[mumof4]

Hey, I just received a 3 week old German Sheppard I bought from a lady a province away. I am not familiar with young pups, so I'm hoping you can help me... He sleeps all the time, has diarreah, and whines a lot as he eats... Is this due to his age or is he showing signs of sickness? I want to take him to the vet, but we don't have one here where I live, they only come to town once a month. I did make an appointment for Thursday when the vet dose get here, but until then, I would love to put my mind at ease! Can someone please help?:confused:

[J_9]

I have moved your question to the Dogs section of the site where it will be seen by our wonderful expert Labman and his co-horts in the canine specialty.

The Other Health & Wellness category is a topic for us homosapiens

[whiteladybug2002]

Puppies can get parvo, which is a bad BAD virus for puppies! I don't mean to scare you, but parvo has a slim survival rate. I have a dog that had parvo as a puppy and survived, after 2 weeks in the hospital, three blood transfusions, and constant vet attention. It was a pain staking process, but it ended well. Parvo causes vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargic. If it is parvo, it is the utmost importance to see the vet asap!

But on the brighter side, this puppy is only 3 weeks old! He could be home sick! He may not like the food or the food is not right for him.

Good Luck and God Bless You!

[labman]

If it is really a 3 week old puppy, it may not survive even if it doesn't have parvo. 3 weeks is way too young to leave its mother and litter. If it is eating solid food, it may be older. A 3 week old puppy would just be starting solid food. It would sleep a lot, and have soft, but not runny stools. I am afraid however old it is, it is sick and won't make it until Thursday without vet care. Try to limit the area you have it in. Any area it may contaminate with parvo virus, won't be safe for another puppy for 6 months unless cleaned with bleach.

If you can't get it vet care, try to keep its fluids and electrolytes up by giving it Pedalyte or Gator Ade. For more on parvo, here is a reliable web site, Canine Parvovirus, What you should know about

For general puppy care, see the sticky at the top of the dog forum, https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251809

[Jessyfay]

3 weeks is young to take a pup away from it's mum, but I would recommend keeping it's fluids up, try buying a baby bottle and letting him drink from it while cuddling him so he can feel nurtured. Poor thing, due post what the vet says on Thursday.
If you still can contact the woman you bought him from, let her know that he's not doing to well and that way she can warn the other pup owners to keep an eye out, you should let her know also that she really shouldn't be removing the pups from their mum for at least 10 weeks.

Another eating alternative is putting really water down food into the baby bottle or if he's really not eating try soy milk, DON'T GIVE DAIRY