Check out some similar questions!

oreosdad · Mar 21, 2007, 11:18 AM

Hi,
I am a proud new owner of a 3 mont hold male rat terrier. We bought oreo from a puppy store three days ago and he has had diarrhea ever since we bought him home. I am taking him to the vet tommrow for his first visit. I am beginning to think that the cause of this diarrehea could be all the vitamins and supplements they sold me at the store. This is what they sold me - Prozyne (enzyme food suplement that I'm supposed to add to his breakfast), vitamin pet tabs (daily vitamin), linatone shed releif (I was told to add to his food at night and encerite (the stuff in a tube). All this cost me about $200 and as a first time pet owner I really don't know any better. His diet consists of a mixture of nature's recipe dry puppy food and merrik wet puppy chow. My question is are all this vitamins necessary ?
Thanks
Peter

mrscoltweaver · Mar 21, 2007, 11:34 AM

Pet stores make me CRAZY! The only thing you dog needs at this stage is a monthly heartworm and intestinal worm preventative given according to his weight and a premium DRY puppy food. Period! Your vet will give a routine dewormer and should take his temp. Has he had all of his vaccinations? Hopefully they were given correctly. If he is vomiting with the diarrhea and acting lethargic, see your vet right away. Leave off all the other stuff they sold you-maybe you can get a refund. Best case scenario, he has stress colitis which causes diarrhea and can be taken care of with special food and meds. Leave off all wet food and only use it if he has to take pills for something someday so he will few it as a treat and take the pill for you! Good luck!

labman · Mar 21, 2007, 12:22 PM

No, not if he is on a decent puppy chow. All but the cheapest puppy chows are carefully formulated to give the puppy exactly what it needs. None of that stuff is needed, and some of it may domore harm than good. I agree with the dry chow. Canned and moist chows make the owner feel better at the expense of the dog's teeth and jaws that need the exercise and cleaning the dry chow provides. The marketers know how to push all your buttons.

The vet visit is the best thing you can do. They should have given you a record of all the shots and other treatment. Take it too.

There are several things that can be causing the digestive upsets including a sudden switch of chow. Tell the vet all the symptoms and let him decide the best course. It may help to take a stool sample.

I would never advise anybody to buy a 3 month old puppy from a pet store. You risk a poorly bred and poorly socialized dog. You may have a tough time of it. Start at the ''What does a puppy need?'' section of the sticky, https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802 See also the sections on housebreaking and suggested books.

In addition to heart worm, you may need to add a modern flea remedy. My home is a relatively poor flea habitat, and for years when I only had one healthy young puppy in the house, I did nothing, and they never had any fleas. Three years ago I added an older dog that developed a flea allergy before the good stuff was in wide use. I have used Revolution on both dogs the last 3 years without a sign of a problem.

oreosdad · Mar 21, 2007, 01:19 PM

Thank you for your quick replys. I will read the suggested posts. There is no vommitting and he definitely isn't acting lethargic :o. I'll keep you posted about the vet visit.

mrscoltweaver · Mar 22, 2007, 09:51 AM

Good, then it's probably the stress of a new environment and all the food and junk you got from the pet store! Good luck! Oh, and if a food change does happen, stretch it out over a good five days combining old food and new food until he's eating only new food. Abrupt diet changes make tummies unhappy sometimes!

oreosdad · Mar 22, 2007, 10:05 AM

Well, ever since I stopped giving him all the pet store stuff his stool seems to be a little firmer. I will discuss his diet with the vet tonight. Will the vet recommend a monthly heartworm and intestinal worm preventive or is that something I need to do on my own ? I tried getting him off the wet food but he won't eat the dry food without it. I'll add less and less each day until he eats the dry stuff only.

labman · Mar 22, 2007, 01:17 PM

I hope you made sure the wet stuff didn't come from menu foods. The sooner you have him off it the better. Unless you are in one of the few heart worm free areas, any competent vet will test him and want him on heart worm medicine. Routine deworming is much less important, although the Heartgard+ and Revolution do act on other worms. Flea preventative is a maybe. The first sign of fleas calls for fast, thorough action.

mrscoltweaver · Mar 22, 2007, 01:55 PM

A routine dewormer is included in the monthly heartworm pill and it is neccessary-especially if you have kids or your dog shares a yard with other dogs-parks, apartment potty areas. If your dog comes into contact with infected dog's feces and is not protected he can get roundworms or hookworms. Both of these parasites can kill a dog over time (rare) and new studies have found that these parasites can be transmitted to kids through contact with the soil where an infected dog pooped. It is a whole lot easier just to give the monthly pill for the rest of the dog's life and be safe! The most effective heartworm/dewormer is Interceptor and the most effective flea preventative is Advantage. Your vet should offer you a six month supply-if not, ask for it! About the wet/dry food issue. A dog that has been getting the fabulous wet food will try to hold out until you put it down again. Trust me, he won't starve himself and anyway, the less food you put on top of an upset stomach, the better-it keeps coming out "ugly" until the intestines have a chance to rest!

oreosdad · Mar 22, 2007, 07:58 PM

Ok, Oreo had his first vet visit. I bought in a stool sample and will find out the results tomorrow. Everything else looked good. Thanks for your help.

oreosdad · Mar 23, 2007, 10:34 AM

Hey Labman, what do you mean by "menu foods" . I am guessing that you mean table food. Anyway I purchased a 12 pack of the canned wet food last week and will not be buying anymore so I'll begin to ween him off it.
I have another issue with excessive crying when ever I put him in his crate but I'll read some past posts and reply in the appropriate category if need be.

labman · Mar 23, 2007, 10:49 AM

Should have been capitalized, Menu Foods, the company currently involved in a huge recall of moist and canned pet food. It was announced today that the problem was traced to contamination with rat poison.

