My puppy has had a very dodgy tum pretty much for the whole six months since I've had him. At first I thought it might be the food so have tried to find a diet that works for him and am now moving towards feeding raw.
The pattern has been a few days of runny poo followed by a couple of weeks of normal stools. I talk to the breeder regularly and she has been very supportive. The breed is known for their jippy tums.
I went to the vets recently as he was particularly poorly and they conducted a fecal test, the first result back showed something that sounded like coxydilla (which I'm told is normally present and nothing to worry about) and then after two weeks of growing the culture they found campylobacter. He's now just finished a 10 day course of antibiotics and fingers crossed he's okay - but we've had waves of good health before so aren't counting chickens just yet.
Can anyone tell me more about campylobacter, I've heard it described as a bacteria overgrowth? He is a terrible scavenger and is always eating poo on walks - from any species. He's also picked up the odd dead rabbit. Can this be the source and if so why don't all dogs have this problem as I'm sure my dog isn't the only one with nasty habits.
He's been thoroughly wormed at 12 weeks and also monthly due to the local risk of lungworm.
I've read on the Internet that camplyobacter can be passed to humans, how easily does this happen as he has lots of kids that love giving him pats and get lots of licks from him in return. Do I need to stop this? No one that has close conatct with him has had an upset tum.
Will he keep reinfecting himself if he's picking this up from eating poo?
Is camplyobacter present in all dogs - if so, why has my pup now developed a problem with it? The other dogs he mixes with all seem fine.
Could he have had it in his system since I got him? The breeder says his older brother had a similar problem until antibiotics sorted it out at six months.
I've no interest in trying to blame anyone, just want to sort my pup's tummy out and keep him healthy.
Julie Ashton, Bristol
Campylobacter is a bacteria that can be found in multiple species, eg. dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, people. In puppies it can often be associated with the stress of weaning and going to a new home etc. It is not normally present in dogs unless infected but it is thought that some dogs can very occasionally become carriers (they are not able to get rid of it but doesn't normally cause problems). The bacteria can survive in the environment for about 3 days or more depending on the temperature/humidity etc. Most pups pick it up from eating contaminated carcases or from raw meat if not stored correctly and also from faeces of other pups or animals with the bacteria.
ReplyDeleteTo contract campylobacter depends on how many of the bacteria are swallowed and also whether the immune system is 'fully functioning' or is under stress from other challenges, such as fighting another infection.
Eating poo is a good way of contracting campylobacter so stopping this is essential. This involves training and not inadvertantly reinforcing this behaviour by shouting at him etc.
In people it is usually contracted from undercooked meat but the transmission for many cases in people has not been established. Strict hygiene precautions are needed when handling suspected cases as well as common sense such as washing hands after handling pets and cleaning up any mess that the animal has made.
Ian McConnell Veterinary Surgeon
have you heard of people feeding garlic to get rid of this. What doeses should you give puppies of 5 months and a 2 year old. Thanks
DeleteOur pup came to us with Campylobactor 3 years ago. It took a few months to get an accurate diagnosis. We were also tested (your GP can give you detais) but came up clear.It is important to pick up any poo straight away and wash down hard areas. It does take a LONG time for the body to recover and our dog will always have a sensitive digestive tract now. Interestingly after 3 clear results he bacame ill again and we feared the worst but this time he had a Giardia overload! A course of Panacur - low dose over a few days cleared that up. It was probably caused by all the disruption to his gut - the combination of illness/antibiotics etc. He is now very stable on Markus Muehle dry food and fresh lamb. Fresh Chicken upsets him as does a lot of dry food. We have found enzyme tablets [from b-naturals USA - called Zyme] and occasional courses of CANIGEST - a superb probiotic paste, very beneficial.Neither require a prescription and can be easily purchased on the Internet as they are safe. Campylobactor is a very nasty, often painful, condition and stress does seem to make it worse.
ReplyDeleteMy pup is 6 months old and has had campylobacter now for nearly 4 months. The vets have tried 3 different antibiotics and just when we think they are working, he gets worse again.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it is spread to humans very easily - I finally caught it 2 weeks ago and I can tell you it wasn't nice at all! We consider ourselves to be very clean - regularly disinfecting his toys, crate, floors etc and washing our hands permanently. I would advise trying to stop your pup licking people (I know this is hard!).
