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Puppy question- possibly sick?
We just got a puppy...he's almost 3 mos old. This morning after he ate a little bit he threw up his food. FI brought him outside and when he brought him back in he didn't want to play and just wanted to sit on his lap. He put him in is crate and he sounded a little raspy when he was breathing and was shaking a little. He left him, but now we're worried. He has water in his crate, so if he's a little dehydrated he at least has water.
Also, he chewed open a stuffed toy yesterday and I know he swallowed a little bit of the stuffing (not very much). We took the toy away, so I know he hasn't eaten any more of it.
He has been very energetic prior to this morning (and was energetic first thing this morning), but not eating nearly the amount of food the shelter told us he should be eating. We were told he should be eating about 2 1/4 cups of dry puppy food a day and he eats barely 1 cup. It's the same food they were giving him, so he's used to it. He's about 8 lbs.
He has his first vet appt tomorrow, but we are concerned that maybe we shouldn't wait that long. I'm contemplating going home to check on him. DS has lunch at 10:00 and is going home to let him out, but I don't want him to have to deal with a sick puppy.
What do you think? Is this possibly just a normal puppy thing?
Re: Puppy question- possibly sick?
The general rule is if it's a one-time barf it's probably nothing serious. But what do you mean by a little raspy? Like congested? I'd keep a close eye on him, but if you already have a vet appointment tomorrow you're probably fine.
Also, 2 1/4 cups of food a day for an 8 pound dog is insane. Puppies definitely need more food than adult dogs, but when my dog was around that size she was eating under a cup a day. It also matters what food you're feeding, though, since some are more calorie dense. Have you checked out petfoodanalysis.com? It's really helpful for learning more about dog food!
Also, can you post some pics of your puppy?!
Ditto smock. I wouldn't worry about one time barf, what kind of food is the puppy eating? Murphy was on a pretty bad food when he was a puppy and constantly was getting sick on it until I switched to a higher quality food. My guess would be that some stuffing probably wouldn't hurt the puppy either. I agree that much food is a lot - the Murph was eating about that much when he was 30+ pound puppy.
Keep an eye out though, any worse and I'd call the vet. Please post pictures! What kind of puppy?
Yes! Post pics!
The stuffing will mess with his digestive system some. Watch to make sure it comes out. It can also get stuck, so he may need some help.
I would be more concerned about the breathing than the puking. Talk to your son over his lunch and if you are still worried, call the vet and let them know what's going on. They'll let you know if he needs to come in ASAP.
We've had him since Sunday. He threw up on the way home from the shelter, but we figured it was just him being a little nervous with everything being new. He's been find since then except for this morning
Smock...I thought that much food was insane too. He barely eats a cup. We give him this nutrient gel stuff with his food. He gets a high quality food. It's Eukanuba Pure (dry) and it doesn't have fillers in it so he doesn't need as much of it.
My dad is going to go and check on him and then call me. If he's still doing that, then I will go home and call the vet.
FI described what he sounded like and he said his breathing was a little bit raspy. I wasn't home when he started doing that.
I'll post a picture in a minute.
Here he is! I can only get good pictures of him when he's sleeping because he's so quick and it turns out in a blur! He's a Rat Terrier.
Holy crap that is a lot of food for a puppy. How long have you had him?
I'd keep an eye on him, and if he isn't eating/pooping by early evening, I'd call the vet. Rulloff eats stuffing all the time, and strings from toys. Not a lot but sometimes before I can get to him he scarfs it down. He just poops it out. Poops full of string and stuffing.
What kind of puppy? And why haven't we gotten a picture yet?
I posted a picture 3 posts up from your post
He's a rat terrier. He's full of energy and snuggly once he gets tired out! He's a lot of fun. I can't wait to break him of biting though!
He pooped this morning, so it doesn't appear that he's blocked. I'm glad he has a vet appt tomorrow.
That does seem like a ton of food for an 8 pound puppy! If you just got him from a shelter, he most likely has some form of kennel cough (like the flu for people). It's pretty much a guarantee due to the number of animals in a shelter and the number of strains of kennel cough. It's a quick anitbiotic fix. when we got our ridgeback, she was really calm - my husband was all, "she's not like a crazy puppy - she's mellow - it will be like having an adult dog like you wanted...." Yeah, then she got on antibiotics and got the kennel cough cleared up and she became a crazy azz puppy.
Congrats on your new baby!
Aw, he is so cute! I love him!
And not to go all nuts on you, but Eukanuba is not very high quality dog food. On http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ (I think I gave the wrong link last time) all of their products are one or two stars (out of six). They haven't reviewed the Pure line, but it has a few iffy ingredients like brewer's rice.
