Need help!!! Both Yorkies sick with possible parasites
 

Hello! Both of my Yorkies are very sick.

It all started about 5 to 6 weeks ago with my 8 year old 9lb yorkie, Pax. He was having diarrhea once or twice a week but it would always clear up so I thought may be he was eating something bad. He would also throw up a couple times a week at night but be fine the next day. He's become a picky eater since then and won't even eat breakfast anymore.

Fast forward to about 9 days ago, Pax had black tarry diarrhea, almost like dark chocolate pudding. We rushed him to the emergency vet and she stated she found hookworm eggs. We gave him Drontal Plus and started Flagyl. I then took him to my regular vet a few days later and they ran bloodwork to make sure he doesn't have pancreatitis. The black diarrhea seemed to clear up for a few days but then came back this past Friday. He also vomited again last night. We took another fecal sample on Friday and they are running a full diarrhea panel but the results haven't come back yet.

My 10 year old 4lb yorkie, Pilot, didn't have any symptoms until this past Friday. He out of the blue had the same black tarry diarrhea as Pax did. We rushed him to the vet but did not have enough stool sample to verify anything. Bloodwork was performed and ruled out pancreatitis. The vet gave him Flagyl and Drontal Plus as well. He had a "normal" bowel movement this morning, but I fear it may come back just like Pax did.

We've been feeding a home cooked diet for the past 4 years to prevent calcium oxolate stones and it's worked very well.

The last few days I've only given them bland chicken and potatoes to help with the diarrhea, but they are still very picky only eating 1/2th of what they do in a normal day. I'm keeping them hydrated with unflavored Pedialtye and giving Endosorb every 4 to 5 hours to try and help stop the diarrhea.

I'm getting very worried that the treatment is not working since Pax had diarrhea again this week. Do the symptoms sound like a parasite? I fear is the diarrhea panel for Pax will come back negative.

Any advice or help would be appreciated, I'm very stressed out over this and beginning to lose sleep.

Thank you!

Praying. Know how hard it is when our little ones are sick and we have no idea what to do.

Sending you thoughts and prayers.

Below are links to three articles about hookworms. From the VCA article (emphasis added),

"Female hookworms pass hundreds of microscopic eggs in the feces of infected dogs, where they contaminate the environment. Larvae hatch from the eggs and can remain infective in the soil for weeks or months. A dog may become infected when it inadvertently swallows hookworm larvae, often by grooming its feet, or from sniffing feces or contaminated soil. The larvae may also burrow into the skin if the dog walks or lies on contaminated ground."

And also,

"There are several effective drugs, called anthelmintics, which will eliminate hookworms. Most are given orally and have few, if any, side effects. However, these drugs only kill the adult hookworms. ... it is necessary to treat an infected dog again in about two to four weeks to kill any newly formed adult worms that were larvae at the time of the first treatment."

Nasty. It is environmental--Pax may have picked this up from elsewhere, but likely it's now been introduced to your home environment.

American Kennel Club, "Understanding Hookworm in Dogs."

PetMD, "Hookworm in Dogs."

VCA, "Hookworm infection in Dogs."

Some parasites can be nasty to recover from, trust me. Most especially if they've been wreaking ANY havoc on the GI system - it can really take some time. Also, sometimes fecal tests can be very tough to find parasites in, it's not always easy.

Keep treating, stay with it. And IF/when you feel things are not going well, not going right, or if something just isn't feeling right -- do CALL your vet's office and say you want to talk to a tech -- explain what you're seeing, ask if it's normal with recovery or if it needs to be addressed.

You may want your kiddos on a probiotic asap to recover some of the natural flora in their GI system. One you should be able to get right away at Petsmart or Petco is Benebac.

Thanks for the information all! Whatever they have, they got from outside while on a walk because they sniff every little piece of grass, poop, etc. Pax also has a habit for eating grass sometimes.

I didn't give them their heartworm medicine the last few months because it's been very cold so far this winter and early spring, apparently it has hookworm medicine in it as well, so this may be entirely my fault.

I've washed all the bedding and blankets several times on very hot. I also shampooed the carpets this weekend. I read that the hookworm eggs can't survive without moisture/soil. Anything else I need to do?

Any idea how long can the boys go on bland food? I'm adding some calcium citrate powder to balance out the phosphorus. We also do give Proviable in our home cooked diet regimen.

Pax did not vomit last night, and did have diarrhea again but it was not black/bloody. I know Flagyl does give him the runs to a degree. I called the vet's office this morning, but they are still going through results from the weekend and will not get back to me till this afternoon.

I'm really hoping they can pull through this, thanks for the support!

Hi PILOTthePuppy,


The prayers continue.

I didn't look into your bland diet query, but read several articles about how we should address these pests in the environment.

