A Few Questions ....

[BANJOTHEBOXER]

My pup is a 9 week old boxer and from the day we got him he has had runny poo. We put it down to change of food, so i started mixing his old with our new to get him used to it slowly but its not difference.

We are feeding him Bonnie Puppy food. I think he may need to be wormed but i was told he was already when i picked him up, can it hurt him if i do it again?

Because he will eat but never looks like he gets a big belly, you can always see his ribs. The poo is sometimes a bit more soilid at first then turns to water :rolleyes:

He is active when he is awake, he sleeps alot through the day and usually doesnt wake me to go toilet through the night, his last wee is at 1130pm before we go to bed and we get up at 7am.

Although it seems through the night before bed he will wake and need to go poo atleast 5 times, between 7 and 1130. Always runny.

Toilet training is going really really well he has started scratching at the door to go out to wee for the last 2 days NO ACCIDENTS.

Also another 1, EXELPET flea control, i have bathed him and put it on him, he touched a cat and now has fleas again

Do i just bath him in flea shampoo to kill them or do i need to do the exelpet again?

Sorry i have so many questions, its our first pup and i want to make sure we do it right.

EDITED TO ADD : HE just did a poo the poor bugger couldnt hold it, it come out like a hose, watery with black things in it ????

My husband is at work all night and i have no way to get him to a vet :@

Edited December 16, 2008 by BANJOTHEBOXER

[Gretel]

It really does sound like he needs to see a vet. Can you take him tomorrow? When you bring home a pup it's important to keep their diet the same as they are used to at least until they are well settled into your home before starting to make changes. I wouldn't give him any food tonight, if you haven't already, and no breakfast and get him to the vet in the morning.

[Nekhbet]

excelpet is rubbish try something like Frontline or Advocate (which does worms too) if you have too. I would lay off the chemicals until you get the runny poo under control and go to the vet NOW. A baby puppy should not be left for more then a couple of days with diahrreah as they dehydrate quickly and can go downhill fast.

Is he vaccinated? What kind of breeder does he come from and what were they feeding him before? He sounds sick and needs medical treatment asap.

For the fleas I have used a shampoo called Flea-Di by Rudducks, safe for little puppies (we did the rescue kittens in it) and has natural pyrethrin in it.

ETA puppies should be wormed every 2 weeks until 3 months then every month until 6 months, then every 3 months. If his stomach is upset DO NOT WORM HIM since you cannot get him to a vet do not risk upsetting his stomach further

Edited December 16, 2008 by Nekhbet

[charli73]

Runny poos 5 times a day is way too much, get puppy checked at the vets asap.....

[Kelpie_Pup]

Runny poos 5 times a day is way too much, get puppy checked at the vets asap.....

Yep. Go the Vet asap. In the meantime, if your Pup is really hungry, perhaps a small amount of plain rice and plain cooked chicken.. and I mean only a small handful.What you describe is defintely diarrhoea.. poor little thing. Halle has had it once and she was up about 5 times during the night with the runs :rolleyes:

For the fleas, rinse with a flea rinse shampoo throughly to remove what is currently there, then use Frontline-or another high quality product. They aren't cheap but you can't afford not to really.

Explain the situation to the vet in the morning-or as soon as you can- they'll fit you in pretty quick Just keep up little bits of water regularly. Your pup could definitely do without a feed tonight-won't do any harm.

[Gretel]

How is your pup this morning?

[BANJOTHEBOXER]

Im sorry if you got the wrong idea, his poos are not always water. They will be softer then they should be, sometimes water and sometimes soft then watery in the same poo. His morning poo when we get up is always solid .

He is still active, happy, eating and drinking.

I think it may be because when i mix his old food with our new food, he eats around the old one and mainly eats the new.

I went and bought him advocate this morning for all worms and fleas.

