Coughing 9 week old Puppy

[Runry]

Hi everyone,

this is my first post and I would like to introduce Scout, my gorgeous 9 week old border collie pup we live in Tasmania. I am after some advice regarding a problem she has had since I picked her up a week ago. She had what sounded like a phlegmy nose on the first night and would cough a little whilst sleeping and it would wake her up. She is super active, happy, drinking and eating as normal, no other problems at all and she doesn't cough at all when she is awake. I made her some chicken soup yesterday and she napped soundly during the day without coughing so i thought she was ok but last night she woke me up a few times with her coughing. (she sleeps in my room for now) It's almost more like a choking than a cough, like she is trying to hack something out but nothing has ever come up. I did take her to the vet after that first night but they said she was fine, and she is until she tries to sleep. The breeder is sending me some antibiotics but i'm not keen on giving them to her unless she really needs it. I also have no problem taking her to the vet again but i'm just wondering if I could get some advice before I act on this. If it's likely to be just a little cold that she will get over in time then I am happy to ride it out.

Also,( sorry this is such a long post) I am also wondering what peoples opinions are on keeping dogs inside until after their 2nd vaccinations? I work from home so I am with her all day, we have 5 acres and no dogs around. We don't have a fenced yard but I have been spending time with her outside while she explores, she loves it! We actually spend allot of time outside because it keeps her really stimulated and watching her discover new things is beautiful. She does eat allot of wallaby and rabbit poo if I can't stop her in time and this really worries me but she is wormed so I'm hoping it won't hurt. I have read so much online about keeping dogs inside until they have had their 2nd shots but I feel like she would miss out on so much. Am I being completely irresponsible?

That's about it for now, thanks for reading my post.

 

Angela

[gcv-border]

Welcome to you and your new pup! Don't forget to post pics. We love puppy pics here.

 

I don't know about the cough, but I did not keep my pup inside. I even brought him out to a few public places before he had his third set of puppy shots, but I was very careful not to expose him to unknown dogs. It is so important to socialize pups during these first few months that I would not isolate your pup. Just be careful where you bring him.

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Tazzy,

 

Welcome. Tasmania is the beauty capital of Oz.

 

I don't like the cough but if the vet checked it out, I'd suspect allergies. One of my dogs coughs when there's lots of pollen in the air. I definitely wouldn't put her on antibiotics w/o a good reason.

 

I'm not terribly worried about bringing puppies out - after all, the worst collection of dog germs you can find is at the vet's office. I often see young Border Collie pups brought to trials for socialization.

 

Don't worry about her eating shit. All mine do, always have, no harm done. Save your breath. Yes, they can pick up (US) worms from it but that's what wormers are for.

 

Donald McCaig

[mum24dog]

Sounds like your pup may have kennel cough which is often viral so abs may well not work. Giving out abs like sweeties is not a good idea, especially when supplied by an amateur who hasn't seen the dog. Did your vet take his temperature?

 

Do you know anyone else who took a pup from the litter? If so, how are they?

 

If it's not getting better I would go back to the vet. A persistent cough is not normal in a pup.

[Gideon's girl]

If it is kennel cough, it's usually not too bad, but a vet can tell you what antihistamines and decongestants are safe to use and how much. They help with the phlegm and chocking cough.

[Cass C]

When my girl had kennel cough the vet told me warm broth and steamy shower air were the best things I could do for her. Antibiotics don't help kennel cough.

 

I didn't keep my dogs inside, because socialization was more important to me. However, I did not take them to pet stores/dog parks/disease hot spots until they had all their shots. I would say you are fine if you use common sense and not go to the big strange dog areas until your pup is vaccinated.

 

On the topic of eating poo it turns out chinchilla poop is a delicacy to my dogs

[chene]

I was told by my vet that I was pretty much fine anywhere on concrete/stone/not grass(when it's sunny anyways) and parks that weren't specifically dog parks. When I brought him to dog stores he stayed in the cart, or sat in a little bag. It worked out.

