Question:
hello, I have a 4 month sheperd puppy..... after playing all day yesterday and this morning in the ocean and eating everything from grass to weeds...( and a bit of dog poop) she has been excessivly tired, she has also thrown up 3 to 4 times large amounts of grass and slim. Now she is very reluctant to eat or drink. Is this normal after her excursion and bad prior eating habits? I will take her to the vet tomorrow if this doesn't change... or is this very serious?

Thank you shawn

Answer:
Well the grass / weeds can be contaminated with pesticides or could have ate something with a bacteria on it hmmm like poop.

If you knew your dog was eating things like this, why did you not put the dog on a lead and keep a better eye on things?

Puppies can't go without food/water or they become hypoglycemic.

Answer:
Originally Posted by shawn_vancouver
hello, I have a 4 month sheperd puppy..... after playing all day yesterday and this morning in the ocean and eating everything from grass to weeds...( and a bit of dog poop) she has been excessivly tired, she has also thrown up 3 to 4 times large amounts of grass and slim. Now she is very reluctant to eat or drink. Is this normal after her excursion and bad prior eating habits? I will take her to the vet tomorrow if this doesn't change... or is this very serious?

Thank you shawn

Well usually sea water will do that - there is a rule of thumb I heard recently
" dogs throwing up is normal to a degree - once or even twice in an hour is not unusual and normally nothing to worry about unless there is blood involved.... however 3 times in less than 2 hours or 6 times in 12 hours is a vet trip - no questions asked.

Personally I would say she was eating grass to make herself vomit from the sea water - it can give a sore belly... the sea water belly and the extra exercise is likely what is putting her off her feed; along with being a little wary of water (after the sea water) - she will probably be fine - but definatly take her to the vet if she's still off her feed and/or vomiting tomorrow.

And Luba if dogs all got sick from poop every puppy I owned would have been sick - actually Rose would be always sick (and she's not) - she just loves cat and horse poop Grass and poop are pretty normal doggy consumption in my books - as long as it is not excessive it doesn't usually cause any harm - although it doesn't do much for the doggy breath

Answer:
I wouldn't encourage any pet to eat the defecation of another as it could be contaminated.

Whereby some may get off lucky, I beg to differ that all poop is bacterial and parasite free!

Answer:
Originally Posted by Luba
I beg to differ that all poop is bacterial and parasite free!

I didn't say that - I said that it is normal for dogs to eat poop - every dog that comes near horse manure will try to eat it and many pups will eat thier own poop, or the poop of other dogs or cats - and "usually" this causes no problems - I'm sure it can but I've never known anyone that happened to - and I know lots of poo eating dogs .

Every pet should be on some sort of deworming schedule anyway - be it test and treat or preventitive - so parasites from poop shouldn't be be a big worry.

Answer:
So lets just medicate our pets so they can do whatever pleases them? Come on now you've got to be kidding me? Use unnecessary medication?

Answer:
Originally Posted by Luba
So lets just medicate our pets so they can do whatever pleases them? Come on now you've got to be kidding me? Use unnecessary medication?

Luba - you need to read what I say....

Originally Posted by MBRA518
Every pet should be on some sort of deworming schedule anyway - be it test and treat or preventitive - so parasites from poop shouldn't be be a big worry.

The bold words meaning testing and treating if needed - you have them tested for worms, usually a fecal test, and deworm if they are present OR preventitive worming... and yes many vets recommend a monthly wormer in summer months - things like heartguard and such cover all worms (I know there are corncerns over that but it is 1 of 2 options here)- I also deworm my horses regularly. Is one way or the other not a standard thing to do for all pet owners or any animal owners for that matter - livestock included??? - It should be!

Answer:
You can't prevent worms by giving deworming! Thats false information! And I did read what you said completely, trust me I did. Pets don't need a deworming schedule unless they have worms.

We agree to disagree then

Answer:
Originally Posted by Luba
You can't prevent worms by giving deworming! Thats false information! And I did read what you said completely, trust me I did. Pets don't need a deworming schedule unless they have worms.

We agree to disagree then

Put that's just it... I'm don't think we are disagreeing - I just not getting agross what I mean... :( grr computers! ... and yes I know you can't "prevent" worms - bad wording on my part ... what I mean there is regular worming, without testing - such as the monthly dewormers sold by vets. And pets do need to be on some sort of deworming schedule - or parisite management schedule (maybe that's what I mean ) be that regular wormers... or regular checks for worms - since I know you don't agree with monthly wormers from previous discussions I'm assuming your vet does a test for worms when your pets go for a checkup.

That's my only point here - you can never do anything to prevent worms - whether your pets eats poo or not - worms and other partisites are a reletively normal thing for most animals and are not a big consern if your pet is on an regular parasite management program be that monthly wormers or check-ups and treatments as needed.

Answer: