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Dr. Cathy Alinovi

Does my new puppy need antibiotics and dewormer sent from the breeder?

Flagyl, metronidazole, is commonly prescribed by veterinarians to treat diarrhea of unknown cause. The crazy thing is that veterinarians are not even 100% sure how metronidazole works to control diarrhea.

The antibiotics were “just in case” he gets diarrhea from changing homes and food.

Flagyl, metronidazole, is commonly prescribed by veterinarians to treat diarrhea of unknown cause. The crazy thing is that veterinarians are not even 100% sure how metronidazole works to control diarrhea. They just know that somehow it takes care of a diarrhea issue. I am of the mind that if you have a healthy intestinal tract, small changes like food and environment don’t upset the intestinal system. If the little one were to get diarrhea, a simpler more healthful option would be to feed some canned pumpkin. How would that be for an alternative medication?

Certainly, puppies pretty commonly have intestinal worms, but I’m wondering how often the puppy has been checked for worms, how often the puppy has been dewormed, and how long it has been since the puppy has nursed from its mother. Also, what could be more stressful on the intestinal system then a dewormer?

My thought would be to feed some pumpkin the first 2-3 days at your house, along with the regular food and then bring a stool sample to your local veterinarian to see if there are any parasites in there to be concerned about. And if you know what the parasites are, you can determine if the dewormer you’ve been given is actually the right product for the problem.

 

Dr. Cathy Alinovi DVM

As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Cathy treated 80% of what walked in the door — not with expensive prescriptions — but with adequate nutrition. Now retired from private practice, her commitment to pets hasn’t waned and she looks forward to impacting many more pet parents through her books, research, speaking and consulting work.  Learn more at drcathyvet.com

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. carole henry

    January 9, 2015 at 1:22 pm

    Wow a veterinarian with common sense!!! Great answer Dr. Cathy

    I would be very suspicious of a breeder who sends home antibiotics and wormer. I wonder what will happen when the new owner stops the medications.

    The buyer should have been asking questions about this before they even took the pup home. Like who prescribed the meds, why and when did the pup have what ever it was they had and when was it first treated.

  2. Pingback: Does my new puppy need antibiotics and dewormer sent from the breeder? | dogosearch.com

  3. Mike Cavanaugh

    January 15, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    At my store, Mike’s Natural Pet Market in Colorado Springs, I recommend Colloidal Silver or Oxy E-100 Drops when dealing with puppy diarrhea. Both products are effective for fighting off Viruses, Mold, Single celled organisms, Parvo (If Parvo has been diagnosed, specifically we have another protocol we follow.) and Water Borne Parasites. Antibiotics, used indiscriminately can weaken the young one’s system.
    For worms, get a complete fecal check for worm parasites and all other parasites. We recommend Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. Check out my website: http://www.mikesnaturalpet.com and call the store for further discussion.
    All the above mentioned approaches are far safer and far more effective than Veterinary chemicals, which can actually weaken the system.
    Mike

  4. Charli Hightower

    February 21, 2015 at 2:36 am

    I’ve been feeding the small cans of Beneful and mixing it with Wellness Simple kibble. Should I be concerned about the Beneful? I don’t buy anything connected to China but how can you be sure now. I read and saw a video that a customer found live maggots in the Beneful dry dog food she bought. I think it might be time to change food again even though I don’t feed them dry Beneful. How do I choose is my question. I don’t trust anyone anymore.

  5. Dr Cathy

    February 22, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    I would ask myself “If a company makes one product that is not safe/has inferior quality ingredients, what about the rest of their products?” I imagine the reason you’ve used the wet food is to make the dry food taste better. If you own a crock pot, you could easily make your own stew – it will have fewer ingredients, taste better and cost you less money. Then you have a quick top dressing to convince your pup dinner is tasty.
    I agree with you that any food or treat made for pets should have the highest quality, which is why our society is shunning pet foods from China (remember, Americans went to the Chinese and asked for the cheapest junk they could get). Simply being made in the US doesn’t make pet food high quality, it only means there’s no melamine in there. Hope that helps.

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