10 week old puppy: sick?

i just adopted a 10 week old lab/hound mix. he's absolutely adorable!!! but, this morning, he woke up howling to go outside, like usual, but his feces was runny (sorry for the gross details), and he dry heaved a couple times. he went "number 2" a few times, but it was runny. this is the first day this has happened. now he has been sleeping since this morning. i think the poor baby is worn out. i live in an apartment complex, so i am thinking that maybe he got ahold of something he shouldn't have, and it upset his tummy? please help, if you have any ideas or suggestions. jambalaya and i thank you!

 

There isn't much info to go on here. Has he had any vaccines? They are supposed to get them every 3 weeks up until 4 months of age. Dry heaving and having diarrhea could be warning signs of the beginning of Parvo. The fact that he's listless and sleeping a lot makes it even more suspicious of Parvo. I'd get him to the vet just as soon as you possibly can. If it IS Parvo, the sooner he is taken to the vet, the better his chances are of recovering from it. In any case, he should be going to the vet for a check-up and vaccinations. Its the very first thing you should do when you get a new puppy. Good luck.

 

He is up to date on all his shots, according to the paperwork from the shelter. I also have the vaccination schedule for him, so we've got that covered I called the vet's office this afternoon, and they said that the diarrhea could be caused by not feeding him the same food as his breeders did. (another dog I adopted from this shelter had runny feces as well, until I switched him to Purina, and then he was much better). They suggested giving him a dose of Pepto Bismol or Kaopectate and keeping an eye on him. Hopefully, they're right and it's nothing too serious.

 

If it's only a poo problem and not an attitude issue...( if he's not listless or anything...)... Do this for a few days:

No food for 12 hours or so first... THEN feed Rice and boiled Chicken breast no skin and low fat yogurt for a couple days...add food slowly (lamb and rice of whatever brand you feed now or feel comfortable with) and that should clear it up...

 

I'd still be worried that it is PARVO, and that is really serious if you wait a second too long, it could turn out worse. I think puppies can still get PaRVO up until their whole shot stuff is finshed.

 

Thank you! His attitude is definitely not an issue; he's as sweet as can be! Rambunctions lol but sweet! I will definitely try your suggestions. He's not listless per se; he is quite sleepy, but I know puppies need a lot of sleep. When I take him outside, he is pretty active, not as active as we was the past few days (i.e. jumping around and whatnot), but I figure that may be because he doesn't feel good? I have no problem getting him to walk around outside though, and once he wakes up, he goes back to chewing on my hand or my jeans and wagging his tail.

 

Not as active is a sign that you need to have him seen by a vet... NO CHANGE is what you're looking for...the idea that he is not feeling well would warrent a trip to the vet...especially at his age and ASAP... Feed Pedia lite till you can get him in to keep him from dehydrating (main cause of death from Parvo)... Sooooo... YES trip to vet!

 

Will do! He is getting another round of vaccinations tomorrow, so I will make sure they look into whatever it is that he has. I just took him outside; no diarrhea, and he seems to be getting more active! Crawling over stuff, running a little bit, gets excited when he sees people or other dogs and cats. I really hope this isn't Parvo. I don't want to lose my puppy!

 

Hi there sorry to hear your pup is not well. Continue to keep a close eye on him as I am sure you are. Hopefully it is just the food change that is causing upset. Parvo has a distinct odor and common symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting. There is a "sticky" about Parvo marked at the top of the forums if you'd like to read up more. A word of caution, while vaccines work for some dogs it is still possible for a vaccinated puppy to contract parvo. Nothing is foolproof.

One last thing please remember vaccines should only be given to dogs who are 100% healthy. Given that your dog has not been up to par I would hold off on the vac's until he is feeling himself. No need to add extra stress on his system - which is about to be challenged again. Unfortunately some vets ignore this and vaccinate anyway. Not right.

Good luck :y_the_best:

 

Pups are not fully vaccinated until about 17 weeks of age, the vaccines should start at 8 weeks of age and go every 3 weeks for 4 doses, a lot of vets are now recommending a further 2 sets of vax for 'high risk' breeds (for parvo) like Great Danes, Rotts, Dobies, Pits etc. The pup came from the shelter so I would definitely recommend a stool sample be done. Sometimes they are given a basic dewormer before leaving along with one vaccine, the basic dewormer usually doesnt get rid of tapeworm or coccidia.
Hopefully it is just the change in diet, a 10 week old puppy should be eating well about 3-4 times a day.
If it is parvo dont waste any time, the sooner treatment is started the better chance of survival, and there is a good survival rate with the proper care started early.

 

Thank you to everyone for all of your suggestions and advice. My sister and I called the emergency after-hours vet around 9pm on 3/3. He just kept getting worse and worse, and, like I was told to watch out for, he stopped drinking water. We took him to the animal hospital, and the vet (an absolute angel!) did the fecal test, within three minutes (!!!) it came up positive for parvo!!! Glad to see the shelter was doing their job! Needless to say, he was put on fluids right away, and admitted under "emergency care". It was heartbreaking!

But, he pulled through! He beat the parvo! He was released yesterday afternoon, and he is definitely what a puppy should be! Frisky, mouthy, hyper, huge appetite (finally that came back). My sister's co-workers told her that the vet we went to (which was a random choice) is the best in the city. So now our little Jambalaya is safe and sound, and howling at 6am for his breakfast!

I hope more people get informed about the horrors of parvo. The vet told us the shelter we adopted him from has had outbreaks before, and they have seen several puppies from that shelter with parvo. She warned a customer yesterday while we were sitting there to keep his puppies away from other dogs due to the outbreak.

Thank y'all so much!

 

Thank GOD he pulled through then!!! VERY glad you got him to the vet and we helped to give you an idea what to look for etc...

WOW...close call and so glad...

NOW for those pics???

 

i have posted pictures at http://www.geocities.com/nightmarehippychick/jamba.html

 

OMG What a DOLL!

 

what a cutie!! so glad he's ok now!!!

 

thankyou for taking your dog to the vet. so many people come on here and ignore our advice, either never to return or to come back and say their pup has died. its so wonderful to see a happy ending. your pup is gorgeous.

 

Such a cute baby! I'm so glad he pulled through.

 

Thats great news Jambalaya, ....and he's adorable.

 

Good for you! Like the others, I love to hear success stories, because people too often don't heed advice, and then its suddenly too late.