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/c...all-72873.html

For crying in the crate, see https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802

oreosdad · Mar 24, 2007, 12:10 PM

Thanks for the clarifcaton. So the results of the stool sample came back negative. He still has diarrhea so I fed him his first meal of white rice and boiled chicken. Hopefully that will hive his stomach a chance to settle.

RubyPitbull · Mar 24, 2007, 02:01 PM

That should help him. He needs all that other garbage, the extra vitamins, to work it's way completely out of his system. You may want to hold off on the wet foods. If a dog is experiencing diarrhea consistently, the wet foods will keep the problem going. Work into his meal plan a good dry puppy chow. Aside from the fact that he will have better formed stools, it will satisfy the teething aspect. Something nice and crunchy is good for that.

oreosdad · Mar 27, 2007, 07:14 AM

Here is an update -

It has been one day(3 meals) with boiled chicken pieces, white rice and a small handful of kibble. The diahhrea is not improving, in fact it seems to be getting worse. I don't mean to be graphic but its is almost liquid with no form. This morning I called the vet and was told to wait it out since I am bringing him in on Saturday for shots. They also said that I could give him some immodium. That doesn't seem right to me. Has anybody heard of this? I'm also beginning to think that mabye it's the kibble. It is "natures recipe puppy". The only other thing I give him is dried beef liver training treats and this is only when I am working on "sit" with him. SHould I try a diet change or is it still too early?

I have been reading a lot of posts about parvo but I don't think that is the case. There is no blood in his stool and he is not vomiting. He sleeps a lot but is not lethargic when I am playing with him.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

labman · Mar 27, 2007, 08:35 AM

Imodium or however, is a standard diarrhea remedy. I would do as the vet says. Are you using the putty knives trick from the sticky for cleaning up accidents? Not as good for the liquid ones. We have a Spotbuster to finish up in the worst cases. Sometimes it takes a vet a while to find the real cause and remedy it.

I would not be too quick to change diets unless the vet suggests it.

mrscoltweaver · Mar 27, 2007, 10:42 AM

Did the vet tell you to withhold all food and treats for at least half a day? Anything you put into an upset stomach comes out ugly-the actual lining of the intestines become inflammed and stay that way if they are not allowed to rest. Sometimes, a bacterial infection can occur.
Immodium works great, we used it all the time in clinic. You do need to withhold the liver treats until this straightens out also inquire with the vet to get a prescription formula canned food to bulk up the stool such as OM by Purina-has a lot of fiber. The vet can and should prescribe medication for this to clear up a lot more quick!

oreosdad · Mar 27, 2007, 11:20 AM

Well the good news is that he has been accident free for the last 4 days and does his business outside. As soon as I got him home last week I would take him to a pen in the yard to eliminate.

oreosdad · Apr 2, 2007, 07:57 AM

After numerous calls to my original vet (the one recommended by the pet store), I have decided to go elsewhere. I did some research and spoke to some dog owners in my area and I found a place nearby that I am currently very happy with. This time, Oreo tested positive to a parasite and was sent home with meds and I am already seeing an improvement (3 days).
The pet store that I purchased oreo from stated at the time of purchase that if we went to one of their vets they would cover stool samples and treatment until there is a NEGATIVE. Well they gave me a negative. When the diarrhea was still there I was told to bring another one in (1 day later). They were also quick to schedule his shots (knowing that his stomach wan't right). Oreo has had the same diarrhea since the first day and I am starting to think that he had the parasite all along. This is when they lost my business. Is it possible that this could happen. It makes me sick to think that there are vets out there that would partner up with these pet stores.

There are also some other reasons that I changed vets. The old place wasn't very clean and the more I think back didn't seem that concerned about this problem. This new place is immaculate with a great caring staff.

I realize that all of this could be a coincidence but they didn't make me feel very comfortable with letting them care for my baby. Just some food for thought...

labman · Apr 2, 2007, 09:12 AM

Sounds like a good move. I gained a lot more confidence in my vet after seeing my friend go through the same thing with her vet.

rottman136 · Oct 16, 2009, 04:34 PM

Every canine from puppy-senior needs quality vitamins. I recommend Vitamin A 10,000 iu, vitamin C 500mg (ester C) and vitamin e 400 iu. Also I recommend a high quality dog food such as Blue Seal or NutriSource. No dog food or raw diet can give any animal 100% of the nurtients it needs. Dog food is baked at high temperature and most all of the nutrients is baked out. vitamin a,c,e also help control and prevent osteoarthritis. Good luck.