[Lisa Blackburn]

I adopted a puppy from our local pound two days ago. He's about nine weeks old. At first, he was relatively playful, ate a bit (although not as much as I though he should), pooped once (solid) and seemed generally okay except for a hacking cough. I brought him to the vet yesterday, and he was found to have a temperature about a degree and a half above normal. The vet put him on antibiotics (Clavamox) and also gave me some tablets for cough and instructed me to administer one half tablet every eight hours. At about 3:45 a.m. the puppy's wimpering awakened me. I let him out of his kennel, and he went out and peed in the yard. Then, I put him back in his kennel. At about 7 a.m. I awoke to find a good bit of foul-smelling mucousy goo on his face, ears, etc. I cleaned him up, put him on his doggie bed and covered him with a soft towel. He has been lethargic all day, refusing to eat or play. I have been able to get him to willingly lap up water from time to time, and by the hardest I spoon fed him chicken broth mixed with a little puppy chow. I reported his condition to the vet today via phone and was told they'd done all they could really do to treat his illness... I'll just have to wait and see. I'm so worried! I have little experience with dogs. (I've had cats.) I don't want to just sit and watch this sweet little thing die! Any advice on what to do or ideas on what could be afflicting him? My kids (and I!) will be crushed if this ends badly! Help!

[labman]

If it is something viral, the antibiotics may not help much or much else. You just have to hope there is enough dog there to carry it through. If he develops diarrhea, it could be parvo needing immediate IV replacement of fluids.

If he is worse in the morning, get back with the vet. If they still don't want to do anythng, try another one.

[tre_cani]

If he is worse in the morning, get back withthe vet. If they still don't want to do anythng, try another one.

I agree, call another vet.

What is it with these stories of veterinarians telling people that there's nothing else they can do? Get a second opinion if he doesn't respond to the medication soon.

Did the doctor give a diagnosis for your puppy's ailment?

[Lisa Blackburn]

Thanks to you both. The pup actually is looking a little perkier now. We're still not out of the woods, but it's looking much more promising than earlier today. I noticed he seemed intersted in my dinner, so I made him a little bowl with pieces of my chicken soaked in a little broth. He ate a fair amount. I'm thinking maybe since he was a stray all he'd ever had before was scraps. My next challenge will be to get him eating puppy chow, I suppose.

I'd thought of the viral angle... a definite possibility. No, the vet didn't make a specific diagnosis. I've been analyzing the vet's rationale all day, wondering why he wouldn't try to do more. Since he was a pound puppy and before that a stray, the vet said he could have picked up any number of ailments. The hacking cough is indicative of a respiratory infection, so antibiotics seemed a natural step. I don't know why he said there wasn't anything more to do. This guy's an experienced and respected vet who is near retirement age. I've been taking my cats to him for more than a decade. I was really surprised by his response today (relayed by an employee over the phone.) I guess since the dog wasn't showing signs of any of the major canine diseases (parvo, distemper, rabies) he figured either he'll respond to the antibiotics, lick it on his own or succumb; and, if the latter were to end up being the case, then at least I'd be spared the expense and hassle of another visit. Since the dog has been drinking water and taking the antibiotics, I suppose hydration or medication by IV wouldn't be necessary.

Well, thanks again. I'll post tomorrow on his progress. If his condition doesn't improve or worsens, I plan to try another clinic.

[tre_cani]

I didn't mean to imply that your vet was being neglectful, I'm sure he's a fine doctor. It just seems that lately I've seen a lot of posts on this forum where people say that the vet 'doesn't know what's wrong'. It just baffles me.

But it does seem promising that he's feeling a bit better and I hope he continues on to better health!

[labman]

We are happy to hear your puppy is doing better. We may be getting a negative view of vets here. The people that take their dog to the vet and get a diagnose and the correct treatment don't come here with questions. But vets are not miracle workers. Different things can cause different symptoms and not all dogs with the same thing have the same symptoms. Communication is a big problem. The dog can't talk and the owners may mislead the vet.

Viral stuff like parvo doesn't have a cure. All they can do is put the dog on IV to keep it from dehydrating and hope the dog makes it. Sadly many little ones that just won somebody's heart, don't. People new to the dog world can get blind sided by parvo.

Maybe 50% of the vets graduated in the bottom half of their class, but they met very demanding requirements. Most of them are still competent, caring individuals.

