Golden Retriever puppy diarrhea.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Jay and thanks for your question!

Soft stools are unfortunately a common problem in puppies. It sounds like your vet is doing all of the same things I would do. The first step I usually take is to check a fecal sample for parasites and then if I don't find anything I will usually do a course of 5 days of metronidazole.

The metronidazole is an antibiotic but it also has properties that help with inflammation in the bowels.

I have a few puppy patients in my clinic right now that have very similar symptoms where they get better for a while and then have diarrhea again.

The first thing I usually do is repeat a fecal exam. Some parasites will go through stages where they don't shed eggs and we don't see them in the fecal.

I would likely also cover him with a broad spectrum dewormer such as fenbendazole (panacur) which is a prescription medication that is good for getting some of the uncommon parasites.

I may also recommend putting him on a bland food such as medi-cal/IVD gastro or Hill's i/d.

If this doesn't work then I usually recommend sending away stool to the lab to do a diarrhea panel. Our lab does a series of DNA tests on stool which tell us about certain types of bacterial problems and viruses.

Has he had any new food or new treats lately? There are some dogs who are super sensitive to any change in diet and this could be the culprit.

Another possible treatment that would be less expensive than doing all of the above tests is to ask your vet if he could simply have another course of metronidazole. Sometimes this works as well.

I hope everything clears up soon!

Dr. Marie.


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