maltese pup at death's door

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Archived Message

Pup at death's door
by Linda
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Pup at death's door I made a major mistake, already read the discussion on pet shop pup....and Jay's answer. However, the dastardly deed already done, I find myself with a pup, not quite 12 weeks old, 2lbs heavy, and with a parasite aquired in the pet shop. 39 hours after I brought him home, I had him at the vet, listless, low temp, and white gums, the vet putting him on IV fluids and not able to assure me that he would make it. Well, he is home now, 3 days later, much more robust, but is reinfecting himself with the parasite by (scuse the subject matter plz) eating his own stool!! I read early on in my maltese owner days, (this pup is my second) a disussion topic on this very subject, but since my Gabby didnt show this inclination, I didnt take note of the cure. Please please someone give me a suggestion as to what to do for this pup. Overnite, I can't possiby stay on him so as to keep him from doing this. He is only 4 days into the medication to cure the parasite, but I fear for the older one who is also being medicated as a preventative, but I just can't lose this new puppy, I would feel so terribly guilty for not taking care of him as he trusts me to do.

DISCUSSION:

Hi Linda, I really feel bad for you. I was the fool that almost purchased a pup from a pet store and THANK GOD I didn't. Well, I'm quite sure taking him back and demanding your money back is not even an option you would consider, so you need to get that little guy better. Did you ever consider buying a crate with a metal bottom and tray underneath so when the pup goes potty it will fall to the bottom of the tray and than he can't eat it and reinfect himself? Under no circumstances would I ever recommend a crate such as this-it's cruel-but in your case it could save him his life. Than he can get better and not infect your other dog. Than once he's cured of his illness you can go back to your regular crate or whatever method of training you used before. I hope he gets better soon!
Angel

The pet store is reliable for all the medical bills for one. And if you would like another pup, they have to give you another one. I don't know if you are attached to the puppy or what but you have a right to have a healthy pup. Both my puppies were from pet stores too but(I bought them before I knew not to buy from pet stores) they don't have problems. If he is eating his stool maybe you should try putting hot peppers in his stool so he learns not to eat them. I know that sounds cruel but if he is in a life threatening situation and you have other pups, you gotta do what you gotta do! It's a hard choice to make. Good luck!
Michelle

Linda,Sorry to hear @ your new baby ! I wish they would out-law puppy sales in stores. Most likely your puppy already had the parasite problem when he got to the store, @ 75% of all american puppies are born with parasite/worms. You need to be sure the pup gets plenty of water & quality "puppy-food" and have his stool checked by vet, small puppies like the maltese dehydrate and or can get hypoglycimic very quickly, this can be very dangerous indeed and very costly for you if you need to visit an emergency clinic in the middle of the night ! also keep him warm, either with heat-pad on low, put a double folded towel between the pad &pup, a hot water bottle would be better, you can use plastic soda bottles, just fill with medium hot water. Did your vet give you "albon" ? It is used for all types of intestinal ailments including "coxcidia" and is very good. A puppy vitamin would also be recommended. You can e-mail me direct if you like !
Renee

It could well be that he wasn't on a good quality food (fairly likely if he's from a puppy mill/petshop) along with his parasite problems, that caused his extreme weakness and anemia (white gums.. low temp). The stress of transportation to the petstore, then to your home probably didn't help matters much either. So first off, make sure he is on a good quality puppy food. They say that adding a meat tenderizer (like Adolfs) helps sometime.. it makes the stool taste (and smell)real bad so they won't want to eat it. Also, there is a product called Forbid (from vets or pet supply stores), that does the same thing. I wouldn't use either on a young pup that is currently sick without consulting your vet though. Just do your best to keep up with his messes and pick them up right away, and when he's feeling better you can work on training him to go on paper or outside so that you can get to them easier. You may just have to keep him on the medication longer, or go back on it after a few weeks, until he's old enough and well enough to make it through the night without a bowel movement. Look through the archives too.. there are a lot of people who's dogs do this and maybe they could answer better than I can.
Aimee

Ther are several products on the market to prevent your puppy form eating his stool, ask your vet about them, good luck.
Mary p