New Pups w/ Coughs & Scabs
 

Hi everyone...this is my first post here and I feel so fortunate to have found this wonderful site. My dh gave me the most wonderful gift ever 6 days ago, two beautiful 11 wk old Yorkie pups, Chloe & Nitro. He is sneaky and got them for me as a surprise, so I didn't know anything about the breeder or their circumstances. He just wanted to give me what I've always dreamed of...my baby Yorkies.

I already love these guys so much but I am positive they are the result of a puppy mill after dh described the conditions he bought them from...it was horrible and she breeds about 20 different breeds in pretty rough conditions.

All of that aside (but just wanted to let you know where they came from), our vet is on vacation until Monday so I can't take them in for their puppy check until then. I have bathed them both well, used a deflea comb but last night found that both of them have developed scabs and raw places from the fleas and from biting. I can't seem to get rid of them and don't want to use Frontline or anything yet because of their age and having not been to the vet.

To top it off, both of them are coughing this morning like something is in their throats. It's not a kennel cough type of cough (I've heard that before) but more like a sore throat type of cough.

I'm at a loss.

:confused:Can anyone help or give suggestions? It's just Friday and Monday feels like an eternity away...we live in the boonies with no emergency vet for 2 hours in any direction and I am worried about my new babies.

Thanks,
~Barb~

Is there any other vet nearby that you could take them to? The cough concerns me. It may be nothing, but it's just better to be safe.

Hi and welcome to YorkieTalk....Congratulations on your new babies!

You can use plain Dawn (the original one) dishwashing detergent to bathe them, it will kill fleas. Also, Frontline makes a spray that might be safe for young pups, IDK - you'll have to check the packaging instructions. If the spray is safe to use, I would bathe them in the Dawn and then use the spray.

The coughing could be kennel cough being that your pups most likely came from a puppymill. Is there not another vet you could take them to today?

It's just after 8am here and I am starting to call the local vets in hopes that one can see them today. :xfingers:

When I bathed them I used the Dawn and followed up with Johnson's baby shampoo. Fleas came off like crazy but they are still itching and scabby so it worries me.

I really hope a vet can see them today.

Hopefully you'll find another vet today that can see them and then follow up with your regular vet.

I'm sure there is something that could be used to help with the itching, like Cortisone cream (check w/vet) and the scabs should heal now that you've got rid of the fleas.

I wanted to let you know though - Baby shampoos are very drying and dry skin can itch too. Maybe you could try an oatmeal bath or shampoo to help relieve the itching.

New pups
 

Welcome and congrats on your new babies. Please have the vet check for ringworm. My new baby had scabs and we found out she had ringworm. It is highly contagious and she has infected three people and three dogs. Hope they feel better soon!!

OK puppymill notwithstanding gotta say your hubby is awesome! Hopefully you'll find a vet that can get them in today to check out their coughs and get them on the road to being fat sassy happy babies.

Sure hope they can be seen today. When I got my little boy, he was covered in flees - I am from an area where we don't have flees, so I didn't even know what they were - yuck! Anyway, my boy was quite a bit younger (bad, I know) but I did use frontline. However, I would definately ask a vet first to make sure it's ok.
As for the cough, I don't know, sure hope they can be seen today.

Congrats and post pics when you can.

I agree with the others. You need to find a vet today. Most likely they are in the beginning stages of kennel cough. If untreated, it can get much worse quickly. Pneumonia is a complication and very dangerous for puppies. Getting them to a vet today for antibiotics can save you a huge vet bill a few days from now.

Have the vet do a skin scraping and look at their skin w/an ultraviolet light. Ringworm and mites are a strong possibility since they came from a puppy mill.

Did your husband get a a health guarantee with the puppies?

Frontline and Advantage are safe for puppies over eight weeks old. Six days is plenty of time for fleas to be in your carpet as they only spend a small part of their adult life on the host. As the eggs in your carpet hatch, they will keep re infesting your puppies.

