cosmo

by araceli ayala
(santa ana, ca)

i have a puppy he's six weeks old. he's a poodle.. i've had him for two weeks already so i got him very young. when he got here he was doing fine, extremely playful, and very alive.

He still plays now, but he sleeps more than he plays. he seems a bit lethargic and he's always thirsty but refuses to drink water. this has been going on for two days now. also, his heart beat is extremely visible at all times. his tummy makes weird noises like us when we're hungry, but i feed him how i'm supposed to.

i'm getting him his shots at 8 weeks, and i haven't taken him to the vet because i don't have money. any idea what's going on? also, i'm scared because one of our dogs just passed away from parvo... i haven't taken him outside at all because of that, we sprayed bleach and water in the whole backyard but i'm just traumatized because it was just a really bad sight waiting for your dog to die and doctors not being able to do much for her.

i'd really appreciate if you answer me.



Hi Araceli
I'm sorry to hear about your dog, Parvo is a horrible disease.

I hate to have to say this, but Parvo is EXTREMELY contagious, and if your puppy was in any contact with your older dog (inside as well as out) he could be infected. Puppies are totally vulnerable when unvaccinated and I would recommend that you take him to your vet right away if he seems ill in any way.

Lethargy, loss of appetite and diarrhea and vomiting are major symptoms, so please always be safe rather than sorry and check it out.

Also, your puppy was taken away from his momma much, much too early. He will undoubtedly be missing her and his siblings, and probably was barely (if at all) ready to be weaned when you got him. However, by now he should be able to eat and drink by himself and should be getting over any homesickness.

If he seems to be deteriorating or showing any of the above symptoms I would assume he's sick in some way and get him to a vet.

I wish you the best of luck with your puppy and really hope that this has a happy ending.