Puppy has diarrhea UPDATED

[Familia]

Our new puppy has diarrhea.  The breeder warned us that she could have worms since many do and, since we picked her up at 9-½ weeks today, instead of 8, she did not receive her 8 week dosage of anti-worm.

Updated: It is Coccidia 

She had an episode of soft stool on commute home.  A mess of fur and fun=(  Everyone cleaned up, pup into crate for beginning of housebreaking.  (breeder did not help this to begin, unfortunately)

Well, she has been sweet and happy watching us while crated (proper size for training...just big enough to turn around & lie down)  But, every hour or two she has loose stool and doesn't make it from crate, gets it in fur, etc...She only ate ½ cup for dinner, which was the food from the breeder.

Now, the completely unsympathetic vet said to give Pepto if I thought she really needed something, but her symptoms and behavior showed her just fine.  I asked if the Pepto would stop the flow, and, if worms, what to expect overnight.  Wiill this run a course soon?  What if it continues to be hourly?  He stated again that there was nothing at all to worry about.  I suppose I wanted some guidance on the messy aspect of it and infection risk to us. 

She shows little warning.  Wakes up and whines a moment before the problem occurs.  We are switching between two crates between accidents and giving her sink baths if needed - what a sweet temperament.   Cleaning up  with dish soap then followed up with Nature's Miracle.

Does anyone know if Pepto will work or how else to stop it?  She has an early AM appointment with vet.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would give her some plain canned pumpkin. 

[umsami]

We always add a spoonful or two of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just normal plain canned pumpkin).  Great for diarrhea.

[Familia]

I am really surprised -- I would have thought that with all the fibrous matter in pumpkin, it would be opposite.  I will go look in my cupboard, thanks!  Oh, will it work fairly quickly?  Hoping for at least half night's sleep.  Also, do we just skip the Pepto?  Dd does give Pepto to her goats for occasional diarrhea. 

[Pawz4me]

IME worms don’t usually cause diarrhea. But worming medication (like Panacur) often does. 

Pepto should work if it’s an intestinal upset. Are you feeding her the same food as the breeder was? Haven’t gone overboard on treats? It could also be due to stress. 

I’ve never found pumpkin particularly helpful for anything but making orange poop, but I know a lot of people swear by it. Slippery elm bark powder is my preferred treatment for GI upsets, or  Endosorb for diarrhea. 

She’s very cute!

[Familia]

My larder is sparse and boring ladies, not pumpkin nor slippery elm.  

She just arrived home today, so no treats/diet change yet.  .  

I wonder what it is if not worms.  5 times loose stools seems excessive for stress.  This is a laid back puppy (even when feeling 100%)

We are hopeful that this will pass quickly (excuse the pun), but it is a little disappointing for the fam.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Has she been tested for parvovirus?

[Familia]

I see on the record they gave me today that she received her 6 week shots 3-½ weeks ago.  Shots included parvovirus vaccine.  Goes to vet in AM.

[umsami]

We have a now one year old Golden Doodle.  

She has had diarrhea on and off throughout her life, and pumpkin usually does help solidify it.  I notice a difference pretty quickly but it can take a day or so to clear up.  The culprit is usually sneaking human food, often spicy, from the 7 year old.    She never pooped in her crate, though....even when we first brought her home.  I was up quite a few times int he night taking her out, though.  Just like a newborn baby.  Sounds like you're handling the messes correctly.  

Switching foods can also trigger this, and we just followed our vet's advice about gradually switching over.  

 

Did the vet actually see her?? We were told to bring her in within a few days of bringing her home for a check-up.  Honestly, I'd consider a new vet unless you have a long relationship.  Just as I wouldn't expect a pediatrician to disregard a new parent's concerns, I wouldn't expect that of a vet with a new fur baby.  

[Familia]

7 minutes ago, umsami said:

Did the vet actually see her?? We were told to bring her in within a few days of bringing her home for a check-up.  Honestly, I'd consider a new vet unless you have a long relationship.  Just as I wouldn't expect a pediatrician to disregard a new parent's concerns, I wouldn't expect that of a vet with a new fur baby.  

I called after hours and told the vet that I was a client-to-be.  First appt. tomorrow morning.  

I sure hope she isn't prone to loose stools, although I have heard of that.  Five in one day seems excessive, though.

[Selkie]

Definitely check with the vet about parvo. One of my now-10-month-old lab puppies contracted parvo last year. He had been vaccinated against it twice, right on schedule, and got sick shortly afterwards. The vet was pretty shocked but told us that can happen because it takes a certain amount of time after the vaccinations to build immunity, and also there are strains of parvo that are not covered by the vaccine.

We have absolutely no clue how he caught it, as we had kept him at home (no dog parks, etc.) and our other dogs are vaccinated. The vet speculated that because we live out in the country, an infected coyote or fox may have passed through our yard and gone to the bathroom and then the puppy stuck his nose in it. Just a wild guess, really, because we will never know. We have his sister, too, and she did not get sick.   

