My dog's poop is still abnormal after antibiotics. What to do?

Hi, Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would recommend following up with Copper's veterinarian before his medication runs completely out. They may want to extend his prescription or recheck him. Be sure to feed whatever diet his vet has recommended with no other food or treats. Sometimes a probiotic, such as FortiFlora, can help. I would speak to his vet and follow their suggestions. Diarrhea can be caused by anything from stress to dietery indescretion to food intolerance or infection. I hope Copper is back to normal soon.

When my patients have diarrhea after antibiotics I will usually prescribe a canine specific probiotic to help get the good bacteria loaded back up in the GI tract. My favorite is Proviable and it also comes with a paste to help firm up the stools. My second favorite is Fortiflora. I would encourage you to call your veterinarian and discuss the possibility of using one of these products. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can make sure that there is enough fiber in his diet. You can add canned pumpkin to add fiber to his diet which may help firm up his stools. You can add 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin to his meals. You can also add probiotics such as Fortiflora. Best of luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend adding 1 tbsp of canned pumpkin to his diet and see if this helps normalize his bowel movements. If by the bandage change he has not defecated, you can discuss other options with your veterinarian. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

That depends on how soft it is and how frequently that is happening. For some dogs, their ‘normal’ is firm in the beginning of the stool and then softer (but still formed) at the end. If every thing else seems to be normal and you don’t see any problems with the whole stool being soft/loose and no liquid/unformed stool at the end, you may do nothing and just monitor for now. It may also be beneficial to take a photo of the questionable stool and post again so that we can see what you are seeing. I assume you have done all the parasite testing (including giardia) and routine deworming to rule out parasites? If I have a patient who is continuing to have a softer stool, I will often treat them with a 5 day course of Panacur just to be certain no parasites remain. I agree that if the metronidazole does not seem to be making a huge difference, I would probably shy away from that. If I suspect a bacteria cause to continued soft stool, I will often treat for 6 weeks with an antibiotic called Tylosin or I will treat for 10 days with a sulfa-type antibiotic. Lastly, a continued soft stool could also be related to food allergy. The diet you are feeding is excellent. It’s meant to break down easily and decrease the work load on the cells. This diet is very good for dogs who can’t handle the richness of most dog foods. It is not however formulated for dogs who have food allergies. That is a different immune process. Don’t be tempted to put him on a grain free diet. Most dogs who do have legitimate food allergies are not allergic to grains. Instead know for sure if it is a food allergy. The diet I recommend is made by Royal Canin and called hydrolyzed protein adult HP. Since Bentley is a boxer puppy, he is still growing. This diet is formulated to meet the requirements of growing puppies so it will both help with food allergy as well as support normal growth of his bones and soft tissue. You would conduct a food trial on him which will last for 12 weeks. The stool is normal at the end of 12 weeks, then you know it’s an allergy. I recommend to discuss any of these options with your veterinarian if the stool is still abnormal or if Bentley continues to get problems with a loose stool in general. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions!

Hi, and thanks for your question. Mild constipation that lasts no more than two days can usually be resolved at home with increased fiber and hydration. Canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just the straight-up pumpkin) or liquid paraffin can be used, and should work straight away in the following 8 hours from administration. DO NOT TRY to give an enema as it could be dangerous and cause electrolyte imbalances and colon perforation. If constipation lasts more than 24 hours from administration of those or 48 hours in general, a check up at your local vet is required. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

The diarrhea may be from his diet or stress as it has not improved. The fenbendazole is for treating parasites. There is no reason to do that again. Using a course of metronidazole is fine but I would make sure he's on a bland diet, and you can add a tablespoon of canned pumpkin at each meal to increase the fiber and bulk up the poop. If he should stop eating or the diarrhea continues please take John in for a veterinary exam, fecal test and treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for John.