9 Month Old GSD with Weak Hindlegs - Page 15

I suppose this could go on forever, but Abby ding-dong, I think you are the one who has a problem keeping the time-line straight.  Re-read the posts yourself slowly and understand the dog was taken to the vet the second time and diagnosed for the blood in the stools.  Take your time now, it's all right there.

You know Maywood there are a lot of EPI help sites as well as facebook pages with members from all over the world.
There actually is no way of testing for EPI in dogs in India. No test exists.

So..... we may never know why Mervin is so sick.  Had Gautam not come here but googled his dogs symptoms he would have found a host of EPI help and support groups ready and willing to help him out.

They would have suggested a grain free dog food, enzymes, a course of Tylosin for the SIBO present, and a shot of vitamin B-12. Because no one can ever be sure if it is EPI because no test is available when the symptoms are as apparent as Gautam has indicated, and his big city vet has said Mervin is not digesting his food then you would treat for EPI.  Gautam should have been given a protocol to follow from his vet, when his vet realized Mervin was underweight, anemic and skin and bones.

Gautam, treat your dog like it has EPI.  Go back to taste of the wild pacific steam formula, ( there was a recall on it 3 months ago make sure you are not feeding a recalled bag ) soak 2 cups of this kibble in warm water until it is mushy, give the creon capsule whole just before you feed Mervin, four times a day. He eats nothing but his food.  No treats nothing but enzyme treated food.  Mervin needs some Tylosin, get it from your vet, a 30 day course to treat the SIBO, as well as a vitamin B-12 shot immediately and continue with the B-12 shots once every two weeks.  If Mervin shows no sign of improvment in 3 or 4 days then it is not EPI.  That is your EPI test in India. Then have your vet test for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

If he does show signs of improvment, in one month have Mervin's folate level tested to make sure his B-12 stores are sufficient. If they are not continue Vitamin b12 shots for another month.   then retest levels.  There is no problem with too much b12 excess is just peed out.

There is my advice

That's all. 

This puppy was treated once for worms.......once! He did better for a while and is now relapsing.........

Coccidia and Strongyloides require 2 courses of treatment........
Giardia can be treated at the same time as Strongyloides.......

Sanitation - was a kennel disinfectant used and was used correctly, or was his are just picked up and washed down?
Other dog - was it also treated as reinfection is highly likely?

Start with the most likely and go form there.........was the dog correctly treated for Coccidia, intestinal worms and Giardia?



Coccidia - 
The most common clinical signs in severe cases are diarrhea (sometimes bloody), weight loss, and dehydration. Usually, coccidiosis is associated with other infectious agents, immunosuppression, or stress.
In kennel conditions when the need for prophylaxis might be predicted, amprolium is said to be effective, although it is not approved for use in dogs. In severe cases, in addition to supportive fluid therapy, sulfonamides such as sulfadimethoxine (50 mg/kg the first day and 25 mg/kg/day for 2–3 wk thereafter) can be used. Sanitation is important, especially in kennels, or where large numbers of animals are housed. Feces should be removed frequently. Fecal contamination of feed and water should be prevented. Runs, cages, and utensils should be disinfected daily. Raw meat should not be fed. Insect control should be established.

Strongyloides stercoralis (worms) -
The presence of clinical signs indicates that a heavy infection has been building up for some weeks. A blood-streaked, mucoid diarrhea, usually seen in young animals during hot humid weather, is characteristic. Emaciation is often prominent, and reduced growth rate may be one of the first signs. Appetite usually is good, and the dog is normally active in the earlier stages of the disease. In the absence of concurrent secondary infections, there is little or no fever. Usually in advanced stages, there is shallow, rapid breathing and fever, and the prognosis is grave. Autoinfection may be induced by the use of corticosteroids or other factors that affect immunocompetence. There may be larvae in tissues, and these dogs are more likely to die. At necropsy, there can be evidence of verminous pneumonia with large areas of consolidation in the lungs as well as marked enteritis with hemorrhage, mucosal exfoliation, and much secretion of mucus.
Infections in dogs can be treated with ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg, SC or PO, once, with a second dose 4 wk later; 0.8 mg/kg, PO, once), fenbendazole (50 mg/kg, PO, sid for 5 days, repeated 4 wk later) or thiabendazole (100–150 mg/kg, PO, sid for 3 days, repeated weekly until larvae are not detected in feces—toxicity may be observed with this regimen).