His symptoms were frequent watery diarrhea, vomiting, and lethargy. He had to be hospitalized for the better part of a week and then had to be quarantined from our other dogs for a couple more weeks. It was touch and go for awhile, but he pulled through and he has been happy and healthy ever since.

Chances are, your cute pup just has a run of the mill upset stomach. I just wanted to let you know that the parvo shot does not provide full protection, since it was such a surprise when it happened to our pup.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

Take a bit of a stool sample with you in a baggie. 

[plansrme]

4 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Take a bit of a stool sample with you in a baggie. 

Yes!  They can try to take a stool sample while she is there (via swab), but if you happen to have some lying about, this is a great idea, as some dogs can't stand the swab.  (Guess where I've been today!)

Is she eating and drinking normally?  Still playful?  Is the diarrhea bloody at all?  If it's bloody, I would take her to an emergency vet tonight.  Otherwise, if she's still playful, eating and drinking, I would try pepto (a little Pepto never hurt anyone) and make sure someone sleeps in the room with her tonight and checks on her periodically.  It's probably nothing but stress, but I would be extra-vigilant about keeping an eye on her tonight.

[Familia]

3 minutes ago, plansrme said:

Yes!  They can try to take a stool sample while she is there (via swab), but if you happen to have some lying about, this is a great idea, as some dogs can't stand the swab.  (Guess where I've been today!)

Is she eating and drinking normally?  Still playful?  Is the diarrhea bloody at all?  If it's bloody, I would take her to an emergency vet tonight.  Otherwise, if she's still playful, eating and drinking, I would try pepto (a little Pepto never hurt anyone) and make sure someone sleeps in the room with her tonight and checks on her periodically.  It's probably nothing but stress, but I would be extra-vigilant about keeping an eye on her tonight.

I can take a bit from the garbage.  She is playful this evening after eating some dinner a few hours ago.  No episodes in the last two hours.  

Oh, no, your dog has diarrhea too?

[Pawz4me]

Definitely take a stool sample if you can. It's so much easier for the pup than the vet getting a sample with a swab, and this is part of socialization--you want her interactions with the vet to be as pleasant for her as possible.

A couple of other things I thought of --

Other causes of diarrhea that haven't been mentioned are giardia and coccidia. Those are intestinal parasites, but protozoa. Not worms. Giardia especially is very common, and it's difficult/almost impossible to detect accurately in a stool sample. So if the diarrhea continues don't let the vet blow you off by saying she tested negative for those. Treatment is a course of metronidazole (Flagyl) and it almost always clears things up quickly. I've known many adult dogs with giardia who acted just fine until it had gone on for awhile, but I don't recall ever knowing a youngish puppy who had it, so . . . I've got no experience with that

Even at her young age she may need a quick sanitary clip to form a clean "poop shoot." It makes it SO much easier to keep long haired dogs with loose stools clean. If you don't have a clipper the vet may be willing to do it for you, or a groomer may do it for a minimal charge (but some won't touch a puppy until they're fully vaccinated, and I suspect that's especially true if they think the pup may have something contagious). It's a couple of minute task at the most.

[plansrme]

9 hours ago, Familia said:

I can take a bit from the garbage.  She is playful this evening after eating some dinner a few hours ago.  No episodes in the last two hours.  

Oh, no, your dog has diarrhea too?

Glad to hear she seems to be on the mend.  Is she still in good spirits this morning?  If so, it's really unlikely to be parvo.  It moves pretty fast.  Pawz4me's suggestions re. giardia and coccidia are really good ones.  Coccidia can be pretty nasty, IIRC.  I hope the vet will check for both.

My dog didn't have diarrhea but was in for his annual check-up (he was actually in for a hard lump behind his ear that, naturally, disappeared within hours of my making the appointment to have it checked out, but we went anyway, and they did his annual stuff while we were there), and he HATES the poop swab and would not put up with it.  He always potties on a leash, so if I'd been prepared, I could easily have brought some in and avoided that nonsense.

[Familia]

Coccidia it is.  Vet gave an anti-nausea med, something specific for Coccidia and general de-wormer.  At least, I believe, I do not have to worry about cross-infection with Coccidia to cats or us, right?

What a night!  Pooped in crate (now 3x) overnight.  We have broken every crate-training rule that we expected to follow: don't get puppy out of (messy) crate while whining, keep association of crate positive by giving filled Kongs or coaxing with a treat (wanted to contain our puppy's messes, yet afraid to give food/she hadn't been hungry or interested), she has soiled her crate 3 times now!  We had grand visions of following clicker training beginning with learning about the clicker yesterday, and beginning rewards for "use your place" today.  We have never clicker trained a dog before.  I am a little discouraged.  I am a lot tired.  

