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He goes to the vet first thing tomorrow for his checkup - so I'm covered on that....we went to puppy class last night - lots of new *tricks* to learn - I honestly think he got OVERLOADED on treats - some from the other owners, which may have shocked his system...I gave him steamed white rice w/chicken for lunch today (he loved it!) since I read that's a good thing to start with...
It's goopy - but semi-formed - and hasn't gotten any worse. He's acting/eating/drinking fine - this is not an emergency, is it?
Must say the highlight was him barking in his crate @ 2:30 am - Mike went to let him out, and he tracked puppy poop all over the area rug Gack - the smell!! It was his *first* nighttime accident, and we've had him almost a month!
Anything else I should do until his am appt? I'm planning to bring in a poop sample so they can check it out. BTW he's almost 12 weeks and probably around 20 pounds - so not *too* little...
Na, if he is eating and drinking he'll be fine until morning. Definately take the sample in. Could be a case of worms...very common in pets. Could be food overload. Ask the vet about food too. Some of the commercial pet foods have all kinds of additives...I don't know anything about dog food, but I know some cat food has ash in it, and that many cats get a dermatitis reaction to it. The vet should be able to recommend a reasonable (i.e., not vet designer food) food. Purina Cat Chow is good, so I'd think they are good in the Dog/Puppy Chow line.
Aren't you glad you're experienced in poop? I was when our cat had a case of giardia shortly after we adopted her from the shelter. She had major runs...kind of like MC.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Katy
PS: When I worked at the animal hospital in high school, 7 puppies got abandoned outside the clinic one afternoon while I was working alone (clinic was closed, I was cleaning and feeding). It was the middle of summer, so I only had the cage we saved for emergencies open, the rest were full up with boarders. Talk about POOP the next morning! Not to mention getting 7 pups cleaned up for the local shelter to pick them up.
Could be overload of junk food, we tell all of our new puppy owners to only use a high quality feed and treats. If you can buy it in a grocery store or Walmart, it is not good for the long term health of your animal. ( I spent 11 years as a vet tech and have bred showdogs for 21 years ) We don't feed any commercial food to our dogs, they are all on the raw diet, of homemade food( raw meat, raw milk, raw eggs, some veggies, and absolutely no grains). That way we don't have to worry about some scary product in the commercial foods killing them like all those pets a year or so ago with the contaminated feed additive from China. Pick out a food that has meat as the top ingredients, grains are not metabolized by dogs, so they are just filler, so try and stear clear from them. They have some very good raw diets that are available now, one is called Ziwi-Peak, and is air dried raw meat. It's kind of pricey, but worth it in the fact that your not feeding a bunch of filler.
Could also be Giardia or some other parasite, so a stool sample will need to be tested...Please let us know how your baby is doing after the Vet appointment.
You're so right about the commercial pet foods - virtually all of them contain grain. Somewhere along the line, apparently someone decided that if an animal was willing to eat grains, then grains must be okay for them. Not so. Canines and felines are carnivores, and were not evolved eating grains, (except when they were starving). When we're starving, we'll eat virtually anything, but that doesn't mean that it's good for us.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Carrie, I agree with you. I put my dog on raw food 5 years ago when he developed an autoimmune disease. He is now 12 and as healthy as can be - no problems with vision, hearing, arthritis, weakness, etc. He runs 4 mi./day year round and also swims every day in the summer. This is really weird, but he no longer gets fleas; also never scratches, and his coat is gorgeous. As you know, all dogs today are ancestors of the wolf, and the wolf has no grain in its natural diet. We buy a commercial brand of raw food (frozen patties) and I could even eat it, it is so pure and healthy - contains omega 3s, blueberries, broccoli, ground up bones, etc., in addition to venison, chicken, or whatever the main meat is. Not one grain of any kind.
I guess I have something in common with the wolf, since I can't tolerate grains of any kind either. LOL!
Love,
Polly
P.S. CAMary, keep us posted on the puppy.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Thanks for all the input! The vet wants to get to the bottom of it but wasn't *too* concerned since he's eating/drinking/acting normal and has no other symptoms...I took in a poop sample (I actually mixed and matched from the 3 most recent to make sure they got a good cross-section of what's passing through his gut!) and they just called me - totally normal. His temp was normal, too. They put him on a low-residue/highly digestible food for the weekend and the vet will call me Monday to see how he's doing. I'm also doing a de-worm treatment to cover everything...they informed me that puppies tummies are *very* sensitive so it doesn't take much to set them off - so I'm feeling like we're on top of things...
Interesting about the food - I'll have to do some research! We have him on what the breeder started him on (Iams large-breed puppy) - they said to give him a month to settle in to his new home before changing anything, so we're almost to that mark, so I will look into the higher quality grain-free foods...
He's up 8 lbs in 3 weeks and the vet said he looked very good (coat, eyes etc.) - so he got his next round of shots - he was also *much* less anxious and did not bark in the car
My husband is worried, however, and wants to pull him from puppy class - as he feels *whatever* it is - that's where he got it...so we'll see.
Glad they didn't find any wee beasties in the poop, probably was just to many treats at puppy class.
Please do research the raw diet for dogs, I have living proof that the diet does help to extend a dogs life with many more quality filled years. Our first litter of whippets went to different homes and I was the only one who fed the raw diet, all the others were fed high quality commercial foods with grain and additives ( Iams being one of the brands) and my dog is still going at almost 16, running through the house and teaching my new puppy the ropes. Sadlly, all the others out of the litter died between age 11 and 13, with a severe decline in the health by the time they were 10. Feeding them as natural as possible pays off, and even though all my food for them comes from our local grocery store, it still is not that expensive when you add it up. You can also save money my talking with your local grocery store about buying their raw chicken from them or any of their meats on the day that they hit their "sell by" date. I get organic chicken that way for 39 cents a pound, really cheap way to provide a good quality meat, and you can freeze it so your not running to the store all the time......win, win...
If you have any questions about it, please let me know. I'll be glad to help in any way I can.....one of many of my missions in life...putting the pet food industry out of business....
Don't laugh...they make them for old dogs that can't hold their urine...a life saver when you have 4 legged hospice patients...been there, done that, have the whole darn wardrobe....
Gack - the smell!! It was his *first* nighttime accident, and we've had him almost a month!
)
Mary
