Chronic Diarrhoea

Hi there, We have a (nearly) 7 month-old female goldendoodle who has had chronic gastro issues since she first came to us at 8 weeks. She had both giardia and campylobacter when we first got her, which we treated with panacur and antibiotics. Her symptoms didn’t improve, she was put on metronidazole and Royal Canin gastro food while we waited for another fecal analysis, which came back positive for both giardia and campylobacter again. We treated for the giardia and kept her on the metronidazole, then once the course was finished she went downhill again so we treated again for the campylobacter. Symptoms improved, we transitioned onto different food, but again she went downhill once off of the meds. Another fecal sample showed giardia still, so we treated again with panacur and metronidazole. Another fecal sample finally gave all clear, but she continued having really variable stools - generally going from OK, to very soft over the course of a week and then improving again before getting soft again. Blood tests showed slightly low cortisol levels, so the vet did an Addison’s test which came back clear. We were then advised to transition onto Purina Pro Plan HA Hypoallergenic, which we did over the course of 7 days, following feeding guidelines provided by Purina. We are now on day 12 of the HA food, and her poo has been getting gradually worse - it’s now consistently soft (a 5, sometimes 6 on the fecal chart Purina gave us). I know that transition can take a while so we will persevere for a few weeks at least, but I’d be interested in any advice about what the next step would be if there is no improvement, or any ideas on what could be going on. TIA!

Hello!  I believe that it's quite long courses of Metronidazole that are reccommend when it is used for Giardia - as long as three weeks.   However, another question is whether the use and dosage are appropriate to the is e is a problem unders

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Hello!  This is a common problem  Giardia can persist in the environment, particularly in an encysted form, which can hang around for an unexpectedly long time.  Because of this, it can be a difficult beastie to eliminate and Metronidazole may only be effective 70% of the times it is used.  Vets often choose quite high doses for a prolonged period, sometimes in combination with an appropriate worming tablet.  They may also reccommend scrupulous hygiene, including washing the dog's bottom after they've toiletted and shaving away any long hair in that area.   It is suggested that dogs' soft bedding should be washed above sixty degrees and that the house / soft furnishings may need to be considered in order to prevent environmental reinfection.  Furthermore, humans can also catch Giardia so hygiene is doubly important for owners, too.  It sounds as though talking to your vet about the life cycle of Giardia and reviewing your dogs' daily life may help to identify any opportunities for reinfection.  Another common reason may be low immunity, but this can happen routinely with puppies.  If the two of you together are unable to get on top of the situation, your vet may chose to refer the case to a medical specialist if need be.  They may also consider other causes of infection if they can no longer account for the diarrhoea. Best of luck in getting on top of this problem!

Thank you so much for your replies! She has now been negative for giardia (and other parasites/bugs) for a few weeks, so the vet thinks it is no longer that causing the problem. Hopefully we will find a solution soon!