Pronunciation: (cock sid' ee uh)

What is it?: Coccidia is a protozoa that causes diarrhea in puppies and that occurs usually when they are stressed. We have seen it every now and then when we wean and when puppies go to new homes.

What Causes the Symptoms? About 60% of all puppies have coccidia parasite in their digestive systems. Many puppies are never physically affected by this protozoa. Stress(such as when a puppy leaves its littermates for a new home) can cause the coccidia to flourish, and this can lead to diarrhea. In extreme cases, the puppy can get severely dehydrated, so it's best to just medicate preventatively in our opinion. We have a strict regimen of prevention while puppies are here.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: Like most people that raise puppies and that have educated themselves, we treat preventatively for coccidia because it is very hard to avoid having on the property. It can be carried by bugs (especially flies), rabbits, mice, cats, dogs, and other animals. So, when dogs and puppies play in the yard, they can pick up the oocytes. Since we don't believe in keeping puppies in little above-the-ground cages 24 hours per day and 7 days per week (that would not be fun for them OR for us), we know they will be exposed. Yours will too, when you allow him or her to walk on grass.

Treatment: We treat preventatively when puppies are near weaning and again before they leave us with 1/4th to 1/2 of a cc of Ponazuril (Bayer), which is actually an anti-protozoal medicine for horses that have EPM. It is very expensive to buy, so most people don't use it.