vaccines- puppy born 10-10
wormed 4 times by 8 wks( I thought this was unnusual but the breeder said that they had always done it that way for over 20 years without problem...) at 6 wks had distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus infection, coronavirus. at 10 wks had distemper hepatitis, parainfluenza, canine parvovirus. at 14 wks had distemper hepatitis, parainfluenza, bordotella, canine parvovirus. 18 wks canine parvovirus and rabbies.

His diarhea does not seem "mucousy" but is very wet and "explosive". As well I didnt mention that sometimes when he is resting he is panting but otherwise seemingly comfortable. Tonight he was resting like this and i could hear his stomach "grumbling" for a few minutes so we went for a walk and sure enough... diarhea
-Looking at him he is actually just a bit on the heavy side- if he is able to gain weight like this does that rule anything out?
- And as far as hompeopathic vets I dont know any period yet alone in my area. (Dover delaware)

Julia, How old is your shepherd now?

he is 14 mos, but its a siberian. Does he eat on a regular schedule? My vet told me to try to have him fast for 1 day, then start giving him small amounts of cooked rice (not minute rice) and chicken broth to let his digestive system settle down. Then after a week start adding in his kibble for a few more days, if it firms up keep adding more kibble. This helped a lot, he still has loose stools but its not the explosive mess before. He also would lie around looking hot too, almost refused to come in the house for months as a young pup. I remember when I got him in January I would take him out at 3am to go potty and he would just lie down and fall asleep in the wet grass, he loved it. He is better about being in the house now at 14 mos and seems to tolerate heat better. So try the rice and broth diet for awhile to see if his tummy settles down. I found in humans, if given a lot of antibiotics and other drugs your stomach becomes very sensitive for awhile. Good luck.

oh and my vet also said to try and get some fiber in his diet to help firm him up, purred(sp?) pumpkin and squash from a can come to mind.

In my opinion worming 4 times before the pup is 8 wks. is off. I deworm once at approx. 4 wks. Then I will maybe worm once more at 8 wks. My vet also told me to use 1/2 the recommended dose as this was sufficient.

I also feel that the pup has had way too many vaccines. (but I know others might have a different opinion) Looks like he had them at 6, 10, 14, and 18 wks. And then also had the all in one vaccines.

I don't even know what to say. I wouldn't buy a pup with that many vaccines and dewormed that many times. It is bound to have problems. But....again that is my opinion and I know others will differ.

I would do everything to give this pups system a 'break'. Thus, I would feed only raw, would make sure the food is VERY digestable , add digestive enzymes and yogurt. My homeopath will do phone consults but I have no idea what it would cost etc.

I had a male that had digestive problems when he was young. Couldn't keep weight on him. Went to the vet many times. Even he didn't know what to suggest. As a last ditch effort he said to make his food and gave me a recipe. I followed that for several months but didn't feel great about the ingredients (white rice, boiled chicken or beef, yogurt, sugar, bone meal, etc) This dog is what actually had me research a better way. I ended up going to a lecture on raw. In the end, I changed his diet to completely raw, and he never had the problems again until he was old. Then the same symptoms came back. I was able to control it through homeopathy for over a year before he died.

We have used cooked rice and just recently stopped because we didnt notice any kind of improvemnt or deteriaration with the rice added... We have a vet appointment on wednesday ( tommorow) If i dont post back earlier i'll certainly post back afterwords with a million more question based on what I hear tommorow... Thanks to all that have been posting <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
maybe even keep your fingers crossed for him

Shelley
just saw your post after i put another one up... I was concerned about the worming but the shots after 8 wks were done by my vet... i guess part of the problem would directly be my fault. Im goign to go to the grocery store tommorow to get back to the raw diet and the yogurt sounds like a good idea as well. As far as giving his system a break- would the "danger" in stopping medications to treat coxxidia be greater or lesser than the possible damage the meds are doing to his system?

To prevent all these problem in the pup I think the breeder should follows some preventive guidelines
At 14days 1st parvo shot to be administered and dewormed.
At 21days old administered Albon fo 5 days and also to the mother 2nd deworm at this time.
At 35 days administered parvo and corrona vaccine
At 42 days give Albon to he pups and the mother for 5 days
At 49days Parvo and corrona vaccines plus deworm
At 53 days give Albon to the pups for 3 days be4 shipping to new home.

You want to prevent problems in your puppies first and foremost have a clean environment. Then do everything possible to boost the dams and pups immune system to fight these things without any intervention. Thus, feed a raw diet, do minimal vaccinations and only vaccinate for things that are crucial. In my opinion that means parvo and distemper. That's it. If law requires rabies then do that at the latest age possible and in conjunction with NO other vaccinations. I would never consider vaccinating a puppy at 14 days old. To do so leaves the pup with no immunity. The vaccine would neutrilize any immunity the pup may have obtained from mom. It takes over 2 wks. to mount any kind of immune response to any vaccination.

You want to prevent problems vaccinate at the oldest age possible.

Those suggestions are IMO a good way to kill a pup's immune system and ruin any hopes of a normal life for the dog. Parvo shots at two weeks of age is the best way to have a pup come down with parvo. Read more about the immune system and learn about maternal immunity. The more you know the less you vaccinate.

Don't let the vet vaccinate this puppy until they are completely healthy. I used to take Auster to a total waste of money vet like this. She had no clue what to do, but instead of sending us to someone that could help she just blindly did more tests hoping she could find something to blame. Enzymes and probiotics sounds like a great idea. Just to be sure, you can start a limited ingredient diet and see if that helps. Some dogs are sensitive to certain ingredients that might be in both SD and abady.

There are other meds to treat coccidia. If one isn't working then try another.

You can use slippery elm to help control the symptoms. It works wonders for Auster. I take her to a holistic vet (I'm not one for homeopathy at this point).

Rice is so-so for Auster. It has to be cooked VERY well (1 cup of rice for 20 or more minutes in the microwave). I have had better luck with mashed potatoes lately (including flakes). Whites or sweets (Auster can't have too many sweets because of the sugar and yeast problems) and canned pumkin can be added too. Even Auster can handle taters and ground turkey.