brought our little guy home today .... diarrhea?

[Jenn Suchniak]

quick update!

we got appa into the vet tuesday am with a stool sample, and he does indeed have giardia!  we are medicating him, and hoping these yucky bms will be a thing of the past soon!  

he's adjusting well.  two (pee) accidents in the house yesterday, so far none today.  we've been trying to keep him up and running a lot.  still having a lot of night waking.  his crate is down in the living room.  i'm trying to decide if i should buy a second crate for our room, or move his up every night, and back down in the morning.  but other than that, we are enjoying our little 8 pounds of fluff! thanks again everyone!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hello all!  we brought our appa home today, he's a smidge under 8 weeks.  he's has one round of vaccinations and two dewormings.

his breeder said she had him on purina puppy chow (i know, i know - i do plan to change this,  but planned to wait the recommended two weeks before starting the switch to some better grain-free stuff). she gave us a baggie to start him off with.  i went to pick up a bit more on the way home and noticed it was actually purina little bites, not the puppy chow.

so anyhow!  we picked him up at 1pm, he ate a cup of food at 6pm, and finally pooped around 8pm.  it was yellow and not firm enough for me to pick up, really.  i did, but it left a bunch on the grass, too.  then at 9:30 he had a small wet yellow poo in the house while dh was on pup duty and i was putting the 2yo to bed.

is this common on the first day home?  should i take him in?  poor guy.  i also should mention we had a 3.5 hour car ride home, so maybe a nervous belly?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Your puppy is adorable!

Unfortunately, it's very common for doodle puppies to go home with giardia and/or coccidia. The incubation period is 10-14 days, so it won't always show up right away in a stool culture.

It could also be just the stress of this huge day in his life- leaving his mother, his littermates, and the only home he has ever known, and going to a place where nothing at all is familiar to him. But if the diarrhea is from stress, it should resolve pretty quickly. There'a danger of dehydration in a puppy this young if the diarrhea continues.

If his poop doesn't firm up by Monday, I'd bring him in to the vet, and have them run a stool culture. In the meantime, you want to make sure you thoroughly clean up and disinfect any area where he's gone, just in case it is giardia. And don't give him anything new i.e. treats, etc. for now.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Our Guinness also had diarrhea the first day or two that he was home.  We had a long car trip too and at that point riding was very stressful for him (not at all the case now) so I always thought that may have had a lot to do with it.  By the second day he was okay.....although he did end up having digestive issues later, but that's another story.  I totally agree that if the diarrhea hasn't cleared by Monday it's time to talk to the Vet.  Appa is so cute! 

[Jennifer and Jack]

He is adorable!!!!! Love Him!

[Jenn Suchniak]

thank you both!  i will keep a watchful eye.  he was pretty sad in the car.  :(  i was sad FOR him.  i will cross everything we are good before monday.  thankfully he's eating and drinking just fine, so hopefully things will be easier for him tomorrow.

[Camilla and Darwin]

He's so cute!!!

[Jenn Suchniak]

thank you!  we think so, too!  :)  we were last pick, and i think we made out pretty well.  ;)

[Camilla and Darwin]

Beautiful photo too! I just checked out your blog, love it!

[Jenn Suchniak]

thank you so much! :D

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

He is sooooo cute. I hope his diarrhea  resolves itself by Monday.  Hmmmmmm about the breeder to be feeding the dogs Purina small bites.....

[Jenn Suchniak]

i know. :/ I was bummed to hear puppy chow, but when I saw it in store, I was even more surprised to see it was actually the little bites. my heart wants to switch NOW. but I don't want to make things worse. I just took him out, and it was another pretty loose one. :(

[Katie and Sophie]

he is absolutely gorgeous!  For now I would do the wait and see approach for the next 24 hours or so.  As long as he is eating and drinking there is a good chance he has a nervous first day home tummy.  And I totally get your concerns with his food, but I think for now he has had enough changes and he just needs a little time for his system to mellow out before he can switch over to a new healthy food.  Kudos to you for doing your research before hand though!  I can't wait to see more pictures of your little cutie!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Nothing to add to all the good advice about the puppy tummy issues.  Has he got a name yet?  He's a darling, congratulations.