# 12 week old is not doing well - Help please



## Marti Harris (Dec 30, 2020)

Hello All,

My nearly 12 week old puppy, Xia, is not doing well. I am hoping some of you experienced Havanese owners can offer your advice.

Let me start at the beginning. I look her for her first vet appointment 10 days ago. She received a checkup and her Vaccinations. The vet was concerned about her low weight and recommended I start offering wet food in addition to her kibble and also supplement her with Nutri-cal when she isn't interested in her scheduled meal in order to avoid Hypoglycemia.

I knew Xia seemed small when I got her and she has never been enthusiastic about eating. I immediately ordered the wet version of her kibble that would be delivered the following day. In the meantime I ran to Petco to get a can for that first day. They were out of stock but recommended an alternative high calorie canned puppy food. Xia ate a bit of the Petco food but wasn't blown away. When we changed to her regular brand the following day she had some but wasn't in love with that either. This girl just doesn't care about food. The only thing she loves is boiled chicken but the vet said it's important to keep that to a minimum so she has appetite for the balanced nutrients in puppy food.

I couple days later I brought her to meet the family that she would be staying with when I have to be out of the house. They have a 5 pound Maltese so I wanted to make sure they got along. The meeting went great but the biggest shocker was when Xia found the other dog's food and gobbled it up! I learned that it was "Freshpet" that you get in the refrigerated section of high end markets like whole foods. I immediately ran out and got it. She ate a big helping that night and I was so happy that we finally found a food she loved. The vet said it was important that I feed her the puppy version so I switched to that the next day. You may have guessed where this story is going since this delicate baby girl had 5 different dog foods over the course of 3 days...

On Wednesday she had terrible diarrhea and stopped eating or drinking. I called the vet in the morning and the soonest they could see her was 5:30pm that night. By the time she went in her temp was 104.6 and she was severely dehydrated. She was a very sick puppy and the vet suspected Parvo. They couldn't check for it because it would show up in her feces because of her recent vaccine. They cooled her temp back down to normal with ice packs and rehydrated her by putting fluid under her skin. They also began her on Metronidazole, 1/8 tablet per day.

By the time we headed home she was dramatically better. I had to wake her every 2-3 hours during the night to make sure she was still doing well. Each time I did she was better than the last. By morning she was herself again.

We went back to the vet first thing the following morning then again 2 days after that, which was yesterday. Her stool was back to normal as was her temp and hydration. I thought we were all better until today when she has once again stopped eating and drinking. She also began pawing her face on both sides, scratching with her hind legs, chewing her feet and licking her privates. She seams to be very uncomfortably itchy all over. I have to wonder if this might be an allergic reaction to the Metronidazole. Has anyone else experienced that?

She is not nearly as bad off as she was on Wednesday so I feel comfortable taking her to her regular vet first thing in the morning instead of having her wait the estimated 8-10 hours at the emergency vet tonight. I just wanted to see if any of you had experienced symptoms like these with your young Havanese. Do you think its an allergic reaction to the medicine?

I am also extremely interested in advice on feeding dangerously picky eaters that desperately need their calories. The vet insists on Puppy food for the special nutrients because of rapid bone growth at this age. The problem is she won't eat puppy food.
Also, how do you get a dehydrated puppy to drink if they keep refusing their water bowl?

Any advice is deeply appreciated.

Thank you so much!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Sorry to hear your puppy is having eating problems. The pawing could be an allergic reaction to the Metronidazole. Because she isn't drinking I would take her to your emergency vet to be on the safe side. Hope to hear XIa is feeling better soon.


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## gigipie (Jan 30, 2021)

Marti Harris said:


> Also, how do you get a dehydrated puppy to drink if they keep refusing their water bowl?


I'm so sorry you're going through all of this - this sounds so stressful! Our pup was very picky the first few nights home, but has settled down and prefers the Freshpet puppy food and the Wellness Complete Health Small Breed Puppy dry food. He will also eat the Canidae Puppy dry food as well. Our breeder had him on the Freshpet vital chicken formula and he LOVED that, but our vet also suggested a puppy formula instead...luckily he didn't have an issue switching to that flavor. 

