Shikoku Puppy Questions

Hey all I got my little shikoku girl a Tuesday night, I have a couple questions that are causing me anxiety.

--She has had her first vaccination set. I've been taking her out around the yard to potty/play. (there is another dog the spends time and eliminates in the same yard who is 9mos and I'm 85% sure is vaccinated too) I've been reading the forums and have just become more worrisome about health. I feel like I should get a parvo test just for peace of mind!! I mean what if she ate some poop when my head was turned ahhhh!

--It's been a while since I've had a puppy. Is it normal for sporadic consumption of small amounts of food throughout day, frequent water intake, lots of play but napping often too?
So there it is....my concerns with food/sleep pattern as well as immunizations/outdoor and other dog play. Am I freaking out a little too much? Any advice?

Thanks a ton...if this is in the wrong spot or answers can be found elsewhere please point me in that direction! :-)

Comments

  • It's normal for your pup to eat, drink, sleep, and play a lot! It's what puppies do best. I'm not sure about eating small amounts of food throughout the day, though... Are you feeding her breakfast, lunch, and dinner in addition to treats or just small amount of kibble throughout the day? When Goro was a pup we feed him 1/2 cup of kibble 3x a day plus treats when we worked on obedience and tricks.

    If you know who the owner is of the other dog, i would ask. If not just take her out on a leash. Don't worry too much. :)
  • How are you feeding the pup? when I fed kibble I fed it on a schedule puppy breakfast lunch dinner then adult breakfast and dinner..

    If you just got your puppy maybe she is still missing her siblings and mom some pups don't eat as much for few days. Bella didn't eat dinner when we brought her home. Next day she ate more.

    Do you have puppy class lined up? It's important to socialize pups shikoku needs it. Be sure it's positive type training..

    Puppies are like that they eat, play, potty, nap, potty, play drink water and repeat..

    As she grows she'll get more active. Work with handling and make it positive experience while she is young and get her used to wearing collar and harness at this age too.
  • We now free feed, but especially for a puppy I prefer to have scheduled meal times. It makes scheduled potty breaks that much easier. Give breakfast and dinner at the same time every day, don't leave food out for her to munch on whenever she wants.
  • Yeah, if she doesn't eat it in 5 mins take it away.
  • Ditto. Have scheduled times! Also, take her to go potty right after coming out of her crate! Congrats btw!
  • I had to cut out treats for my new girl. And she tries eating everything outside. Most of it is ufos unidentified food objects... Tho there is also a dead dried up frog she tries to eat too. Also took a while to get her poo solid.
  • I remember Toki wanting to drink water alllll the time. Now he doesn't drink enough; his pee is always super yellow, meh.
  • Dont get a parvo test that'll just be a waste of money. It's pretty obvious if your puppy has parvo, in a very bad way. Do get the following sets of vaccine boosters though, very important to keep on schedule with those. Food scheduling is important for consistency and the 5min mealtime is solid advice too. Definitely 3 meals per day with kibble/treats for training in between, even if it's just repetitions of "sit" "paw" "down".
  • My Shikoku Yoshi drank TONS of water when we first brought him home. I was filling his water bowl twice a day. He is mow 4 months and the water intake has slowed down to just one bowl a day. I did have to worm him again at 14 weeks, and he did have a large amount of worms, which could have caused the extra water intake.
  • I agree with @cezieg, don't get the parvo test. The only time you would do the test is if the puppy is showing signs of being very lethargic, vomiting, diarrhea, and not wanting to eat or drink.

