Hi everyone, Murphy is 5 months old and we have had him since 8 weeks. It just seems to be one problem after another with him! First of all he had some type of allergy itching and sore skin and was on piriton. Then he had colitis. Then he had colitis, which lasted ages and he had to have loads of various meds. Then he's had colitis again and conjunctivitis at the same time! And now he's spent the night heaving and wretching a coughing up white foam, which after speaking to the emergency vet is either kennel cough or possibly something stuck in his throat which could mean an op in the morn to get it out . We've ended up letting him sleep upstairs with us as worried he could get worse in the night and if he was downstairs in the kitchen we wouldn't necessarily hear him. It's so stressful!! And I'm already stressed as am getting married in 2 weeks and am not as organised as I'd like to be!! Anyway was just wondering whether all this illness is normal in a pup or whether murphy is cursed to be a sicky dog all his life x
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Sounds like you are pretty stressed by this. Lilly some times coughs and chokes a bit if she has chewed something and scratched her throat although mostly when she was younger - not for a good while now. Are you feeding him wheat free? I cant remember. Im sure he won't always be like that but they are a worry. Worse than kids really. Weddings can be a bit stressful too......I really hope it all pans out. Are you seeing the vet first thing?
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Yea iv got to ring up as soon as they open to get him an appt . It was either that or take him to the out of hours emergency vets that would have cost a bomb and the emergency vet on the phone said they thought it could wait till morning. I'm feeding him Eukanuba puppy as that was what the breeder had him on but i wanted to change him to symply but he got colitis again and I didnt want to upset him further by changing his food. I hate how there are so many different options and choices for feeding and how everyone has varying opinions on it all!! X
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Oh, dear, it sounds like you have had a rough time of it to be sure!! I've only raised two dogs from puppyhood, both sailed through fairly well with the major exception that both contracted parvovirus as pups and the first one was very sick indeed from it. But once they recovered from that I really didn't have any issues except to change feed for the second one due to allergy, which cleared up the problem. I wonder if you could be running into some allergy issues with the gut problem?? I really don't know anything about colitis, so could be way off track. But perhaps something to check into once the wedding is over!! Let us know what the vet thinks!!
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? You poor thing. Pups do seem to catch everything going. Kennel Cough is basically a doggie cold and it can certainly make them cough so much that they throw up. My dog had it earlier this year. He couldn't keep any food down at one stage. Antibiotics fixed him up quickly (though sometimes it can be viral in which case it takes a bit longer but it's not a serious illness). With the food - it sure can be confusing. There is no one right way. Choosing a decent quality dry food is a perfectly good approach. Hope everything settles a bit soon and also that you have an absolutely wonderful day on your wedding.
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Hope it went okay for you and Murphy this morning. They're like kids, sometimes it seems you're never away from the doctor/vet when they're young. Our lot seem to be right little hard nuts, touch wood, and don't seem to pick up too many ailments. With wedding plans at the same time, it must seem like so much going on! Fingers crossed for a good news update later on. x
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Thanks for your kind words everyone. Just back from the vets and Murphy has Kennel Cough. They haven't given any meds so I am off out in a min to get some manuka honey for him as his cough sounds so horrible and violent! Hopefully he is getting all his illnesses out of the way now and will grow out of it. Thanks everyone x
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Ah bless him! That's awful. Well, you know what it is now, so can get on treating it. Hope he recovers soon. x
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Poor little mite. Kind of surprised though, that they didnt give him any medication... guess it's the viral kind. You can vaccinate against many types of kennel cough, might be worth thinking about for the future. Do hope he is feeling better soon!
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Riley definitely went through a phase were it felt like we were always at the vet. He had an ongoing tummy issue that seemed to last months! Honey is a good idea, hope he feels better soon!
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Glad you got a diagnosis. When Obi had kennel cough and saw the vet he didn't get any medication at first. We were happy to just see how it went. But he coughed and heaved all that night (and vomited on our bed....with us in it) so we took him back the next morning and he got antibiotics plus anti-inflammatories (to sooth his throat). This combo worked well. But antibiotics don't help all strains.... Hope your little boy improves soon
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Sorry you've had such a bad run,I'm sure it is just all coming together and then he will have a clear run.manukau builds immunity too doesn't it as well as the soothing effect. You sound like you have got such a lot on with a wedding....try not to let this time get too much for you though and pass by in a blur.You will never have this time again and the run up,even with all it's worries and stresses is all part of your big day and it's part of what you look back on when the main day has been enjoyed. You know we want to see a wedding picture too! Good luck and best wishes x
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Oh poor little boy, hope he is OK. He will be just fine with you taking care of him. Please try to enjoy this special time in your life. Heaps of best wishes and lots of luck for your wedding day. Helen x
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Sounds almost like barley when we first got him, it was just one thing after another constantly, his were all different things though, Ear infections, grass seeds in both ears,grass seed in paw, missing tip of tail, ingesting salt, diarrhea, eye infection, sore paws, allergies, lameness, cut paws, the superglue incident, dog bite, and quite a few more stuff that i can not remember of the top of my head. he has also had kennel cough, he was coped quite well with it, no really change in him other than the coughing. I hope things are better soon with murphy, i think it just is a phase that dogs go through of being accident prone
Re: Always ill- is this normal?!? Poor puppy My two seemed to have one thing after another when they were pups but their immune system does get better as they get older. My old lab had colitis from the age of 4 he lived to 15. I fed eukanuba for most of his life but when he got to 11 he got worse it became stress related. I changed him onto royal canin sensitivity control dry food and gave him pro/ pre biotic supplements and I don't think he had an upset tummy again! I would reccomened the royal canin if your dog has colitis although it is expensive. Fish 4 dogs worked well for him as well. Foods with fish as a single protein with rice or potato as a carb are usually very good for dogs with a delicate constitution. I now feed CSJ command performance which is salmon and rice and a lot cheaper than royal canin. Good luck with the wedding hope you have a lovely day ;D Jen
