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There are lots of wormers on the market to treat your dog for
those pesky parasites that they can get one way or another. Some come from
fleas, some from mosquitoes, some just from the ground. The important thing is
to keep your dogs and puppies free from parasites. The first thing to do is to
identify what type of parasite your pet may have. This can usually be done with
a fecal examine by your veterinarian so he can recommend the right wormer for
your pet. I caution you to be careful what is used to worm your pregnant dogs
and puppies. Some wormers can cause premature delivery and fetal abnormalities.
If you have any concerns with what you are using ask for a pamphlet on the
medicine you are going to be administering to your dogs. Be a detective so you
know that you are doing the best you can for your pet.
It is important to remember that some of these parasites can
be passed on to humans so care should be used when cleaning up after your pet.
Keep your surroundings and the pets surroundings clean.
Symptoms
include listlessness, depression, staggering gait, muscle weakness, and
tremors. The puppy may seem alert but be unable to get up.
Precautions should be taken to make sure toy puppies do not get to
chilled or to tired. They should have a high protein, high
carbohydrate, high fat diet of a premium dog food and do not wean to
early. They should be fed at least 4 times a day or as some do with
these small toy puppies is to allow them to have free rein to the food
at all times. I will
add that from personal experience that it is a good idea to keep
Nutrical or corn syrup around to give to your puppy if they are
experiencing these symptoms. Nutrical was recommended to me by my Vet.
If the puppy should be unconscious the Nutrical should be rubbed on
their gums for they would be unable to swallow it and might choke.
Keeping the puppy warm is very important. And as always seek your Vet's
help. We also keep dextrose around since we raise toy breeds in case any
should need an injection. We got IttyBitty at 16 weeks of age and he had
not had an episode for about a month so the breeder thought he was fine
to leave her care. The stress of the move and him refusing to eat when
we first brought him home started to bring on low blood sugar and he
started to stagger around. Since the breeder had told us what to do we
were ready for any possible problem. If we had continued to have
problems with him we would have had a test done to see if he had a liver
shunt problem but once he settled in there were no more problems. They
just aren't big enough sometimes to store the glycogen in their liver
that they need. As a pre-caution we would sometimes give him Nutrical if
we felt it was necessary. We did
have a liver shunt test done on one of our Yorkies to insure there were
no problems in this area since he seemed prone to low blood sugar. It
came back negative and he is in his new home. This
does not just happen to Yorkies or Poms. It can happen to any toy breed.
Our neighbor's Bichon had problems with low blood sugar at one point.
Don't be
afraid of the toy breeds because of this just be informed. And remember
this is usually between the ages of 6 to 12 weeks. As with
anything search out information for yourself and talk with a
veterinarian before bringing a new puppy into your home. Prepare for
them so they will have all they need when they are brought home. The
source for this info is from the "Dog Owner's Home Veterinary
Handbook" by James M. Griffin, MD and Liisa D. Carlson, DVM
Disclaimer: Always check with your vet to
make sure the information is suitable for your dogs condition. |