Giardia -
May be inapparent or may produce weight loss and chronic diarrhea or steatorrhea, which can be continual or intermittent, particularly in puppies and kittens. Feces usually are soft, poorly formed, pale, malodorous, contain mucus, and appear fatty. Watery diarrhea is unusual in uncomplicated cases, and blood is mostly not present in feces. Occasionally vomiting occurs. Giardiasis must be differentiated from other causes of nutrient malassimilation (eg, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency [see The Exocrine Pancreas: Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in Small Animals], intestinal malabsorption [see Diseases of the Stomach and Intestines in Small Animals: Malabsorption Syndromes in Small Animals]). Clinical laboratory findings usually are normal.
Fenbendazole (50 mg/kg/day for 3 days) effectively removes Giardia cysts from the feces of dogs; no adverse effects are reported, and it is safe for pregnant and lactating animals. This dosage is approved for treating Giardia infections in dogs in Europe. Fenbendazole is not approved in cats, but may reduce clinical signs and cyst shedding at 50 mg/kg/day for 3–5 days. Oxfendazole is effective at 11.3 mg/kg for 3 days in dogs, but is not approved for treatment of giardiasis. Albendazole is effective at 25 mg/kg, bid for 4 days in dogs and for 5 days in cats, but should not be used in these animals because it has led to bone marrow suppression and is not approved for use in these species. A combination of praziquantel (5.4–7 mg/kg) pyrantel (26.8–35.2 mg/kg) and febantel (26.8–35.2 mg/kg) also decreases cyst excretion in infected dogs effectively. A synergistic effect between pyrantel and febantel was demonstrated in an animal model, suggesting that the combination product may be preferred over febantel alone.

Hi
Went to the vet today. Showed him the photos of the stools. He asked me to give the GIT rest for 12 hours and administer only buttermilk and plenty of water. Then start with bland diet of boiled chicken with rice or boiled chicken with mashed potatoes. He gave a shot of Ivermectin and enfrofloxacin. Asked me to give Griptol for 5 days (5ml b.i.d).

Gautam

bland diet is good........

your vet is assuming? worms?

i strongly suggest you treat for coccidia and worms/giardia as out lined above.......
both dogs should be treated at the same time, if only on is treated and the other is a carrier, the one will get it again.

also, i strongly suggest you purchase a kennel disinfectant and follow directions...this will stop any coccidia and giadria from reinfecting your pup.

Gautam, I am somewhat confused.  When you report that the vet said there is no "TLI facility", does that mean there is no laboratory in India which can perform the test to assess pancreatic activity, or does that mean that the vet does not feel that Mervin is malnourished because of any insufficiency with his pancreas?  If it is the former, I may be able to help you in that regard.

Also, when the vet said you were not taking care of your puppy, to what was he referring? He must have elaborated on that statement, giving some reason as to why he thought this?

One more thing--I admittedly am not familiar with the geography of India, nor of where you are located, so I do not know if this facility is someplace that might be helpful in getting Mervin healthy, but I would expect that they likely have the capability to perform TLI testing:

Cessna LifeLine Veterinary Hospital

They are located in Bangalore. 

SM - The blood in the stools is reported as a recent development on 12 September, so doubt that was the cause of the anaemia diagnosed earlier.

Gautam, it would be helpful if you could spend some time answering the questions that have been asked by various people as they are relevant and very important for hopefully helping Mervin.  Did you tell the vet you were using Creon and did he agree that you should continue using it?

Buttermilk???? Dogs have no way of digesting milk, their pancreas does not secrete the enzyme to digest lactose. And by that I mean all dogs in general.  I can't understand prescribing buttermilk to treat runny poop  when giving animals milk only causes stomach upset and runny poop.

I thought we all knew not to give our animals milk. 
Have I been living on another planet??

I did find out that there is no testing facility in India to test for EPI.  

On the Indian subcontinent, the term "buttermilk"(छाछ, چھاچھ، لسی) refers to the liquid left over after extracting butter from churned yogurt

Eldee, I am guessing that this may be OK? As I give mine plain yoghourt. I think the differences in the terminology from country to country is making things a little confused, but it's certainly not helping. I don't know if what I have found is correct. No you haven't been living on another planet LOL. 

Eldee- I myself would have, and did question the buttermilk, BUT THEN, instead of just wondering about it, I looked it up. Found a few ariticles and some other info that says buttermik is in fact, good for dogs. That it is an old myth that dogs can't tolerate it. Used the same way as yogurt. You don't want to go overboard with it.A few sites claimed noticable improvements with it's use. I guess as with any info on the internet, there is a vast amount of information available. How you use and interpret that info, is a matter of personal choice. I might just try some buttermilk with my pups.