sick puppy? nervous me?

[apprehensive5]

Hi everyone! I'm a new member, and I want to start by saying I love this site, there's so much info!! It really put a new puppy owner like myself at ease.

My concern is, I not sure if my puppy (malti-poo, 9 weeks) is sick or starting to settle into his new routine. I got him a couple days ago, and the first two days, he would whine and cry when we put him in his crate, today (the third day) he just whined a few minutes each time we put him in, then he just sleeps until its time for him to go potty. As for his eating habits, he hardly ate the first day, and the second day, we had to feed him some canned food given to us by his vet. Today, I got him some new dry food, and he starting to eat it, the thing is, he doesn't eat a whole lot. He would eat some, then come back and eat some more. The entire day, he ate only 1 cup ( or less). Do you think i should leave the unfinished portion in his bowl, so he can eat whenever or scoop it up and him it to him later at a set time? And he hardly drink his water. Just a couple licks. My puppy is really quite today, and he had bad breath...I heard if they have bad breath, its not really a good sign...I'm so nervous!! I dun know what to think.

Sorry this is so long, but i get really cautious when it come to my baby! Hence the name, "apprehensive" Thanks for you patience!

[apprehensive5]

Sorry, one more thing. I forgot to mention, I take Ranger out to the yard and he's really playful, but when we put him in his crate, he sleeps all the time. He's sleeps alot. Is this normal puppy behaviour?

[Kade]

Our 9-week-old puppy sleeps alllll the time. At first, I had the same fears you do, but then I saw at various places (and was told by the vet) that so much sleep is totally normal -- they're growing so fast, they need rest.

Winston is very quiet in his crate. When he cries, we ignore him, and as a result, he cries less every day. Usually it's not more than :45 of whining before he gives up and falls asleep.

As for the other stuff, that sounds like my pup, too. When I'm really worried about him drinking, I go to his water dish and pour a tiny bit of condensed milk (the kind from a can) into it. So he goes crazy lapping up water trying to get the milk.

As for food, I wouldn't worry too much -- Winston's appetite really picked up after 4-5 days at home. I wouldn't free-feed at this age. As long as he's getting plenty of water, just make sure he's there when the food is and try to keep a consistent feeding schedule. He'll eat before he lets himself get too hungry.

Of course, you may want him checked out by a vet just because he's brand new. But all of what you've said sounds normal to me.

[linnie]

apprehensive...puppies eat small and often I doubt he would die of thirst. If he was really sick then he would not be playing etc.

Did you have him checked by a vet when you got him?
Also dont forget whatever vaccinations he might need for where you live.

I remember thinking one of my girls must have died because she was madly playing then just plopped over and went to sleep. Seems pups play hard and sleep hard.

By the way welcome to gp. Am looking forward to hearing all about your baby

[sheltiepups]

Frist welcome

Second, your puppy sounds normal to me good luck with him

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Welcome to GP

Your puppy sounds very normal to me as well, many dogs "pick" at their food at prefer to eat at their leasure instead of eating it all at one and this is especially true of puppies if given a large amount. How much are you feeding him? The same is true for drinking, make sure water is always available and trust me he will drink when he's thirsty.

Signs of illness would be if he stopped drinking entirely, stopped eating, was vomiting, felt hot to the touch, runny nose, cough or something of that nature. Bad breath is a way at times of telling when a dog may be ill but without being there its hard to say wether what your smelling is a problem or simply puppy breath. Puppy breath is something one either likes or can't stand the smell of, some people describe it as a vitamin type smell.

It sounds like he is also getting used to his crate which is wonderful! Many choose to sleep while in their crate to pass the time until their allowed out.

All in all I think your ok ( just my opinion ) but if in doubt the very best thing you can do is contact your veterinarian just to be sure.

[Barrett]

I LOVE puppy breath. It has a slight skunk smell to me....now I hate the smell fo skunk....but I love puppy breath. Hmmmmm.
Are you feeding the same type of food the "breeder" was feeding? The person who sold you the puppy should haev given you either the name of the food or a small bag of it to take home. If you switch brands of puppy food your pup may not like it and it could give it an upset tummy.

[calgal]

If your 9 week old Malti/Poo can eat a whole cup of kibble in one day then I'd say that puppy is just fine. My little 4 lb. Yorkie, will be 7 months old tomorrow and probably doesn't even eat 1/4 cup in one day, then some days she will eat about 1/3 cup. She drinks very little water unless we have had her at one of the parks for an outing and long walks, then she tanks up. Most puppies do sleep quite a bit at that age, generally tapering off to shorter naps but many during the day, then fewer. Zada still takes anywhere from 6 to 8 naps a day for about 15 minutes to 1/2 hr. depending on what her activity level has been. I have always let her free-feed. She eats when "she's" hungry. I have INNOVA and CHICKEN SOUP (for the dog lovers soul) down together all the time. I also cook breakfast for her. Since she has a very sensitive stomach like most Yorkies, I found sardines packed in water, salmon, tuna (both in the pouch) boiled eggs, (1/4 a day) cottage cheese, milk, cheese, peanut butter & brown rice are things she can eat without having diarrhea. I'm still trying different things here and there though. Anyway, start worrying if he stops eating for a day. At that age it would not be a good idea to let him go without food for more than 12 hours or he could go into shock and seizures.

[paramount]

It sounds like a normal, healthy puppy. When my pup goes into his 'house' he will sit for a few minutes and then plop over and sleep. Puppies sleep a lot and if he is normal by all other facets (eating, playing, defecating, etc.) I wouldn't worry.

[apprehensive5]

[FONT=Arial]Ranger had all the shots he's suppose to by this age. And, I did ask the breeder what brand of chow they were feeding him, unfortuately I couldn't find it here ( he's from out of town). And I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone. You all made me feel a lot less nervous with Ranger!! And i love it here, everyone is so nice and friendly, you make me feel so welcome. Thanks![/font]

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Originally Posted by apprehensive5

[FONT=Arial]Ranger had all the shots he's suppose to by this age. And, I did ask the breeder what brand of chow they were feeding him, unfortuately I couldn't find it here ( he's from out of town). And I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone. You all made me feel a lot less nervous with Ranger!! And i love it here, everyone is so nice and friendly, you make me feel so welcome. Thanks![/font]

Your very welcome! Give Ranger a huge hug from us!

[Brooklyn]

He sounds normal. Puppies should have 15 minutes of sleep for every hour of play and you shouldnt keep alternating his food like that, what did his breeder feed him? You have to gradually wean them over to a different brand or they often get diarrhea. To do that you should first mix ¼ of the brand you want them to eat with ¾ the brand they have been eating, then a week later mix ½ of the brand you want them to eat in with ½ the brand the have been eating. Then in one more week, mix ¾ the brand you want them to have in with the brand they have been eating and in another week, you can eliminate the old brand out of their diet without them getting sick. Hope that helps!

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

This post is from back in July and the member has not posted since.