New puppy Loki has been so poorly

[52milk]

As some of you know we collected our new puppy last Wednesday.

He is 10 weeks old and when we collected him we did think his coat was a bit dull and he had some flaky skin but he was lively and everything seem fine.

We did not know if he was the right size and had done our research and looked long and hard before buying a puppy but have no idea of average weights /size.

He would not eat very well for the first couple of days and we put this down to being in a new home.

On Saturday he had diarrhea but was still very lively all day/evening although I was still concerned he had not eaten much .

I asked a few friends with dogs who said that the puppy would not eat a great deal and to offer little and often which I did.

They also said to keep him on the food that he came home with until he settled down.

On Sunday morning it was quite clear he was no well at all.

Would not move from his crate,would not drink,play or do any thing.He just whimpered and hid in the corner.

By the afternoon I was very scared as had not been able to get him to drink any water so I rang the breeder.They advised not to leave it to long before calling the vets.

So we took him to the emergency vets Sunday evening where they said his temperature was slightly up and he had very low proteins.They said he was very malnourished and we needed to get fluid in to him by feeding him rehydrate fluid using a dropper.

They gave us a tinned food to try and get him to eat and although the breeder said his worming was up to date they gave him some more stronger worm treatment whilst we were there.They said to follow up with a vet the next day.

So through Sunday night every couple of hours I gave him the rehydrate which he took but by 4 am he was vomiting which went on for 3 hours.

Took him to the vets who I think were more helpful.He said he was badly malnourished and it had been happening for quite a while.He felt there was no evidence of worms and the reason was either an infection or allergy to the food the breeder had given him...which I was now trying to give him.He said we had to get water/hydration fluid and some food into him as he was now quite poorly and would need to go in if there was no improvement in 24 hours.He gave him a jab to stop him being sick and said his weight was only 1.3kg.He also put him on a course of antibiotics.

So we spent all Monday and Monday night hand feeding small amounts of the high protein food they gave us and fluids by dropper.

Tuesday was a bit better although he was very weak we managed to get him to eat and drink a bit more

We have managed to get him to eat 5 very small meals a day for the past 2 days now and he is drinking plenty of water.He is already looking so much better and will see the vet now next Tuesday for a check.

The breeder didn't seem to want to tell me the food name..they had just put it in a plastic bag for me .After pushing them on this they came back with the name Anubis which I can find no information on at all?

All in all it has been a most stressful few days and I am quite cross with myself for not noticing sooner that all was not right.

[chickengrandma-2008]

Oh dear, what a shame for Loki and so upsetting for you.  I know it's like having a new baby isn't it, watching their reactions to things, checking what they eat, how much they drink, the consistency of poo, and how much wee etc. You must have been so worried and upset.   I hope he continues to get better and stronger.  What should have been a happy time for you has been spoilt hasn't it, but I hope he gets well and is so good and loving you'll know he was worth all the worry.

Please put some pictures on when you think he's looking well enough, and keep us informed of how he's progressing.  You'll be doing everyboduy a favour because they've had Molly overload up to now!  

[johnsmeccparts]

Did you see your puppy with it's mother before you purchased?

If not I think you have been a victim of a puppy farm and you need to find some way of reporting them to the authorities.

[saasher2012]

I was just going to bed when I read this & felt I needed to reply. I'm so very sorry this has happened to you & you're puppy , I hope he is now on the mend, it's not your fault it is the breeder alone who is to blame! But I'm sorry to say this & I cannot stress it enough when you get a dog it should always be checked by a vet ASAP. It also brings me back to what I said on another thread, yes a vet costs money but is well worth it they compile a history & advise on food , worming etc. you did the right thing & I now hope you continue to go from strength to strength, all the best & let us know how little Loki progresses !.

[millielilac]

Oh dear ...how awful for you and for the little puppy .....

Hopefully he is on the mend now and will get stronger by the day.

It is usually true that dogs/ puppies do need to be introduced to new dog food very gradually as a sudden change will inevitably cause a tummy upset .

It is wrong to blame yourself as in truth it is possible that the puppy could be stressed at the move and could refuse food ...without necessarily being ill. The person most at fault is the breeder who must have known they were selling a sick puppy if the problem was long standing ...

Just concentrate on getting your little puppy back to full strength .....

[shonafp]

i agree with the person who thinks you may have bought from a puppy farm or at least a dodgy breeder.

where did you find the breeder ?  was it a kennel club registered breeder ? do they breed any other breed of dogs ?

i would report the whole thing to trading standards / environmental heath in the local authority you boought the puppy from.

be prepared to visit the vet before next tuesday, puppies can go back downhill very fast 😞

[saasher2012]

I've just Googled Anubis the consensus of opinion is it's not known , very wary , & suspicious of its quality , no information of the recipe on the bag, could be a made up feed! Basically they are not impressed.

[aernethril]

Another thought is that they put him onto the wrong food far too early and maybe he was not ready for it.

It does sound as if he's turned the corner now though and hopefully will start to pull through just fine.

It might still be worth asking the vet to give him some regular checks for the next couple of months at least to make sure he's back on track and maintains his improvement and growth as he's had such an iffy start.

It could save a lot of money and problems in the long run.

