My puppy is sick! I'm really worried!!!

Less than a week ago, we had to put down our precious 7 month old Pit Bull, Kilo. We're so heart broken. He was the best little guy ever. We have another puppy that is like 5 1/2 months old. He is a mix of either pit bull or boxer. At first we thought he was sad that his pal was gone, but now he is throwing up and doesn't want to eat or drink. He is EXTREMELY hyper normally, but he is just lying around. He had the runs yesterday and he is looking kind of boney. His gums look gray, also. Our other dog, Kilo was very i'll, but the vet couldn't tell us why. He ate until the end, but he went blind and deaf and drooled excessively. After we put him down, the vet said it could have been liver failure. This puppy isn't acting like Kilo did, though, but i'm still concerned. Could it be Parvo or maybe poisoning? Please help!

 

I would take him to the Vets ASAP.. Like Yesterday...
He may have picked something up??? Has he had his injections???
If he is vomiting, he will be losing fluids and get dehydrated very very quickly, sounds like he may need to be on a drip until the vomiting stops..
But PLEASE get him to the vets as soon as you can, you dont want to lose him too..
I hope it all goes ok, keep us posted..

 

Hi Jessica,
I agree with chezza, vet ASAP....like today.
Parvo would be my first guess of things to rule out (and Pit Bulls are in the high risk category of dogs that seem to not do as well as other breeds in getting over this.....other high risk breeds are Rotts, Dobies, GSD's, Danes....and a few others).

If you have a parvo test done and it comes back negative then with what happened to Kilo you need to start looking around your house, your yard etc and make sure theres nothing around thats toxic to them that they are getting into. (I dont know exactly what caused all that with Kilo obvioulsy but from what you said I do think that the low blood glucose might have had something to do with it....but why would his blood glucose get that low in the first place....thats much more common in younger chihauha sized dogs and while it can happen in large dogs its really not that common in my experience....unless theres an underlying problem that isnt known about).

Good luck with this pup....dont waste any time, just get him to the vet.

 

I took my pup to the vet and he tested positive for Parvo. They gave him an injection of liquid under his skin in his back. They said he is REALLY dehydrated and gave him a perscription of antibiotics, nausea suppressors, and Rebound electrolyte/fluid replacer. He looks so sick . He is laying on the couch with a blanket over him to keep him warm, but I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to let him out of my sight. Is there anything I can do to help him more or to make him more comfortable? Is there anything I should look out for? I can't stand the thought of losing another on of my pups, especially so close to losing my little Kilo. I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.

 

Is there a reason they didnt keep him in the hospital?? The best care for him would be to be hospitalized, that way they can keep him on IV fluids (constant flow of fluids going into his veins rather than trying to keep oral fluids down).

You might want to not keep him on your couch, bloody diarrhea plus more vomiting and he may be too weak to get up and move. By all means though keep him comfortable, you could put some plastic sheeting or large trash bags down and then put blankets down. Watch he doesnt overheat, they can be running a fever, dont keep blankets on him if he is....and if you feel his feet, ears etc getting cold then it could be shock, he would need to go back to the vet. Other than that follow your vets instructions on when to give the meds (this is another reason why its best to have them in the hospital, some antibiotics can cause nausea....sometimes just the irritation from the anti-nausea meds is enough to start the vomiting again.)

 

The reason he didn't stay at our vet is because he couldn't. They are closed tomorrow and I believe on Monday for Memorial Day. We were told we could take him to the emergency veterinary clinic, but that would cost SO much (not that our dog isn't worth it; it would simply just be too much, especially because I have read that some animals have to stay there for close to a week and that doesn't necessarily mean survival). Anyway, we were also given a bag of some kind of saline solution with an IV needle that is inserted under Mutley's (my dog's) skin on his back to hydrate him because he was unable to hold down fluids orally. It seems to be working well. We are following all of the doctors directions on the meds and he's looking a little better. He still doesn't want to get up, though, which I totally understand. It is going on 8:30pm here and the last time he threw up was a 3:30pm (i've been keeping track of everything), and I hope that means the nausea is subsiding. Still no appetite, but I think that isn't the major concern as of this moment. Also, he has really watery diarrea, but only a very small amount came out. Does that mean his fluids aren't be wasted; that maybe he's absorbing the fluids like he should be? He looks OK right now, but I know his chances are 50/50, so i'm still worried. Oh! By the way, he snapped at someone for touching his back where the needle was inserted, so that kind of made me feel like he is alert and still has fight inside himself. If there are any other suggestions you can give me, i'm all ears. This is my first dog to have Parvo and I will do anything to help my little Mutley boy. Thank you for all of your help so far.

 

I totally understand about the finances.

Its good youve got the fluids to give him under the skin. It is going to hurt...we place the needles usually between the shoulder blades but you can move to different spots each time...what I used to do with pets that get fluids like this regularly is go a bit more to the left, then the next time more to the right then the next time about in the middle and you can move a little further up or down (dont go too close to the back of the neck as the fluids will make the skin tighter when hes 'filling up' and it would be uncomfortable if the skin pulls up around his throat.

Make sure your using a clean needle each time, 2 reasons, one is less chance of introducing bacteria into the skin and the other is once theyve been used they do get pretty blunt so they hurt a bit more. (your vet should have provided you with enough), they also generally use 18gage needles so there pretty big and after accidentally sticking my own fingers a few times with them I know they hurt

So, no surprize that hes got a little snappy when his back is touched, just maybe place a towel over his head or have someone hold his head when you put the needle in, sometimes even if a dog is not trying to bite you its that quick 'ouch' where they open their mouth....he could catch your hand or arm. Personally I would much rather see a dog with parvo making an effort to let you know it hurts than to just be laying there letting you do whatever you want.

