Prayers and PD PLEASE! My puppy is at the hospital UPDATE P2

[Aimeedyan]

I don't know what's wrong with him... but he fell off the couch about an hour ago, and couldn't hardly get himself up or walk after that. He soon became a rag doll in my arms. I rushed him to the hospital, their doc wasn't in yet, so they sent me right up the street. That doc told me immediately that he was very underweight and probably had worms... He only weighed 1.6 pounds when they weighed him. They gave him a bit of sugar and he tried to stand up and held his head right again, so the Vet seems to think it really wasn't the fall that hurt him but instead he's sick and such... Thinking back, he did sleep soundly all night and all morning, I couldn't get him to play with me this morning. But he was active all day yesterday.

I can't stop crying, of course, which doesn't help. They put him in an incubator and want to keep him there. The doc said he wasn't sure if he would make it...

how can you get so attached to something so quickly? I just got him Saturday.

 

[Gaspode]

Hiya

No words of wisdom I'm afraid but lots of s.

I really feel for you. Prayers that your puppy pulls through and comes home to you soon!


Gaspode

 

[avdeane]

I'm keeping your little pup in my thoughts and prayers!! They sure do steal our hearts quickly!!

 

[DCLuvinit]

Poor little guy. Hopefully your puppy will be strong and pull through!

 

[damo]

Please keep us posted!!! Poor little thing (and poor puppy too)! Was he a pet shop puppy or a breeder puppy? Either way, please let them know what the vet is saying about him being underweight and not healthy.

 

[Rajah]

These furbabies sure steal your heart fast, don't they.

P&PD for you and your pup!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

When Monty dog was 2.5 months old, we noticed 3 days after bringing him home that he was not eating and his barking was hoarse.

Turned out, he had pneumonia. He almost did not make it. We were so scared. It is a scary thing. Babies, whether human or animal should not have to get sick and die. It's just not the way things are supposed to be.

My heart goes out to you and Chris, Monty Dog (now healthy and 14 months old) and I will be sending pixie dust your way.

I have a few ?'s if you don't mind my asking. If you do, I totaly understand.

Where did you get the puppy and how old is he?

Worms do not tend to kill puppies. Worms are actually kind of a common problem and most can be cured. Did the vet say what kind of worms?

I just keep thinking there has to be something else. Did they say anything else? Do any tests or Xrays?

Was your puppy kept with other dogs at the breeder or wherever he came from? Kennel cough which is pretty harmless on it's own can quickly turn into something like pnuemonia if left untreated. That was what happened with Monty, and it was made worse by the typical stress of leaving the breeders home and coming to ours.

I just keep wondering if it may be pnuemonia like Monty had. The symptoms are the same...not playing, not eating.

Sugar is usually not good for dogs. I am not a vet so maybe there is a reason why your vet tried this, but I'd think he would be more apt to try and feed the dog people food. Our vet made us feed Monty deli meat, like turkey and bolonga to get him to eat when he would not.

It is normal for puppies to sleep a lot, so I would not worry about that. If he was active all day yesterday, that is a great sign. I doubt the fall had much to do with it, puppies are pretty strong when it comes to tumbles off of couches, and I presume that even though he's a tiny puppy, that the couch was not that high up off the ground.

 

[vettechick99]

hugs to you! isn't it funny how we get attached so quickly?

i wanted to share my experience with you. i got my rescue dog a month ago. she was so weak, she had to be picked up or dragged places. she could barely make it up or down stairs and slept 22 hours of the day. the second day i had her, we took her to the vet and he dewormed her. within a few days, she was more active and started to eat normally. worms will really wear a dog out! today she is playing with her squeaky toy by my feet...and most people who saw her that first day can't believe she is the same dog. my fiance and I laugh each day and her new amounts of energy.

doggies bounce back very quickly! much pixie dust to you and your puppers!

 

[LUVDSNY04]

I hope the pup is going to be okay. You do get attached to them quickly.

 

[phillybeth]

With a young underweight pup like that, they get hypoglycemic VERY quickly- that's why the vet used sugar. Lethargy in small breed pups usually indicates hypoglycemia, and any owner should keep Karo or sugar syrup on hand- you can just rub it on their gums. Small breed pups need more frequent feedings, up to 4 times a day until they are about 6 months or so.

 

[nuts4sn00py]

I am keeping you & your puppy in my prayers. I hope it turns out to be nothing serious, but I know you will still worry. Our pets are part of our families & we worry as much about them as we do the human members of our families. a big to both of you! Kathy

 

[Aimeedyan]

Y'all are making me feel soooooooooo much better sharing your stories.

It really encouraged me, and seemed to encourage the vet too, when he perked up after just a taste of sugar. It was Karo, I think, just a bit in his mouth.

I really don't mind answering questions. We got him from a local breeder on Saturday. We visited first, and saw the conditions. Then got him later that night. She breeds shih-tzu's in her home. They live in her kitchen, and he and the other pups were all in a pen (just the gate things attached in a circle). The older shih tzus, including his mom, lived freely in the kitchen. It was a HUGE kitchen. They were active, seemed healthy, and I liked that they were living in a home with children. Her daughter played with them, as well. She, the breeder, answered all the questions right according to the books i read, and was a registered breeder through the AKC. She also gave me her contact info in case we needed something, and gave us tips on caring for him. She told us she had given him his first shots and wormed him, but I read that sometimes it takes more than one shot OR she could have just not done what she said. The vet said he never believes what breeders say I tried to do my homework the best I could, and felt she was qualified...

