shih-tzu

[scooter686]

I just got a ten week old puppy. He ate the first day we got him.(Monday, Jan. 19th 09) . Now all he does is lay around,he is drinking plenty of water, but he will not eat.He has thrown up at least four times. He is going to the vet this evening. Im wondering what could be wrong with him.. We have a four month old shih-tzu also, he is very active, and wants the puppy to play with him, and when our four month old messes with him, he gets upset, (leave me alone, i dont feel good) . the four month old has had his shots. any comments please email me.

[scooter686]

The vet told us, that he has tonsilitus(spelling ?). He gave him a anitibotic shot, another booster shot, and anitbotics pills for ten days. He still has no appetite. The vet also told us what to do to feed him. I hope he pulls out of this .. Im very worried. Thanks for your letter of encourgement, jaybay..

[Jaybay]

Oh no.  Vomiting in that young of a pup is not a good sign, so I'm very glad you're taking him to your vet.  As a side note to any new readers, I don't care how expensive a breeder you bought your pup from or if he came from a rescue: ALWAYS take him to your vet within the first week for a professional opinion.  You'll want to get vaccination records from the breeder or rescue group transferred to your vet as well.  OK, end of public service announcement.  :-)

I'm hoping your pup is merely having a problem with a change in diet.  If you know what food he was eating, go back to that brand and gradually change it over to the brand of your choice.  Don't feed him the same food as your adult dog.  Your pup will need a puppy formula for a year to 14 months depending on what your vet recommends.

If this is indeed a diet change issue, one way to help get food into a nauseated dog is to feed plain cooked white rice. It's easy to digest, and in the case of diarrhea, the starches help firm things up.  Once the dog eats the rice with no problem, add in a little plain canned white chicken meat, and see how he progresses.  After that, it's back to the regular food.

Give us a shout back and let us know what your vet says.  Hope everything will be OK shortly!  :-)