Hi there, my husband has just reported that my pup aged 9 weeks and 5th day home with us that he's just done a slightly muscus based poo with a small amount of what looks like blood in it?! Since we bought him home last Sunday he's been eating drinking well but with loose poos. It got a little better yesterday but loose again today and going quite a few times a day which may explain muscus and straining blood?! . He's bright and playful should I be really worried. Also he's booked in for 2nd injections in 2 weeks.
Hi @Sarah&Ziggy poor pup. It is quite common for puppies to have an upset tummy the first few days in their new home the changes can be very stressful for them. Are you still feeding the same food as the breeder as sudden changes can affect the tummy as well. I think if it were me and the soft poo has been in evidence since you brought pup home and it now has a hint of blood I would phone the vet for advice. When in doubt it is always best to check. Let us know how you get on
Hi take your boy to the vet. My pup had the same when we brought her home and after tests was found to have Giardia ,it's quite common i was told but needed 2 lots of antibiotics to clear. Good luck
Vet advises Thanks @Jojo83 it seems as though it maybe a case of straining. Better form of poo today and all the indicators point to him being well eating/ drinking/lovely so vet nurse advises some scarmbled egg or chicken and rice may help?!
Hi Sarah and Ziggy - I wouldn't overreact yet, to the sight of the blood and loose stools, if all else is well. Some vets do want to move to ABs very quickly and it's important to first be sure you really need them. ABs will completely nuke the puppy's microbiome - good bacteria and bad - and in this day and age we should only be using them when we need them. I would give your pup a 3 day course of Panacur 10%, or the Panacur paste in the syringe - it's the giardia dosage you need and you'll find that with the leaflet that goes with it. Panacur is non-prescription and available from loads of online pet pharmacies. It is a wormer but it is also effective against giardia, whilst not being an AB. If the Panacur doesn't work, then do go to your vet and then you can let them know you have already tried Panacur and they will be able to cross that one off the list and skip to the next thing...
Thanks all, I truly don't think it's an infection however seeing the vet this Tues for 2nd inoculations and he's so bright playful and into his food that will hang on for check up. One question he weighs 14lb I've been feeding him 3x 1 cup of Purina beta per day, I've been recommended to go for 4x feeds per day.....sat here trying to work out amount of feed to give.....ahhh new puppy
If he has blood in his stools and his stools are AT ALL runny, your vet really should not give the 2nd vaccination. Vets are advised by vaccine manufacturers only to vaccinate healthy puppies and they SHOULD delay vaccination if the pup is unwell in any way. Your puppy will not be able to respond well to the vaccination if his immune system is already fighting off something and in addition, he is at a higher risk for a vaccine reaction if he is already unwell at the time of a vaccination. Your vet should already know this and should ask you if he is well and then refuse to vaccinate if he is not 100% - but sometimes vets don't ask and owners don't think it's relevant... Here's an article about that: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/vaccinating-unhealthy-pets/
Hi and congrats on the new puppy. There are several things that could be going on at only day five. Change of water....just like in humans, a change in the water can cause tummy upset. Add in the upset at leaving Mom and litter mates and it's no wonder that the stool gets loose. A bit of blood usually means nothing except that the puppy has been having issues with the stools. Sometimes, going to a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for 24 hours and adding a probiotic followed by a slow reintroduction of the kibble will do the trick. Sometimes, the vaccinations themselves can cause a bout of loose stools for a few days afterwards for some puppies. The exact cause can be difficult to determine; fecal tests come back negative but the loose stools come back as soon as you re-introduce their kibble. A round of antibiotics and probiotics seem to do the trick but three days later, back it comes out loose as ever. And the fact that we are taking the little ones in for their jabs every 2 - 4 weeks for awhile just adds to the "what is causing this" dilemma. I've probably written about this so much that folks are tired of reading it, but our now 17-week old nearly 18-week old Roamin has done this firm, loose, bland diet, antibiotic, firm, loose again dance with us since he had his second 'round of vaccinations. We thought we'd licked it but then after his final boosters at 16 weeks, two days later, after three weeks of good firm poos, we were up for four nights with him again. I finally sat down and looked at the calendar along with my notes and realized that each bout of loose pudding poos that had us up every 90 minutes all night came within 48 - 72 hours of his jabs. Does that mean that those jabs were the ultimate culprit? I don't know about that but I know that there is some evidence that one of those meds are very hard on his intestines.....just to be safe, I moved him to a salmon based version of the food we feed all the others and his stools - 9 days out from his last jab and six days from his 24 hour bland diet, are the best we've had from him since we came home. So, my advise is to follow Jo's advise and give him the Panacur, don't get his jabs unless you've had good firm poos for a week or so and hang in there, it will all work out in the end.....
Sorry forftge delay.....The vet was very reassuring in terms of him bring a fit and well pup and we're monitoring for another week. TBH I'm going to get a stool sample to get checked.....it's now 2 weeks since he arrived and it's all very inconsistent.
I'm in agreement with Jo Lauren on this. Please get your pup tested for giardia. https://www.thelabradorsite.com/giardia-in-dogs/
Stool samples can often show nothing even when there is something there - because giardia isn't shed in every stool. It is notorious for being able to spot. Panacur/fenbendazole is very safe and doubles up as a regular wormer too, so I really would just give him Panacur for 3 days as per the UK giardia dosage and return to the vet if that doesn't work.
Forgot to add we were given panacur by the vet and he's due his last dose tonight so, hoping this will help.