    Going with a schedule meals is the best thing for a puppy. It's a good way to make sure they are eating enough and helps schedule their bowel movements as well. Drinking a lot, I think is that the puppy is still getting use to not drinking milk from mom, which they would be getting food and keeping hydrated at the same time. Playing a lot makes them thirsty too. It takes time for the pup to get use to things. Playing and sleeping a lot is all part of puppyhood.
  • Thanks everyone!!! I appreciate all your advice and input, it's very helpful. I like he 5min rule, I'll for sure start that. :-)
  • @Saya I've been doing the 1/2 cup 3x/day but sometimes she just wants to play with her food lol, like bat at it or whatever but ill be more strict about it.. No classes lined up yet but I'm planning on it soon hopefully
  • @Hinata23 thanks for the info...I've been trying the 3x/day but often she just tries to play instead! I'm gonna work on the 5min rule though.
  • Try a Kong. Put her kibble in it, plug the end with peanut butter or wet dog food, and freeze it. Maybe she'll think of it as a game and eat. :)
  • Saya loves kongs was nice way to feed breakfast and keep her busy.
  • edited January 2013
    Thanks guys!

    Now I need different advice... HELP

    So we got a Giardia diagnosis on 12/12 and did Metronidazole 125 mg tid x 10 days..

    Still was having loose stools on 12/26 (when in for 2nd vacc) soooo they gave some paste to bulk stools tid x 3 days with a probiotic as well daily for 10 days. I have finished the paste and am 6 days deep into the probiotic and still having loose stools.

    2days ago they said a another stool sample so soon wasn't necessary. (due to being on the Met.) ps- on the 26 they told me deworming wouldn't be necessary as she was on the Met for Giardia and that would have killed off parasites as well.
    Does this seem legit? I'm trying to educate myself on justification of ordering tests and meds etc...or not.

    I'm heading in tomorrow with the vet implying a food change might be the next step (presumably science diet)

    Any thoughts? Suggestions?
  • A second stool sample is not bad idea. I had a rescue puppy that was treated first for Giardia, then we found coccidia and he was treated for that. On the third stool sample we discovered whip worms. It took 3 different treatments to clear up the parasites. Even after treatment, I always take a sample in to make sure everything is cleared up. I would not just to science diet prescription foods right away. They are over priced and low quality food.
  • @sjp051993 thanks so much for your input! I think I will just bring a sample in with me and tell them to just test it. Is coccidiosis something that is tested with the general "parasite" test or is that separate like the Giardia test?
  • Usually shows up in a stool sample. When a stool sample is done, they are looking for parasite eggs. Not all parasite shed eggs all the time. That is why it is best to do multiple stool samples to make sure you got everything. Also some parasites take special treatments to kill. Being treated with Met will not cover all parasite the puppy may be carrying. Not an uncommon parasite for a puppy to come across.
  • aykayk
    edited January 2013
    Well, I would be asking some more questions.

    I have giardia in my yard and my vet has always gone with Panacur (fenbendazole) for 3 days. The over-the-counter is called Safeguard. Both can be purchased online. Panacur/Safeguard does eliminate some types of worms while eliminating the giardia.

    I googled metronidazole and I didn't find it used for worms. Only protozoans (ie. giardia) and some bacteria. I've heard that metronidazole is very hard on a pup's system and so I would not use it on my dogs even if my vet did recommend it. Was the metronidazole used in conjunction with Panacur and that was why the vet said a new stool sample was not necessary?

    Coccidiosis is supposed to be prevalent in the environment in southern California, and you can treat using the conventional treatment, but some owners do so when the dog is only showing symptoms.

    I've heard some breeders have resort to the off-label use of Baycox which completely eliminates cocci and cocci cysts. It's used on-label by veterinarians in Australia, but it hasn't been approved for such use in the US.
  • @ayk yeah I've read about the other meds randomly on the forum but they just used the Metronidazole...I wonder about the reasoning behind some of their choices. I think I'll ask tomorrow just to see what they say and so they know I'm doing some research on my own. I hope they wouldn't take advantage of my ignorance for infections/ meds in the animal world :-/.
  • Metronidazole is use to treat diarrhea that I know of from being a tech, but I looked up online and found this from wikipedia:

    "Medication containing tinidazole or metronidazole decreases symptoms and time to resolution...." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia

    Usually we would prescribe panacur to treat giardia. If your dog has coccidia too then they might have your dog on albon or something similar as well for a dewormer.
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