[seeker]

I just got a puppy yesterday.He's a beagle.I have no idea how old he is or anything.Where we got him from, was terrible.The people should be put in jail, for how bad the puppies looked.One puppy had 5 ticks in his ears, it was terrible.

I have two questions actually.My first one is.His stool is really black and bloody.I was wondering, what that could be from? I'm thinking he has worms.

The second question is.He has little bumps all over his stomach.My husband and I think it's probably from the fleas.What do you guys think?


Thanks!



-Nicci

[Gkhster]

Nicci,

You hit upon one of the two things I love to talk about! Beagles are one, and Daschunds are the other!

Seriously though, let's talk about your little Beagle. It sounds like you've got good instincts on both counts.

The dark and bloody stools are most likely worms. Worms seem to be somewhat common in Beagles that come from 'group homes'. My Beagle developed a similar case of bloody dark stools shortly after she adopted me. A trip to the vet, and a de-worming had her quickly on the mend. She started to improve within 18-24 hours. If worms are untreated they can cause major organ damage and death.

I should mention that there are other problems besides worms that could cause bloody stools. A good vet will take a rectal swipe and look at it with a microscope to be sure. Some form of worms would certainly top the list of possibilities.

The belly bumps are likely to be fleas. Of course, since you have no idea of what he has been exposed to, other possibilites exist. You can discuss various flea and tick treatments with your vet.

Since you do not know the age, I'd say his vaccination history is un-known too. I urge you to get him started with his shots.

Your vet should give him a good going over. Beagles are quite healthy, but a check up sounds in order judging from his background.

Is he neutered? If your vet says he is old enough, I'd urge you to go ahead with it. Besides less unwanted puppies, generally he will roam less. (Though a Beagle is always going to follow his nose!)

I know that this sounds like a lot. I haven't even mentioned fencing and obedience classes. (Well I guess I just did!)

My Ruthie came from a hunter. She failed in hunting, but she passes with flying colors as my companion. Ruthie took a few months for her beautiful personality to unfold. As time goes on, she is more confident and playful.

I tell you that to encourage you to pour as much love into your new family member. Most Beagles are loving and smart, (and yes, a little stubborn!) Spend time loving him, massaging him, talking to him, and even singing to him. From your website, the singing part should be easy!

I am confident that he will brighten your life. Now all you need is a daschund! :)

If you want to see the pictures of my 'children' that are currently in my wallet, visit:
http://www.guyhenry.com/index.asp?article=69

Stay in touch. Let us know how he is doing. Feel free to ask more questions.

Guy

[labman]

It is very sad that way some people treat their dogs. Thank you for taking that puppy and caring enough to help it. Medical problems do not work well on the web. The bloody stools are a severe problem. I don't think the bumps on the stomach are a flea problem. Perhaps other bugs, or an immune system that hasn't kicked in yet. Best thing to do is to get him to a vet right away. Take a stool sample. The vet can tell exactly what kind or kinds of worms he has and prescribe effective treatments. When he sees the bumps, he should recognize the problem and know the best way to fix it.

With heartworm, parvo, Lyme disease, etc. puppies must have their shots if they are going to have much of a chance. The vets also have the best flea treatments. I am using Revolution on my 2 dogs. It is expensive, but convenient to use and protects the dogs from both fleas and heartworm. It is not the best for ticks. I had been fairly casual about flea treatment, but last fall I was given an older dog that developed flea allergies before the good stuff was available, and I feel I must aggressively treat her and my younger dog.

The teeth are the best indicator of the puppy's age. Small and tightly spaced, a month or 2. They then become more widely spaced and start falling out. By 4 months, the front teeth have been replaced by larger adult ones looking too big to match the canine teeth. The canine teeth are not replace with the adult ones until about 5 months.

Some people say Beagles are hard to housebreak. Since the length of answers here is limited, I will make a separate post on it

[labman]

Much of housebreaking is not training the puppy, but making it easier for your
Puppy, you, and your carpet while its body to catches up to its instincts. At
Around 8 weeks when the puppy goes to its new home, the time from when it
Realizes it has to go, and when it can't wait any longer is a matter of
Seconds. Only time will fix that. You can hardly be expected to be attentive
Enough to avoid all accidents There is no sense punishing the puppy for your
Inattention. It is not fair to punish you either, but you still have to clean
It up if you didn't have the puppy outside in time.

Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don't have
A crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the
Bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking
Hazards. A wire rack in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of
Accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but a piece of closely
Spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. If you
Already have a metal crate, covering it may help. Just make sure you use
Something the puppy can't pull in and chew. Dogs that start in crates as
Little puppies, accept them very well. Never leave an unattended puppy loose
In the house. If nobody can watch it, put it in the crate. I suggest letting
The dog have its crate all its life.

Choose a command and spot you want it to use. The less accessible to strays,
The less chance of serious disease. If it is a female, choosing a
Non grassy spot will avoid brown spots later. When you bring it home, take it
To the spot and give it the command in a firm, but friendly voice. Keep
Repeating the command and let the puppy sniff around. If it does anything,
Praise it. Really let it know what a good dog it is and how much you love it,
And maybe a treat. Note, being out there not only means you can praise it,
But it also keeps it from being snatched by a hawk. If it doesn't go, take it
Inside and give it a drink and any meals scheduled. A young puppy will need to
Go out immediately afterward. Go to the spot and follow the above routine.
Praising it if it goes is extremely important. If it doesn't go, take it back
Inside and put it in its crate and try again soon. Do not let it loose in the
House until it does go.

At first it is your responsibility to know and take the puppy out when it
Needs to go. It needs to go out the first thing in the morning, after eating,
Drinking, and sleeping. If it quits playing, and starts running around
Sniffing, it is looking for a place to go. Take it out quickly. You will just
Have to be what I call puppy broke until it is a little older.

