Never thought I'd be grateful for a dog who gulps his food.

But yay, Sam!

Three days of Panacur and six days of Metronidazole didn't help his digestive issues, so the vet changed Sam over to Tylan powder (.5 ml, 2xdaily for 3 weeks). Tylan tastes lousy, I've been told, and folks who have mixed the powder with their chow-hound's food have found Fido going on a hunger strike.

Sam is used to getting his thyroid pills wrapped in a bit of cheese, and he just gulps them down. (Thyroid pills are tiny; putting them in cheese is a way to make sure they get swallowed, and not just flicked across the room by someone's big, floppy tongue. Both dogs get thyroid pills.) So I've just been using a bigger piece of cheese and putting the Tylan powder in the center (with a thyroid pill) and rolling up the cheese and popping it into the boy's mouth. He's gulped his meds down like a champ!

But I'm tempted to ask the vet to check that they actually gave me Tylan powder...and not unadulterated caffeine. After two days on the Tylan, Sam's got more energy than the Energizer Bunny, and he's throwing his toys and chasing them.

Then, of course, he sacks out on the dog bed and sleeps the sleep of the thoroughly exhausted greyhound. :)

Sam redux

Sam's home from the vet. He's on Metronidazole (aka Flagyl) for the next 6 days (at least), and Panacur for 3 days. Panacur (aka Febendazole) is a powder you mix with the dog's soft food, so Sam's getting canned food once a day for a while (he doesn't mind the taste of the Metronidazole in the food); Jacey gets to have the canned food, too, and she's delighted.

Panacur is used to fight parasites, and the fecal test from 18 May didn't show any signs of parasites. But Panacur also tends to give a quick kick to a dog's immune system, so in that sense it should be good for Sam.

The working theory is that the dogs picked up some bad bacteria from the chicken that sickened both of them in March. Jacey kicked the bad bugs, Sam didn't--quite. We need to get this under control before Sam suffers permanent damage (like thickening of the intestinal walls) that would cause more serious health issues. Inflammatory bowel disease in dogs can be a nightmare.

The Metronidazole can be extended if necessary, but if it seems not to be working, we'll change to Tylan (aka Tylosin). I'm hoping to avoid this since Tylan tastes nasty (so I've heard), and dogs hate it. It also is a powder, and if you can't get the dog to eat food you've mixed it in, you've got a problem getting it down a dog's throat. Determined pet owners have had to buy empty capsule shells and make their own pills for their dogs. I'm hoping we don't have to go that route.