Question:
My 8 week old West Highland White Terrier (bitch, named Tally)) settled into her home well and was a good eater. The breeder said we should feed her on BARF, which isn't actually called that, and milky feeds. She had no trouble at the toilet until this afternoon, when I put her in the garden. She was trying to poo, and as she did she yepled with pain, and it was heartbreaking to watch. My mum took her to the vets, who checked her over and (eww) stuck his finger up her bum. He said that it might be blocked anal glands, and if she got any worse to bring her back at tea-time. My mum brought her home and she finally did a poo, there was quite a lot and it was very runny. Shortly afterwards she was a little bit sick, and brought up the BARF food. Then she didn't do anymore. So we returned her to the vets, who checked her for lumps and stuff, and he asked the usual questions - has she been wormed, any contact with other dogs, to which I answered Yes and No. He said he thought she had a gastric bug, and he gave her 2 injections - one steroid, one antibiotic. He also prescribed some antibiotics, one half to be given twice a day, and said to cut out the BARF and start on dry foods, but feed her a protein diet for a few days. When we got her home, she finally did a poo - it was quite solid. Then she seemed to liven up a bit, although she still whined with constipation. For her tea, I fed her rice and chicken, which she ate quickly (wolfed it down, in fact) Afterwards she didn't poo, she tried, although she seemed to have short little bursts of wee, almost by accident. and played for a bit, and then I put her in her crate for a nap, as she's had a long day. I'm just a bit worried - does this sound like a gastric bug? Why did she get it? How can I help cure it?
Thanks for reading this, and I hope somebody can please help me!

Answer:
I haven't experienced this problem, but isn't rice usually recommended for dogs having problems with diarrhea?

Answer:
Puppy GI tracts are notoriously difficult to manage sometimes.

Sometimes all it takes is time, like colic with a baby....same thing pretty much.

A consistent feeding and walking schedule along with enough water in the diet is very helpful.

If pup is having a really hard time going to the washroom you can add a little ground flax seed (1/2 tsp) to a meal each day, that should help.

Answer:
My pug puppy rosie is on the same pills as your puppy. All my vet wants me to feed her is boiled hamberger and rice. Have you brought the vet a stool sample?? if not you probably shoul for a more accurate diagnosis the poop should go back to normal in a couple of days but keep in touch with your vet

My pup had the runs for days and days the rice is more easily digestable and will add soft bulk to the poop

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Thanks for your replies...
Thankfully I woke up today and my puppy was much better. She ate all her ReadyBrek (breeders diet) and went for a little poo, and now shes bouncing around all over. I'm still giving her the antibiotics as a precaution, but shes getting a lot better. Thank you all for bothering to reply.

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Actually, need more help please. Puppy was bouncy today, but then she opened her bowels twice and the most recent one was greeny/yellowy. Afterwards she was whining a little and so I put her to bed, where she is now. I think it could be worms - although the breeder assured us she had been wormed recently, it still sounds like it to me. Can anybody help anymore?

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the yellowy green stool will get worse. Bring a sample to the vet. read back in my posts about rosie or sick pug puppy. this is the same thing. your dog needs medical attention soon. bring a sample. you will soon be seeing yellow egg sacks in the stool which means the parasite has progressed and is not easily killed off.

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Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it, but I'm not sure it's worms, as the breeder gave us dates when she'd been wormed and wouldn't it be a massive risk for her to lie? Tally has just wolfed down chicken and rice with her half antibiotic crushed in it, and I'm going to see if she has any trouble going to the toilet. She's been once today, but I went to wipe her bum and she yelped a bit. Is this worms then? The vet felt for lumps and stuff and he couldn't find anything...

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It could still be a parasite. Some worms aren't caught with the "regular" worming medication the breeder likely applied. They need special treatment. Take a fresh stool sample to your vet for analysis. Good luck!

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Tally's on highs and lows - one minute fine, one minute less healthy. She's just come out of the garden muddy, so I've towelled her dry but I noticed she keeps eating the bark, plus some plants. Could this have upset her tummy? The vet diagnosed a gastric bug, but she didn't have a temperature at all.
PS: I have several dead animals (hamsters, cat, rabbit) buried in my back yard, and now Tally is trying to eat them! Is there some kind of powder I can buy to guide her away from it or am I going to have to flag over the area?

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this post is really too much for me to handle without getting upset, are you for real??are you an adult??my 8 year old has more common sense than YOU.

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How is she able to get at these buried animals? What did they die of. And if you know she has access to them, what are you doing about it?

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Well I have to admit there are LOTS of dead animals buried in my b/y as well.

Squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, LOTS of birds! They all had their little burials.

When Honey (wAggies english pointer) was here with me she dug up a dead bird in a box and ran around the yard with it lmfho! Luckily she was more excited to 'find' it then eat it.

It happens. That thing was a good two feet down and she sniffed it out and happily ran her little tushie off through the yard with it!

