I'm worried about my 8 week old lab puppy Tanner. I brought him home one week ago. His first stool looked normal. Ever since he's had diarrhea so I brought him to the vet this week and they said he had coccidia and was prescribed Aldon for 10 days. Well, he's been on Aldon for 6 days and he is worse. I stopped giving him puppy food and am feeding him rice and boiled chicken. Well, he is now vomiting up any food and so I'm having him drink chicken broth. He's lethargic and just not playful at all. The vet says with coccidia, puppies usually get worse before they get better. Well, I really do not like watching my 8 week old runt of a lab puppy losing weight and not eating.
Anyone have any pointers or advice? Thank you kindly.
Kris

[lulusmom]

Have you contacted your vet and told him that your puppy is vomiting and still has diarrhea. Dogs, especially puppies, can dehydrate very quickly and it can easily be life threatening. Any vet that allows an 8 week old puppy to continue to vomit and suffer with diarrhea for this long should have his license pulled. If that were my puppy I would be at an emergency clinic having him checked out. His electrolytes most certainly need to be checked and he probably needs to be hydrated via iv fluids. This sounds very serious so please get your puppy help.

[Yogi]

there was no need to change the food, the diarrhea is a result of the parasite not the food so most likely the chicken and rice is causing the vomiting issue.
There are other meds such as panacure that are also prescribed for coccidia, giardia etc. I would recommend the dog be taken back to the vet to address the issue again and as noted see to any dehydration issues asap.

What is coccidia? What was the beginning symptoms and how long did your pet have them before you thought something must be wrong? Ihave have a new puppy and is curious about this disease.

[Yogi]

it is not a disease. Coccidia, Giardia etc are parasites that live in the intenstinal track and cause the stool to break down into diarrhea. You have heard the expression, "don't drink the water". That is due to coccidia and giardia which is generally found in stagnate water. Humans have these parasites in us but in dogs and cats especially small dogs it can be difficult to get rid of at times.
Panacure and Albon are the 2 most common treatments. There is one other that is an injection and is designed to clear away 9 of the 11 most common parasites. Your vet should look into this. It has only been out a few years and I was fortunate to have this for one of my cats and it worked great. I do not know the name of it but your vet should.

This says the medication inhibits the reproduction of the organisms rather than wiping them out. Probably explains why your dog is getting worse; as long as the organisms are alive, they're still doing their job. Your dog should get better when they naturally begin dying.

Coccidia (Coccidiosis) in Dogs: A Cause of Diarrhea