sick puppy

I just registered for this site looking for a little help. Please read and let me know what you think. I really appreciate it....

I got a christmas puppy about a week ago. He is a rat terrier, about 9 weeks old and he weighs 2 lbs. He was pretty active when we got him and I took him for a check at the vet last Tuesday. They checked him over really well and said he was fine.

Then it started to go downhill. At first he just got kind of lazy. Then by Satuday he wouldn't eat, he was pooping everywhere (loose stool) He was just sleeping all day. I tried to find a vet that was open on sunday and couldn't so first thing yesterday morning I got ready to take him to get checked again. When I picked him up in the morning he was all wet from sleeping in his pee and he started seizing. I took him straight to the vet and he rushed him off to be incubated.

The vet has been really good about calling and updating me, he has called about 10 times since I dropped him off, which I really appreciate, but I don't really understand what is going on. I have never had a dog before, and though he is a new member of our family, I am very attatched, and very worried like he is one of my kids.

The vet said he has intestinal bleeding and blood in the stool, and he caught a bacterial infection, but he's not sure where he got it from. He keeps saying, "we're not out of the woods yet...." what does that mean???

I am in college right now, and this week and next week I have finals, so I am very stressed, and worrying about this little guy is driving me crazy. Someone please help me understand what's going on to put my mind at ease a little.

Thank you so much,
csilva79

Did you purchase your puppy from a breeder?

If so you should contact them right away because if your pup has a bacterial ifection than all the other ones are likely to get it too

You vet is not sure if your puppy is going to make it and if you have questions ask I as sure that he/she would be glad to answer any questions you have

This is so sad for you !!! I'm so sorry ! Please let us know more, when you can. Personally, it doesn't look good...especially with the seizures at such a young age. Thank you for doing as much as you can for this little guy.

Poor puppy I hope the best for both of you.

sorry to hear that, please keep us inform of his recovery

I just got another call from the vet and he said that my puppy is a lot more active since this morning, and that he's been eating a little, but that he has had an increase in the amount of blood in his stool. He said again that we're not out of the woods yet, I just want to cry because I'm so worried. My daughter keeps asking me when the doggy is coming home.
I think he may have seized just because he was ill, and I'm hoping that everything will be ok. He's just so little I can't imagine him being able to fight this off by himself. He is on antibiotics right now that should clear up the infection. I'm just wondering how long that takes. Don't antibiotics take a week or two to take full effect in humans?
I'm trying to contact the breeder right now.
The other thing that may seem kind of selfish (but I don't mean it that way) is the cost of this stay at the vet. I want to do everything possible to get my puppy healthy again, and I'm willing to max out the credit card to get him home safe and happy, but I have no idea what the charge is for the 'intensive care' at the vet. Like I said, I am a college student, and I have 2 kids, so we are kind of tight on expendable income.

Thank you all for your concern and for replying. I will keep you all updated on his condition.

awwww....did the doctor tell you what infection he's suffering from?

-hugs- from Mango and me for the lil brave guy who is fighting a battle now, I'm sure he'll be better soon

He didn't give me a name, he just said a bacterial infection. He said he caught it and it went systemic. I'm not sure what that means either, but it doesn't sound very good. I tried to look it up, and all I could find was info on yeast infections. Is that the same thing?

CS ...it won't be cheap ! I hope the breeder will help you out...

Am sorry, i'm not sure but I dun think its the same thing. Maybe you should talk to your vet and get more information from him. It would be better.
Did you manage to call your breeder and talk to them?

I just got an answering machine from the breeder. I am scared to leave a message in case they don't call back. They were really nice, but I don't want them to run off and avoid me because my puppy is sick.

It sounds like parvo to me... which the pup should never have got if he had got the proper immunisations from the mom. It's definitely the breeder's fault, but if you didn't sign any contract there's probably nothing you can do... Unfortunately there are lots of unethical breeders who just breed for the money and don't really care about selling healthy pups. I would still ask them to pay for it though, because it's going to be very expensive... My vet charges about $100 a day just for keeping a dog on IV, and that's not counting any medical care.

I hope your pup will be ok.

Wow that sounds steep.

I got a immunization chart with the dog with the ones he had, and at the first check, they said he was up to date until Dec. 14.

This vet has really good reviews, and they say that his prices are reasonable. I did get a contract, but I left it in the car from when I took him up there yesterday. I hope there isn't some loophole or something because I know he has had a lot of medical care and a lot of attention from the vet, and we're on day 2. He will stay with the vet until there is no more blood in the stool, and he is acting healthily (which the vet said he was last time we spoke). I can't really afford any kind of extra expenses right now with Christmas so close, and i just had to get my car fixed too. I am willing to make sure that he gets everything he needs to get better though. Thank you for the information, csilva79

Just an update.

The vet called and said that he was doing better, but I asked him if he was going to make it or not, and he told me he wasn't sure, and he'd call me in the morning and let me know what he thought. There is still blood in the stool, and that is the major problem because it dosen't seem to want to stop.

I wanted to say thanks to all who replied, and everyone keep fingers crossed that he manages to pull through this.

csilva79

wait, so what was wrong?

He said that the puppy has an infection that is causing intesinal bleeding. This is my first dog, so I just go by what the vet is telling me. That is why I came here to try and find come more information, and see what else I should be asking the vet when he calls.

Just in case anyone is following the thread, I wanted to update and tell you all that the vet just called again and said he is doing much better, and the blood has really slowed down a lot since last night, and basically that things are starting to look up.
So thank you all for your thoughts, and hopefully this ice storm will clear out tomorrow, and I'll bring my little puppy home. We all miss him so much, and I'll take some pictures to post also.
csilva79

I'm glad he's better! Can't wait to see the pictures.

Good news !!!

I hope your pup is doig better