8 Week Old German Shepherd Puppy with Diarrhea

[lzver]

Our new pup Jake has been home with us a week tomorrow. He's had some diarrhea today ... Even tonight he's having little poops.

He is still his same spunky self playing, he ate well today, there has been no vomiting and drinking normal amounts of water. And there is no blood.

The vets office opens at 8am in the morning, so we're going to give them a call first thing.

Should he be ok to sleep through the night? We will have his cage in our room to keep an eye on him and an ear open.

I have read that they recommend fasting your pup for 12 to 24 hours and keep them well hydrated and then start feeding them some bland rice and chicken.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience?

 

[kcbee]

Make sure he's getting lots of water.

Could he have gotten into anything?

He could have worms or some other parasite - quite common in puppies and easy for them to pick up outside.

Hope he's feeling better soon! Let us know what the vet says.

 

[jeme3]

Have you switched his food or given him anything new?

 

[Luvmyfidz]

My yorkie goes through bouts of diarrhea often. Being yours is just a puppy, I'd be careful but in the past I've been advised by our vet to remove her food for 24 hrs. always having water available. I usually offer boiled rice the following morning & see how that goes. Worst case, she goes on antibiotics. Since yours is so young, best get a vets opinion & rule out parvo or another problem. Good luck!

 

[Faen]

This happened with my pup, Kona actually.

Is it something new that has occurred, or has he had since you brought him home?

I wouldn't give him chicken just yet, the breeder told us not to give puppies chicken until they're at least6 months old as their bodies cant digest it properly until then. Im not sure how true it is honestly it was the first time i had heard about that and i cant remember if i gave my previous 2 dogs chicken when they were pups so i figured i might as well not risk it. Anyway im just pointing that as a cautionary i'd feel awful if i didnt say something and something happened to your baby Jakey. Might want to check with the vet before doing that thats all.

Anyway, you could try giving him a little bit of canned pumpkin with his food. You don't need to put in much... like a teaspoon or something is good.

With my Kona, he ended up having both an infection AND a parasite(giardia). I would think he should be find through out the night. If he's drinking a lot of water just make sure he gets frequent potty breaks then. Also keep an eye out if his stool has any blood in it. My Kona had blood in his stool thats what prompted us to take him to the vet as we thought it was perhaps just a combination of the transition of being in a new place and also because of a fast food change(couldn't find the food the breeder recommended anywhere!) After a week of it not resolving and then having blood... we figured a vet visit was in order. It also didn't seem to phase him at all.. he was still the same. Anyway they did a few tests... blood test, took a fecal sample, as well as some body examinations and the vet prescribed a probiotic as well as antibiotic in case he did turn out to have an infection. The vet also recommended a canned prescription food for the time being(Hills Prescription Diet i/d Gastrointestinal Health... canned) and they all did wonders for him. Later when the fecal sample results came back and showed giardia he also prescribed another drug for that as well.

Hope Jake gets better soon.

 

[lzver]

Make sure he's getting lots of water.

Could he have gotten into anything?

He could have worms or some other parasite - quite common in puppies and easy for them to pick up outside.

Hope he's feeling better soon! Let us know what the vet says.

Thanks Kacy. Since its been such a gorgeous week he spent a lot of time outside and he puts everything in his mouth ... Leaves, grass, etc. So we've wondered if it could be that.

He also stole a piece of pizza on Thursday evening ... He ate finished a pigs ear (rawhide) between Thursday and Friday. When my husband went to the local pet food store to get another one the owner advised not to give rawhide so young and that could me causing it as well.

 

[lzver]

My yorkie goes through bouts of diarrhea often. Being yours is just a puppy, I'd be careful but in the past I've been advised by our vet to remove her food for 24 hrs. always having water available. I usually offer boiled rice the following morning & see how that goes. Worst case, she goes on antibiotics. Since yours is so young, best get a vets opinion & rule out parvo or another problem. Good luck!

Thanks ... A lot of the advice I read online was specific to puppies last night and they all said to remove their food. We will hold off on feeding him until we talk to the vets office at 8am.

 

[kcbee]

Thanks Kacy. Since its been such a gorgeous week he spent a lot of time outside and he puts everything in his mouth ... Leaves, grass, etc. So we've wondered if it could be that.

He also stole a piece of pizza on Thursday evening ... He ate finished a pigs ear (rawhide) between Thursday and Friday. When my husband went to the local pet food store to get another one the owner advised not to give rawhide so young and that could me causing it as well.

I would advise against rawhides completely - they can cause choking and intestinal blockages. They get soggy and it's easy for the dog to swallow big chunks. You can ask the vet about it and see how he/she feels about rawhide.

My little dog had Giardia when she was a puppy and she had bad diarrhea. It's easy to get rid of with medication (most of the time!).

Hope you get some answers from the vet today.

 

[Greycloud]

It definitely could have been the pig ear. This happens to a lot of dogs as they are fatty and full of oil. Definitely offer water and a small amount of cooked rice. Puppies can get hypoglycemic very easily. It could be giardia or coccidia which is common in puppies. I hope he feels better soon.

 

[lzver]

This happened with my pup, Kona actually.

Is it something new that has occurred, or has he had since you brought him home?

I wouldn't give him chicken just yet, the breeder told us not to give puppies chicken until they're at least6 months old as their bodies cant digest it properly until then. Im not sure how true it is honestly it was the first time i had heard about that and i cant remember if i gave my previous 2 dogs chicken when they were pups so i figured i might as well not risk it. Anyway im just pointing that as a cautionary i'd feel awful if i didnt say something and something happened to your baby Jakey. Might want to check with the vet before doing that thats all.