For every load of fluids you get into him and the lack of vomiting and diarrhea then thats good, it means he is absorbing the fluids and theyre staying put, its the dehydration from the V and D that will usually cause death from parvo. Dont rush him into taking anything orally, too soon and the vomiting will start again and too much when he does have some appetite back will make him vomit. Generally you wont start giving oral liquid until 24 hours with no vomiting....and then you would start off with no more than a teaspoon full about every 20-30 minutes, after a couple of hours of doing this then you can increase the amount to about a tablespoon full with intervals inbetween, if the dog keeps it all down for 24 hours then increase to about half a cup....if he does start to vomit some back up then just wait for about 2 hours....then start again with a little less.

As for the food, after 24 hours of taking liquid (I havent used Rebound but Ive heard a lot of good things about it, I usually use plain Pedialyte) and keeping it down you could try a very small amount of food. If you dont have a specific bland dog food from the vet (usually its something like Prescription Diet I/D) then Ill start with something like boiled rice, boiled chicken, or even some chicken broth....again though very small amounts at intervals....like one bite every half hour....same again if he vomits after it, wait 2 hours and then start with a smaller amount.

Your doing exactly the right things with keeping a log of everything he does, I would give the vet an update on Tuesday morning.

Generally from when dogs are diagnosed with parvo its around 4 or 5 days before they can take anything orally again, some dogs less and some more. What you do need to watch for is if your getting into about day 6 and he cant keep anything down. Weve had dogs go as long as about 8 days with no food or water but its usually not a good sign.

Dont encourage him to get up and move around, if he looks like he wants to get up and maybe go outside (bathroom) then by all means help him but hes going to be weak and you dont want him to overdo it, he needs all the energy he has to recover. Even when hes eating normally again and is up and around you still should give him about a week or so without going for walks more than 5 minutes, no playing ball or anything....a lot of the time they act like theyre feeling better but if they overdo it they can suddenly be wiped out again.

Also, just want to mention....the 'feeding instructions' Ive given is just a general guide, and its not to take the place of your vets instructions so like I said, please update your vet on Tuesday. Also if he goes downhill between now and then, definately contact your local emergency hospital.

Good luck.

 

Jessica,

Something else you may want to keep in mind, since Mutley is not really eating any food right now, it's important to keep his blood sugar from bottoming out. My vet recommended rubbing light Karo syrup on my puppies gums, I guess they absorb the sugar that way and it helps keep them from hypoglycemia.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

 

Looks like you are doing as much as you can. If you feel things are not getting better with him, get him back to the vets...
I really hope he pulls through for you..
Good luck and please let us know what happens..

 

Just wondering how your pups doing??

 

Me Too DeLaUK, I hope he is ok and pulled through ok.. :?

 

There is a self-help guide here by the makers of parvaid: http://www.ambertech.com/ppt/Parvo_Information_Self_Help_Guide.pdf. When I nursed a couple of puppies thorugh Parvo, I felt that Parvaid helped a lot, but of course there's no way to really know.

Did the vet give you antibiotics for your puppy? It is my understanding that secondary infections can be a major problem during parvo, because the wall of the intestines are compromised. You might ask your vet about this if he hasn't given you antibiotics.

It's also important to adjust the amount of subcutaneous fluids based on the size of the puppy and how much liquid he is taking by mouth (if any) and how much he is losing with the vomiting and diarrhea. Again, your vet can determine the correct amount which may have to be adjusted as time goes on.

Another thing that can be helpful is Reglan, an anti-nausea drug that may help your puppy be able to keep food or antibiotics down. One of my parvo pups couldn't even keep the Reglan pills down, so we went to injections every six hours. She didn't eat for many days, but finally I was able to start feeding her hourly with a mixture of an extremely small amount (about 1cc in a syringe with no needle) of Rebound (unflavored pedialyte would work, too) and a few drops of Parvaid. I gradually increased the amount over the next several days until she was eating on her own. All told, she was down with Parvo for about 10 days, most of which were filled with despair on my part because she was SO sick and I was exhausted from nursing her by myself around the clock.

I found that putting a towel on top of a waterproof layer - like a plastic tarp or even puppy pads - was a good way to contain the mess. If the pup vomits or has diarrhea, you can remove the towel and replace it with another and the floor underneath is protected. Wash everything in bleach!

Do be aware that after your pup is better, the virus will remain active in your house. Consult your vet about cleaning protocols and do NOT bring another pup under the age of six months into the house for at least a year.

Also realize that sometimes, despite doing everything you possibly can, these pups don't make it. Parvo is really hard to treat. Do the best you can, but don't feel guilty if your pup doesn't make it. On the flip side, they can seem REALLY bad and still pull out of it, so don't give up!

Don't forget to spend time with your pup, just sitting with him and talking to him and petting him. You can hold him in your lap if he seems to like that, but if not just stroke him gently and talk to him. Tell him how much you love him and whatever else you can think of. Sometimes love works better than any medicine.

 

I'm glad to say that my little Mutley is doing a lot better. He's eating, drinking and growling/barking at all the unfarmiliar people who come around. It seems like he's gotten REALLY protective of all of us since he's been sick. Earlier, he went outside and ran around for a while. He looks so much better now. It looks like he's lost a fair amount of weight since he's been sick, but I hope he'll get back to his normal weight after he eats a little more. Now, he has two new baby kittens to play with. He didn't like them the other day, but now that he's feeling a little better, he likes them. It's so cute! I know he's been sad since Kilo's been gone, so I hope the kittens are making him happy. I'll be sure to let you all know when Mutley's back to being 100%. Thanks for all your concerns and advice. It's been really helpful.

 

Great news! It is fairly common for parvo pups to relapse, so try to see that he doesn't overdo it. Ease him back into his regular food slowly. Don't worry about the weight - he will gain it back quickly.