We didnt buy him from a breeder, although we tried but none around our area were not even trying to have litters till next yr sometime. We bought him from a couple who had 2 pure bred boxers , there were 4 in our pups litter, he was the oldest and biggest. They also had 2 other pup from the previous litter that were about 2 i think. I have his papers for his needles and microchip and she told me she had wormed him.

My partner said maybe they didnt use a good wormer, or maybe they did the pups and not all 4 adult dogs so it would made no difference.

I dont think he is sick, he is too happy eating and drinking.

I had a dog when i was a teenager that had hookworm and that was a very sick dog. I will never forget that for as long as i live. And he is nothing like what she was like at all.

He has only been with us for a week now, so maybe his belly still needs adjusting to the food?? I have no idea why he picks around his old food.

[Paganman]

Hey Banjo it might be what your feeding him Bonnie goes straight through my dogs they did lots and lots of runny poop.Its a very cheap food try one of the better ones

[BANJOTHEBOXER]

Really?? I thought Bonnie was one of the best ones What foods are the best?

[persephone]

We have used bonnie pup food with no problem...

I would recommend a VET check.

THEN... if there is no illness, or gut function problem

maybe cut out grains altogether.. and feed raw food, ie: meaty bones , with a small proportion of veg/fruit/egg/fish.

AS he has a normal poo in the morning, it does sound as if there is something happening during the day- he is maybe processing food too fast, or getting too much for his system, or.....

having ribs visible isn't a good thing in such a baby...

See what the vet says...

[poodlefan]

If he was vaccinated at 6 weeks then he will be due for a booster next week. If you won't take him to the vet now (which I would) then jot down these issues and talk about them then.

Make sure you get the booster shot. This is parvovirus season and an unvaccinated puppy is a tragedy waiting to happen.

I would reworm him using a product from the vet and I would investigate a better quality puppy food. Royal Canin and Eaglepack seem to be popular with dog folk - you won't find them at the supermarket you will need to go to a big petstore or order it online.

He should be seen by a vet as a general health exam. I hope you don't regret buying the first boxer available - the breed is not without its issues and you'be bought a lot of health questions in the shape of a cute pup.

Edited December 16, 2008 by poodlefan

[persephone]

I thought Bonnie was one of the best ones

Bonnie is better than a lot of the supermarket stuff... but is not a "premium food'.

I think that a 'good' food can be judged by the ingredient list.

Dry dog food with meat as the first ingredient, and NO wheat or corn re among the 'best'.

At this stage- just get him vet checked, THEN worm him/de flea him /change his food....

[persephone]

have a read HERE

to learn more of food/ingredients

and pleAse- hold off on adding chemicals to his system until he is well ( unless they are vet prescribed)

[BANJOTHEBOXER]

I am taking him to the vet this afternoon as soon as i get home from work, he is at home with my husband now.

He was vaccinated but he his card says he doesnt need another till 4th Jan 09.

[Paganman]

Really?? I thought Bonnie was one of the best ones What foods are the best?

I couldnt use Bonnie or Supercoat with mine both dogs lots of poop and very soft since Ive been on dogz Ive learnt this is coz they both contain lots of cereal fillers and not much meat and some dogs carnt take cereals.Eagle Pack Holistic and Royal Canin suit mine.I tried Nutrience once and its ok better than Bonnie or Supercoat anyway.I didnt think much of Advance

[poodlefan]

I am taking him to the vet this afternoon as soon as i get home from work, he is at home with my husband now.

He was vaccinated but he his card says he doesnt need another till 4th Jan 09.

Go with that then.. I think my maths was out.

Edited December 17, 2008 by poodlefan

[Dogsfevr]

What else do you feed or are you feeding just mixed dry.??

Are you using puppy milks,beef mince etc etc??

We had used Boonie for years as one of are alternative biscuits with the boarders but they have changed the ingredients some where & we no longer use it as the dogs where getting loose tummies to often given the small quantity of dry we use.

Eagle Pack Holistic gave my boy the squirts big time .