Anyway, you could try giving him a little bit of canned pumpkin with his food. You don't need to put in much... like a teaspoon or something is good.

With my Kona, he ended up having both an infection AND a parasite(giardia). I would think he should be find through out the night. If he's drinking a lot of water just make sure he gets frequent potty breaks then. Also keep an eye out if his stool has any blood in it. My Kona had blood in his stool thats what prompted us to take him to the vet as we thought it was perhaps just a combination of the transition of being in a new place and also because of a fast food change(couldn't find the food the breeder recommended anywhere!) After a week of it not resolving and then having blood... we figured a vet visit was in order. It also didn't seem to phase him at all.. he was still the same. Anyway they did a few tests... blood test, took a fecal sample, as well as some body examinations and the vet prescribed a probiotic as well as antibiotic in case he did turn out to have an infection. The vet also recommended a canned prescription food for the time being(Hills Prescription Diet i/d Gastrointestinal Health... canned) and they all did wonders for him. Later when the fecal sample results came back and showed giardia he also prescribed another drug for that as well.

Hope Jake gets better soon.

Thanks Faen! This was something new that started yesterday. There are so many things that could be causing it I realize ... New home, slowly introducing new food, eating grass outside, getting some Pizza on Thursday. There has been no blood ... If we swam that, I would have called the emergency vet# last night.

The main thing I'm worried about is an illness or parasite or worms. He got deformed last Saturday. We saw a worm in 2 poops after he came home and that was it. We called the breeder and the vet and both were not concerned ... He may have had worms and his body was getting rid of them. If we saw live worms ... That was a different story and to take him in to the vet.

My husband and Jake are still sleeping ... But I want to get Jake up soon and see a poop before I call the vet in an hour.

I'll be sure to let everyone know how he's doing.

 

[lzver]

It definitely could have been the pig ear. This happens to a lot of dogs as they are fatty and full of oil. Definitely offer water and a small amount of cooked rice. Puppies can get hypoglycemic very easily. It could be giardia or coccidia which is common in puppies. I hope he feels better soon.

Ill of course check with the vet, but is Uncle Bens converted rice fine?

And I might pick up some unflavored pedal yet ...again I'll check with the vet before giving.

 

[lzver]

I got him up around 7:15 and he's had 2 more bad poops ... And I don't know how I slept through it, but my husband was up with him every 20 mins between 1 am and 5 am. I haven't fed him anything yet and he's not interested in water. He's sleeping now ... I guess he's tired from getting broken sleep throughout the night ... But I'm worried he could be lethargic as well.

Just talked to the vets office and they are squeezing us in at 9:30 this morning. I'll feel better having him looked at today instead of worrying all weekend.

 

[Love My Zons]

A boiled potato with the skin on it will help him bind up up better than rice. Also some plain yogurt will help to settle his tummy too. Cooked scrambled eggs are very easily digestible protein as well. Hope he feels better soon.

 

[suncoast]

I am so worried about that pig's ear thing. I would not ever feed my dog any kind of store bought or commercial treat. There have way too many deaths associated with contaminated dog and cat treats. I hope you get some answers at the vets.

Ginger

 

[Greycloud]

So glad you got him in with the vet. Yes, Uncle Ben's Rice is fine.

 

[lzver]

Just got back from the vet. He has tapeworm and roundworm. So we got 2 meds for him:

I dose of Drontal Plus which we just gave him.

Then he's on Metronidazole 100mg every 12 hours for 5 days. I haven't looked up the meds yet, but will later.

And he's also on Medical canned food for 3 days. It is meant for pups with upset tummies. We just fed him some of this and he went crazy for it and ate it up in no time.

We talked to the vet and we know not to give any more bones. It's hard, my husband wanted to do things old school like when he had his dogs 25 years ago. The vet recommended some toys for him to chew on as a pup so well do some shopping tomorrow.

 

[Greycloud]

So glad you have a treatable diagnosis. I hope feels better soon.

 

[KenDRAGON]

Make sure you double check him really well for fleas if he has tapeworm as that is typically how puppies will get them, and since he's pretty new to you! if you want to give him a flea bath just to be sure, use the original blue Dawn dish soap, works like MAGIC! and is safe for baby puppies.
Also German Shepherds are notorious for having super sensitive stomach, even though you know he has the worms, i would get him on a diet that you want to stick with and preferably something that has treat of the same ingredients (for example natural balance makes a fish and sweet potto food and a fish and sweet potato biscuit) and make sure you read the ingredients on any new snack or toy you buy and UNDERSTAND what each ingredient means.
i feed my dog Nutro Natural Choice Herring and Potato and all the treats i give her all either limited ingredient and fish-based, or bully sticks (a better alternative to rawhide).
also, to help keep your pups poop firm in the mean time adding a bit of pureed pumpkin to the food will give him lots of fiber and should still be very gentle on his stomach.
I hope some of this was helpful to you! My mom's shepherd had Giardia when she first got him and he countinued to have a seriously sensitive stomach well into his adulthood. I also worked at a pet store and had many customers with GSDs that had this issue and i was able to help the majority of them get on good diets that helped tremendously

 

[Danita]

Our pups were dewormed when we got them, i wonder if that is supposed to be done with all pups.

So sorry to hear about the upset

Dirk had a really sensitive stomach.

With our pups we are super careful of what they eat.
Have you seen this site yet?

Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost

 

[Faen]

Then he's on Metronidazole 100mg every 12 hours for 5 days. I haven't looked up the meds yet, but will later.

Kona was on this as well. It seemed to work ok.

Metronidazole for Veterinary Use

Metronidazole For Dogs and Cats - Antibiotic for Pets - 1800PetMeds