New Corgi help!

[newcorgiowner]

Okay, I emailed the breeder about the loose stool and she emailed me the following. Just wondering if this sounds reasonable or brings out any ideas...

"Hi

I guess I would say keep an eye on it today and if it is still loose tomorrow morning, I can send you something for it and therefore save you a trip to the vet. There are a couple of possibilities...it could be just the wormer or the stress of being in a new place. Sometimes pups can have a condition called coccidia and the stress of moving to a new place can bring it out. This is treated with a sulfer based antibiotic called albon or SMZ. I have both in my cabinet and can shoot you some in the mail if it persists.

Let me know how her stool looks in the morning.

Unless it is liquid diarrhea, I wouldn't worry too much."

Sorry to keep dwelling on this, I'm just worried.

[glencorgi]

Overall it sounds reasonable. They are going through stress with the change of homes. A change in water can also cause loose stools in some dogs and puppies. Coccidia is a real possibility and albon is the treatment most commonly used. You will need to treat both puppies by the way and a vet check would be recommended for it <imo>. IF she has had incidents of coccidia with other litters, had it in this current litter, or had reports from other new owners with it in there pups, then that stacks the deck in favor of it being the problem.

Here is a link for more information about coccidiosis:
<http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&articleid=727>

Debbie

[newcorgiowner]

Originally Posted by glencorgi

Overall it sounds reasonable. They are going through stress with the change of homes. A change in water can also cause loose stools in some dogs and puppies. Coccidia is a real possibility and albon is the treatment most commonly used. You will need to treat both puppies by the way and a vet check would be recommended for it <imo>. IF she has had incidents of coccidia with other litters, had it in this current litter, or had reports from other new owners with it in there pups, then that stacks the deck in favor of it being the problem.

Here is a link for more information about coccidiosis:
<http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&articleid=727>

Debbie

Thanks Debbie. I have been starting to freak out over here because Mattie seems to have diahrea now too. Her diahrea is worse then Gizmo's was. It was somewhat sudden too. Like in the middle of a poop it went from firm and fairly normal to tan and loose. When I just took her out a minute ago it was even worse. It was too dark to really see anything but it seemed very watery now.

I was reading over the boards and I saw a couple of threads about parvo. Now I am starting to freak out over that. I have the pups immunization records in front of me and they recieved the 4 shot combo on June 30th. I know Parvo is one of the vacines in the combo, but would it be in effect at this point? How fast does Parvo progress? I read a lot about it and found all the usual symptoms, extreme diahrea, vomiting, lethergy, etc. But what I can't find is how it starts. Does it start with these major symptoms or does it start up slowly?

I feel bad for everyone on this board. I know a lot about raising pups but its been years and I am paranoid that something bad is going to happen to them. I just met them, they can't go away already.

[corgimom]

newcorgiowner,

You may feel more comfortable calling your vet - do you have one already?
A lot of vets have a calling service and they will have one of their vets call
you if they are on call for the weekend.

You just got the dogs two days ago - right? Did the breeder say that their
poop was fine at her house (the day you picked them up) - that may not
have been the case - I am not sure what else to tell you, but like I said if
you are really concerned, and you sound like you are, it is best to call your vet and get his/or her opinion.

Linda

[newcorgiowner]

Originally Posted by corgimom

newcorgiowner,

You may feel more comfortable calling your vet - do you have one already?
A lot of vets have a calling service and they will have one of their vets call
you if they are on call for the weekend.

You just got the dogs two days ago - right? Did the breeder say that their
poop was fine at her house (the day you picked them up) - that may not
have been the case - I am not sure what else to tell you, but like I said if
you are really concerned, and you sound like you are, it is best to call your vet and get his/or her opinion.

Linda

Yeah, that's not a bad idea. Don't have a vet, I was planning on finding one monday. We had one picked out but thought we would look around and research it a bit first. But I will probably give them a call tomorrow morning.

