Puppy with Kennel Cough

by Gina
(Silver Spring, MD)

My 11 week old puppy was diagnosed with Kennel Cough. The Vet put her on Clavamox Doxycyline. We were giving her .25 ml twice a day until we found blood in her stool after one day on the medication.

We cut back to .25 ml once a day. After two days on this new dosage she seemed to be having normal bowel movements. Then on the third day she started having diarrhea with a little bit of blood in it. Could this be because of the medication?

Also, our puppy has finally started going to the bathroom outside, and has eaten a few leaves, against our best attempts (she is a quick one).

I have contacted my vet and am waiting for a call back but was hoping to get a little reprieve in the mean time.


Thank you.



Hi Gina
The blood you're seeing in your puppys' stools could well be due to the medication. It just indicates some sort of irritation of the colon, and there can be many reasons for this, some serious and some not.

If she seems happy and healthy otherwise, I wouldn't worry about a little blood, the medication is important and needs to be taken regularly. Of course, if she starts to have diarrhea or you see a lot of blood/mucus in her stools, or she starts to seem tired or looks unwell, you need to take her to your veterinarian quickly.

As for the leaves, don't worry too much about that. Puppies tend to eat all sorts of things that they shouldn't, even when you try to be vigilant. Most of the time it doesn't do any harm, but of course it's very important to prevent them ingesting as many 'foreign objects' as you can.

I'm sure your vet will also be able to put your mind to rest on that one. Best of luck with your puppy. Enjoy her!