Sick, 1.1 pound puppy is lethargic, not eating/drinking. Please help!!!

[carmen in nj]

yes, warming up the milk to get the chill out is great, I do that too when I store it in the refrigerator, I see others have their suggetions too, so I am going to step aside, I don't like the too many spoons in the soup, it never works, I am talking out of experience and the experience of dozens of breeders that have work with a coccidia pup, best of luck, by the way is no nutrition on rice water, that is one of the reasons we breeders stop giving it to pups, same with rice cereal for weaning, we switched to goats milk and good quality puppy food..give her the unflavor pedialyte she needs it, congrats on her brown poop that means she is on the road to recovery, the blood still means she still battling the coccidia, that too should clear..
best of luck for you and your pup...
hugs,

[Taryn0405]

I'd really listen to Carmen, heck even PM her if you have any questions. She's a good breeder that really knows her stuff. And that's evident by the suggestion of goats milk and your little one taking to it so quickly.
So happy you're beginning to have normal poops! Still sending prayers.

[Bella dolce]

Originally Posted by carmen in nj

yes, warming up the milk to get the chill out is great, I do that too when I store it in the refrigerator, I see others have their suggetions too, so I am going to step aside, I don't like the too many spoons in the soup, it never works, I am talking out of experience and the experience of dozens of breeders that have work with a coccidia pup, best of luck, by the way is no nutrition on rice water, that is one of the reasons we breeders stop giving it to pups, same with rice cereal for weaning, we switched to goats milk and good quality puppy food..give her the unflavor pedialyte she needs it, congrats on her brown poop that means she is on the road to recovery, the blood still means she still battling the coccidia, that too should clear..
best of luck for you and your pup...
hugs,

Thank you so much Carmen! Sticking with the goats milk. Poop looks much better this am! how long before she'll feel like playing again? Eating on her own again? She so hates being force fed. Night time feelings are rough for me but I'll do whatever it takes.

[gidget529]

In humans, the rice water is given as the starch in the water helps "bind" the bowels. It is usually done w white rice.

Carmen is right, there is no nutritional value to this, it is strictly for the use of the starch as a "binding agent". You can also "overbind" w this method in humans.

Canines are different in some respects to humans. It is important to keep up nutrition and electrolytes, especially in such a young pup (or person).

I would check w your vet before you try the rice water. Carmen has helped a lot of "new skin mothers" w their sick "fur newborns". I have seen other reputable breeders on here recommend the goats milk too. You might want to put your vet and Carmen on speed dial.

[carmen in nj]

thank you ladies, I know everyone is concern and trying to help, but in the wisdom words of my mentor, "too many spoons ruin the soup" and when you have a new person dealing with all this emotions she will try anything that is suggested to her, and that can cause more harm than good, she is trusting us blindly right now and I don't want to tell her to do something and someone else tells her another thing and at the end this two things can crash the pup, I don't feel I know it all, but I have a great support group of breeders and mentors with lots of years of experience.
I am always learning new things and the most important thing the reason of why is done that way now and why is better than what it was done years ago..
hugs,

[carmen in nj]

Originally Posted by Bella dolce

Thank you so much Carmen! Sticking with the goats milk. Poop looks much better this am! how long before she'll feel like playing again? Eating on her own again? She so hates being force fed. Night time feelings are rough for me but I'll do whatever it takes.

oh, so happy to hear this, keep up the good work, she is healing is going to take time, but hopefully she will recover fully soon, get the pedialyte we need to keep her electrolites in check. plus the feedings and her meds, this too shall pass soon and she will be a healthy playful pup..
Bad Breeder that let go a baby so soon..
hugs,

[Taryn0405]

Once again, yay for good poop!

[Bella dolce]

Originally Posted by carmen in nj

thank you ladies, I know everyone is concern and trying to help, but in the wisdom words of my mentor, "too many spoons ruin the soup" and when you have a new person dealing with all this emotions she will try anything that is suggested to her, and that can cause more harm than good, she is trusting us blindly right now and I don't want to tell her to do something and someone else tells her another thing and at the end this two things can crash the pup, I don't feel I know it all, but I have a great support group of breeders and mentors with lots of years of experience.
I am always learning new things and the most important thing the reason of why is done that way now and why is better than what it was done years ago..
hugs,

Yes- our thanks to everyone for all your advice. We know it all comes from love and concern for the little baby. update- baby Bella is getting much more feisty in her resistance to being fed. She's wiggling away now and just seems to have more energy to resist. Although I know it's not a good thing that she is resisting food, but her energy level seems to show that maybe her strength is building? I feed her every 3 hours around the clock each time with 3 fingers full of the critical care A/D food mixed with a bit of goats milk, 2 syringes (the skinny ones) of pedialyte and 1 syringe of goats milk. We make a mess, & and she hates it, but we get it in her. Does this sound sufficient? Too much too little?

[dawn27]

It's good to hear that she is doing better and has had a good poo. The warm goats milk is the best thing for her. It's the closes thing to bitches milk that you can get and it is good for them.

What has your vet said about her not wanting to eat? Does he think that there may be some other concern there that may be the cause? It seems strange that she doesn't want to eat and has to be forces to.

