We got Oscar at 6 weeks and he was only 8/10 of a pound! He was spunky and eating good tho and the breeder felt he would be alright. About a week and a half later, I noticed that his stool had mucous in it and just did not look normal. We were in Florida at the time staying in a campground so we asked around and found a really good vet to take him to. Out of a level four, he had level two coccidia. They put him on 1cc of Albon for 14 days and it cleared right up. Coccidia is not a parasite...it is a protozoa. The puppies do not get it at birth. They get it from the mom alright, but from coming into contact with her feces. Coccidia is also passed into the ground when infected feces is present and can infect a dog that way. It does not neccesarily mean a breeder is not clean, but it is very important to keep the mom's feces cleaned up so the pups can't get into it. Oscar got over the coccidia o.k. and then came down with a terrible case of ear mites. We went back to the same vet and they now have a one time treatment for earmites...drops in the ears once and you are done!!! So even tho he was a tiny little toot, he bounced back from all the crud he had...but none of that was in any way related to weight or stress. Oscar never had a stressed bone in his body! He came into our lives like he owned the world and has not looked back. We did keep a ziplock of Frosted Cheerios and gave him about 5 bites every few hours...just in case his sugar did something stupid...he loved them and still does! If you decide to get your pup early, take it to the vet, watch the pup closely for any changes in stool, watch for any changes in eating and watch the mood of the pup to make sure it does not all of a sudden get lethargic on you...the Frosted Cheerios were just a preventative measure for us and we never had an episode with Oscar. Best of luck with your baby!!!
Debbie G. - Oscar's Mom
"Greet everyone as you would your dog." |