[doggie_poopie]

Sounds like upper respitory or kennel cough; if they said they did all they can do. Problem with kennel cough is that it is viral and you have to let it run its' course. So they put your pup on antibiotics to fight any secondary infections like bronchitis or pnemonia. The cough tablets so he doesn't hack himself to death or get a very sore throat.
It is very common with animals adopted from shelters, animal controls, etc.
Here is a good link about it http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/dekcough.html.
Hope he is better soon!

[Lisa Blackburn]

Thanks, doggie_poopie! :o You know, amazingly this has never come up, and I hadn't thought of it, although now that you mention it, I have heard of kennel cough before. I'm sort of a doggie novice. (I haven't had one since I was a kid.) It sounds EXACTLY as though he's got something caught in his throat. At first, I was certain some small object would come hurling out of him... but no, only the occasional snot wad.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. He was perkier earlier in the day. I bought a few different types of puppy food, hoping to figure out which would appeal to him most before buying in bulk. He did nibble a little of a Pedigree wet puppy pack. This had me really excited, but then he threw it up all over my couch hours later. :( Occasionally he wandered around the house and yard today, but mostly he's just lied there looking all sad and pitiful. I'm actually relieved to hear that kennel cough can last a few days. Since he's been this way for about 48 hours now, I was just starting to worry again about him having some horrible terminal illness. Maybe it just needs to run its course and then he'll be fine. He's still sipping water from time to time, walking okay and peeing and pooping out in the yard... all good signs. Also, a friend of mine whose dad is a vet said to check the color of his gums. Apparently whitened gums are a bad sign. Pink means healthy, and his are nice and rosy, so that's good.

Okay, so right after my last post he vomited all over the floor. It consisted only of the cheese I stuffed his antibiotic in about four hours ago and water.:(

And at 5:30 a.m. the diarhhea begins. :confused: This is horrible. I was starting to become so optimistic, but this is a bad, bad sign. From what I've read online, he could have parvo or distemper. :( :( The fact that he didn't have diarrhea was the only thing that was causing me to rule out those diseases. Yesterday, it seemed like he was getting better, but now he seems much worse. I'm calling the vet at 8:00.

[labman]

Parvo is nothing to take chances with. Here is an authoritative source for more information, http://www.avma.org/communications/b...o_brochure.asp

[doggie_poopie]

If you have vomiting, bloody diarrhea and lethargy I would suspect Parvo. However a bad case of whipworms or hookworms can cause diarrhea. Also, a protatoza called Coccidia can look and smell like Parvo. Get your pup to the vet!!
Unfortunately, all the above diseases or parasites are common in pound puppies.:(

[Lisa Blackburn]

I did get him back to the vet today. They pumped him with fluids via IV. (He was beginning to dehydrate.) They also gave me some pills to stop the vomiting. These work fairly well, although he still did throw up the little bit of Hills I/d they provided. (Before he was just heaving and heaving down to the bile.) The doctor said she feels his chances of survival are good, since his temp is normal and the diarrhea isn't severe, bloody or particularly foul smelling. She even offered to IV him some more fluids again first thing in the a.m. again, so I'll be bringing him there bright and early before her scheduled appointments begin to arrive.

He was diagnosed and treated for hookworms during his virst vet visit, BTW. Thanks again for your concern. I was hestiant to keep posting because I thought maybe everyone was tiring of the "poor sick puppy" posts. This evening, he does look ever so slightly better. I used an aspirator to force a little water into his mouth. It wasn't much, but he kept it down. And just now he even "asked" to go outside and spent a little time wandering around the yard and lapping up a little water from our pond. I'd feel better if he could keep some food in him, though. I'll post another update tomorrow.

Well, we saw the vet again this morning, and she really seems to think he's going to be fine. He wasn't dehydrated when I brought him in. His nose was moist, and the injection she'd given him the day before definitely helped with the vomiting problem. She gave hin another one and sent me home with some high-calorie protein paste. I put little dollops of it in his mouth twice during the day. Then this evening I made a mixture of chicken broth, water and a little paste and squeezed it into his mouth with a baby aspirator. He doesn't heave and retch anymore, but he still occasionally sort of spits up stuff. It's a slimy, clear sort of spit up that's thick and hangs like a thread from his mouth. (Mucous?) No bile, though. She also sent me home with a syringe of the anti-puking meds in case the vomiting gets bad again. (Yikes!) I haven't given it. If he's throwing up tomorrow, my husband has agreed to do it, as I'm really squeamish when it comes to needles.

