Coccidia Puppy

[Levi]

I am looking at a puppy today who is 9 weeks old and has been at the vets due to coccidia. She is now back with the breeder and is back to her old self. She is still getting some antibiotics. I have done a seach on coccidia but am unsure whether I should buy this puppy or not. The original buyer pulled out of the sale because of the coccidia.

Advice please !!! I am not familiar with coccidia. Are there likely to be long term implications? Are there concerns about her being contagious to our old border collie? Anything else I need to know?

[Poodle wrangler]

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=727

Sounds like pup needs to be on antibiotics for a while.

I'd take the pup, but would want the course of antibiotics to be completed and the dog's faeces clear. Otherwise, you may have additional vet bills- you know how they can add up .

The article above says the antibiotics don't kill the organism, only interrupt the reproductive cycle, so dog will still be a carrier until the cycle's over - not sure how long that is?

[Levi]

Thanks poodle wrangler. I have phoned my vet and am waiting for them to call me back, hopefully they will be able to answer some more of my questions.

[Scales of Justice]

Coccidia is treatable. If I really wanted the pup I would buy it but I would isolate the pup from my other dogs while treating for coccidia. There should be no long term problems once the puppy is in a clean environment and not under any form of stress. You should not make isolation so bad for the puppy that stress is created because of isolation.

[Jed]

Coccidia can be cured by oral doses of Baycox, which is not expensive. If the breeder is saying the pup is over the coddidia, there is no reason not to buy.

I have never heard of coccidia having any long term effect. My vet believes that if there is any thought the pup might have coccidia it is worth treating anyway.

[sidoney]

I'm sure I have read that most dogs have coccidia in their intestines, but that they develop immunity and it doesn't show unless they are stressed, or too young to have developed an effective immunity.

Edited November 19, 2007 by sidoney

[Bartok]

I have had rescue pups with Coccidia also and after their Baycox treatment were fine.

It doesn't mean the pup wasn't looked after.