took puppy (3 mo) to vet about 1 wk ago for something that bit him..got all better then all of a sudden he just lies around hasnt eatten for about 2 days barely drinks water...has dry heaves and seems to be losing weight.....have offered wet food ..cuz what dog wont turn that down....didnt work.....any help will greatly be appreciated.....im scared hes not gonna make it til i can get him to vet on mon morn

labman

Unless he is already excessively thin, I don't think waiting until Monday will hurt. In fact the canned food was a mistake. Tempting a dog with rich food is nearly always the wrong thing to do. Besides, a sudden change in diet often causes digestive upsets which won't help the problem. Read through the sticky at http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/in...tml#post254171 Puppies are often too fat. To judge his weight, go to http://www.puppychow.com/products/po...condition.aspx You should ask the the vet to confirm your judgment.

poohgirl_cia

he wouldnt eat the wet food and when we took him to vet last week he weighed 18lbs but now u can see his rib caged.......do u think it might be parvo or something??? we've only had him for a short time but ive grown so attached to him......and dont want him to leave us

RubyPitbull

pooh, see if your dog will drink a little chicken broth or beef broth. You need to keep him hydrated.

Did you call the vet to see if anyone is covering emergency calls? If not, please do so and explain what is happening. If your vet cannot see him until first thing tomorrow morning, and you are uncomfortable waiting, check around and see if there is an Animal Hospital in your area. If there isn't one, and you still feel you cannot wait until tomorrow morning, call all the vets in the area. See if anyone will be willing to take you in today on an emergency call. If you can't get anywhere, you need to make it clear that you expect to be able to bring in your puppy when the vet opens his office first thing in the morning.

labman

Parvo usually has diarrhea, but there are other serious things. Seeking emergency care today is a judgment call. If anything does happen to him and you didn't, you will feel terrible. A chubby puppy with reserves of fat can go longer.

poohgirl_cia

update..........he has parvo

RubyPitbull

poohgirl, I am so sorry. Did the vet think it was caught in time to help him through it?

poohgirl_cia

update

he's got a 50/50 chance with the meds....so im doing a lot of praying.....in the process of writing this i managed to see him take his last few breaths........he didnt make it

labman

That is terrible. I feel so bad about not urging you to take him in for emergency treatment in my first post. It just didn't sound like parvo.

RubyPitbull

Oh pooh girl. I am so, so sorry.

It really takes a trained eye to recognize the symptoms early enough and then, it really is one of those 50/50 things. I know you feel upset and depressed, but please remember that this does occur and a lot of pups don't make it. It has nothing to do with you, or whether or not you did a good job taking care of him. You must believe this.

I hope this doesn't put you off adopting a dog in the future. Parvo doesn't discriminate between pups bought from breeders or pups adopted from a shelter. It is just a very unfortunate and devastating fact of life that all puppies are susceptible to. If you feel like talking, please post back.