I am not sure what else they were going to do... he took a stool sample, and put some other things on him quickly, but to be honest, we were talking and I was crying too hard to really pay much attention to what the assistants were doing to him. Shortly after he decided he needed to stay, an assistant took him to the incubator and I didn't see him again. Since he stood up after a bite of sugar and held his head right, the Vet didn't believe he truly hurt himself but just that that's when I noticed he truly had no energy...

When my DH comes home for lunch, we're going to go up there and see him.

I hope its just worms... sounds like it might be. Just makes me so sad. He's SO tiny.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by phillybeth
With a young underweight pup like that, they get hypoglycemic VERY quickly- that's why the vet used sugar. Lethargy in small breed pups usually indicates hypoglycemia, and any owner should keep Karo or sugar syrup on hand- you can just rub it on their gums. Small breed pups need more frequent feedings, up to 4 times a day until they are about 6 months or so.

Thanks for clarifying. After I posted I was thinking maybe something like that.

I hope the puppy is getting better I just remember us not going to my cousins wedding that night they told us Monty might not make it. We wanted to stay with him.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I think your breeder was probably fine. Breeders can do everything just right and a puppy can still get sick.

You may want to call her up and see if any of the remaining puppies are showing signs of illness. Or she may have even gotten calls from other people who got puppies from her.

It may ease your mind a bit to know if the others got it too. If they did, it may be that it is really just worms.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I called to check on him and they said he was doing better, but then reverted back. They think now that he has two problems: whatever is keeping his weight down and blood sugar down AND that he injured himself when he jumped. They weren't specific WHAT might have been injured, though.

I asked about seeing him at lunch and the vet thought that would not be a good idea right now, it might add stress, but later this afternoon we could. Oh, and that they will be keeping him overnight.

So I'm back to not feeling so confident...

Would I be a freak if I called every hour to check on him?

 

[Jeanny]

no you wouldn't be a freak, but you may irritate the staff... I know it's extremely hard, but you should just wait and go and see him later this afternoon... poor baby hug: both of you)

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Hey, don't worry. It's going to be OK

I certainly understand where you are coming from. My Yorkie weighed 1.2 pounds when we got her, and went into hypoglycemic shock 2 days after we brought her home. She simply refused to eat and we did not know we should have made her eat. She was stiff and could not move anything but her eyes (and she tried to wag her little tail) when we rushed her (via SUBWAY because we could not get a cab in NYC) to the emergency room. We did not even know she was seconds from seizuring and dying. We didn't know anything at all. It still upsets me every time I think of how close we came.

Well, she was fine, and we had to feed her very rich food every three hours around the clock until she gained weight. She was considered "in the clear" as far as hypoglycemia was concerned after she weighed in over 2 pounds. However she refused to eat on her own until she was over a year old. We had to hand feed her (and chase her down because she hated eating!) for a long, LONG time.

When we brought her home from the hospital after the hypoglycemia incident, however, she jumped off our couch and hurt herself. Back to the hospital for X-rays. Thankfully, it was a soft tissue wound, and went away quickly.

These little dogs are so fragile and delicate. I hope your dog is doing better and they find out what is wrong with her. 1.6 pounds is small, but I've seen smaller. I hope he is OK.

I also think you need to do what gives you comfort regarding checking in on your baby.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I don't understand why your vet has not done an Xray to check what is wrong with him internally? He says that there is something from the fall but he does not know what?

I also don't quite understand why your vet says seeing him during lunch would be too stressful, but later in the afternoon won't be too stressful.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like your vet just does not want to see you at lunch. Maybe he meant it would be too stressful for HIM. I don't see what the difference is to your dog between you seeing him at lunch or a few hours later.

I think you should call every hour and if they are rude to you about it, or whatever; consider getting a second opinion.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I would certainly hope the staff would not be rude to you if you called every hour. That is your dog in there and you are still somewhat in the dark about what is wrong here. I would hope they would be compassionate and helpful. That is their job.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by theSurlyMermaid
I would certainly hope the staff would not be rude to you if you called every hour. That is your dog in there and you are still somewhat in the dark about what is wrong here. I would hope they would be compassionate and helpful. That is their job.

I had one of my old ferrets overnight at a vets office once. I had a gut instinct when I went in that it was not a great vet but I just recall it being the only place I could get her in that day.

Anyway, they kept her overnight and when I asked to visit and called, they were SO awful to me. Basically they made me feel like I was being a pain in the butt because I was very concerned about my pets well being. (I was concerned because they were telling me to get her surgery that I had a strong sense she would not survive).

Anyway, one of the staff was just flat out rude and asked me not to call again until they called me. (I called maybe 5 times in a 24 hour period).

The next day, I took Bandette out of that vets, brought her to a different one that was a lot farther away and they told me there was no way any vet should have considered surgery for her, put her on some medication and she lived for 9 years with the cancer that eventually took her life. The other vets were so nice and let me come in and visit her when she stayed overnight and they were sweet as pie every time I called.

Okay....I don't want to hijack the OP's thread with any more about good vets vs. bad vets.