22 replies to this topic

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Sounds an awful lot like coccidia. My vet said they were seeing a lot of resistant (Albon) strains that were hard to catch in fecals. If you keep having issues on the bland diet, you might bring multiple samples to see whether they can catch something, or just ask for the treatment (yes, more meds, poor puppies!). Even the Albon resistant strains will improve somewhat on the meds, at least at first, because there's actually a range of resistance.

These strains emerge in "clean" environments like shelters, kennels, and even vet clinics, where the bugs are underexposed to treatments. Ironically, treatment with a med that the bug responds to, should be followed by a good roll in the dirt to expose them to med susceptible bugs.

A probiotic is definitely vital. I use a concentrated human grade product, mostly because it's more cost effective than yogurt, but also because I prefer not to expose them to bovine dairy while under stress.

[Lenajo]

you can use pee pads if that works for you - tape them to the floor or put them in one of those frames. We attach a plastic pool to the whelping box at 4 weeks. The pan is filled with wood shavings (aspen is my preference) and the pups quickly learn to go away from the bed to potty. Gradually we move the shaving pool further away from the whelping box until they've got a large play area, plus a sleeping area, with the shavings to potty in at the far end.

There will always be some mess with puppies, and we have shavings all over some days. But by in large they get the poop put where it's supposed too, and the cleaner they are in that regard, the easier it is to keep them healthy.

[MaryP]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. I would have never thought of a lot of this stuff on my own. I've never raised puppies this young before, so this is definitely a learning experience for me. But, they sure are an entertaining little group.