Updates on Maru

It feels like ages since I've posted something. It's been quite busy the past few days. Maru completed his medication regimen and have his stool checked again a week later. All traces of worms, eggs, and giardias are all gone. Now he is a happy and parasite free puppy.

Some photos of Maru while we take a walk:

Stubborn pup won't look at the camera.

Would you mind cooperating for a bit?

Now he doesn't wanna move while on leash, great.

Update on Parasites

As reference from the last post, Maru seems to have unwanted parasites residing inside of him. He had some roundworms that presented on his stools after his deworming session from the vet. Quite Nasty if you ask me, so as the vet told me, I brought some stool samples the next day to be examined minus the worms of course. I'm not gonna go putting intestinal worms in a bottle.

Results came back and Maru's stool exam indicated that he have roundworm eggs and Giardia(a protozoan parasite) on his stool. The vet prescribed some antiparasitic drug, Fenbendazole to be given for five days to treat and eliminate the parasites and some follow up stool exams. I don't have much of a say on this, I just want to treat it and get rid of those unwanted boarders as soon as possible. I'm just worried that Chloe might have gotten it too since Giardia is transmitted through the oral - fecal route. They use the same puppy pads as well.  Maybe I'll have Chloe tested out too, but for now, we'll stick to Maru's treatment first.

Freaking out on a vet day

Earlier this morning, I brought Maru to his first vet appointment with me, and Chloe tagged along with us as well because she badly needs a nail trim. I enrolled Maru in a puppy plan just like Chloe back then. This plan includes the vaccines, free vet exams, nail trims, boarding, daycare, and a 1 year worth of discounts. Pretty decent service if you'll ask me. 

And I love our vet, Chloe really likes her and warms up to her. It was funny that while we were waiting in the examination room, I just can't figure out why Chloe keeps on whining. I tried to give her some treats, she'll settle for a moment but then she will resume again with the whining. So what's the big ordeal? it seems like she hears the voice of the vet from the other room. When she came in to the exam room to greet us, Chloe greeted her with airplane ears which I don't see quite often, I need to capture a photo of that. Chloe don't greet everybody with that kind of joy, maybe she knows that our vet takes care of her really well and deserves a really warm welcome.

So, why was I freaking out? Maru got two dewormers from the visit earlier, one in liquid form and the other in tablet form.  After I fed the dogs their meal, Maru went to poop and to my surprise, there are a couple of dead worms on his stool including a really long one, maybe 4-6 inches. As nasty as it is, I think those are roundworms, though I'm not quite sure about what it is. I just realized that I can't really stand these things despite being a health professional. I didn't even bother taking a picture of it and cleaned it right away.

Just seconds after seeing those horrible worms, I called our vet and asked about the incident. She told me that it was the dewormer's job to kill the worms that are attached to the intestines and it's normal to pass it on their stools. So she was right earlier about how Maru's abdomen is bloated and the probability of having parasites on him.

I was not totally relieved after the call to our vet. Seriously, who will not get bothered when your dog is passing worms on his stool? But it helps a little knowing that it's a normal process. Maybe I was over reacting because this is the first time this happened and it didn't really happen with Chloe either. Well, I guess new puppy, new experiences.