I'd suggest switching to a grain-free food in the 4-star or above category. We fed our dog Orijen, which made her super shiny and good-smelling, and while it's a bit more expensive (and harder to find) it's so calorie-dense that we usually fed her 1/2-3/4 cup a day, so a 15 pound bag would last us 4 months. Right now she's on Taste of the Wild and gets 3/4 cup a day.
Rat Terriers typically end up under 20 pounds, right? So there's no way you need to stuff over 2 cups of food in the poor guy!
Oh, and it's possible that he has kennel cough. Our dog did, and she would cough and kind of breathe in a somewhat raspy way. She got on antibiotics and it cleared up very quickly. It sounds like your little guy is acting pretty normal right now, but he might be coming down with kennel cough. I'd make sure to mention it at the vet tomorrow.
Interesting about the food. The couple that bought him originally got him from a pet store and a week later decided he was too much work. They dropped him off at the humane society with the food that he's eating now. I guess that's what the pet store had him on.
He also was being treated for kennel cough and we had 1 1/2 days of medicine to give him which ended on Monday.
Kennel cough can hang around for several weeks, as long as it's getting better and not worse he should be okay. Murphy always ends up getting KC when he is exposed and in a stressful situation. The stress of moving to a new place and new family probably made KC worse. Just keep an eye on it.
As for the food, smock is right. We feed Taste of the Wild, which is grain-free and a little more affordable and Murphy has done really great on that. He has a very shiny coat. There's also less waste coming out the other end and you feed less as well. It's really a win win situation. The foods are actually cheaper on a quality ingredients level. The crap food may look cheaper, but you are paying a lot of money per pound for fillers versus a quality food and the product you get.
FI called the vet and they want us to bring him in today instead of tomorrow.
I'm going to ask the vet about the food too (regarding what kind he recommends and how much).
I always thought Eukanuba was a quality brand. I guess price =/= quality! I was thinking of changing it anyway when he got low on the bag that we have now.
I'll third the food info...(we feed California Naturals--one of the cheaper 'good' foods.)
I can feed my dog that for the same price as kibbles & bits or Iams or Eukenuba--and it's much better food. And, it's higher quality so I feed less @ a time.
But don't change overnight. Gradual changes tend to be better. (replace it 1/4 or 1/2 at a time w/ new food)--quick changes = upset tummies. At least in my hosue.
and he's adonkable.
I know what you mean about the food, Mort, because I always assumed the most recognizable brands would be relatively good, you know? But once I started researching it I was like "wait, kibbles n bits has HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP?!" Why would a dog ever need high fructose corn syrup?! And like Doglove, we do grain-free because dogs can actually have a hard time digesting most grains (especially corn) and grains can cause a lot of allergy issues. And it definitely means smaller poops!
The one thing I'd add is that unfortunately your vet might not be super knowledgable about dog food brands. This is sad, but I've read that at most veterinary schools, the nutrition classes are sponsored by the big grocery-store dog foods like Royal Canin, Science Diet, and Iams. As you can imagine, this means that a lot of vets think stuffing dogs full of corn is totally fine and healthy. Several ladies over on Pets have posted about getting in arguments with vets and representatives from dog food companies about the quality of their ingredients.
And I'll admit that I'm kind of nuts for my dog, but I figure if she's eating the same thing every day I want it to be high quality!
Thanks for the dog food info. He has probably about a week or so left in the bag, so this weekend I'm going to get a different brand to slowly incorporate into his diet. Poor guy...I hope he's okay.
What kind of dog do you have again? I know you used to have a picture of her in your siggy, but I can no longer see your siggy.
I'm jumping back into this kind of late, but my dog is a dachshund-chihuahua mix, with a wirehaired coat. She might have some terrier thrown in there, but who knows. All I know is she's super cute! And she's full-grown now, and about 11 pounds.
Any update on your dog? What did the vet say?
He's definitely not eating too much...he's hardly eating anything. The vet told us the correct amount to eat and he's finishing his food now (1 c p/day instead of 2 1/4 c p/day).
Of course when we brought him to the vet he wasn't coughing and he was hyper, so the vet said to watch him and call back if he starts up again. He thought maybe he got some of the fuzz from one of his stuffed toys caught in his throat. Of course, Saturday night his cough started up and he's going back into the vet today. I'm worried about my parent's dog because we brought him over there and they played together and it was before he started back up with the cough. I warned my parents to watch their dog.
If he throws up more, take him in. I agree with above, once is not somethign to be alarmed at unless he refuses to eat or throws up more.
Our dog ate part of a rubber toy (that we thought we threw away) when he was 4 months old. He threw up the next day, twice, and then threw up all night and then refused to eat (but was still throwing up). We took him in, they kept him overnight, gave him IV fluids and he was still throwing up. They did an Xray and found the toy, did surgery and he rebounded right away.
So keep an eye on him and if he throws up more or refuses to eat- take him in.
And he, as an 45 lbs adult dog, only eats 2 1/2 cups. That is WAY too much for a puppy.