[MakitaAyema]

I have owned a lot of dogs in my lifetime and have always been able to figure out ways of teaching them how to behave without hitting them or being mean in anyway. I just adopted a puppy that a family dropped off at my home saying they didn't want it and wanted to get the mother fixed. The puppy is only about 6 weeks old and not quite old enough to be completely free of its mother, but the people refused to keep it.

She is very playful and smart. I have only had her for a day and already she knows to go to the door to go out. We've only had one accident and its my fault I wasn't to the door in time for her, but she did make it to the door. My problem is that the only way I have found to get her to eat is to put her food in a bowl with some warm water, but even then she merely drinks the water. I have never seen this but she won't even go near the bowl unless I stand near it and she acts as if there's something in the bowl that's going to grab her... its rather amusing to watch. She will stand as far away from the bowl as she can strech her neck towards the bowl on her tip toes so that she's bearly close enough to drink. Then she occasionaly jump back and whine as if something has scared her away from her bowl. I have tried petting her and holding her gently closer to the bowl to assure her that its OK. But it doesn't seem to be working. In fact so far the only way I have gotten her to eat is to pick the food up and hold it out to her. I tried holding it out to her and leading her nose to the bowl and dropping it but she just pulls back and cries. I have never seen this before, any suggestions?

Should I be giving her a mothers milk supplement for another week or two and ween her off myself?

[RubyPitbull]

I think it would be a good idea to try the supplement. It appears that these people did not introduce any puppy chow before dumping this poor little thing onto you. Thank you for having such a good heart and taking her in. Try the supplement for the next few days and keep on doing what you have been doing with the food. Next week, you might want to call your vet, schedule a complete health check and start her on the necessary vaccination schedule. Parvo virus seems to have been rampant lately and you want to ensure that she is given every chance for survival. At this age, don't allow her to interact with any other dogs and make sure that she is in a carrier when you bring her into the vets office. Ensure she has as little physical contact with any areas that another dog may have been in. Make a list of all your questions and concerns and bring it with you to the vet when you show up at the appointment. This way you won't forget anything. The vet can give you other tips or suggestions regarding training her to eat chow.

[MakitaAyema]

I took my little girl to the vet to find that she has worms(round and hook), fleas and ear mites. We got her distemper, parvo and kennel cough shots. The kennel cough shot because there was another dog in the vet at the same time whom they thought either had heartworms or kennel cough.

hopefully in the next few days she will be eating on her own=o)

[RubyPitbull]

I am glad that you were able to get her into the vet today. That poor little puppy. You are a true ANGEL Makita! That dog now has a great chance of survival being under your watchful care.

[MakitaAyema]

We named the little puppy Nala, but unfortunately she past away. We had an autopsy done and they say she died of parvo... they said the incubation period is 7 days so she had it before we got her but went nnoticed when I took her to the vet

[labman]

I am very sorry to hear that. That is at least the second report here of a puppy dying of parvo this week, and I am concerned about a couple of others.

[RubyPitbull]

I am so sorry Mak. Be comforted in the fact that you did all the right & responsible things by this poor dog. Parvo does get missed quite often when it is in the incubation stage. It is so frustrating because even if it doesn't get missed, most of the time we just need to make sure the pup doesn't get dehydrated while it's little body tries to fight off the infection. I agree Labman, I am concerned about a couple of other people here posting. It is very upsetting that we are seeing so many pups being lost to parvo this year.