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?

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

I think it's a good idea for a wellness check anyway. We took Daisy the Monday after we got her on Saturday just to have her checked out. She actually had roundworm so glad we did.

We started the switch from whatever the breeder had her on immediately by adding a little of the new food to the old food, like 1/4...unfortunately we were not on DK and even the food we switched to was not good... we listened to the Vet :o( , 6 months later we had her on Orijen and 3 months after that Acana where we settled.

Oh and he is soooooooooooooo cute.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I so agree with a wellness check as soon as possible after getting a puppy. With my last puppy, I went directly to the vet from the breeder, lol.

[Jenn Suchniak]

thanks everyone. his name is appa, it's a character (a flying bison) from the "avatar: the last airbender" cartoon series.  we're kind of nerdy.  :)

he started whining this morning around 5 am and pooped twice when i took him out, both kind of watery.  :(

[Bonnie and Kona]

I'm so impressed that he was whining to go out at 5 am! That is a good sign. 

He just could not be any cuter! 

[Jenn Suchniak]

I am hoping so! I'm glad I found this forum, I am being super diligent about watching his cues. Though it sure is exausting, lol!

[Bonnie and Kona]

We were taking Owen out every 20 minutes at first. He was not a good boy about potty training. Well, he is generally NOT a good boy, but he has tough competition being our first doodle is "perfect" in every way. ;o) Owen just came into our household for comic relief. In fact, whenever someone says the words "good dog" Kona walks over to them because he knows they must be talking about him! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is sounding like giardia to me. :(

But appa sounds like a very smart boy!

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Appa is really so cute. Here's hoping he is feeling better by Monday morning. Is that when is wellness visit is scheduled?

[shelley knopf]

He is so adorable!! Brinkley had diarrhea when he first came home. It did take at least 48hrs before he had a good stool!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

OMD! Appa is just adorable! Congrats on your newest family member! Sorry to hear of his tummy issues but you have already gotten some great advice here. I  agree with getting a new puppy exam asap. This was a requirement of Tara's breeder. If I remember correctly the contract stated she was to have one within 3 days of adoption. Hope he is feeling better soon.

[Jenn Suchniak]

thanks everyone! i set up an appointment for tuesday morning. dh will be home and can help out with all the littles. i am going to call them in the morning (set it up online) to see what i need to bring in (poo, ect).

[Emily & Wispa]

I was told by the breeder that a day or two of diarrhoea is common because of the stss of leaving mum and the litter mates. I know you don't want to upset his stomach any more, but I would suggest replacing at least some of his food with some plain chicken and steamed veggies. It will be good to get him used to honest to goodness food, he'll get more nutrition from it, and probably love it! his current food may actually be contributing to the problem.

Are you planning to feed your puppy a high quality kibble? Or actual food? We're doing a mixture of fish4puppies kibble and meat and veg. Haven't had any issues with loose stool or any health issues, really!

Whatever you do decide on the food front, keep an eye on him for now, and if you think he really needs the vet, take him tomorrow. I hope his stomach settles soon, though. He is adorable!

Oh, I just saw that you're going to the vet Tuesday! I hadn't realised you hadn't had a puppy exam, yet, good thing you're going. We went in on the way home from the breeder, and I felt better for it. Are you going to get his injection Tuesday, then?