[Gofish82]

Hello. I am a new owner of a 3week old Siberian Husky. I have him this young because someone abandoned him and left him in a hole so I took him in. I took him to the vet and they de-wormed him and put frontline on him for flees. They gave him milk for the first week. They told me I don't need to give him milk anymore than I can feed him dog food mixed with water. I did not underatand that because he was only 2 weeks old. So for the first week that was great, and now the second week his poop is soupy and he uses the bathroom every two hours. He eats pedegree. Does anyone have advice on how to change this poop problem?

[tickle]

I think they dewormed him too early, and a good warm bath with flea shampoo would have been my choice and was actually when I rescued my walker hound 15 years ago.

Anyway, the food. A good grade puppy chow, high in protein and softened with diluted evaporated milk, two to one, I added a small portion of infant rice cereal, mush it all up, will be messy for that lovely baby but better then what vet suggested.

You are the parent now of a lovely breed and always remember it is a working breed needing lots of stimulation.

Good luck!

[Gofish82]

Thank you @tickle. Would you suggest a certain name brand of food for my pup? I am new to having such a young dog.

[Gofish82]

I think they dewormed him too early, and a good warm bath with flea shampoo would have been my choice and was actually when I rescued my walker hound 15 years ago.

Anyway, the food. A good grade puppy chow, high in protein and softened with diluted evaporated milk, two to one, I added a small portion of infant rice cereal, mush it all up, will be messy for that lovely baby but better then what vet suggested.

You are the parent now of a lovely breed and always remember it is a working breed needing lots of stimulation.

Good luck!

Thank you tickle. What dog food do you recommend?

[tickle]

Thank you @tickle. Would you suggest a certain name brand of food for my pup? I am new to having such a young dog.

I used Iams Puppy Chow, (and adult Iams for my present girl), they have age appropriate foods, but others, who may post here, may have preferences too. Iams isn't cheap by any means here in Ontario.

Your 'young' dog will grow really fast, and don't be alarmed if she sleeps a lot, they grow while they sleep.

I hope your vet mentioned times for proper vaccinations, if not, don't forget that.

[LadySam]

Are you certain about the age? Is it possible that you misunderstood them?
A 3 week old pup is too young for Frontline.

[Gofish82]

Are you certain about the age? Is it possible that you misunderstood them?
A 3 week old pup is too young for Frontline.

Yes I am very positive. I didn't tell them to do any of it. He was abandoned and I got him from a vet and they told me what they had already done. His ears aren't even open yet and eyes are still cloudy. He is just now starting to grow teeth.

[LadySam]

When was the Frontline put on?
It really sound like he should still be drinking puppy replacement milk also.
Is he peeing and pooping on his own at all or are you stimulating him still?

[Alty]

I agree with LadySam, and I'm shocked that the vet dewormed and used frontline on a puppy this young. Also, at 3 weeks of age he would still be nursing. It sounds like his little tummy can't handle dog food.

My vet recommends Iams. I myself don't use it because our puppy wouldn't eat it, but our vet said that if you're going to go with a commercial dog food Iams would be her choice.

Make sure to water down the food very well, and if you decide to switch do so gradually. Start with 1/4 new food and 3/4 of the old, wait a few days. If he doesn't have a reaction (loose stools or vomiting) then 1/2 new food and 1/2 old for a few days. Wait for a reaction again, if there is none then 3/4 new food and 1/4 old. Wait again, and if no reaction switch completely to the new food. This is very important, especially with a very young puppy that's already experiencing loose bowel movements.

I would also highly recommend finding a different vet.

Good luck with your pup.

[Lucky098]

Oh wow.. this is a baby still.

He still needs a bottle... she should be bottle fed (ideally) until 5wks.

You can still offer hard food... if he were with his mom, he would be starting to eat hard food, but won't be eating it as an actual meal until closer to 5 weeks.

Wash this pup in dawn dishsoap to help get the frontline off. Dishsoap with cool water will also help repel fleas.. All flea products have it on the label saying that puppies under 6/8wks shouldn't have it applied to them.

I'm not a fan of Iams.. there is better food out there than Iams.. For growing puppies, I've had great luck with Purina Pro Plan puppy.. Its what the breeders use and it produces nice, healthy puppies.

I don't think he was wormed to early. He should actually be wormed again in about a month. Most wormers are pretty safe to use. I doubt he got sick from the wormer. I'm sure he is sick from the frontline, worms or intestinal parasites or possibly lack of groceries... Puppies this young are also not drinking much on their own. Unfortunately, the less water that is in your body, the more diarrhea you have. Which is why I recommend to bottle feed this pup... at least until he is doing better.

Hold this baby every chance you get. He needs closeness and warmth. Feed him what he needs.. Give him a bottle every 4-5 hours and offer hard kibbles three times a day to see if he becomes interested. If he doesn't, no big deal.. keep bottle feeding him.

GO TO A DIFFERENT VET!