**UPDATE**

Sorry I'm just now updating on Chloe & Nitro's condition but it's been a rough few days. My poor babies we diagnosed with:
Kennel Cough (caught before it became pneumonia, YAY!)
Ear mites
Hook worms
Scabies
Ringworm

Yep, my poor darlings have been fighting all of these and have still managed to be happy little dolls in the midst of all that. I am just so thankful that we got them out of the puppy mill situation when we did...and that they are on their way to a full recovery while being loved and pampered.

Thank you all for your help and your kind words. I appreciate it more than you know.

Peace & Love,
~Barb`

Another update:

How did I not know that scabies in dogs is MANGE?!?! Why did my vet mislead me or talk over my head, as the case may be? Am I the only one this has happened to? I can't help but be furious over this...did he think that I would love them less if he used the horrid MANGE word?

*Rant over*

Anyway, this is a new vet that I had never used before and I am waiting on a call from another vet that I have used and that I trust...Vet #1 wants me to bring Chloe & Nitro back every other day for 4 treatments (dipping) to rid them of the mange (scabies, in his words) but not to start until their kennel cough was better. I asked if it was something I could do and he said a resounding NO!! (Each dip is $28 per pup = $56 per visit, every other day x 4 = $224 so I imagine it's not something he wants me to deal with at home.)

I want to know from Vet #2 if this is what he wants me to do (had to use Vet #1 since Vet #2 was on vacation) or if he would recommend using Ivomec, as I have done for rescue pups in the past. (<$20 for a years worth of treatment for worming/heartworm AND treatment of the mange.)

They are both feeling much better but we have got to start treating this mange immediately. Wish us luck!

Peace & Love,
~Barb~

Perhaps the vet said scabies because that is what it is and because there are two types of mange? I don't know. Maybe he wanted you to realize it was the contagious type? Just a thought.

Does not matter.....they need to be treated as you said. It will clear up soon and you will have two adorable yorkie pupsters! :)

Good luck and welcome to YT.

Ringworm
 

I'm going thru the ringworm thing and it is very difficult. My vet did not disclose everything to me also. I will probably be changing vets. Ringworm is very contagious and you and your other pets can get it. I adopted my baby at 10 weeks and she is 19 weeks. She has infected everybody she has come in contact with (two, possibly three other dogs, and three people). Yes, me and my husband got ringworm from her also. I had to see my doctor to get medication to clear my up. I needed more than over the counter stuff. I am bathing my dogs every other day (special shampoo), along with their bedding and toys. I am also mopping my floors every other day with bleach, along with their kennels. Vet/medication bills since I adopted her are over $1600,00. All my dogs have to be separated because they can get it from each other. (I do let my two yorkies play together, but try to keep them from full contact on each other.) A dog dermatologist told me that they are clear of ringworm until they have two negative results and this could take two months. Well, I'm past that timeframe and we still have it. Everything has to be cleaned if she or my other dogs touch it. My water bill doubled because I am washing constantly. My hands are swollen from washing them so often. Please look it up on the computer to find out more, because you are in for a tough ride ahead. I am wishing you and your pups the best, believe me. I am going thru it and it is difficult. Please let me know if you need anything.

For scabies the treatment is usually Revolution as that is a topical flea treatment but not sure due to size of pups so ask the vet about that as the dips are much stronger than anything even ivermectin so i would do revolution first if it was my dog. Actually I did use it to rule out scabies when dd was 9 mos old as scabies is hard to detect sometimes so we did two rounds of revolution over 2 months to make sure. The dips are usually the last resort of treatment. Not sure if he wants to do that because so much else is going on but please ask him about that.

Also revolution will act as a flea protection as well so you are attacking two things at once and it is used for heartworm as well

also humans can get scabies

Whatever treatment you decide to go with, make sure you also treat the environment, especially the pups' bedding! Here are a couple of links with some information:

Canine Scabies: Sarcoptic Mange in Dogs

Sarcoptic Mange