Puppy listless, not eating or drinking

[Kaitria]

Reese is around 3 mo old, was fine last night and this morning, had normal bowel movement and appetite this a.m., but tonight--after the vet's closed, of course--she is listless and won't eat or drink!!! She had her DHLPP booster just Wednesday, we had to wait to clear up her kennel cough before she could have it. Could that be the problem? And yes, she's a notorious poo eater,so I'm praying it's not parvo. Ugh! http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/frown.gif
Her brother, on the other hand, is fine.

I guess I'm hoping against hope that's nothing to be overly concerned about, but
I almost lost a dog to parvo in college, poor thing was a skeleton. Don't want any of us to have to go through that! Now I'm rambling, but any suggestions will be appreciated, especially since we won't be able to get into the vet's until Monday.

[Kaitria]

Okay, I feel a little better. She emerged from under the bed and wanted some attention. Still won't eat, but drank a little water, and when I carried her outside, she did potty. So, we'll see in the morning.

[Nancy Estes]

I'd continue to watch her closely. Be sure she continues to drink liquids. If she won't eat you might try getting her to drink Pedialyte or another similar fluid to help prevent dehydration in case she develops diarrhea or vomiting. It is possible she's having a reaction to the vaccinations. While you're at it you might as well monitor her temperature (101-102 deg.). If she does start having diarrhea or vomiting I'd contact your vet if you can (I realize it's *after hours*) or an emergency clinic if you have access to one. At her age it is quite possible to get Parvo. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing more than an upset stomach.

Nancy

------------------
von Dorow Rottweilers
doggo1@apex2000.net

[Kaitria]

Thank you, Nancy! We'll get the Pedialyte
this morning; she still wouldn't eat her dog food, but I chopped up some lean ham (any port in a storm), and she accepted some of it. She's obviously feeling better this morning, but I'm still not satisfied, as she did have diarrhea 3 times last night. Of course, it wasn't much, since she hadn't eaten anything. The fact that she's up and around and drinking readily again is encouraging. Is it necessary to keep her isolated from the other dogs? We have been, but is it necessary?

[Nancy Estes]

I wouldn't think you'd need to isolate her - just don't let her play too much or too roughly. It sounds, though, like she's pretty much regulating her own exercise. You might try giving her some cottage cheese or yogurt. If she'll eat that it will be easy on her stomach and nourishing too. But anything you can find that she'll drink that's not too salty, give her as much as she wants - unless she starts vomiting. Then you'd have to see a vet pretty soon because with diarrhea and vomiting she could dehydrate very rapidly.

Nancy

------------------
von Dorow Rottweilers
doggo1@apex2000.net

[Kaitria]

Reese started vomitting around 11:30 last
night, so we took her to the vet's first
thing this morning. Unfortunately, it is
parvo. He thinks she'll do okay, though,
since she's a little older and we brought her quickly after the vomitting started--the diarrhea, by that time, had ceased. Anyway, thank you for your input, Nancy. And if anyone reading this is a new puppy owner unfamiliar with the symptoms of parvo, I urge you to do a search and read some of the threads. It can kill in a VERY short time, so prompt treatment is a must.

[Nancy Estes]

Good luck - it sounds, like your vet said, that her case is not a bad one. Otherwise you'd probably have seen much more severe symptoms and much sooner than you did. I think it helps a lot too if they don't feel so bad that they get depressed and lose the will to fight. Let us know how she does!

Nancy

------------------
von Dorow Rottweilers
doggo1@apex2000.net

[Eliza]

What I'd like to know is: parvo rife in the USA especially among the pups. Here in Australia I haven't heard of many cases, though of course there'd be some. The pups are vaccinated from the age of 6 weeks and go through a course of 3 vaccinations and we treat our pups with heartworm from the age of 3 months, and in the meantime keep them isolated from other dogs and only in our backyard and house until 10 days after their last vaccination.Then they are vaccinated yearly.In Tasmania we never treated them with heartworm tablets and never had any problems, no-one used to use it. It's only been since we moved to the mainland that we've had to use heartworm medication every month.

[This message has been edited by Eliza (edited August 25, 1999).]