Clostridium bacteria

[lwicks]

My basenji, Rami, has been having some stomach issues for the past few weeks. The first time we took him to the vet because of a severe bout of diarrhea. The vet found 2 types of bacteria in his system, and from what the vet has said, they are normally found in dogs (known as bad bacteria), but Rami had way more of it than he was supposed to. So that led to 10 days of 2 different meds, one antibiotic powder and the other was Metrozinadole. A week after going off the meds, the issues came back. I took him back to the vet, and he still had the high clostridium count (guess the other one was fine). The vet gave us 2 more weeks of the Metrozinadole, and since his poo still wasn't better when he was supposed to go off of it, we got another 2 weeks worth (he was on it for a total of 4 weeks which I would hope should have done the trick!). His poo just hasn't been back to normal, and I'm afraid the problem is going to come back. He hasn't gotten in to anything (i.e. eating something in the yard) because I make sure to watch his every move when he goes out now, just in case, and he is on California Natural Lamb & Rice, so I know he's eating a quality food that is supposed to be good for sensitive stomachs if that's the problem. Has anyone else had this problem with their dogs?

[tanza]

I would think that maybe a change in meds is needed. If the Metrozinadole has not done the trick. Also, I have found that Lamb is not always the best for sensitive stomachs… You might want to consider changing to California Natural Chicken and Rice....

[lwicks]

We had him on chicken and rice when we first got him, and then realized he was allergic to chicken (his coat was always so flaky, and as soon as we made the switch, it went away). Do you know about sweet potato and herring? I've read that sometimes that's even better for sensitive stomachs…

[Nemo]

@lwicks:

We had him on chicken and rice when we first got him, and then realized he was allergic to chicken (his coat was always so flaky, and as soon as we made the switch, it went away). Do you know about sweet potato and herring? I've read that sometimes that's even better for sensitive stomachs…

Nemo has had really bad tummy issues in the past and couldn't gain weight on chicken-based foods. He has been on various fish (salmon, herring or white fish) and potato (white or sweet)-based foods for the past few years now and is doing really well.

Plus, I'm guessing that since Rami has been on antibiotics for a while, the good bacteria population is low right now and may need to be built up some. Maybe add a little plain yogurt to his diet if he is past the diarrhea.

[tanza]

@lwicks:

We had him on chicken and rice when we first got him, and then realized he was allergic to chicken (his coat was always so flaky, and as soon as we made the switch, it went away). Do you know about sweet potato and herring? I've read that sometimes that's even better for sensitive stomachs…

I would give the Sweet Potato and fish or duck a try, maybe….

[elena86]

Clostridium is a spore and is very difficult to kill. If this is C.diff. (clostridium difficile), do not take this lightly. C.diff is a major cause of nursing home deaths and hospital aquired infections in humans. Please also practice immaculate infection control procedures…it is contagious. Wear gloves when dealing with fecal matter and wash your hands with lots of soap and hot water. Hand sanitizers to not kill Clostridium on your hands. Besides the antibiotics, make sure your dog gets some yogurt and acidophilis supplements to restore the normal bacterial flora in the gut.

[Vicki]

Buy the acidophilis refrigerated at a health food store….my vet said that the only yogurt that has live enzymes is Activa...it has suger in it, but it will help when giving medication. I adopted a shep that had the same bacteria infection. It took years to finally rid her of the problem.

[lwicks]

Ug, years?? Was there any one thing that you found that got rid of it, or did it just run it's course and finally go away on its own? I gave Rami some 'good bacteria' as the vet called it (started with an L, can't remember the exact name, but it was a long one…) while he was on his meds, but I quit giving it to him. Should I keep that up?

[Nemo]

I don't believe it is a matter of getting rid of it but rather keeping it in check. It may always be present in his GI tract to a limited extent. Maintaining a healthy population of good microflora will reduce the risk of it growing out of control.

[Nemo]

So, I would suggest keep giving him the good bacteria, particularly if he has only been off the meds for a little while. It may help prevent a relapse.

[lwicks]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I went out and got him some herring and sweet potato food instead of the lamb and rice, and the girl that helped me is actually a vet tech (or she's studying to be one… I can't remember). Either way, she had lots of good info for me too, so between all of these suggestions and hers, hopefully Rami will be feeling better soon! We've actually gotten quite a few barroos from him, and he's been much more playful the past couple of days, and he didn't do either of those even before all of this, so hopefully that means he's doing better!