On a positive note, or vet has told us Winson is a rare case - he had 3 other pups with the same thing and all were better within a month. Cost aside, don't be afraid to keep going back to the vet if you are not happy.
Good luck
My Blue Pit Pup has Campylobacter and is getting Very weak...I think I may loose him! I have given him emergency tea, gatorade and sugar water. He was doing fine with this and had even started to eat again.Then I gave him a shot of pennicillin g and the next morning, he was throwing up and has a diarehea with traces of blood. I can not afford vet care. What is the vet giving your dog to keep it alive this long?
DeleteYou SHOULD NOT have a animal if you cannot afford to pay for vet care, you selfish sick person.
DeleteTheir right you shouldn't have a dog if you can't afford a vet, try a shelter see if they have vet? Well that aside try garlic tablets for it, i have researched this for months and a lot of people have good results.
DeleteOh I am so glad I found this thread. My puppy was just diagnosed with a possible campolybacter infection. Let me ask though, what were the symptoms? My dog only has diarrhea. Is that the only symptom? My vet said he saw the bacteria in his poop and it was slightly elevated but he didn't seem entirely convinced that this is what is making my dog sick. My dog has a nasty habit of eating deer poop and it's hard to stop him. I'm wondering if this was the culprit.
ReplyDeleteMy 6 year old labrador has been diagnosed with campylobacter he has diarrohea and blood in his poos being treated at the moment with an antibiotic but after five days there is no sign of improvement. am I being impatient or should I take him back to the vet?
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd go back to the vet. Six days is a long time to be poorly for a pup. Regards beverley, let us know how you get on.
ReplyDeleteOur 11-week old bulldog puppy was recently diagnosed with campylobacter after several weeks of chronic diarrhea. At first he was treated for coccidia and giardia, it wasn't until those infections cleared up that we found the main source of the problem (the campylobacter). After a day and a half on Tylan and a broad-spectrum deormer, he has had his first solid stool ever! Our vet said that this can be a hard bug to get rid of though, so he needs to be on the Tylan for 20 days, instead of the normal 6-8. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteThis "campylobacter" posting, completely useful..
ReplyDeletemy puppy has just been diagnosed with camplyobacter after having his jabs ane checks , he is on a 10 day cause of antibiotics and may need anouther 10 days if not gone , i have been told it is common in puppys more so than older dogs , it can be treated and cleared up like all the other millons of bugs out there , but you never want to see your pets ill do ya , be positive.
ReplyDeleteWe have literally got a call from the vet saying our pup has campylobacter. He's been off and on ill for a while now and I now think that's how I became ill during an exam. I stayed up with him to make sure he didn't make a mess on his bed but the close contact probably passed the bacteria to me and a day and a half later i vomitted on my chemistry exam :( so the moral of the story is be bloody careful for your pup's sake and your own :)
ReplyDeleteHi my 1 year old staffy pup died after getting infected with campylobacter. I feed him on the raw food diet and he got infected by chicken. I took him to the vet on the second day he had it and again on the fourth day, he died on the sixth. Take the condition seriously!!!! please.... I never thought that he would die. I'm totally devasted!
ReplyDeleteStarted raw diet..mainly chicken quarters...older Standard poodles had diarrhea and threw up a little. Raw diet people saw that that happens from detoxing (poodles only fed high priced grain FrEE kibble before) but runny but turned in watery. Then the largest poodle puppy became depressed and wouldn't eat. Rushed her to vet who said it was bacterial infection but then he said it was parvo...NONE of dogs go anywhere except the VETS for checkup! NEVER had parvo before, ever. He put her on Albon with ringers. She rallied despite round the clock care she died and then other got sick. Second puppy died. The first two were the largest, strongest....and got to eat more raw chicken! And they were very vocal, crying, screaming..It was heartbreaking..I heard Parvo pups make no sounds. Campy pups cry and scream. It makes me so upset to think about. Sent away for parvobuster herbal solution which is great if dogs actually have parvo and it did give me the detailed information I need to set up a Puppy Intensive Care unit! Anyway, there they said it could be Campy...vet never mentioned Campy to me before. So got Cephalexin...2 girls too far gone and third about to go down and mixed goat milk yogurt in with the Gerber beef baby food I was having to syringe in her mouth. Within FIVE minutes the foul Campy smell was gone from her and she was interested in food and ate by herself!!! Gave the other 2 remaining pups yogurt and next day they're outside bouncy around in the sun...with regular poops! Still feeding them baby food and yogurt and oatmeal water for electrolytes but it was campy and it's over.
