[CellarCloset]

Hey everyone! My husband and I just bought two 6-week old mini-dachshund pups. So far they're very active, and eating fine (we feed them 3x a day). They're currently on a 10 day regimen of Albon for coccidia **and have been dewormed a few times. Their bellies have gone down in size and they're putting weight on (yay!) but they're still having somewhat loose stool with some blood in it. Usually, they go and it's somewhat normal to slightly runny, and just as they're finishing, some bloody muscus will pass. This is only day 4 of the Albon, but I was wondering how long it takes for the coccidia to be completely killed off? I'm in love with these puppies, so I want to make sure they're doing okay.

Any advice or thoughts are greaty appreciated.

** I've already considered Parvo, but they're eating fine and very active, with no depression or vomiting, so I seriously doubt it's that. I wouldn't classify their stool as diarrheal, just loose with blood.

[Duchess_007]

Ahh! I was trying to reply when my computer shut down.

[Duchess_007]

Ok, let's try this again!

Ralph was treated for coccidia and did have diarrhea until he was finished his treatments.

He was on a different treatment schedule though. He was on a 3 day treatment of Panacur to wipe out an overbalance of bad bacteria and then a 2 day treatment of Toltrazuril for the Coccidia itself.

Mucus in poop is (if I'm not mistaken) the actual protective mucus lining of the stomach being expelled in the poop because the stomach is trying to rid itself of the stressor whether it's parasitic or bacterial. The blood could be caused from straining if it's brightly coloured.

You could try adding in some probiotics while they're on the medication to introduce some good bacteria back into their tummies.

Keep me updated if they're doing better after their medication is finished. If they aren't you might want to consider Giardia. They are really similar in nature if you're looking at symptoms and giardia can be tough to catch in fecal tests.

Good luck!

[Adjour]

Interesting, when my little guy started on his med for coccidia, the diarhea stopped right away...


ask your vet about Fortiflora, its a probiotic...also som'times they give flagyl to help sooth the tummy and hit any other "bugs" they may have missed.

[CellarCloset]

Thanks guys, for your replies! They're already doing much better. They're putting on weight, playing, fighting, running around at full speeds, they're like normal pups now. Their stool has gotten a lot firmer and I haven't seen any blood in the last day or so. I think they're finally coming around. I'll post some pics here soon, it's amazing how fast these little guys grow! Thanks again

Also, a word to the wise, research any breeder HEAVILY. This is the first time I've bought puppies from a breeder, and they seemed like great people from our emails to one another, they even delivered the three pups to me for a low delivery fee from 5 hours away. However... When I got them they were severely underweight, and severely infested with three types of parasites. The vet told me that it's highly unethical for breeders to sell pups when they're that sick without getting them treatment first. When I contacted the breeder about all of this when I took them to the vet, they stopped responding to my emails. It's a shame. The bright side is I got three pups out of a bad situation, which is worth the money to me. Unfortunately, people like that profit off of it. :/ Anyway, I learned my lesson and now I and my mom have some great puppies.

[StarfishSaving]

No responsible breeder sells puppies at 6 weeks of age, either. It's much too soon to be separated from their mom and littermates if you want optimum care. I would assume that the reason they were so willing to deliver is because they didn't want you to see the conditions of the place from where they came, also.

It's a hard lesson to learn but I hope all goes well with the pups as they grow. Thankfully, you seem to be on top of their health issues and they're already improving from it!

[CellarCloset]

Yep, I was a bit suspicious of that as well after they stopped responding to my emails. A lot of things started to stick out at me then. I'm just lucky the pups weren't sicker than they were.

If I ever use a breeder again, I'll make sure they're recommended by my vet or family. (My family is really big into Mini-doxies.)

[StarfishSaving]

You can also check out websites that have info on how to tell if a breeder is reputable.

[CellarCloset]

Originally Posted by StarfishSaving

You can also check out websites that have info on how to tell if a breeder is reputable.

Thanks! Next time I'll definitely be more careful.