A sick puppy.

Around midnight I started to hear that universe ‘guack’ sound, no matter the mammal it is the same, right before vomit comes.

Puppies that show any signs other than normal, need attention almost immediately as they go down hill super fast.

I turned on the light to see #4 male, trying to eliminate something. It was white foam, and saliva. He then had some gentle diarrhea, I state it this way as not all loose stools are the same. It was not good but not horrible, and no foul smell. I watched for about fifteen minutes to see if he eliminated what obviously needed to come out, but he was obviously starting to not feel or do well. He had low energy, wanted to curl up in a corner, and when I picked him up he had no tension in his little body. Something was trying to set up shop, or he grabbed something in the yard that was obviously not agreeing with him.

All of the other pups were doing well at this time, normal solid poop, and good energy, so I am going to guess that he picked up something in the yard.

He kept ‘guacking’ and nothing was producing, he looked nauseas, and even when I brought his mama in, he was too weak and unwell to nurse. Mama Beetz also knew something was wrong, she cleaned him head to toe, and tried to snuggle him in close but he wanted to retreat to a corner. She stayed close to him.

So I started my protocol of fluids – raw goats milk and water, and an herbal tincture that calms the digestive system while supporting the immune system. Some times I will use an electrolyte – I have recipes for dog, goat, and human – all slightly different, and all awesome.

Every 15 minutes for the first hour I syringe about 12ml of raw goats milk with water, and about 2 drops of herbal tincture. I have a lot of 6ml syringes in my farm health chest.

After that first hour, I watch for any changes, and if there seems to be progression that is better, I do 6ml of raw goats milk with water every half hour, with 2 drops of herbal tincture.

After that second hour, I watch for changes, and if there seems to be progression that is better, I do 6ml of raw goats milk with water every hour, with 2 drops of herbal tincture.

At 4:20am, I saw him run to his mama and start nursing vigorously while his littermates were sleeping.

He was running around and playing like a wild puppy at 6am this morning, nursing with strength, and ate some breakfast.

He then slept super hard, he is up now, I can hear them all playing, and time to let Mama Beetz in to do her magic. I am waiting to see his poop this morning.

I will continue with the herbal tincture 2-3 times today just to keep the digestive system smooth.

With my 2018 litter, Mama Beetz at 5 weeks of age had something like this, the only one in her litter, but hers was much worse, she had firehose pressure diarrhea, and went down hill within 20 minutes, but with this same protocol, she was running around and eating by breakfast.

Hydration and bioavailable nutrition are key, as well as calming the system.

Staying close to my litters, observing and caring for them right away helps them get over these humps while they are maturing. And I am a huge fan of the saying ‘better out than in’, if there is something not agreeing with their system, best it comes out.

Waiting or not observing what is happening is where big problems start.

Have a great day – time to do more laundry!