ReplyDeleteLESSONS:
1. Never feed any poultry or eggs to dogs...RAW BARFist say freezing kills bacteria but it doesn't kill all campy!
2. Feed yogurt to dogs and yourself...people can get Campy
3. Separate dogs in crates to see who's eating and who is off feed. Puppies will bounce around and act fine but not be eating and you don't notice until it might be too late.
4. Question and research on your on...don't just take vets word. If I had I'd have lost all of the puppies. When I called the vet to buy Cephalexin the vet said he set up fecal and didn't see Campy..wtf?? It takes days/weeks to culture Campy. I don't think you can just see it under microscope right away like hookworks or coccidia. Question, question, question, research research research on your own. We lost two gorgeous show quality, pick of the litters poodles...one girl I was going to keep...she was like my baby...we're heart broken but hope this needless and very painful death doesn't have to happen to other poor pups!
My dog also has campylobacter and hes had it for around 3 months now :( been to the vets 8 times and everything we try works but then just comes back. He was on a 3 day course of panacur and everything went back to normal and 2 weeks down the line and were back to square one ! We disinfect his toys, bed and bowls regularly and clean faeces away straight away with disinfectant too :( ive had to send another stool sample off to see if he still has the infection or if he has contracted something else but its not looking good, looks like we will have to wait and see :(
ReplyDeleteWe got an 8 week old puppy a week ago today. We'd viewed it the previous Tuesday evening, and had some mild concerns about the environment the pups were kept in, but parents seemed happy and healthy and all pups were bouncing. Pup was great for literally 36 hours - then got slightly 'flat' and refused food - to cut a long and tragic story short, he ended up at vets on Monday evening, supposedly for his innoculations but was too poorly, so had antibiotics and sickness meds instead. Returned to vets with him Tuesday morning, as he was no better, and vets booked him into their clinic, where he was put on fluids and ongoing antibiotics. He improved beautifully on Tuesday afternoon, and we were to due to collect him Wednesday morning - but he deteriorated again, and in the end we had him PTS on Friday. On reflection, we shoud have been very, very concerned about his environment, despite how well all the animals there looked at the time. Most significantly, there were poultry roosting and pooping on the low wall of the pup's pen, and the poultry also had daily access to a piglet's pen, where they were pecking up mud and poop. Also the mother of the pups came in, while we were there on the Tuesday, and threw up in the pup's bed - and they ate her vomit. The owner said she had probably been eating chicken poop, but seemed to think this was normal, and would do no harm to the puppies. Our vets briefly wondered about Parvo, but were inclined to rule it out for various reasons. During all this, my partner, who had mainly cleaned up after the pup, also got cronic diarroea, and vets then leaned towards suspecting Campylobacter. A sample has been sent off but will take another 8 days to come back. We are very worried about our other, adult dog, athough she refused to even be in the same room as the puppy and certainly had no access to his poop or vomit. She seems fine - but so did the puppy. We've called the owner - he claims no other pups are sick - despite the fact that he pulled his web advert, selling the remaining pups within a day. I haven't put my name here as I am in touch with RSPCA about conditions at the premises from which our puppy came - and I frankly fear reprisals. Just wanted to say, please peeps, take more care than we did if you get a puppy from anywhere remotely worrying - no matter how well the pup looks, chances are it's incubating something deadly.
ReplyDeleteMy GSD had Campylobacter for 2 years - it coat us £4k to treat!! Then we changed vets & she was diagnosed with a food allergy & was put on an exclusion diet (Purina HA) after a month the antibiotics were stopped for the first time & a month later she was moved on to the next food up (Purina DRM) she never suffered from Campylobacter again. Apparently this bug can normally live in the tummies of 75% of the dog population without causing problems, but in our dogs case the food allergy was making it flare up. If you can't get rid of it in your dog I strongly advise you go down this route
ReplyDelete