Cedar Ridge Beagles
3005 Lexington Court
Bedford, IA 50833
712-523-3646
712-370-0851 (cell)
tonip@frontiernet.net
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Pronunciation: (cock sid' ee uh)
What is it?: Coccidia is a protozoa that
causes diarrhea in puppies and that occurs usually when they are stressed. We
have seen it every now and then when we wean and when puppies go to new homes.
What Causes the Symptoms? About 60% of all puppies
have coccidia parasite in their digestive systems. Many puppies are never
affected by this protozoa. Stress can cause the coccidia to
flourish, and this can lead to diarrhea. In extreme cases, the puppy can get
severely dehydrated, so it's best to just medicate preventatively in our
opinion. We have a strict regimen of prevention while puppies are here.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: Like
most people that raise puppies and that have educated themselves, we
treat preventatively for coccidia because it is very hard to
avoid having on the property. It can be carried by bugs (especially flies),
rabbits, mice, cats, dogs, and other animals. So, when our dogs and puppies play
in the yard, they can pick up the oocytes. Since we don't believe in keeping
puppies in little above-the-ground cages 24 hours per day and 7 days per week
(that would not be fun for them OR for us),
we know they will be exposed. Yours will too, when you allow him or her to walk
on grass.
Example: One of our friends recently
bought a new border collie puppy from a reputable breeder nearby. The puppy was fine for a couple weeks, and
then developed sudden and persistent diarrhea about a week after an outing the family
made to a weekend rodeo. It continued for 2 weeks despite two doses of dewormer,
and was getting serious. We gave them some of our medicine (a dose of Marquis anti-protozoal), and the
diarrhea was gone within 3 days.
We treat preventatively when
puppies are near weaning and again before they leave us with 1/4th to 1/2 of a
cc of Marquis (Bayer), which is actually an anti-protozoal medicine for
horses that have EPM. It is only about $1 per dose (1/4th to 1/2 of a cc orally)
for a 5-lb puppy, and you only do one dose every two weeks. Another option is
daily Albon or daily Corid for 10 days, which is also very cheap
but much more work. This is what we used until August of
2007.
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A Fact and Just Plain a Good Idea:
We could treat our puppies according
to veterinary recommendations for coccidia, and still a puppy could get
coccidia-related diarrhea with the stress of leaving littermates and going
to a new home. That's why we would like to see new owners
ask their vets if they should have Albon
or Corid on hand for their new puppies (VERY cheap medicine).
We are now giving most of our puppies Marquis
anti-protozoal medicine just prior to their leaving us. This is supposed
to last for 2 weeks, which could eliminate the need for new owners to
provide preventative medication to their new puppies. Still, discuss with
your vet what he/she recommends at your first vet appointment. |
Common Treatments:
Albon Inexpensive
Corid Inexpensive
Marquis
(Ponazuril) Very expensive
Note: I'm getting a lot of inquiries from dog
breeders asking about Marquis, and whose vets will not give them a prescription
for it.
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Number 1: The cost is about $200 for a
tube of Marquis. A cheaper solution for you is to spend $15 on Albon or Corid
(or generic equivalents) from
Lambriar Vet Supply or
other company!
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Number 2:
here is a study you can show your vet (abstract only) if he/she has not
heard of this.
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Rabbit, dog, mice, and who knows what other
breeders are using Marquis for coccidia and toxoplasmosis.
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Your vet may require you to buy 4 tubes for $800.
Still want to use it? Get a prescription and get one tube only (about $200) from
this location.
Non-Medicinal Treatments for Diarrhea:
If your puppy has liquid/water consistency to stools, and not
solid or pudding type stools, it's time to contact a vet. Liquid stools are a
sign of bad diarrhea, and could lead very quickly to dehydration. Dehydration
can lead to death. So, totally liquid stools are not to be taken lightly. See or contact
a vet.
But for "soft" stools, there "usually" is not a danger to the
puppy requiring a vet trip. If you had soft stools, would you go to the doctor?
If a puppy has "soft" stools, with a consistency like pudding, as long as the
puppy is drinking fluids to prevent dehydration, the concern is much, much less.
Remember, I am not a vet and don't recommend anything. These
are just things we've tried or heard of. These ideas might not fix the problem
if the cause is a protozoa, but they can help control diarrhea in general:
- Plain or vanilla yogurt (with cultures). Can mix with a
little cottage cheese.
- Buttermilk (with active cultures).
- Pepto Bismol (2 to 4 times daily for a couple days, 1 cc to
3 cc's each time, depending upon puppy's size...I have heard 1 tsp per 10 lbs
is also a common dosage). Along with this, you can offer Pedialyte to help
prevent dehydration.
- Herbs for diarrhea (we've never used these, but an example
is
here).
- Fasting. For early diarrhea signs, you might
withhold solid food for a day. For small puppies, do NOT withhold water. In
fact, for small puppies, I don't recommend fasting. But for a 6 month old
puppy, it can help to withhold food for a day, and then just offer the bland
food in the next bulleted item.
- Bland diet: rice flavored by boiled chicken for two days
(bland foods). Boil rice with a chicken breast for 20 mins (1 c rice, 2 c
water, 1 chicken breast). Feed only the rice for two days. On day three, offer
some of the chicken breast. If diarrhea goes away, slowly return to
regular dog food.
- Canned pumpkin
More
about coccidia, from wikipedia.com:
People often first encounter coccidia when they acquire a
young puppy who is infected. The infectious organisms are canine-specific and
are not contagious to humans.
Young puppies are frequently infected with coccidia and often
develop active Coccidiosis -- even puppies obtained from diligent professional
breeders. Infected puppies almost always have received the parasite from their
mother's feces. Typically, healthy adult animals shedding the parasite's oocysts
in their feces will be asymptomatic due to their developed immune systems.
However, undeveloped immune systems make puppies more susceptible. Further,
stressors such as new owners, travel, weather changes, and unsanitary conditions
are believed to activate infections in susceptible animals.
Symptoms in young dogs are universal: at some point around 2-3
months of age, an infected dog develops persistently loose stools. This diarrhea
proceeds to stool containing liquid, thick mucus, and light colored fecal
matter. As the infection progresses, spots of blood may become apparent in the
stool, and sudden bowel movements may surprise both dog and owner alike.
Coccidia infection is so common that any pup under 4 months old with these
symptoms can almost surely be assumed to have coccidiosis.
Fortunately, the treatment is inexpensive, extremely
effective, and routine. A veterinarian can easily diagnose the disease through
low-powered microscopic examination of an affected dog's feces, which usually
will be replete with oocysts. One of many easily administered and inexpensive
drugs will be prescribed, and, in the course of just a few days, an infection
will be eliminated or perhaps reduced to such a level that the dog's immune
system can make its own progress against the infection. Even when an infection
has progressed sufficiently that blood is present in feces, permanent damage to
the gastrointestinal system is rare, and the dog will most likely make a
complete recovery without long-lasting negative effects.
Some of the many causes of diarrhea include:
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