# Whats wrong with my young puppy?



## MattySinz

I got this dog on Saturday, my cousin got it from a bad breeder from a "wrong side of town." He explained to me that the entire litter was just in a dirty backyard around the mother not being taken care of or looked over by any people. Anyway he got one in an attempt to "rescue" it. Now its my dog, my question is does he have worms? I will not be able to take him to a vet until next friday unfortunately. I ask if he has worms because the pup gets a very bloated almost round-like belly after he eats, it slowly goes down after a few hours but stays a little pudgy.

I switched from substitute mother's milk feeding to watered down purina puppy chow. Since that point ive noticed the bloating much more significantly, i am going to switch foods again today to see if perhaps thats the problem.

The puppy does not seem to be in any discomfort in fact he has a lot of energy rounds around biting and nibbling on everything, he's very active when he isn't sleeping the majority of the time or pooping. He doesn't strain to poop, the poop doesn't look odd also no worms spotted although I know they aren't always visible. Also he doesn't seem to be in any pain when I apply small pressure to his belly area.

Here are some pics, thanks in advance for any suggestions/advice. This is my first puppy, i'm assuming he's only around 6 weeks old..



















I feel like im not feeding him enough..he'll start eating then I notice his stomach getting big so i take the food away. There was a couple days where i fed him 4 times a day and each kind of big servings, is it possible he got use to eatin that much and just ended up getting chubby?

cliffnotes: new puppy, no shots/deworming
puppy didn't have much of a belly when only giving it milk, now 
belly bloats up after eating hard food. Originally fed puppy a lot for
a few days then cut back after I noticed how big belly was
getting. 
Puppy is very active and eats well and poops well, doesn't seem 
to be in any pain.

help!

ps. last pic is pre-bloated belly, when i was still giving him milk. I have a feeling it might be the food


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## MattySinz

here's what he looks like right after he eats.


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## angelbaby

most likely the pup needs to be dewormed . And if possible I would get him to a vet sooner, seeing as he was in bad care you never know what he could have best to get the check and then worming every 2 weeks for the 1st couple months here. 
Make sure you dont take him outside until his shots are up to date or your risking parvo , his vaccinations should be started by the latest at age 8 weeks although ours start at 6 weeks and I know some who start a bit earlier. Make sure you get on that. I know you are rescuing the pup and thats all good but people should only rescue a dog if they can afford the care they need immediately and not when it is convenient to them.

I would also switch off that food, it really isnt anything good. There are some great threads on here if you use the search at the top to find a better suited food. Make sure you get normal puppy or all life stage and not large breed, as this is not counted as a large breed. 

The bloating could be a reaction to the food, especially if he went from mothers milk to food it could be to fast a transition. If you want you can offer a bit of goats milk in a dish or milk replacement { you can get that at any pet store}. It may help the transition.
The bloating could also be worms but with worms you usually always see a round belly it doesnt go away and come back , so sounds more like food is causing this. 

Very cute pup, good luck with him. if you have any other questions post them up or there is a search bar at the top alot of times you can find answers quicker by using that.


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## MattySinz

after looking at his poop every time he'd potty for the last few days i just saw the first worm right now. this feels horrible. i can't take him to the vet for a week, is his life in danger? im sorry ive never owned a dog so i have no idea how serious this is but i feel terrible.


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## MattySinz

angelbaby said:


> most likely the pup needs to be dewormed . And if possible I would get him to a vet sooner, seeing as he was in bad care you never know what he could have best to get the check and then worming every 2 weeks for the 1st couple months here.
> Make sure you dont take him outside until his shots are up to date or your risking parvo , his vaccinations should be started by the latest at age 8 weeks although ours start at 6 weeks and I know some who start a bit earlier. Make sure you get on that. I know you are rescuing the pup and thats all good but people should only rescue a dog if they can afford the care they need immediately and not when it is convenient to them.
> 
> I would also switch off that food, it really isnt anything good. There are some great threads on here if you use the search at the top to find a better suited food. Make sure you get normal puppy or all life stage and not large breed, as this is not counted as a large breed.
> 
> The bloating could be a reaction to the food, especially if he went from mothers milk to food it could be to fast a transition. If you want you can offer a bit of goats milk in a dish or milk replacement { you can get that at any pet store}. It may help the transition.
> The bloating could also be worms but with worms you usually always see a round belly it doesnt go away and come back , so sounds more like food is causing this.
> 
> Very cute pup, good luck with him. if you have any other questions post them up or there is a search bar at the top alot of times you can find answers quicker by using that.


My cousin grabbed the pup for me and gave it to me. I still figure i'm glad he decided to get one rather than have them more than likely eventually die there. I have not taken him outside since getting him. Is there anything temporary I can do before taking him to the vet in a week?


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## angelbaby

Worms keeps nutrients from being absorbed and may have a hard time gaining weight with worms . best to get them treated asap, is there any reason you cant get him dewormed sooner? deworming is the least expensive of things dogs need. if anything I would take him to get wormed and then do the shots next friday when it is more convenient for you.