Just because they are a vet, doesn't make them any good.

Purchase some baby bottles and some puppy milk replacer...

This pup is also susceptible to disease such as parvovirus and canine distemper. Keep everything as clean as possible and spray your shoes with bleach before entering the home. Potty pads are an OK thing to use right now.. This pup shouldn't even set foot outside until he's had at least one vaccination.

[LadySam]

Great advice given by Alty and Lucky, I totally agree especially with finding a different vet, this one took risks that should not be taken with this very young puppy.
And do get him bathed but remember to not let him get chilled.

Edit:
Some information on caring for orphans

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/orphan_kittens.html

I realize it says kittens but it covers both

[Alty]

Wonderful post Lucky, wish I could greenie you twice.

I do have to ask about the de-wormer. Our vet never de-worms until 5 weeks of age. I always thought that was the norm, and that a young pup couldn't handle the de-worming before that age. Not disagreeing with you, just wondering about it.

[Lucky098]

If a puppy came from a normal home, there is no need to other than maintenance.

You can worm at 3,6,8 and 12 weeks to help get rid of any parasites. Breeders should be worming their puppies like that.. If you take in a litter of pups, the vet will more than likely advise to worm them. Parasites can cross through the milk & placenta... So the earlier you can kill off the worms, the better your puppies will be and the healthier they will be too

[Lucky098]

Oh, and Pyrantel Pomoate, which is the most common wormer, is very easy on the gut. Only in high doses would they become toxic off it.

Medicine has changed a lot :P Some doctors aren't with the times.. others don't see a need for it. Plus I don't trust your vet haha

[Gofish82]

When was the Frontline put on?
It really sound like he should still be drinking puppy replacement milk also.
Is he peeing and pooping on his own at all or are you stimulating him still?

They put the frontline on him last week Wednesday. And yes he is using the bathroom on his own. It's every two hours though. When I used the puppy replacent milk that's when his stool started to get soupy.

[LadySam]

With a puppy this young diarrhea can be devastating to his delicate system.
And WOW, I can't believe a vet put frontline on a puppy that didn't have a tooth in his head.
The best suggestion for you is to have him checked again, preferably by a different vet, in fact most assuredly by a different vet. Have them check a fecal sample to check for other parasites like coccidia.
Try stimulating him to have a bowel movement and see what you get, they usually are not going on their own until about 3 weeks of age.
The consistency of the stool will be a little loose while on the formula, but should not be watery. I can't get a good handle on what you are referring to as soupy.
Pudding like is normal.
If you think the stools are to loose or are watery, you can increase the amount of water you use to mix formula in order to replace the fluid loss.
But I would say that a check up by another vet, given the way this baby was handled by the previous vet, would be a wise thing to do.
You don't want to take chances with something this small.

[Alty]

I second that, emphatically.

Please see a different vet. It pains me that a vet actually used frontline on a puppy this young. This could have killed the pup.

Sadly there's always someone at the bottom of the graduating class, and it sounds like your vet was that person.

A new vet is definitely in order. In my lifetime of having pets, which has been since I was born, I've been to many different vets. I've found two I completely trust, and sadly they are no longer available. Right now I'm also with a vet I don't completely trust. Just because they're supposed to know, doesn't mean they do. The vet I have now doesn't even know that cotton balls, after a dog ate chicken bones, is what you're supposed to do. In fact, she called me crazy when I told her that's what we tried to do (our pup wouldn't eat the cotton balls so I used the bread instead) when our pup got into some chicken bones. That's pet care 101, but she had no clue!

Shop around for a better vet. The one you have now doesn't know a puppy from a guinea pig. Just my opinion.

Also, we'd love pictures of your fur baby. If you need help posting one, let me know, I'll post a link of instructions.

[Gofish82]

I second that, emphatically.

Please see a different vet. It pains me that a vet actually used frontline on a puppy this young. This could have killed the pup.

Sadly there's always someone at the bottom of the graduating class, and it sounds like your vet was that person.

A new vet is definitely in order. In my lifetime of having pets, which has been since I was born, I've been to many different vets. I've found two I completely trust, and sadly they are no longer available. Right now I'm also with a vet I don't completely trust. Just because they're supposed to know, doesn't mean they do. The vet I have now doesn't even know that cotton balls, after a dog ate chicken bones, is what you're supposed to do. In fact, she called me crazy when I told her that's what we tried to do (our pup wouldn't eat the cotton balls so I used the bread instead) when our pup got into some chicken bones. That's pet care 101, but she had no clue!

Shop around for a better vet. The one you have now doesn't know a puppy from a guinea pig. Just my opinion.

Also, we'd love pictures of your fur baby. If you need help posting one, let me know, I'll post a link of instructions.

Wow! That goes to show you that everyone that has a job title doesn't know what they are doing. All they have is a title, but sure I will post a pic. Send me the link.

[Alty]

Here you go:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/h...re-678901.html

That link will give you step by step fool proof instructions on posting a picture. :)