PROBLEMS WEANING

Shih Tzu puppy will be 9 weeks old this Friday, he weighs just under 2 pounds. This is a litter of 6 ( 2 girls 4 boys) and he is the smallest. Mom and the rest of the puppies are doing great!

It is just this one boy, he is the smallest, he seemed to start eating the mush like the rest of them, and was doing good gaining weight like the rest, then he stopped refused to eat only wanted his moms milk.

He was very lethargic, so I gave him some plain pedialyte, this seemed to perk him up.

Had him to the vets, and of course he was perky there and she says he is healthy, and to try feeding him with a syringe esbilac mixed with canned puppy to a gruel. He refuses to eat this. He will take a little esbilac and pedialyte. Seems to like the pedialyte the most.

He is pooping and peeing okay, and burps good after I give him pedialyte and esbilac in syringe. But this morning he is lethargic again, and doesn't even want his mom.
Please does anyone have any advice, I have never had this happen before. Thanks for your help.

 

It could be parvo! Take him the the EMS VET asap jsut to be safe!

 

Hi i have to agree with sam on this sounds like there is an underlining problem that is causing your puppy to keep going lethargic.

At 9weeks old he should be able to eat 3-4 small meals perday and not be feeding from mum.

All puppies should be fully weaned of there mother by 8weeks of age as after this is the time for the females body to start going back to normal.
The longer the pups feed from her the more milk she will produce and can cause problems for her too.

Please let us know how the pup is doing as this is not normal at all.

Good luck and i will be thinking of you and your little furbaby

mike

 

I agree - get him to the vet again! Or another vet, for a second opinion.


Jamiya

 

I would take him to a different vet ASAP! Also, just to be safe, I would seperate him from the rest of the litter until you get all results back that it is not parvo.

 

Happy Healthy Otherwise

He is bouncing around doing all the good puppy things right now. He just won't eat, and I think this is what causes him to be lethargic in the morning. The rest of the litter are gobbling down their breakfast and he just lays there. So I give him some formulae in a syringe and some AD, and in about 5 minutes he perks back up, and is a bouncy puppy once again. I have tried everything to get him to eat - AD, esbilac mixed in, pablum, strained baby food chicken. He turns his head to all of it. Except sometimes he will lick syringe if it has pedialyte or formulae in it.
I have been breeding Shih Tzu fo 12 years and have never had a puppy like this one. He isn't skinny, he isn't dehydrated. His eyes are bright, good colour, and his nose is cold and wet. Just a happy, healthy little boy, except he won't eat.
Any other suggestions would be appreciated, from anyone has experienced this type of problem.
Thank you for your replies.

 

just because he's a happy puppy, doesn't mean he doesn't have parvo! Dogs can have parvo and act normal, just won't eat or drink. Then BOom they die, and people can't figure out why.

If your a breeder, and a reputable one, you would take him reguardless. Any abnormalities in a puppy or dogs behavior should be attended to, and researched thouroughly!!! If you've been breeding for 12 years, you should know that!

You also should know he should be weaned by now, fully. He's at the age where he can be adopted out, and you CAN NOT adopt out a puppy with ANY abnormalities, no matter what they might be.

Isolate him now, take him to the vet. Or if you don't and he does have parvo, the whole litter and whatever other dogs you have or come in contact with, can get it!

 

To Sam

I KNOW HE SHOULD BE WEANED BY NOW, WHY DO YOU THINK I'M SO WORRIED! THE REST OF THE LITTER WAS COMPLETELY WEANED AT 5 WEEKS.

HE DOES NOT HAVE PARVO I HAVE TAKEN HIM TO SEE TWO VETS, THEY SAY HE IS NORMAL THEY HAVE DONE ALL THE TESTS, INCLUDING BLOOD TESTS.

I AM VERY CAREFUL WITH MY PUPPIES THEY DO NOT GET ADOPTED OUT UNTIL THEY ARE 12-14 WEEKS, AS REPUTABLE SHIH TZU BREEDERS AGREE IS THE PERFECT AGE FOR SHIH TZU. mY PUPPIES ONLY GO TO APPROVED HOMES.

