# Sick puppy or overprotective mom?!



## tatertick (Feb 19, 2014)

My puppy is 14 weeks old. He has been happy and healthy. About two weeks ago he got a runny nose that was so bad whenever he would lay down there would be a puddle when he got up. He started having trouble sleeping and would whine while trying to get comfortable. A few days later we found tape worms in his stool. Of course, we went to the vet, He was treated for that 6 days ago and we are giving him half of a benedryl two times a day to help with what the vet thinks is just a cold.He is playful if we take him outside and throw a ball but for the most part, he is sleeping a lot more than before and seems to just want to stay in bed. His appetite has reduced. Two incidents have occurred where he will being making the sound like he is about to vomit but then he just gags, no vomit. Now, the past two days he kind of coughs randomly. This has only occurred a couple times, not consistently. I'm worried he may have something weird that if we don't catch it early could kill him. Please help.


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## cooperman (Oct 26, 2010)

If the noise hes making is a kind of retching sound it could be kennel cough, all symptons you mention ring true too. Look on you tube for kennel cough, and compare to your boys. If you make the diagnosis, its good to give a teaspoon of honey to soothe his throat. Hope he gets better soon.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Out of all the years I've owned dogs I have never had a vet tell me its just a cold. I've had one dog get a respiratory infection once, but never just a cold. I would find a new vet if I was told "the pup just has a cold."

Its not uncommon for pups to get worms and be treated for them. Some meds need to be taken on a full stomach or they can cause nausea, and/or upset stomach. Also pups can vomit and gag if they have a empty stomach.
Benadryl can make a pup sleep more, so can being sick. Less exercise because the pup is sleeping would make them burn less calories, so food intake would be less.
Also normal pups whine and move in their sleep, dogs in pain also whine in their sleep. 
Everything you described except the runny nose, and cough could be normal, or it could be symptoms of something bigger going on with the pup.
Has your pup ran a fever over the last 2 weeks, and is he drinking a normal amount of water?
Like I said at the start, If a vet told me my pup just had a cold I would walk out of their offices and never return.


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## BirdWatcher (Jun 12, 2012)

Hi - of course it is a vet who should be sorting this out and, like TexasRed says find one who addresses these symptoms fully. Having said that, and seeing as puppy had tapeworm, the symptoms could indicate lungworm. However, I am not a vet ... hope you get to the bottom of this soon


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

Tatertick... Where are you located in the world...Please don't tell me you are in AZ, Central California, New mexico. or S. Texas.
You might want your vet to run a Cocci titer...rule out Valley Fever, it has similar symptoms... cough, loss of energy, appetite very cold like, but not a cold at all. It is not a cheep test, but may save your pups life.
:'(


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## BirdWatcher (Jun 12, 2012)

BirdWatcher said:


> Hi - of course it is a vet who should be sorting this out and, like TexasRed says find one who addresses these symptoms fully. Having said that, and seeing as puppy had tapeworm, the symptoms could indicate lungworm. However, I am not a vet ... hope you get to the bottom of this soon


whoops - sorry - my reply sounds really shirty. I was bone tired and bathroom had just flooded. Anyway, on topic of lung worm (sometimes called heart worm), it is getting more prevalent in UK because of rain/ snails. It is common in lots of species and puppies are more prone than adult dogs, and I have to watch my chickens carefully as they get it too. A young puppy could have got it from mother etc. At least it's really treatable but it can cause health problems if not treated. 

I hope little pup is on the mend soon ..


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

It does sound like kennel cough and it's highly contagious. I'd take him back to the vet (possibly a different one) and have him tested. Puppies are like kids, they gave go from OK to really sick quickly so don't mess around with him. Your own intuition is usually correct.

In the meantime please keep his isolated from other dogs so it isn't passed around. Hope he is on the mend soon!


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## tatertick (Feb 19, 2014)

Thank you all for the great advice! We got a vet recommendation from the Tampa Bay Vizsla Club, for a vet near us in Ft. Lauderdale who has a good reputation and has seen Vizslas. She checked Tucker up and down, and her diagnosis was much more medical. According to her, the tape worm is now gone, but while he had it his little body was dedicating a lot of resources to fighting it off. As such, it left his immune system weakened and susceptible to things that he normally would have been able to fight off. This led him to developing an upper respiratory, which was the cause of the runny nose and couple of coughs he had here and there. All of this, combined with the Benadryl, probably led to his increased sleepyness and reduced appetite. 

We are happy to report that Tucker is no longer blowing clear burgers all over the house! His little runny nose has dried up, the worms are gone from his poo, he's back to being a ball of energy that attacks every leaf blowing by, and he's eating three square meals a day! We may have over reacted, as it is the first puppy we have had in quite some time!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Its good to hear he is back to being a ball of energy.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

tatertick said:


> ... We may have over reacted, ...


The worst consequence of over reacting is an extra vet bill or 2. The worst consequence of UNDER reacting is a situation where early treatment would have been minor but is now very major or out of control. You can imagine how you would feel if you had let something like that happen because you were worried about over reacting.

Go with your gut feelings. You'll feel better about it.

Bob


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Just a example of its okay to incur vet bills for peace of mind, and your pups safety. Last summer I found bright green dog poop in the yard. The color was the same as rat poison. It had been pouring rain the day before and I had missed my evening poo duty, and was not sure which dog it was from. 
I knew the boys on the street had been playing paint ball and I questioned them on the color that had been using. It was not green.
So all three dogs were ran to the vet to have blood work, and then it repeated later to rule out poisoning. Over a thousand dollars spent because I did not want to know once it was to late to save them.
The dogs were fine and it was from paint balls going over my fence.
Blue paint balls with yellow fill make green.
They now use a different color paint balls supplied by a V owner.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Iwantavizsla said:


> Hahah


???, what's so funny?


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