Safeguard Deworm should he be tired? - Page 1

My male is 12 weeks old and I am giving him Safeguard http://www.safe-guard-for-dogs.com/ deworming medicine. It says to give it to him for 3 days and today is the 3nd day but I haven't given him todays dose. He was healthy acting before starting it but had loose stool and a low appetite. After talking to several people, and from a couple of suggestions from people on this board, I decided to give him a deworming medicine even though the vet checked his stool and said it was ok approx 2 weeks ago. He has always had wet stools and often runny which isn't normal. He has never had any sort of an appetite to speak of. Approaches meal time with a ho-hum attitude. For the last 3 days I have taken advice and set his food out at meal time (3x per day) and left it out for 15minutes then picked it back up until the next feeding. On day one he didn't touch his food for breakfast or lunch then had around two cups at dinnertime. Day two, was the same but at dinner he ate a little more than two cups. Today is the 3rd day and he didn't touch his breakfast again. This can not be normal or healthy. He's an active puppy who doesn't eat. He seemed ok when we first got up but after an hour or so he started acting lethargic. He has been sleeping for the last couple hours and didn't even get up when we were taking the Christmas tree down which is not like him at all. Normally he'd be trying to eat the ornaments and trying to eat all the boxes. He is 27lbs which at 12 weeks might be a tad small but is still within the "normal" (whatever that is) range. Very thin (like most say you should keep a puppy). You can very easily feel all his ribs and see them when he is laying on his side. To me, he might be looking a little too thin. His hipbones are more visible than I thing they should be. Is there anything about his medicine that should make him lethargic? I looked on their website and the only thing they mentioned is vomiting which he hasn't done. I am concerned because he always has a ton of energy and now 3 days into this medicine he's curled up sleeping at 9am which is normally a very active time of the day for him. I'm feeding him Innova large breed puppy which has 27% protein which seems to be readily accepted as an ok amount for a dog his age. Thought or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Brian

I have never had issues with using Safeguard on any age dog. You might look further into your pup's health. He could be anemic or any number of other issues. SS

I agree he could have other health issues at this time, but when my pups wont eat I usually suspect they dont like the food first. Try something new gradually. But first see about the anemia. Another thread covered similar issues last week maybe read back thru the archives. I know members here had some very helpful advice. good luck.

I would get him checked out. Runny stools is not normal. Lethargic is not normal. What was his vaccination schedule? Good luck and check in

I will get him checked for anemia. I will also do some research into it, I know nothing about it, especially in a Dog. I started him on Canidae All Life Stages when we first got him but switched to the Innova thinking he didn't like the Canidae's taste. So that's two brands of food that he has shown no interest in. Still could be that I just happened to pick two that he doesn't like. /shrug He is scheduled for his next round of vaccinations next week but depending on how he does today/tomorrow, I might not wait that long to take him in. Something else of note. He is a poop eater. He has been since we first got him. We have deer, rabits that go through our yard and when we take him out to go to the batheroom he actively tries to get to the areas where the droppings are in an attempt to eat them. We take him out on a leash so we can keep him away from them. He tries to get to them and roots around in the grass so agressively that you would think he was starving and we never offered him any food. I have had some suggest putting some liver in his food at each feeding to help increase his desire but I have been hesitant to introduce any new/different food source since he always seems to be on the edge of diahrea. Thanks for the suggestions thus far.

He sounds like he may have gotten into something that is upsetting his stomach. You can try fasting him for 24 hours and giving him nothing but water and Peptmo Bismol every 4 hours. Start him back on a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice and then slowly introduce his regular food. I would also add some probiotic to his diet to help keep his system running smoothly. If his diarrhea has a mucous-like look to it, you may be dealing with Coccidia which is easily treated with Albon from your vet. It's common to see pups break with Coccidia when they go to a new home and get a bit stressed.

Check his gums to see if they are pink. If they are a grey white looking he is anemic. I would try give him dyne and some puppy vitimins too. I would also have him checked for Coccidia like the above post mentioned. Vets don't normally check for it, so you have to ask them. Make sure you take a stool sample with you to the vet's just in case they can not get one from him.

There are snap tests that they can do in the vet. Definitely check for coccidia. The Albon should take care of that.

He has cocci and albon is needed...also at 12 weeks you shouldnt be changing his food every bit...he should be kept on whatever the breeder was feeding for a month at your house...his stools should be firm and often.and he should be eating you out of house and home keep him in kennel at this age so he cant eat something you dont know about...... Breeder should have briefed you as to how to care for her or his puppy...very important not to disturb their routine for the first month... Pepto Bismol is now not the thing to give......the new formula has aspirin in it....for a puppy that is not needed.....us Pectilin from Petsmart or your pet store....its formulated for pups.. Kaopectate and Pepto have aspirin in it...it is better than nothing in case of emergency...but beware that it does now contain more aspirin....Vet told me this last February... Albon is good for lots of things....also..Cocci comes from pups eating their poop and licking all the others pups like their mom did.....

You should have kept feeding him the same food the breeder was feeding, I had some lady give me back a pup saying it had loose stools and I refunded her 100% the purchase price, after she had gotten the pup from me at 8 weeks old she had switched puppy's food about 5 times in 4 weeks!!! She tested pup for worms and enzyme deficency,and gardia,everything. Puppy was so screwed up, she also had her on steroids & anti-biotics, WHY? WHY? WHY? That same pup was rehomed, (should I say saved)and placed with people that listened to me about caring for their new pup, not going to the vets & saying give me some medication, my pups got an upset stomache. I was also wondering why are you worming him,if he was worm free, A once a month worming like intercepter heartworm pills will kill off a number of different parasites. worming is very stressful on the system and can cause loose bowels, my pups sometimes get loose stools after worming. I feed my dogs a raw diet, or use Canidae all life stages, they love it. And yes, he could have Coccidia, find out if the breeder had chickens on their property. It may just be from changing his diet, put him back on what he was eating when he was running around happy & healthy! And also, make sure he didn't eat a Christmas ornament (now that you mentioned it....) sometimes they have no appetite cause of a blockage. I hope you figure things out, I don't mean to bitch at you, but I was thinking back about that lady that just had no clue, and it was at the puppy's expense.