It was brought to my attention today that not many people know about "The Crud" AKA "Show Dog Crud" AKA "Ecoli Septicemia" AKA "proliferation of normal flora and fauna in the gut". It is a fairly common condition in young puppies that has unknown causes. It is a very contagious and ruthless disease that can kill a pup in less than 2 days once the first mild signs begin to show. The first sign that typically goes unnoticed is softening of the stool, which also accompanies a loss of weight. This creeps up slowly and is usually not even noticed until hindsight kicks in when you are looking at a dead puppy. Within a few hours to a few days the pup becomes progressively more dehydrated as the stool continues to soften and weight loss can be severe in a matter of hours. The pups typically look fine, act fine, and continue to play with vigor. Soon the pup begins vomiting yellow putrid nastiness and the diarrhea has begun to smell of copper, sweetness, and death. Once the vomiting starts death occurs within minutes to hours.
There has been very little veterinary research of this illness, and many vets believe show dog crud does not even exist. Vets typically let a pup with these symptoms die since they cannot find out what is wrong with the dog. Occasionally a snap test for Parvo will show a very light (false) positive, but treatment for parvo will not save a crud dog. Usually initiating IV fluids to a crud dog will send it into shock and cause cardiac arrest within minutes. Sub-Q fluids are the best way to get fluids into a crud pup, but sub-q absorbs slowly and may not be affective enough particularly since the circulatory system is already depressed. A necropsy will show a over proliferation of normal flora and fauna in the gut, and occasionally the lab will label cause of death as being ecoli septicemia. The lining of the gut breaks down and the pup goes septic just before death.

THE GOOD NEWS...
Once you establish that your pup/dog (it sometimes affects adults too) has the crud it can be cured as quickly as it progresses. Usually you will notice a marked change in just a couple hours after giving an ORAL antibiotic called Cephalaxin. 250 milligrams per 25 pounds twice a day until 100% - usually 2 to 3 days. Also, give one 250 mg pill to each unaffected dog which will keep it from setting up in others. The bacteria involved is very fragile and sensitive to broad spectrum antibiotics.

It is my belief that this is caused initially by a virus and the bacteria take over once the virus does it's thing. I do not have hard evidence to back this up, but it is the only thing that makes sense to me. I have lost pups to this illness in the past, and had vets let them die, or cause them to die by putting them on an IV. It sucks big time, and most vets still charge you when they kill your pup as a result of lack of education.

Thanks, David