A Sick Scout

Not long after we got Scout we noticed something was off. He wasn’t eating and he wasn’t acting playful.  When he started having particularly bad diarrhea we took him to the Animal Emergency Clinic. 

 

ACCES ran a number of fecal samples, many of which were coming back negative.  This is when we started getting really nervous. The vet started throwing out words like “congenital disorder.”  Despite all of the negatives the doctors treated him for worms.  Still nervous.

Scout spent the night in the hospital hooked up to IVs to get rehydrated.  The next day we got a call saying the lab came back with 2 positives: Coronavirus and Giardia. Both are parasites very common in puppies.  It sounds like the Coronavirus quickly becomes irrelevant past 6 weeks, so that would be easy to kick.  Martin and I were familiar with Giardia, seeing as backpackers can get the parasite from unclean drinking water.  Scout was sent back home with a round of deworming medication.

Already he’s been a changed puppy! Very playful, very vocal. Which is great!  I am so thankful to all of the Vets who took such good care of him at ACCES.  I am also thankful to my friends Sarah and Kate, who have much more puppy knowledge than me, who reassured me and kept me sane!

I’ve learned a lot from this experience, so I want to pass it on!  Here are some things to keep in mind if you have a puppy:

1.       If a puppy isn’t eating (he isn’t picky) something is wrong!

2.       If they are acting docile or have foggy eyes at such a young age, it may be a problem.

3.       Bad breath in puppies can be a sign of parasites.

4.       If you think something is wrong take them to be checked out because things progress very quickly in puppies!

5.       If puppies have their first round of shots prior to 8 weeks, their immune system hasn’t been built up enough and the immunization won’t be effective. 

6.       Puppies pick up parasites very easily, so try your best to avoid common dog areas. Prior to shots avoid contact with unknown dogs, avoid standing water in dense forest areas (which may be contaminated with feces from infected wildlife,) and make sure that they don’t reinvest themselves by coming in close contact with their own excrement.