Pup with swollen belly

by surine
(KZN)

hi i have a 6 month old boer bul puppy and about a, month ago her tummy started swelling and we thought she was getting fat but it didn't stop.

as we don't have a vet near to us, i went to our local chemist he said it could be worms, and gave us some deworming medicine.

i have given it to her for three days and there's still no difference, she is also a very naughty pup she loves chewing on clothes, and i cant help but wonder maybe her tummy is blocked?

PLEASE HELP

thank you






Hi Surine
I'm afraid this is most definitely a situation where you need to get veterinary advice and a hands-on evaluation of your puppy.

Even if there isn't a vet close to where you live you need to travel to the closest one and have your pup checked over.

A swollen belly in a young pup who seems otherwise healthy is often due to parasites such as puppy worms, however without a proper fecal exam (a microscopic evaluation of your pups' stools done by a vet) it's impossible to tell which type of worm is causing the problem - if indeed it is worms at all.

Giving her a deworming medicine for the wrong type of worm won't help and that's why you need a vet to diagnose the problem.

As you say she loves to chew on things (that's really perfectly normal puppy behavior) it's possible that she's ingested something that she shouldn't have. An intestinal blockage can be life-threatening, and although for now she seems to be fine other than the swollen belly if there IS something in her gut that shouldn't be it could cause very serious problems at any time.

Please find a veterinarian and get your puppy there for a full exam as soon as you can, that way you can hopefully get this problem taken care of before it develops into something more serious.

Best of luck, hope she's doing much better soon.