Can I give my puppy Probiotics?

Question
QUESTION: I took my 4 month old Aussie puppy to the vet yesterday for her rabies shot - and she has had a little diarrhea for a few days. The vet took a fecal sample and gave me a prescription for special food to add to her Science Diet puppy she is already eating, but also wanted to do x-rays, and blood work and etc all to the tune of about $1000.00! I decided to put all that off for a week to see if she improves since she is happy, healthy, gaining weight (she is almost 30 lbs!) etc. Can I give her Probiotics capsules with her food to help restore her digestive system? and maybe avoid the expensive tests?


Buddy and the Lhasa pu   ANSWER: A rabies shot can cause diarrhea (and a whole lot more sometimes) so that is probably all it was. He wants that much just to diagnose diarrhea? Science Diet is junk. Take some time to learn about raw feeding. I've had Aussies for many years and they did exceptional on raw food and it's probably cheaper than what he's got her on. What was the special food?

Don't get taken advantage of. Give her something for worms if it doesn't clear up in a few days. Fecals don't always show what is really there and it doesn't hurt to worm anyway. I feed my dogs a little diatomaceous earth in their food to keep worms away. Totally harmless and it works to kill fleas too.

Probiotics won't hurt but I'd find another vet if I were you, preferably someone holistic.

I'm including a picture of my last Aussie that I buried last summer.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the answer! A little more info for you: she has not yet had her rabies shot - the doc would not give it to her until the diarrhea clears up. The special food is Prescription diet brand. She is 4 months old and teething - the diarrhea is not bad, just loose and I'm wondering if it could just be the teething. Plus the things she finds in the yard to chew on. I've raised 4 human babies and this level of diarrhea did not concern me (yet), she is energetic and everything is normal (temp, weight, etc). If you have any info on raw feeding, I would be interested. I have 3 aussies, 4mos, 4 1/2 years, and 12 years. Thankyou for your time!

Answer
Oh, I have a lot of links for raw feeding. I started when the food I was feeding was involved in a recall and never looked back. I really feel it's the best thing I've ever done for my dogs and that is why I decided to become an expert on this website. I don't make any money from giving away advice but it sure feels good when I can show someone a better way to feed and care for their pets.

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Contents.htm
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding


This group is the best I've ever found. Great people who know a lot and got me on the right track. You can ask them anything and the links section is fantastic plus the focus is on Aussies.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HealthyAussies/