some plain and try that. Hopefully you are right in that the Giardia is just being stubborn. The fact that nobody has responded with any real serious medical issues is actually comforting. Simple stubborn Giardia is actually a welcomed idea.

I am afraid to mess with his diet (He can't eat chicken, beef, wheat etc) so I will ask the doc what would be an acceptable bland diet for Konrad.

Thanks for the info. At least now I will be able to guide the conversation away from major testing at least for now.

CrzyBritNAmerica · 08-25-2007, 06:31 PM

Yeah I imagine your vet would tell you if he/she thought it was something more serious. But if the dog tested positive for Giardia then it most likely is still that. It can definitely be a stubborn parasite! lol, but treatable!

Yeah me gave Bridgette vanilla yogurt before and that gave her the runs when her poop was solid at first. I think probably from the added sugar and stuff. Plain has had no problems though.

And yeah probably best to stay away from a chicken bland diet if allergic

Ask the vet about a different bland diet.