The puppy still won't eat or drink anything unless I drip it into his mouth, but the doctor isn't concerned about this. She says his little insides are all sore and irritated and that it's best to let them heal before taking anything solid anyway. He's still pretty listless, although he does walk around a bit like he has been. What amazes me is that he's pooped twice today, producing stools of a somewhat firm consistency. (If he isn't eating, then what the heck is he pooping?) He looks so darn pitiful and thin, but if the doctor he'll be okay, then I trust her judgment. I'm supposed to call her back on Monday with a progress report. If he's recovering well, I'll need to bring him in for a round of immunizations soon. We've got a ways to go, though.

[labman]

Thank you for another report, and I am delighted to hear how much better he is.

Dogs never seem to run out of poop.

[Lisa Blackburn]

I don't know... he's not looking so hot. I was hoping he'd start to show more improvement by now. I'll tell you, at this point, I'll be amazed if this puppy lives. I kenneled him last night, and this morning when I woke up the poor little pup was lying in a pool of his own poo?/vomit? It looked like vomit but smelled more like poop. He keeps going out and hiding under things and in corners of the yard. It's annoying because I'm trying to monitor the poop/vomit situation, and it's hard when he wanders all over the place and hides in tight spots. Plus, I have two cats, so if I find poop it could be theirs. I guess it's a wait-and-see type situation.:(

[labman]

I guess maybe he isn't doing as well as I thought. You can reduce the mess in the kennel.

A wire grid in the bottom of the crate will help keep the puppy up out of urine and to a lessor extent stools. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. This reduces the mess, making the protest much less effective. The longer haired the puppy, the higher it needs to be. In warmer weather, you can just haul the crate out and hose everything off.

[Lisa Blackburn]

Otto died late this morning. His little body just couldn't take it anymore. We're all really bummed about it. Apparently, it is the policy of the animal shelter that I can go back and pick out another pet in the event of something like this. I'm not willing to risk it, though. If he had parvo or some other highly contagious disease, it's likely that the other pets there are infected, as well. I just can't stand the thought of going through this again with another puppy. Besides, we had our hearts set on a shepherd pup, and there were no others like that there. We've decided to acquire another through a reputable breeder. Meanwhile, I'm bleaching everything in sight. I'm even going to hose the yard with a bleach/water mixture to prevent the new pup from contracting this horrible illness.

Thanks again for your advice and concern.

[labman]

Very sorry to hear that. Yes, bleach is the only answer to parvo. Otherwise the virus can linger 6 months waiting its next victim. And the standard shot schedules leave 25% of the dogs unprotected. Did I give you this link to info on parvo, http://www.avma.org/communications/b...o_brochure.asp

[Lisa Blackburn]

Yes, I got the link. Thank you.

[labman]

I know you have had a very difficult time of it, and can't even think of going through it again. Before you buy a puppy, you might look at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm

Rescuesare dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
To be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may
Find a rescue near you starting at
At that link. The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

I will not fault you if you decide to go with a puppy from a breeder. If you do, come back for help getting it off to a good start.

[TrioKIT]

Have you tried herbal remedies? They're easy to find online. I have a catnip plant growing and I feed some of the leaves to my cats occasionally they love it. I found out that catnip can help stop vomiting and hairballs in cats as well so maybe there's something for your puppy. You can try this place if you'd like.

Vhttp://herbalmusings.com/natural_products_for_pets_old.htm

This might seem a little silly but it could be worth it!

Good luck I hope things turn out well. :)

[Lisa Blackburn]

[QUOTE=labman]I know you have had a very difficult time of it, and can't even think of going through it again. Before you buy a puppy, you might look at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm
QUOTE]

We went that route. In fact, the way I found this dog was by attending an doggie rescue event called Bark in the Park. We visited booths manned by personnel from virtually every rescue organization in our area. One had a binder with photos of animals in need of homes. Otto's photo and info were in there. Problem is, since we have two rambunctious young children and two older cats, we feel it's best to get a puppy. That way, the dog will grow up with them and be more likely to tolerate them. I researched all sorts of breeds beforehand and determined that the German Shepherd Dog really is best suited for our family. It's hard to find a rescued animal that meets these strict criteria, so I was excited to find Otto. :(