[Shetlander]

If the puppy does have kennel cough, taking her out to socialize may put other pups and dogs at risk since it is very contagious. Usually kennel cough is easily managed but can lead to complications in some cases. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed for secondary infections, I think. Personally, I wouldn't give meds the breeder sent, as described in your post. I would check back (even just a call) with the vet if the cough persists.

[Runry]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks so much for all the helpful info, I actually didn't realise how full on owning a puppy would be! I grew up with border collies and I am now beginning to realise how much my mum was doing for the pup when I was just heading off to school and having fun playful puppy time in the afternoon. I also didn't realise how much she would mean to me so quickly, I love that little girl so much and just want to give her the best life and for her to be the happiest dog around.

I took her to the vet yesterday and had a wonderful experience, I found a country vet a bit further away as I had heard great things about him. He spent allot of time with us explaining everything I need to know and giving me all kinds of tips and advice, he'd be in his 60s and has a brilliant bedside manner. The way he looked after Scout was so lovely, unlike the clinical approach of the young girl last week who grabbed at her and just shoved a cold thermometer up her butt and sent us on our way. He did prescribe antibiotics and I was wary but he said it will help clear up any secondary infections and being so young her immune system might not be strong enough to prevent complications. He also gave me calcium syrup and told me to put it on her food each day, what are your thoughts on this? I have never heard of this before.

I have been giving her warm chicken broth and lots of good home made food and encouraging her to sleep as much as possible during the day. I don't have any way of contacting the anyone else who has a puppy from the same litter, I do wonder about the breeder being so quick to offer antibiotics though.

Another question, does anyone have any delicious recipe ideas for pup, I am trying to make most of her food and keeping the meat mostly cooked until she's older. I have raw chicken wings for her but they they make me nervous!

Any tips or websites you can recommend would be great.

 

Thanks Again

 

Ang and Scout

[Gideon's girl]

If you are feeding a good food, then adding calcium is not a good thing, unless he saw a specific problem this was supposed to help with. Too much calcium in the diet affects how the joints develop.

[GentleLake]

I can't tell from what you just wrote whether you're feeding a homemade diet or just adding other foods to a commercial diet. Either way, please be sure you've looked into canine nutrition, because if you're not giving the right proportions of things you can really mess up her health and growth.

 

If you're supplementing a commercial diet, you may be skewing the amount of calcium especially in her diet. This may be why the vet gave you the calcium syrup. Did you ask him why? If you don't understand why a vet is doing or prescribing something, you should ask for an explanation. Can you call him now to ask about this?

 

If you're feeding a home made diet, whether cooked or raw, again you need to make sure that you're giving both meat and bones (i.e. calcium) in the right proportions and in bioavailable forms. It doesn't need to be terribly hard, but make sure you've done your research.

[Runry]

Hi again,

 

I am not completely sure if I will feed her all homemade yet, I am very aware of making sure she gets all of her nutritional requirements and haven't figured all of that out just yet so I am just trying to give her a wide variety at the moment. Brown rice, chicken mince, mashed veggies with added greens, sometimes a sardine, sometimes some raw egg and chicken wing every now and then. I'm going to buy some chicken livers today to cook into a puppy stew for her. I originally thought I would give her dry food and maybe some tinned but I am worried about all of the extra preservatives and dodgy poor quality meats that are added even in the more expensive brands with a supposedly good reputation. I don't eat processed food like that so why should I feed it to my dog? I will look at supplementing anything I feel she is missing out on. The vet spoke of preventing joint problems in her by adding the calcium but i've heard that ground up edge shells work too.

I feel like I am learning on my feet as I had never actually read the back of a dog food packet before and found it changed my whole mindset.

Also I am a chef, until a few weeks ago I worked on a ship feeding the crew onboard and a huge part of that was ensuring they met their nutritional requirements as we were often out for long periods of time. I am very passionate about healthy unprocessed but varied diets. Cooking for my pup is a whole different experience for me but i'm sure if I follow the same principals I should be able to ensure she gets everything she needs.

I will keep researching and hopefully find that perfect balance!

 

Thanks for all of your help