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I have to say PugLover, you've really upset me. I'm actually 13 and this is the first puppy I've had. I wrote here looking for HELP. And, although it is none of your business, the animals died of old age and were buried very sadly. YOU should know that dogs can smell a 1000 times more than us, and Westies especially hunt for rodents. Also, she wasn't trying to EAT them, she was sniffing around the area my kitten is buried and was digging furiously, obviously knowing she'd stumbled in on a graveyard. We took Tally to the vets but the one on duty didn't know what he was talking about, and another visit meant a sixty pound charge for, what we knew, would be a wasted visit and he couldn't diagnose anything specifically. Which is why I decided to sign up here, hoping I could get help, support and advice about raising my new puppy. Looks like this was a wasted visit too.
Thanks for all the people who have given me advice, I just hope it pays off and Tally is back to normal soon...

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And PugLover, I don't really think your 8 year old has more common sense than me. After all, with a mother like YOU. So if my post upset you, I am genuinely sorry. But it seems the rest of you (except Luba) are too thick to realise I don't keep dead animals unburied in my backyard. Maybe YOUR the one who has no common sense sweetie.

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I do owe you an appologiy. However I know from what you are saying your puppy is very sick. i look back at theads or posts you have written and i can see that your puppy is attending puppy classes, I know that my vet said not to take my puppy any where near other puppies kittens or babbies because she is so contagious. If you were an adult, which you are not then my actions were right, but since you are a kid i must appologize.

you should go and see another vet. the one you have now is not helping you get a happy healthy puppy which is what a good vet will help you and your family accomplish.

i am hoping that your puppy gets better really soon and that you finally find out what is wrong with it. I care, and unfortunately I have seen a great number of puppies and kittens die because of dumb pet owners, you, are trying with your puppy and I have to you credit for that

keep posting here and i will try to guide you through this as my puppy also has the white and yellow eggs in her poop with green, brown and yellow slime and I know that this is really grosse and smelly.

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Okay, apology accepted - I was really stressed out that day and I took it out on you, which wasn't fair.
My puppy hasn't been to puppy classes and seems quite better now. She can go to the toilet now, although her poo is still a bit yellowy, and she is back to her normal mischievous self. I'm going to finish her course of antibiotics and if she is no better I will take her back to the vet.
The vet we saw wasn't really her vet, he was a part-time one. Tally's vet is much nicer and will be doing her jabs. Does this sound wrong though - to get Tally's jaws open so he could examine her mouth, her 'part-time' vet pulled at the fur on the bottom of her mouth and she yelped a bit As westies are stubborn, I suppose she did make it a bit difficult for a full examination but was he acting right? It sounds like animal cruelty to me.

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I've never heard of a vet pulling a dog's fur to get the mouth open. I always thought you should gently stick your fingers into the space in their mouth where there aren't any teeth, and they will automatically open their mouths for you (most dogs, anyway). Maybe it's different with dogs with "beards" (never had one myself)?

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my big dog has a beard and if anyone used it to open her mouth i would flip

could this part time vet be a student?? if they are a real vet then I wouldn't deal with them, and i do think that pupping on a beeard would really hurt any dog puppy or full grown

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I know and I think it IS animal cruelty because she's stubborn and fesity - but she's a puppy and no animal should be treated like that. My mum has decided that, instead of having her vaccinations at 10 weeks, shes going to phone up today. Tally is about 9 weeks old but Mum says at the moment she has absolutely no immune system, and if there are cats going in our garden then she could easily pick something up. We're going to book an appointment with her 'real' vet today. I don't think the other one was properly qualified, whilst the other vet played with Tally so she would get used to him, he just marched in, picked her up and pulled on her mouth. Other people have had problems with him as well. I don't think he's a vet because he loves animals, he'd suit a job in a butchers...

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I wouldnt let the pup outside until it was completely vaxed. Virus' like parvo can travel and your pup is at risk if he hasnt built up his immune system yet.

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as for the digging you might have to rig something up in those areas to scare the bewilligares out of the pup so that it stays away from that part of the yard since summer vacation still on maybe use a cap gun and only fire it when the pup goes near that area

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The area where the animals are buried is covered in bark, which Tally tries to eat. We've decided to flag over it, so it will be solving two problems in one. Tally is booked in for her first lot of vaccinations on Wednesday, when she has finished her course of antiobiotics, and she will also be wormed during that appointment. We have bought her a pack of Pedigree Puppy Complete, which she is still getting used to, and cut the BARF completely from her diet. She still has Readybrek in the mornings as she eats it well, but we will wean her off it gradually. Thanks for all your advice, and I will let you know how her appointment goes...

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see now thats what I wanted to hear good news

wtg KID

Answer:
Tally had her vet injections yesterday.
It was the Scottish vet again which I wasn't too pleased about, but I decided to give him a break.
He started examining her but she barked, so he abandoned that. Then he prepared her for the injection straight away and plonked her on the table. It took three of us to hold her down, which I now realise was wrong. He put the needle in and she yelped so he took it out again, then put it in again. She yelped so loud that she wet herself. She came home and we could tell she was really fed up. To make matters worse, we had to worm her that night also.
Now she is back to normal, depsite still having a touch of constipation, her poo is okay. Her back end is messy but next week she is going to a puppy party at the vets, so we will talk there to another vet.
I have decided that when she has her next jabs, I am going to ask for the other vet because he put her totally at ease and she looked relaxed with him.

Answer:
Yes, I think people should be picky with their vets. I went to four already and still haven't found one that I liked. It's like picking a doctor for yourself; no one wants a doctor who's just going to jab needles in them. Find a vet you and your doggie likes and stick with him/her.
Good luck to you and Tally.

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