By the time most dogs are about 3 months old, they have figured out that if
They go to the door and stand, you will let them out. The praise slowly shifts
To going to the door. Some people hang a bell there for the dog to paw. If
Your dog doesn't figure this out, try praising it and putting it out if it
Even gets near the door. A stern "Bad dog!" is all the punishment that is
Effective, and only when you catch it in the act and are sure you didn't miss
It going to the door. Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little
Puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam
Sometimes. First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel. Keep moving
It and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry. A couple big putty knives
Work well on bowel movements. Just slide one under it while holding it with
The other. This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet.
This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house
Plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids. Finish up with a good
Shot of carpet foam. Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam.
Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

[seeker]

Thanks you guys! My husband and I will get him to the vet, as soon as we can.It's kind of a money issue.

I was wondering.. Does store bought wormer work?

Also, we have a bad flea problem around here.My husband and I didn't know about it, until we moved in here.We give the animals we have inside bathes every other day.But as soon as they go back outside, they get right back on them.. What is a good enexpensive flea treatment for the yard, to buy?


Thanks!



-Nicci

[Gkhster]

I would stay away from the store bought wormers in this situation.

Even though worms are a likely culprit, giving a wormer could be harmful if something else is causing the bloody stools.

Truth be known, I don't trust the wal-mart de-wormers with something as important as my canine children. The stuff I get from my vet seems to work well, and quite quickly.

I know that Veterinarians can be expensive. When you consider how regular visits with one will help your little Beagle lead a healthy and long life, then writing out the check isn't so bad!

I can't recommend waiting for very long to see a vet. Besides the dehydration, organ damage and risk of death, it has to feel horrible for the puppy. Call around your area and get some quotes for office visits. I find that vet prices vary greatly where I live.

I don't have any experience with outdoor flea control. There are hours of reading on it available by google'ing

http://www.google.com/search?q=outdo...treatment+safe

Let us know what happens. Best of luck,

Guy

[labman]

You could try some of the over the counter wormers. I have had my dogs on Heartgard+ which also controls many other types of worms, and haven't had any worms in many years. Of course the Heartgard comes from the vet. Most of the packages describe the symptoms of the worms the material treats.

Frequent bathing is more likely to cause dry skin than solve flea problems. When you do bath a dog, be very fanatical about rinsing out the last bit of soap. Maybe even finish with a conditioner.

My friends have had good luck with Advantage for fleas. I have tried some of the cheaper cream style products and did not like the streak they left down the dog's back. It seems to vary with the dog. If you have all the dogs and cats in the house on the better flea controls, you may not need outside control. Note, dogs and cats are different, requiring their own specialized flea remedies.

If you have a well established flea population you may need to treat the house and yard as well as the animals. Look around and see what places such as Wal-Mart have. Also don't over look Big Lots or other liquidators your area may have. Sometimes you can find good stuff there at a very good price. Read the labels and follow directions carefully. It takes poisons to kill fleas. Misused, they can harm you and your pets.

Do not think any of this over the counter stuff is any substitute for getting that puppy to the vet for a check up and shots. One sniff of a place where a sick dog relieved itself in the last 6 months can kill a young puppy that hasn't had its shots.

[GREENEYESTXS29]

I Have A 4 Month Old Cocker Spaniel That Woke Up This Morning And Had Black Bloody Diarreah. He Has Been Rejecting All Puppy Foods I Buy Him Since I Bought Him. I Don't Know What Else To Do Cause He Refuses To Eat. I Treated Him With Strongil For Worms. But If This Doesn't Work, What Else Can It Be?

[labman]

I am not sure, but likely nothing to mess around with trying other over the counter remidies. Get him to the vet.

[EricTX]

I bought an 8 week y/o beagle female Friday, it came home with me and smelled my shoes I wear on the Medical Unit at the hospital. For the past two days she has been lethargic, annorexic, vomiting, diarrhea that has produced red blood as of today, Sunday. This is definantly not the old separation anxiety or the swallowing of the foreign body. As one poster said earlier the poorly developed immune system and gastrointestinal tract are prime real estate for anything small enough to hop into this little gal. I'm not going to go as far as parvo because her respirations are prettier than the pinkest newborn. I will say that I have a good feeling that what ever nosocomial bugs were on my shoes had a good chance to make their way into this puppies blood rich intestines. So the first thing I've done is gave this dog a good bath, totally submerged with baby shampoo. I fed the pupg some mountain dew, the carbonation helps settle the stomach and the caffeine stimulates blood flow to the stomach. After that I was able to force feed her without her vomitting. Seeing that the mountain dew is a rather crude technique I'm going to switch to children's benedryl (compatible with puppies) for its antihistamine / antiemetic effects. If the dog appears to continue to be lethargic ill give her some supplemental vitamins with her forced hydration and feedings. Knock on wood, but I don't see the blood as a real threat as of yet since the dog had chronic diarrhea for a little over a day before, more like a side effect of the inflammation from continuous flow and the antigens/toxins of the probable bacteria/virus. Im not too sure as to which bug it is since latin has never really been my language of choice but I would not be willing to count out Helicobacter, famous for its ability to cause bleedin ulcers in the stomachs of us human after it degrades healthy intestinal flora. Than again it could be salmonella, or anthrax? (joking about the last ( I hope)) So if its not gastroenteritis or is a superbug I will be at the local vetrinarian in a week. Best of luck with your friend, I'm off to CVS.

[labman]

''lethargic, anorexic, vomiting, diarrhea'' I hope you at least pickup some Pedilyte or whatever. Lethargic and diarrhea are the classic symptoms of parvo. The best chance for a puppy with parvo is an IV at the vet' office.