So, are dogs forgiving, and I can just begin over?   Or are these deep impressions of 'misbehavior'?  On the positive side, upon returning home this AM, she ate ½ cup food (mostly former food), played in kitchen, and poo-ed outside!  But, right before that, she urinated in her crate.  Nature's Miracle has been our friend.

[Selkie]

Oh, poor puppy and poor you! I would be unhappy with that breeder for sending you home with a sick puppy. I'm glad you took her to the vet so quickly!

[Jean in Newcastle]

16 minutes ago, Familia said:

Coccidia it is.  Vet gave an anti-nausea med, something specific for Coccidia and general de-wormer.  At least, I believe, I do not have to worry about cross-infection with Coccidia to cats or us, right?

What a night!  Pooped in crate (now 3x) overnight.  We have broken every crate-training rule that we expected to follow: don't get puppy out of (messy) crate while whining, keep association of crate positive by giving filled Kongs or coaxing with a treat (wanted to contain our puppy's messes, yet afraid to give food/she hadn't been hungry or interested), she has soiled her crate 3 times now!  We had grand visions of following clicker training beginning with learning about the clicker yesterday, and beginning rewards for "use your place" today.  We have never clicker trained a dog before.  I am a little discouraged.  I am a lot tired.  

So, are dogs forgiving, and I can just begin over?   Or are these deep impressions of 'misbehavior'?  On the positive side, upon returning home this AM, she ate ½ cup food (mostly former food), played in kitchen, and poo-ed outside!  But, right before that, she urinated in her crate.  Nature's Miracle has been our friend.

Yes, dogs are forgiving.  And yes, you can start over.  If your weather permits, spend lots of time outside with her.  When our puppy came home at 9 weeks I spent probably twenty minutes of every hour outside.  I put a chair out there and I did a lot of yardwork while she pee'd and pooped.  And I used Nature's miracle a lot indoors.  My puppy did not have coccidia but we did not do tons of crate training at that age.  At night, yes, but not during the day.  We kept her with us all the time and at the first sign of squatting or sniffing we dashed outside!  I gave lots of small training treats every time she went "out".  (Or you could click and treat.)  Indoors if you had some hard surfaces (like the kitchen) where you could keep her with you it will make any accident cleaning easier until her diarrhea is under control and is no longer an issue. 

[Selkie]

I don't use crates or do clicker training, so I don't have any advice about that. Hopefully, someone with experience will chime in (ETA: I see that Jean just posted at the same time I did, with some good advice). However, I wouldn't expect her to learn much until she is feeling better. I think it would be tough to train her when she is having frequent diarrhea. If she were mine, I would just focus on snuggling her and helping her recover, and then start teaching her once she is all better.

[hornblower]

Puppies are pretty forgiving and she's still a baby.  I clicker train but honestly, I wouldn't bother with it right now for this baby - not until things settle.  It's a good idea to have a back up verbal marker anyway - I use a pretty high pitched YEP as well as a clicker so if you want to mark something you can use that. But you have tons of time. 

And yeah, I think it's pretty early for real crate training too. It's really ok to just cuddle and fuss over her for a bit, esp as she's sick. If I'd work on anything right now it's making bath time fun since you have to wash her butt lots, reward her with treats and try to make that non coercive so it's a positive experience. 

[Familia]

This has been so helpful for me, thank you all for your advice and encouragement!

The reminder to cuddle and not worry about spoiling is so like the reminders I needed regarding newborns and homeschooling when I began many, many lightyears ago - LOL

Today has gone so much better!!  Perhaps the anti-nausea shot did the (temporary?) trick, because Rosie has sweetly followed my every move and tiptoed after the cat and napped on the kitchen floor and eaten two small meals and played with her new toys.  She is so lovable!

[Acadie]

She's such a cutie!

Glad you got a diagnosis and meds, and that you can enjoy each other now :)

Amy

 

[umsami]

Glad she's doing better and you have a diagnosis.

 

Spoil her.  Don't worry about the crate mishaps.  She's a baby.  People crate train dogs of all ages.  

One thing I found was kind of like with reading and such, dogs learn when they are ready.  Zoey "failed" Puppy Kindergarten at PetSmart.  I enrolled her as soon as they would take her.   But a few months later, just doing some informal training with me, she got it.  She was ready then.  She wasn't when I signed her up. 

[Familia]

34 minutes ago, umsami said:

Glad she's doing better and you have a diagnosis.

 

Spoil her.  Don't worry about the crate mishaps.  She's a baby.  People crate train dogs of all ages.  

One thing I found was kind of like with reading and such, dogs learn when they are ready.  Zoey "failed" Puppy Kindergarten at PetSmart.  I enrolled her as soon as they would take her.   But a few months later, just doing some informal training with me, she got it.  She was ready then.  She wasn't when I signed her up. 

Go Zoey!=)

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