I have a 3 1/2 week old greyhound puppy who was almost buried alive at birth. My greyhound bitch had milk (after her first pregnancy, long story) so the owner of the puppy gave him to me to try and save his life. I brought him home and my bitch, Abilene, is a fantastic mother. She believes this is her baby all the way. He started loosing weight so I did some research and found the famous formula on this site. I did the goat's milk and he is gaining weight and doing really well. when he was 2 weeks old, he developed puss on one eye then the next (following day). Vet cut tiny ports for it to drain and put him on Amoxil. He finished that up after 14 days. We've noticed the tip of his tail is very dry and hard. He has dry skin and small sores (just irritated, not open) on 1 hind leg. He's been eating the formula and Abilene's milk if he wants it. He is in a nice whelping box with a lectro kennel heating pad inside to regulate the temp. He is staying in our bedroom so that we can watch him closely. I took a stool sample to the vet 1 week ago and he is negative on worms. Please help me because this little guy has really beaten the odds and is such a fighter. Any wisdom is appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Jaeda and Target

 Quote: Jaeda Burkey

I have a 3 1/2 week old greyhound puppy who was almost buried alive at birth. My greyhound bitch had milk (after her first pregnancy, long story) so the owner of the puppy gave him to me to try and save his life. I brought him home and my bitch, Abilene, is a fantastic mother. She believes this is her baby all the way. He started loosing weight so I did some research and found the famous formula on this site. I did the goat's milk and he is gaining weight and doing really well. when he was 2 weeks old, he developed puss on one eye then the next (following day). Vet cut tiny ports for it to drain and put him on Amoxil. He finished that up after 14 days. We've noticed the tip of his tail is very dry and hard. He has dry skin and small sores (just irritated, not open) on 1 hind leg. He's been eating the formula and Abilene's milk if he wants it. He is in a nice whelping box with a lectro kennel heating pad inside to regulate the temp. He is staying in our bedroom so that we can watch him closely. I took a stool sample to the vet 1 week ago and he is negative on worms. Please help me because this little guy has really beaten the odds and is such a fighter. Any wisdom is appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Jaeda and Target

1. Can you link us to a clear photo of the tail and the hind leg?

2. Is he pooping OK? No diarrhea?

3. Do you see any signs of fleas or other external parasites?

4. Is he scratching or biting at any of the affected skin?

5. Is there any raggedness on the edges of his ear flaps?

6. Is the infected eye all cleared up? How long ago did you finish the antibiotic?

My questions are based on dogs in general, but I think that the puppy experts will see this and reply too.

My husband is working on the photo at this time. He is pooping ok and no diarrhea. No fleas or external parasites that we can see. It doesn't seem that any of the areas bother him as he doesn't lick them at all. His ears are fine. The eyes are free of puss but we are concerned that the first eye infected might not develop right (which is fine as long as he is healthy otherwise). The last dose of antibiotics was Sunday night and I'm concerned that they may be causing this reaction. I did find out that several of the other littermates did in fact have worms but Abilene has always been healthy and on a natural diet so we were very pleased that he tested negative for worms. He is very playful and loves to give kisses already. I'll upload the photo as soon as I can. I really appreciate this website and very thankful that I stumbled upon it.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1906219023/a=2060692023_2060692023/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Please try this link and let me know if it doesn't work or the pics are not clear.
Jaeda

He needs to go back to the vet for the tail. It's possible a couple different things are happening with it, sometimes something minor like a very slight tail fracture, or something much more serious that will require a surgical clipping off the end of it. A vet should be able to tell you quickly.

Skin irritation isn't unheard of on antibiotics especially in immune compromised dogs like very young pups. You should see it clear up as he transitions to solids in the next week or so. If you take that formula, add a little ground meat and some honest kitchen you should have him back in shape very quickly.

Also, Melissa, is there an age when fish oil can be started (in an appropriate dose, of course)? I'm thinking of the benefits that fish oil (and the E that is given with it) have for dry skin and skin pruritis, but I'm not knowledgeable about infant puppies.

This would be in addition to the vet visit, of course -- not instead of.

Maybe when the poop from the ground meat/THK is good?

I didn't start fish oil until 8 weeks but I'm sure it could be done younger. I'm pretty selective on supplements until 6 months in all my dogs.

Personally I think I would do topical pharmaceutical grade pure emu oil for mild skin irritation rather than risk upsetting the belly in one so small. Just a drop goes a long way and I know it works for my skin issues without inflaming my allergies, leaves no residue, and is completely non toxic.

Well, he is scheduled for a vet re-check on his eyes, skin, and tail. The breeder told me that she is starting the rest of his littermates on baby rice cereal this week. I know that she feeds some raw mixed with Evo, but should I do the rice cereal? I'd rather just add the meat. Has anyone ever used silver for skin irritations? We've used it on some of the rescues we get in from the track that are beaten up and it really works. I'm just wondering if he's too young. The emu oil-do you have to dilute it in a carrier oil or is it ready to use? I really appreciate your help and so does Target.
Jaeda

people like the rice cereal because it's pretty easy to digest and process with raw hamburger, soaked kibble, whatever. I have used it before. The stuff does work if it's your preference.

In the future however I'm just going to use dehydrated dog food like THK, or Addiction and ground raw meat. It looks a little like guacamole and is very easy to eat for small pups.

Yes emu oil that you buy is ready to use. I would not use colloidal silver on a puppy, it is not without it's side effects.

I just wanted to take a minute and thank you for all of the suggestions we received in reference to getting our puppy healthy. He's doing much better and thriving. He was raised on the Leerburg puppy formula and is now eating The Honest Kitchen "Thrive" with raw meat and bones added. He looks a lot healthier than his littermates and we owe his survival to Leerburg. We followed the suggestions and read every post we could in order to educated ourselves. Thank you.