It could be an allergic reaction to the medication (though I'm certainly no expert) - when ours has her seasonal allergy attacks she acts similarly with itchiness everywhere. 

For the question above, we've had success giving no-salt or low sodium chicken broth either straight or mixed with some water when our girls don't want to drink anything. However, ours aren't really picky eaters per se so not sure that would work, but something to try! Good luck and hope she feels better soon!!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

No experience with this, but if she will eat one thing, and not something else, I'd let her eat. Just don't let her eat so much the first few times. Which Fresh Pet will she eat?


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

She may need subcutaneous fluids to avoid dehydration. Once when my cat was sick I used a hypodermic syringe (without needle of course) and squirted small amounts of water in his mouth. I just did small amounts very frequently. Good luck with your pup.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

It may also be helpful to feed her very small amounts more frequently until her system stabilizes. Too much at one time could set her off.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

The other thing I would STRONGLY recommend is that you should be in close communication with your breeder. She knows the puppy better than anyone at this point.


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## NotAMuggle (Dec 4, 2020)

Piper has never been super interested in regular food (of course she's always down for a treat or frozen blueberry though  ) but not a _dangerously_ picky eater so idk if this advice will be helpful to you...but I started mixing wet and dry (both puppy food) together. I also microwave it a little to make it smellier (yuck) for her. I think offering her smaller meals more frequently will help and also be sure to minimize the distractions when she's eating (in the beginning I used to tell my boyfriend to NOT get up from the couch when she's eating because she'd immediately stop, grab a toy, run over, and think play/tug of war was about to start and that was the end of her noticing her meal lol).

Also i feel like dogs can sense when you're stressed so try to keep it low pressure around meal time. I know it's important for her to eat but imo if she feels like you're uptight or harassing her to eat she won't eat much. Stay in close contact w/ your vet and breeder to get their takes as well.

I know a lot of puppy people take water away after a certain time, but I give Piper access to fresh water all day up until we go to bed. I never want her to be thirsty and not able to quench it. She holds it for 7ish hours overnight regardless. Perhaps you should do the same if water intake is an issue? If she's not drinking out of her bowl, maybe try another bowl? Do you have a designated area for her meals/water bowl? Does she paw at the water bowl like she's not sure how to drink it or just ignore the bowl entirely? Also giving her some wet food will at least help a little bit with dehydration/water intake...

This is just a bump in the road and I'm sure Xia will feel better soon!


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## Tere (Oct 17, 2018)

Shadow was on Metronidazole for almost a month and did all of the things mentioned. My vet said these are common side effects and to keep giving it as long as he was not having an allergic reaction.
He also went on canned food and barely drank any water. Somedays none. It was Hills Prescription Diet and I called them, concerned about him not drinking. They said that the canned food is alot of water. He never got dehydrated though and is fine now.
So sorry this is happening. Very stressful for her and you.


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## BoosDad (Mar 8, 2020)

Boo is 18.5 years old, and has been a very picky eater most of his life for a combination of reasons. He has been eating a home cooked diet (JustFoodForDogs) for the past five or six years. It is somewhat expensive but very palpable. Also, because it is homecooked, it contains a large amount of fluids, which helps maintain hydration. Reportedly, the formulas are appropriate for all stages of life. There are many protein sources/formulas, including ones for dogs with special needs.


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## Kim r. (May 12, 2021)

Marti Harris said:


> Hello All,
> 
> My nearly 12 week old puppy, Xia, is not doing well. I am hoping some of you experienced Havanese owners can offer your advice.
> 
> ...


That medicine works well but has terrible side effects. 
My Havanese is very picky and my trainer turned me on to 
N&D Ocean Dog Dry Med/Maxi Cod Spelt Oats Orange 5.5. I have since given friends with picky dogs some of it and they all say their dogs are crazy about it. i Also sit on the floor with her and make a game out of eating. I throw a few kibble at a time and get her to eat her whole bowl. I don’t understand it but that is the way she prefers to eat. Sometimes she is acting hungry and begging with her food dish full. After I feed her by making a game she calms down. She also likes the freeze dried chicken/liver or cheese treats. I hope this helps. I bought a lot of dog food and treats before I found what she likes.


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