4 or 5 week old puppy with Diarrhea?

Question

We just picked up a puppy today. She is from a litter of 6 that were had by a Mommy that is a neighborhood stray. (Long story) The people that took the Mom in wanted to be rid of the babies now so we had to take her early. Here's the challenge. They said she was still nursing some, but also eating the cheapest soft food on the shelf mixed with a little milk.

I now have the baby on the Goats milk formula for puppies and have even mixed it with soft food... but the puppy now has diarrhea. Since the family that had her is not very good about answering questions, I have no way of slowly weening her from whatever to whatever and have to just leap in there and do what I can at this point. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It's a funny situation because she was being kept outside in a mud hole, in 90+ degree weather with a bucket of green water. Now I have her in doors, out of the muck with good food and TaDa... diarrhea.

Answer 1

1. dont ever feed her cows milk, even to mix it with food - it will give her diarrhea (though you probably already know that)

2. has she been wormed? you need to take her to the vet, she probably has worms.

3. try changing the brand of puppy formula if it doesnt settle after she is wormed.

she needs to see a vet ASAP. diarrhea can kill a puppy.

p.s. the above answerer doesnt know what he is talking about - your pup should be trying moistened wet food as you are already doing.
and pepto-bismol will NOT kill worms or parvo. you need to take her to a vet.
.

Answer 2

Diarrhea can be caused by many things. Some simple like the stress of leaving mom, change in diet, or even just plain old bad nutriotion.
Some are not so simple and will require a vet visit like, worms or Parvo. A vet visit is necessary anyway since mama was a stray and worms are very likely.
If the vet finds no signs of bad health, then the diarrhea will go away on it's own, but it;s best to be sure it isn't from a life threatening disease like parvo.

Answer 3

If you've wormed this pup within two weeks and didn't repeat worming,your pet could have worms.I would suggest taking away all water and food and replace the water with some non-flavored baby pediolyte,this will keep your pet from dehydrating.Try boiling some chicken,cut in small pieces,put in blender with small amount of water and puree it,most of the time this will stop the diarrhea and most dogs love this.If your pet continues to have diarrhea after the pediolyte and pureed chicken I would suggest you take to vet for a fecal,as your pet may have contacted Cocci,which only an antibiotic will cure.

Answer 4

Oh Lordy! Like the others say, this could be a number of things. They mentioned Parvo, which is deadly. They mentioned a switch in the food. More common and not mentioned are intestinal parasites. With diarrhea it could indicate especially in puppys whipworms or coccidia. Take a stool sample to the vet for them to look at it under a microscope to detect any parasite eggs. I bet this is your problem, but I wouldn't rule anything else out. Just take to vet.

Answer 5

Could be from the switch in food (regardless of "quality" of diet), could be stress from switching homes, could be because she's too young to be on solids, could be parasites. Take her to a vet and have her check her stool and do a full exam. Mention the bucket of green water and have her checked for Giardia as well (single-celled protozoan that can cause very bad diarrhea in dogs, cats and people). Puppies can get dangerously dehydrated VERY quickly, so I would get her to a vet ASAP.

Answer 6

Scours? She needs a shot from your vet. It's probably Giardia.

The worst case senario would be parvo, but she would be throwing up with that too. It is ok to feed a young puppy soft/food goat's milk as soon as they start licking instead of just sucking. She will be fine as soon as you clear up the diarrhea.

Answer 7

Its probably the different food you are giving her now. Sometimes animals get diarrhea when you switch food on them. It also could be that she has worms, take her to the vet and get her checked out. Also when you think that she is ready start mixing in dry dog food. Once she gets old enough give her just dry dog food if she is going to be an inside dog. Good luck.

Answer 8

For a start it is far too early for puppy to be parted from mother.Pups should be at least 8 weeks old.I feel for you.But your formula is too rich for her.Her little tummy is still only ready for mummies milk.So you need to dilute her formula with boiled water.Remember her tummy is tiny.So the secret is a bit like feeding a human baby. Little and often. maybe 3-4 times during day,and if possible 2 times at night.No way should she be on solid food.That takes place at about 9-12 weeks.The other problem is Parvo.Dog Flu. You will need to get her a jab at 9 weeks. Dog flu is very prevalent among pups.I would just feed her lightly whilst she has the "trots". Remember although she was outside, she was on her mother's milk. The best for a baby. Good Luck!

Answer 9

first i use purina puppy show hard and soften it with teh formula to a soulp consistency.
make sure she gets plenty of fluids and take her to teh vets.
This could be teh stress form leaning mom so young.
it could be worms ( take a fresh stool sample with you)
It could be something else.
If you make sure she gets penty of fluid she should be ok you may want to get a bottle and feed her.
Then when you go to the vet see what they suggest.

Answer 10

I am so glad that you took her. Because she was not getting fed properly and was living in a horrible environment; her system is going WOW with all of the good stuff. If you are going keep her - take her to vet. there is the possibilitity she is allergic to goat. but i think her system is in shock from good food and loving. keep it up