Loose stool

Never thought I'd ever be writing a blog post about this, but apparently, in puppies, it's quite common. And it sure is common with Sasha.

From day one, she was having issues. I figured it was the change in environment and change in food. But things never got better. I took the vet shortly after I got her, and the vet said her stool checked out fine. Still, there were signs of a problem. When we'd go for walks, she'd lay down on the sidewalk every once in a while, and fall asleep. The vet told me "puppies sleep a lot," so I didn't worry about it. Well, when I took her to a different vet for her next set of vaccinations, I was told she had coccidia, a parasite. She was also a bit dehydrated. The vet put her on some medication that looked and smelled like egg nog (Sasha LOVED it), and gave her a water injection under her skin to rehydrate her (that went over well). And immediately, Sasha was spunkier. No more naps on the sidewalk.

Then, a week ago, the sidewalk naps came back. So did the loose stool. Her stool was never perfect. It was usually okay in the morning, but as the day wore on, it got worse. I called the vet last week, they said to bring her in, they tested the stool, and the coccidia was gone. The vet admitted that her behavior, as I was describing it, was odd - especially the part where Sasha started nesting last week just around the same time. She was building a little nest, that she'd sleep in, between her cage and the litter box, back in a corner. So the vet said to watch her.

Anyway, yesterday we were back to diarrhea, not full blown, but still. Also, she didn't lose her appetite, but was less excited about food than usual (she refusing her kibble as a "treat" - normally, she'd wolf it down). So I switched her back to the special food the vet prescribed (it's basically a mash of chicken and rice), and I put her on a teaspoon of pure canned pumpkin per meal (it's supposed to firm up the stool). I plan to call the vet again today, but so far her stool is more firm, though far from perfect, and her appetite is stronger (she took the kibble "treat" no problem).

From what I've read, and this is what makes things difficult, anything could be the problem. She could have a cold or flu, she could have a parasite, she could be eating too much, it could be the food itself that she's not used to, she could be upset about something, she could simply be playing and exercising too much. An insane number of possibilities, ranging from "your dog is fine" to "your dog is pretty sick."

So, I'm calling a family friend who's a vet to ask his advice. Ah, parenthood.