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## ames

MattySinz said:


> after looking at his poop every time he'd potty for the last few days i just saw the first worm right now. this feels horrible. i can't take him to the vet for a week, is his life in danger? im sorry ive never owned a dog so i have no idea how serious this is but i feel terrible.


First of all welcome, looks like a cute pup! I don't know about you, but I would not want to have to deal with them crawling out of my pup when he is in my house or having to help your pup when he goes the bathroom for that long a time, but it could be just me. Not even a health aspect, lol I don't know but I would think the longer they have them the less nutrients and growing can be done since the worms are taking it away. I suggest you call around, find a vet willing to let you

I think its great of people to rescue dogs, but why can't you take him in a week? Can you not ask someone to help out if its a getting off work? Maybe go on a weekend? If its a money factor, this is only the first in a long long list of money you will be dishing out each week for your dog. Take a look at this when you can. http://www.gopitbull.com/general-discussion/17136-cost-owning-dog.html

I understand the need to nurture, but you need to think about the long term of the dog. I also understand you were just thrown into the situation. I just want you to realistic if this is something you can do. If it is about money right now, call around, check your SPCA they may have walk in for cheap (you wait all day but cheap) ask if someone can please allow you to make a payment plan, or ask if you can pay for deworming meds and schedule the followup at that time to get shots, but I would go sooner than later.


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## MattySinz

angelbaby said:


> Worms keeps nutrients from being absorbed and may have a hard time gaining weight with worms . best to get them treated asap, is there any reason you cant get him dewormed sooner? deworming is the least expensive of things dogs need. if anything I would take him to get wormed and then do the shots next friday when it is more convenient for you.


College budget, and a very personal issue with the gf that has to be taken care of even sooner than this issue believe it or not. Im going to call some vets and price around. Maybe I can work something out with one.


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## MattySinz

I just got back from the vet, i was able to get him dewormed, hopefully i can get him his first shot within the next week. Luckily he will be okay! They said his lil pot belly should be back to regular within a week. I was also told to keep him on can food for now, and he's between 4-5 weeks old. I feel bad for not taking him sooner as it was only $17 but I guess i was just being too optimistic till i saw the worm for myself. Thanks for the help guys. I was seriously worried. 

ps. Please don't think I'm not a responsible owner I am, I just really couldn't afford to do everything this weekend it was bad timing. Anyway I was so cautious at the vet I didn't even want my puppy to touch anything but me and kept him far away from other dogs. Shots soon for sure! thanks again


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## angelbaby

I understand, really glad you got him to the vet to be wormed.


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## pitifull

Luckily deworming isn't expensive and you can also get deformer at a lot of feed/livestock stores (not pet stores). But you have to make sure it's for pups AND give the correct dosage


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## ames

So glad you were able to get him wormed, I am sure you both will feel better  

Its hard when you get a dog unexpectedly. I was not meaning to make you feel bad or that you were irresponsible, if I did my apologies, just wanted to make sure you knew there were options and not to let your love of the puppy get you in over your head in the long run.

4-5 weeks is young, my boy was also separated form his litter around then, good luck and keep us updated in puppy pics please!


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## MattySinz

ames said:


> So glad you were able to get him wormed, I am sure you both will feel better
> 
> Its hard when you get a dog unexpectedly. I was not meaning to make you feel bad or that you were irresponsible, if I did my apologies, just wanted to make sure you knew there were options and not to let your love of the puppy get you in over your head in the long run.
> 
> 4-5 weeks is young, my boy was also separated form his litter around then, good luck and keep us updated in puppy pics please!


No worries at all! Yes it was unexpected, I had all intentions of getting a dog at some point, just didn't think it would come into my life like this, but i feel i'm helping the lil guy out. He's really young and needs a lot of attention luckily for me i'm free all summer so I can give him a lot of care and love as well as train him. I just wonder how his socialization is gonna work out since he only is really gonna be seeing me the majority of the time as well as my girlfriend a few times a week.

Im a little concerned about socialization/bite inhibition since he doesn't have his bros and sisters with him anymore :/


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## =CC=

Check in the training section of the forum...there are some really good informative stickies there, with a lot of info about bite inhibition.

That section was my best friend when it came to the bite inhibition....my lab didn't seem to really care at all about her face being used for a chew toy, lol.

Once you've got his vaccinations taken care of, take him lots of places (on leash of course). Meet lots of people. Go to your vets office...not for a regular visit, but just stop in with him to say hi. That way, he may learn that bad things and needles aren't the only things that happen there. We love to see puppies come in to our clinic, just for a weigh in or say hi visit. Avoid the dog parks (again, you'll see a couple stickies on this subject).

Good luck with the little cutie!!


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## Kingsgurl

Cute pup! Fuzzy=) Glad you got him wormed. He's much too young to be drinking beer though (kidding) Good luck with him


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