Here's a link to 2017 article on a site I haven't used before, How Get Rid of Stuff, "How to Get Rid of Hookworms in Yard."

This article refers to a borax solution (sodium borate), but other articles suggest that can be damaging to plants and lawns (see comment in SFGate, "How to Treat Your Yard for Hook Worms.")

Separate from these environmental treatments, most pet-related articles I read talked about the importance of keeping up with preventative heartworm treatments, as these should also treat hookworm. See the article on PetCareRx, "Treating Hookworms in your Cat or Dog."

Earlier, you asked about the medications prescribed for your furry-friends. The PetCareRx article had information that seemed on-point, as below (emphasis added). You may want to inquire further of your vet.

"After proper diagnosis, there are medications your pet can take to kill adult worms currently living in the intestines. An appropriate medication will depend on your dog’s age, Drontal is often prescribed for young pets, whereas older pets might take Interceptor or Iverhart Plus. Because treatment does not kill migrating larvae moving through the skin, you may have to keep your pet on medication after symptoms subside to ensure that the infection doesn’t resurface. Your pet’s feces will have hookworm eggs and larvae if they’re already infected, so keeping them away from their own waste can help ensure successful treatment."

Just wanted to give an update as Pax did not have a good day. He did not eat anything at all and had more watery diarrhea.

We took him to the vet around 6PM and they gave him SubQ fluids under the skin as bloodwork revealed he was moderately dehydrated. She took x-rays and it revealed thickening of the small intestines due irritation, but the cause is unknown (still thinking parasites so far).

The vet gave more medications including DiaGel, Tylan Powder, another Drontal Plus pill, and Cerenia. We are basically treating symptoms until we can get the results of the realpcr diarrhea panel. If the results are negative, we'll have to explore other avenues such as IBS, possible biopsy, etc.

Pax finally wanted to eat something tonight after we returned so we gave him some of the medications, the dewormer, metronidazole, DiaGel, and Endosorb.

I'm really hoping we find the root cause of this soon, for both our sake!

Thank you for the update. Good news that Pax ate some dinner. So hard when our little ones suffer.

Will keep sending you thoughts and prayers.

Thank you!

Pax had more loose stools overnight. Whatever he eats just runs right through him.

We are taking another fecal sample from last night and putting him on IV fluids today.

It seems like whatever is causing this could be slowly killing him.

Shooting more thoughts and prayers your way.

Wish Pax had had a better overnight and hope the fluids today bring both of you some comfort.

When do you expect the results from the RealPCR work up? How is Pilot doing?

The results should be back by mid week at the latest.

Pilot seems to be doing OK *knock on wood* I really hope he doesn't relapse because I can't handle both being sick!

I can't imagine this is a food allergy? Pilot and Pax have been eating chicken for years!

Pullin' for you, Pax and little Pilot.

Katy usually ate kibble, but I've used bits of chicken and rice (or lamb and rice) for loose stools, etc. And yes, she did get her fair share of chicken-only.

Since he'll be at the vet today, I'd ask if they suggest a formulated food for the two little ones short-term. Perhaps inquire about the probiotics too (suggested by Wylie's Mom).

Hoping those test come in early and you'll have more information.

Thank you for the update. Keeping you all in our thoughts.

Pax returned home last night from the hospital. He received IV fluids and various medications via injections to hopefully help him recover. He ate plain chicken and mash potatoes when he got home. I also gave him a capsule of Proviable probiotics mixed with some rice water.

He slept through the night and did not have any bowel movements as of 6 AM this morning. We are still awaiting some test results to come back from the lab (hopefully today!).

Thanks for the support, really appreciate it :)

Thank you for the update. Comforting to know that Pax had what seems like a good day and good over-night.

Paws crossed that the test results come in today.

P.S.-- Hope you (and Pilot) had good over-nights too!

Thanks, we did get some sleep! :) I called the vet and the test results came back. Everything is negative both on the RealPCR diarrhea panel and fecal float.

She stated if it comes back then she wants to look into IBS, etc.

Wylie's Mom stated it can be hard to find the parasites, and the emergency vet said she saw eggs 12 days ago.

Not sure what to do now :confused:

Sleep is good.

I read the PetMD article "Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Dogs."

There section, "Diagnosis" talks about ruling out worms and a list of other causes of diarrhea. I'm not knowledgeable enough to identify which of the listed issues might have been ruled out by the RealPCR diarrhea panel.

Did the vet suggest that Pilot might also have to be further tested?

Thanks I'll check it out, I'm having her e-mail me the test results. We tested

Pilot and he was negative too. Pilot also had the same tarry black diarrhea last week as well, but his still has been normal for the last few days.

