[StacyB]

I wrote a couple of months ago about our Redbone Coonhound puppy, Tyson who seemed to get ill overnight back in December.

His initial symptoms were: (he was 6-months at the time)

Waking up at 1:00am and vomiting several times. Some of it partially digested food. That was on a Saturday night. By the following Thursday he ended up with horrible diarrhea that was nothing more than liquid and mucous with some small droplets of blood in it.

We took him to the ER Saturday night after the vomiting. They did an x-ray and bloodwork and all it showed was elevated white cells.

We took him to his regular vet on Thursday after the diarrhea. I brought a stool sample and they called on Friday to say he had hookworms.

They gave him five days of Metronidazole and an 8-week regimen of wormer. His diarrhea cleared up slightly by the 5th day of Rx but returned as soon as he was off the meds. He seemed fatigued or lethargic to a slight degree and wasn't eating good.

Two weeks went by and the diarrhea really hadn't improved so we went back to the vet and she put him on 10 days of Metronidazole, a Probiotic, and a Rx diet.

By this time he was on his second dose of wormer and the diarrhea continued. A few days into the new Rx he really perked up. Started acting himself again. But the diarrhea continued. He would have slightly formed stool one day but the next morning it was runny again, sort of like mousse or pudding.

He wasn't losing weight so we kept in contact with vet once a week or so and she wanted to get him through the worming process before assuming the diarrhea and hookworms weren't related. I started weaning him off the boiled chicken and when I did, I noticed he went from really gross, loose and bizarre looking stools, to at least stools that when they came out sort of looked like poop.

We were happy that he seemed to be improving. Well, Friday night was the final worming session, eight weeks after all this began. He had diarrhea the morning after the worming, but acted fine. Sunday night he ate quite late (as is usual for him) and then wham, at 1:00am, just like the last episode, he woke me up making gagging sounds.

He did the same thing he did back in December. Ran around scoffing up leaves and paper and lint, salivating. He didn't puke, but was very nauseated for at least an hour after. But his energy seemed fine and he acted good otherwise so we didn't rush him to the ER like last time.

Today, Monday, he was acting good when we got up. He went to work with me like normal. Oddly enough, he ate a full can of wet food at 11am which is completely out of his norm. He normally won't touch anything till mid to late afternoon.

I took him outside for a run at noon. He acted really good. Energetic. But...
he pooped. And though it was oddly more solid than it's been for two months, it was again loaded with mucous and had some blood in it at the very end. The initial poop wasn't bloody, the tail end was when he squeezed it off. Not like extreme bloody, but kind of like you'd see if you had a hemorrhoid.

So I guess my question is this...

What do I do now? The worming is over. I can't imagine him still having hookworms after 8 weeks of bi-weekly treatments. Why did the symptoms return now? I was just getting to the point that I wasn't wearing myself out worrying about him 24/7 and checking on him every hour at night.

1. Could the 1:00am nausea be from the wormer? It never happened the three times before.
2. Could the bloody, mucous poop be from the wormer?
3. What else could be wrong?

 

[Mae]

Hi, it would be better if you bring him back to the vet. For those cases, we need an expert for dogs in medicinal basis. Also, I would recommend you to try to use this Hemp Oils it is good for dogs nausea and other symptoms. I have tried it with my dog and it is good.

 

[Shadowmom]

He definitely needs a vet. My dog has IBD and food allergies. Metronidazole initially helped his diarrhea but when his diarrhea continued to some degree for a year with vets insisting he stay on it, I found out it was actually causing the continued diarrhea. It's an antibiotic and long-term antibiotics upset the stomach.
It was only when I ran out of it for a few days and noticed his poop improving daily that I decided to take him off it.
Now new vets still question me disbelievingly about it but he has a different medication if needed. It also did nothing to help my cat when he had diarrhea from chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

Keep giving probiotics.

Pureed pumpkin from Authority helps reduce diarrhea. It's fine for cats and dogs. My dog loves it.

Since the diarrhea seemed to improve when you stopped giving him chicken, he could be allergic to chicken like my dog is. If he eats any chicken he gets diarrhea for two or more days and nauseous and won't eat.

Your pup could have food allergies and chicken could be one. Vets here won't test for food allergies unless there's skin symptoms because they say it's not accurate. Stupid in my opinion since it still gives me something to start with.

The metronidazole could also be exacerbating it. Just my first-hand experience.

I've never had an animal with bloody vomit or diarrhea though. My dog usually just gets liquid diarrhea and won't eat. Occasionally throws up.

My cat is allergic to basically everything, but gets itchy and literally scratches himself raw. Food, environment. He got allergy testing so I avoid foods he tested allergic to.

Still talk to your vet or a specialist. I'd avoid giving him chicken and try stopping the metronidazole for a couple of days and keep up the probiotics if it was my dog. Those steps can't hurt until he can see a vet. It might not hurt to give him a spoonful or two of pureed pumpkin twice a day if he will eat it