Sigh, I feel bad for being the overly paranoid nut case on the board. They are just so fragile and delicate and I know enough to be scared but not enough to know if there is cause.

[Jeni D]

Don't feel bad at all...the longer you stay at the site, the more you'll see that there are lots of overly paranoid nut cases here...myself included. There is absolutely nothing wrong about being concerned for your pups, especially since they are very young and very vulnerable Keep us posted on what the vet says.

Jeni

[darci]

Ditto Jeni's comments, dont ever feel bad about being concerned for your animals.
I wish I had something more to tell you to make you feel better but I think it's all been said.
Is there any vomiting ?
Eating and drinking ok ?

I know when I first brought Darci home she had diarrhea for a few days, maybe the stress maybe the new treats I was giving her. I too was worried sick and went straight to the dog boards for advice and contaced my vet.

You may try some canned pumkin, pure though not the pie filler, sometimes that can help firm up the stools.

[corgimom]

newcorgiowner

You said you were feeding purina - this is what the breeder was feeding right? How often are you feeding them and how much at each meal?

Also, I see that you mentioned one of them was chewing on a pig ear.
Sometimes Pigs ears can upset their tummy and they are just 8 weeks
old - were they already eating those at the breeders? Also, did the breeder just deworm them - I can't remember?

Linda

[darci]

Good catch on the pigs ear, I missed that.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by newcorgiowner

I have the pups immunization records in front of me and they recieved the 4 shot combo on June 30th. I know Parvo is one of the vacines in the combo, but would it be in effect at this point?

The parvo vaccination should have had time to be effective.

How fast does Parvo progress? I read a lot about it and found all the usual symptoms, extreme diahrea, vomiting, lethergy, etc. But what I can't find is how it starts. Does it start with these major symptoms or does it start up slowly?

<http://www.workingdogs.com/parvofaq.htm> This will help answer a lot of your questions. Onset is 7 to 10 days after exposure. "Symptoms usually begin with a high fever, lethargy, depression, and loss of appetite. Secondary symptoms appear as severe gastrointestinal distress, such as vomiting and bloody diarrhea. In many cases, dehydration, shock, and death follow." So if they do have parvo, exposure came before you got them.

How are they acting, still alert and playful? IF they are still acting okay then that is a good sign. As Cindy (Darci's mom) said, canned pumpkin is very good for firming up stools. Another good item to keep around for just in case times is Pedialyte - helps keeps them hydrated and electrolytes in balance. This is especially good to have on hand with puppies around.

I feel bad for everyone on this board. I know a lot about raising pups but its been years and I am paranoid that something bad is going to happen to them. I just met them, they can't go away already.

No apology necessary. Puppies can throw a fright into us in a blink of an eye. It is better to err on the side of caution. Just continue to monitor them closely and check in with a vet.

Debbie

PS: Yes, good catch on the pig's ear - those have caused their fair share of loose stools around here.

[newcorgiowner]

Well we must have fed Gizmo after midnight by accident because she's a little gremlin this morning. I woke up around 6:30 and was too scared to go into the bathroom. Scared of whatI would find. But I got up and went and saw them and they both perked right up when I came in and turned the light on. They were very good pups, only a tiny bit of pee on the floor. I took them out and couldn't tell whether the problem was still there or not, which is a good sign I suppose because it means it hasn't gotten worse. I'll know more after I feed them this morning.

After I brought them back in and put them on the bed they were full of energy. Gizmo keeps trying to eat my fiances hair or chew on the blanket, and we keep having to distract them and put a row toy in front of them. I also think they are trying to lick me to death, its wonderful.

There is definetly no loss of energy or lethergy this morning, they are more frisky then they have ever been. I'll be taking them to a park soon after I feed them so they can run around.

[PocketsMom]

Hopefully it was just the move. They are so adorable. Keep us posted for sure. I know I become attached to all the dogs on this site because we know so much about them. I also am an overreactor, I will admit it! Energy is definately a good sign!

Good Luck