I'm not your vet (no surprise there), but couldn't Pax's infestation have been more sever--he was symptomatic give or take a month, before Pilot.

In the alternative, is there *any* downside to the IBS treatment protocol? From the earlier linked PetMD article,

"Outpatient medical management is the most common method of treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. It is highly recommended that dogs that have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome be fed a diet that is highly digestible and has a high volume of fiber in order to help restore and maintain the normal bodily function of the digestive tract. If there are signs of highly stressful elements within your dog's environment, it is also recommended that you make attempts to remove these elements."

That's what I'm thinking! Also, It's odd to me that Pilot had the same exact black tarry diarrhea that Pax did.

If it was IBS and or something related to Pax's health, wouldn't Pilot be asymptomatic?

I feel like I feed a highly digestible diet already. A typical meal would consist of the following:

30-40% protein (mostly chicken breast and some Alaskan salmon)
40-50% veggies (peas, carrots, zucchini, lima beans, kale.. all boiled and pureed)
10-20% white rice

We mix this all into a bowl and they eat several ounces at a time, several times a day.

We add enough calcium citrate to balance out the phosphorus in the meat (1 to 1 ratio)

At meal time we give them small amounts of human grade vitamin b complex, dry vitamin e, probiotics, and glucasomine for their luxating patella.

This seemingly has worked well for the last 4 years after Pilot had calcium oxolate stone surgery.

At the moment due to the diarrhea episode, I'm only feeding them chicken breast and boiled skinless mashed red potatoes. The boys aren't a fan of rice by itself and usually spit it on the floor!

I'm not nearly smart enough to know more about an IBS diet, but the meals you are feeding sure look good to the untrained eye. Will be interested in what the vet says.

Are Pax and Pilot having a more ordinary day?

Unfortunately, I'm at work, I'll you know later this evening :)

Looks like Pilot and Pax had more of a "normal" day.

Pax ate 3 meals for the first time in a long time. For the last two months, he had no appetite in the morning and became a very picky eater. That eventually progressed into not eating breakfast and lunch within the last week.

He has not had a bowel movement in 24 hours now, whereas he was going every few hours the last week.

I'm still very worried we are not out of the woods yet, and I don't think my normal vet is convinced it was parasites since all the tests came back negative.

I'm wondering if that second dose of Drontal Plus helped in addition to the extra fluids from his hospitalization yesterday.

That's really good news.

You also wrote, "I'm wondering if that second dose of Drontal Plus helped in addition to the extra fluids from his hospitalization yesterday."

If memory serves me, wasn't it common to give a second dose of the meds about two weeks following the first? Separately, I'm sure the fluids helped much.

Did the vet suggest a follow up appointment?

Wylie's Mom wrote that the worms can "wreck havoc" and suggested you trust your gut.

I hope that second does of meds does the trick.

Keeping the prayers up.

Yes, I read it's common to give a second dose after 2 weeks, but we gave Pax the second dose after 10 days.

I should also mention when Pax was initially diagnosed by the emergency vet with hookworms, I gave Pilot his heartworm medicine which has the hookworm dewormer ingredients as well. We then gave Pilot the Drontal Plus after he contracted the tarry diarrhea a week later, so he technically had two doses.

The vet did not suggest a follow up visit at this time unless the diarrhea continues. Since all the fecal tests and diarrhea panel came back negative, she suggested the next step be an ultrasound to investigate other medical causes.

Pax finally had a bowel movement overnight (they have potty pads), and it was normal with no signs of blood.

He also seems to have regained his appetite though I don't to make any conclusions yet. He wouldn't eat breakfast for the last few weeks and became picky eater. I gave him a piece of chicken before I left for work and he ate it right away, before he would turn his nose up to it and go back to sleep.

Thanks again for all your support, it really helps. I'll continue with the updates!

Looks like Pax didn't want to eat much again this morning, ugh :( We\'ll see how he does throughout the day, at least no diarrhea so far...

I know you have a lot going on so thank you again for taking the time to update.

Yeah for the normal BM, but not much eating is a reminder that he\'s not out of the woods.* With the two dogs, are you able to tell whether Pax is drinking?

You wrote, vet "suggested the next step be an ultrasound to investigate other medical causes."

That sounds like a good idea, along with having the vet update his vitals

I\'ll keep the prayers cranked up.

*My family said that when it came to Katy, I had become my mother--how did the little one eat, drink and BM.

We typically add water to their home cooked food to help keep their urine SG values low due to the potential stones.

We gave Pax rice water with probiotics and a little unflavored pedialyte this morning.

His energy levels are there and he wants to play as he normally does, he\'s just being picky with food. It\'s hard to tell if his stomach is bothering him still or he\'s just not hungry in general.

Pilot is eating/drinking with normal bowel movements still.

Lots of positives.