Hi Everyone - a couple of puppy questions: When does puppy poop stop being soup and start hardening up? Is it useless to try to potty train before then? Other than establishing a routine, what age is a good time to start? Have you come up with a homemade carpet cleaner to clean the "soup spot"? I'd like to use something cheaper than Resolve - perhaps something like white vinegar?? At what age should puppy make his/her first vet visit and what will occur - vaccinations? Thanks in advance!
As they eat solid food, not canned it will harden up. Potty training can start as soon as you bring them home, they will get it eventually. Shots around 6 weeks, the vet will tell you when to get more. Rabies at 1yr. I think. As far as stains, WALMART!!! Get this cleaner in the dog section called OUT. Works great, gets the stains out, smells nice, and does not cost much. I will tell you, get a spray bottle and the big refill, you will use it. The only thing Vinegar does is make your carpet smell like vinegar. Good Luck!
Once puppy is on a consistent diet it should not be soup... soft maybe if eating canned. You may want to have a fecal float done, it could be parasites such as Coccidea. Has the pup been de-wormed? It should get at least two good wormings a few weeks apart. (warning, that can make stool soft again as it passes the yuckkies out!) Is the pup eating well and active? Any mucus or blood in the stool?
She eats like crazy (mostly Pedigree wet puppy food - chunk not ground - she wouldn't eat at first, which is why she gets that - I'm trying to introduce the hard stuff but right now she won't touch it) and is active all night long! (but I'm trying to adjust that schedule....). She loves water. She'll be 6 weeks tomorrow. She supposedly had deworming at 2 and at 4 weeks. The soup is mostly yellow and a bit mucus-y, but except for one red drop today, I haven't noticed any blood but it does reek like nothing I've experienced before. Thanks for your help!
Wow that is really young to be away from mom.... poor baby. They learn so much from mom socially at this age. Here is my advice, not as an employee of anywhere just a person on 4042! (yes I am paranoid these days!) lol I would give her a teaspoon of plain yogurt every day for a while for the live bacteria. Feed her several smaller meals instead of a few larger ones. I would still lean towards a fecal being done just to rule things out. Call around you may found a vet that would just let you drop off a sample instead of a physical etc... (unless you are ready to start shots then you can do it all at once) We do shots at 6 weeks then 8 weeks then 11 weeks. (you can buy them and do them yourself... )then rabies at 16 weeks. Do you know what type of dewormer they used? Strongid is the cheap one and commonly used, but it doesnt kill all of the parasites, so you may need a round of Drontal. (has to be repeated in 2 weeks) This may be different than what your vet suggests, if so follow their advice. I am not a vet I just pretend to be one on TV. :lol::lol:
Don't use Resolve or other cheap grocery store carpet cleaners!! That stuff is like a dirt magnet.... if you clean a spot with it, you'll notice after a few months it seems to come back through. We had the carpets cleaned when we bought our house, there were some spots we were concerned about. We used ChemDry of Johnston Co., after a few months, the same spots seemed to come back through....so I called ChemDry and they came back out and cleaned them again. They told me that is what happens with cheap cleaners like Resolve, and called them dirt magnets. We really like Petzyme for a cleaner that we get at PetSmart, and haven't had and spots that come back. We have 8 cats in the house sometimes, so we have "incidents & accidents" on occasion. We used Natures Miracle, but this was less money and works just as good.
Puppies should have formed stools at any age, especially if they are old enough to live without their mother. The soupy stools could be from parasites (hookworms, roundworms, etc) or from the canned food you are feeding him/her or a combination of both. There are numerous reasons for the soft stools but it's not normal. Most puppies have worms from their mother so it's a very real reason for the soupy stools. Also, if you've seen a drop of blood in it, that's another clue to parasites OR gastroenteritis OR possibly even parvo. Puppies usually start getting their vaccines between 6-8weeks old (rabies between 12-16 weeks) along with fecal exams +/- deworming(s) regardless of what they've previously had from the breeder. My advise would to have your puppy looked at before it possibly gets worse. A good quality dry puppy food would also help!!! Good luck!!!!
Update Ruby has come a long way in the week since she came to live with me. There has been no red in her poop except for that one day. It's not mucusy. The color has gone from yellow to brown, and it is more formed and less soupy. She seems to have stopped eating it (or as much of it). I bought the last bottle of OUT at Walmart and it works really well! She's eating like she's never eaten before. She's no longer getting milk supplement or wet food - is solely on dry food. She loves to drink water but hates to be in it! Her first vet appt is this coming week. Best yet - she's only getting up every 3 hours at night and hasn't messed in her crate in about 3 days! During the day, she's been very spunky and hops around the living room. She trys to play with my other dog, but he doesn't know yet how to play gently with a little one, so I'm keeping an eye on them. Thanks so much for all the advice!
Update #2 After seeming to be better, her behavior and, um, habits reverted back to last week's. Today at the vet we found out she has Coccidiosis, which for those who don't know is: Coccidia are small protozoans (one-celled organisms) that multiply in the intestinal tracts of dogs and cats, most commonly in puppies and kittens less than six months of age, in adult animals whose immune system is suppressed, or in animals who are stressed in other ways (e.g.; change in ownership, other disease present). It commonly comes from the mother's feces, and since the incubation is ~13 days, it's definitely something that came from the breeder's. Most likely the other two litters there have it, so I have a call into them. I'm encouraged by the changes in her energy level after just one dose of medicine. We are going back to the vet in two weeks, and I'm taking a fecal sample from my other dog to be checked tomorrow. I'm so glad it's something treatable but mad at myself for letting it go so long! Here's Charlie and Ruby - peacefully co-existing Ruby hiding from Charlie (on the bottom shelf of my bakers rack in the kitchen)
I am glad you found out what was going on. That is very common in pups. Keep an eye on Charlie since it is contagious.
