Poor little Kip has a parasite in his intestines. I originally went in suspecting Giardia but they wanted to make sure he didn’t have other types of parasites so they did a Intestinal Parasite Fecal Exam. I asked if that didn’t include the Giardia but they said they rarely catch Giardia through the Intestinal Parasite Fecal Exam and would have to do a Giardia Test. Well, my question is, if I didn’t go in suspecting Giardia, wouldn’t that mean they wouldn’t have found out through the fecal exam and have told me that he was parasite free?
In any case, I found out two additional things about Kip’s health besides the Giardia. One was that they didn’t discover any bacteria through the fecal exam. This included probiotics. I was going to turn their probiotic proscription but they said it was specially tailored for dogs and proven to be effective. I got it and found that it was made by Purina. I’m at lost of words. Given that their dog kibble has so much fluff, I don’t really trust Purina. I’ll have to look into the Purina probiotic FortiFlora later on, but I have a suspicion that there will be a more natural trustworthy source for probiotics. I know a lot of people use yogurt so I may look into that option as well.
I was also subscribed an antibiotic that he has to take twice a day. They recommended the Greenies Pill Pockets but after reading about how Greenies Dental Treats are not digestible and have threatened the lives of many dogs, I don’t trust Greenies much either. I just squashed the small pill between two of his soft treats. I think it helped that I gave it to him towards the end of his meal. I bought a Wellness can of Lamb and Beef stew and mixed some into his kibble because he hasn’t been eating it otherwise.
I’m ready to start doing more research on holistic methods. It’s not that I don’t think that current science/medication is all wrong. But I really want to get away from vets that are selling me products and taking advantage of my sick furbaby. I’m also tired of vet/nurses that explain their products as if it’s entirely necessary and not negotiable.