My boy has had the best results for settling his tummy on prop plan puppy selects but its $120 plus dollars.

Personally i would be cooking up chicken mince & pumpkin & giving that for 2 weeks.

I would also go to the chemist & buy some Flora max tablets which will help re establish the good gut bacteria & i would use that for a couple of months.

You can get a dog product called Protexin(SP) that is greta just hard to come by compared to the above.

A vet visit is certainly also a must to rule at gardia or similiar

[Melbomb]

In regards to the rib's showing it is often the case with young boxers that are still growing that they will look a little on the skinny side. They're such an energetic breed that most of the time they run off anything you can give them

I know with Bomber until he was older we could never get him to put/keep on weight, there were always rib's showing. I hated it but was told by many people that that's just the way boxers are & the vet would always comment on how healthy he looked!

To me it sounds like his stomach is not liking something you are giving to him. I would fast him for twelve hours, then give him chicken and rice (which he will love) and very slowly work his other dry food back into it bit by bit. I can't comment on Bonnie because have never fed it. With B i found Eagle Pack Holistic and Great Barko were the best for him.

Uuumm you don't have fruit trees in your back garden? B was (still is) a bugger for stealing any dropped apricots or apples he could get his hands on. That will definitely give little one's the runs. Probably not but just throwing that one out there

How often do you feed him?

Good luck with the vet this arvo aswell.

[BANJOTHEBOXER]

OK, So i took him to the vet. She looked him over and said it can be many things causing the upset stomach, the change food, change of enviroment or a bug.

She asked if he is vomitting, he isnt.

We explained he had been in the car for awhile while we drove to the vet so he had a dry nose which is usually wet. She said he has loose skin and a dry nose so he is dehydrated.

I thought he is a pup isnt it meant to be loose, and i know if it doesnt spring back and stay scrunch then they are dehydrated but his springs back straight away.

So we have to keep him off the food for a day, water only with LECTADE in it. To rehydrate him. Watch how he goes. Then slowly give him the food, little bit at a time.

If not she has a whole bunch of needles and AB to treat a bug :rolleyes:

In regards to the rib's showing it is often the case with young boxers that are still growing that they will look a little on the skinny side. They're such an energetic breed that most of the time they run off anything you can give them

Thats what i was hoping, they are skinny in the back end when fully grown arnt they?

Uuumm you don't have fruit trees in your back garden? B was (still is) a bugger for stealing any dropped apricots or apples he could get his hands on.

Nope no fruit trees.

How often do you feed him?

Well when we 1st got him i wanted him to have a breakfast and dinner BUT when we would feed him he would have a nibble then go away and then come looking for it again for another nibble, so we were just leaving it there for him too munch all day

What else do you feed or are you feeding just mixed dry.??

We are just feeding him Bonnie puppy now.

Personally i would be cooking up chicken mince & pumpkin & giving that for 2 weeks.

What will this do? Will it settle his stomach?

EDITED TO ADD: Other than sleeping alot, he is happy and active when awake. He looks good, his coat is shiny he eyes are clear.

If he had a bug would he be able to go through the night without pooping?

Edited December 17, 2008 by BANJOTHEBOXER

[Dogsfevr]

chicken & pumpkin will help settle,many use rice but we prefer pumpkin.The trick is once normal t o slowly introduce one item at a time & weight a few days before adding more.

At 9 weeks he may still have accidients at night but shouldnt be as many as hes having.

I do now Boxers can be prone to tummies issues & one client has had great success =with royal canin boxer it isnt cheap ,having said that vet bills add up quickly & working on a more expensive diet until stabilized is well worth it.

Also dont teach pup to be a grazer,you will regret it latter on.

Keep in mind pup will be teething & has also lost its food comp(pups eat fats when someone else may steal it) but you dont want to allow a bad habit now.

I would say the bonnie is your problem.

AB & a needle to settle the tummy certainly may be needed.

Dogs can go down hill very quickly.