I would like to know of anyone who has had a similiar problem, has anyone?
Thank you!

 

they are just giving you advice. if these arent the answers you would like to hear then go elsewhere. if you are worried, keep taking him to different vets until one finds out the problem.

 

Hi i am sorry but i have been breeding dogs for years and it is NOT normal for a 9week old puppy to be off food and lethargic.

Something has to be causing this problem and its does sound like parvo.
As you say he is lethargic on a morning then when you give him Formula and AD he picks up this shows he is dehydrated and dogs dont get dehydrated unless there is something wrong.

I have the funny feeling that this puppy has not even seen a vet yet as they would not have said he was healthy and normal not with all the problems he is having.

A normal 9week old puppy should be a good eater drinks well and is very bouncy lively all the time.

Has the puppies come in contact with other people apart from the members of the household.
If So did you ask them to wash there hands did you ask them to take off there shoes or use wipes designed to kill viruses from the bottom of shoes.

If this poor little guy does have parvo or distepmer you can bet your life the rest of the litter is going to contract it too.

It has been known for a blood test to not show the parvo and distemper virus until its too late.

Dehydration in an adult dog is bad enough but in a puppy this is worse.

Have the puppies had there first shots?
Have the puppies been wormed they should have had 4 rounds of worming treatment as i worm my puppies at 2weeks 4weeks 6weeks 6weeks 10 weeks and 12weeks then its upto the new owners to worm the puppies every 3months.

Dont take offence to anyones posts as everyone here has experience in most things and you can bet your life most have come acrross parvo and know the signs and symptoms.

I not only breed i have trained as a vetrinary nurse and i have worked for animal shelters.
I used to take in sick and injured animals and nurse them back to health.

But please try a different vet as this puppy is not normal at all if its not a virus then you need to find out what it is before its too late.

Get blood works done xrays of the abdomen stuff like that tell the vet you want full works done.

As this little guy wont survive for long if you dont find the cause.

Good luck and dont take offence to any answers on the boards.

mike

 

Sorry if I came off too strong for you. But if you say you've been a reputable breeder for 12 years now, then you should be doing ALL that you can to help this little guy. You should know, that isolation is necessary, and any puppy with any abnormalities is a HUGE risk to the entire family.

The puppy is getting dehydrated at night, the pedialyte is perking him up a bit, but thats why he gets lathargic again. I find it hard to believe that any vet would declair him healthy if there are any problems persisting.

I imagine the pup has gotten skinny by now. A normal puppy should be eating a minimum of three small meals aday. Since youclaim he's not eating at all, he's bound to be malnourished, and thats not going to contribute to his health at all either.

Please, I'm not trying to bash you, or banter you, I'm worried for the welfare of the puppy.

 

I don't have any experience with this at all, but I am wondering if getting up at night to feed this pup would be in order?


Jamiya

 

Hi Lori I have dealt with a similar situation although puppy was younger, and not lethargic but a very fussy eater and smaller than the rest. Preferred moms milk. I realized I was expecting her to eat the same amount as her littermates but since she was smaller she really didn't need to eat as much. Eventually caught up. She is now older and healthy, happy and the same size as her litter mates. One thought comes to mind - have your pups recently been vaccinated? This one pup may be having a reaction to the vaccine. Lethargy is a common symptom. Can last for a few days but I would bring him to see a homeopathic vet where they can give a remedy like thuja or something else appropriate. May be that his immune system is not up to par. Good luck sorry I couldn't have been more helpful.

 

Lori: When I worked at the Vet clinic we saw puppies and kittens come in with simular symptons. A lot of times they were suffering from Hypoglycemia which is low blood sugar. Severe cases will crash all together or have seizures.

Try giving the pup some sugar water or karo syrup in an eye dropper or syringe and see if the pup perks up. If he does, this just might be what he has. This might be why he seems more active after the pedialyte.

Here's a website that tells you a little more about it. Read it and if you notice any of the symptoms, tell you vet to do more testing. Also, I want to add is that this is found mostly in small breed dogs and can correct itself as the puppy becomes bigger and can store more glucose.

www.canine-seizures.freeservers.com/hypoglycemia.htm