If her little rump get to be too swollen or inflamed do to the diarrhea you may want to clean her up with a warm soapy wash cloth. If that does not work you may need to soak her bottom in some warm water in the sink to loosen the stool. I had this problem with a couple of pups from a litter once and after I got them all cleaned up I applied some A&D ointment. The next day they swellling was gone and bottems were all better.

Im glad to hear that she is felling better. I really hope that she has a quick and full recovery and is back to her ole' self soon,. You are doing an awesome job!

[imdll]

Such good news that your little one seems to be doing a bit better.

I certainly hope that my earlier comments didn't create any stress or an environment where there were too many spoons in the broth. That was not my intention. I am very glad to hear that the current treatment seems to be working and hope this little one continues to improve. It is wonderful there are people here with experience in dealing with matters like this who can help guide others struggling to help their puppy's health.

The reason I asked about talking to the vet about milk is because there are times when the bowel is not in any condition to handle milk, and one's vet or doctor is often in the best position to make that evaluation. Sometimes it can be the small things that get overlooked in a stress situation and so I thought it might be worth bringing up. Intestinal flora can be a tricky thing after days of watery stool which can make it difficult for the body to properly digest milk products. In humans the bacteria for digesting milk is one of the last bacteria to return to the necessary levels required for digestion after a serious illness. It may be different in canines, I have no idea. Thus the reason to discuss the matter with the vet.

Regarding rice water, yes rice water is a starch and starch does have nutritional value as it is a sugar which is not so very different from the glucose water given in an IV to keep patients hydrated. Rice is also very easily digested and easy on the digestive tract. Humans are put on an IV of glucose water and nothing at all by mouth sometimes during extreme illnesses. That being said, any treatment of an extreme illness needs to be monitored by a vet or doctor to ensure that what should be done in that particular situation is being done. When dealing with such a tiny little pup extraordinary caution must always be used and a vet should always be consulted before trying any treatment method because any illness is a very big deal when you are that tiny and so any whoops is also a very big deal. I do not have personal experience raising tiny pups (there are several here who can certainly speak on pup matters better than I can) but do have experience raising tiny human babies. My last one was 3.5 lbs and stayed very thin right up to her adulthood. Any stomach illness was cause for alarm and she would become dehydrated ridiculously quickly.

This little pup is so much tinier than that, her reserves are so very small. Extraordinary caution must be followed and her vet included in most health decisions to keep her health going in the right direction. May she continue to regain her strength. Keep up the good work!

[Sabrina Faith]

there is a product called Nutristat or Nutrical... either product works the same way! GET IT IMMEDIATELY... yorkies are very well known for having hypoglycemia.... whenever your pup seems lethargic give them a fingertip full.... just shove it in their mouth! it will make an immediate difference and could save their life!

When I got my little girl she was 1.8 and over 4 months old... because she was so tiny I had to be very careful to make sure she ate enough! I would hand feed her.... try boiling chicken breastand shredding it... it was one of the only things I could get Gidget to eat when she was that little.... and believe me I tried everything... because at 6 months she still weighed 1.8 lbs and the vet said she needed to gain weight asap. there is a food called "stella and Chewies" that she eats really well.... I didn't know about it when she was a puppy.... but she loves the beef flavor a ton and I'm just grateful that there's something she likes to eat

Gidget had a lot of nausea and vommitting when she was a pup... so i had to give her a pretty dull diet... boiled chicken and some greek yogurt... she refused to eat dog food

[Bella dolce]

[QUOTE=dawn27;3796875] It's good to hear that she is doing better and has had a good poo. The warm goats milk is the best thing for her. It's the closes thing to bitches milk that you can get and it is good for them.

What has your vet said about her not wanting to eat? Does he think that there may be some other concern there that may be the cause? It seems strange that she doesn't want to eat and has to be forces to.

If her little rump get to be too swollen or inflamed do to the diarrhea you may want to clean her up with a warm soapy wash cloth. If that does not work you may need to soak her bottom in some warm water in the sink to loosen the stool. I had this problem with a couple of pups from a litter once and after I got them all cleaned up I applied some A&D ointment. The next day they swellling was gone and bottems were all better.

Hi Dawn,

I too am perplexed as to why Bella won't eat and has to be force fed. Do puppies develop a resistance to food when sick- is this normal? She only drank the hosts milk freely on the first day we offered it to her. Since then, she hasn't drank it on her own. Every now and then she will drink water from her bowl. Her poops are getting fewer, although they are still like pudding, which in itself is an improvement. She goes back to the vet on Monday afternoon.

Thanks for the tip about the ointment! I've been applying it once a day or so.

[DvlshAngel985]

Carmen, would probiotics help this little pup? They sell this gel form of probiotics at Petco in the small animal section. (for animals 10 pounds or less) I give it to Kaji when he's not feeling well (I know his tummy hurts when he refuses food) and that helps get him back to normal. (firm poops) could something like that help this wee one?

[carmen in nj]

She is on antibiotics, I would wait until she is done with them to them give her benebac or any probiotics, we must not interfere with the antibiotics killing the coccidia in the intestines, I suggested to Chaunda after Bella is done with the Albon and the antibiotics.
hugs,

[DvlshAngel985]

Gotcha! I don't know what coccidia is, or the treatment. It's just a thought. I hope the pup gets better.