[bitsnknots]

I am very sorry and appalled as to what has happened with Loki.  You've been worried stiff and that is plain to see.  It was many years ago since we bought our last dog but before we bought him, the lady who owned and ran the kennels showed us both his parents.  I didn't think much of it at the time but I can see why now.  I hope that Loki is soon feeling a lot better.

CG, we'd never suffer from Molly overload because we love dogs.  Looks forward though to seeing photos of Loki when he is feeling better.

[52milk]

As I had not owned a dog for some years....before children....we looked into it very carefully.

Did all our research,visited rescue centre and weighed up cost and time.We also decided on the breed we felt would fit with all of the family.

The breeder has both the mother and grandmother and gave me the copy of the registration papers for the father with his owners name and address.

They gave all information on his worming,flea treatment and vaccination date.

They also gave me a bag of food.They have also made contact for 2 days after I told them he was unwell to see how he was.I have not heard from them though since Tuesday when I asked again for the name of the food so I could look into possible allergies.

So all in all although I am a novice dog owner I felt I had been very careful in choosing where to purchase from.

They also are farmers and have they said 400 sheep and were not pleased when I said the first vet I saw was treating him for malnutrition and worms and asked if I was going to see another vet.

When I told them what the 2nd vet said and although he didn't think worms but an infection or intolerance to the food and was now very malnourished and dehydrated,they avoided the food issue.

I think the food seems to be something that is perhaps passed around breeders,do they do that?

So although my partners wants to take it up with the breeders further I can not see to what end .Loki is very much on the mend and will be seeing the vet again on Tuesday and we will take it fron there.He can not have his vaccination untill the vet is happy he is well enough.

[johnsmeccparts]

But did you actually see Loki with his mother?

[saasher2012]

Could be they have been duped as well & were embarrassed about it,

[chickengrandma-2008]

It depends what you want from the breeder as to whether you take it further I would say.  

Do you want them to pay the vet's bills?  You'd have to prove it was their fault of course.

Do you want them to take Loki back and refund your money?  I wouldn't have thought so.

I'd be inclined to spend all my time enjoying and making sure Loki was well and happy and put all this behind you.  It's stolen the first week or two, don't let it spoil any more.

But that's just my opinion of course.

You say about his jabs, didn't he have his first one at 8 weeks?  We got Molly the day after she had hers  but we were given the vet's form saying what jabs she'd had, batch number, her weight and clean bill of health from a very well known vet's in the town.  She's due her second one next Friday and although we use a different vet, we'll take the card with the information on so he can check it over too.

I started changing Molly's food over within a couple of days.  I bought a bag of the one she was used to on the day we got her, but my usual grocery store doesn't sell it, so I bought one they do sell and started off swapping two or three pieces and increasing the number at each meal.  She's on about half and half at the moment, although she has all sorts of scraps because if Lottie's having left overs as a treat, Molly has to have some too!  She's never once been sick since I've had her.

Hopefully Loki is on the mend now and with TLC will soon be a vandal, just like Molly. 

[52milk]

Yes we saw mother and grandmother and two of the other 4 pups...2 had already gone to their new homes.

[ed_blackadder_1]

Oh Milk I am so sorry this has happened, did the breeder give you a card with all the vaccine details on it, dates make etc and saying what vets did it,  because its easy for someone to write on a piece of paper that they have had all these things.

A sombering lesson for anyone getting a puppy you have to be so carefull nowadays.  You here of so many malnourished puppies these days from breeders just making money. A lot of the new fangled breeds cost so much money that breeders can make a fortune out of them. 

When we collected our dogs from the dogs trust, they had a proper history from the vets, listing any marks, scars, injections, weight the name of the vets and all the relevent stickers that applied to the injections. There were notes from the kennels regarding any sickness they might have had, a note of the food they were on, worming tablets and flea treatment.

That said please enjoy Loki, and try and put this behind you.  If you have a good vet they won't mind you popping in or ringing if you are worried,

Also as everyone has said, photos, photos, and more photos,  and CG none of us is bored with pictures of Lottie and Mollie.

[saasher2012]

I think you have probably just answered your own question! That is a large litter of pups & unless you are expert at monitoring mothers milk production & supplementing both mum & pups that could be where the problem lay & the start of his problems, as others have said it's up to you of course , but would be difficult to prove, I think in fairness to both yourself & the breeder put it behind you & start to enjoy your pup. More pics please & also of little Molly we never tire of them.

[52milk]

Yes he had his first jab and they gave me the card with the information on.

No I dont want to do anything about it ,just calming down the other half,hes not annoyed at anything to do with money.

He feels the pup has suffered and shouldn't have,hes a very sensitive caring softy and was very upset at the thought of him in distress.

[ed_blackadder_1]

I think we all are when we see animals suffering,

Take a deep breath, and have fun with Loki, sounds like he is on the mend, enjoy many years,

[52milk]

I agree.

At the end of the day he is now going to be fine and thats all that counts to me.

Strange how attached you become in just a couple of days,we love him to bits and are going to have such fun and chaos with him.

[aernethril]

Give them both a big cuddle and remind OH that dear Loki is like a child and will pick up on the vibes and may feel he's done something wrong.